Thomas Balsley Associates (TBA), creators of some of America’s most acclaimed urban parks and public spaces, have applied their landscape sensibility to a different kind of project now open in midtown Manhattan: a 1,500-square-foot, gem-like courtyard at the new Intercontinental New York Times Square Hotel.
Located in the center of the vibrant Times Square entertainment district, this new four-star hotel serves as a base for tourists and dignitaries from around the world. The building’s lobby is intended as a respite from the hustle and bustle of the street, and Balsley’s courtyard is its serene centerpiece.
This private, “vest-pocket” park first becomes visible to the entrant through a window just beyond the check-in desk, an oasis of tranquility afloat in the interior that entices and welcomes hotel guests as they walk into and around the lobby. Deceptively simple, the courtyard is actually comprised of a series of strategically layered landscape features, all of them conceived and orchestrated by space-maker Balsley.
