Skating and the city
In 2000, a skate park opened along the central reservation of Rotterdam's Westblaak boulevard. It was the Netherlands' largest and most up-to-date. More than 13 years later, though, it's overdue for a revamp. Initiatives by the city have run aground, and The New Institute has been commissioned to supervise the process of devising a new design that will meet with broad public support.
12 August 2013 17:00 - 19:00
A public meeting at The New Institute on Monday 12 August served as the starting shot for a series of design workshops. The designers of legendary skating areas talked about the latest insights concerning skatepark design and share their thoughts on skating's relationship with the city.
Skating and public space
No other sport is as linked to the city - skating's ideal setting. Urban public space is the skater's primary domain. Citing safety concerns, however, those in charge seek to ban skaters wherever possible. They're encouraged to stick to designated areas, which are often sited at the edge of town.
Originally, skate parks were nothing more than assemblages of ready-made ramps available from catalogues. More recently, their design has increasingly become the job of urban planners and landscape architects. New parks have a strong relationship to their surroundings, with ramps integrated into the cityscape. At skaters' request, they're often designed as everyday public spaces, resembling those that have banned the sport. The meeting centred on the new approach, and The New Institute will take inspiration from the examples presented as it begins the journey toward a new design for Westblaak's skate park.
Speakers
Tony Bracali won a major commission to design a huge public skate park along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Architect Tony Bracali became an advocate for skateboarding after skateboarders were banned from Philly's world-renowned skateboarding destination Love Park in 2002. The project opened to the public on May 22, 2013 and has been receiving rave reviews from skateboarders and non-skateboarders.
After his career as a pro skater Janne Saario focusing more on his one-man office to design surroundings for skateboarding. A skateboarding background seems pretty unique for a landscape designer and gives a whole new perspective.
Søren Nordal Enevoldsen is the designer of the newly opened and international praised Rabalderparken. Rabalderparken is combining this drainage function with a recreational park area. He also designed Fælledparken skate park. The skatepark is among the biggest skateparks in Europe. The park is a multi functional park, containing street areas, bowl areas, vert ramp and a large seating/hang out area for spectators and visitors.