BIG . renders: © Bucharest.studio . © negativ
Freedom Plaza will create a new civic and cultural hub along Manhattan’s East River, just south of the United Nations headquarters. The development will bring a 4.77-acre public waterfront open space to an area historically lacking green space, with plans for an in-park Museum of Freedom and Democracy, muchneeded affordable housing, two hotels, retail and restaurants. With a below-grade gaming area connected to the hotels, Freedom Plaza is one of several projects vying for three downstate gaming licenses in and around New York City.
Freedom Plaza will extend BIG’s contribution to New York City’s waterfront, alongside adjacent coastal projects that include the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, the Battery Park City Resiliency project and River Ring in Brooklyn.
The Freedom Plaza towers align with the orthogonal grid of Manhattan to extend the view corridors from Midtown eastward to the East River and Queens. The design respects the celebrated UN complex to the north while also adding playful and sculptural elements to the waterfront. The two residential towers pay homage to modernist New York City buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, with striped glass and aluminum facades connected at the base by a podium that will house a food market and retail. The two hotel towers, clad in a warm metal finish, connect at the roof, creating visual unity between the buildings.
The buildings within Freedom Plaza are placed at the perimeter of the site to maximize space for the multilevel, universally accessible green spaces – roughly the size of Bryant Park – which include a children’s play area, dog run and event lawn with a bandshell for hosting al fresco events. The landscaping is designed to host a native botanical overlay and climateadaptive species, with gardens providing food and habitat for pollinators year-round. The sculpture program and an amphitheater below the museum will offer cultural experiences for visitors and neighborhood residents alike, while educational programs centered around the native flora and sustainable practices emphasize the park’s commitment to environmental consciousness. Restaurants, a food market, community spaces, a daycare and other amenities line the northern and southern edges of the park.
At the heart of Freedom Plaza’s green space will be the Museum of Freedom and Democracy. Taking the shape of a Möbius strip, the museum winds on top of itself, allowing for outdoor walking paths. The museum forms a spiraling and infinite geometry over the amphitheater as a symbol of unity, and takes cues from the traditional Greek theater as a nod to those who created democracy thousands of years ago.
Freedom Plaza intends to be an operational net-zero carbon development. The site is designed to use the East River as a heat sink and heat source to supplement the buildings’ heating, cooling and domestic hot water systems, which will reduce potable water demand by 24.5 million gallons annually.
Stormwater capture and retention, as well as the park’s mature trees, will help minimize urban heat island effect. Freedom Plaza will also utilize a minimum of 20% electric vehicle charging stations for its onsite parking with capacity to scale to 60%.
Freedom Plaza draws inspiration from New York’s many celebrated dual interior-exterior public spaces, including the nearby Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. As hotel guests arrive, they enter a light-filled “forest atrium” that brings the outdoor public space inside through skylights and floating planters. From this atrium, guests can access the various food and beverage outlets, convention and event spaces, gaming facilities, and street-level retail. To further ease traffic concerns, a special entrance to the resort facility will be established on the 41st Street side of the property.
The two hotel towers connect via a skybridge cantilevered over the East 41st St. and 1stAvenue corner of the site. The skybridge lobby features a dramatic multistory viewing platform with a glass floor and ceiling and the Soloviev Foundation Art Gallery, while a 150,000-gallon infinity pool – one of the largest rooftop pools in North America – will be perched on the roof. Banyan Tree hotel amenities, including a spa and wellness center, restaurants and bars, and private gaming are also located in the bridge interior.
_
Bjarke Ingels
Martin Voelkle
PROJECT MANAGER
Andreas Buettner
PROJECT DESIGNER
Kristian Hindsberg
PROJECT TEAM
Alejandro Guadarrama
Alvaro Velosa
Beat Schenk
Brendan Murphy
Cheng Zhong
Hudson Parris
Jan Klaska
Jeff Yinong Tao
Joanne Zheng
Johannes Alexander Hackl
M. Omer Khan
Margaret Tyrpa
Otilia Pupezeanu
Paul Heberle
Rafael Alvarez
Sang Ha Jung
Sparsh Gandhi
Sunghwan Um
Will Chuanrui Yu
Youjin Rhee
Langan
Rizzo Brookbridge
Herrick Feinstein
Adamson
Friedmutter Group
OJB Landscape Architecture
Thornton Tomasetti
WSP
HBA
