With the latest multi-million-dollar American Museum of Natural History expansion into the surrounding Theodore Roosevelt Park (TRP), a group comprised of concerned citizens enlisted us to conduct a design study to develop a portion of TRP, previously closed to public access, to replace parkland lost to the museum project.

Our design study calls for opening TRP’s southwest quadrant to public access and features a meandering, paved promenade flanked by seating and pockets of understory shrub and perennial plantings in keeping with the park’s design framework, materials and style. The design also provides a prominent home for Santiago Calatrava’s Times Capsule, displaced by the expansion, for the benefit of public enjoyment.

In addition to maintaining park space, advocates hope to contribute to public awareness of the loss of parkland open space, which surrounds one of New York City’s most popular institutions.

“More than a year ago, the New York City Parks Department inaugurated the program Parks Without Borders. The idea? An obvious one: There are thousands of forbidding, disused, gated corners, squares and parks in town. They should be opened up, made accessible, inviting and useful. The Parks Department asked New Yorkers to propose sites.” – NY TIMES

Completed: 2017
Client: Theodore Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association Inc.