Working with SOM Chicago, TLS has conceived a park that is visually memorable, highly active and densely programmed which clearly leads the eye as well as pedestrians from the Government complex to the waterfront and its marine amenities. The park has been conceived with a wide variety of landscape and architectural spaces – recreational, artistic, musical, commercial, festival – are developed for civic life in general and the many families who will live here.
The Allee is structured by 4 rows of tall canopy trees with grand leafy canopies, in the manner of the great Parisian parks, and provides comfortable shaded space for strolling, sitting, as well as spending time at movable tables and chairs in open air cafes that overlook park activities.
The Grove is the dynamic, organic complement to the linear allee and is populated by a diverse tropical forest, including towering Banyan specimens. Beneath the canopy of the grove, a cool and lively understory is developed as an extension of the retail environment where a continuous series of pools with fountains and colorful fish are connected with a stream that receives and stores site rainfall.
The open space is highly programmed with uses for a wide range of residents and visitors. Features included are: a Rain Grotto with programmed rain falls from the trellis onto a moist fern garden creating a cool shady retreat, the Flower Farm which contains several lush floral displays and a “Tavern on the Green” type restaurant that overlooks the Rose, Anemone, and Peony Garden, and a Sculpture Park that descends into “amphitheater for art” terminating in a Art Center that faces the street.
Other elements of the park include a Children’s Area, Skate Bowls, Dance/ Tai Chi Green, Music Park, Moonrise Dream Theater, interactive fountains, local fish and produce market, a Lychee Orchard, Beer Garden and lastly an Olympic sized Floating Swimming Pool.