DETAILS
After an extensive public dialogue on its original design and performance, the City of Denver decided on a redesign of Skyline Park, downtown Denver’s only public open spaces. The three-block-long, three-acre, linear park is at the center of downtown Denver and is bisected by the 16th Street Mall, a lively pedestrian space that connects many of Denver’s attractions and transit hubs. Designed by Lawrence Halprin in the 1970s with sunken fountains, walls and berms, and without a sidewalk, the park was seen by many as a failed space, disconnected from nearby activities and streets, unsafe and plagued by a variety of social ills. The city’s goal was to carefully rethink the park’s program and profile in the re-emerging downtown and transform it into a vibrant civic venue for residents and workers as well as a locus of civic gatherings. An extensive public dialogue and outreach to Halprin ensued resulting in a direction for the park that would be based on memory and downtown’s future.
The linear park is conceived as a series of interwoven ribbons of new elements and materials. Existing Halprin elements, such as the fountains, have been sensitively retrofitted and combined with shade tree canopies and open lawns. Throughout the park are lawns—some flexible level areas that host a variety of celebrations and events; others lawn promontories from which daily urban life can be viewed. Café kiosks, shade pavilions, and interactive fountains contribute to the park’s extended activity. This system of intermingling layers—of elements old, new and adapted, at ground level and overhead—dramatically transforms these three blocks into a vibrant, successful and beloved park in the heart of downtown Denver.
Milton Street Park
Milton Street Park is a 1.2-acre linear urban park alongside the Ballona Creek Bike Trail in Los Angeles, California. The plan incorporates numerous green-design elements, including the use of recycled materials, native planting, flow-through planters and treatment alongside the 1,000-foot-long, 45-foot-wide stretch of land. A variety of special elements such...
San Jacinto Plaza
The redesign of San Jacinto Plaza, a historic gathering place in El Paso’s downtown business district provides a state-of-the-art urban open space, while protecting and celebrating the history and culture of the site. The project was the result of an intensive community process involving input from a wide range of constituents. Active programming, environmenta...
Main Street Garden Park
Thomas Balsley Associates was selected from an outreach to international design firms to design the first new park for the Dallas Central Business District in 50 years. A key component in the downtown revitalization strategy, Main Street Garden Park required the razing of two city blocks of buildings and garages making way for its transformation into a vibrant...
Dubai Expo 2020
From October 2021 to April 2022, the City of Dubai will host the World Expo: a large-scale International Registered Exhibition that will bring nations together with universal themes and immersive experiences. It will comprise an entire new city, built on a 1,083-acre site between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Expo site is organized around a central plaza linked to ...