Michael van Valkenburgh was born in New York and received a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University. In 1982, he founded Michael van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), a landscape architecture firm involved in parks, campuses, and gardens. MVVA works with urban planners, architects, and engineers on multidisciplinary projects. For the High Line project in New York, MVVA's TerraGRAM team planned a meandering walking path along the abandoned railway with various plant species, landmarks, and stairway entrances to create an experiential "floating garden." They also proposed developing the street level "Low Line" area underneath to support the surrounding district.

2. About Valkenburgh
- Born in Lexington, New York
- Received Bachelor of Science from the
College of Agriculture at Cornell University
- Founded his own firm in 1982, called
Michael van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.
(MVVA for short)
- Received a grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts, allowing him to
experiment with ice in landscape design
- Received the Rome Prize in 1988 from the
American Academy in Rome

3. About MVVA, Inc.
A landscape architecture firm
Creates environmentally sustainable and experientially rich places
Has been involved in mainly parks, public landscapes, campuses and
gardens
Works closely with urban planners, architects, engineers, and ecologists;
emerged as an innovative leader of multidisciplinary urban design teams
Has offices in Brooklyn, New York and Cambridge, MA; currently has a staff of
65 members, led by three principals, Laura Solano, Matthew Ubanski and
Michael van Valkenburgh

4. - Founded by Julie Bargmann; described as a “critical design process”
- An international architecture firm founded by John H. Beyer, Richard
Blinder, and John Belle

6. Plans for the Highline
- Team responsible for the project called
TerraGRAM
- Sought to combine resources provided by
the city and create a “floating garden” atop
the abandoned railway
- Picture specifies the species of plants that
they plan to use and how the budget would
be divided

7. Pathways for Highline
- TerraGRAM planned on using a meandering path
rather than a straight path
- Picture shows paths winding left and right, with
vegetation going from right to left on opposite
sides of the viewer
- Three major landmarks included; the Urban
Canyon, The Skyline View, and the Hudson River
Outlook
- Use perforated steel so that the plants could grow
through the holes
- Also featured vistas posted alongside buildings

8. A Grand Entrance
- TerraGRAM wanted the people not to just walk up
into the park and experience it from above, but
wanted the experience to start the moment you
set foot on the stairs
- Planned for two types of stairways; the fast stair
and the slow stair
- Slow stair allowed people to watch the oncoming
scenery while ascending into the Highline
- Instead of having stairways at the sides, they
planned to have it placed in the middle of the
Highline, with plants growing on the sides

9. The Low Line
- Also wanted to develop the “Low Line,” the street
level underneath the Highline
- Wanted to create a network of public spaces
that supports the district
- Planned to achieve this incrementally, by means
of zoning bonuses that encourage investment
- The investment would develop the Low Line,
further altering the Highline to become a place of
grandeur and splendor