Adriaan Geuze and the Trust for Governors Island Preview the View from Outlook Hill
On the 22nd of September, 2015 The Trust for Governors Island and West 8’s Adriaan Geuze lead an exclusive preview of the views from the top of Outlook Hill, 70 feet above New York Harbor.
The Hills, the culmination of Governors Island’s park, have just reached full height. The Hills are the culminating feature of the new park on Governors Island, which was designed by West 8. The first 30 acres of the park opened to the public in 2014. Since that time, Island visitors have seen the Hills rising at the park’s southern end. Made of recycled construction and fill material, The Hills rise 25 to 70 feet above the Island. The Hills will provide visitors with a 360-degree panorama of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and the Lower Manhattan skyline. Adriaan Geuze: “You go uphill and have this panorama, where you really feel you are in the middle of the ocean.” The Hills are scheduled to be complete in 2016. This preview is the first time ever that the construction site has been open to visitors. “The public has been involved at every step as we designed the new park and public spaces on Governors Island,” said Leslie Koch, President of The Trust for Governors Island.
“Governors Island continues to be the jewel of our Harbor Park — a central park for the center of our city,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron. Indeed with Outlook Hill rising 70 feet above the Island, will be New York City’s newest destination. Outlook Hill features winding paths and steep shrub-covered slopes. From the top of Outlook Hill, visitors will enjoy breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor. Grassy Hill provides a 25 foot high gentle grassy slope overlooking the Island’s new and historic landscapes and the Manhattan skyline. Slide Hill (40 feet high), hosts four slides for children and families nestled in shady trees. The 40-foot high Discovery Hill is the setting for the convergence of nature and art with site-specific art along its shady pathways. The Hills will be home to 43,000 new shrubs and more than 860 new trees.
“Governors Island is a place where history, culture and recreation come alive” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “I look forward to the completion of the Hills, which will quickly become one of New York City’s newest must see destinations.”
For more information and high resolution renderings and photographs:
Public Relations, Winnie Poon, Lydia Franken or Nina Bohm, +31 (0)10 – 485 58 01, pr@west8.com, www.west8.com
West 8 is an award-winning international office for urban design and landscape architecture founded in 1987. Over the last 28 years West 8 has established itself as a leading practice with an international team of 70 architects, urban designers, landscape architects and industrial engineers. West 8 developed projects all over the world in places such as Copenhagen, London, Moscow, New York, Madrid, Toronto and Amsterdam. The office gained international recognition with projects such as Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam (NL), Borneo-Sporenburg in Amsterdam (NL), Jubilee Gardens in London (UK), Expo \’02 in Yverdon-les-Bains (CH) and Miami Beach SoundScape Park (US). Many of the projects are the result of groundbreaking entries in important international competitions. Recently won competitions include Toronto Waterfront in Toronto (CA), Governors Island in New York (USA) and Yongsan Park in Seoul (KR).
Amongst the numerous awards received by West 8 are the Honor Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Lifetime Achievement Award for Architecture 2011, Mondriaan Fund (formerly BKVB), the International Urban Landscape Gold Award (IULA), the Prix de Rome, the Dutch Maaskant Award, the Bijhouwer Award, the Rosa Barba First European Landscape Prize, the Green Pin and the Veronica Rudge Green Prize for Urban Design.
image credit © West 8
