The Trust for Governors Island invited the Design Trust Council for an exclusive tour of new developments on the island, including  a preview of the newest addition to the island - a 30-acre park designed by West 8, the Dutch urban design and landscape architecture firm.  

Simon Bertrang, vice president of planning at the Trust for Governors Island, outfitted our group in hardhats and vests before leading Council members on a tour of the park in the early stages of its construction. 

Slated for completion in October 2013, the sprawling new public space looked like a lunar landscape, due to the massive amount of fill material brought to alter the topography of the island and enhance the view of the Statue of Liberty from the Island. 

West 8's approach to the redesign of the historic space is thoughtful and future-oriented. Several types of trees were brought in to create a forest and a hammock row that, in twenty years, will provide hundreds of hammocks along the park for public use.