Comparisons to snack foods aren't usually meant as praise, but New York Times archicritic Michael Kimmelman does just that in his latest piece about Bjarke Ingels' plans for Pier 6. "The proposal also envisions a new work of public architecture whose distinctive shape its architect describes as a manta ray. A manta ray or, maybe, a humongous Tostito?in any case, a triangular platform, stepped and undulating, doing for Brooklyn Bridge Park sort of what the Boathouse does for Central Park." The Tostito platform juts out over the waterfront, and a wide field and landscaped meadow by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates "add breathing room to the pier and a mini-Great Lawn floating serenely over the East River."
Kimmelman doesn't stop there. He calls BIG's $8 million, 6,000-square-foot platform "another architectural landmark" for the city and "a visual anchor" for the park. He highlights the pier's north corner, which looks like "the prow of a ship." "The architect calls this the work's 'Titanic moment'?he means the movie, not the wreck?the point to which one or two people could climb and stand at the railing, gazing out over the city. In essence, the architecture invites us all to come to a spot where we can feel alone."
The plan does not yet have funding, which will all come from private sources, and it still needs approval from the Public Design Commission. Kimmelman's only critique is of the required railing along the wheelchair platform to the top of the platform, noting that it makes the structure feel "partly disconnected from the lawn." Not bad for a giant tortilla chip.
· A Step Up for Brooklyn Bridge Park [NYT]
· New Designs For Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6—Revealed! [Curbed]
· All Pier 6 coverage [Curbed]
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