Battery Playscape / BKSK Architects + Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners

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The ecological story begins with The Battery’s location at the prow of Manhattan where the Hudson River meetsNew YorkHarbor. Created by successive landfills over several centuries, much of the park, including the playground, is low-lying land, vulnerable to storm surges, high winds, and inland flooding. The project tangibly demonstrates how the best practices of resilient design can offer a rich play experience – one that deeply connects children to natural elements and the realities of climate change while expanding their creative capacity.Impermeable paving visibly directs surface runoff to verdant rain gardens crisscrossed by footbridges, integrating environmental management practices into the very heart of the play experience. Plants play a key role in increasing the site's resiliency while also fostering visitors’ connection to nature. The landscape design features diverse, seasonal plants that are aromatic and tactile, encouraging closer inspection. Due to flooding risks, specific plants were selected for their durability and high salt tolerance.Text description provided by the architects.The Battery Playscape is an intentionally flexible framework that supports open-ended play informed by the local ecology. As children traverse the playground’s 1.5 acres, they experience a freeing, plant-filled spaciousness uncommon for many city-dwellers.Together, the project’s architecture and landscape design instills a sense of stewardship, encouraging locals and the Battery’s many international visitors to envision coastal cities that work with – rather than against – natural forces. For children, playgrounds are an especially apt place for imparting these lessons, since play catalyzes full-sensory, embodied learning processes. This didactic component of the design serves as a complement to the project’s dual focus on water management and playability.