Take a stroll through New York’s vibrant streets and you’re soon enveloped by an unmistakable sense of familiarity. The Brooklyn Bridge, the towering Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty – the city’s landmarks are etched into our consciousness through countless films. But now a new gem has emerged – an oasis on the Hudson River known as Little Island, which offers a unique blend of nature and artistry.
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This new public park and arts venue occupies the space left by three of the old Chelsea Piers. In the early 20th century, these served as the main port for the Cunard White Star Line, where the ill-fated RMS Titanic was headed.
Starting with cool, pastel colours in spring, the colours become increasingly intense throughout summer, until more muted tones dominate in autumn.
In the 1970s, one of them was transformed into a community space. In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy destroyed it beyond repair, a generous $260 million investment from Barry Diller and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation offered the Hudson River Park Trust the opportunity to transform the space completely, to create a public park and outdoor performance space that would captivate visitors. A sanctuary from the city, providing space for relaxation, sheltered from the windswept and exposed environment on the Hudson.
UK-based Heatherwick Studio answered the brief magnificently with a striking, sculptural design that rises gracefully from the Hudson Riveratop 132 tulip-shaped, precast concrete structures. The undulating landscape includes an outdoor amphitheatre, a smaller performance space, a large open plaza and central lawn, woven through with sinuous paths that offer accessible routes to all parts of the park.
But what turns this spectacular structure into a wonderful oasis of calm is the planting prowess of landscape architect and urban designer Signe Nielsen, principal founder of MNLA, whose expertise and vision have been instrumental in shaping Little Island’s lush landscapes. Even now, three years after the park opened, her enthusiasm for the project is palpable. “Quite honestly,” she says, “this is may be surprising to say, but when I was first hired for the project I had no idea how extraordinary it was going to be.”
Heatherwick’s structure, which Signe likens to a dried leaf floating on water, rises in three of its four corners. This presented her with the challenge of designing a planting scheme suited to a variety of microclimates that would create a unified feel when viewed from the central bowl.
All four quadrants are linked by meandering paths and steps that lead visitors through
a rich mix of planting, encouraging them to explore every nook and cranny.
The answer is what she terms her ‘bloom sweep’, a seasonally changing colour palette that ties the four quadrants visually together and which is linked to temperature. Starting with cool, pastel colours in spring, the colours become increasingly intense throughout summer, until more muted tones dominate in autumn. There are also distinctive colour palettes within the four quadrants.
On the sun-baked Northwest Overlook, which faces south and has fewer trees, Signe has used some of the park’s hottest colours, including rich-red Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and bright-orange Helenium autumnale ‘Adios’, alongside many plants with richly coloured foliage, such as heucheras and sedums.
Heatherwick Studio answered the brief magnificently with a sculptural design that rises gracefully from the Hudson River atop 132 tulip-shaped, precast concrete structures.
In the southeast quadrant, close to the small performance space, she has created an area she calls the Moon Garden, filled with only white plants, from white-flowered crape myrtle in spring to white-barked silver birch in winter.
Her favourite area, however, is the Southwest Overlook, affectionately known as ‘Signe’s mountain’, which at an elevation of almost 19m is the highest point in the park, offering stunning views over the Hudson River. Facing north, this hillside sits in its own shadow, allowing for shadier, woodland-style planting.
All four quadrants are linked by meandering paths and steps that lead visitors through a rich mix of planting, encouraging them to explore every nook and cranny of this dynamic landscape. Signe, a former ballet dancer, wanted the interplay of plants to evoke the flow of movement between dancers, something she has achieved with aplomb.
Across the park, she has used tens of thousands of different plants, including around 249 species of perennials, 83 species of grasses, 60 species of bulbs, 80 species of shrubs and 42 species of trees, including junipers, cherries, cercis and conifers.
Almost all of these were planted over a ten-month period starting in March 2020, with a dedicated team planting up to 5,000 plants a week throughout the height of the Covid pandemic. And in this landscape designed not just for beauty but also for biodiversity, Signe has included a huge selection of native and non-native plants that provide well-considered habitat niches and food sources for wildlife.
Maintaining this lush sanctuary is now the responsibility of the park’s head of horticulture, Orrin Sheehan, and his small but dedicated garden team.
Their seasonal routine begins with early cutbacks in January, followed by lawn care and plant maintenance in the warmer months. And throughout the year, one enjoyable aspect of their work is interacting with the many visitors who flock to the park eager to learn more about the planting.
“There is nowhere to hide from the questions,” says Orrin. “But we are advocates for the space. The feedback we get from people really puts a smile on your face."
In brief
- Name Little Island.
- What Urban park built on a pier in the Hudson River, with a dynamic landscape and exposed position that favours mountain bluff plantings of pines, oaks and native trees, underplanted with shrubs, grasses and perennials, with an emphasis on seasonal changes offering colour throughout the year.
- Where New York City, USA. Size Just under two-and-a-half acres.
- Soil Imported engineered sandy loam. The slopes have more geo-fibre added in for stability.
- Climate Humid temperate climate with distinct seasons. In an average year, temperatures will be between -13oC and 36oC. The urban heat island effect makes it warmer than the surrounding areas.
- Hardiness zone USDA 7b.
Useful information
Address Pier 55 in Hudson River Park, West 13th Street, New York, NY 10014, USA. Web littleisland.org Open Daily, 6am-11pm. Find out more about Signe Nielsen’s work at mnlandscape.com