Mitchell Giurgola worked in collaboration with Susan T. Rodriguez | Architecture • Design and the Central Park Conservancy on the New Davis Center at the Harlem Meer. Constructed in 1966, the original Lasker Rink and Pool had become an unsightly barrier at the northern end of Central Park. The Harlem Meer project transformed the site into a contemporary recreation facility, seamlessly integrated into the landscape. More than a year of extensive community engagement went into the design of this project. The $160 million dollar project is the largest project in the Central Park Conservancy’s history.

The new facility is built into the topography of the site, with landscape and park paths extending across the rooftop and creating a scenic overlook. Below, a light-filled gathering space with large floor-to-ceiling glass doors, punctuated by slender wood columns, opens onto the deck of the pool. Lockers, restrooms, and concessions are located behind a curved wall of locally quarried stone. The oval-shaped pool, which is transformed into a flexible public green in spring and fall and an ice-skating rink in winter, is framed by a low retaining wall enveloped by a landscape berm.