AWARD FOR PLACEMAKING
taken from www.architects.org
The Santa Fe Railyard Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico was awarded a Placemaking award from the American Institute of Architects – Boston Society of Architects.
The park was designed by Ken Smith Landscape Architect (New York) and Frederic Schwartz Architects (New York) with project team members Mary Miss (artist, New York), URS (structural/M/E/P engineers, Los Alamos, NM) and Harris Consultants (construction manager, Santa Fe, NM).
This new public park and plaza—built on the last remaining large-scale parcel of public land in downtown Santa Fe—reclaimed an abandoned urban railyard to unite several neighborhoods previously separated by a blighted, Dust Bowl-like site. The urban- design project returned the industrial property to its role as a multimodal transportation center, connecting Albuquerque to Santa Fe with a new express commuter line and also creating a 3,000-foot bike path that forms a central corridor for an emerging citywide trail network. The diverse program includes a children’s play space, an alameda and farmers’ market, picnic areas, a shaded pavilion, gardens, a calendar of activities throughout the year and more. A national model for water conservation, the park celebrates its innovative water-harvesting methods by making a 40,000- gallon water tank the plaza’s focal point and restoring a historic acequia (a community-operated waterway used in former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation). The design, which plays with shadows and uses retaining walls and other materials for color and texture, is both aesthetically pleasing and inspirational. We also appreciated the plan’s sensitivity to universal design principles.
Tags: Awards, BSA/AIA NEW YORK CHAPTER URBAN DESIGN AWARDS, railyard, santa fe new mexico, urban design project, water harvesting
