LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/320919
36 Landscape Architect and Specifier News If you drew a line west to east from Manhattan's Upper East Side and the southern portion of Central Park across the Hudson River, you'd be in Union City, New Jersey (pop. 66,455). Geographically, Union City is small (1.283 square miles), but manages to pack in 66,455 Garden State inhabitants (2010 census), a homo sapien density of 52,326 per square mile, making it the second most densely populated city in the U.S., barely beating out its northern neighbor, Guttenberg, N.J., which squeezes 58,821 humans onto the head of a pin, well, really about one-fifth of a square mile. It's hard to image this area as woodlands populated by a modest population of Lenni-Lenape Algonquians, as seen by English seaman Henry Hudson during his voyage of exploration here from 1609 to 1610. Those long lost woodlands are but a dream of Eden, however, in today's urban jungles we still seek sanctuary. And so it was that the Union City High School Board of Education sought a contemplative space for its students, home of the "soaring eagles"—well, it was home for that species once. The outcome is a landscaped pedestrian area at the main entrance of the high school, a 17,000 square foot small triangular site at the intersection of J.F. Kennedy Boulevard and 24th Street in Union City, N.J. This pedestrian plaza is designed as an enclave or sanctuary to give students, faculty and the community a refuge and gathering space from the urban tumult. While Union High School was under construction on a 4.5 acre lot, which included a rooftop football field, the Union City Board of Education sought to create a beautiful and functional space on the precious little left over triangular piece of land. The board asked for a lot within that space: a garden, an Above Wedged at the junction of J.F. Kennedy Boulevard and 24th Street in Union City, N.J., was a triangular 17,000 square foot urban area, now transformed into a landscaped gathering space and main entrance to Union City High School. This pedestrian plaza packs plenty of amenities in a small space, but most importantly is designed as an enclave or sanctuary for students, faculty and the community, a respite from the tumult of living in one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S. Jersey Student Sanctuary Union City, High School Landscape Architecture by Borst Landscape and Design LASN Editor Steve Kelly 36-39.indd 36 5/22/14 8:30 AM