Heatherwick Studio’s Little Island takes shape in New York
Heatherwick Studio's Little Island – half way through construction in the water on Manhattan’s southwest riverside in New York City – makes the most out of the hundreds of old wooden piles which stuck out of the Hudson River, to create a landscape that blends public park and performance space

Paul Clemence - Photography
On Manhattan’s southwest riverside, strange sculptural concrete shapes appear to be emerging from the depths. While works on site have now, understandably, paused, due to current health developments in New York, standing proud, about half way through construction, Heatherwick Studio's Little Island resembles an artist's mould or a curious industrial prototype, more than a conventional, empty, building site.
The project, won by the London-based studio following a design competition arranged by the Hudson River Park Trust and businessman and philanthropist Barry Diller, looks at creating a new pier, making use of the old wooden piles that stick out of the Hudson River – the structural remains of old piers, now destroyed.
The new design adds new, concrete piles to create a raised platform that will merge a public space and a flexible, outdoors, performance venue. Rising up from the water, the piles expand, fusing together and forming a brand new topography; a park. In the same space, the project will contain an outdoor theatre for over 700 people, a smaller performance space for 200, a main space for 3,500 and several different pathways and viewing platforms.
Greenery was an important element in the design and each of the some-280 piles contains a planter at their top. The team researched flora that is local to New York and can survive its hot summers and freezing winters and filled the planters with more than a hundred different species of indigenous trees and plants.
‘[My team and I] wondered if the identity of our new park and performance space could emerge from the water, just like these structural piles, but without needing to add any slab on top,' says studio founder Thomas Heatherwick. ‘This idea evolved to take the new concrete piles that would be needed to connect to the granite at the base of the river, and to then continue them out of the water, extending skyward to raise sections of a generous green landscape with rich horticulture. Fusing at they meet, these 280 individual piles come together to form the undulating topography of the park, angled perfectly for performance and theatre spaces.'
At a time when open, public areas are more important than ever, Little Island is something to look forward to. At the start of the year, construction was on track for a 2021 opening.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Manchester United and Foster + Partners to build a new stadium: ‘Arguably the largest public space in the world’
The football club will spend £2 billion on the ambitious project, which co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described as the ‘world's greatest football stadium’
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Marta Pan and André Wogenscky's legacy is alive through their modernist home in France
Fondation Marta Pan – André Wogenscky: how a creative couple’s sculptural masterpiece in France keeps its authors’ legacy alive
By Adam Štěch Published
-
A Dubai ‘sky palace’ debuts developer Omniyat’s new Bespoke category
Omniyat Bespoke, the developer’s new ultra-luxury arm, launches with the Luna Sky Palace penthouse at Orla, Dorchester Collection
By Simon Mills Published
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradise
Fire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New York
Designed by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
By Michael Webb Published
-
The museum of the future: how architects are redefining cultural landmarks
What does the museum of the future look like? As art evolves, so do the spaces that house it – pushing architects to rethink form and function
By Katherine McGrath Published
-
Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)
Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Is the U.S. about to sell dozens of architecturally-significant government buildings?
It depends, the Trump administration says
By Anna Fixsen Published
-
NYC's The New Museum announces an OMA-designed extension
OMA partners including Rem Koolhas and Shohei Shigematsu are designing a new building for Manhattan's only dedicated contemporary art museum
By Anna Solomon Published
-
10 emerging Californian practices rethink architecture in the Golden State
We highlight ten emerging Californian practices that are redrawing the borders of traditional architecture with their unique creative explorations
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Rosewood Residences Beverly Hills launches: we take the tour
Rosewood Residences Beverly Hills launches to a design by Thomas Juul-Hansen, marking the brand's first standalone home project in the swanky Los Angeles neighbourhood
By Carole Dixon Published