Denver Parks and Recreation “ReImagines Play” at City Park: A GPHN Q&A with the project’s Senior Landscape Planner Britta Herwig
In early March, Denver Parks & Rec announced a plan to redesign the Dustin Redd playground at City Park. With a $5 million dollar budget, a design competition, and a public process, the department aims to create an iconic new play experience City Park. Britta Herwig, the Senior Landscape Planner assigned to the project, joined GPHN to share the details on this exciting new project.
Q: For readers just hearing about DPR’s “ReImagine Play” project, what is it?
A: ReImagine Play is a challenge proposed to the greater design world, to park users, and the citizens of Denver to rethink the meaning of play and come up with unique, exciting ways for people of all backgrounds and ages to play, learn and socialize.
Q: How did the project come to be?
A: Two reasons: DPR adopted a system-wide play area master plan that set a new direction for play in Denver and a combination of the existing wooden playground being outdated and in a prime location has created a synergistic opportunity to reinvent the play space.
Q: Who is involved?
A: The DPR management and planning team are commencing and managing the project but ultimately it is the vision of the department to have everyone involved from neighbors, parents, kids, seniors and community leaders along with local institutions like the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo, businesses and city staff.
Q: Where will it be built?
A: The site footprint will include, but may not be limited to, the current Dustin Redd playground site just west of the City Park Pavilion.
Q: When will it be completed?
A: We are planning on the design being complete next summer, which would be followed by various fundraising efforts to get us to our goal of about $3 million. Construction will likely be underway in Spring 2014 and completed that summer.
Q: Is the “ReImagine Play” project, with its public process and design competition, the first of its kind for Denver Parks & Rec?
A: Yes, this is the first time we’re using a design competition to gather innovative ideas. It’s also the first time we will be setting a budget based on fundraising. And it will be the largest play space in the metro area.
Q: The “ReImagine Play” project’s stated goal is to engage the community in a process that will challenge currently accepted definitions of a playground. What sort of design proposals are you expecting to see?
A: The beauty of a competition like this is that we’re setting relatively few constraints on things such as size or budget, but are giving an exciting list of guiding criteria – Playable, Sustainable, Feasible, Accessible, Flexible, Multi-generational, Innovative, Interactive, Experimental, Contextual. So, we’re hoping to be amazed by lots of fun and creative concepts.
Q: How does the “ReImagine Play” project relate to Denver’s 2008 Playground Master Plan?
A: The master plan set us on this path of rethinking how we serve our community with our playgrounds. This project will be our best interpretation of the master plan and a guide for future projects.
Q: As part of the volunteer crew that constructed the wooden Dustin Redd playground in the ’90s, I am surprised it’s already reached the end of its lifespan. Will sustainability factor into the design choice for the new playground?
A: Sustainability is a key factor in all of our projects now and there is much research and expertise out there that will help us make the right choices moving forward.
Q: “Multi-generational” is among the criteria for the new design. Can you give us an idea of what that will look like?
A: The goal is to create a space that is welcoming to and engaging for visitors of all ages and finds ways to encourage sharing of space as well as interaction between age groups. There are a variety of ways to interpret that concept and we are hoping that will be an integral part of each design we receive.
Q: Denver has very specific rules when it comes to playground construction materials. What sort of building materials will be required in the new playground design?
A: Right now, we’re focusing on finding creative design ideas and while each concept will be evaluated on sustainability and safety, determining materials will come later in the process.
Q: A complete Request for Proposal (RFP) is available on the denvergov.org/reimagineplay website. What sort of response level is expected by the March 30th deadline?
A: We’re hoping for lots of interest and expect to have at least 15 to 20 proposals to review.
Q: All firms participating in the project must include a Landscape Architect licensed in the State of Colorado and meet a 15% participation goal for Denver Minority or Women-Owned Businesses. Is there an intention to give preference to Colorado-based firms?
A: Any concepts we consider have to meet the requirements mentioned. Beyond that, we’re looking for the best design idea.
Q: The public presentation for the finalists’ concepts is scheduled from July 2-6. Will the public have a vote in the design?
A: Yes, we will be displaying the semi-finalist concepts publicly in several places during the second half of May specifically to gather input and thoughts from the greater community. That input will be passed on to the jury to assist in selecting the finalists. We’ll follow that same process for the finalist presentations in July.
Q: What role does the City Council, the City Park Alliance, and the Colorado Health Foundation play in this process?
A: They all support this project in various ways ranging from public outreach to funding. The Colorado Health Foundation for example gave us a $75,000 grant to cover design and public outreach costs during this initial phase.
Q: The $5 million dollar budget allotted for this project: Where does that money come from? Is the project fully-funded at present?
A: We currently have funding to cover the design process. We are looking to raise most of the funding needed for construction through grants and donations, which will be matched to some extent by the City.
Q: In your opinion, what is the most exciting part of the “ReImagine Play” project?
A: We are looking forward to this process putting Denver at the forefront of the most innovative play spaces in the world. It is our hope that vision will be shared by the submissions we get with this design challenge. We’re also looking forward to the many opportunities this process will give us to engage the community in conversations about ‘play’.