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Capitol Park Detroit
There is no better enduring emblem of the urban dynamics of Detroit than Capitol Park. It is formerly the site of the original State Capitol Building, a school house, the last stop on the underground railroad that freed 18th century slaves, and the final resting place of Michigan`s First Governor, Stevens T. Mason. Yet a park visitor today would feel no trace of these rich and layered narratives.
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Location
Detroit, MI
Scope of Work
Park Masterplan and Landscape Design
Project Size
1.1 ac park
Role
Design Team Lead, Landscape Architecture
Client
Downtown Detroit Partnership
Collaborators
PEA Inc. (Local Landscape Architecture / Civil Engineering), Peter Basso Associates Inc. (Electrical), James Urban (Trees and Soil), Krzysztof Wodiczko (Artist Advisor), AW Hooker / Turner Construction (Cost Estimating)
PUBLIC WORK Design Team
Marc Ryan, Adam Nicklin, Laura Ettedgui, Chester Rennie, Golnaz Jamshidi, Julia Nakanishi, Zoal Razaq

Engaging the past, present, and future of this historic ground is key to re-imagining Capitol Park for the 21st century. The Downtown Detroit Partnership selected PUBLIC WORK from an international field of design firms to refresh and re-activate this most significant public space in the original Detroit historic district. The design approach begins with increasing the civic literacy about the place itself: The many rich layers of heritage, plus social, cultural and political innovation. Through rigorous stakeholder and community interactions, a concept evolved that recognizes and celebrates the park’s past, but is realized through the fresh lens of contemporary Detroit life.

Through its various incarnations, Capitol Park has lost most of the aspects that make it feel like a park: It’s once mature tree canopy has been depleted to just two trees, it is dominated by hardscape paving, and is currently surrounded on all sides by traffic. The park revitalization is therefore a strategic opportunity to return to an environment of immersive green that could create a powerful new atmosphere without compromising its urban vitality. By the simple gesture of restoring the parks tree canopy with a distinctive bosque, a forest that rises in height south towards the Detroit River and the US/Canada border, a green room is created that can host multifarious civic and community events, while at alternate times providing a quiet and tranquil urban retreat.