Blog

    Coming Events:

    - We are excited to announce that April will be one of the 8 virtual speakers for CSU's 28th annual LA Days spring lecture series! Her talk, EAT-PLANT-DRAWDOWN, will feature APDW's climate positive projects on the west coast on March 3. Talks are free- register here: https://scasla.agsci.colostate.edu/

    - We are so honored that April Phillips Design Works has been awarded the 2020 Small Green Business of the year! Thank you San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.

    - April to speak on Eat Plant Drawdown: Why Designing for Climate Matters at the 2020 ASLA Oregon Annual Design Symposium at Oregon Zoo: Saturday, September 12th

APDW on Facebook

APDW on Twitter

Wanderings + Wonderings: New York City

January 14, 2013 by April

in:

Our introductory Wanderings + Wonderings post, from Ashley:

After living there for graduate school (CCNY shoutout! ),  New York City is one of my favorite places to visit. It doesn’t take much arm twisting to convince me to go at any time of year but there’s something truly magical about the city in winter. I braved the frigid winds and winter mix to check out the Highline Phase II, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Mini Golf at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park (Mathews Nielsen), and the compulsory Central Park stroll. I was bummed to miss the new FDR Memorial at Roosevelt Island but that just means another trip will need to be made. Oh, darn!

Highline Phase II (Field Operations)

HL_Prairie

A major draw for tourists, even on a day with a high in the 20’s (<0 C) and God only knows what wind chill there were hordes of people meandering the promenade and posing for pictures in the beautifully designed respites along the way. With some dismay of my non-design friends, my favorite part was still the planting design. I thought the golden grasses gorgeous and you can really see the sculptural qualities of the shrubs and small trees. Definitely worth facing the masses and the chill.

Brooklyn Bridge Park (MVVA)

bbp_pier-6

On a slightly warmer day, it may have reached a little above freezing, I dragged my companion to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I was sad not to have a little person with me so I could check out the playgrounds but from the outskirts they looked really cool. I did walk through the interactive marsh and could only imagine what it will be like in the spring and summer with plants leafed out- a child’s dream. The incorporation of fun elements- part art and part function- kept surprising. Nerdy yes, but I was really into the waterline and boat ramp- I liked the promotion of river access and the use of both hard and soft edges. Besides being a truly pleasant space, Brooklyn Bridge Park also has some of the best views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and downtown Manhattan.

A little plug: if sustenance is necessary,  just down Columbia Street (about .5 mile) towards Red Hook is Alma (187 Columbia) – good food and drink, great year around roof deck!

FDR Four Freedoms Park (Louis Kahn)

fdr-memorial

Eye candy for a place to go