Today, the Hudson River Park announced the winning proposal to develop Pier 57, at West 15th Street. The plan would turn the basically unused pier into a mixed-use development, filled with shops and galleries, a stones throw away from the already iconic High Line.

The prize went to developer YoungWoo & Associates, working with LOT-EK, a New York architecture firm. As the Architect's Newspaper reports, the plan would transform the pier with nested shipping containers, which will house a wealth of shops. Up on the roof, there will be a park whose central element will be a pair of ramps--creating lookout seating, and a natural venue for outdoor movie screenings.

YoungWoo has already pulled off a similar venue in London, the Camden Lock. And LOT-EK actually has a way with shipping containers--they've spent years using them to design houses, shopping centers, and museums. Most famous is their Puma City project--a shoe store that's been traveling the world, and recently washed ashore in Boston. And it was that expertise that was crucial in winning the competition: Because so much of their plan relied on the pre-fab units, the estimated cost came in a just a fraction of competing plans---$191 million, compared to the $330-353 million for the proposals mooted by the developers Durst Organization and Related Companies.

Not that the proposal pinches pennies--in fact, it's overflowing with mixed-use possibilities, owing to a partly open-air design easily accessible from the surrounding foot paths, and a warren of small spaces, which the developers have already said might go to local artisans for use as studio/retail spaces. Already, the Tribeca Film Festival has plans to rent the rooftop for movie screenings; in the basement will be museums and fancy gallery spaces.

That said, it's going to take some time: The drawn-out process of securing the planning and environmental approvals means that groundbreaking is at least two years away. We'll be counting the days.

Architect's Newspaper has lots more information; Bustler has lots more pictures. But here's a few to get you started:

In this cross section, you can see the lower-level galleries and the lookout seating atop the roof:

The view along the pedestrian walkways that will circle the site:

The rooftop park, with the lookout seating visible in the middle ground:

What the Tribeca Film Festival's screenings might look like:

Inside, the layering of shipping containers will create a space filled with interesting nooks to discover:

The view from across the pathway that fronts Hudson River Park:

Related Stories:

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Visiting the High Line: An Amazing New Park Opens in Manhattan