Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 181 views

    Monday Paley Park

    Uploaded by

    Dil Howlter
    Paley Park is a small privately owned public park located in midtown Manhattan near the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. Designed by landscape architects Zion & Breen and opened in 1967, it occupies a small 4,200 square foot lot. Key features include evenly spaced honey locust trees that provide shade, ivy covered walls, and a 20-foot tall waterfall that helps mask street noise. Though small, the park is praised for creating an intimate oasis in the busy city through its simple but effective design.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Monday Paley Park

    Uploaded by

    Dil Howlter
    181 views6 pages
    Paley Park is a small privately owned public park located in midtown Manhattan near the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. Designed by landscape architects Zion & Breen and opened in 1967, it occupies a small 4,200 square foot lot. Key features include evenly spaced honey locust trees that provide shade, ivy covered walls, and a 20-foot tall waterfall that helps mask street noise. Though small, the park is praised for creating an intimate oasis in the busy city through its simple but effective design.

    Original Title

    2. Monday Paley Park

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Paley Park is a small privately owned public park located in midtown Manhattan near the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. Designed by landscape architects Zion & Breen and opened in 1967, it occupies a small 4,200 square foot lot. Key features include evenly spaced honey locust trees that provide shade, ivy covered walls, and a 20-foot tall waterfall that helps mask street noise. Though small, the park is praised for creating an intimate oasis in the busy city through its simple but effective design.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    181 views6 pages

    Monday Paley Park

    Uploaded by

    Dil Howlter
    Paley Park is a small privately owned public park located in midtown Manhattan near the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. Designed by landscape architects Zion & Breen and opened in 1967, it occupies a small 4,200 square foot lot. Key features include evenly spaced honey locust trees that provide shade, ivy covered walls, and a 20-foot tall waterfall that helps mask street noise. Though small, the park is praised for creating an intimate oasis in the busy city through its simple but effective design.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 6

    PALEY PARK

    Zion & Breen

    Derek Supinsky & Kun (Helen) Lu


    LSA 496/696
    Martin Hogue

    Dates & Background Information:

    Dedicated to Samuel Paley, Paley Park came to fruition as a product of the William S. Paley Foundation, a group committed to
    developing and teaching new methods of reconstructing various limbs of children and adults alike; near the entrance lies a
    plaque dedicated Samuel Paley. Designed by landscape architects Zion & Breen, the park officially opened on May 23rd, 1967.
    It is located on a site previously occupied by a once popular club, called the Stork Club. It is a privately owned public space
    (POPS) which allows for completely free public use during operating hours, and closes its gate at night (6am-10pm).
    Interestingly, since the space is privately owned, cigarette smoking within the park is completely allowed. Some other notable
    projects by Zion & Breen include the sculpture garden at the MOMA, the redesign of Liberty Island in 1986, and many campus
    plans such as Princeton, Yale, and Rutgers University.

    Location & Site Context:

    The park is located at 3 East 53rd St. in Midtown Manhattan’s cultural district, occupying a 4,200 square foot rectangular lot.
    There is dense urban fabric surrounding the site, which consists of mostly high-rises, while the MOMA and Rockefeller Center
    are within three blocks of the site to the west and southwest, respectively. The park is surrounded on three of four sides, with
    one side open, effectively spilling out onto the public sidewalk. Referred to as a Pocket Park—or minipark/vest-pocket park—
    Paley operates as an open urban space at a very small scale, serving immediately local population (approximately a 4-block
    radius). Paley Park is the archetype pocket park, one that is directly visible from the street in an area of high pedestrian traffic
    and helps bring natural light to the street level. Other pocket parks of merit include Greenacre Park in NYC, and Downtown
    Squares in Savannah, Georgia.

    Architectural Elements & Material Culture:

    Elevated slightly from street level, the park is accessible by a small set of stairs and ramps at both ends of the entrance. Equally
    spaced honey locust trees lain 20’ apart amongst rough-hewn granite pavers not only create a canopy to shade the public space
    during the summer, but also extend to the curb, effectively drawing in pleasantly surprised pedestrians. The side walls are
    covered in ivy, which acts as vertical green space, while occupying the length of the rear wall is a 20’ high waterfall. Wire-mesh
    chairs and small marble café tables are movable, and can be rearranged to suit user’s needs.

    Intended Response & Reception:

    The intention of the waterfall is to create grey noise, much like white noise, but with a randomly generated decibel intensity.
    What this does for the space is that it helps to mask the omnipresent noise of the surrounding city, and it creates a comfortable
    plaza for conversation and interaction because it’s difficult to overhear others over the noise of the waterfall. Airy trees create
    comfortable shade in the summer, and in conjunction with the waterfall and the draped ivy on the walls, create what many call
    an oasis in the midst of a bustling city. Unlike other parks, Paley Park does not attempt to be multi-functional; its success lies in
    its simplicity. Its primary functions are simply for sitting, relaxing, eating, and serving as a place to meet up with peers.
    Plan:

    Section:

    Axon:
    Honey Locust Trees Ivy

    Waterfall Storage/Concession

    Rough-Hewn Granite Smooth Granite


    Paley Park is located in the heart of midtown
    Manhattan, just 6 blocks south of Central Park.

    Well-known landmarks around the site include the


    MOMA one avenue west, and Rockefeller Center
    three streets south of the site.

    There does appear to be a healthy amount of


    greenery around the park, especially around the
    church to the south and Rockefeller Center,
    however, Paley Park does seem to be the only
    strictly usable park space in the immediate area.

    Images courtesy of Google Earth.


    Conclusions:

    The success of this park proves that size is no issue. In fact, unlike so many parks which try to be infinitely expanisve, Paley Park
    utilizes its small lot to create a very intimate, even romantic setting through a grand water feature and vertical planes of
    greenery. The sight, smell, and soothing noise of falling water serve as a reprieve of serenity, juxtaposing the steel landscape
    surrounding it. Here, simple is not simple-minded. The park is not overdone with architectural elements, instead, they are
    pushed to the edges, while the center makes use of a modest grid of trees, a few flower planters, and movable outdoor
    furniture. This way, occupants can arrange the seating to their desire, either grouping tables together for larger gatherings,
    spacing them further apart for more private conversations, or getting face to face with the waterfall. The space which must
    have been revolutionary at the time of conception is reminiscent of a Tuscan villa garden. The backlighting of the waterfall
    provides another subtle layer of beauty, that works in tandem to bring attention to the feature. Furthermore, because it is
    privately owned, it appears to be quite clean and free of litter which one might find at a similar public park. For these reasons,
    it is understandable why Paley Park is often referred to as one of the finest urban spaces in the U.S.

    References:

    Carroll, Maurice (September 20, 1967). "Paley Park: A Corner of Quiet Delights Amid City's Bustle; 53d St. Haven Has Something
    for Everyone". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

    Paley Park, GreatBuildings.com. Accessed October 8, 2007.

    Great Public Spaces: Paley Park, Project for Public Spaces Accessed October 8, 2007.

    The World's Best and Worst Parks, Project for Public Spaces, September 2004.

    http://tclf.org/landscapes/paley-park.

    Jasprizza, Roger. “Small Spaces Make a Difference” Landscape Australia1999 Nov.-2000 Jan., v.21, n.4 (84), p.292-294

    Marcus, Clare Cooper and Carolyn Francis, People Places, 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons Inc. New York 1998

    Projects for Public Spaces; www.pps.org

    Seymour Jr., Whitney North. Small Urban Spaces: The Philosophy, De-sign, Sociology and Politics of Vest-Pocket Parks and Other
    Small Urban Spaces. New York University Press, New York. 1969.

    GREENSWARD FOUNDATION, www.greenswardparks.org

    Images:

    http://designenaction.gatech.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/paley-park-2.jpg

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qT3FnGdy_F4/Tx2a0Jle_gI/AAAAAAAABPI/XBOsDth8uQA/s1600/DBpocket+parks-page-001.jpg

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AKj4Xq7YKxk/T1uGP-vGMkI/AAAAAAAAACQ/kd_Kf45jQ4k/s1600/Paley+axo.jpg

    https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8291/7799724746_1d2442ebd9_z.jpg

    http://empireguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Samuel-Paley-Park.jpg

    http://www.architecturaldigest.com/AD100/2010/shelton_mindel/mindel_slideshow_012002/_jcr_content/par/cn_contentwe
    ll/par-main/cn_pagination_container/cn_slideshow/item11.rendition.slideshowVertical.arsl14_shelton.jpg

    http://www.pps.org/graphics/gpp/nyc_Paley_park_nyc_large

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9wWQn3o8WgM/UOlfz1vRL7I/AAAAAAAAFaM/u5wEA7Wg9qs/s1600/NEW_2852.jpg

    You might also like

    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy