West Side Stories

Competitions allow some interesting opportunities. One is the ability for firms to shape up against one another in at least an equitable showdown. Another is that it gives some opportunity for firms to either experiment graphically or flex their artistic muscle.


:: Hargreaves Design featuring curled overpass - image via New York Post

In a recent announcement of design solutions, via the New York Post, envisions a "...new boulevard and park planned for Manhattan's far West Side, where Mayor Bloomberg wants to build a new business district more than twice the size of the World Trade Center complex... From fanciful images of hills, trails and plantings to a park filled with enormous evergreen trees and rock outcrops, the proposals from five teams of architects vying to design the park and boulevard will go before the public beginning today. ...The project, part of the Hudson Yards redevelopment, will create four acres of park space down the middle of a boulevard stretching from 33rd to 42nd Streets, between 10th and 11th Avenues, and linking up with a massive new office and residential project planned for the West Side rail yard just to the south of the new avenue. "

The project by Work Architecture (along with Balmori Associates on the landscape side) definitely wins the prize for most inventive and whimsical graphics - with a colorful play-dough site model that definitely highlights the topographic nature of their submittal.


:: image via New York Post

There's also a local/regional project proposal from PNW powerhouse duo Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd/Allied Works Architecture Inc along with PB Americas... strong team and interesting graphics - although it doesn't say much about the design. It'll be interesting to see the full proposals, as one image gives such a simplistic view of an entry and it's concept.


:: image via New York Post

The submittal by Hargreaves Associates, along with Ten Arquitectos and James Carpenter Design.


:: image via New York Post

And the Michael Van Valkenburgh Team submittal:


:: image via New York Post

And finally, an image from the proposal from West Infinity.


:: image via New York Post

Is it me, or do the middle three kind of blur together? As I mentioned earlier, it's tough to even make value judgements without seeing the entire picture, so I'm eager to see the full spectrum of solutions. Also, most of these firms are the expected players in an invited competition (with Work AC coming on strong this year). Personally, I'm not familiar with West Infinity, so definitely need to do some digging for more info there.

More to come, of course.
[note: edited 09.24.08]