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By Lookout Staff
July 17 – Santa Monica Airport Park -- which incorporates
sustainable features and a distinct industrial look -- has won design
awards from two distinguished civic groups, as well as from a peer
group of architects.
Designed by Ah'bé landscape architects of Culver City, the
park won awards last month from the Los Angeles Business Council
and the Westside Urban Forum, as well as an award from the Southern
California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
earlier this year.
The design was informed by the historical role of Santa Monica’s
municipal airport in the annals of flying, as well as by the neighboring
structures, according to designers at ah'bé, which was involved
with all phases of the project, from planning through construction.
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| Park soccer field (Photos by Olin Ericksen) |
"The airport connects the city to other parts of the world,"
says Calvin Abe, FASLA, principal, ah'bé landscape architects.
"In designing the park, we expressed this notion through a
series of pathways that abstractly represent people making connections
and also suggest taxiways and runways.
"The surrounding industrial architecture also informed the
design of the park," says Abe. "For example, in choosing
benches and tables for the picnic areas and lighting for the site
and sports fields, we selected galvanized steel for its industrial
look, instead of the traditional colorful, rustic-looking park furniture
and finishes."
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| Jungle gym |
Opened in April of last year, Santa Monica’s first new park
in a quarter century showcases sprawling stretches of artificial
turf, a walking track and the city’s fourth off-leash dog
park.
The dog park was designed as a series of three terraces, each of
which drains back into the slope, capturing 100 percent of the water,
the park’s designers said. A French drain system includes
a network of filters that prevent any overflow or runoff from entering
the city storm drain.
The park also features a walking and jogging track and nearly three
acres of synthetic turf for sports, including a state-of-the-art
soccer field with 80-foot-tall non-glare lighting standards with
shielded lamps.
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| Park playground |
Infiltration beds under the sports field detain storm water from
portions of the airport and the park, improving the city's storm
water management, according to the architects. The parking lots
were paved in permeable asphalt pavement for storm-water retention.
The park also includes a children’s playground, informal open
space and picnic areas with six barbecues and restroom and storage
facilities.
“In addition to providing a new green space for the residents
of Santa Monica, the park functions as a visual buffer between the
airport and the adjacent commercial and residential neighborhoods,”
according to the architects.
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