Private Open Space — Questioning the Value

Rendering of the proposed Pier 55 by Heatherwick Studio

In her new role as Curbed's first staff architecture critic, Alexandra Lange takes a closer look at the latest in a growing collection of privately-funded open space projects popping up, if not in chic Manhattan (and Brooklyn, and San Francisco, and London!) neghborhoods, than the LED backlit home pages of the internet's many archizines.

And herein lies the concern: Architecture, and most ironically, landscape architecture, have made a triumphant return to image-making, hiding public failures behind glossy imagery, fluffy green planting plans, and utopian promises of public good. But, in what may prove to be a harbinger for the future of parks like the High Line, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Pier55, Lange makes a strong case for questioning now, the future success of such public spaces, and challenges the very social and economic models used by designers, developers, and the quickly growing number of private donors, to bolster their case.