MAGIC & MYSTERY
KIRKE PARK
Located in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, the development of Kirke Park transformed a defunct site into a vibrant neighborhood park.
Comprehensive community outreach was an important process for this project. Flora Yeh was the lead designer for Site Workshop. Working closely with the community groups, the design team was eager to preserve the “magic and mystery” within the park. Among the guiding principles emerging from the community workshops are:
Maintain and enhance the “spirit of the place”
Create playful spaces for all ages
Integrate sustainability and stewardship into the design
Kirke Park honors the Norwegian heritage of the neighborhood. Kirke, “church” in Norwegian, also references the church that once stood at the site. The park includes several “rooms” that reflect the site’s past and the neighborhood’s future.
A community garden continues the site’s history of producing food while the “secret garden” inside the preserved concrete walls of a chapel provides a contemplative space. A gathering plaza with an arbor structure connected to the open lawn, provides a space for community events and informal play. The active area includes play structures and an “adventure trail” that uses logs and boulders to promote a “nature play” environment.
Kirke Park received an Award of Design Excellence from the Seattle Design Commission, and ASLA Washington Chapter Honor Award in Design.
