HI-LO LINE WILDERNESS

CIVIC, CULTURAL

Client Friends of the High Line
Location New York NY
Program Urban park/ industrial re-use master-plan
Area 121,406 m² (1,306,814 ft²)

Repurposing a largely derelict elevated rail line, this radical proposal for environmental restoration in the heart of New York anticipates a long-term evolution of space into an ecologically productive natural habitat. It suggests a 50-year strategy for boldly applying broad ecological and regional concerns to a specific urban setting. The project juxtaposes voyeuristic relationships of nature to the dense above and below ground infrastructure of the city, catalyzing the redevelopment of New York’s Westside. Specific habitats of flora and fauna cultivate, evolve, and connect New York’s existing waterfront ecologies to the site.

THE PLANTERS VARY THE TOPOGRAPHY, HABITATS, BIOTOPES AND ACTIVITIES

Fabricating a contemporary wilderness for the contemporary metropolis, the HI-LO LINE extends north below grade from 34th to 59th Streets, planting 30 acres of nature in entirety. Root depth is created above the rail deck with elevated planter boxes. Dispersing, flocking and changing in height, these planters vary the topography, habitats, biotopes and activities. Weaving through this topography, are a series of circulation paths, allowing for the connection and separation of hikers and bicyclists, outdoor amphitheaters, vistas and access points.