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Friends of Walter Haas Park, S.F. Recreation and Park Department
This 4-acre park located along Diamond Heights Boulevard serves the neighborhoods of Diamond Heights and Glen Park.
Enhancing views to downtown, providing improved playground facilities, and developing an open amphitheater are elements
in the design.
450 Architects was hired by the Friends of Walter Haas Park to facilitate the design process for their neighborhood park
renovation. When working with Friends of Walter Haas Park, our primary role was to lead a community-based design project.
This local non-profit had received a grant specifically to solicit community input for the Park's eventual renovation, and they
selected 450 architects to lead the community process. The opportunity for us to listen to a variety of residents lead to our
appreciation for a wide range of very specific concerns. We responded with a series of different spaces and places within the
park for different uses. Residents wanted to preserve views, so we were able to maintain the trees on the uphill side of the park,
preserving the views across the downhill slope towards downtown. Parents were concerned about their ability to supervise both
infants in the toddler play area and older children in the bigger playground. We translated this into moving the larger playground
so both would be near enough each other to be seen from one place, while still allowing the children of different ages to play
separately. We were able to find space for neighbors with dogs and those without, and to address people's safety concerns with a
space that is both easy to survey and yet comfortable to occupy.
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