“Privately owned public spaces play a crucial role in New York City’s public realm. According to Michelle Delk, partner and director at Snøhetta landscape architecture firm, ‘Urban life flourishes in and around these spaces, enabling us to connect with one another and with nature.’”
Snøhetta’s redesign of the building’s public space transforms it into a spacious garden filled with lush vegetation. This vibrant sensory retreat draws inspiration from the building’s heritage, local activities, and the area’s natural history. The new garden at 550 Madison is a privately owned public space (POPS) where people can slow down, linger, and connect with others and their surroundings. It plays a significant contemporary role in New York City’s constantly evolving urban landscape.
The new garden at the west end of the tower will create public spaces that are a series of interconnected outdoor “rooms.” These spaces will provide both quiet areas for relaxation and larger, more open zones for various activities.
These round spaces encourage pedestrians to pause and enjoy their surroundings as they walk through, offering various experiences for visitors: socializing over lunch, relaxing by water features, or feeling a tactile connection with nature. The design conceptually addresses the vertical canyon-like environment of Midtown Manhattan. On the garden’s west side, a verdant, tiered landscape not only mitigates the impact of existing tower service infrastructure but also enhances the feeling of being enveloped in greenery.
The thoughtfully chosen plants, such as evergreens, perennials, and flowering shrubs, enhance the dynamic seasonal shifts of the Northeast climate. This creates a garden capable of adapting to both seasonal changes and varying natural light conditions.
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