Designs That Changed the World: Exploring the High Line With Field Operations

Designs That Changed the World: Exploring the High Line With Field Operations

With Isabel Castilla, Associate Partner at Field Operations

The High Line is a 23-city block-long elevated railway reclaimed as an innovative public space in the heart of Manhattan’s West Side. Since its opening in 2009, the High Line has become an icon for innovative design, a defining feature in its neighborhood, a powerful catalyst for investment and an inspiration to cities worldwide. The design is characterized by an intimate choreography of movement, with alternating vistas and experiences. The High Line is widely recognized as a huge success and demonstrates the value of creating new and fresh public spaces in the city.

Looking back at the High Line’s fifteen years of development offers a unique exploration of how the found condition, combined with innovative design practices, transformed what was once perceived as an infrastructural eyesore, into an extraordinary public space.

By attending this talk, you'll learn:

• Discover how the unique conditions of the abandoned elevated railway shaped the park’s distinctive, site-specific design.
• Unpack the design tectonics of the High Line and the complexities of its construction process.
• Examine the High Line’s phased approach to design and construction, its evolution through lessons learned, and its adaptability to a dynamic urban context — all while preserving a cohesive design vision.

We'll also be getting hyped up for Season 13 of Architizer's A+Awards program — start your entry today!

About Isabel Castilla

Isabel is an associate partner at Field Operations where she specializes in leading large-scale, transformative public realm projects that involve extensive stakeholder engagement and complex multi-agency approvals. She has led the design of several sections of New York’s High Line and The Underline in Miami and is currently leading the renovation of Manhattan’s iconic Fifth Avenue. Isabel also serves as a Landscape Architecture Commissioner for New York City’s Public Design Commission.

About Hannah Feniak

Hannah Feniak is Architizer’s Managing Editor. A trained art historian and educator focusing on architecture, urbanism and photography, Hannah graduated from McGill University and received her MA at NYU, where she later completed a PhD in modern architectural history and theory. When she’s not leading our talented team of writers and interviewing the industry’s most innovative designers, Hannah will likely be found exploring the latest exhibition openings.