Roosevelt Park| Lower East Side, New York
FIELDS:Architecture, Landscape Design
Description
Design for Roosevelt Park in Lower East Side, NYC
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RISD Portfolios
- Roosevelt Park
A shifting landscape 
Axonometric Site Detail of basketball courts, field, and community garden- As an urban park in the densest city in the United States, Roosevelt Park needs to maximize usable park space. The park is also the longest continuous open space in lower Manhattan. Through understanding the overlapping programs that take place throughout the day at Roosevelt Park, came a scheme which proposes a series of sliding fences to reshape the spaces made by the linear park. This reconciles the various programs and groups which use the spaces, and reinforces the idea of simultaneous programs which conflict or interact within an urban park.
Initial drawings of "skywalk"- The initial inspiration for the plaza came from the desire to emphasize the light and shadow conditions created by existing London Plane trees on the site.
An elevated walk traverses the length of the park, organizing and connecting spaces while allowing users to bypass some of the activities taking place. This walk also becomes the support for part of the fencing system. The elevated design preserves the existing trees on site by allowing structure to rest on posts, avoiding the root systems of the mature London Planes throughout the park.
The fencing system allows for flexible combinations of uses throughout the day. 
The proposed scheme retains existing programs while allowing the ability to reconfigure spaces and boundaries using movable fencing.
North-South section (part1), facing east: Here the elevated walk rises above the park. The space underneath is configured for bike parking as well as spaces for street vendors and a cafe.- North-South section (part2), facing east: Here the elevated walk drops and faces the field, providing seating and engaging with the street. It then rises above the community garden space, allowing visual access into the garden even when it is closed.
- View across basketball courts and field. The closed fencing allows for movement through while functionally separating the spaces.
- View across court and fields: When open, fencing allows the spaces to be recombined for large events.
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