Battery Playscape

Hill International provided construction management support to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) for the Battery Playscape, a unique playground that delivers an inclusive, creative, and educational destination for Lower Manhattan residents as well as visitors to The Battery. Three times the size of the former playground, the Playscape offers an open and engaging 1.5 acres of green space inspired and informed by the local ecosystem.

The Playscape features five “zones:” Bluff with five granite slides; Riverbed and Marsh with salt-tolerant gardens, elevated tree houses, and sand/water play area; and Dune and Meadow presenting ShowBox, the first improv/ puppet theater in a New York City playground.

Each zone reflects its own typology, with custom play equipment and structures and plantings. These zones encourage play while also educating children on the unique ecologies of marshlands and rocky bluffs. Specific features include:

• Five granite slides in the Bluffs Area including the Baby Slide, Medium Slide, and High Slide.
• A Synthetic Carpet Bowl with a Shotcrete + Poured in Place Surfacing Foundation.
• Buried “Fossils” for children to discover in the Water+Sand Play.
• The highest ADA-accessible point in a New York City park in the Bluff zone, with striking view of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty.
• Poured in Place Safety Surfaces throughout.
• Drainage features in the Riverbed Zone.
• Architectural walls representing “cliffs” in the Bluff zone.
• A climbing wall of pre-cast Ultra High Performance Concrete components.
• Stamped metal shade structures in the Bluffs.

The unique character of the Playscape—from its historic location to its vulnerability to extreme weather events to the involvement of the community—necessitated a project team of exceptional depth and breadth, with vendors producing components from as far away as Germany. The Hill team helped to ensure the project was executed to the highest standards.

“I wanted to reach out to thank you [Salim Short] for the tour yesterday! It was really marvelous. The playground is both beautiful and fun. Its overall quality is a testament to your work to ensure the contractor was steadfast in meeting the complex and demanding design specifications.” – Meredith Griffin, Chief, Landscape Program Management, NYC Parks

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