17TH STREET PLAZA

This park was designed to act as an outdoor living room for the community. The nearby residents expressed that they wanted an area to barbecue, but they also said that the usual charcoal grills found in public parks were often in a state of disrepair. To provide higher quality grills that could not easily be stolen from a public space, I came up with the idea of grill tables, inspired by Korean barbecue tables. These grill tables allow people to socialize while cooking, making barbecues a much more intimate experience. Pizza ovens were also added to the space to allow for another unique cooking experience.

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There is a church on the same block as the park and there is a possible connection to the South end of the site. To bring the community together in another way, a stage and seating were added to allow for outdoor church services and other community events. In addition, an abundance of lights were added to allow for night use and a splash pad was included so that kids could play on hot days.

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The nearby streets needed to be redesigned to address the needs of the community as many of the residents ride bicycles and use the bus system. I proposed to make the nearby streets complete streets, reducing the size of the street itself by adding in buffers, bike lanes, and wider sidewalks. All of the bus stops were also improved, providing seating and roofs for each one.

WHERE

Gainesville, FL