North Meadow on the Rose Kennedy Greenway
North Meadow on the Greenway
Boston, MA
North Meadow on the Greenway is a site of constant reinvention. Once open water within the Charles River estuary, then dammed to become “Mill Pond,” it was then filled in as a part of the 19th Century Bulfinch Triangle development. For most of the 20th century, the site sat in the shadow of elevated Interstate 93. Finally, after years of planning and construction (the well-known “Big Dig”), I-93 went subterranean, and the cherished Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway has since delivered a corridor of parks, gardens and green spaces knitting together Boston’s oldest neighborhoods. As the northernmost and last undeveloped park space on the Greenway, North Meadow is both the gateway to the Greenway and a “small but mighty” greenspace for the adjacent Boston Neighborhoods. Sitting at the intersection of several lanes of traffic and above the tunnel, North Meadow is a critical open space between the West End and North End neighborhoods of Boston. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic circulates around the site at all hours.
Working closely with ASK+, Unknown Studio facilitated public engagement sessions which revealed community priorities such as maximizing nature, creating a place for serenity, and showcasing the site’s history. ASK+ and Unknown Studio imagined a tribute to the Charles River’s estuarine ecology, in identity, planting, and in atmosphere. The resulting concept, “This Was Once a Pond,” is a response to the neighbors’ desires for more nature, serenity and biodiversity in the heart of the City.
The design abstracts the water’s edge into a place of tranquility, with native meadow plantings and a boomerang boardwalk inviting neighbors to traverse the meadow with percussive footsteps. The interior of the park is bounded by a sawtooth planter wall of granite reclaimed from the 19th century seawalls unearthed during the Big Dig excavation. The planters are filled with native trees such as Sumac and Tupelo and an understory of perennials proven to thrive on the Greenway. These raised beds provide soil volumes necessary for a thriving landscape over the tunnel, and create a sense of enclosure and sound barrier from passing traffic. Parcel 2 will be a neighborhood park and a respite for observing the seasonally changing meadow with the backdrop of downtown Boston.
Project timeline: 2019 - 2021
Client: Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA)
in partnership with The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
Project Type: Park | Garden
Size: 6400 sf
Partners: ASK+ (Prime Consultant), Tetra Tech, Lumen Studio, Pine & Swallow Environmental, Hovercraft Studio
