The Klyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas, USA, by the Office of James Burnett – OJB The Dallas community has taken a bold step by deciding to construct a park over the existing Woodall Rogers Freeway in a busy area of the city. As a result of this initiative, the city’s Klyde Warren Park offers a new perspective on urban revitalization, showing that it does not need to be restricted to sites left behind with economic decline. It is a process that can also create new spaces that coexist with current users while enabling new functions.
Ariel shot of Klyde Warren Park. Photo by AerialPhotography Inc.
Klyde Warren Park
Embraced by the citizens and adapted to existing elements An important characteristic of the park’s design was the fact that it has been idealized by the citizens despite having a large scale, which is usually associated with government initiatives. Some community leaders were able to see an opportunity to use the gap between the ground level, where the buildings and streets are located, and the sunken freeway to construct a deck to support an outdoor green area that is a mix of a pedestrian bridge and an urban park, connecting the Central Business District, Uptown, and the Arts District in downtown Dallas.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Thomas McConnell
From the Initial Idea to its Completion The period between 2002 and 2004 was critical to define the leaders, identify the sponsors, and produce the studies of the project. Its main aim was to improve the quality of life in the busy center of Dallas by reducing traffic noise and air pollution through the construction of a park over the existing freeway.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Gary Zvonkovic
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Mei Chun Jau
Properties Rise in Market Value An expected effect that engaged the real estate community in the project was the rise of the surrounding properties’ market value. As the idea evolved and demonstrated that it would bring many more benefits to the whole community, more people became interested in taking part in it, generating important donations. Although the park is owned by the city, the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation managed all stages of the project until its completion in 2012.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Dillon Diers
The Design Concept of Klyde Warren Park
The award-winning landscape architect Jim Burnett, the principal of the Office of James Burnett, was chosen to lead the design of the five-acre park. The choice for a designer who is well known for his multidisciplinary approach challenging the conventional boundaries of landscape architecture showed that the citizens were interested in an innovative solution that enabled their reconnection to the urban fabric.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Gary Zvonkovic
Design of a World-class Public Space As community leaders were researching the best solutions that had been built in other places, they were no longer interested in the old models that dissociated the business centers from outdoor activities and pedestrian areas. Those leaders represented the well-informed and convicted clients to whom the landscape architecture firm should create a design of a world-class public space.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Mei Chun Jau
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Mei Chun Jau
The Solution The designers’ solution resulted in a place that offers amenities to the residents and workers, in addition to enabling visitors to feel they also belong to it by producing comfortable and relaxing spaces. These environments were intended to transport the users to their own residences by offering them the opportunity to enjoy diverse activities by discovering the different “rooms” of the park. Related Articles:
Spatial Organization A pedestrian promenade works as the element that organizes the park, inviting visitors to explore its different areas, including the children’s park with water features, the reading room, the restaurant, and the event lawn. The continuation of the pedestrian promenade over the adjacent street extends the visitors’ experience to the botanical garden, the dog park, the recreation lawn, and the games area.
Klyde Warren Park. Photo credit: Dillon Diers
The Synthesis of Engineering and Landscape Design The concept, of building the park over the freeway, was only possible due to the combined efforts of engineers and landscape architects. More than 300 concrete beams were arranged with the slabs forming a structural deck to support the soil and enabling the construction of the stormwater system. The slab and beams system works as planter boxes to accommodate more than 300 trees and other native plants that are growing in the desired size in specially designed soil combined with Geofoam, which helps to reduce the load on the deck.
The Positive Results The Klyde Warren Park fulfilled the citizens’ expectations by creating a layer with rooms of well-being to replace a typical modern urban landscape dominated by vehicles lanes. The locals and visitors now have a park where they can explore the outdoors and enjoy inspiring views of the surrounding buildings. WATCH: Dallas Klyde Warren Park Aerial Video: From Freeway to Greenway The general public can learn a lot from this case in relation to the community initiative to produce a healthier, beautiful, and more productive urban environment, which is a breakthrough in the urban model that has for years favored cars over people. And the landscape designers can celebrate the fact that their field of knowledge is playing a central role in the achievement of this goal. Photography by Liane Rochelle Photography, Dillon Diers, Mei Chun Jau, Thomas McConnell, Gary Zvonkovic Recommended Reading:
If this is your first time on the new site, please click "Forgot your password?". Follow the steps to reset your password. It may be the same as your old one.
