Park Avenue Median Forest
Location:
USA
Architectural Project & Design:
Chelsea Atelier & GAD
Project Team:
Ayhan Ozan, Gokhan Karakus, Seda Tugutlu, Can Imamoglu, Ensar Kaya, Emre Bilol, Aylin Degirmen, Beste Dabakoglu, Volkan Kutal
Building Type:
Recent, Experimental, Urban Planning, Public
Year:
2018
Status:
Study
Park Avenue Median Forest
The proposal for Park Avenue is a new manmade ‘forest’ consisting of a large tree-like canopy built from structural bamboo to be placed on the existing median of Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. The goal was to build a new natural landscape of complex, tree-like forms with a complex, branching geometry as a central feature of an urban park and natural oasis. The design envisions a man-made forest with a canopy silhouette that interacts with natural elements reflecting sunlight and creating shadows, attracting local wildlife such as birds and insects while visually engaging visitors with it’s complexity. At night, an orchestrated LED lighting integrated with the structure would provide a gentle, nature-friendly, light display attracting visitors to give Park Avenue a new evening vitality while subtly weaving nature into the everyday life of the city.