Buffalo, New York, USA
The Riverline by W Architecture and Landscape Architecture has transformed the elevated former DL&W rail corridor into a string of vibrant and engaging experiences in nature that everyone can enjoy—right in the city, only minutes from downtown.
The Riverline has recently been awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award and a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The Riverline has prioritized the successional communities of mostly native plants, public art, and community.
It inspires curiosity, connections, and explorations, and it will help build a healthy, inclusive, and opportunity-rich city.
The Riverline is built around a common theme, mandated by the community in a series of public meetings: The Riverline as a place of refuge.
A refuge can be many things to many people: a place of security, shelter, or safety, a space for small social gatherings, and a place of sanctuary.
The history of the land surrounding this abandoned rail corridor is long and storied, involving indigenous heritage, waves of immigration, economic innovation, and working-class residents of various backgrounds, races, and ethnicities who contributed to the building of Buffalo.
The Riverline is a place of coming together and a place we can find ourselves amongst a living history and heritage along the shared waterfront.
The sections of the Riverline have been designed appropriately to their context – The Del where tight-knit neighborhoods come right up the trail itself.
The Junctures—where the legacy of the railroad becomes a place of connection, and The Basswoods—where nature takes center stage.
The 11 blocks of the abandoned rail line, a series of mounds of up to 25 feet in height above street level, will be integrated into the community and the city in a way to welcome all.
The journey starts at the street level.
Major entrances are away from housing and located on commercial streets.
Each entrance is designed in relation to the adjacent communities, and community gathering is concentrated in these gateway areas.
To protect the successional landscape, trestle ramps allow universal access and minimize regrading and disturbance.
The pathways at the top of the mounds provide a more intimate experience that will reveal various natures, for people and other species to explore.
The legacy of the railroad, including several bridges still present, will be highlighted, though the rails have long been removed.
In times of uncertainty, these concepts provide a place for residents to find refuge, in whatever ways they define it, as well as provide a guide to the next steps in moving towards implementation.
Project: The Riverline
Architects: W Architecture and Landscape Architecture, LLC.
Associate Architects: Hood Design Studio
Client: Western New York Land Conservancy
Photographers: W Architecture and Landscape Architecture Studio 7G
