Roosevelt Park

Previously this week, I presented my design for my Site Design class final project. For this assignment, we were given a site at the beginning of the semester located in the Fargo-Moorhead area and were instructed to visit the plot of land at least 7 times throughout the duration of the semester. During each visit, we were to examine different aspects of the site along with any changes that may have occurred. When our selected presentation day came around, we needed to have a design that responded to the site and its corresponding conditions. The design could be anything from a park to a café to even a parking lot.

For my site, I received Roosevelt Park, at the intersection of 10th Street North and 12th Avenue North. Currently, the park consists of a small playground in the northwest corner and a quaint warming shelter in the northeast corner. The park is primarily known for its ice rinks in the winter which is when it is also used the most. One concern that I noticed right away was the lack of lights the site had for when night fell. Another aspect, along with the lighting, was that the park paid little attention to the safety of the users. The playground was positioned right next to 10th Street which is one of the busiest roads in the area.

Some slides from my presentation outlining the different factors affecting my site

When I started conceptualizing for the site, I looked at three main factors that I wanted to address in my designing: Safety, Community, and Accessibility. I chose safety first and foremost because of the issues stated earlier when it came to lighting. I am also aware that since this park is in the middle of the Roosevelt neighborhood, there are bound to be kids playing there at some point and their safety should be of the utmost concern. Secondly, I chose community because while being at the center of the neighborhood, it doesn’t receive very much foot traffic. I wanted to take this as a challenge to create a space where the community could come together for events and socialization. Finally, I chose accessibility because when it comes to accessible playgrounds, they are few and far between. For disabled individuals in wheelchairs, it can be a challenge to traverse playgrounds covered in woodchips or pebbles as there is very little traction. A solution to this is rubber play mats that have been implemented into many modern playgrounds that cover the surface to provide a safe and traversable surface.

My final design with the updated pavilion, additional lighting, and the new accessible playground

In my final design, I decided to keep as much open space as possible for the ice rinks in the winter as they draw in the most people. In order to achieve this, I moved the parking lot to the north side of the plot and put the new and updated shelter linearly just south of that. Keeping with the topic of safety, I placed the accessible playground along the east edge of the park, adjacent to the less busy 9th Street North. I also added multiple new street lights around the park and two new flood light poles to illuminate the center of the park. When it came to the shelter, I made sure to include a kitchen to it for community events as well as sizeable bathrooms and a skate rental facility. I also added a solar array on the roof of the shelter which made room for a loft study lounge under the 30-degree pitch of the roof. Along with that, the shelter is flanked on either side by open air picnic pavilions. Finally, I specially selected playground equipment that was deigned for children with special needs and disabilities. Providing a sensory experience, the main playset has many different materials for children to feel and explore while also having no elevated platforms.

A closer look at the accessible sensory playground with the interactive play set on the left, swings for all abilities in the middle, and a flush-with-the-ground merry-go-round on the right

As the primary objective of this project being the design of the site, I had to step into the shoes of a landscape architect when it came to the layout of the paths and where the new vegetation would be located. Because of this, the project proved to be somewhat of a challenge as I had to step outside of my comfort zone. In the end, I am grateful for this project making me think more about the reasoning behind my design and in return, making me a better architect.

A nighttime render of the redesigned Roosevelt Park