A Little Island for New Yorkers

New York’s newest park rises out of the Hudson River, a whimsical, playful little islet floating atop concrete tulip pots.

Known as Little Island, the $363 million maritime botanic garden has just opened to the public after four years of planning and three of construction.

LAA first featured the project last year when construction resumed after being suspended because of court challenges and permit issues.

Landscape architect for the project, Signe Nielsen, Principal at MNLA, says the inspirational concept was of a leaf with lifted corners floating on the water. “This shape gave me an opportunity to experiment with texture, colours, light and shadow,” she says.

Little Island’s structure emerges from the remnants of the former Pier 54. Piers in this area north of the Gansevoort Peninsula operated the luxury transatlantic Cunard and White Star cruise lines in the early 1900s. In 1912, survivors of the RMS Titanic were brought back to safety to Pier 54 on the RMS Carpathia. Photo credit Michael Grimm

“Every time I come to Little Island, I’m struck by the same sense of wonder. This is an environment made to surprise. I wanted New Yorkers to feel delight and excitement around every turn from the moment they set foot here. 

“When you enter from the concrete of the city, you’re immersed in this living, breathing ecosystem full of unexpected corners, hills and overlooks.” 

Funding for the 2.4 acre park came largely from the family foundation of Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.

Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, of Heatherwick Studio, Little Island’s distinct exterior is supported by a structure that is made up of 280 concrete piles, which emerge from the leftover wood piles of the pier.

The concrete tulips. Photo credit Signe Nielsen

On top of the piles, 132 concrete “Tulips” make up the structure of the park. Each tulip’s shape is unique and has a different weight load capacity to hold the soil, lawns, overlooks, and trees. Nielsen says one of the biggest challenges was getting enough soil depth for the 114 trees, some of which will grow 18 metres tall, with root bulbs three to three and a half metres in diameter, and weighing up to nine thousand kilograms.

The island is home to 35 species of trees, 65 species of shrubs and 270 grasses, vines and perennials, many of which have been selected for their fragrance and attractiveness to birds and pollinators.

In more recent years, Pier 54 was an arts and entertainment pier that hosted concerts and events. When it fell into disrepair, the vision behind Little Island was to stay true to the original Pier 54 and build something spectacular in its place. Photo credit Michael Grimm

Each corner has its own colour theme, with opposite corners speaking to each other, Nielsen says. The overall “bloom sweep” will transition from paler pastels in early to mid spring, to brighter, more intense colours in the summer, fading to bronze in autumn with winter dominated by evergreens and red and orange stemmed shrubs.

Little Island is an initiative of the Diller - Von Furstenberg Foundation whose considerable philanthropic history extends to several other New York City parks and arts organisations. Photo credit Michael Grimm

“I hope Little Island will serve as a whimsical oasis for everyone who visits, a place to wander around and be happily surprised at every turn, to lounge and graze the landscape, and to be entertained, educated and stimulated by our programming” said Barry Diller.