Canal Park Receives SITES™ Status
Canal Park Receives SITES™ Status
David Rubin’s design for Canal Park in Washington, DC, completed while partner at Olin, was recently named a three-star SITES™ project, and is one of only seven parks in the nation to receive such a distinction. The park expands the idea of sustainability beyond the triumvirate of environmental, economic and social goals and establishes a model for development and green infrastructure criteria. Completed in Fall of 2012 on the site of a former bus depot, Canal Park emphasizes LAND COLLECTIVE’s ideals of making positive and inclusive change within cities, while also creating a place of high ecological function. “The intent was to use a park to create a neighborhood, making it not just the element that drives development but also a place flexible and adaptable enough to engage a community which didn’t yet exist,” David explains. “In its entirety, the project fosters ecological management at a neighborhood scale, yet the primary goal was to engage a diverse number of people. It’s a place of connection and community, but it’s also an extraordinary machine.”