Orange county, CA officials have selected a top cutting-edge landscape architect, Ken Smith of New York City, to sculpt a huge park out of the old runways and flat landscape of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Smith's plan for the 1300 acre site includes a 70-foot deep canyon that extends for two miles, along with a lake, an amphitheater, an air museum, a lodge, and a platform for hot-air balloons that will carry visit over the entire park, which is larger than Golden Gate Park in San Francisco or New York's Central Park.
Mark Baldassare, research director for the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco told the Los Angeles Times that the Orange County Great Park is "going to change the landscape" of the county "and the way the county is viewed for generations."
Smith's design team includes Mexican architect Enrique Norten, artist Mary Miss and Mia Lehrer, a Los Angles landscape architect. Smith's previous projects include the roof garden atop the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and Railyard Park in Santa Fe, NM.
The Marine Air Station was closed in 1999, and a divisive debate ensued about the possibility of using it as an international airport. Voters, however, rejected the airport plan in favor of the park. Part of the property will remain in the hands of the federal government as a wildlife habitat, and part has been designated for residential and commercial use.
I had the great opportunity to visit Ken Smith in his studio and to see the plans for the Orange County project as part of a class visit. He is an amazing designer and a true visionary. Imagine taking a FLAT airstrip and turning it into a CANYON! His plan? Dig down 70 feet and put the dirt on top -- result? --instant canyon!
Of course the project is much more. Check it out.
Posted by: Sharon Davis | February 07, 2006 at 03:37 PM