Salt Mtn, 2020.

Salt Mtn is a monument and a salt shed designed for Duarte Square in Lower Manhattan. Dedicated to “the climb,” it is an homage to life’s journey and the hard work that we all must do if we want to reach our goals.

A park, a hiking trail, a viewing platform, and a large tunnel provide multiple points for access, activity, and connectivity. Multiple paths and stairways lead people up or down the mountain and built-in benches offer space to sit and rest along the way. A large viewing platform at the top of the mountain gives climbers a chance to reflect on the path they took to the top and to observe the busy Manhattan streets below, as people bustle about their days. A park that disguises important city infrastructure (a salt shed), Salt Mtn adds nature and hiking trails to NYC while reveling in the climbing that we all are doing, literally or figuratively, in our lives.