Keep it quiet: Acoustic design and the High Line.

Abstract

The High Line is a newly opened park, developed on an abandoned elevated train line located along the West Side of Manhattan. The park was designed by the landscape firm James Corner Field Operations and architects Diller, Scofidio, and Renfro, whose design mantra for the project was “Keep it simple, keep it wild, keep it quiet, keep it slow.” The location and elevation of the High Line make it an unorthodox site for a park, particularly in terms of sound, as the park traverses over and along streets and intersections, offers sightlines to the adjacent West Side Highway, exposes visitors to HVAC noise on nearby roofs, and is parallel to a helicopter flight path. This calls into question the design objectives of the architects to “Keep it quiet.” Through interviews, public surveys, recordings, and observations, our goal was to determine the role acoustic design played in the overall design process and assess the design’s success by evaluating the attitudes and expectations of the park visitors. Following this, it can be speculated as to how the sound environment contributes to the overall critical acclaim of the High Line and provide some suggestions for improvements and ideas for future acoustic design strategies.