In 1986, Thomas Balsley Associates was asked by the Chelsea Waterside Park Association to translate this community’s vision for a waterfront park into a design document that would be used to plan the new Route 9-A and the proposed Hudson River Park. Ten years later, when funding for the Chelsea Waterside Park was identified, Thomas Balsley Associates won an invited design competition and the 2.5-acre park was completed in the fall of 2000. Chelsea Waterside Park became a cherished community space and the first jewel in the Hudson River Park “necklace.”
The design takes into account Chelsea’s multiple open space and recreational needs and its diverse community. All are expressed in a contemporary design language of curving forms and color that is balanced with lush plantings and historically derived rugged stone detailing for walls and pavements.
Today, the park is home to round-the-clock activity, lawns and green spaces for passive uses like sunning and picnicking, multi-purpose sports fields and court games, shade structures, an interactive water play area, Chelsea’s only public horticultural displays, elevated sunset overlook, food concession structure with restrooms and cafe terrace, and a “state of the art” adventure dog run.
Curtis Hixon Park
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park has been heralded as Tampa’s missing “here” and the crown jewel in the city’s Riverwalk, a bold new urban plan conceived to reactivate the Hillsboro River and downtown Tampa. To ensure that the park takes its place as focal point of this new cultural district, a master plan was prepared from which the park, Riverwalk, and museums a...
SIPG Harbor City Parks
This new riverfront development is located on the Yangtze River in the Baoshan District of Shanghai. This area boasts some of the highest shipping activity in the world. However, in recent years this single-function industrial zone has given way, allowing for waterfront parks to develop. Within this historically layered water front the Baoshan Park and Open Sp...
Residences at W New York Downtown
The Residences at W New York Downtown is located in lower Manhattan. The at-grade public plaza creates an urban space with a food kiosk surrounded by a large raised wood deck with table, chairs, and built-in custom stainless steel benches and bar seating along the perimeter. A series of interplaying IPE wood and pre-cast concrete benches creates seating and co...
Jinbocho Redevelopment
Situated in central Tokyo’s university and publishing district, this new mixed-use project brought urban streetscape character to its immediate neighborhood through the introduction of plazas whose fountains, seating areas, cafes and sculptures serve residents, workers, and the community as a refuge from the busy streets.
A diagram of pedestrian flows t...