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WXY develops new standards for park structures in the city while paying homage to New York's heritage
Once a two-acre area of asphalt, the Bosque now fulfills historic Battery Park’s potential as a destination: full of natural abundance, with spaces to sit, eat, and play, it is a lushly planted porch to the vast acreage of New York’s Inner Harbor.
The design’s elements articulate the new curvilinear park geometry. The elliptical Kiosks are derived from a series of arcs and made of certified sustainably-harvested hardwood. The Benches were designed to hold up to the punishing wear and tear of relaxing New Yorkers with an absolutely minimal use of material. A walk-through water feature based on the spiral of Archimedes anchors the northern end of the Bosque.
To complete the park’s upgrade, WXY is developing a sea-life themed carousel. The SeaGlass project transforms the traditional ride structure into an instrument of the future with digital projection and electrified glass technology, Smart Glass. SeaGlass’s underwater theme references its location on the site of the first home of the New York Aquarium. The spiraling structure will be constructed of stainless steel and glass, forming a shell whose interior provides a white screen for the underwater projections. Using the paradigm of the magic lantern, the Smart Glass changes from clear to opaque as the ride begins, dimming the space in a rising sequence to capture the experience of diving under water.
The client’s focus on design innovation has resulted in a park that is rich and colorful in its planting and playful in its architecture, a series of public spaces and features that respond to the site’s extraordinary heritage with a contemporary sensibility.
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