Gensler, Washington DC
FSB, Frankfurt Short Bruza
Senior Designer
AIA, Excellence in Architecture Award, Washington DC Chapter 2012, AIA, Excellence in Architecture Award, Virginia Chapter 2012, AIA Design Award, Houston Chapter 2013, International Urban Open Space Award, Urban Land Institute, 2015.
Myriad Gardens is an oasis in the center of downtown Oklahoma City. The city engaged the Office of James Burnett, a landscape architecture firm to reinvent the landscape, while Gensler’s role in the renovation of this large, historic urban park including the design of several new park pavilions and a redesign of the entry. Four new structures, a restaurant, an open-air pavilion, a bandshell, and an extension to the existing palm conservatory are each designed to float in the landscape. The diaphanous bandshell is constructed of bent steel tubes, and a circular, open-air pavilion serves adjacent outdoor activities. A larger, glass-enclosed circular pavilion contains a full-service restaurant. The buildings are linked through consistent geometry and materiality that continues the park’s existing architectural vocabulary.
Upon completion, 100,000 people came to the re-opening of the park (record attendance), affirming the team’s achievement of the project goal, creating an instant civic landmark.