Background
Thomas Balsley was born in 1943 and studied at Syracuse University and then the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Thomas Balsley was born in 1943 and studied at Syracuse University and then the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
In New York City alone, Mr. Balsley has completed more than 100 parks and plazas, most notably Riverside Park South and Gantry Plaza State Park.
Balsley"s firm has been active for over 35 years. He moved to New York City in 1970, and within a year founded his own firm, Thomas Balsley Associates. In addition, to his above ground work, New York City MTA selected his bench design for its transit systems
In a gesture of recognition for is contribution to New York City"s public Spaces, Balsley Park, formerly known as Sheffield Plaza, on 9th Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets in New York City, has been renamed in honor of the landscape designer.
About Gantry Plaza State Park, former New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp wrote, “The evil spell is broken. The curse that reduced New York’s landscape architects to creating Disney versions of Central Park has been at least temporarily lifted.”
Balsley"s work can be seen in the United States in the downtown and waterfront parks of major cities like, Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland, Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa, and Baltimore"s Inner Harbor.
Recent winning international design competitions include the Magok Waterfront and the National Ecological Center in of Korea and Kasumigaseki Plaza in Tokyo. He has given lectures at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the University of Pennsylvania, the National Building Museum and Seoul National University.
In addition he has received international recognition in the form of awards and citations from professional and civic organizations, including the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the American Institute of Architects, Environmental Design Research Association, the Institute for Urban Design and the Waterfront Center.
Riverside Park South, New York, New New York Hunter"s Point South Waterfront Park, Queens, New New York Gantry Plaza State Park, Long Island City, New New York
State University of New York Albany Masterplan (Phase 1 completed), Albany, New New York
Library Green, New Rochelle, New New York West Shore Park, Baltimore, Maryland.
Curtis Hixon Park, Tampa, Florida. Skyline Park, Denver, Colorado.
Gate City, Osaki, Tokyo, Japan
Kasumigaseki Plaza, Tokyo, Japan
Main Street Garden Park, Dallas, Texas
Pacific Design Center, Dallas, Texas
Beaumont Quarter, Auckland, New Zealand.
