In New York City, where urban density is paired with iconic green spaces, Little Island is a unique addition to the city’s landscape. Created by Heatherwick Studio in partnership with philanthropist Barry Diller and the Hudson River Park Trust, this park reaches into the Hudson River, redefining the typical pier design as a topographically diverse, green sanctuary. Little Island offers an escape from Manhattan’s hustle, a place where visitors can stroll through gardens, take in waterfront views, and enjoy performances—all while immersed in a space designed to blend seamlessly with nature.
Little Island Technical Information
- Architects1-13: Heatherwick Studio
- Location: New York, New York, USA
- Topics: Urban Parks
- Area: 11,000 m2 | 2.7 acres
- Completion date: 2021
- Photographs: © Timothy Schenck
The piles become the deck – they extend into planters that join together to create the park’s surface. The height of the piles varies to create the park’s contours: the corner of the pier is lifted to allow sunlight to reach the marine habitat, and the edge falls to define hills, viewpoints and to carve out a natural amphitheatre for performances. In this way, the pier and its supporting structure are one.
– Heatherwick Studio Architects
Little Island Photographs
Concept and Vision of Little Island
Heatherwick Studio’s vision for Little Island wasn’t just about creating another decorative pier but about transforming the visitor experience. Initially invited to design a pavilion, the studio instead reimagined the pier as a “green oasis,” where people could feel removed from the city’s fast pace. This approach was inspired by the allure of Central Park—a space within the city where one can feel utterly immersed in greenery and removed from the urban landscape. Heatherwick’s approach challenged traditional pier design, opting for a lush, sculptural topography connecting visitors with the water, greenery, and wildlife along the Hudson.
Little Island thus became a haven where nature, performance, and public life intersect. The park’s raised profile invites exploration, inviting visitors to interact with nature in ways that are rare in dense urban environments. This reimagined pier goes beyond functionality, embodying the ambition to give New Yorkers a space that doesn’t merely occupy the waterfront but elevates it—literally and experientially.
Architectural and Structural Innovation
Little Island’s structure challenges the conventional flat design of piers. Inspired by the wooden piles once dotting the Hudson River shoreline, Heatherwick Studio turned these old, submerged supports into a vision of organic architecture. Concrete planters, or “pots,” function as both structural supports and landscape containers, varying in height to create a rolling terrain that provides distinct spaces for gatherings, performances, and quiet reflection. The design is informed by the mosaic of frozen ice that forms around the wooden piles in winter, reimagined here in a tessellated pattern that gives the appearance of natural randomness.
Each pot was meticulously crafted with smooth, tactile concrete to harmonize with the park’s organic form. Engineering partners Arup and MRCE contributed to the park’s stability, ensuring the foundations, which extend up to 200 feet below the water, could support the intricate topography and the multitude of landscape features. By eliminating the separation between the structural and landscape elements, Heatherwick Studio achieved a design in which each structural column seamlessly becomes part of the park’s surface. This holistic integration of structure and landscape allows the architecture to fade into the background, allowing the landscape to captivate and guide visitors’ experience.
Landscape and Biodiversity
The landscape architecture of Little Island, designed by MNLA, incorporates an impressive variety of more than 400 species of trees, shrubs, and grasses tailored to the New York climate. Each section of the park represents a unique microclimate, with variations in elevation, sunlight exposure, and wind patterns supporting distinct ecosystems within the limited acreage. These biodiverse zones are not just for aesthetics; they contribute to the health of local wildlife, with native plants that attract birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Winding pathways offer visitors an intimate journey through glades, rocky outcrops, and grassy clearings, each designed to create a sense of immersion and discovery. The park’s height provides moments of seclusion and viewpoints over the Hudson River, while the elevated design allows sunlight to reach the underwater ecosystem below. Here, the submerged remnants of old wooden piles continue to support fish and other marine life, a critical habitat that the design respects and highlights.
This environmental sensitivity underscores the importance of Little Island as an urban ecosystem. During this retreat, people can interact with nature, and where the landscape is allowed to grow and change with the seasons, contributing to New York’s urban ecology.
The Role of Little Island in New York’s Cultural Landscape
Little Island’s role extends beyond that of a park; it is a cultural landmark designed to bring people together in celebration of art and nature. Three performance spaces are integrated within the park’s rolling landscape, each offering a different setting and atmosphere. The largest venue is a 700-seat amphitheater positioned to capture sunsets over the Hudson, with natural stone seating that blends into the terrain. This space is optimized acoustically and visually, designed to provide an immersive experience with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.
To the south, a smaller, intimate stage hosts spoken word performances, while a central flexible venue allows for larger gatherings and events, its surface echoing the tessellated pile pattern seen throughout the park. Each venue is carefully crafted to merge with the landscape, allowing the park’s natural beauty to serve as an integral part of the visitor experience. The seamless integration of performance and park space makes Little Island a destination for cultural engagement, reinforcing the role of public parks in enriching city life.
Little Island Plans
Little Island Image Gallery
About Heatherwick Studio
Thomas Heatherwick is a celebrated British architect and designer renowned for his innovative approach to blending art, architecture, and urban design. Founder of Heatherwick Studio, he has led transformative projects worldwide, creating spaces that challenge traditional forms and foster connections between people and their environment. Heatherwick’s notable works include London’s Coal Drops Yard, Singapore’s Eden, and the UK Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai Expo, each demonstrating his commitment to human-centered design and craftsmanship. His work on New York’s Little Island epitomizes his philosophy of creating immersive, multifunctional spaces that redefine the relationship between urban life and natural landscapes.
Notes & Additional Credits
- Design Director: Thomas Heatherwick
- Group Leader: Mat Cash
- Project Leaders: Paul Westwood, Neil Hubbard
- Technical Design Leader: Nick Ling
- Additional Team Members: Sofia Amodio, Simona Auteri, Mark Burrows, Jorge Xavier Méndez-Cáceres, John Cruwys, Antoine van Erp, Alex Flood, Michal Gryko, Ben Holmes, Ben Jacobs, Francis McCloskey, Stepan Martinovsky, Simon Ng, Wojtek Nowak, Giovanni Parodi, Enrique Pujana, Akari Takebayashi, Ondrej Tichý, Ahira Sanjeet, Charles Wu, Meera Yadave
- Client: Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) & Pier 55 Project Fund (P55P)
- Structural Engineering: Arup
- Landscape Design: MNLA (Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects)
- Executive Architects: Standard Architects
- Mechanical Engineering: Arup
- Marine Engineers: MRCE (Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers)
- Cost Consultant: Gardiner & Theobald
- Main Contractor: Hunter Roberts Construction Group
