Below is a press release from Belmont University via Merit:
NASHVILLE, TN — Across Nashville, ordinary parking spaces became miniature parks, gathering places and works of art, Sept. 21, during [PARK]ing Day, a global design event led locally by the Civic Design Center. For Belmont’s O’More College of Architecture & Design, the day capped off an intense few weeks of studio work in which third-year students learned what it means to design for play, sustainability and community connection in the heart of Germantown.
Six student teams in Architecture Studio 3 visited the Germantown site, studied the neighborhood’s character and responded to this year’s theme of “play.” The challenge was steep: design a temporary parklet on a limited budget, revise the concept after critique in just five days and ensure the final design was fun, functional, recyclable and unique to the neighborhood context.
Symphony of the Senses
Out of the six designs, “Symphony of the Senses” was selected by Civic Design Center judges for its thoughtful approach to community engagement.
David Caples, Rosie Hoover, Daniel Masiglat and Morgan Geisinger were the creative minds behind the winning design.
The parklet was designed to be permeable from both sidewalk and street, included an adaptable shade structure and incorporated all five senses: a scent diffuser for smell, fresh lemonade for taste, interactive musical instruments for sound and touch and a striking architectural form that invited people to look closer.
For Hoover, part of the original design team and later a member of the documentation group, the compressed timeline brought lessons that no classroom exercise could replicate.
“We only had two weeks from the competition to the day of construction,” she said. “It was hectic, but we learned so much about collaboration, structural integrity and comprehensive design.”
Hoover remembered the moment when the structure first began to take shape as the most rewarding. “We got to see the vision we put so much work into designing come to life. I’m especially proud of how we pushed and pulled the dimensions to emulate rhythm – it made the design both economical and fun.”
Day-of Impact
On Sept. 21, the students’ work came to life along 6th Avenue North. Visitors gathered under the shade structure, sampled lemonade and tried their hand at the musical instruments woven into the design. Children, in particular, were reluctant to leave the space, underscoring the project’s success.
Community Partnership
Veronica Foster, community development director at the Civic Design Center, praised the team’s achievement:
“Parklets are already a unique design challenge since you need to address a functional public amenity within the size of a parking space, and the Belmont O’More students took the challenge in stride. They not only came up with a parklet design that was playful and engaging for a pop-up activation, but they built a beautiful, architectural structure that no one wanted to see packed up in the U-haul and taken away. They are learning about essential design principles for the public realm and actually applying them to life-size projects – I think the students should feel proud.”
The partnership between Belmont and the Civic Design Center continues to open doors for students to test their skills in the public realm. Several alumni have built connections through [PARK]ing Day that led to professional opportunities, further illustrating the value of this annual collaboration.
About Belmont University
Located near the heart of thriving Nashville, Tenn., Belmont University consists of nearly 9,000 students who come from every state and 33 countries. The University is nationally recognized for its innovative approach as well as its commitment to undergraduate teaching (U.S. News & World Report). As a Christ-centered, student-focused community, Belmont’s mission is to develop diverse leaders of purpose, character and wisdom who possess a transformational mindset and are eager and equipped to make the world a better place. With more than 115 areas of undergraduate study, 41 master’s programs and five doctoral degrees, Belmont University aims to be the leading Christ-centered university in the world, producing leaders who will radically champion the pursuit of life abundant for all people. For more information, visit belmont.edu.
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