Teardrop Park
Encyclopedia
Teardrop Park is a public park in downtown Manhattan
, in Battery Park City near to the site of the World Trade Center
. It was designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Associates, a New York City architectural landscaping
firm. The park design includes artworks specifically designed for the park location by Ann Hamilton.
between the existing bulkhead and the historic pierhead line. Prior to construction, the site was empty and flat. The park was designed in anticipation of four high residential towers that would define its eastern and western edges. Although Teardrop Park is a New York City public park, the client for the park was the Battery Park City Authority
, and maintenance is overseen by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy.
The park opened on September 30, 2004 and is just one within a network of Battery Park City parks. In the immediate vicinity of Teardrop Park, Rockefeller Park
features a popular playground with standard equipment. In designing another children's park in the area, the choice was made to complement rather than replicate the programmatic uses of Rockefeller Park. At Teardrop, play elements are integrated into the landscape with the intention of providing city children with play experiences that encourage sensory imagination through interaction with natural materials including water, plants, rock, and sand. Teardrop Park was designed in collaboration with play experts from the Natural Learning Initiative.
The shadier southern half of the site is an active play area featuring a long slide, two sand pits, "theatre steps" and a water playground. The northern half of the park is unprogrammed play space featuring a broad lawn, which is graded to catch the most light from the south, park benches, a small wetland
play path, and a perched gathering area made from New York State rocks, an installation created by the artist Ann Hamilton. Dividing these two areas is a large rock wall, constructed from New York State sedimentary rock
s specially imported for the park. The rocks are stacked to resemble a natural stratum
and include a water source to allow icicles to form in the winter. A short tunnel connects the two areas, and is an homage
to Frederick Law Olmsted
and the tunnels he created within Central Park
in New York City. Pathways criss-cross the site, providing elevated views within the park and beyond as well as urban connections across the park.
The park was designed in accordance with Battery Park City's Green Guidelines. Sustainable initiatives include reusing gray water collected from the surrounding buildings in the irrigation of the park as well as the selection of sustainable construction materials. The plantings of Teardrop Park are designed to thrive on a relatively shady site and provide habitat for native and migratory birds. The soils of the park are designed to support plant life without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
With construction beginning in 2008 and completion projected in 2009, Teardrop Park will be expanded across the street to the south. The design of Teardrop South is also by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Associates and it will continue certain themes from the original park. The new portion of the park will address its heavily shaded microclimate through the introduction of three 8 feet (2.4 m) heliostat
s, or solar mirrors, that reflect the sun from the top of a residential apartment building in Battery Park City. The mirrors were designed by Carpenter Norris Consulting .
One website article drew dramatically different conclusions, suggesting that the park was barely used because it didn't offer enough things to do . A subsequent article, written by child development experts associated with the design of the park, challenged this negative use evaluation in light of a comprehensive post-occupancy study of park use. Their observations and analysis describe a park that provides multiple opportunities for imaginative and active play, is well used, and "deserves to be praised as a successful public space."
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, in Battery Park City near to the site of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
. It was designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael R. Van Valkenburgh is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France including public parks, college campuses, sculpture gardens, city courtyards, corporate landscapes, and private gardens-Early...
Associates, a New York City architectural landscaping
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
firm. The park design includes artworks specifically designed for the park location by Ann Hamilton.
Location of the Park
The park is located in a niche between residential buildings in Battery Park City. It is located at the corner of Warren Street and River Terrace, towards the north end of Battery Park City.Design of the Park
The creation of Teardrop Park is part of the ongoing construction of Battery Park City, a neighborhood on the southwest edge of Manhattan Island that was created in the 1970s by landfilling the Hudson RiverHudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
between the existing bulkhead and the historic pierhead line. Prior to construction, the site was empty and flat. The park was designed in anticipation of four high residential towers that would define its eastern and western edges. Although Teardrop Park is a New York City public park, the client for the park was the Battery Park City Authority
Battery Park City Authority
The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority is a Class A New York State public benefit corporation. Its mission is "to plan, create, co-ordinate and maintain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side of...
, and maintenance is overseen by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy.
The park opened on September 30, 2004 and is just one within a network of Battery Park City parks. In the immediate vicinity of Teardrop Park, Rockefeller Park
Rockefeller Park
Rockefeller Park is a city park named in honor of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller Sr., located in Cleveland, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland Public Parks District, Rockefeller Park is immediately adjacent Wade Park on its the southeastern, and across Euclid Ave on its northwestern border...
features a popular playground with standard equipment. In designing another children's park in the area, the choice was made to complement rather than replicate the programmatic uses of Rockefeller Park. At Teardrop, play elements are integrated into the landscape with the intention of providing city children with play experiences that encourage sensory imagination through interaction with natural materials including water, plants, rock, and sand. Teardrop Park was designed in collaboration with play experts from the Natural Learning Initiative.
The shadier southern half of the site is an active play area featuring a long slide, two sand pits, "theatre steps" and a water playground. The northern half of the park is unprogrammed play space featuring a broad lawn, which is graded to catch the most light from the south, park benches, a small wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
play path, and a perched gathering area made from New York State rocks, an installation created by the artist Ann Hamilton. Dividing these two areas is a large rock wall, constructed from New York State sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
s specially imported for the park. The rocks are stacked to resemble a natural stratum
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
and include a water source to allow icicles to form in the winter. A short tunnel connects the two areas, and is an homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
and the tunnels he created within Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in New York City. Pathways criss-cross the site, providing elevated views within the park and beyond as well as urban connections across the park.
The park was designed in accordance with Battery Park City's Green Guidelines. Sustainable initiatives include reusing gray water collected from the surrounding buildings in the irrigation of the park as well as the selection of sustainable construction materials. The plantings of Teardrop Park are designed to thrive on a relatively shady site and provide habitat for native and migratory birds. The soils of the park are designed to support plant life without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
With construction beginning in 2008 and completion projected in 2009, Teardrop Park will be expanded across the street to the south. The design of Teardrop South is also by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael R. Van Valkenburgh is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France including public parks, college campuses, sculpture gardens, city courtyards, corporate landscapes, and private gardens-Early...
Associates and it will continue certain themes from the original park. The new portion of the park will address its heavily shaded microclimate through the introduction of three 8 feet (2.4 m) heliostat
Heliostat
A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space...
s, or solar mirrors, that reflect the sun from the top of a residential apartment building in Battery Park City. The mirrors were designed by Carpenter Norris Consulting .
Use of the Park
When it was first opened in 2004, Teardrop Park was praised for its use of natural plantings in a children's park . One article described the park as being crowded with children and parents, jampacked with experience, and offering a welcome naturalistic retreat from the city .One website article drew dramatically different conclusions, suggesting that the park was barely used because it didn't offer enough things to do . A subsequent article, written by child development experts associated with the design of the park, challenged this negative use evaluation in light of a comprehensive post-occupancy study of park use. Their observations and analysis describe a park that provides multiple opportunities for imaginative and active play, is well used, and "deserves to be praised as a successful public space."