...outstanding area is the Woodland Flyover between 24th and 27th Streets, where in its abandoned days the line sprouted a small forest, the trees growing to catch the light blocked out by two 10-story buildings on either side. In this section, the paving will “walk” up to 8 ft high and extend through a forest of 12-ft-high trees that are expected to eventually grow up to 16-ft high. Section 2 also boasts the only lawn on the High Line, at 23rd street, that will extend almost the entire width of the tracks as it peels up. The lawn is expected to be a High Line favorite, as it’s the only area where visitors can actually touch the planting instead of merely looking at it.

Overall, Section 2 is much more about the plantings. While it’s almost the same length as Section 1, it will use 4,063 cu yds of soil, compared to 3,068 in Section 1, but a mere 23,218 sq ft of concrete planks, compared to Section 1’s 53,379 sq ft.

The serenity of the plantings and trees is accentuated by the clean lines of the park: even the benches and chaise lounges seem to just flow out of the pavement. To achieve the look, however, required fitting in all the ugly things that make the park a functioning urban space in a depth ranging from 18 to 24 in and an average width of 30 ft.

“Usually when you’re designing a park there’s more tolerance. Here, it’s more limited space,” Switkin said. You had to make everything fit and work—and hide as much as possible.”

The utility lines were fit to run on the edge or under the planking system, grates were installed underneath benches for access to electrical switches, and boxes camouflaged to hide against the rail hold controls for the LED lights, which are cleverly placed below eye level to allow the eyes to adjust to ambient light.

Because the line was built to last — it was originally constructed to hold three times the weight of two full trains, according to Lorah — relatively little steel had to be replaced. Ironically, refurbishing the existing steel was perhaps the most labor- and cost-intensive part of the project, as they did require sandblasting the lead paint in enveloped 25-ft sections, vacuuming the lead, and triple-repainting. Where the damage to the steel was extensive, the team reinforced plates and replaced rivets on the steel, cut the steel for new entrance stairs, restored the missing parts of the railing, and patched up concrete with an epoxy repair mortar. Expansion joints were incorporated into the new precast concrete framing system in order to coordinate thermal expansion between the old and new structures, and 1-ft-by-12-ft precast reinforced-concrete planks were craned up for the walkways. Major work went into the design, by Northern Designs, and construction of a new waterproofing and drainage system which minimizes rain water runoff to 20 percent.

The most grueling work, however, went on before Phase 1 even started: as Switkin explains, because the park was so unprecedented, the level of involvement of city agencies, from the counterterrorism NYPD unit to the Historic Preservation Office, was “vast.” It took two years of weekly meetings to obtain the necessary permits and, from the design stand point, push for some of the structural and aesthetic elements—like convincing the city that 8-ft railing, typically required for pedestrian overpasses, would make the park feel like a cage.

“A lot of New York City parks have a standard set of furnishings, lighting, and none of them worked on the High Line—they were too big, too heavy,” Switkin said. “We had to customize everything and design all the different elements. And it’s making people think differently about city parks.”

One of the key differences is the financing: the High Line is a public-private partnership, and Friends of the High Line pay for 70 percent of the maintenance of the park, according to Lorah. Fortunately, the park’s success has meant more new members, she says.

“So far people really love the space - and when they love it they respect it,” Switkin said. “We haven’t had issues of vandalism that you see in other types of spaces.”

Key Players

Design Lead / Landscape Architecture / Urban Design: James Corner Field Operations, New York
Architecture: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York
Construction Management: Bovis Lend Lease, New York
General Contractor: KiSKA Construction,
Structural / MEP Engineering: Buro Happold, Bath, U.K.
Structural Engineering/ Historic Preservation: Robert Silman Associates, New York
Planting Designer: Piet Oudolf, Netherlands
Lighting: L’Observatoire International, New York
Signage: Pentagram Design, London
Irrigation: Northern Designs
Environmental Engineering / Site Remediation: GRB Services
Civil & Traffic Engineering: Philip Habib & Associates
Soil Science: Pine & Swallow Associates