LIGHTING When considering the High Line’s lighting design (the park is open until 10 p.m. every night) one thing became abundantly clear—views of the city had to be maintained at all costs. The designers responded by keeping the line of illumination points low. “For me it was important that for once you would have most of the light below your eye level,” says HervĂ© Descottes of L’Observatoire International, “so when you would be outside in the city you wouldn’t feel like you’re in a tunnel of light.” Typical overhead streetlights produce a looming glare that blocks vision. Bringing the light lower both adds more efficiency because it covers a shorter distance, and maintains a visual connection to the city.
The designers also lit the plants and left the path dark. This was a viable solution because the eye reverses the effect, making the walkway plainly visible. It also silhouettes the plantings, which were chosen for their evocative profiles, keeping the sense of mystery and fascination alive while creating a safe-feeling environment.
In an attempt to maintain the feel and presence of the High Line, the designers looked for a way to integrate the lighting into the infrastructure so the luminaires are not visible. They found a perfect housing in the existing structural railing, which had to be raised approximately 6 inches to meet city code for a pedestrian space. The team added another bar to the system, outfitted with coves that shelter linear fixtures of 1W LEDs tuned to 3000K. Similar fixtures, which range in size from 2 feet to 6 feet long, were placed in alcoves beneath the benches. While these two typologies provide the bulk of the lighting, LED light sticks rooted in the planting soil fill in the gaps. LED spotlights also highlight the trees. All of these fixtures were applied with discretion, creating a subtle glow that defers to the magnificence of the city and the rough beauty of this industrial landmark.
SOCIAL IMPACT Since the first phase of the High Line—which runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street—opened in July 2009, the park has attracted a steady stream of visitors from New York and around the world. Section 2, which extends from 20th Street to 30th Street, is scheduled to open in late 2010. Situated as it is with its tail in the trendy Meatpacking district (which plays host to a number of fashion designer’s boutiques), the old elevated railway has become its own kind of fashion runway, where the downtown crowd comes to promenade, and is home to some of the best people watching—not to mention city gazing—around. It is perhaps an unlikely end for a ruin of the mechanized age, but nevertheless the High Line stands as a shining example of the success of public/private partnerships, thoughtful design, and adaptive reuse.
Aaron Seward is an associate editor at the Architect’s Newspaper and a frequent contributor to ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING. He lives in Brooklyn.
DETAILS
Project The High Line, New York
Design Team (2004-09)
The High Line design team is led by New York–based landscape architecture and urban design firm James Corner Field Operations with New York–based architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Structural/MEP Engineering Buro Happold, New York
Structural Engineering/Historic Preservation Robert Silman Associates, New York
Planting Designer Piet Oudolf, Hummelo, The Netherlands
Lighting L’Observatoire International, New York
Signage Pentagram Design, New York
Irrigation Northern Designs, New York
Environmental Engineering/Site Remdiation GRB Services, New York
Civil and Traffic Engineering/Zoning and Landuse Philip Habib & Associates, New York
Soil Science Pine & Swallow Associates, New York
Public Space Management ETM Associates, New York
Water Feature Engineering CMS Collaborative, New York
Cost Estimating VJ Associates, New York
Code Consultants Code Consultants Professional Engineers, New York
Site Surveyor Control Point Associates, New York
Expediting Municipal Expediting, New York
Photographers Iwan Baan, Emile H Dubuisson, and Joel Sternfeld
Project Size 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure from Gansevoort to 34th streets, varies in width from 30 to 60 feet; Section 1: Gansevoort to 20th streets (.5 miles); Section 2: 20th to 30th streets (.5 miles); Section 3: 30th Street to west side rail yards: (.45 miles)
Project Cost $152.3 million (Sections 1 and 2)
Manufacturers Principal luminaires are Bega/US and Winona Lighting; additional fixtures by Allscape, Celestial, and Waldmann.