Amity School of Architecture & Planning

Amity School of Architecture & Planning

 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

• Born November 1919

• Died August 2000
• Attended U.C Berkeley until WWII
• During WWII was imprisoned in Interment camp
• Received a B.F.A in 1946 from University of Illinois
• Received a M.L.A in 1948 from Harvard University
• Open Sasaski Associates in 1953
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

• Hideo Sasaki was born in Reedley, California, on 25 November 1919. He grew up

working on his family's California truck farm, and harvesting crops on Arizona farms.
• He began his college studies at the University of California, Berkeley during the time
of World War II. Owing to his Japanese descent, he was forced into the Poston
internment camp in Arizona. He was able to leave the camp upon volunteering to work as
a farm hand in Sterling, Colorado. Soon after the war, he moved to Denver, Colorado
where he met his wife, Kisa, a graduate of the University of Colorado. Sasaki then moved
to the University of Illinois where he received Bachelor of Fine Arts and Landscape
Architecture in 1946. In 1948 he graduated with a Master of Landscape Architecture
from Harvard Design School. After graduation he returned to Illinois where he instructed
for two years. For the next eighteen years (1953-1970) he became a professor and the
chairman of the department of Landscape Architecture of the Harvard Graduate School of
Design. n 1953, he founded Sasaki Associates, incorporated in nearby Watertown,
Massachusetts, where he was the president and chairman until 1980. He led the
company's architects and planners in developing many noted commercial areas and
corporate parks.
• During his later years he lived with his family (wife and two daughters, Rin and Ann)
in Lafayette, California. He died on 30 August 2000 in a hospital in Walnut Creek,
California
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

• Sasaki helped to modernize the concepts of Landscape Architecture. He

created a practical approach to designing a landscape. In his works, several
characteristics are taken into account, such as the historical, cultural,
environmental, and social use of the land. Sasaki became famous for
developing this concept of interdisciplinary planning. In all of the sites that
he developed, a balance is implemented into the design. One aspect that
Sasaki Associates pays particular attention to is the environmental aspect of
the land. They have taken part in creating several "green designs." These
designs are created to enhance or maintain the health of the environment.
Some prominent examples can be viewed at the Utah State
University Innovation Campus, The Virginia Biosphere, Walden Woods, and
the Manulife FinancialU.S. Operations Headquarters. Another facet of
Sasaki's approach was the modernism that he worked into his college
campus projects.
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

• Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California, 1957

• Washington Square Village, Greenwich Village, New York City, 1958
• Master Plan For Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head, South Carolina, Circa 1961
• Bell Labs Holmdel Complex, Holmdel Township, New Jersey, 1962
• Consultant For York University, Toronto, 1962
• Master Plan For University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1962
• John Deere World Headquarters, Moline, Illinois, 1964
• One Maritime Plaza, San Francisco, California, 1964
• One Shell Plaza, Houston, Texas, 1971
• Urban Design For Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, Colorado, 1977
• Forrestal Village, Princeton, New Jersey, 1986
• Waterfront Park, Charleston, South Carolina, 1990
• Euro Disneyland In Paris, France, 1992
• Master Plan For The Arboretum At Penn State, State College, Pennsylvania, 1999
• Performance Hall, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 2006
• Master Plan For The Puerto Rico Convention Center District, 2006
• Redesign And Reconstruction Of The Ithaca Commons, 2015
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

1.Built in 1975, $1.6 mil

2.Problems: Noise, Use, Cost, View
3.Water features to drown out noise
4.Multiple seating options for high use
5.Lots of plants and trees helped make more pleasing view
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

1. 1962-1964, $42 mil

2. 3.8 acres, 6 buildings
3. 1600 sq ft green roof on parking garage
4. Was seen as opportunity to build home in city with green
space around
5. Part of project never finished, but still have potential today
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

1.Original completed in 1961

2.Additional buildings later added
3.Was built to match the landscape
4.Had to design landscape to incorporate minimal amounts of paving
5. Built to lakes opening up in front of main building from entrance
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

• In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed Sasaki to the U.S. Commission of Fine
Arts. He held this position until 1971, being re-appointed by President Lyndon B.
Johnson in 1965.
• In 1971 he received the American Society of Landscape Architects Medal, the first
person to do so.
• In 1973 he received the Allied Professions Medal from the American Institute of
Architects.
• Sasaki was member of CU-Boulder's four-member design review board for 33 years.
• He was Chairman of the department of landscape architecture at the Harvard
Graduate School of Design(1950-1968).
• He founded Sasaki Associates Inc. and was chairman and president of the board
(1953-1980).
• He was a Juror for the Vietnam Memorial Competition in 1981, the Astronaut
Memorial Competition in 1988 and the Peace Garden Competition in 1989.
• Sasaki was awarded the Centennial Medal for his impact on landscape architecture
at the Harvard Design School, at a 1999 symposium on his work.
• In 1984 Sasaki was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado
at Boulder.
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning
“[The people of New York] will find here some moments Location
of serenity in this busy world.” New York, USA
Abby Rockefeller Mauze Project Address
217 E 51st St, New York, NY
10022 USA
PROJECT SUMMARY Project Type
Greenacre Park is a 6,000-square foot oasis nestled among the tall towers of Publically accessible private park
midtown Manhattan. Inside the park a 25-foot tall waterfall cools the air and Area
mutes the noise of the surrounding traffic, creating space for quietude—a rarity 6,000 ft2 (557 m2)
in the hectic city center. The park has three distinct levels which provide users Year of Completion
several choices of environmental conditions. The spatial configuration and 1971
excellent use of biophilic design principles imbue this popular park with a sense Occupant
of tranquility even during periods of heavy utilization. Greenacre park is Public
insulated from the surrounding environment by three walls which enclose it in Design Team
dense greenery, water, and graystone. The park is raised a few feet from Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay
ground level, further separating it from the noise and commotion of the street. and Associates
After ascending the stairs, the first space visitors enter is an open platform Keywords
with numerous small tables, partially sheltered by a canopy of honey locust Waterfall
trees. While this area is the largest and most social of the park’s three distinct Pocket park
areas, it retains an atmosphere of tranquillity even during the park’s most Awards
popular hours. BSLA, Merit Award, 3rd
Greenacre park provides a hierarchy of places for withdrawal from Professional Awards Program,
environmental conditions or the main flow of activity, in which the 1986
individual is protected from behind and overhead. Along the ivy-covered American Association of
western wall, there is a raised platform, shaded by a patinaed steel trellis. Nurserymen, Landscape Award,
Wedged into the northwest corner of the park, near the waterfall, this area is 20th Landscape Awards
removed from the highly social environment of the main level. The refuge Program, 1972
condition increases in intensity as visitors walk toward the northern end of the Biophilic Patterns
platform where the ivy-covered wall joins with a planted area containing trees, Refuge
shrubs, and a rich understory of shade plants. An unimpeded view of the lower Presence of Water
areas of the park heightens the sense of security and provides a good balance Non-Visual connection with
of prospect and refuge conditions. Nature Mystery
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning
NATURE INTHE SPACE
Site Plan: This plan reveals
[P1] Visual Connection with Nature.
Ivycovering the west wall, abundant trees, how Sasaki used plants,
shrubs and herbaceous plants throughout.
water, and trellises to create
[P2] Non-VisualConnection with
Nature. The sound of water, the smell three distinct areas. A large
of plants, and the haptic experience
of cool air and rough stone. T-shaped flower bed serves
[P3] Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli. a physical divider. Water
Water features, rustling ivy on the west
wall and tree canopy above, birds flitting frames the lower level on
in and out of the space, birdsongs.
the northern end of the
[P4] Access to Thermal & Airflow
Variability. Cool air wafts up park, and the raised
from the water features, shading
provided by trees, movable furniture
platform on the west wall is
ensures preferred conditions.
demarcated by a steel
[P5] Presence of Water. Water NORT H trellis.
trickles through a stone sculpture and
relief wall into the runnel that spans the
length of the eastern wall. A 25 ft tall
waterfall cascades down the north wall.
SITE PLAN
[P6] Dynamic & Diffuse Light.
Light filters in through tree canopy; lower,
upper and middle levels experience different
amounts of infiltration; and movable furniture
provides seating options.

[P7] Connection withNaturalSystems.

The opportunity to observe bird, insect and
plant life interactions, seasonal changes
in canopy density and plant colors.

NATURE OF THE SPACE

[P11] Prospect. The upper level is
elevated above street level.
[P12] Refuge. Three walled enclosure with
a covered entryway, lower level
obscured by plantings, covered upper
level, sounds of the waterfall.
[P13] Mystery. The lowerlevel
where the waterfall empties is not
visible from the entryway.
[P14] Risk/Peril. Not significantly
represented in the design.
NATURAL ANALOGUES SECTION
[P8] Biomorphic Forms & Patterns.
Not significantly represented in the design.
[P9] Material Connection with Nature.
Site Plan: This plan reveals how Sasaki used plants, water, and
Rough hewn stone of the east wall, water
sculpture, and waterfall; rough granite benches.
trellises to create three distinct areas. A large T-shaped flower bed
[P10] Complexity & Order.
serves a physical divider. Water frames the lower level on the
The varying texture and size of the
stone used in the dripping wall.
northern end of the park, and the raised platform on the west wall
is demarcated by a steel trellis.
 Amity School of Architecture & Planning

PRESENCE OF WATER
Greenacre park is unified
by water. At the
entrance to the park,
visitors encounter an
abstract stone sculpture,
through which a slow
flow of water trickles.
The pool beneath the
sculpture joins a runnel
that spans the length of
the park’s eastern wall. A
relief sculpture
composed of varying
sizes of stone blocks
runs parallel to it. The MYSTERY
experience at Greenacre NON-VISUAL CONNECTION WITH
NATURE The entrance to Greenacre park does not
park is enhanced announce itself to pedestrians. Unlike many
through the capacity to The immersive quality of Greenacre park is of the buildings on 51st street, the park
see, hear, and touch produced in large part by auditory, olfactory, does not have an awning that protrudes
water. The sound of and haptic experiences of nature. Visitors are over the sidewalk, instead its stairs and
rushing water that often observed closing their eyes to take in patinaed steel trellis are flush with the walls
emanates from the these sensations more fully. These non-visual of the adjacent buildings. For this reason,
waterfall, accompanied sensory stimuli engender a deliberate and individuals approaching the park on the
by the gentle trickle from positive reference to nature, living contiguous sidewalk are unlikely to notice it
the water sculptures, systems, or natural processes, creating a until they arrive at the entrance. This
drowns out the urban restorative atmosphere. inconspicuous entryway can delight visitors
noise and creates a
with the experience of happening upon an
tranquil environment that unexpected slice of green in the midst of
seems miles away from the city.
the city.

Non-visual Connection with Nature Reduced
systolic blood pressure and stress hormones;
Positively impacted cognitive performance;
Perceived improvements in mental health and
tranquility.
Mystery
Induced strong pleasure response.
Amity School of Architecture & Planning
HEALTH BENEFITS
The design of Greenacre park makes it an ideal space to
relax and recharge, or to get some work done. These uses
are supported by the biophilic experience of the space. Key
patterns have the potential to support the following positive
health responses:
URBAN OASIS
Opportunities for exploration and relaxation are maximized by
the spatial configuration, dense plantings, and water features
at Greenacre Park. Visitors who reviewed the park on Yelp
have described the space as “an escape hatch to peace and
serenity,” a “genuine urban oasis” and “a little bit of Eden in
Midtown East.” The strength of the design is in its ability to
transport visitors from their hectic urban surroundings to a
peaceful and restorative environment. One visitor even wrote,
“it makes me feel like I’m on vacation.” The park’s rare
combination of convenience and immersive qualities makes it
an excellent example of biophilic urban acupuncture, and a
much sought-after amenity in the area.
A common complaint voiced about Greenacre park is the fact
that it becomes overcrowded at popular visiting times, such as
during the workweek lunch hour. The high demand for the park
is evidence of the need for more spaces like it throughout New
York City. similar space about a half mile away, and Peter
Detmold Park on the waterfront. These parks are also much
loved, and at times, overcrowded. Pocket parks like Greenacre
offer strong social benefits because of their accessibility. If more
of these green spaces were created, however, they have the
potential to provide significant benefits beyond use value, such
as reducing the urban heat island effect, improving air quality,
and supporting migrating bird routes.