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For immediate release:
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Contact:
Michelle Marquez, 212.440.2200
FIVE TEAMS SELECTED FOR
DESIGN COMPETITION FOR
GOVERNORS ISLAND PARK AND OPEN SPACE
Twenty Nine Teams From 10 Countries Including 65
Leading Firms Submitted Qualifications For First
Stage Of Competition
GIPEC Announces Finalists at
Public Forum on Governors Island Park Design
The Governors Island Preservation and Education
Corporation (GIPEC) today announced the selection of
five teams of internationally renowned landscape
architecture and architecture firms to participate
in a Design Competition for Governors Island’s
future public open space, including a great
promenade around the Island’s perimeter; a new major
park located on the southern portion of the Island,
and improved park design within the Island’s
northern Historic District.
The teams include firms from the United States, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Canada
who have won acclaim for their designs, parks, plans
and buildings around the world. A total of twenty
nine teams, including sixty five firms from ten
countries from the fields of landscape architecture,
planning, architecture, art and engineering,
responded to the Request for Statements of
Qualification (RFQ) issued by GIPEC in October,
2006.
“Governors Island is an extraordinary place in one
of the world’s most stunning locations,” said Daniel
Doctoroff, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and
Rebuilding and Chairman of the Board, GIPEC. “The
new park and promenade will transform it into a
memorable destination for New Yorkers and visitors
alike.”
“We are so pleased that these internationally
renowned teams will participate in the design
competition and are gratified by the enormous
interest the design community has demonstrated in
the transformation of Governors Island,” said Pat
Foye, Chair, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC)
of which GIPEC is a subsidiary.
The five finalist teams are listed in
alphabetical order, with complete descriptions
following:
- Field Operations/ WilkinsonEyre Architects
New York, USA/London, United Kingdom
- Hargreaves Associates/Michael Maltzan
Architecture, Inc.
New York, USA/Los Angeles, USA
- Ramus Ella Architects (REX)/ Michel Desvigne
Paysagistes (MDP)
New York, USA/ Paris, France
- West 8 urban design & landscape architecture
b.v. / Rogers Marvel Architects /
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Rotterdam, The Netherlands/New York, USA
- WRT LLC/ Weiss/Manfredi / Urban Strategies.
Inc.
Philadelphia, USA/ New York, USA/ /Toronto,
Canada
The new public open space on Governors Island
includes:
- New parkland: 25 to 40 acres in the
southwestern section of the Island, creating
stunning recreation and contemplation areas that
take advantage of the summer breezes and
magnificent views – including a face-on view of
the Statue of Liberty and the harbor traffic
surrounding the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
- Waterfront promenade: Encircling the
Island, a new 2.2-mile public waterfront
promenade offers multiple dramatic views of the
New York skyline and New York Harbor, including
the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the
Brooklyn Bridge.
- Historic District public open spaces:
All of the open space of the Historic District
must preserve the district’s character and
historically significant features. The Historic
District landscapes include the 10-acre Parade
Ground (also called the Glacis), Nolan Park and
Colonels’ Row.
Each of the five finalist teams will be invited
to respond to a second-stage Request for Proposals
(RFP) and to participate in a Design Competition.
The teams will prepare analyses and visual
representations of a range of conceptual and
illustrative design ideas for the public open space
of Governors Island. A jury of distinguished design
professionals and officials will evaluate the
submissions, and a selection is expected in Summer
2007. Public forums and exhibition, with opportunity
for public input and presentation, will be part of
the design process. A more detailed schedule of
these sessions will be announced.
“We will be selecting a team through this process,
not a final design,” noted Leslie Koch, GIPEC
President. “We will be reaching out to members of
the public and many communities for their input both
in this process and in the ultimate design of New
York’s great new park in the heart of our City’s
harbor.”
Koch spoke at “New York’s Next Great Place:
Governors Island Park Design Forum” a public
forum co-sponsored by the Governors Island Alliance,
the American Institute of Architects New York
Chapter, the American Society Landscape Architects
and the American Planning Association’s New York
Metro Chapter in association with GIPEC and the
National Park Service and participated in a
discussion with distinguished panelists and audience
members about the development of parks and open
space on Governors Island.
Complete description of five finalist teams:
Field Operations/ WilkinsonEyre Architects
Field Operations is an innovative landscape
architecture, urban design and ecology practice
based in New York City. Their expertise and
strategic thinking is reflected in a diverse
range of high-profile projects currently
underway from the master planning and design of
Fresh Kills “Lifescape” to the design of the
first section of the High Line in New York City.
Some of Field Operations’ other significant
projects are the Lake Ontario Park in Toronto,
the Hengchun Botanical Garden in Taiwan, and the
Botanical Garden at the University of Puerto
Rico in San Juan.
WilkinsonEyre Architects is one of the UK’s
leading architectural practices. Their portfolio
of award-winning projects includes the parabolic
pivoting Gatestead Millennium Bridge in
Newcastle, UK and the Magna Project in
Rotherham, UK.
Hargreaves Associates/Michael Maltzan
Architecture, Inc.
Hargreaves Associates is a recognized leader
in the design of urban parks and waterfronts.
They have earned numerous national and
international awards for their work including
awards for projects such as Crissy Field in San
Francisco, Louisville Waterfront Park, and
Chattanooga’s 21st Century Waterfront Park.
Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc. (MMA) is an
architectural firm located in Los Angeles
California whose work for institutions,
including the temporary exhibition facility,
MOMA QNS, in Long Island City, and the UCLA
Hammer and Billy Wilder Theater in Los Angeles,
has been featured in numerous publications and
recognized with design awards.
Ramus Ella Architects (REX)/ Michele Desvigne
Paysagistes (MDP)
Ramus Ella Architects (REX) is a New York
City-based architectural firm with a reputation
for completing buildings that are
programmatically and technically innovative as
well as resource conscious. As Partner-in-Charge
at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture
(OMA), REX’s principal was one of the partners
responsible for producing the Seattle Central
Library in Seattle, WA.
Michel Desvigne is a landscape architect based
in Paris, France and his firm, Michel Desvigne
Paysagistes (MDP), is internationally recognized
for its public space designs and collaborations
with leading international architects. Among
MDP’s most well-known urban public spaces are
the Rue de Meaux garden in Paris, the Greenwich
Peninsula Millennium Park in London, and the
Noguchi Sculpture Garden at Keio University in
Tokyo.
West 8 urban design & landscape architecture
b.v. / Rogers Marvel Architects / Diller
Scofidio + Renfro
Rotterdam-based, West 8 is a leading landscape
and urban design practice in Europe comprised of
landscape architects, architect, and engineers
who design landscape interventions, urban plans,
squares, parks and gardens. West 8 has an
expertise in working with artists and local
designers and a history of collaboration with
world-class architects. They have designed
projects all over the world including the Swiss
Expo 2002 Masterplan, and most recently have won
the Innovative Design Competition for the
Toronto’s Central Waterfront.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro is an interdisciplinary
studio that fuses architecture with the visual
and performing arts. Current work includes the
new Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and
the expansion of Lincoln Center in New York
City. Works by Diller Scofidio + Renfro are in
the permanent collection of MoMA, SFMoMA, the
Fond National d’Art Contemporain, and the Musee
del la Mode in Paris.
Rogers Marvel Architects, based in New York
City, combines inventive materials, spaces, and
forms to create memorable and efficient places
for people to use. They have extensive
experience in academic, institutional, and
cultural projects, and they were responsible for
the transformation of the “Elevated Acre” at 55
Water Street and the expansion of the Studio
Museum in Harlem.
WRT LLC/ Weiss/ Manfredi / Urban Strategies.
Inc.
WRT, LLC is a national interdisciplinary
planning and design practice renowned for its
innovative planning and environmental ethos. The
firm’s noted large-scale waterfront projects
include the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Trenton’s
new Urban Park, and the Schuylkill River Park in
Philadelphia.
Weiss/Manfredi’s multidisciplinary design
practice, based in New York City, is known for
its innovative integration of architecture, art,
infrastructure, and landscape design. Their
competition-winning Seattle Art Museum Olympic
Sculpture Park is nearing completion and will
open in January 2007.
Urban Strategies, Inc. is a Toronto-based
planning and urban design firm that believes in
an integral relationship between planning and
design. They are currently using their open
space programming and planning expertise to
shape the future of the Toronto Waterfront.
About Governors Island
Governors Island sits roughly 800 yards off the
southern tip of Manhattan and half that distance
from the Brooklyn waterfront. Owned by New York
State until 1800, the island was conveyed to the
federal government through several transactions from
1800 to 1903 and was subsequently occupied and
managed by the US Army and the US Coast Guard. One
of the most historic locations in New York,
Governors Island was one of the first settlements of
the Dutch West India Company back in 1624 and became
a strategic coastal fortification in the early 1800s
for the new American military. In the 20th century,
Governors Island played host to a number of historic
events, including the 1988 summit meeting between US
President Ronald Reagan and USSR President Mikhail
Gorbachev.
The 90-acre northern portion of the island has been
designated a National Historic Landmark District as
well as a New York City Historic District. In
addition, five buildings in the historic district
are individually listed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
About Governors Island Preservation and Education
Corporation (GIPEC)
The Governors Island Preservation and Education
Corporation is responsible for the planning,
redevelopment and ongoing operations for 150 acres
of Governors Island. The National Park Service
administers an additional 22 acres of the island
designated as the Governors Island National
Monument. A subsidiary of the Empire State
Development Corporation, GIPEC is overseen by a
Board of Directors appointed equally by the Governor
and Mayor of New York. GIPEC seeks to make Governors
Island a destination with great public open space
and heritage tourism attractions, as well as
education, conference and cultural arts facilities.
For more information please visit
www.govisland.com.
About Governors Island Alliance
Since 1995, the members of the Governors Island
Alliance civic coalition, led by Regional Plan
Association, have worked collaboratively to
celebrate the Island’s rich history, create
memorable parks and public spaces, and ensure
appropriate reuse of the Island and its historic
structures.
About AIA New York Chapter
Founded in 1857, the AIA New York Chapter is the
oldest and largest chapter of the American Institute
of Architects. The AIA New York Chapter is dedicated
to three goals: design excellence, public outreach,
and professional development.
About APA New York Metro Chapter
The American Planning Association’s New York Metro
Chapter addresses planning issues that concern the
physical, social, and economic environment in the
metropolitan region encompassing New York City, Long
Island and the Hudson Valley.
About American Society of Landscape Architects
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape
Architects is the national professional association
representing landscape architects.
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