On the West Side of Manhattan, on the scenic Hudson River shoreline, Riverside Park South is a massive, multi-phase project of sweeping ambition and historic scope. Combining new greenspace, new infrastructure, and the renovation of landmark industrial buildings, the plan—originally devised by Thomas Balsley Associates in 1991—is an extension of Frederick Law Olmsted’s famed Riverside Park, carrying it a further thirteen blocks beyond its traditional southern boundary. At the same time, the scheme calls for the elevated Miller Highway, long a barrier between the city and its waterfront, to be replaced by an underground tunnel topped by lawns and surface streets, affording unimpeded access from new high-rise apartment buildings and upland neighborhoods to the parks and paths along the river. The product of a unique partnership between private developers and municipal government, Thomas Balsley Associates’ design balances the needs of local community members, regulatory agencies, and the natural environment. Century-old pier structures and gantry towers, paying homage to New York’s maritime past, become part of a dynamic scenography that includes a network of boardwalks, esplanades, paved paths, and planted margins, all of it giving the visitor the chance to rediscover the Hudson in encounters that range from the intimate to the urbane, the lyrical to the theatrical.
Bensonhurst Park
Bensonhurst Park is part of the larger Shore Parkway, an 816.1-acre collection of parks that stretches across Brooklyn and Queens. Today, the site provides a series of pathways, passive seating areas, recreational fields and a playground.
SWA/Balsley created a master plan for the redesign of the north end of the park and final design and construction do...
51 Astor Place
At the locus of two famous NYC neighborhoods, East Village and Greenwich Village, this new corner plaza takes full advantage of the vibrant urban life generated by nearby NYU and historic Cooper Union across the street. With a strong architectural alignment of banquette seating, this plaza benefits from its urban context by carefully staging the cherished NYC ...
Next C
Next C Water City is a new, fully self-contained sustainable city planned for 500,000 residents. Water was central to the Next C planning concept, supplied by two adjacent rivers and monsoon rains. The city is a system of wetlands, rivers, lakes, and canals, cleansing the water from up-river communities and managing floods during the monsoon season. Working wi...