Wynwood Gateway Park

The intention of the Urban Cool Island is to create a vibrant and cultural climatic refuge in the heart of Miami’s Wynwood Arts District. Weaving together Wynwood’s diverse communities and influences, the scheme is as a community resource of programmed and informal activity and recreation for all. Underpinning this is a passive cooling strategy that counteracts urban heat island effects for the park and surrounding area.
The location of the park acts as a gateway into the wider arts neighbourhood in Wynwood, with the Arts District’s myriad galleries, project spaces, antiques shops and Wynwood’s famous walls only a few minutes’ walk away. The park has the potential to function as an open-curated exhibition and performance space, with particular capacity for programming live events.
The arrival walls create a strong first impression to the park and provide a space for a changing showcase of artwork. Vines create a cool backdrop to the boundary wall that encloses a lawn, sculpture garden, stage, interactive play area and 24 hour café / breakout space, peppered throughout by dynamic street furniture. The stage forms the focus of programmed events and along with the ‘official’ play area, is invitingly playable to children when not in use. The stage canopy incorporates passive convection coolers and is illuminated at night, creating an inviting and safe atmosphere after dark. The lawn provides a relaxation, meeting and informal activity space, e.g. yoga or picnics, and is tilted towards the stage to provide viewing space for events. Shaded by fruit tree canopies, the café has the potential to operate 24 hours independently to the other areas of the park, generating a revenue stream as well as providing supporting breakout or workshop space for events and exhibitions.
The colours, shapes and textures of Seminole and Hispanic textiles have inspired the design. These themes have been abstracted for paved surfaces, shading canopies, trellis grilles, gate designs and the very layout of the park. There is an emphasis on light coloured materials so as not to absorb the radiant heat from the sun, enhancing the coolness of the shaded garden areas spaces. Local Travertine paving will be used for heavily used pedestrian walkways complemented by compacted limestone gravel for seating and quieter places, creating a cost effective design with a prestige feel.
Like a clearing in the forest, the park is naturally cooled by the dappled shade and evapotranspiration of mature trees. Woven canopies, convection tubes and vibrant coloured landmark walls help with the environmental comfort, creating a sheltered refuge from the urban heat island.