Next Generation of Parks
Co-presented by the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, the Walker Art Center, and the University of Minnesota College of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture, and the Metropolitan Design Center.
Just as Minneapolis civic leaders had the foresight 125 years ago to create the park system we enjoy today, we, too, must plan for future generations. Climate change, limited natural resources, economic instability, and changing demographics require a comprehensive, integrated approach to parks planning and design at a time of limited government resources. The Next Generation of Parks is an envisioning process to engage citizens in imagining the future of our park system.
Laurie Olin, Finding Lost Spaces
Thursday, July 15, 7:00pm
Reception to Follow
University of Minnesota College of Design, 100 Rapson Hall
Parking at the Church Street Garage
Free
Laurie Olin is a distinguished teacher, author, and founding principal of OLIN, one of America’s leading landscape architecture firms. OLIN has created award-winning projects, from Bryant Park in New York City and the J.Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles to the Brancusi Ensemble in Romania and the Barnes Foundation Art Education Center in Philadelphia. The firm received a 2008 National Design Award for excellence and innovation in landscape design and dedication to sustainability. Olin has written and lectured w
idely, receiving the Bradford Williams medal for superior writing on landscape architecture.
Past Events:
New York’s High Line
Robert Hammond, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Friends of the High Line
Lisa Tziona Switkin, Associate Principal, James Corner Field Operations
Wednesday, June 16, 7 pm, reception to follow
Cinema, Walker Art Center
Free
The High Line in New York City opened last summer to critical and public acclaim. One of the most unusual and stunning new public parks in recent decades, this abandoned elevated railway has been transformed into a public pedestrian greenway. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, with Lisa Tziona Switkin serving as lead designer, as well as architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, this remarkable urban transformation was spearheaded in 1999 by Robert Hammond and Joshua David, two residents of the High Line’s Chelsea neighborhood. Since the opening of the High Line, the neighborhoods through which it runs have seen a renaissance of sorts now abuzz with activity, new business and many plans for further development.
London’s Green Grid
Jamie Dean, Program Manager, East London Green Grid
Thursday, May 13, 7 pm, reception to follow
Cowles Auditorium, U of MN Humphrey Institute
Free
“The vision for the East London Green Grid is to create a network of interlinked, multi-purpose open spaces with connections to the places where people live and work, public transport, the Green Belt and the Thames. This will be a richly varied landscape that will include diverse uses to appeal to all.”* Conceived as a “living network of parks, green spaces, river and other corridors,” London’s ambitious Green Grid initiative will improve the quality of open space for people and wildlife, manage water quality and the risk of flooding, improve public health, enhance biodiversity, and link communities. Jamie Dean will present this comprehensive and integrated approach to urban planning. The East London Green Grid is the recipient of the 2008 Landscape Institute's Presidents Medal and Strategic Landscape Project Award.
* East London Green Grid Primer
Download the Next Generation of Parks Brochure HERE