Nature and Geometry in the Park

Urban parks consist of two major elements: nature and man-made forms. Parks play an important role in the urban environment, offering relief in everyday life. While parks provide green spaces, they are not natural spaces; they are highly designed. This series of short videos explores parks, focusing on form.

This video, shot in the spring of 2017, features Herbert Von King Park which is located in the heart of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Von King Park is one of the first parks in the history of Brooklyn, with a design submitted by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who is famous for designing Central Park, and Calvert Vaux. The park was originally named Tompkins Park, after former New York governor Daniel D. Tompkins, and was renamed in 1985 in honor of Herbert Von King, a longtime local community organizer who was nicknamed the “mayor of Bedford Stuyvesant.” A unique Cultural Arts Center, equipped with an outdoor amphitheater, was added later on thanks to the community’s efforts.

Fort Greene Park was originally the site of a fortification built for the Revolutionary War. After it was designated as a park in 1847, it was redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Fort Greene Park is a vibrant recreation space for the community in Downtown Brooklyn today.

WNYC Transmitter Park is a relatively new park located on the waterfront in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which opened in 2012. As the name itself suggests, it was once the site of the public radio station WNYC’s original AM transmitter towers. The radio towers on this 1.6-acre site were in use from 1937 to 1990—back then the station was operated by the city. In addition to the lawn, the park includes a pier over the East River.