March 26, 2020

Battery Playscape Receives ASLA-NY Design Award

The Battery Playscape, which broke ground earlier this month, has been recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects, New York (ASLA-NY) as a recipient of a 2020 Design Award. The project is in collaboration with The Battery Conservancy, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects & Planners, and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. The Design Awards bolster local visibility, acknowledge and promote the work of the Chapter’s membership, and publicly recognize excellence in the practice of landscape architecture.

The winning projects exemplify design excellence with a focus on resilient design strategies and innovative use of materials to provide effective solutions to challenging sites. Another highlight of several projects is the inclusion of community, who were engaged from the beginning and involved throughout the design process resulting in high quality public places that put the users first.

The Playscape is an intentionally flexible framework that supports open-ended play informed by the local ecology. As children traverse the playground’s 1.5 acres, they will experience a freeing, plant-filled spaciousness that is uncommon for many city-dwellers.

The ecological story begins with The Battery’s location at the prow of Manhattan where the Hudson River meets New York Harbor. Created by successive landfills over several centuries, much of the park, including the playground, is low-lying land, vulnerable to storm surge, high winds, and in-land flooding. The project will tangibly demonstrate how the best practices of resilient design can offer a rich play experience – one that deeply connects children to natural elements and the realities of climate change, while expanding their creative capacity.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Read the official press release.