Der Park als Ort des Wandels

摘要

Urban open spaces are an essential arena for developing a sense of community and providing retreat from collective society, and the two parks designed by the author for Battery Park City, New York, address this dual purpose. The first was planned in 1992 for the North Cove Link, a site that is primarily a circulation corridor for crowds of people. The design conceives the park as a stage for constant activity, and features elements on a grand scale, such as a raised platform with spectacular views of the river, broad steps and two large pylons that act as a symbolical gateway. At South Cove, on the other hand, the primary intention was to provide a refuge from the hard city environment. The design, which recalls the natural coves and maritime past of the New York coast, creates small pockets of remoteness from the city. At the same time, urban parks are increasingly expected to provide opportunities for a deep and private experience of exchange with nature. This is something that is especially important for city children, and is an idea that has been taken up by the Institute for Child and Adolescent Development in Massachusetts, a clinic offering to children who have survived severe trauma. Here we were commissioned to create a therapeutic garden out of a two-acre landscaped site. This we achieved by reshaping the topography into a series of ridges and ravines, a mount, an island and a shallow pond to provide an itinerary of introverted and extroverted spaces. The result demonstrates that landscape is indeed a place where the conscious and unconscious is able to participate in a dynamic and healing interaction with nature, thus demonstrating that all urban parks offer possibilities of awareness, recovery and transformation.%An den Beispielen North Cove Link und South Cove Park in New York sowie eines therapeutischen Gartens bei Boston schildert Landschaftsarchitekt Reed die Bedeutung der Landschaft für die Entwicklung der Psyche.