FHL E-Mail Newsletter
February 11, 2003


FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION

Designing the High Line: An Open Ideas Competition to Design 1.5 Miles of Manhattan

Competition Materials Now Available Online: click here

Friends of the High Line (FHL) today launched "Designing the High Line," the first-ever international ideas competition seeking visionary design proposals for the reuse of the High Line elevated rail structure, on Manhattan's West Side. The competition, which is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, is open to architects, landscape architects, horticulturalists, artists, engineers, community members, and all other interested parties. It will culminate in a major exhibition at a high-profile Manhattan location in July 2003.

"FHL has always made design excellence one of its top priorities," says FHL co-founder Robert Hammond. "It's not enough for the High Line to be preserved. It must become a beautiful, exciting, and innovative public open space that invigorates the people who use it and the neighborhoods it serves. How many other opportunities will the city have to design 1.5 miles of Manhattan?"

"Designing the High Line" asks entrants to define a comprehensive vision for the High Line; to propose access systems; to conceive an environment for the structure's elevated rail deck; and to create compelling treatments for the spaces under the Line. Entrants must register by April 25, 2003. Entries are due May 16, 2003. Registration is $50 for individuals and teams; $300 for university architecture studios (up to 15 entries per studio).

In order to provide immediate, widespread access to the competition's guidelines, registration, and background research, all materials related to "Designing the High Line" are available online at http://www.thehighline.org/competition/.

"Designing the High Line" has been in development since Spring 2002, when FHL received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The competition's official launch follows the City of New York's decision to preserve and reuse the High Line as an elevated walkway. On December 17, 2002, the City applied to the Surface Transportation Board in Washington for a Certificate of Interim Trail Use, or CITU, for the High Line. This action represented a major change in City policy (the previous administration had supported demolition) and an important step forward in the implementation of that policy.

Jurors for "Designing the High Line" will be announced shortly, as will the venue for the July exhibition. Please check the competition website regularly for updates.

Friends of the High Line (FHL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line, an elevated rail structure on the West Side of Manhattan.

Built in the 1930s as an elevated passageway for freight trains, the High Line runs for 1.5 miles, from 34th Street, along the edge of the Hudson River, through West Chelsea's tree-lined blocks and art galleries, into the heart of the Meat Packing District. Friends of the High Line believes this neglected landmark offers New Yorkers the opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind recreational amenity: a grand, public promenade that can be enjoyed by all residents and visitors in New York City. Preservation and reuse will protect the High Line's potential for future transportation use and link the residential, cultural, commercial, and industrial components of these dynamic Manhattan neighborhoods.

For more information please visit the FHL website at www.thehighline.org or send e-mail to info@thehighline.org.

FHL OFFICE ADDRESS & CONTACT INFO

Friends of the High Line
Hudson Guild
441 West 26th Street, Room 225
New York, NY 10001
(212) 631-9188
(212) 631-9185 fax
info@thehighline.org
http://www.thehighline.org


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