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Detroit, Michigan
Shift was one of five teams selected to produce a concept for the design of a park in the Morningside neighbourhood of Detroit. Shift’s approach was to adopt what made the site unique and apply that to a reimagined community space. “Memories and Daydreams” considers the historical use of the site as single family residences along with the social and ecological character present in the region to infuse new opportunities for activity and gathering.
As many of our memories and daydreams are tied to the spaces in the dwellings we inhabit, the domestic ‘room’ is important in the construction of one’s reality. Reflecting the homes that once occupied the site Shift considered the idea of the room as it could apply to the greater collective and meet the needs and desires of the surrounding community. What is proposed is a collection of ‘rooms’ that frame new zones of activity to reinforce the existing neighbourhood’s social fabric and inspire the creation of new memories and daydreams.
The concept of the ‘rooms’ creates defined spaces of active and passive programming while allowing for the organic growth of park programming over time. Proposed programming for each room suggests opportunities to gather and play, including: a playground, a recreation court, bocce and table tennis, an open lawn, a grassy berm, and shade pavilions. A Women’s Celebration Wall pays tribute to the women in the community and makes permanent an existing tribute to neighbourhood mothers. ‘Porches’ (street-side platforms/benches), along with weathered steel markers in the sidewalk (marking former property lines) and picket fences provide visual cues as to the private dwellings that existed there before, augmenting the conceptual narrative.
Site activities and programming are set into a vegetated matrix consisting of prairie grass, perennial gardens, and shade trees. Native prairie grass and wildflowers were embraced as hardy urban dwellers and signifiers of the regional landscape. Raingardens provide pockets for the collection of stormwater and the enhancement of infrastructural performance through landscape.