Scandinavian design is going to war with climate change in New York City, but the battle hasn’t yet left Manhattan. Sometime next year NYC will break ground along the East River for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, a 2.3 mile, $335 million flood barrier that doubles as a park.

The barrier park — a strip of curved concrete and green space — is designed by Danish architecture firm BiG, and is as modern as the rest of its Manhattan portfolio, which includes a pyramidal condominium complex on the Hudson river and plans for an eighty-story tower at 2 World Trade Center.

The barrier is the first major project arising from former mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $20 billion climate-adaptation program, announced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and intended to prepare the city for future climate disasters. That it begins with starchitect-designed protection for the small strip of Manhattan which holds the bulk of their other pricey creations is perhaps a good indicator of where the city’s priorities lie.