outside

The design goal was to bring new life to a vacant commercial big-box supermarket from the late 1990s and expand the YMCA’s outreach in high-growth Northwest San Antonio. An outdoor community gathering space encourages year-round use by library and YMCA patrons and accommodates the multiple activities occurring in public spaces.

 

Part of the library’s mission is to extend its reach beyond its building and staffed hours. By incorporating Wifi and plug-in access points, the outdoor space offers the e-resources of the library beyond its open hours, supporting community members and YMCA users with both an e-library and a pleasant place to enjoy a snack while reading, play with children, or work and read using mobile devices.

 

The chairs, tables, and benches are scaled to accommodate both children and adults. Pops of color in the furniture complements the architecture and adds a cheerful aesthetic. Wood benches introduce an element of nature and a contrast to the patio’s metal elements. The backless benches with center arms open the space visually while discouraging sleeping or skateboarding. The blend of neutral and accent tones achieves the balance the designers sought: the patio doesn’t overwhelm the multipurpose building but instead becomes a welcoming focal point for passersby.

The elevated half-mile linear park welcomes cyclists and pedestrians as it embodies a shining example of the modern reinterpretation of urban infrastructure to suit the needs of people, not cars, first and foremost. A collection of Landscape Forms solutions including Rama area lights, Plainwell benches and custom Studio 431 trellis structures welcome visitors to stop, rest and take in the newfound view of the river landscape.

Hillsdale Shopping Center’s North Block morphs the two seamlessly. The 300,000 square foot LEED Gold redevelopment features retail, dining, and entertainment venues, a terrace with fireplaces and seating for socializing and dining, and a large outdoor public plaza in the center of North Block that has become San Mateo’s newest community gathering place.

The plaza’s many seating and table elements are designed for all sorts of activities. Whether taking a shopping break in lounge seating, warming up on benches alongside the fireplaces, or sharing meals and conversations across dining and café tables, the outdoor spaces showcase myriad Landscape Forms products and give North Block a comfortable patio feel. Hi-Glo area lights keep the plaza hopping into the evening hours.

The plan, which focuses on mixed-use residential and commercial development, was initiated by a new 302-unit apartment building with a public park designed by landscape architect Guzzardo Partnership, Inc. The city sought a comprehensive approach to furnishings and lighting for the district that would provide high quality amenity and a distinctive aesthetic. It chose Landscape Forms Metro40 site furniture and complimentary Hi-Glo LED lighting, which meets stringent California Title 24 requirements for energy efficiency and “Dark Skies” compliance. More than seventy-five Hi-Glo lights have been installed to date on the ongoing project and Fremont has made Hi-Glo the new standard for pedestrian streetscape lighting.

The previously overgrown and unused hillside where the park was constructed now includes a Central Plaza featuring celebrated artist Beniamino Bufano’s Peace Sculpture as well as an overlook of the city and bay, a children’s play area, and a large dogpark. Landscape Forms’ Rest benches were used to create quiet, contemplative areas for park visitors to enjoy amongst the greenery and artwork. Our Hi-Glo and Hawthorne lights were also used to provide needed pedestrian-scale lighting for the park, enhancing the beauty and safety of the space while extending its usable hours.

The park is an active place with a continuous line-up of events, including performances by the Toledo Symphony and rotating exhibits curated by the Toledo Museum of Art. And now there is the daily pedestrian traffic from the approximately 1,000 ProMedica employees who previously worked in 25 facilities spread across the city and suburbs.

 

ProMedica worked with architecture firm HKS to create a headquarters that included the restoration of a 1896 Daniel Burnham-designed steam plant, a renovation of the 1981 Brutalist style Junction Building, and construction of a multi-level parking structure. Promenade Park sits between the buildings.

 

Landscape architecture and urban planning firm MKSK worked with the city to design the park in 2013 and then redesigned it when ProMedica became its client. Within the park is a walkway that connects the parking structure at the park’s upper level to the steam plant at the lower riverfront and runs alongside a detention basin. The park’s redesign included a custom bench from Landscape Forms’ Studio 431 that provided boundary between the walkway and the detention basin and took advantage of the location’s views of the park and Maumee River.

 

“Our idea was to introduce an element that related to the performance nature of the park,” says MKSK Associate Lisl Kotheimer. “The bench created a place for people to sit and take in the activity in the park.”

 

The continuous 100-foot-long bench spans a five-percent grade change and required the expertise of Studio 431’s engineering and manufacturing teams. The bench is made of 2,600 steel and wood components assembled into 20 five-foot long sections. It required over 400 unique wood profiles with custom CNC programs and hundreds of unique formed steel components as well.

 

Beyond Promenade Park, the ProMedica campus offers employees access to outdoor spaces furnished with a mix of Landscape Forms products. A lawn area on the Maumee River, an area next to the steam plant for company events, and a roof deck and ground-level terrace are active spaces for working, relaxing, and entertaining.

This common space for Bay Meadows residents features many specialized areas united by a common aesthetic. MultipliCITY benches and tables along with 24" Neoliviano benches create a group social space. Lungo Mare and Milenio concrete benches promote casual relaxation and rejuvenation, along with custom wood and concrete seating along the main promenade. Taken together, these curated outdoor spaces at Bay Meadows provide the ideal setting for residents and visitors alike to unwind and reconnect to nature in a social setting.