Archinect - News

Trahan Architects completes community-enhancing pavilion design in Arkansas

2024-12-16T12:49:00-05:00

A new pavilion design in Arkansas from Trahan Architects in a public park designed by Spackman Mossop Michaels is making space that encourages creative play while serving the greater needs of its community.

Funding for the project was provided through the Walton Family Foundation Design Excellence Program. The stunning images from photographer Tim Hursley capture its bold, "weightless" presence against the flat landscape.

Image: © Tim Hursley

Located in the city of Springdale, the new Performance Pavilion space designed for 10-acre Luther George Park is made from steel and doubles as a shade canopy when not in use as an events venue and gathering space for up to 3,000 people.

Image: © Tim Hursley

CIG Architecture, the Dutch manufacturer known for its work with Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, and others, worked closely with the firm to produce the steel shell that will patina over time so as to reveal the effects of the local climate on the architecture.

Image: © Tim Hursley

Uses vary ...

Brooks + Scarpa completes vibrant park pavilion and sport complex in South Florida

2024-01-29T17:44:00-05:00

Brooks + Scarpa has shared photos of its recently completed design for the Youth Sports Complex in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The concept of the 10-acre project centers around The Field House, an enclosed 4,100-square-foot pavilion structure at the center of the park. Approached from the north elevation at Northeast 10th Street, visitors will be able to clearly view the signage that's encased in its yellow-painted metal lattice screens.

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

Simple, cost-efficient board-formed concrete walls create the structure’s “playful and sculptural” outer facade. A wraparound porch is then formed inside the shell, capped by a sloping roofline that funnels water from its scupper into the aquifer of the rain garden below.

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

Inside the porch of the pavilion, high-speed ceiling fans of varying heights that keep the space 20 degrees cooler are painted blue in contrast to the raw concrete ...

Sasaki will oversee redevelopment of Santa Monica Airport into park space for LA County

2024-01-02T17:46:00-05:00

Plans for the redevelopment of the soon-to-close Santa Monica Airport have become clearer after the City Council approved an agreement with Sasaki Associates in December that would deliver a “Great Park” concept to the 227-acre site after 2028.

The new *Airport Conversion Planning Project agreement calls for a five-phase public consultation and research effort to be conducted by the firm before the end of 2025. A framework will come first in Phase One and precedes a draft of the project’s guiding principles in Phase Two, with the eventual naming of a study-informed ‘preferred scenario’ and alternative suggestions being produced by the end of Phase Three.

Phases Four and Five will round out the plan with a proposed implementation strategy for the alternative and eventual publication of a ‘Preferred Scenario Vision Book’ that coalesces the previous four phases into one written framework. Considerations for the immediate on-site activations after ‘Day One’ (e.g. January 1, 2029) are al...

SLAS architekci designs colorful multifunctional public park in Poland

2023-07-07T15:06:00-04:00

Polish firm SLAS architekci has injected an eye-catching multifunctional public space into a university campus in the southern Polish city of Chorzów. Called “Activity Zone,” the project was a nominee in the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

The park was completed in 2019 for the University of Silesia. It is located at the former site of a demolished military building where there were a number of pre-existing trees.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

The main goal of the project was to transform this neglected, wooded area where the campus is located into a lively, leisurely location for the public to enjoy. It aimed to promote the university and establish a new green space for the city.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

“Activity Zone” was designed as a perforated concrete platform that hosts a diverse program, including a student leisure zone, children’s play devices, fitness areas, individually des...

SWA unveils plans for new 1,200-acre park in Irvine, California

2023-04-28T13:57:00-04:00

A new master plan led by SWA Group has been revealed by the city of Irvine, California, showcasing a park design that, at 1,200 acres, would create one of the largest municipal park environments in the nation.

The so-called Irvine Great Park would transform the site of the historic former Marine Corps’ El Toro Air Station into what could evolve into a new national landmark for the 3.16 million residents of Orange County replete with educational offerings, modern sport and recreation facilities, and cultural attractions.

The framework SWA developed in unison with Kellenberg Studio calls for a five-zone subdivision of the site. A 200-acre Sports Park, Cultural Terrace, 60-acre Botanical Garden, and Veteran’s Memorial Park will join a linear park called the Bosque that features trails and a children’s play area. A central “Heart of the Park” zone completes the spatial design, featuring the 12,000-seat Great Park Amphitheater, a farm, and a three-tiered, 22-acre system of small lakes.

A...

Brooklyn's Prospect Park receives $40 million to restore historic, 26-acre enclave

2021-12-17T19:01:00-05:00

The Prospect Park Alliance and Mayor Bill de Blasio are announcing today that the city will allocate $40 million in the city budget to Prospect Park. This is the largest single allocation of funding from the city in the park's history and will be used to make much-needed upgrades and restorations in its northeast corner, known as the Vale.

The $40 million in capital funding will help to restore the historic Children’s Pool and former Rose Garden, originally constructed in the 1890s, that have fallen into states of disrepair. The project plans for the creation of a sensory garden and rustic arbor, a nature play area, and a landscaped amphitheater and small community building. Design of the Vale Restoration is expected to begin in 2022, in a process that requires another year for procurement, and 12-18 months for construction.

Map of the proposed Vale Restoration. Image: Prospect Park Alliance

“Prospect Park is Brooklyn’s backyard,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “It’s where I got married and raised my family, and where New Yorkers of all backgrounds come to spend time in nature. This historic $40 million in funding will ensure the Vale is restored to its full glory.”

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels reveal design for Luther George Park Masterplan and Performance Pavilion

2020-12-17T15:25:00-05:00

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels have revealed their design for the renewal of Luther George Park located in downtown Springdale, Arkansas. Commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the park is a part of the city's larger plan to create dynamic public spaces and plazas that can support public art, performing arts, and seasonal outdoor markets.

"The Downtown Springdale Alliance is thrilled with the work of the design team of Spackman Mossop Michaels and Trahan Architects. Luther George Park redesigned will be transformative to the beautiful, diverse culture and vibrancy of downtown Springdale," said Jill Dabbs, executive director of The Downtown Springdale Alliance, in a statement.

The 14-acre park will facilitate community engagement by providing a sustainable venue for recreation, play, and outdoor performance. The design draws its inspiration from the native landscapes of Arkansas. Two-hundred new trees will be introduced to the site, providing shade for the...

The Gateway Arch's newly landscaped grounds reconnect an icon to its city

2018-03-13T15:32:00-04:00

... [Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates] have renovated and expanded the arch grounds, originally designed by famed Modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley. New parks adjacent to the grounds are intended to funnel activity to the riverfront and work as connective urban tissue for the city’s most iconic feature, as well as to serve as a pedestal for that quicksilver curve.

The winning design by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates has reconnected the St. Louis Gateway Arch with its surrounding environment. The $380-million renovation allows for tourists and locals alike to enjoy the entire space around the Arch. The freshly landscaped grounds are mostly open now, however a formal opening will take place this July with the new museum.

Artificial nature: Frederick Law Olmsted and the invention of landscape architecture

2016-08-30T12:52:00-04:00

An unmistakable irony creeps vinelike through Olmsted’s landscape theory: It takes a lot of artifice to create convincing “natural” scenery. Everything in Central Park is man-made; the same is true of most of Olmsted’s designs. They are not imitations of nature so much as idealizations, like the landscape paintings of the Hudson River School. Each Olmsted creation was the product of painstaking sleight of hand, requiring enormous amounts of labor and expense.

For more on Olmsted and his parks today, check out some past articles:

City of SF sued by religious group over open-air urinal

2016-04-19T21:02:00-04:00

A religious organization sued the city of San Francisco to remove an open-air urinal from a popular park that it calls unsanitary and indecent. The Chinese Christian Union of SF filed a civil complaint last week demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from iconic Dolores Park. The group says the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only with plants for privacy, "emanates offensive odors," ''has no hand-washing facilities" and "it's offensive to manners and morals."

For more toilet-related designs, check out these links:

Take a look at these bold visions for Downtown LA's next park

2016-02-24T14:26:00-05:00

LA has few corners as prominent as First and Broadway. Directly adjacent to the art deco City Hall and across from the LA Times building, the nearly-2 acre lot stands at the center of an increasingly well-trafficked pedestrian area. Now, some of the biggest names in town are competing to transform the lot into a bold new park.

After a wider call for proposals, the LA Bureau of Engineering, in conjunction with the Mayor's Office, announced a shortlist of finalists late last year: AECOM, Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Eric Owen Moss Architects, and Mia Lehrer + Associates in collaboration with OMA. Each practice was given six weeks to produce a design, which are currently of public view.

Soon, the City will announce the winners of the competition, following input from the public, and then will proceed to finalize the designs.

Since the new park abuts the larger Grand Park (designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios), it needs to both stand out as a unique design and seamlessly mesh with the exi...

Archinect - News

Trahan Architects completes community-enhancing pavilion design in Arkansas

​Brooks + Scarpa completes vibrant park pavilion and sport complex in South Florida

Sasaki will oversee redevelopment of Santa Monica Airport into park space for LA County

SLAS architekci designs colorful multifunctional public park in Poland

SWA unveils plans for new 1,200-acre park in Irvine, California

Brooklyn's Prospect Park receives $40 million to restore historic, 26-acre enclave

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels reveal design for Luther George Park Masterplan and Performance Pavilion

The Gateway Arch's newly landscaped grounds reconnect an icon to its city

Artificial nature: Frederick Law Olmsted and the invention of landscape architecture

City of SF sued by religious group over open-air urinal

Take a look at these bold visions for Downtown LA's next park

Brooks + Scarpa completes vibrant park pavilion and sport complex in South Florida