Triumph of Imaginative Design
We are proud to share that Palm Springs Downtown Park has been awarded the ASLA Award of Excellence. Landscape Architecture’s highest honor, this award celebrates design excellence, sustainability, climate adaptation, resiliency, and design value for our client and the community.
Palm Springs Downtown Park is a responsive recreation destination for the Palm Springs community that highlights the spirit of place with moments of surprise and delight inspired by the region’s dynamic geology, native vegetation, and rich history.
As the temperature cools down in the evening, the park comes to life with dramatic lighting and an interactive water feature.
Community-centered Design
The urban oasis is imaginative of its future contexts, providing an open public space envisioned as a central arts and culture hub for residents and visitors to gather in the city’s downtown area with walkability to dining, attractions, and Old Las Palmas.
The park's central lawn provides a place for visitors to gather in the shade next to the water feature.
Quality of Design
The park provides a common ground rooted to its place. We used locally sourced stone and native desert plantings to curate a color palette for park elements, drawing on the warm tones of the surrounding geology, vibrant greens and yellows of native vegetation, and the spectacular blooms of desert flowers.
The team abstracted local geology into custom sedimentary finishes for shotcrete vertical walls and pre-cast concrete modular blocks.
Climate Adaptation
The park is designed to be enjoyed year-round, even during the hottest desert days. The densely planted Palm Grove offers shade, while the cooling mist from the water feature provides areas for play and respite. Read more in The Architect’s Newspaper.
The park is nestled along the base of the San Jacinto Mountains and the southwestern boundary of the Coachella Valley in California’s Sonoran Desert.
RIOS Landscape Team
Congratulations to our team and collaborators!
Project Team:
Client: City of Palm Springs
Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Signage and Wayfinding: RIOS
General Contractor: Fast-Track Construction
Water Feature Design and Engineering: Fluidity Design Consultants
Concrete Consultant: Shaw & Sons
Precast Concrete Consultant: QCP
Civil Engineer: MSA
Structural Engineer: PKA
MEP Engineer and Lighting Design: MRC
Irrigation Consultant: Sweeney & Associates
Security & Technology Consultant: Guidepost Solutions
Cost Estimating: MGAC
Products:
Café Chairs and Table Line: Civic Line by Janus et Cie
Bike Rack: Bola by Landscape Forms
Outdoor Pedestal Water Fountain: Elkay
Irrigation System: Rainbird
Integral Colored Concrete: Shaw & Sons
Victorian Blend Brick Pavers: Belgard
Decomposed Granite, Crushed Stone, Site Boulders: Whitewater Rock & Supply
Landscape Lighting and Post Lights: Bradley Lighting
