TYPE: Competition - Jury Award For Waterfront Park Innovation
LOCATION: Boston, MA
CLIENT: Boston Society of Landscape Architects
TEAM: Jordan Bradley & Emily Scarfe
LOCATION: Boston, MA
CLIENT: Boston Society of Landscape Architects
TEAM: Jordan Bradley & Emily Scarfe
Boston’s Joe Moakley Park is a diamond in the rough. The existing South Boston park’s location is located on a site any urban planner would envy. The park occupies close to 60-acres of open space near 80 acres of waterfront property south of Downtown Boston, facing the North Atlantic Ocean. It is in close proximity to the National Parks System’s Boston Harbor Islands and has potential vantage points north to the Boston Skyline. The park is currently accessible by both the MBTA JFK and Andrews T-Stops, and by the pedestrian Harborwalk trail. The surrounding adjacent neighborhoods of Joe Moakley Park represent a diverse cross-section of Boston’s multi-cultural population. The existing park provides many recreational opportunities, in particular access to a wide range of sports fields.
However, this diamond in the rough has not been unearthed. It remains undiscovered in South Boston. Our proposal for Joe Moakley Park will enhance the existing potential of the site’s location and park amenities and will allow for further resiliency in response to projected climate change.
We propose adding topography constructed from dredging the channel to and from Carson Beach and the Harbor Islands, in order to infill a series of considered landforms. These landforms will both enhance the overall experience of the park itself and will create static points above projected sea levels which will remain dry as tides rise potential flooding occurs. The new dry zones will be connected and intersected by a series of lightweight scaffolded walkways that will function as elevated boardwalks across the site. The wet zones will be connected by lightweight, floating walkways, allowing for complete access, no matter the tide.
Recreational opportunities abound in the existing park, but increased park programming will further enhance a wider range of activities, for an increasing diverse demographic. Improved site access is proposed as a means to connect the adjacent neighborhoods, and to maximize the existing site. Trails will range from small, medium, and large; from trail, to pedestrian path, to multi-use recreational trails will bisect the site, and connect to the larger network of recreational trails at Pleasure Beach and beyond. There is also an opportunity to connect the site, via passenger ferry, to the NPS Boston Harbor Islands, to downtown Boston, the airport, and North Shore.
However, this diamond in the rough has not been unearthed. It remains undiscovered in South Boston. Our proposal for Joe Moakley Park will enhance the existing potential of the site’s location and park amenities and will allow for further resiliency in response to projected climate change.
We propose adding topography constructed from dredging the channel to and from Carson Beach and the Harbor Islands, in order to infill a series of considered landforms. These landforms will both enhance the overall experience of the park itself and will create static points above projected sea levels which will remain dry as tides rise potential flooding occurs. The new dry zones will be connected and intersected by a series of lightweight scaffolded walkways that will function as elevated boardwalks across the site. The wet zones will be connected by lightweight, floating walkways, allowing for complete access, no matter the tide.
Recreational opportunities abound in the existing park, but increased park programming will further enhance a wider range of activities, for an increasing diverse demographic. Improved site access is proposed as a means to connect the adjacent neighborhoods, and to maximize the existing site. Trails will range from small, medium, and large; from trail, to pedestrian path, to multi-use recreational trails will bisect the site, and connect to the larger network of recreational trails at Pleasure Beach and beyond. There is also an opportunity to connect the site, via passenger ferry, to the NPS Boston Harbor Islands, to downtown Boston, the airport, and North Shore.
