Submitted by amelia, Nov 29, 2007 09:54

Even though a primary focus of the brief for Hudson Yards was public open space, it is interesting that the landscape architects involved on most of the teams have failed to even be recognized in this article. For example, Field Operations (the lead designers for the High Line) are not even mentioned as one of the leads on the Brookfield Team. If New York is serious about redevelopment plans being dedicated to generous and innovative open space and design, then they need to recognize the work that landscape architects bring to large-scale urban projects. In Europe and other places where we admire new and adapted public spaces and parks for intelligent and creative design, it is landscape architects who are at the forefront. Their scope of work is not merely to add generic 'greens' and buffer buildings. Landscape Architects are trained in large-scale urban systems including ecology, soils and soil reclamation, engineering, hydrology and drainage, infrastructure, grading, etc. Perhaps if we begin to place value on these systems (even on how we report them in project proposals) along with buildings and building mass, the developments we create will begin to address and resolve larger problems.

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