Two pocket parks, a perimeter streetscape, and a mid-block mews for a large mixed-use tower development
The scale proposed for the outdoor spaces in this bustling part of downtown aspires to cultivate public intimacy and a contagious optimism for the urban experience. The perimeter streetscape of trees in large soil volumes, as well as an outdoor mews along the centre spine of the block, culminate at two outdoor rooms that define the heart of this development. The park proposed at the north features a large water wall (à la Paley Park in New York) to create a calming backdrop. A bosk canopy planted in a lush softscape at the centre of a concentric oval paving pattern defines the foreground. A bosk also defines the privately-owned public space (POPS) at the south, but with contrast here provided by a continuous hard surface of concentric squares. The interplay of pattern, material, water, and vegetation combine to provide a comfortable setting that relaxes personal space, creating an intimate public mise-en-scene within this increasingly dense neighbourhood.
