The High Line: A Case Study

THE HIGH LINE

CHELSEA, NEW YORK, NY, USA FIELD OPERATIONS, DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO, FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE, CITY OF NEW YORK

PROJECT SUMMARY In 1931 the High Line was constructed as an elevated line to transport commercial and industrial goods along the southwestern side of Manhattan, in response to the over congestion at street level. Along 10th Avenue, pedestrian, vehicular, and animal traffic intersected, creating a witches brew of collisions, lost goods, as well as deaths. The High Line was operational as a service line from 1934, but by the 1960’s there was a substantial decile in its usefulness, and in 1980, the High Line was officially decommissioned. For the next twentysomething years, the City of Manhattan considered demolishing the line, until a non-profit organization titled “Friends of the High Line” proposed converting the line into a public park. In 2005, the City accepted ownership and began working towards transforming the line into a park. Friends of the High Line in partnership with James Corner’s landscape architecture firm, Field Operations, in partnership with Diller Scofidio + Renfro worked on the project in three phases which were completed in 2009, 2011, and 2014 respectively.

The architectural “facelift” of the High Line revolved around three design motivations: first, re-pave the line with concrete planks to allow water to flow through the floor, allowing plant life to intermingle throughout the site. Second, slow down New Yorkers by inserting enjoyable sitting areas and meandering the paths, as well a flexible open spaces to host a myriad of passive and active programs. Lastly, maintain the High Line’s scale, as an antithesis to the ever-developing paradigm of Manhattan: its insatiable desire to be bigger, better, brighter, louder.

By integrating hand and soft elements, the pathway acts as the soil of architectural details; benches, gardens, lawns, and access points appear to “grow” from the concrete planks, and Case Study by ien Boodan

the High Line functions as one autonomous organism. Varying densities and types of vegetation strung along the High Line create different “moods” and encourage different levels of intensity for passersby. A heavily wooded area injects a miniature forest between 21st and 22nd Street, providing visitors with a diverse collection of different species of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses (Fig. 1, below). Where the High Line intersects 26th street, vegetation is reduced to a handful to carefully placed trees and tall grasses to emphasize the elevated boardwalk/perch (Fig. 1, above). All these elements work in tandem to create a sequential experience—high to low, open to close, urban to natural— from the High Line’s southernmost point at Gasenvoort Street all the way to 34th Street.

The meandering qualities of the High Line allow for an experience that feels deliberately choreographed regardless of where the visitor enters and exists the High Line. The aforementioned “Perch” is a smaller example of the urban theatre, which is found at 17th street. Large movements such as these provide substantial areas where visitors can dwell, as well as observe and/or participate in activities or events planned by other organizations. The narrow form of the High Line provides a unique condition: the stage of these activities overlaps with the park’s sole circulation path, encouraging an intimate connection between strangers.

Because of its unique geometry, the High Line doesn’t extend beyond two storeys, and, instead, emphasizes its lateral nature. This is done through various design devices, notably: staircases which appears to fall from beneath the superstructure, a perch only a few meters wide bookended by ramps that span an entire city block, and, again, an urban theatre which is gradually recessed within the park— emphasizing moments though a humble act of depression, rather than a brash erection seeking to monumentalize itself.

By being subservient to itself, the High Line emphasizes the human condition. The High Line highlights commonplace actions, acting as a stage for everyday people: the pensive flâneur, the wandering couple, the street photographer, the busking musician.

FIG. 1 (ABOVE) An axonometric drawing of two moments in Phase 2: a perched view overlooking the east end of 26th street (above) and a heavily wooded mini forest between 21st and 22nd Street (below). Here, one sees how all the elements-- superstructure, path, seating, and walkway-- work together. None of these individual elements could be successful independently. They fit into the overall context of Phase 2 as seen in Fig. 2.

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The high line as an elevated rail. People were generally not allowed to be up there.

“Intermingling� concrete and grass. The tapered edges of the concrete soften the boundary between hard and soft.

FIG. 2 Phase 2 exploded into its indiviudal elements, from top to bottom: trees and tall vegetation, seating, railings, elevated walkways, walkways, low vegetation, access points (staircases and elevators), lateral superstructure, vertical superstruture.

Benches emerge from the floor and dance alongside trees. It appears as if floor planks deformed upwards and by no human intervention, turned into seating.

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The High Line’s “forest� houses many species of flora. Seating is sparse, if available at all, suggesting that this curated collection of plants is an ephemeral moment, and the ensure that plants stay healthy, human contact should be left to a minimum.

In contrast to the seat-less forest, an urban lawn can be found directly north of the forest. Here, a grass lawn is raised to the height of a bench, inviting anyone to be a part of it.

The urban theatre gives visitors a unique view of the street, but from the street level, they are framed. In the same An illuminated frame draws attention from the street and illuminates subjects within said frame. way billboards and advertisements proliferate the city, the High Line challenges this reality by advertising the human experience to anyone looking up from the street.

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POST-HUMAN HIGH LINE 3D & 2D COLLAGE

I wanted to visualize what a futuristic, post-human High Line would look like. As buildings in Chelsea resemble those in Times Square, will the High Line maintain its humble demeanor? Can other creatures benefit from an elevated park? I would like to imagine that future humans would understand that the High Line’s success depends on its freedom from being built upon. It would remain a groomed wilderness that cuts through Chelsea in a similar manner of Moses splitting the Red Sea in the Book of Exodus. This man-made passage would remain intact for as long as people use it for good. As the steel and concrete buildings around it crumble, I imagine that the trees would continue growing through the debris. Earth’s first skyscrapers.

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I believe the High Line serves as a wonderful example of the positive impact landscape architecture can have in a human environment. Before construction, there were many people who vehemently opposed to public spending to refurbish the High Line. They believed that because of the site’s size and dimensionality, any habitable park would be destined for failure.

The team that was responsible for the project proves how a refined design language and a deep understanding of the environment in which one builds can transform a neighborhood for the better— not only in a qualitatively, but in a quantitative aspect, too. Land value directly surrounding the High Line increased by over $1,000,000. There are still many more layers to the project (which are all extensively documented) that I would continue to explore beyond the scope of this case study: thev vegetation, the construction drawings, how every square foot of the project respects the last but is also transformed for the better. The High Line makes me excited about landscape architecture, and has shown me that landscape isn’t just trees in a field. Landscape architecture uses the natural world in tandem with materials man has forged to create unique, manufactured spaces that evoke an understanding of oneself and the world around oneself.

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tl;dr:

Sources “About the High Line | Friends of the High Line.” The High Line. Friends of the High Line, n.d. Web. 04 May 2016. (http://www.thehighline.org/about) Designing the High Line: Gansevoort Street to 30th Street ; Field Operations, Diller Scofidio Renfro. New York, NY: Friends of the High Line, 2008. Print.

David, Joshua, and Robert Hammond. High Line: The inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. Print.

Geiger, Daniel (September 21, 2014). “High Line’s high returns”. Crain’s New York. Retrieved September 21,2014.

NYC Planning (http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/template?applicationName=ZOLA) NYC Planning http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/nyc-maps.page

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