We are used to shabby playgrounds, consisting of a single swing surrounded by a net. The search for better organized spaces organized by private entities can often be compared to the search for the holy grail or the golden train. In Gdansk, they tried to reverse this trend by creating a park with the investment, which was designed by APPO Landscape Architecture studio.
It is rare in Poland for a park to be created by private initiative. In Gdansk, developer Domesta decided to develop a section next to a newly built complex into a park, which was designed by APPO Architektura Krajobrazu studio. A final assessment of Hazel Park and its solutions will have to wait, but the trend itself is worth observing.
Designer Aleksandra Stryjewska of APPO Architektura Krajobrazu and Olga Przybylowska of Domesta talk about where the idea for partial landscaping came from, the creation of the park, its functions and the role of plants.
The project was created by APPO Architektura Krajobrazu studio
© APPO Architektura Krajobrazu
Wiktor Bochenek: What was previously in the area of the designed park and how did it influence the final concept?
Aleksandra Stryjewska (APPO Landscape Architecture): Before the park was created, the area was undeveloped and unused. The wasteland had great potential for not only a new housing development, but also a large park with a rich utility program for residents. When designing the park, the existing relief of the area was used. The varied relief of the area in question made it possible to design numerous walking paths, playgrounds and recreational spaces at different heights. The slopes created between them are covered with many species of groundcover plants, which increase the aesthetic value of the site.
Victor: How big will the new park be? What will be its immediate surroundings?
Olga Przybylowska(Domesta): In Gdansk, on Leszczynowa Street, we are implementing another project, weaving nature into the investment. The new park is being built on an area of more than sixteen thousand square meters. Both old-growth trees and younger trees growing in the project area have been incorporated into the design of the park, as well as the housing development being built next to it. In its immediate vicinity, the Leszczynowy Park housing development is being built, which will include six low-rise multi-family buildings.
The park is to cover sixteen thousand square meters
© APPO Landscape Architecture
Victor: What was the most important assumption in designing this park?
Alexandra: The most important assumption in designing the park at the "Hazel Park" housing development was to create a place with a rich program for users of different age categories, using the existing relief of the area and maintaining the attractiveness of the place all year round. In addition to a playground, a sensory path and a tyrolean for children, the park space will also include places for the elderly, such as an outdoor gym, a community garden and a viewing terrace. People of all ages can socialize in the park and spend their free time surrounded by beautiful vegetation.
However, it is worth waiting to assess the final effect
© APPO Landscape Architecture
Victor: How were the plants selected? What can we find in the park?
Alexandra: The main goal when designing vegetation well was to introduce different colors into the space of the estate and the adjacent park. The juxtaposition of the designed plants is intended to remain decorative throughout the year, not only during the growing season. Due to the terrain of the park, different species of shrub and groundcover plants were used. They cover the slopes, reinforcing them and creating a green ground cover.
Combined were flowering and decorative plants in spring and summer, such as the Japanese taverna "Anthony Waterer", rowan taverna "Sem" and purple willow "Nana" with apredominance of evergreen plants such as creeping juniper "Green Carpet", dwarf pine "Pumilio", common yew "Repandens", Chinese dry bush, Dammer's yarrow "Major" or Japanese rue.
Flat areas, between the elements of the park's equipment, are covered with perennial beds, consisting of, among others, catnip, sage, rudbeckia, and hydrophytic vegetation (grass and herbaceous) in absorption basins. The whole is complemented by tall plantings in the form of deciduous trees, fifty-nine new trees will be planted, as well as solitary shrubs - hazel in two varieties - common and purple, referring to the name of the estate.
The projected trees are ornamental due to their foliage (Ash-leaf Maple "Variegatum"), flowering (House Apple Tree), coloration (Swamp Oak) or habit (Acacia Robinia "Umbraculifera").
In the selection of greenery, diversity was important
© APPO Landscape Architecture
Victor: What kind of recreational zones will be located in the park space?
Olga: There will be space for several gardens in the park space. One of them will be an ecological and community garden with space for pots for growing herbs and vegetables, as well as a mini orchard with apple trees of paradise. There will be a sensory garden with special paths to support the proper development of motor skills and motor coordination. A functional rain garden will also play an important role in the park, thanks to which rainwater will be collected and used from nearby areas, including paved surfaces. The safe play area will be equipped with a natural playground made of wooden elements, as well as attractions in the form of a tyrolean, trampolines and a climbing mound. The active recreation area will be equipped with an outdoor gym and health paths. The park will have rest areas with benches and hammocks, as well as picnic tables.
Wiktor Bochenek: Thank you for the interview.
hazelnut park
© APPO Landscape Architecture
