The New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion, commissioned by the Battery Conservancy, is a gift from the Netherlands to New York in honour of 400 years of friendship, to the people of New York. The Plein and Pavilion will be a destination attracting over 6 million visitors. it will provide serviced and digital information points acquainting visitors with information about the both the direct neighbourhood and New York City, as well as providing information about events in The Netherlands. The Pavilion will also serve as a food and beverage outlet, with seating provided on the surrounding Plein. Part of Battery Park’s Peter Minuit Plaza will be renamed New Amsterdam Plein and together with the Pavilion will provide an attractive gathering place for New Yorkers, commuters and tourists, as well as serving as a tribute to our common history and shared values. The geometry of the pavilion expresses its programmatic intentions, with the centre of the installation designed for more permanent functions. The formal figure of the structure becomes increasingly more fluid and dispersed away from this centre as it opens up onto the immediate landscape. The attendant ‘flowering’ of the four wings of the pavilion responds to varying orientations on the site. Project by UNStudio.
