Precast elements at Ground Zero [Video]

Figure: Robert Mehl

Liberty Park, a rooftop garden open to the public featuring four pointed plant troughs produced from Ducon, a micro-reinforced high-performance concrete

Figure: Robert Mehl

The park, which is open to the public, is part of the World Trade Center site and forms the southern border of the 9/11 Memorial

Figure: Robert Mehl

Figure: Vin AECOM

Site plan of Liberty Park (no scale)

Figure: Vin AECOM

Figure: Robert Mehl

Areal view of the site. At the top: the southern “footprint” of the 9/11 Memorial. On the right: the construction site of Liberty Church designed by Santiago Calatrava

Figure: Robert Mehl

Figure: Vin AECOM

Rendering of the VSC – Vehicle Security Center

Figure: Vin AECOM

Figure: Robert Mehl

Liberty Park forms the roof the high-security VSC. In the background on the left: the Calatrava church site. On the right: air-conditioned access bridge to the shopping mall

Figure: Robert Mehl

Figure: Vin AECOM

The planters were lifted into position with pinpoint accuracy using mobile cranes; the anchor holes were carefully smoothed over afterwards to underline their monolithic character

Figure: Vin AECOM

The Ducon enclosures of the planters are, in effect, self-supporting concrete shells enclosing a core of rigid foam

Figure: Vin AECOM

The construction site seen from a super-wide angle: the concrete elements rest on 30-cm wide strip foundations on which the concrete blocks of the pedestrian paths have been laid with meticulous care

Figure: Vin AECOM

Figure: Robert Mehl

Liberty Park features gentle slopes and elevations intended to punctuate the terrain. All sections of the park offer full accessibility

Figure: Robert Mehl

The planter enclosures are also intended for use as park benches. The seating surfaces are covered with “old teak”

Figure: Robert Mehl

The thin walls lining the access ramp at Cortlandt Street also consist of Ducon panels produced in Germany

Figure: Robert Mehl

Figure: Bauverlag BV GmbH

A single-story functional building forms the southern end of New York’s World Trade Center site. Its roof houses Liberty Park, a rooftop garden open to the public that features large-sized plant troughs produced from high-performance concrete.

Liberty Park is named after Liberty Street, an intersecting street of which only rudiments exist today and that is located in the immediate vicinity of the park. Its name does therefore not allude to the 9/11 attacks or to the fight for liberal democratic values. Even though this would seem logical, for Liberty Park is located atop a single-story functional building which forms the southern end of New York’s World Trade Center site and overlooks the 9/11 Memorial site.

The windowless building, which despite being single-storied is just under 10 m high, forms the logistics gateway to the...