≤ 196 Parks - A SAALA practice-based studio

Of the 232 parks in Frankston, eleven are large ‘municipal’ parks, twenty are ‘district’ scale, and 196 are local. Local parks here are often pockets of green space within evelopments, left-over land from subdivision, easements associated with drainage lines, spaces that service a few courts, transitional spaces that offer quick cuts or detours. Some operate as sportsfields, others are associated with schools. All offer possibilities beyond their scale. As a network they offer greater possibilities still. It is this network of green space that we are interested in. A network threaded through the City of Frankston.
Who do these parks serve? Who should they serve? How do they relate to each other? What patterns of usage, past and present, do they reflect and what can a network of such spaces project into the future. With the small budgets allocated to their conception and maintenance, what can be achieved with this mosaic of green space? How can we design these spaces to respond to climate change and tight fiscal circumstances? What can the design of these spaces bring to the City of Frankston, its identity, its amenity, its forward planning? Could such a designed network act as a template for larger actions, and be a model for urban resilience?
Students will work in teams. Each team will design a suite or ensemble of at least twenty of these local parks. The choice is yours: a geographical subsection, a perimeter, a transect, identify a type, a contour line… There is an element of intensiveness, of the extreme, to this design process. Decisions – good decisions – need to made quickly. People need to bring their individual skills to the table. Welcome to our world. The office in practice with deadlines, constraints – and an overarching drive for design excellence achieved through engaged, collaborative, and creative processes.