Photo: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 1/30/17

World Trade Center (WTC) Liberty Park Living Wall
New York, NY, USA
3,305 sq. ft. Greenwall

Project of the Week Mini Description & Details

Opening almost 15 years after 9/11 in June 2016, the $50 million World Trade Center’s Liberty Park is an elevated, one-acre linear park built on top of a vehicular security-screening center overlooking the original footprint of the World Trade Center, now the National September 11th Memorial. Designed for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by landscape architect Joseph E. Brown, the rooftop park features many trees – including a descendant of Anne Frank’s famous Horse Chestnut Tree – plus shrubs, perennials and unique seating that provides a place for visitors to reflect, relax and recharge amidst bustling New York City.

The World Trade Center Liberty Park & Living Wall showing the the future St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine, under construction. Video screen shot from Santiago Calatrava; Courtesy Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

An architectural rendering of Liberty Park by Santiago Calatrava, next to the future St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine. Credit: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

One of the park’s most striking features is the multi-hued 25 feet high and 336 feet long G-O2® Living Wall by Plant Connection that transforms the prosaic walls and garage entrances leading to the network of underground roadways and loading docks. Home to over 20,000 evergreen groundcovers and flowering perennials including Baltic Ivy, Common Periwinkle, Coral Bells, Japanese Spurge, and Wintercreeper that provide year-round visual interest of color and texture, the plantings were designed in a staggered, horizontal grid to complement the 9/11 Memorial. The broad bands of color also help soften the scale and façade of the building along Liberty Street, and an extensive 18-zone drip irrigation provides water for the living wall. The 845 stainless steel panels were pre-grown and monitored at Plant Connection’s nursery, ensuring the roots anchored into the panels and media before hanging vertically. Once home to the Deutsche Bank building, Liberty Park came after three years of intensive planning, designing, engineering, and coordinating with a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Collectively, they have transformed the site into a meaningful and memorable space where life and greenery symbolize the rebirth of Lower Manhattan – while always remembering the past.

The World Trade Center Memorial with Liberty Park under construction shown by the arrows. Photo: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The living wall under construction. Photo source: WTC Progress Facebook page.

Year: 2016
Owner: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Location: New York, NY, USA
Building Type: Park
Greenwall Type: Living Wall
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 3305 sq.ft.
Slope: 100%
Access: Accessible, Open to Public

Growing in the plants at the Plant Connection nursery for the Liberty Park Living Wall.

WTC Living Wall Plant Connection Final Planting Plan.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Park Design & Landscape Architect: Joseph E. Brown
Developer/Construction: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
General Contractor: TB Penick & Sons
Greenwall System: G-O2® Living Wall, Plant Connection
Manufacturer & Grower: Plant Connection, Inc.
Greenwall Installation: Sponzilli Landscape Group

View the World Trade Center (WTC) Liberty Park Living Wall PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the World Trade Center (WTC) Liberty Park Living Wall Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 1/30/17 video photos courtesy of Plant Connection; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including use of Santiago Calatrava graphics; WTC Progress Facebook page; and Looking north on opening day of Liberty Street Park By Jim.henderson – Own work, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication on Wikimedia.

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By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher