Pier 55

March 30, 2016

POLL: Are Floating Parks the Future of Public Space in NYC?

Yesterday, 6sqft uncovered conceptual renderings for a nine-acre island/pier in the Hudson River that would serve as a final terminus for the High Line. It would be a circular-shaped cultural and recreational center, dotted with five interconnected pyramid-shaped buildings, as well as an elevated promenade and a marina. It’s quite similar in design and theory to Barry Diller’s […]

Architecture And Design

June 12, 2015

Opponents of the Pier 55 Floating Park Slap Barry Diller with a Lawsuit

By Diane Pham

As with any major project ready to make waves in NYC, we were just counting the days until Barry Diller's plan for a futuristic floating park would run into legal trouble. Today, the Times reports that opponents of the $130 million project have joined together to sue Diller and The Hudson River Park Trust (who approved the plans to build) in order to stop construction. The civic group, known as City Club of New York, are saying that the parties have failed to throughly evaluate the environmental impact of the park, and they want Pier 55 to undergo a new environmental review while also obtaining approval from the State Legislature.
More on the lawsuit here

Architecture And Design

June 5, 2015

Pier55 Floating Park Gets New Renderings and Updated Design Details

By Dana Schulz

Back in April, the city introduced a plan B for Barry Diller's Pier 55 floating park, but it was far less exciting than the original futuristic design. Thankfully, the latest set of renderings, revealed by Curbed, show that the whimsical nature of the park hasn't gone anywhere. Mathews Nielsen, the landscape architect for the project who is working with designer Thomas Heatherwick, unveiled the latest set of images at a meeting this week. They take into account concerns from the local community board, including its height (the platform will now be 62 feet at its highest point as opposed to 70), circulation (the winding pathways are being designed with congestion in mind), and the issue of people jumping off (the periphery will be lined with shrubbery and a fence).
More details ahead

Architecture And Design

April 20, 2015

The City’s Plan B for Barry Diller’s Pier 55 Floating Park Is Far Less Exciting

By Dana Schulz

In February, the futuristic Pier 55 floating park planned for the Meatpacking District moved forward with a lease deal between the Hudson River Park Trust and a nonprofit group controlled by Barry Diller, the billionaire media mogul who pledged $130 million back in November to fund the $151.8 million park. Diller is allocating the funds through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation (his wife is fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg), but under the agreement he can pull his support if he feels renovations at neighboring piers aren't up to par. And according to DNAinfo, the city's backup plan in this event is quite underwhelming, completely scratching the floating island and creating a $30 million park similar to others along Hudson River Park.
READ MORE

Architecture And Design

Is the Meatpacking District the Next Midtown?

Rendering of 860 Washington Street, via James Carpenter Design Associates

April 1, 2015

Is the Meatpacking District the Next Midtown?

By Dana Schulz

We tend to think of the Meatpacking District as more of an after-hours or weekend destination for cocktails and shopping, but a piece in the Times today looks at the "influx of office space and more" moving into the neighborhood. In addition to the much-anticipated opening on May 1st of Renzo Piano's new Whitney Museum along the High Line, a James Carpenter-designed 10-story glass commercial tower and Samsung's six-story flagship building are taking shape across from the Standard Hotel. And let's not forget about Pier 55, the $130 million futuristic floating park that is expected to break ground in 2016 off West 14th Street. With all of these new cultural attractions that will undoubtedly attract tourists, coupled with big-name companies joining the likes of Google in the area, is the Meatpacking District the new Midtown?
More ahead

Real Estate Trends

February 12, 2015

Pier 55 Floating Park Moves Forward with a Lease Deal

By Dana Schulz

Last we heard about Pier55–the 2.4-acre futuristic floating park and performance space proposed by billionaire media mogul Barry Diller that would jut 186 feet into the Hudson at 13th Street–Community Board 2 had mixed feelings about the project. They liked Thomas Heatherwick's design, but cited concern over the lack of transparency from Diller and the Hudson River Park Trust. Despite these feelings, though, we've learned today from the Times that the Trust approved a lease agreement with Pier 55 Inc., a nonprofit group controlled by Diller, to help develop the $130 million public space. Diller has already pledged $113 million toward the project through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation (his wife is fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg). So, what's next?
What's to come for Pier 55

Architecture And Design

February 4, 2015

Are Public Parks Becoming Playgrounds for the Wealthy?; Ideas for Furnishing Your Fire Escape

By Dana Schulz

Are independent park managers and private-public partnerships, like we’re seeing with Barry Diller and Pier55, turning public parks into playgrounds for the wealthy? [New Republic] You’re not the only one who eats on the floor in front of the television. Check out this photo series of how New Yorkers really eat in their cramped apartments. […]

Uncategorized

January 9, 2015

Community Board Likes Pier55 Floating Park Overall, but Wants More Transparency

By Dana Schulz

It's been relatively quiet over the past six weeks or so as far as news about the proposed offshore park and performance space in the Hudson River known as Pier55. But this week, Community Board 2's Parks and Waterfront Committee reviewed the project, and though they liked Thomas Heatherwick's design overall, they cited their main concern as transparency. The board's issue stems from the fact that billionaire media mogul Barry Diller, who committed $130 million to the 2.7-acre park, and the Hudson River Park Trust had been working secretively for two years on the plans. According to Curbed, committee member Arthur Schwartz said, "Probably the main public critique of this project has been the way that so much of the design was developed in infinite detail before it even became a matter of public knowledge."
More on the outcome of the public meeting

November 25, 2014

Thomas Heatherwick Reveals the Inspiration Behind Pier 55 Floating Park

By Dana Schulz

Last week, news broke that billionaire media mogul Barry Diller had been working with the Hudson River Park Trust for the past two years on an idea for an offshore park and performance space in the Hudson River. And though it seemed far-fetched at first, the fact that Diller had personally committed $130 million to the project and that detailed renderings had been created made it see much more plausible. And now Thomas Heatherwick, the British designer behind the Pier 55 floating park, is opening up about how the decrepit West Side piers inspired his vision for the undulating, landscaped "aquatic High Line."
Hear what Heatherwick has to say

Architecture And Design

November 22, 2014

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

By Dana Schulz

Futuristic floating park may come to the West Side thanks to a $130 million pledge from billionaire media mogul Barry Diller. New rendering for 111 West 57th Street shows what will become the slimmest building in the world. NYC getting pay phones of the future with free WiFi, charging stations and more. Robert Pattinson checks […]

Uncategorized

POLL: Will the Pier 55 Floating Park Get Built?

By Dana Schulz

The city was abuzz on Monday when news broke of media mogul Barry Diller’s $130 million pledge to build a $170 million, 2.7-acre floating park off the shore of 14th Street in the Hudson River. The planning and design process had been kept under wraps for over two years, and though the undulating, amoeba-shaped public […]

Architecture And Design

November 17, 2014

Barry Diller Pledges $130M for Futuristic Offshore Park on the West Side

By Dana Schulz

Floating space in New York's waterways is not a new concept. Take the +Pool, for example, the public pool proposed for the East River that was recently supported by Kanye West. But a new offshore park proposed for the Hudson River off 14th Street seems exceedingly ambitious, as it would cost $170 million, be located 186 feet off land, and contain wooded nooks and three performance venues including an amphitheater. Barry Diller, sponsor-to-be of this ambitious plan, gives the project a much more realistic outlook. The billionaire chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, former head of Paramount Pictures and Fox–and husband to Diane von Furstenberg–was the single largest donor to the High Line. He's pledged $130 million from the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to make the 2.7-acre park a realty, as well as agreed to run the outdoor space and cover operating expenses for 20 years. He and his wife have starchitect-designed offices in the Meatpacking District and are clearly becoming king and queen of the neighborhood.
More on the futuristic park ahead

Architecture And Design

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