The Competition
Parks for the People is a design competition that reimagines America's most spectacular public places — its national parks — by using design as a catalyst to creatively rethink their connections to people and their role as revered natural, social, and cultural destinations. As the U.S. National Park Service embarks upon a new century of park design, Parks for the People has called on faculty and student teams across the nation to reimagine seven park sites in each geographic region of the U.S. In the spring of 2012, the nine Stage 1-winning teams are working to envision innovative ideas for the design and planning of the 21st-century national park. This summer and fall, we'll select the winners and celebrate their visions for welcoming, meaningful, healthy, and enduring public places — parks that are truly for the people.
The Questions
Today, as the Park Service prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2016, we face new opportunities to design a greater, richer national park experience. Seeking to inspire the next century of park stewardship, Parks for the People reimagines what national parks can be, asking bold questions that look afresh at park design:
- How can design enhance the park experience?
- How can parks become more accessible?
- What is "preservation" and how can it evolve?
- What new ventures or partnerships could help connect parks to people?
- What is "sustainability" and what is its future role?
- What part can technology play in parks?
The Principles
To advance design excellence across the National Park System, Parks for the People will serve as a testing ground for ideas that grew out of Designing the Parks, a partnership to promote well-designed public parks in America through a broad consideration of the past, present, and future of park planning and design. Parks for the People will field-test six draft design principles on real NPS sites:
- Reverence for place
- Engagement of all people
- Expansion beyond traditional boundaries
- Advancement of sustainability
- Informed decision-making
- An integrated research, planning, design, and review process
The Schedule
| 2011 | |
| August | Competition Brief Distributed to Schools |
| November 1 | Stage 1 Proposals Due |
| November | Jury/Advisory Committee Evaluation of Submissions |
| December | Nine Studios Selected for Stage 2 |
| 2012 | |
| June | Studios Submit Final Projects |
| Summer | Student Internships with NPS Announced |
| Fall |
Competition Results Published |
