This weekend, Frank and I spent a breezy, sunny afternoon at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Community Park, designed by Melinda Taylor, in downtown Los Angeles. It’s the exterior garden space of the Disney Concert Hall designed by famed architect Frank Gehry. Downtown’s piece of high art. And what a lovely afternoon it was!
Am especially appreciative that “Community Park” is officially in the title; therefore the exterior space serves and benefits the community and not just exclusively for the L.A. Philharmonic and its patrons. (The Disney Concert Hall is home to the L.A. Philharmonic.) The space serves the community, instead of a privileged few, is a significance that was not lost on this gal! Many European cities have parks large and small, tucked away, serving their community and contributing immensely to the standard of living. Unfortunately, Los Angeles is not one of those cities. We have the expansive and wonderful Griffith Park and some others, but charming, beautifully designed community parks tucked here and there, are not so common.
As we entered the garden space from a few flight of stairs, we were greeted by what seems like a meandering meadow. Serene yet lively. Contemporary in its material but organic in its design. Architectural in its hardscape, but soft in its landscape. It is an escape from the busyness of Bunker Hill just below.
Juxtaposing the straight, hard lines of its boundary and the surrounding skyscrapers, the edging of the planting beds are a series of undulating curves that leads one through what seems like a meandering path. It causes one to slow down and linger. The plants and trees beautifully juxtapose against the building’s reflective, steel exterior, as well as the color scheme and textures that were used. There were deep greens, bright greens, silver, white, variegation, blue, coral, touch of purple and deep magenta. I absolutely love the color and texture of the ground material.
Seating areas and benches were gracefully placed; thankfully not interfering with the overall aesthetic.
Curvaceous pathways and billowing plants both contrast and complement the hard, straight lines of the building material and surrounding skyscapers.
As you can see from the image above, the plant material used are not plants that are all the rage right now, i.e. “architectural” plants like agaves, fescues, cypress, and so on. Instead scabiosa, brugmansia, carex, hellebores, Hong Kong Orchid tree, and daisies were chosen.
If you get a chance, do take the time (if you haven’t already) to experience this botanical gem in the heart of the city. It’s free to the public, so it’s no money fun, y’all! Bring a sandwich and you’ve got yourself a picnic!
Overall, it was the serenity and invigoration from being immersed in that space that I love most. The open, meandering path, both organic and industrial, I love. The children’s amphitheater and staircases leading to the sky were great. We were free to explore and enjoy all the intimate spaces without feeling like criminals. The design did not insult our intelligence ; it actually stimulated our curiosity. There were cameras watching–eyes in the sky–but by design, we felt encouraged to explore and venture throughout the premises.
So, that is the intro into the Disney Concert Hall Community Park. There are several unique attributes to the park that we’ll explore in upcoming posts…
Lastly, we couldn’t help our silly selves…
