NYC's Abandoned Pier 57 to be Revitalized by a Huge Shipping Container Complex

Just a few months ago Pier 57 was a floating concrete box that sat abandoned on the Hudson River at the end of 15th Street on the West Side Highway. But with the approval of the city council this past April, the renovated three-acre complex will be built from repurposed shipping containers and promises to be a lively junction of art, fashion, film and food. Plans call for a number of retail shops and restaurants and over 100,000 feet of outdoor public space, to be completed in 2015.
The space was used as a bus station by the NYC Transit Authority until 2003, when they vacated the pier. Since then, Pier 57 has been used sparingly, first to house protestors arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention, and then as the site of the Collective .1 Design Fair this past May. Currently, the pier is hosting the art exhibition “T.I.N.Y,” or The Interactive New York, which transports viewers to NYC in the nineties by projecting images and sounds from that decade.

Behind this transformation is architect Young Woo, who was profiled by Blouin Artinfo this month. Woo also designed Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market, an excellent example of what he can do with shipping containers. Woo’s plans for the complex also include a rooftop park, an artificial beach club and a permanent outdoor venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.

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