From Skaters for Eugene Skateparks:
Here it is amigos. With your input, Dreamland has narrowed the field to one design. HOWEVER, this is not the final word. It is time to tell them what you think. Join us at the next public design forum presentation next Wednesday, January 13t at 6:00 p.m. at the Library.
Check out the design renderings and video fly throughs at SkateEugene.org.
– Thanks to Chad and Sarib for the tip.
8 comments
ssk
Bowl to ribbon transfers
ssk
Either way it is going to be rad. All of it looks super fun to skate.
Revlutionist
Finally, a reason to visit my mother-in-law in Eugene! On a more serious note, I would love a ribbon feature to skate. Overall the park design seems to be versatile and unique, even if it does repeat a feature or two from other parks.
Chad Balcom
We have praised DL for 10 years now for coming up with new concepts, unique elements – and for good reason.
However, I disagree 100% with Tom about the repetition of the ribbon element. The fact that it already exists in Winnepeg is only an issue if one lives exactly halfway between the two and has no other options than skate those two parks. This theory is akin to saying we shouldn’t replicate pool style bowls if they are within a days drive of another pool style bowl.
I would argue that EVERY skatepark should strive only to serve the skaters of the community that it serves. Statistically, the average skateboarder is 14 years old, meaning he cannot get in a car and drive to skate whatever he wants – unlike myself of most SNA readers. (an interesting side note is that the 14 avg age hasn’t changed in the last 5 years – but we are all 5 years older). If you take the non-driving in to consideration, then replicating elements across town shouldn’t be an issue, let alone in the next country over.
I won’t get into the argument that streetscape dosen’t need creativity as much as simple, functional designs with room to work between elements (things like the triangle thingy at Gresham that no one knows what’s its for are a result of simply trying to hard)
For my money, the bottom line is this will be skater built concrete – so no matter what it wont be built by joe parkinglot or be plastik ramps. No matter what it will be good, but that shouldn’t stop us from working towards the best possible outcomes.
kilwag
Yeah, I just wanted to point out that those two items were out of character for DL. I wasn’t making any other value judgement.
ssk
What would be better for the corners of the street section? They seem pretty kick ass to me. What’s less clunky than banked, curved corners + a hip? I’m not asking to troll you, we have the last design feedback meeting next week.
They actually do have a real accredited landscape architect on this. Seems to me like that bank ties in aesthetically with the other brick banks and brick grid lines on the whole street section.
I think the ribbon and the dish are their response to requests for skateable art/sculpture type stuff. I am for anything that might make the park appealing to donors and city decision makers. I’d stomach a Nike swoosh if it paid for the park.
Tom Miller
I could (and hopefully will) certainly have fun skating that place.
That said, these forums can be useful for critical feedback. I agree with Kilwag that outright imitation, e.g. the ribbon, which in these renderings looks almost directly borrowed from New Line’s Winnipeg park, is a disappointment. The ribbon is a cool concept, but not classic in my opinion. In other words, it’s not so cool it should be repeated.
And historically Dreamland has always been staunchly committed to going its own way on design. I don’t always love their end product, but I appreciate that commitment to creativity. Repeating a novel but not classic concept like the ribbon is not what we expect from Dreamland.
The corners in the “street” sections seem clunky. I think Dreamland has long struggled with these corners so I’m not surprised. At the same time the New Lines, the California Skateparks, the SDGs, etc. seem to have a better handle on how to program those spaces.
Here’s a really nit-picky detail: they need to hire a landscape architect to get the aesthetics right. The random red brick bank – now a staple in the contemporary Dreamland concept – has no aesthetic relationship with the rest of the park. If you’re going to embrace aesthetics in the skatepark do it right or don’t bother. Otherwise you’re just spending precious dollars on half-baked unfinished canvasses.
All in all, it looks really fun. I’m just pointing out things that could use improvement.
kilwag
Snake run looks fun, as does the brick bank with benches. The Ribbon and the shallow dish sculpture are decidedly un-Dreamland like.
The Skate Eugene web site doesn’t seem to be loading right for me. I can’t see any of the comments.