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Renowned Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of Pritzker Prize-winning Amsterdam-based architecture firm UNStudio will be designing the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion– a dramatic space where more than five million people a year, including 70,000 daily commuters and two million annual tourists, can find an extraordinary “outdoor living room” for spontaneous and scheduled activities, public markets, seating and shade, and an iconic state-of-the-art pavilion for food and information, all designed by Van Berkel.

Ben van Berkel of UNStudio (photo credit: Koos Breukel)

The Plein & Pavilion will be unique among the city’s many public spaces – a landscaped intermodal transportation hub of the 21st century, where bicycles, buses, the subway and water transportation intersect with cultural offerings in a singular expression of daring but lyrical design.

New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion (Image courtesy: UNStudio)

UNStudio’s initial conceptual design for New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion calls for a 5,000 square-foot, carefully programmed space located within The Battery’s Peter Minuit Plaza, named for the enterprising Dutch Director-General who in 1626 consolidated the early settlements at the tip of Manhattan – a grouping that came to be known as New Amsterdam. This destination is, in the words of architect Ben van Berkel, “the ideal site for a permanent commemoration of 400 years of Dutch history in New York, because it is steeped in a sense of a shared past and looks directly toward the harbor where Henry Hudson sailed, but is also entirely focused on the future by virtue of its role as a modern transportation hub within the constantly changing scene of Lower Manhattan.  This is a site where history meets the future.”

New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion (Image courtesy: UNStudio)

A carved stone map of Castello’s New Amsterdam will grace the entrance to the Plein to provide historical context.  Within the open space of the Plein, visitors will find UNStudio-designed seating and tables.  These will surround a highly sculptural pavilion with an expressive, undulating roofline and curving walls – a compact little building with the authority of a major landmark, evoking a flower opening to its surroundings.  The pavilion will be equipped with an electronic facade LED system that allows for a constantly changing light show at night, “an experience that will carry the animation and drama of the day into the evening,” according to van Berkel.

Warrie Price of The Battery Conservancy (Photo credit: Helen H. Richardson)

Van Berkel’s pavilion will offer, according to Warrie Price of The Battery Conservancy, “a superb culinary experience, great visitor orientation information and materials, and an iconic, recognisable spot for residents and visitors to rendezvous.”