Designers from New York City and London are transforming Perseverance Park in downtown Syracuse to become an innovative and community-oriented public space.

!melk, a New York City-based studio, is redesigning the space between Fayette, South Salina and Washington streets to include seating areas, plants and an open air sculpture, said Ian Hampson, director of !melk.

The sculpture, along with the rest of the project, is designed to play with Syracuse’s notorious weather. The silver spherical sculpture, designed by London-based designer Cecil Balmond, is currently shaped as a geometric form of a tourist, Hampson said. When it snows, the sculpture will collect the downfall in its center. When it rains, visitors will be able to stand in the sculpture and not get wet, protected by clear glass running along the top.

“The inspiration (behind the design) really has its roots in cymatics, the process of visualizing down frequencies,” Hampson said.

Hampson said the studio used Syracuse’s history to design the new park. After designers learned about the history of salt in Syracuse, they wanted to create a visualization of salt grain patterns, he said. They then incorporated Syracuse’s history of trains into the design.

“We took the history of the train that ran along Washington (Street), rumbling through the streets, and we used that as a kind of rationalization,” Hampson said.

Designers then combined the patterns of sound vibrations and geometry to create the layout for the new Perseverance Park, he said.

The park is primarily being envisioned as a public space conducive to daily use, where visitors can hang out and eat lunch, Hampson said. In !melk’s March Design Concept Presentation, one of the many design images shows areas where food trucks, musical performances, seasonal markets and meeting places could be held.

!melk conducted three days of community engagement in September 2015, when it collected comments and feedback on what people wanted in the new park, according to the presentation. The designers found that interactive elements, an iconic lighting installation and water features were the most preferred design elements.

The presentation also shows some of the studio’s other research, including a pedestrian movement hot spot map, a solar and wind analysis and landform studies.

The entire project will cost $3 million, according to Syracuse.com, with !melk being paid $288,000. The park will hopefully be completed by the end of 2017, said Alexander Marion, press secretary for Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, in the article.

!melk was hired to design the new space by producing a winning proposal, which Hampson said it submitted in February 2015. The studio was one of the finalists, so !melk went to Syracuse in March 2015 to give a public presentation, he said, and the designers were then interviewed by Miner and her advisory committee.

Cecil Balmond of Balmond Studio in London has always been part of the !melk team, Hampson said. Balmond and Jerry Van Eyck, founder of !melk, are close friends and previous collaborators, he added.

The international collaboration has not particularly affected the design of the park, Hampson said.

“There really isn’t any difference in the viewpoints; everything is (already) very international,” Hampson said. “We come together and (create) a series of ideas best suited for Syracuse. In a sense everything we do is for Syracuse.”

Published on March 29, 2016 at 11:33 pm

Contact Haley: hykim100@syr.edu