East Side designer attracts West Coast
Landscape architect Ken Smith, right, showed off the recently-opened elevated plaza at 55 Water St. to a delegation from Orange County, which is considering hiring Smith to be the master designer for the 1,300-acre Orange County Great Park in California. The plaza, which Smith helped design, overlooks the East River and Smith is also one of the architects of Lower Manhattan’s East River waterfront plan. Smith, who lives and works in Tribeca, also showed the Left Coasters Downtown’s West Side, namely the South Cove, where Smith also has done work. The Orange County Great Park Corporation is considering Smith, Mirrales Tagliabue of Spain and Royston Hanamoto Alley of California and is also traveling to Barcelona and Paris to review the architects’ work. A source with the park corporation said Smith’s chances to be selected are particularly good.
