Last week, my design group and I went to Corrine Jones Park and sat in the barely there spring grass, catching the sun in the future site of the garden. We watched the families push their kids in strollers next to the basketball courts. The moms help their young kids go down the slide. The dad that played basketball with his kids and two other neighbor kids as well. One of the most apparent things we noticed was the sense of community that existed at the park. There was not a parent or child playing alone nor was there a stranger. It is obvious the importance that this park has to all that use it and the significance that a gathering space, like a garden pavilion will provide to them.
We left the park not only thinking about the best way to enter the garden pavilion or the area of the park with the most traffic, but the significance our design will have on the people that will use it every day. We were not only reminded of the importance of observation and interaction with these people, but given a sense of duty to give them something that will not only be usable, but also a point of pride for their neighborhood.
Corrine Jones Park