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The Openness
Ghent
Pocket Park
The original site is located in Rasphuis Street, in Ghent, Belgium. The area chosen for the project is a small plot between two houses. Some elements have a significant presence in the original site such as vegetation that grows on the soil and in the walls. Furthermore, the vertical walls around the site have a significant visual presence due to the houses on the sides. Instead of building another house, I proposed a pocket park.
Nature itself is sensorial. Thus, in this project, the pocket park is a means used for the expansion of green spaces in the neighborhood.
Using elements that already exist on site, in this small park project, the plants are free to develop naturally, respecting the changing seasons and the needs of the nature throughout the cycles.
Vertical wooden structures are placed to emphasize the sense of verticality that is present in the site and to resemble trees that cannot be placed in this small space due to the roots and proximity to the houses. In addition, the wooden structures have different sizes and diameters to simulate the diversity of trees, and the small slope at the top of them serves to emphasize the presence and sound of rainwater in the park when it is raining, and for the water does accumulate on the top.