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As part of its master parks plan for The Village, Oklahoma—a city of less than 10,000 people—landscape architecture firm LAUD Studio rehabilitated six residential parks. But demolishing a dilapidated apartment complex between the library and city hall created an opportunity to build a connector between them as well as a new plaza in collaboration with local design firm Common Works. It’s called Village Park.
“The city just never had the classic town square,” said LAUD Studio founder Brent Wall. “The park is an attempt to create a hub in the heart of the city.”
Common Works Architects designed two rectangular cedar-clad, pale green pavilions around a concrete stage for programming on the plaza. “We wanted consistency along the whole park and to maintain that traditional park feel,” designer Chandler Brown said. “The choice of cedar versus concrete or steel and softer colors lends warmth and references a more traditional park setting that is also more approachable.”
While only a few hundred feet apart, each pavilion is tailored to its specific location. One, at 60 feet long and 20 feet wide, is narrower and airier, with open seating under four shed-shaped structures with 14-foot roofs. The other pavilion measures 100 by 20 feet, offering more space for picnic tables and a public bathroom under pitched steel roofs complete with hanging lights and ceiling fans.
The city’s goal to promote physical and mental health also shaped the design for a final white pavilion. Set farther back from the main plaza, a U-shaped structure envelopes an outdoor gym and play area serving children, young adults, and family outdoor recreation.
For Brown, “a big concern was creating visual privacy during the day while still connecting to the landscape.” As a solution, metal fins serve as a buffer between the visitor and the street, allowing kids to play and adults to exercise without prying eyes.
James Russell is a freelance writer in Fort Worth, Texas, who writes about art, the built environment, and politics for multiple outlets, including Arts and Culture Texas, Texas Architect, and Landscape Architecture Magazine.
Project Specifications
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- Design architect: Common Works Architects
- Architect of record: LAUD Studio
- Landscape architect: LAUD Studio
- Structural engineering: 360 Engineering
- Electrical engineering: CEC
- Civil engineering: Johnson & Associates
- Lighting design: Hess
- Play equipment: Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, Lappset, Poligon
- Water fountains: Most Dependable Fountains, Delta Fountains
- Outdoor furniture: Fermob, Kim, 3Form, Forever Lawn, Landscape Forms, Santa & Cole, Belson Outdoors, Vestre, mmcité