The Fields is the third of three parks in Portland starting with Jamison Square andTanner Springs Park all in Northwest Portland. This studio design was really left up to each individual in the class to analyze and create without a lot of influence. We had minor direction from the City of Portland on what they wanted such as a sports area.

My thoughts started by analyzing the two existing parks in regards of what they offered and in turn didn’t offer. For example Jamison Square was a destination for kids, it was playful, focused on water while Tanner Springs was quiet, reserved, a place for retreat. I also looked for things that connected the two parks and how that could be continued. Another consideration was the fact that Northwest Portland had a huge number of dogs and neither of the existing parks considered that and even banned dogs in Tanner Springs. The third important consideration was the existing, continuous boardwalk that started at Jamison Square and continued north to The Fields.

Being a dog owner myself I focused largely on creating a space for dogs where owners could let their pets run around but without feeling secluded from the rest of the park. I tried to achieve this by using minimal fencing and instead making use of creative walls and haha’s on the border between the dog area and sports areas. Included in the dog area is a series of objects to entertain dogs such as mounds that allow dogs to have vantage points to see the rest of the park, a pond and fountain to play in and a series of rocks and logs to jump on or run around.

In an attempt to tie in the third park with the first two I continued the boardwalk straight through and then over the park to connect to the future shopping center on the other side of the railroad tracks. I also continued the theme in Tanner Springs by incorporating a stormwater management design along the south end of the park with native plantings.

In the end I tied the parks together with common themes such as the boardwalk, plantings and water, while providing features that did not exist at the other two parks such as a dog park and open play space.