Skylab worked alongside 2.ink Studio and in close collaboration with Portland Parks and Recreation to create this 16-acre, hourglass-shaped park in a northeast Portland neighborhood. The design team developed the park, formerly Beech Park, around an integrated strategy that creates both passive native meadow areas that require limited maintenance as well as areas for intensively active program elements. The neighborhood is a mix of longterm residents and an increasingly diverse population of new residents. The park’s program elements were developed in coordination with area residents through a series of public open houses and meetings with the project’s Design Advisory Group.
Designed by Skylab Architecture
Photographed by Stephen Miller / Brian Dalrymple
The park’s development introduces a mix of new activities onto the site including a community amphitheater, picnic shelter and restroom, off-leash dog area, a large community playground, interactive water feature, parking areas, walking paths, and community garden. Active uses include a skate spot, climbing wall, basketball, ping pong and soccer. The park’s design takes advantage of views to the Columbia River and distant Mount St. Helens while introducing a strong sense of the area’s native habitat to tie all of the elements of the park together.
