NEW YORKS HIGH LINE

Designed by landscape
architects James Corner
Field Operations along
with architects Diller
Scofidio + Renfro and
garden designer Piet
Oudolf, the High Line
park runs through New
York's Chelsea
neighborhood along the
lower west side of
Manhattan on 1.5 miles
of repurposed elevated
railway.The park was
completed in 2009 and
Burks believes the project has been the catalyst for the
regeneration of the Chelsea area and the Meatpacking District next to it.
"The High Line is
really connecting the
dots of the city's
best upcoming
architecture," he
says, pointing out
Jean Nouvel's 2010
apartment block and
Shigeru Ban's Metal
Shutter House,
completed in 2011,
both of which
cluster around an earlier Frank Gehry office building.
The winning design includes over a dozen access
points to the elevated par, and upcoming
contemporary projects probably wouldn't have been
placed here had it not been for the High Line.
Inspired by the wild seeded landscape left after the line had been abandoned, the team
created a paving system that encourages natural growth which creates a pathless landscape.
This undefined and unobtrusive environment allows the public to meander and experience the
park as they wish.
 Before the new landscape could take
form atop the High Line, every
component of the structure was tested
and treated to ensure its structural
strength. As each piece of rail was
removed, it was marked and mapped
so that later, it could be returned to its
original location as an integrated
planting piece. Energy-efficient LED
lights gently illuminate the parks
pathways and allow the eyes to adjust
to the ambient light of the surrounding city sky. Lights installed on the underside of the High
Line illuminate the sidewalk below.
The new space offers greening
opportunities, alternative transportation
options, and social benefits to meet
changing needs in urban environments.
This radical infrastructure conversion
has brought about thousands from
around the world; and is a space where
people can walk, run or cycle swiftly
and safely between communities.

Instead of the accustomed method of streets/parks shaped around buildings, The High
Line has proven otherwise by attracting developers near the site and building around the
elevated park. The park has exceeded the initially expected amount of visitors, and the
surrounding buildings had shrewdly opened their arms to allow their business to grow. The
project has appropriately blurred the lines between the past and the present New York- old
towers have not only opened their windows to look upon the High Line, but opened their
walls to allow passage into their corridors. With this, the High Line has successfully built a
city where buildings and parks blend together, and a park that is both inside and out.
ABANDONED HIGHWAY TO SEOUL SKYGARDEN

Dutch Architects- MVRDV has been chosen to transform an abandoned section of

highway- deemed unsafe, in Korea into an elevated public park. The Seoul Skygarden
populates the overpass with 254 different species of trees, shrubs and flowers to create an
urban arboretum that caters to the entire city as a public park.
The library of plants makes legible the
natural diversity of the city, allowing citizens
to interact with, and discover new species.
The new overpass also serves to reduce the
25 minute walk around the neighboring
railway station to just 11 minutes however, it
is forecasted to generate 1.83 times the cost
of its renovation and maintenance in
economic benefits.

The existing structure was built in the 70s to

provide a vehicular connection to and from
the local Namdaemun market, one of the
regions largest traditional points of trade.
Following intensive safety inspections in
2006, the 17-meter high structure was
deemed unsafe and intended to demolish it,
banning heavy vehicles access to the
elevated roadway in 2009. Further
consultation with residents and experts lead
to the regeneration the overpass which
totals 9,661 square meters in area into a pedestrian walkway and public space.
The design makes the space as green as possible while introducing new leisure
functions that require a modular and adaptable approach. In addition to circular plant pots of
varying sizes, a series of customizable activators such as tea cafs, flower shops, street
markets, libraries and greenhouses will provide a catalogue of elements designed to enliven
the Skygarden.
 Additional structures such as stairs, lifts and
escalators as well as new satellite gardens, can
connect to the Skygarden, sprouting like branches
from the existing structural piers. These extensions
can help generate further additions to the areas
greenery and public spaces, as it continues to evolve
over time.

Winy Maas, principal architect and co-founder of MVRDV explains: "The Seoul
Skywalk will change the daily lives of many people in Seoul for the better: they will have a
pleasant shortcut through a green oasis in the midst of all the traffic and concrete. It is a walk
through a park, a living dictionary of the natural heritage of Korea, connecting the city
dwellers with nature. Part of the project is a nursery in which plants will be raised for the
surrounding parks; in this way the skywalk will help to make green the entire city center."
The reinvention of the highway was a complete turnaround from its abandoned and
derelict state to a congregated throng of users just passing through or intentionally went to for
the market, caf, or for other recreational activities. Aside from this, the project with its
library of plants has been an ecological benefit for Seoul, absorbing the carbon emissions of
cars from below. Also, the project has multiple access points which lessened the
neighborhood walk by 14 minutes. Since, Korea isnt susceptible to rains and typhoons, the
project has gotten away with no roofs or canopies however, it should be noted that overhead
coverings should be placed for the UST skywalk for the users to be protected from the rain as
well as the sweltering sun.
MAKATIS DE LA ROSA ELEVATED WALKWAY
The De La Rosa Elevated
Walkway has served hundreds of
thousands of pedestrians since it
was first built from Enterprise
Center in Paseo de Roxas to
Greenbelt. Now that the
walkway has been connected to
Ayala Center, commuters can
now walk from the Ayala MRT
station all the way to Makati
Medical Center without worrying
about the sun and rain. The 305
meter extensions made project
the longest elevated walkway in the country with total of 1.1 kilometers.
According to MaCEA, the 305-meter De La Rosa Elevated Walkway was built at a
cost of P110.6 million over a year and eight months. It also said that a total of P497 million
has so far been invested in the city's pedestrianization program.

Aside from the elevated walkways, The Makati Commercial Estate Association
(MaCEA) also envisions of creating tri-level pedestrian walkways composed of underground
passageways, on-grade covered sidewalks, and elevated walkways.
President, David Balangue, hopes that the walkway will encourage users to use the
healthier option to get to and from their destinations and to reduce the amount of motorists on
the streets. In addition to the elevated walkway you find a network of covered sidewalks.
However, the roofs are often interrupted, e.g. at intersections, therefore an umbrella is still a
necessity.
The walkway offers workers, residents, and transients safety, comfort, convenience
and protective cover on their short trips to the commercial center and back. There are many
benefits to walking, and savings on gas and the vehicles wear and tear. Reduced vehicular
traffic in the district will also have a positive impact on the environment, Balangue said.
MaCEA will also be redeveloping Legazpi Village and Washington Sycip parks, and
will be upgrading existing facilities in the area. An escalator replacement program will soon
 upgrade existing facilities. The
installation of a wayfinding system in
key areas.

Aside from protecting the users

from the rain and sweltering sun, the
project has provided a healthier option
for users to walk to or from their
destination which hopefully, will lessen
the need for use of vehicles- which will have a positive impact on the environment. However,
the roofs not continuous, missing at intersection points therefore, a pedestrian will not be able
to fully cross the intersection without an umbrella- this is what the project needs improving
on.

References:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mvrdv-the-seoul-skygarden-abandoned-highway-
korea-05-13-2015/
http://www.archdaily.com/631007/mvrdv-to-transform-abandoned-highway-in-seoul-into-
lush-skygarden
http://www.archdaily.com/24362/the-new-york-high-line-officially-open
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/06/04/stephen-burks-the-high-line-new-york/
http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2013/10/31/the-buildings-that-host-the-high-line
http://primer.com.ph/blog/2016/12/07/makatis-walkway-to-provide-a-safer-walk-for-the-
pedestrians/
http://www.megacities-go-services.com/Manila/Preferred-Areas-HotSpots/Legazpi-Village-
Makati/Staying-dry-in-Makati-elevated-and-roofed-walkways
http://thestandard.com.ph/news/metro/222676/longest-elevated-walkway-opens.html