February 2008

Featured in this month’s Architectural Record, HM White’s unique and tranquil garden is considered the heart and soul of the innovative New York Times tower. For the building’s central 70 foot square courtyard, HM White collaborated with the renowned Canadian landscape architect, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, as part of the larger project team led by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the local executive architects, FXFOWLE Architects. The native Paper Birch and Moss garden is a dynamic backdrop to the Times Center auditorium and New York Times tower lobby. The building’s transparency allows the garden to provide an ever-changing backdrop for visitors and tenants who invariably become acutely aware and connected to the garden’s multiple transformations through daily weather and seasonal changes. The subtle undulating topography contrasts with the lobby’s surrounding floor and the courtyard’s timber walkway, partially bridging over the garden’s valley. These ground level movements showcase the flowing masses of the garden’s two Moss species. The Moss is supported by a unique irrigation system that gives off a fogging mist while contributing to a daily atmospheric garden event.