Walking the, somewhat, entirety of Battery Park City was enjoyable and beautiful. There are many factors that played well with the green open space of the park such as streets and buildings and the generous integration of the waterfront.
Compared to Lincoln Center, Battery Park City is preeminent in its design. You have a more circular and generous flow of circulation that is dictated by the waterfront. The paths of circulation, vegetation, stone railings, as well as the buildings opposite of the water, follows the language given by the waterfront. Whereas in Lincoln Center, consisting of an open plaza and other open spaces with vegetation and fountains, it has a more rectilinear form in plan. You’re also surrounded by such massive buildings that it can get a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, one side of the park is shielded by condos and offices buildings, which are all curved buildings because of the overall curved plan and diverse in its materials and styles. On the other side of the park, you have the waterfront. A beautiful scenery to look at when strolling through the landscape. An exciting feature of the park is that no matter where you are, you will always have a view to the Statue of Liberty, which was intentional in the design of the park. Another great feature is the elevations and slopes the grass areas and circulations paths create, almost like a weaving action like Central Park, for instance. The park itself is below the ground plane where the sidewalk, this gives a better spatial experience to its users.
One similarity that Lincoln Center and Battery Park City shares is the open room. In other words, an open space defined by surrounding buildings acting as the walls, the stairs or path to the open space itself acting as the entrance to the room, and the open sky acting as the ceiling. This feature is found in the park where the Irish Hunger Memorial is.
Spatially, I feel like Battery Park City is more exciting and attractive place to visit because of the sloped circulations paths and views the park gives. It carries a much different story than Lincoln Center, where it has a more structured and ordered plan.
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