At the far west side of Manhattan near 14th Street is what looks like a field of 132 giant white tulips rising as high as 62 ft above the Hudson River. The 20-ft-dia concrete cup-like pots atop individual pilings of varying heights might make passersby feel like Thumbelina, the tiny fairy-tale character who lived inside flowers. The pots hold 400 species of trees, shrubs and plants and create the illusion of an undulating wave.
Little Island—the $250-million Hudson River Park Trust project primarily funded by the family foundation of Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg—literally takes the ideas of piers and parks to a new level. It uses precast concrete components that many experts thought could not be used in this manner; 3-ft-dia pilings as deep as 200 ft below the water; a flat, traditional pier under the pots; and MEP systems not normally used on a pier but that support the park’s 700-seat amphitheater, backstage area for actors and public restrooms.