Queens County Farm Museum
QRP was selected by NYC Parks and the Historic House Trust to undertake a masterplan of the 47-acre farm site in Queens NY. The Farm which is a New York City Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places is one of the longest continuously farmed sites in the state and includes the historic house and farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, an orchard, woodland and garden areas.
QRP’s plan for the Farm provided a new spatial configuration creating additional acreage, with areas dedicated to planting, pastures and animal shelters, while preserving and restoring the farm’s existing woodlands, a priority for the NYCDPR’s Natural Resources group. The master plan provided a completely new circulation system with separate dedicated routes for farm machinery and pedestrians and improved the farm experience and safety of both visitors and farm workers. Existing paths were widened, reconfigured and formalized to direct visitors to their destinations and open up new areas of the farm for exploration and cultivation.
QRP was also challenged to create an area for large gatherings separate from the historic area, and to provide program, event and exhibit space and visitor services.
A proposed visitors center was proposed to provide historic and current interpretation of the site and act as a gateway from the parking area to the historic core, the logical starting point for any visit. The firm followed up with the construction of the perimeter fence and custom-designed vehicular and pedestrian entrance gates.
Location
Glen Oaks, Queens, NY
Client
NYC Parks, Historic House Trust
Role
Prime Consultant
