Symbiosis with Context Adds Connectivity, Sense of Place
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"3000","speed":"300","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationTampa, Florida, USA
ClientCity of Tampa
Size8 acres

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park has been heralded as Tampa’s missing “here” and the crown jewel in the city’s Riverwalk, a bold new urban plan conceived to reactivate the Hillsboro River and downtown Tampa. To ensure that the park takes its place as focal point of this new cultural district, a master plan was prepared from which the park, Riverwalk, and museums and park buildings derived their symbiotic relationships to each other, the city and the river. The plan boldly called for the removal of an old museum and sprawling parking garage that had denied the city access to its riverfront.

The southern border of the park connects with the renovated Kiley Garden, whose elevation one story above grade has discouraged public access and enjoyment. A pedestrian bridge now connects both park spaces and gives new meaning to the Kiley garden in the hearts and daily lives of Tampa citizens. Tucked up against the unsightly municipal parking garage, the new Tampa Museum of Art and Glazer Children’s Museum have sprouted culture and family activities at the park. At the park’s center is the Great Lawn. Surrounded by trees and scaled to accommodate large and small events, it’s framed on either end by fountain plazas that can become venues for larger festivals. The design carves into the sloping topography to reveal terraced lawn panels that spill down from the museum terraces and garden promenade. The southern edge is activated by a linear park pavilion with restrooms, offices, café, visitor center and restaurant with unparalleled river views.

The interactive louver and mist fountains at either end of the park are designed to capture Tampa’s imagination while cooling its feet. Distinctive fountain, pavement, and pylon lights extend the nighttime draw of citizens to their glowing park. Located along the Riverwalk and taking their sculptural cues from the Museum of Art are the contemporary play area and urban dog run. Innovative lawn rafts, timber chairs, concrete loungers, and picnic tables reflect a commitment to 21st century comforts beyond the conventional bench and draw enthusiastic crowds to downtown Tampa’s new front lawn.

Related Projects

Silver Park

An entire 42nd Street block, in Manhattan’s west side, has been developed as a new residential tower complex whose central public park space is common ground to be shared by the neighborhood and new residents. A strong architectural edge at its 42nd Street sidewalk is created by fall portal light pylons and a trellis “room” from which visitors can view the str...

St. Louis Arch Grounds

Spanning three city blocks and linking two vibrant city attractions, the Grounds Connector is an integral but unfinished component of Eero Saarinen’s vision for the St. Louis Arch. This missing link can be partially blamed for the disconnect between a stressed downtown and a popular monument that draws four million visitors per year.

Following an intern...

Faria Lima

A new office tower, theater and café pavilion known as Alameda is being built in the high end district of downtown Sao Paulo; the centerpiece of the site design is the Alameda civic plaza. Lifted gently above the street level, four generous steps invite visitors to enter and explore the plaza while branded light pylons at all major entrances serve as place mar...

Nelson Mandela Park Master Plan

Identified by the City as one of its “Big Five” open space projects, the conceptual master plan for Nelson Mandela Park will create a much-needed central open space for the city’s south district, an industrial area along the waterfront that is home to a growing and increasingly diverse population. Here the city seeks to transcend its current park paradigm of l...

Grand Candela Memorial

The “Grand Candela” commemorates the victims and survivors of the August 2019 mass shooting tragedy at Walmart’s Cielo Vista store. Inspired by the motif of an everlasting candle and set in a plaza within the store’s parking lot, the memorial offers a dedicated place of healing and remembrance. Twenty-two columns of perforated metal, one for each life lost, ar...

Peggy Rockefeller Plaza

Stretching along nine blocks of New York City’s Upper East Side, Rockefeller University is a world-renowned medical research institution with an impressive roster of Nobel Prize winners — and beautiful river views. Once a harmonious urban oasis of 19th century buildings and 20th century modernism stitched together by a renowned Dan Kiley landscape, the c...

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...

Intercontinental Hotel

Located in the center of the vibrant Times Square district, this new four-star hotel (one of only three in New York City) serves as the base for well-traveled tourists, businessmen and dignitaries from around the world. As a unique product of the hotel’s branding and place-making strategy, the client asked that the courtyard make a memorable first impression o...