Photos 2017 04 30
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York was designed in the early 1970’s by Louis Kahn. Kahn was a highly respected architect of his generation. While this would be one of his last design projects, as he died in 1974, he continues to be influential today. It took several decades before the memorial park was completed, opening in 2012. It is located on Roosevelt Island which is in the East River in New York City.
The Roosevelt park is spatially dynamic. In its simplest form it is made up of three outdoor spaces that one moves through, sequentially arranged north to south. The first is an entry court, followed by a stretched and tilted triangular lawn and garden. The final element in the design, is a solid, simple, outdoor room, and is the park’s key space.
The entry court is granite paved, restrained and neutral. On its south side is a set of broad steps that rise up about 3 metres, and lead to the stretched, triangular shaped, lawn and garden. This green amphitheatre has, based on its shape, lengthening or foreshortening optical effects depending on one’s direction. Kahn accentuates this further by the addition of the slope. On the far end, to the south, the slope returns visitors to the park’s base level, close to water level.
The focus of the garden’s layout is the stone semi-enclosed room, that is on axis at the end of the island. As you approach this end room, you see a large cast bronze head of Roosevelt. It is set in a raised alcove in the room’s main facade – a light coloured massive stone wall. The room is open to the sky. On the back side of the front wall that you pass as you enter this semi protected space, there is an engraved quotation from a State of the Union address that the former president gave in 1941. This speech to congress became know as the Four Freedoms. Entering the room, it would be easy to miss the quote initially, as the view out to the river and beyond is a definite draw. The controlled view becomes more expansive as one approaches the water. This is a place where people pause – it is the destination. It is also a popular site for photos. As I visited, people recorded their being there – shooting both the views and the quote, or had themselves photographed with the views or quote as background.
For the approach and return paths, those that run north-south on the grounds, there are several options – all are good The sloped paths and the transition areas between the key spaces have an intimate tree canopy made up of Little Leaf Lindens. These blossom in the spring. The outer paths, on the east and west side of the garden are level, and offer views out over the water to Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.
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