Resilience - University of Miami School of Architecture

2. High Line route. adapted from google
Designed by James Corner Field Operaons and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the
park combines sleek pavement and furnishings with wispy eclecc planngs
meant to evoke the weeds which were colonizing the abandoned elevated rail
line. The lightness of form and material emphasizes the solidity of the original
supporng structure giving “weight” to historical memory (figures 1,3). The
park spaces are loosely programmed but mul-funconal, providing an aesthecally
appealing pedestrian route as well as space for lounging, viewing
the city and river, and taking in informal music and art events. Ecologically,
the park serves as both patch and corridor, a linear habitat element for birds
and insects created by an isolated island of vegetaon. The non-hierarchical
nature of the design allows for unlimited future expansion, implicitly valuing
flexibility and connecvity over autonomy of the arsc endeavor.
3. High Line Park. author photo
on together, supporng Landscape Urbanist ideals of socially, ecologically,
and historically referenal landscape in the context of the dense mul-use
urban structure advocated by the New Urbanists.
In the example of High Line Park the open space repurposes what was an
anomalous open patch within non-hierarchichal grid matrix. By creang a moment
of importance in that patch, the grid is given hierarchy through a gradient
of proximity to the new space. It is the interplay of infrastructure, site
specific open space, and built urban fabric which gives meaning for Landscape
Urbanist and New Urbanist readings.
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Despite safety concerns about urban open spaces segregated from the street,
the park has been immensely popular from the start. Combining crical and
popular favor, the park has become an instant “monument,” a spaally explicit
icon which serves as an urban reference point. This is the key point of convergence
with New Urbanist ideas. As a monument the park becomes a catalyst
around which new or repurposed urban fabric can be structured.
A West Chelsea Special Zoning District was created, and specific formal guidelines
were wrien to guide the development of adjacent structures. An esmated
$2 billion has been invested in the neighborhood as a result of development
of the park (HR&A), suggesng that the park has had significant impact
on the surrounding architectural fabric. The zoning guidelines emphasize a
mix of uses with retail and gallery space at the ground level of office and residenal
towers, and aim to protect the diversity of use in the neighborhood
while assuring consistency of form (NYC Zoning Code Arcle IX, Ch. 8 98-00 to
98-25). In this way it seems that the park and surrounding urban district func-
4. High Line Park and W Hotel. author photo