Work continues at the new World Trade Centre complex in New York, which is being constructed on the site of the Twin Towers. The complex is already home to the tallest building in the western hemisphere – the 104-storey One World Trade Centre skyscraper – and the as yet unbuilt Liberty Park is set to be equally impressive.
Now the New York Times has revealed details of the unique park, which will be elevated 25 feet above street level, overlooking Liberty Street and the National September 11 Memorial. And one of its key features it seems will be a living wall.
The green wall will measure approximately 300 feet long and reach skywards another 20 feet. According to the NY Times, it will be composed of an eclectic selection of plants, including winter creeper, Baltic ivy, periwinkle and Japanese spurge.
Liberty Park
The cost of the entire Liberty Park project is estimated to be $50million, and will also include a grand staircase, a raised area, a curving balcony, and more than 40 varieties of tree and bushes. It will sit adjacent to the rebuilt St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the original of which was destroyed during the attacks of September 11th 2001. The park will have an area of roughly an acre.
The high profile inclusion of a living wall at Liberty Park will surely add to the growing interest in living wall features by commercial and private clients. At a time when more living space is becoming occupied by concrete and metal, many people are keen to bring a bit of nature back to the aesthetics of urban living.
Another prominent living wall received significant attention in London when it was unveiled at the Athenaeum Hotel several years ago, and even made it into Time Magazine’s ’50 Best Inventions of 2009’.