2023 Merit Award
General Design
550 Madison Avenue Garden
New York, NY
Landscape Architect:
Snøhetta
Photo Credit(s):
Barrett Doherty

About the Project:
The building’s public space was redesigned as a generously expanded, densely vegetated garden. The garden opens up the public space along the west side of the tower, transforming it into a series of interconnected outdoor ‘rooms’ that provide quiet spaces and larger, more open areas. Partially covered by a new glass canopy and formed by a series of intersecting circles in plan, these rooms invite passersby to meet over lunch and socialize, to find respite beside the water feature, or to experience a tactile connection to nature. A verdant, layered topography lifts up along the west side of the garden, minimizing the existing tower service infrastructure while providing a sense of being immersed in the garden.