The park design preserved beloved features while adding flexible spaces and interactive elements.
We maintained and improved certain spaces in the park for which the community expressed love, and we took special care to preserve the historic trees in the park.
There were several community meetings held to figure out the community's needs around the park space. During the construction process, they were invited to put their handprints in the stepping stones around the park.
The Longhouse pavilion is designed to be interactive with whoever is using it. There is a bring-your-own-hammock section, a specially designed community table, custom game tables that are meant to be drawn on with chalk, and bench swings that invite folks to sit and stay for awhile.
After it was decommissioned, the school was given to MECA (Multi-Cultural Education and Counseling through the Arts), and the adjoining park was given to the City of Houston.
Asakura Robinson has completed several projects around the neighborhood including The Parks for Humans and Dogs, Washington Avenue Pattern Book, Sawyer Pattern Book, and the Washington and Houston Avenue streetscape. We are passionate about creating a fluid, accessible, and magnetic environment for all of the pedestrians, cyclists, and residents of the community. Accordingly, when the opportunity arose, we knew that the Dow Elementary Park would be a perfect expression of these ideals.
The intimate space at Dow Elementary School Park is about a quarter of an acre, so it requires flexible and functional space to accessibly and comfortably meet the community’s diverse needs. When designing the space, it was important to preserve and enhance many of the elements that the neighborhood already enjoyed while also adding new elements to help further activate the park.
In partnership with MetaLab, we held a series of community meetings to determine which elements people wanted to keep and which ones they were excited to transform for the future. Based on the community input, our team rehabilitated elements of the pre-existing playground and basketball court, and added new hardscaping across the park, while paying special attention to using permeable paving. We also invited the surrounding community out for an afternoon of fun that included putting their handprints into some of the stepping stones around the park.
The park redesign included the addition of a longhouse pavilion to serve as a gathering space. The pavilion features a versatile space where residents can bring their own hammocks, or use the space in different ways for various events. The pavilion uses locally sourced reclaimed wood for the internal structure and its design reflects the architectural style of the historic surroundings. Preserving the perimeter of mature live oak trees was another important consideration in the redesign process. We worked closely with the city and local arborists to ensure the trees would continue to thrive during and after the construction.
