High Line - The Future
Amongst the hustle and bustle of tourists, skyscrapers and people with vivid dreams, lies a humble elevated railway track which served as a freight line till 80s. Left abandoned for years, it started growing wild plants, giving the idea to the designers to design the landscape of it. That has now been converted to a miles long park, with different landscapes that hosts different floor materials, types of plants, potential spots for activities etc, preserving some parts of the historic rail tracks, which results in having a liner design elements on the walkways.
There are not only vivid colors of flowers and plants to enjoy from season to season, but also the architectural marvels that High line is surrounded by. Not only the brand new, crisped line, all glass skyscrapers, but it even showcases the identity of historic New York’s style of architecture. It lets one appreciate the different eras that changed the style of art, architecture and design.
While designing the High line park, the architects thought about how the changing seasons would alter the experience of the park, that is a view for a big number of buildings. A lot of buildings real estate value influenced this design of high line park. The park having multiple entries made it a breakout space for all the people working in the area, an escape from the mundane and endless “contemporary interiors” that the offices and firms have these days. Although,the project has received a lot of criticism over time it aimed for urban renewal, and I think it hit the mark on the subject.
As it is elevated, it even inspired for a lot of design solutions under it, resulting in a boom in the area’s economy. It also became a tourist destination for designers and people interested in urban projects, landscape projects, locals with pets, locals who could walk across the dense urban concrete/steel/glass jungle.
To some extent, its a solution for the cities lack of vegetative need and soft ground to absorb water. There is soon going to be a time, when the climate change would result into multiple high lines across the city, being used as accesses for the buildings on higher floors, as some floors might be emerged.