Last week, on a fairly brisk morning, I took a walk along the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. I specifically went out to gather inspiration for a potential design project. I had met, a few days earlier, with residents of a multi unit condo building in South Boston. Their property has a huge area of unused, open green space (the size of a double city lot) that they want to turn in to a useable, beautiful space for the building residents. As we talked about the potential program (space for seating and outdoor dining, privacy, a walkway to the adjacent street, perhaps a community garden and a dog run area) I kept thinking about public parks. So, I went down to the Greenway to see what design elements might be relevant in a multi unit residential space.
It was fun, and I did find a lot of inspiring elements. Here are a few of them!
In this narrow section, plant beds are edged with sweeping curves of granite. A great way to create rhythm and interest in a long narrow space
I love how these multi stemmed birch are planted in berms amidst the hardscape. Reminded me a bit of Martha Schwartz’s design for the Minneapolis Courtyard Plaza
A great detail, this channel drain is beautiful and delineates two color tones in the hardscape
The mural at Dewey Square Park is something that changes every year or so. This installation is titled Seven Moon Junction by Shinique Smith
Community gardening and community eating, all in the same space. Brilliant!
A great example of a mixed plant bed looking great in late Autumn/early Winter. This is a mix of Fothergilla, Aster and Amsonia underplanting different deciduous trees
The gate to the Chinatown park area. What I love about this is the strong color, the simple sweep of grass and the use of structure as a transition.
