The High Line in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District proved that revitalized admission-free public space not only engages both citizens and visitors, but also, from the slew of developments surrounding it, generate income for the city.
Elevated parks are now making its way around the world’s largest metropolises. Chicago recently completed its Bloomingdale Trail, and Seoul has commissioned MVRDV to convert one of their underused highways into a park. Jumping on the bandwagon is Mexico City, and plans to create a “Cultural Corridor” on Avenida Chapultepec has circulated online.
According to Architizer, local practice FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise has been tapped to undertake a project dubbed “considerably more complex in many ways” if compared to the High Line.
CORREDOR CULTURAL CHAPULTEPEC BY FR-EE / FRENTE / RVDG from FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise on Vimeo.
The city’s ancient viaduct, built by the Aztecs, were an inspiration to the park’s design. Ruins of the viaduct will form a key feature of the park.
Mexico City’s scheme will be composed of “interwoven ribbons of walkable infrastructure, with many sections rising, falling, and splitting in response to the adjacent buildings, roadways, and the metro line beneath,” Architizer reports.
Portions of the pathway will accommodate al fresco cafes, and offer up space for street entertainers and artists.
Related Stories
Cultural Facilities | Feb 20, 2015
‘Floating’ park on New York’s Hudson River moves one step closer to reality
The developers envision the 2.4-acre space as a major performance arts venue.
Modular Building | Feb 12, 2015
New shipping container complex begins construction in Albuquerque
The Green Jeans Farmery already has a hydroponic farm component courtesy of owner and entrepreneur Roy Solomon.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Architects look to ‘activate’ vacant block in San Diego with shipping container-based park
A team of alumni from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego has taken over a 28,500-sf empty city block in that metro to create what they hope will be a revenue-generating urban park.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Under the sea: Manmade island functions as artificial reef
The proposed island would allow visitors to view the enormous faux-reef and its accompanying marine life from the water’s surface to its depths, functioning as an educational center and marine life reserve.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 5, 2015
5 developments selected as 'best in urban placemaking'
Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, S.C., and the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Downtown Market are among the finalists for the 2015 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.
Cultural Facilities | Jan 27, 2015
Henning Larsen designs an opera house that slopes above a lake in China
Henning Larsen, the firm behind the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, releases plans of a latticed opera house on a lake.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 13, 2015
Steven Holl unveils design for $450 million redevelopment of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts
Holl designed the campus’ north side to be a pedestrian-centered cultural hub on a lively landscape with ample underground parking.
| Jan 7, 2015
University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid
There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
