Governors Island ParK

New York Harbor

It is our belief that renewed awareness, stewardship and use of the Harbor is key to the development of New York City’s environmental health and culture.

Dameron Architecture has been involved in different phases of Governors Island's reinvention for the last decade. We have an ongoing interest and involvement with the development of the island, a former military base, as it assumes it’s new life as an increasingly popular recreational and educational destination for New Yorkers.

Chris Dameron participated in early stages of the creation of the park on the south end, as he worked on a team of architects, engineers and landscape architects to design what it means to be a new large park in New York City. Playfulness and joy were emphasized in constructing natural space in a complex, sometimes toxic environment. The collaboration, which includes Rogers Marvel Architects and West 8 Landscape Architects, won an international competition with a series of images and ideas that cast the park as a centerpiece of the harbor. It was later designed and executed by a team of international landscape architects.

In 2007, Chris taught a semester-long design studio dealing with the island as a building site. Dameron Architecture continues to explore the possible futures of this unique place.