Project Overview

Lincoln Center’s renovation sought to create greener, more welcoming public spaces around one of New York City’s cultural landmarks. Many of the existing trees had struggled in inhospitable growing conditions, and the design team recognized that the large, healthy trees envisioned for the campus would need substantial soil volume. Improving the growing environment was essential to creating the shade and atmosphere desired for its outdoor spaces.

Installed in 2008–2009, the project was an early New York City application of Silva Cell, demonstrating the system’s capabilities during its first years on the market. Across the North Plaza bosque and the 65th Street streetscape, 1,130 Silva Cells supported 30 trees with an average of 700 cubic feet of soil per tree.

The Bosque Courtyard

At the North Plaza bosque, the goal was a grove of healthy plane trees where visitors could gather in the shade and enjoy outdoor performances. The planting area rested above an existing parking garage near the Vivian Beaumont Theater, leaving limited depth for soil. The design needed to provide room for roots while preserving the plaza’s use as a gathering and performance space.

Silva Cells created connected growing area beneath the surface. A combination of 1x and 2x cells accommodated the shallow profile, while the structural framework supported the paving and temporary event seating above lightly compacted planting soil. Roots could extend beyond the individual tree openings into the surrounding soil volume.

Utility integration was also part of the solution. Utilities were routed through the system while maintaining the soil space, and custom metal deck details near the tree openings accommodated lighting beneath the gravel paving. This coordination of soil, infrastructure, and surface use demonstrated Silva Cell’s versatility at an early stage in the product’s history.

Soil Volume on 65^th Street

Along 65th Street, greater available depth allowed the design team to utilize the 3x Silva Cell depth. Planting soil extended beneath the sidewalk, providing growing space beyond the visible tree openings within the paved streetscape. The deeper configuration accommodated the soil volume needed to support the healthy street trees envisioned by the design team.

By supporting the pedestrian surface above the planting soil, Silva Cells made room for roots within the busy urban setting. The streetscape complemented the bosque’s shaded gathering space, bringing trees into the everyday experience of walking through Lincoln Center’s campus.

From Early Adoption to Healthy Urban Canopy

More than 15 years after installation, the trees at Lincoln Center continue to bring shade and greenery to the campus. The bosque provides the inviting canopy sought for outdoor gathering and performances, while the streetscape trees soften the surrounding hardscape and contribute to a more welcoming pedestrian environment.

One of Silva Cells’ earliest success stories remains a visible example of the value of providing soil volume from the outset. Its ability to accommodate a shallow space above a garage, integrate utilities, and provide deeper growing space beneath a sidewalk helped the design team turn its ambition for healthy trees into an established urban canopy.