Governors Island, Manhattan
A Project of The Trust for Governors Island and the Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art Program
West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture
Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects
Pentagram
Tillotson Design Associates
Bard Center for Curatorial Studies
Susan Philipsz

The first phase of the master plan spans 30 acres of the island, transforming the former military base into an oasis for relaxation, recreation, and culture. At the heart of the island, Liggett Terrace is remade with an elaborate one-acre boxwood hedge labyrinth, seasonal gardens, and plaza space. On more elevated ground, 2,100 saplings in the Hammock Grove will mature into a forest, and open play lawns capture views of the Statue of Liberty. As the first permanent artwork in the island's public art program, Susan Philipsz's site-specific sound installation deconstructs the military bugle call Taps, playing each of the four notes from a different site on the island at the end of the day to signal "lights out." Depending on the listener's location, the entire melody or a single note reminiscent of a ship's horn can be heard. 

Design Team

West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture
Adriaan Geuze, Design Director, Principal; Jamie Maslyn Larson, Principal-in-Charge; Claire Agre, Designer; Steve Carlucci, Designer; Brandon Cappellari, Designer; Hyeyoung Choi, Designer; Juan Figueroa, Designer; Julie Gawendo, Designer; Blair Guppy, Designer; Pieter Hoen, Designer; Joost Koningen, Designer; Rob Koningen, Designer; Rachel Laszlo Tait, Designer; Perry Maas, Designer; Ronald van Nugteren, Designer; Marc Ryan, Designer; Kees Schoot, Designer; Matthew Skjonsberg, Designer; Marco van der Pluym, Designer; Jerry van Eijck, Designer; Joris Weijts, Designer; David Zielnicki, Designer

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects
Kim Mathews, Principal; Molly Bourne, Senior Associate; Will Hart, Landscape Architect; Lisa DuRussell, Landscape Architect; B Chatfield, Landscape Designer

Pentagram
Michael Bierut, Partner; Tracey Cameron, Associate Partner; Britt Cobb, Designer; Hamish Smyth, Designer

Tillotson Design Associates
Suzan Tillotson, President; Mark Kubicki, Principal; Tue Lu, Designer

Susan Philipsz, Artist

Bard Center for Curatorial Studies
Tom Eccles, Art Advisor; Richard Griggs, Project Director

Fluidity Design Consultants
James Garland, President; John Perry, Engineering Director; Leo Prezioso, Design Manager; Chinmoy Panigrahy, Designer

Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Drew Gangnes, Director of Civil Engineering; Rita Greene, Principal

AKRF Engineering
Andrew Malek, Senior Vice President; Karen Franz, Vice President

Hart Crowser
David Winter, Vice President; Nick Szot, Project Engineer; Paul, Kastens, Engineering Geologist

Pine & Swallow Environmental
Dr. John Swallow, Principal, Director of Environmental Sciences; Robert Pine, Principal, Director of Environmental Planning and Engineering; Michael Agonis, Environmental Scientist

Dagher Engineering
Elias Dagher, Senior Principal; Joseph Munafo, Associate; Sergey Alperovich, Project Engineer; Jenny Kostenko, Design Engineer

Northern Designs
Michael Astram, Irrigation Consultant; Ray Eurto, Designer; Kerry Mattie, Designer

The Trust for Governors Island
Ronay Menschel, Chairperson; Leslie Koch, President; Betty Chen, Former Vice President of Planning, Design and Preservation; Simon Bertrang, Vice President of Planning, Design and Preservation; Ellen Cavanagh, Director of Planning

Department of Cultural Affairs
Kate D. Levin, Commissioner; Margaret Morton, Deputy Commissioner; Andrew Burmeister, Assistant Commissioner for Capital Projects; Sara Reisman, Percent for Art Director & Design Commission Liaison; Kelly Pajek, former Percent for Art Deputy Director; Reina Shibata, Percent for Art Fellow