The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is a non-profit agency dedicated to
maintaining the public open space at Battery Park City and providing outdoor
sports and education programs for children. The principal design challenge
was to bring natural light to the diverse areas within the complex, located
on the ground and lower levels of a 1980's apartment building, and to carve
out a legible sequence of spaces from a site originally intended to support
a very different program.
DBA converted 10,000 sf into two levels, accommodating 18,000 sf of program:
offices, workshops, and conference spaces for the administrative, recreation,
maintenance and horticultural departments of the agency - including interior
routes for maintenance vehicles, new elevator systems, and a large community
meeting hall.
The space is organized to foster a sense of connection between the Conservancy's
different staffs while accommodating their diverse needs. Double height
spaces, in the work area and lounge, further connect the two levels, at
the same time allowing natural light into the spaces below. Everyday products
like plywood, elegant, industrial light fixtures, and the presence of tools
and machinery underscore the utilitarian/public service nature of the organization. |
