Little Island - Featured Project

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Designed by Heatherwick Studio, MNLA, Arup, and many others, Little Island is the fanciful 2.4-acre #publicpark located in Hudson River Park, where New Yorkers and visitors can experience nature and art in a unique urban oasis on the Hudson River. Primarily funded by The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, the park features a lush, seasonal landscape with rolling hills, winding pathways and dazzling views coupled with free programming that includes music, dance, theater, poetry, comedy, and arts workshops for all ages. Heatherwick Studio explored the idea of designing a new pier that could draw from the remaining wooden piles from Pier 54. Principal of MNLA Signe Nielsen describes her concept appearing to float like a magical green carpet above the eastern edge of the Hudson River “as a leaf with upturned edges.”

Located near the intersection of West Street and 13th Street in the Meatpacking District and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan, Little Island is accessed via two long gangways. Components of the park, nestled among more than 350 species of flowers, trees and shrubs, include a 687-seat amphitheater known as The Amph with a central plaza and seating, serving food and beverages; The Play Ground, an intimate stage and lawn space; and The Glade with its dazzling views of the park, #NewYorkCity, and the Hudson River. In effect, the highly complex construction of Little Island is an intensive green roof, using various techniques to climb to a height of 62 feet over the Hudson River. The paved areas range from 1.5 to 8 %, and landscape slopes are up to 60%.

The maritime botanic garden blooms with 39 species of trees, 74 species of shrubs, and 290 varieties of grasses, perennials, vines, and bulbs, many of which have been selected for their fragrance and attractiveness to birds and pollinators. The four components to the structural system from the bottom up are piles, over 400 which are driven down into bedrock below the river; capitals, set on top of each pile; 132 tulip pots, and reinforced concrete slab. With five different soil types, soil depths range from 24 inches to 6 feet at hero or specimen tree locations. The park’s imaginative design offers all New Yorkers and visitors a new public space that is whimsical, captivating, and restorative. And, thanks to a network of green infrastructure elements artfully integrated into the park’s landscaping and plazas, virtually the entire Little Island is a sponge for stormwater.

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Greenroofs.com Featured Project 7/20/22 Video credit: Little Island; photo credits by MNLA; Steven L. Cantor; Little Island; Rebecca J Michelson, Liz Ligon, Lia Chang, and Michael Grimm via Little Island.