Ben van Berkel designed New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion for New York

This year marks 400 years since Henry Hudson arrived at the site of present-day New York and laid the foundations of New Netherland. The Mayor of New York announced that Americans and Dutch will jointly commemorate this event by constructing a pavilion at Peter Minuit Plaza in Battery Park. New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion will create a "unique outdoor living room" - a space for gatherings, relaxation, dining, and other activities, in a location that is visited daily by 70,000 people. The pavilion design is by renowned Dutch architect Ben van Berkel from Amsterdam's UNStudios.
Plein & Pavilion will be situated on a 460 m² plot in the center of Peter Minuit Plaza, the site at the tip of Manhattan where the New Amsterdam colony was founded in 1626. According to Ben van Berkel, it is "an ideal place for a permanent reminder of Dutch history on New York's territory. At the same time, it is a modern transportation hub set in the ever-changing scenery of lower Manhattan. Here, the past meets the future."
The relationship between the past and future is also emphasized in the design by architects from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Manhattan Capital Projects, according to which the space will be paved (creating a paved public space - Dutch "plein") and quotes from the book *Island at the Center of the World* by Russell Shorto will be engraved in the stone pavement along with a stone map of New Amsterdam. Throughout the space, benches and tables designed by UNStudio will be placed, and at its center, an organic pavilion will be created - a small structure, yet an unmistakable landmark, evoking a blooming flower. The pavilion's facade will be equipped with LED lighting, allowing it to change color at night.
The project will be made possible by a grant from the Dutch government and will be realized in collaboration with the New York studio Handel Architects LPP. The landscaping of the area will be carried out according to the design of another Dutch architect, Piet Oudolf, who is responsible for the renovations of Battery Park as a whole.