The High Line is an elevated freight railroad structure that was built between 1929 and 1934. It ceased operation in 1980. The track runs from 34th Street to Gansevoort Street on the West side of Manhattan. Our proposal for the reuse of the High Line as a linear park includes related housing, retail, commercial and cultural facilities built over or next to it at significant points.

The Northern segment of track would be cut back to 32nd Street and connected to the waterfront by a new pedestrian bridge over the Westside Highway that would provide access from the Hudson River Park. The bridge trusses form an envelope that is the same size as the original 20 foot high box zone of the High Line, creating a visual frame either for the river or the new linear park.

The Post Office spur at 32nd Street forms the steel plinth of the new Museum of Urban Transformation. Clad in copper with metallic mesh skylights and large glass bays framing views of the city, the building contains three integrated gallery spaces that rise up over the track. The High Line continues uninterrupted underneath the building as it turns to the South.

The connecting parts of the High Line along its main length become angular, linear pathways bordered by gridded, canted banks of planting. The grid allows walking or sitting directly on the planted areas without damage. Pathway lighting is provided from LED strips sandwiched in metal mesh walls located at each street intersection. These screens frame the city views and rise to the height of the original box zone. Outdoor sculpture is sited along the whole length. Areas of the path are frozen in winter creating a year-round environment of magical fun.

Access to the High Line is provided by means of doubled-back ramps that each run for a full block along the length of the structure at seven significant points. These ramps provide light and usefulness to the underside of the High Line, and connect it to the Manhattan grid, providing access. Directly across the street from the entry point of each ramp is a public elevator and stair.

The straight north-south section of the High Line from 29th Street to 18th Street cuts  through five blocks whose disparately scaled buildings on 10th Avenue have been brought up to similar heights to create solid street façades. Each sliced block contains a new interior pedestrian space which permits access to the surrounding buildings at the second floor level. A mixture of commercial galleries, housing and retail is accessed from these spaces.

The section of the High Line between 14th Street and 17th Street passes between numerous buildings and provides physical connections to them at different levels. This street nexus is the site of a complex of commercial galleries. It is built on top of the High Line and articulates with linear forms the multiple existing links to the surrounding buildings. The public space of the High Line is continuous on the lower level and is accessed by ramp.

At the south end, the High Line passes along the edge of two new four to six story blocks of housing, forming a second floor terrace for café and retail activity overlooking Washington Street in the Meat Packing District. This raised terrace traces the street and looks over a new triangular square created at 12th Street. Wide stairs lead to a new park at the southern end on Greenwich Street that direct the pedestrian back to the Hudson River Park.

The physical transformation of these freight tracks into a complex linear park is also representative of a larger transformation - from the condition of un-self-conscious pragmatism to one consciously attuned to the condition of belonging. This condition is experiential rather than functional and involves a re-imagining of the relationship between the individual and the city.