Joe Moakley ParkIdeas Competition Project Brief 9.14.16

Co-Sponsored by:Boston Society of Landscape Architects Boston Harbor Now

ABOUTThe Boston Society of Landscape Architects, with support from Boston Harbor Now, is pleased to host the Moakley Park Ideas Competition with a call for designers to initiate a dialogue and spur thinking about the design potential of one of the city’s largest waterfront parks. PROJECT CHALLENGE AND GOALSThe Joe Moakley Park Ideas Competition is an opportunity to bring forward innovative visions for Moakley Park that make the most of its size and location to provide equitable access to outstanding recreational and cultural opportunities while introducing ideas that demonstrate adaptability and resilience in the face of climate change.

This BSLA Ideas Competition asks designers to overcome the challenges related to visioning, designing, building, and maintaining high quality public parks on urban waterfronts. Moakley Park was specifically chosen for this effort because of its location, its size, and the forthcoming effort by Boston Parks and Recreation Department to lead a master planning effort for this special place.

Project Goals

1. Address established Boston Parks priorities- Equitable access- Multi-functional / co-beneficial design- Continued support for active recreation

2. Enhance climate resiliency- Consider climate adaptation strategies for the park itself in terms of increased heat waves, intense precipitation as well as

periods of drought, and salt water intrusion. - Using the City of Boston Updated Climate Projections consider incremental adaptations over time as conditions change.

Specifically, near term (beginning 2030’s) 9” Sea Level Rise; Mid Century (2050’s) 21” SLR; late century (2070’s) 36” SLR - Consider the opportunity to protect inland buildings and residents from coastal flooding for sea level rise up to five feet higher

than today.

3. Be implementable- Consider designs that support short term goals, with phased ideas incorporated over time.

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SUBMISSIONSProposals will be submitted in PDF format by 12 noon (EST) on September 26, 2016 via an online submission form at bit.ly/MoakleySubmit. Participants must also bring a plotted copy of their submission (project summary and unmounted design proposal board) to the September 27 jury event.

PROJECT SUMMARY (word file):· Respondent information (contact info)· Team summary (each member and their contribution)· Design rationale and supporting ideas / data (up to 500 words)· Please use 12 point Arial font

DESIGN PROPOSAL (PDF and plotted copy):· A single unmounted Design Proposal (36” x 40” printed sheet (portrait OR landscape) and as a PDF). Hint: Less is more!

Do not overload the board with small font text.

SCHEDULE9.14.2016 Project Brief / Team Confirmation, 6 - 8 pm, BSA Space9.19.2016 (noon) Questions Due + registration deadline 9.26.2016 (noon) Digital submissions due online. Only submissions from registered teams will be considered. 9.27.2016 Team presentations to the jury + awards. Please bring your design proposal for pinning up by 5:30 pm. Presentations from 6-8 pm. Voting for People's Choice Award. THE SITELarger than Boston Common, the 59-acre Joe Moakley Park connects South Boston with Carson Beach, Dorchester and UMass Boston. Although popular especially for its baseball fields, it does not fully deliver on its potential as one of Boston’s great destination parks. Between Moakley Park and Carson Beach, there is the opportunity to think holistically about over 80 acres of waterfront open space to provide outstanding recreational, social, cultural and climate resiliency benefits for both longtime residents and visitors. Buildings consist of two Fieldhouses. Fieldhouse 1 (near basketball courts) South Boston Sports Collaborative uses this building. Bathrooms are opened to the public for some permitted events only. Fieldhouse 2 (aka: South Boston Neighborhood House, near Prebble Tot Lot) Used by The Ollie, a daycare center.

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LOCATION

· South Boston, including Carson Beach. · Adjacent to a densely settled neighborhood. (See Park Need Score Map, available for download). · Waterfront in need of resiliency strategies.· Two miles (as the crow flies) from Government Center, about 3 miles on a bike.· Adjacent to UMass Boston and the Red Line Columbia Point (see Columbia Point Master Plan)· Built on former tide lands (see Living With Water mapping)

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Existing Site Uses:Youth Baseball Leagues + Tournaments (Little League, Babe Ruth, etc.)Youth SoftballStreet HockeyUltimate FrisbeeFootballFlag FootballLacrosseRugbySoccerVolleyballBasketball TennisWalking / Running Children’s Play Areas w/ splash pad and accessible play equipment. Kite FlyingExercise ClassesSlackliningParkourStrollingLearning to Ride BikesReadingPeople WatchingEating LunchFamily GatheringsPicnics

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PUBLIC OUTREACHIn an effort to ground this ideas competition in the context of current park users, BSLA organized two public outreach events in the park over the summer with the support of Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

Pop-Up Play July 9, 2016 BSLA worked with Knucklebones and Heyday Collaborative to create a pop up play event. Situated near the Dorothy Curran Playground, behind the ball fields on the day of the Mayor’s Cup Tournament, our team provided a range of adventure, loose parts, and organized play opportunities for everyone. People were also asked to build a model of their idea park and fill out a park survey about their ideas and concerns.

Skate Jam / Parkour Workshop August 13, 2016 BSLA reached out to Orchard Skateboarding and Parkour Generations for this event. They set up temporary structures and offered lessons and demonstrations in both skateboarding and parkour techniques. This event was targeted towards older kids, young adults and enthusiasts of all ages. Surveys were also distributed at this event.

WHAT WE HEARD

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We entered all of the feedback into Wordle.net and these were the word clouds that resulted. The larger and bolder the word, the more often it was recorded.

Best Things About Moakley Park We Wish There Were More

We Wish There Were Less

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REFERENCE DOCUMENTSNote: Some of these as well as additional reference documents may also be found linked to bit.ly/MoakleySubmit

BRA Plan: South Boston Dot Ave (link)http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/planning/planning-initiatives/plan-south-boston-dorchester-aveColumbia Point Master Plan (link) http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/planning/planning-initiatives/columbia-point-master-planMorrissey Boulevard Improvements (link)http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/news/public-meetings/materials/projects/2016-3-28-morrissey-presentation.pdfVision Zero Safety Concerns + Crash Report Mapshttp://app01.cityofboston.gov/VZSafety/http://app01.cityofboston.gov/VisionZero/Climate Ready Boston Plan (link)http://climateready.boston.gov/findingsBoston Living With Water Competitionhttp://www.bostonlivingwithwater.orgMBTA Routes (link)http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/system_map/Boston Open Space and Recreation Plan (download)http://www.cityofboston.gov/Parks/openspace/Park Need Score Map (download from bit.ly/MoakleySubmit)Topography Map (download from bit.ly/MoakleySubmit)Archived Moakley Park Plans (download from bit.ly/MoakleySubmit)Olmsted Plan for the Emerald Necklace (download one from bit.ly/MoakleySubmit)http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/park-overview/frederick-law%E2%80%88olmsted/Boston Transportation Department Green Links Projecthttp://www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/greenlinks.asp

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THE JURY Chris Cook, Commissioner, Boston Parks & Recreation DepartmentJulie Wormser, Vice President, Boston Harbor NowGary Hilderbrand, FASLA, Partner, Reed HilderbrandKarl Haglund, Senior Planner, Department of Conservation and Recreation Rebekah Emanuel, Executive Director, Imagine Boston 2030 at City of Boston

ELIGIBILITYThis Ideas Competition is open to landscape architects and designers, including design students. Participation in this Ideas Competition will not impact a participant’s eligibility or selection in the forthcoming Moakley Park Master Plan RFP / RFQ to be issued by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department in early 2017.

AWARDSAwards will be given based on how well the submission addressed some or all of the project goals and overall design challenge. Prizes totaling $3,000 will be awarded by the Jury on 9/27/2016 after all presentations have been made.

All submissions will be exhibited in City Hall Gallery following the competition and digital copies will be included on a project website under development. Additional exhibition opportunities may be identified.

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS:All submissions become the property of Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) and the City of Boston and include an unrestricted, but not exclusive, right of use by BSLA, its agencies and partners, of any ideas, concepts, images, and / or material submitted or provided in response to or in conjunction with the competition with image, photo, and narrative credit attributed to the design team.

BSLA, in consultation with its partners and the Jury, reserves the right to change awards and award amounts to best recognize the contributions of participants and the nature of the submissions, including creating new awards and forgoing stated awards.

BSLA reserves the right to modify and / or remove any items, terms, timelines, and / or conditions of this competition at its sole discretion. All decisions are at the sole discretion of BSLA and are final.

COMPETITION PARTNERSBoston Society of Landscape ArchitectsBoston Harbor NowBoston Society of ArchitectsBoston Parks and Recreation Department

CONTACT INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS:All questions shall be submitted to the BSLA by September 19, 2016at noon via email to President@bslanow.org Response to questions will be published to the Idea Competition web page on www.BSLAnow.org and emailed to the point of contact on each project team.

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