Open Space Design Competition, Millcreek, Utah

As a collaborative partner with Landmark Design, we recently shortlisted in a competition to design Millcreek City’s new urban open space as in the center of their developing city. Our submission was all about celebrating Millcreek’s unique community and geology, including the Wasatch Fault line cutting through the site -Hence the name of our proposal, “Uplift.”

Uplift is designed to be Millcreek’s signature park, a focal space for an interconnected city. This is the place where the diversity of the city is embraced and celebrated, where heart and soul are linked. It is a pedestrian-centric place that accommodates vehicular traffic as an invited guest. This “woonerf on steroids” approach allows the focus to be on the people, events and experiences that are the essence of the place and a microcosm of the city as a whole. It is a place that facilitates a wide range of uses, activities and events, including those that are programmed and anticipated or unexpected and fleeting. It is a place for major events and festivals, small gatherings and chance encounters – which taken together are the very definition of a great urban district.

This urban open space creates a place of connection and interaction, where people come to explore, hang out, shop, eat, participate and watch. It is formed by the site and its context, resulting in a sustainable and engaging heart of the city. It is a restrained and connected place, bringing together the forms, materials and features that express the essence of the city and its environs. It is a flexible, engaging and usable place that is first and foremost a Great Place for People.