Ross Barney Architects present their completed park project in Rogers, Arkansas: the Railyard Park. The architects have worked with the City of Rogers and the Walton Family Foundation (WalMart) over the past several years to reimagine and redesign the historic downtown area. Through the use of community engagement, the architects have involved community members in the design process through both physical and digital methods.
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With a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, the City of Rogers, Arkansas has embarked on a project to design a new downtown park that will enhance economic development, spur placemaking, and improve connectivity. Situated on the east boundary of Rogers’ historic downtown district, the new park has the potential to capitalize on recent public space investments and help to make downtown Rogers a regional destination.
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Community engagement
The project utilized a robust community outreach effort, which has helped build a sense of ownership and pride from city staff and the residents. Through a digital survey that collected over 1,000 responses and inperson charrettes the design team has helped define the park’s desired outcomes and objectives through the words of the community. This shared vision has resulted in five emerging priorities: Inviting, Memorable, Challenging, Beautiful, and Authentic.
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Railyard Park along the railroad
Rogers, as a city, has been defined both economically and physically by the railroad. The first plat of survey, completed in 1881, uses the rail to create a strong dividing line. The park’s design ignores the rail as a barrier and stitches the east and west together. The result is a series of plazas that can transform throughout the day, week, month, and year. These versatile and flexible spaces create a new and distinct rhythm that extends beyond the park into adjacent streets.
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Between the ribbons, which are formed by the adjacent city context, a “room” is created. These densely vegetated and programmed spaces help create unique experiences throughout the park and further frame this piece of downtown as the new center instead of the edge.
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Project Team:
Ross Barney Architects, Chicago, IL – Architecture and Landscape Architecture
CEI Engineering Associates, Bentonville, AR – Civil Engineering and Land Surveying
Goodfriend Magruder Structure, Chicago, IL – Structural Engineering
HP Engineering, Rogers, AR – MEP Engineering
Schuler Shook, Chicago, IL – Lighting Design
SPAN (formerly Thirst) Chicago, IL – Branding and Environmental Graphics
AFJH Architects, Fayetteville, AR – Associate Architect
Crowne Group, Fayetteville, AR – AV Consultant
Nabholz Construction, Rogers, AR -Contractor/Construction Manager
All pictures and text © by City of Rogers Department of Community Development
The Forest Sports Park in Guangming, Shenzhen (China), for play, sport and relaxation is a joint design by LOLA Landscape Architects (NL), Taller architects (COL/NL) and Land and Civilization Compositions (CN). During the World Architecture Festival China in December 2020, the project won the overall WAFChina Best Landscape and the WAFChina Excellent Design award.
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The Shenzhen area is all about innovation, therefor the ambition was to make a park that is as innovative as the city itself. A park that can adapt to the constant evolution of sports and were the people can constantly contribute to a more resilient nature.
Immerse in the thick Forest
An elevated red path gives universal access to the forest. With a steady soft slope, connecting ramps and elevators it provides users from all age groups a safe and easy way to visit the mountain. To enjoy the views of the surrounding city and the ability to immerse yourself in the thick forest. The Forest and Sports Park forms a slow transition space between the city of Guangming and the forest reserve.
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The park focuses on innovation in sports and ecology
With the first phase of the 600 ha. park almost completed, the park is to become a unique destination for the Guangming Big Bay area. As this metropolitan region finds its success in innovative industries, the park focuses on innovation in sports and ecology. Two R&D centres, one for sports, one for botany are centrally located in the park. From here, a constant evolution and diversification of the park will take place. On the central park loop, a linear plant and tree nursery is integrated.
A scenic route
In a natural forest setting, visitors are able to get to know new and forgotten sports, as well as the latest techniques used in sports. A range from open valleys to lower hills and mountain forest offers the natural background for these sports and active leisure. The Red Path forms a landmark that connects the park to the city and the forest; a scenic route that passes by all different types of forest.
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Minimize the environmental impact
In the park a series of pavilions hosts functions like a restaurant, restroom, viewing platform and forest cabin. In order to minimize the environmental impact, the pavilions are modular and prefabricated. By placing them on stilts they avoid direct contact with the ground and at the same time provide shadow so that visitors can escape the summer heat. The construction of the second phase of the Forest Sports Park is expected to start in 2021.
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Location: Guang Ming, Shenzhen, China
Size: 600 ha
Design: 2018
Construction first phase: 2019-2020
Organizer: Guangming New District Management committee
Co-organizer: Shenzhen Guang Ming center for urban Development
Design team: LOLA Landscape Architects, Taller architects, Land and Civilization Compositions
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Trees and forests are the lungs of our planet. The topos issue 103 on the topic “Trees” presents concrete projects involving trees that rethink the relation of nature and society and restructure it in very distinct and very different ways.
In 2016, as part of the global initiative 100 Resilient Cities sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, Mexico City ‘s CDMX Resilience Office released the first resilience strategy ever developed in Mexico. Based on a holistic approach, it defines the broad lines of action that will guide Mexico City’s long-term development plans and emphasizes the role of public space in responding to the ever more pressing conditions related to environmental and social risks. Built in a socially stratified area, the park La Mexicana is a manifesto of the dynamic and integrated approach proposed by the CDMX Resilience Office.
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The southwestern outskirts of Mexico City are barren, topographically complex territories scattered with abandoned mines, where two adjacent but antithetical social realities and urban forms coexist: The formal and informal settlements of the worker communities that had originally settled in the area and that, resisting building speculation, struggled to remain there; and Santa Fe, an expanding, affluent neighborhood of high-rise buildings, whose construction begun after the catastrophic earthquake of 1985 with the aim of creating a new business center for the capital on the site of the former landfill. That real estate development project was carried out with considerable private capital, and resulted in an ultra-modern urban structure in terms of the quality of its architecture. It lacked, however, basic infrastructure, services, and public open space. Designed by Mario Schjetnan and his firm Grupo de Diseño Urbano (GDU) together with VMA Victor Marquez & Asociados, La Mexicana is the only large park in Santa Fe.
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Mitigating the area’s social divide
Completed in 2017, the park unfolds along a pit formed by excavation activities on the eastern edge of the modern urban development. The transformation of a brownfield into a lush park through a complex operation of ecological remediation had two different intertwined dimensions. These were related to the improvement of urban living conditions in an extremely stratified area: a sustainable dimension, as the park provides a variety of ecosystem services ranging from heat mitigation to the improvement of the urban hydrological system; and a socio-cultural dimension, as it not only promotes physical activities and recreational practices within the gated communities of modern Santa Fe, but also aims at mitigating the area’s social divide, encouraging interaction between all the local residents.
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Shaping a complex topography
Covering an area of 29 hectares, La Mexicana appears as a green canyon that establishes a dialogue between the glittering skyscrapers of Santa Fe and the roughness of the rock walls of the former mine. The park exploits the uniqueness of the terrain by shaping a complex topography of gentle green undulations that conceal a large artificial basin. The newly constructed landscape is dotted with a variety of functional areas: an open-air theater, a sophisticated skateboard park, a dog park, richly programmed playgrounds and areas for sport activities, lawns, plazas and pavilions housing restaurants, cafes and various facilities. The park’s design concept is based on a juxtaposition of areas with different atmospheres and spatial qualities, producing a continuous sense of surprise. Higher elevations scattered with irregular groves alternate with gentle landforms with expansive lawns, placid water basins are disturbed by a cascade, and areas for active recreational activities alternate with areas for passive recreation and solitary contemplation.
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In 2017 the global design firm Sasaki was hired by the Bonnet Springs Park Board to design a “central park” for the City of Lakeland. The outcome is an exciting design and, most of all, a big promise. Sasaki answers this challenge with a design that pledges to become an “ecological jewel, a cultural magnet, and a connected community asset” in the future. Hard to imagine? We had a chat with Sasaki designers about this very special project.
Lakeland belongs to one of the fastest growing regions in Florida. Its historical industrial heritage makes the city highly fascinating. Between 1880 and the early 1950s, the 180-acre Bonnet Springs Park was a major hub for cargo on the East Coast. This function was discontinued in 1952. Due to decades of industrial use and outdated storm water management practices, harmful contaminants remain on the site. For a long time, the area was nothing more than an abandoned and unused space. In 2015 a group of Lakeland enthusiasts recognized the huge potential of this place. They decided to convert the 180 acres of unused land into a “New Central Park” for the city of Lakeland by 2020.
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topos: Which programmatic highlights will the project focus on?
Sasaki: The ecological mission of the park includes the remediation of a 70-acre post-industrial brownfield site, on-site natural treatment of an off-site storm water system, and the restoration of a natural sand seep spring. A new nature center located along the lakefront will serve as an ecological education center for the park visitors. The cultural mission of the park includes a wide variety of cultural venues to serve the greater central Florida region.
Bonnet Springs Park, situated at the threshold between Downtown Lakeland and one of the city’s lower income neighborhoods, presents a great opportunity to serve as a bridge in reconnecting Lakeland’s diverse communities. Strategies for creating broader access and stronger overall connectivity include unrestricted free admission to the park. Diverse programs and activities will be developed for visitors of all ages and demographics.
What additional value will the park provide for the local residents?
Our hope is that the park will provide greater health benefits and an overall better quality of life for all Lakeland residents, and especially for the communities neighboring this property, who might otherwise not have easy access to this kind of open space amenity.
With recent projects, such as Chicago Riverwalk or Moore Square in Raleigh, your office has gained experience in implementing urban landscapes. However, Bonnet Springs Park’s historical and ecological background is quite unique. What were the projects’s biggest challenges?
For more than 100 years, a large portion of the site was used as a maintenance yard for coal-powered locomotives. While this use was vital to the economic prosperity of the region during that era, it left behind a legacy of environmental degradation, including contaminated soil and groundwater.
You received input from the public during a six-month outreach period. How exactly was the public involved?
During the master planning process, we had three public meetings where we invited the community to share with the client and the design team their dreams, thoughts, and ideas for the park. We also engaged with people in coffee shops and churches to raise awareness of the project.
“We shared what we heard from the community”
The first public meeting focused on introducing the public to the design process, educating them on what makes a great park and inviting them to participate in playing with a giant game board that allowed them to “vote” for their favorite park features and programs. The second public meeting focused on educating the public on the demographics and the cultural history of the area, access and mobility, environmental challenges and ecological opportunities for the site. Likewise, we shared what we heard from the community regarding programmatic desires and presented three big design concepts, each focusing on ecology, culture, and industrial history. Participants were asked to give us feedback on the big ideas and those preferences were used to develop a final strategy. The third public meeting was a presentation of the final master plan for the park.
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How did this particular process influence the design?
Hearing directly from the citizens of Lakeland allowed the client and design team to create a park that is truly unique to the Lakeland community and the specific site. As such, support and excitement (from municipal leaders to residents and local businesses) for the project has grown throughout the entire process.
In early October Buenos Aires was the host city of the third Summer Youth Olympic Games. Promoted by the International Olympic Committee, about 4.000 athletes from 206 countries participated in the games.
The city offered a number of different sites for a total of 32 disciplines. Most of the competitions and activities took place in the Olympic Park. Located within the newly planned Sports District, part of a large-scale urban and social conversion program in the south of the city, the 30-hectare site became a prominent location for the games.
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The project for the Olympic Park was based on the renovation of a traditional park designed and built in the 1980s. Two decades later it showed clear signs of neglect. Advantageously located right in front of the Olympic Village, which was already under construction, the park became the perfect spot for the Game’s purposes. The existing general infrastructure – such as underground ducts and pipes for lighting and water supply – plus an existing landscape and a very well-defined system of pathways benefitted the project and offered cost reduction advantages.
Relay to the history of the park
The architectural and landscape layout for the Venue Master Plan was the result and combination of the existing land conditions and the technical requirements set by the different leading institutions involved. Beginning in January 2017, the construction work lasted no longer than ten months.
The main access to the Olympic Park is connected to one of the largest existing clusters of trees on-site, creating a welcoming image related to the history of the park. Upon entering the site, the Olympic pavilions are clearly visible. The overall plan comprises a large, external vehicular ring which encloses an entirely car-free inner area with a pedestrian pathway connecting six semi-white boxes featuring lightweight structures. Visitors can walk from one pavilion to the next while passing by open fields and tracks. Service areas are located underground or at ground level, depending on the venue’s structure.The six individual buildings and the connecting, partially enclosed walkway are lightweight structures with metallic finish. The connecting pergola’s overall width is three meters. The dynamic walkway is open along both sides, allowing pedestrians to appreciate the adjacent landscape and the sights of the different buildings and fields.
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Open presence
In order to adapt to the existing topography and slopes of the original park, the two largest pavilions were positioned at the site’s lowest points, opposite to each other. The slope supported establishing the required height for the Olympic Swimming Pool, built underground, and the necessary ceiling height for the artistic gymnastics. Both buildings offer glazed curtain walls that enclose the entire facade along the ground level, creating an open and inviting presence, visually connected to the park outside.
The other four buildings located adjacent to the walkway are smaller in size and offer a more flexible layout.
By playing host to one of the world’s biggest sporting events, Buenos Aires has the opportunity to establish a lasting sports legacy. Once the games are over, the venues will be converted into a multi-sport facility for elite athletes. They will also feature administration offices, a health center and a hotel. The sports arenas will remain open for major sporting events and public use.
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Location: City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Project’s Design and Management: City Government of Buenos Aires / Ministry of Urban Design and Transportation (Minister Franco Moccia)
Subsecretary of Projects: A. García Resta / Urban Innovation, Director: M.Torrado
Subsecretary of Construction: M. Palacio / Site Construction’s Director: C. Cané
Total area: 30 hectares
Date of completion: September 2018 (First Stage)
Photography: Javier A. Rojas
