Architects, planners shine spotlight on 'hidden gem'.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Alliance for Downtown New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of has released a study that presents ways to transform the 23 blocks south of the World Trade Center, known as Greenwich South, from an isolated section of Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North into a thriving, densely packed, 24/7 community. The study presents immediate and long-term ways to build on organic growth and reconnect the area at the southern end of Greenwich Street with the many vibrant hubs of creativity around it. Essential to the process is a restoration of Greenwich Street northward from Battery Park, says the report. Led by the architecture firms The following is a list of notable architecture firms, past and present. For individual architects, see List of architects
The hope is that Greenwich South will someday hum with street activity as one of Manhattan's many destination neighborhoods. The study also features contributions from Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (b. January 19, 1944 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a widely recognized Los Angeles based architect. Educated at USC and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in 1972. of Morphosis morphosis /mor·pho·sis/ (mor-fo´sis) the process of formation of a part or organ.morphot´ic mor·pho·sis n. pl. , WORKac, Lewis. Tsurumaki.Lewis Architects, Coen + Partners, IwamotoScott Architecture, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (born in 1967 in Mexico City) is a Mexican-Canadian electronic artist who works with ideas from architecture, technological theater and performance. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Physical Chemistry from Concordia University in Montréal. , DeWitt Godfrey, Transsolar Climate Engineering and Jorge Colombo. "The area known as Greenwich South is a diamond in the rough, an undiscovered asset that needs to be considered in a different way," said Elizabeth H. Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance. "We hope the study will encourage mobility, diversity of use, density and environmental sustainability." "The plan draws upon the essential components of what David Rockefeller David Rockefeller, Sr. (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American banker, philanthropist, world statesman, and the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child and grandchild, respectively, of the prominent philanthropist John D. saw as a vibrant Downtown," said Robert R. Douglass, chairman of the Downtown Alliance. "If these ideas come to fruition, Lower Manhattan--in fact, the whole Lower West Side of the island--will become a more integral part of Manhattan." "I'm excited by the formulation of this group of world-class designers and urban planners List of urban planners chronological by initial year of plan.
"The plan is a 'now' and 'then' solution. It puts forth relatively inexpensive transformative ideas that can be completed immediately, yet at the same time, plants the seeds for larger visionary projects that can be implemented in the future." Although Greenwich South represents a pivotal part of Lower Manhattan, its great promise has been obscured by outsized out·size n. 1. An unusual size, especially a very large size. 2. A garment of unusual size. adj. also out·sized Unusually large, weighty, or extensive. Adj. 1. , carelessly placed infrastructure, according to the report. It was first isolated from the rest of Lower Manhattan six decades ago when the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was built on its southern edge. Its isolation was intensified by the World Trade Center, which came later on the north, by West Street on the west, and by steep, narrow side streets to nowhere on the east. The experts suggest the remapping of Greenwich Street through the redeveloped World Trade Center site provides a welcome opportunity to reconnect Lower Manhattan with the creative districts on Manhattan's Lower West Side. A reconnected Greenwich Street would channel pedestrians through the Greenwich South area to Battery Park, ferries to the Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty great symbolic structure in New York harbor. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : America Statue of Liberty perhaps the most famous monument to independence. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : Freedom and Governors Island, and supporting residential, commercial, retail and hotel development. Improved east-west connections will link Battery Park City and the Financial District. The result would be a unified group of 24/7 Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, according to the report. "This study," said Frank Sciame, co-chair of the Greenwich South Committee, "is just the beginning of what we hope will be an ambitious planning and design effort that will forever change the character of Lower Manhattan." The Alliances has created a website at www.greenwichsouth.net and an exhibition in Zuccotti Park at Broadway and Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan detailing the plans. |
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