The already deteriorating Pier 54 was further damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Hudson River Park Trust, the public agency that oversees the parks along the Hudson River in lower Manhattan and converts existing piers into public parks, decided to replace the pier with a new kind of public park on the river. A philanthropic foundation generously funded the project, and Heatherwick Studio in London was commissioned to guide the vision of creating informal, playful, and educational public space into a reality. The idea was to create an undulating landscaped park with a plaza, performing spaces, and overlooks surrounded by the lawn and trees.