InterPlay Park is featured in the February issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine in print and online. Check out Editor Jennifer Ruet’s article on Terrain Work’s project here.
PLAY IN PEORIA! DESIGN FOR INTERPLAY PARK REVEALED
Terrain Work recently revealed the design for InterPlay Park in Peoria, Illinois. InterPlay Park creates a new intergenerational park for the people of Peoria that reconnects communities that have been historically divided by the construction of the I-74 Interstate corridor. The park hosts an array of play activities that support the surrounding districts and neighborhoods while encouraging new interactions between varying age groups and communities. InterPlay Park gives Peoria a new civic ground in the heart of the city that captures the imagination and enhances the physical, cognitive, and social experience. Stay tuned for more on this transformational project from KDB Group and Terrain Work! To learn more about InterPlay Park click here!
Theodore Hoerr Featured in Press Release by KDB Group
Theodore Hoerr, Founding Principal of Terrain Work, was recently featured in a press release by KDB Group. The article explores Theodore’s upbringing in Central Illinois to his recent work with Terrain Work including several projects in collaboration with KDB founder and chairman, Kim Blickenstaff, the central Illinois-born, California-based entrepreneur and philanthropist whose purchases of multiple iconic properties in Central Illinois has created a buzz within the community. Click here to read the article.
Santa Monica Mixed-Use Project Kicks Off
Terrain Work is delighted to announce that we have been selected to design the landscape for a new mixed-use development in Santa Monica, California. The project presents an opportunity to work in a deeply historic Southern California community that has been on the cutting edge of arts and culture. Stay tuned for more developments of this project in collaboration with WS Communities and Studio T-Square!
Terrain Work Selected to Design Al Fresco Park on the Illinois Riverfront
Terrain Work is excited to announce we have been commissioned to design the historically significant Al Fresco Park on the Illinois Riverfront in Central Illinois. The eight acre site was once part of an ecologically rich riparian corridor along the Illinois Riverfront, originally frequented as hunting and fishing grounds by Native Americans and French trappers that established the first European settlement of Peoria, IL. It became a regionally prominent amusement park from 1905 to 1944 that was connected by a trolley to downtown Peoria and various communities along the Illinois River via steam ships. Terrain Work, in collaboration with KDB Group, is re-imagining the park to be at the intersection of ecology and culture creating a new civic experience for the community. Look for more developments to come on this special project soon!
Terrain Work Creating "The Black Box" in Fremont, California
Terrain Work is creating a new landscape, The Black Box, for Warm Springs in Fremont, California, that will be a burgeoning new environment for the district. The project, in collaboration with Studio T-Square and Valley Oak Partners, is located adjacent to a new Bart Station and a recently constructed Tesla factory. Warm Springs is part of a larger transit-oriented development plan that provides residents and technology employees a new publicly accessible civic landscape. The landscape is centered around a large sunken plaza, The Black Box, which serves as a gathering space for the surrounding community and new tenant for the site. The design uses landscape with an array of biotic and aboitic materials to stimulate novel thinking through engaging all of the senses. To learn more about our Warm Springs Black Box Landscape click here.
TERRAIN WORK REVEALS DESIGN FOR ECOTONAL COMMUNITY IN ILLINOIS
Terrain Work recently created a master plan and design guidelines for a 33 acre Ecotonal Community in Illinois. The community will be organized around the ecotones of several distinctively mid-western landscapes: Deciduous Hardwood Forest, Shortgrass Prairie, and Littoral Edge. A central wildlife corridor creates a link for both species and residents to move between an adjacent hardwood forest and a shared open space surrounding a small lake. To learn more about Terrain Work’s Ecotonal Community click here.
TERRAIN WORK COOKING UP LANDSCAPE FOR TAYSTEE SITE IN HARLEM
Terrain Work is working with Janus Property Group and LevenBetts architects to create a new landscape for the old Taystee Bakery complex in Harlem, New York. The Taystee development will establish a new connection from 125th Street to West 126th Street to become one of the defining landscapes in the Manhattanville Factory District.
The Janus Property Company has built a reputation for creativity, integrity and success, becoming a leader in transforming New York’s obsolete buildings and underutilized land into newly active and lively neighborhoods. Taystee is key anchor development in Janus’ one million square foot master-planned vision for the Factory District that will be a delicious addition to the community. Terrain Work is delighted to collaborate with Janus and their design team on this transformative project for Harlem.
Theodore Hoerr of Terrain Work Presents at The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America
Theodore Hoerr, Founding Principal of Terrain Work, recently presented design research for age friendly landscapes at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society Of America (GSA) in Boston. Theodore was part of an interdisciplinary symposia consisting of a diverse panel of speakers, including psychologists, gerontologists, an architect, and a landscape architect, to address the importance of purpose in later life and the design of purposeful living spaces for older adults.
Theodore's talk explored how understanding the etymology of landscape can offer insight into designing spaces to create delight and foster purpose in life through the cultivation of the landscape. It also traced a history of a few key scientific studies that demonstrate the power of landscape to engender mental and physical health while providing promising links to improving self-esteem and fostering a sense of accomplishment in older adults.
This is an exciting point in time where designers have the knowledge and resources to create built environments that go beyond a series of checklists to address safety and accessibility. As evidence based design becomes more commonly relied upon as a tool for designers, it poses questions of how we can creatively design age friendly spaces that capture the imagination of all age groups while providing support for older adults.
A special thanks to symposia chair Professor Wingyun Mak PhD, and fellow panelists Ted Porter of Ted Porter Architecture, Karon Phillips, Ph.D., MPH, CHES, CAPS, Jean Accius, PhD, PMP, and Claire Daugeard . For more information on Terrain Work’s Ageless Design Research click here.