Detroit
Riverfront
Conservancy
announces
winning
design
firm for
West
Riverfront
Park
DETROIT
– The
Detroit
RiverFront
Conservancy
announced
today
that New
York-based
landscape
architect
firm
Michael
Van
Valkenburgh
Associates
(MVVA)
has been
selected
as the
winning
firm of
its
international
design
competition
to
transform
the
22-acre
West
Riverfront
Park in
downtown
Detroit
into one
of the
most
dynamic
public
spaces
in the
world.
Renderings
and
information
for
media
are
available
here.
“This
design
competition
has
captured
the
interest
and the
imaginations
of not
only
Detroiters,
but of
people
throughout
the
world,”
said
Matt
Cullen,
chairman
of the
Conservancy’s
Board of
Directors.
“The
creation
of West
Riverfront
Park
would be
one of
the most
significant
public
space
projects
undertaken
in our
city’s
history.
It has
the
potential
to
become a
world-class
gathering
place
and
drive
economic
growth
in
Southwest
Detroit
for
generations.”
Since
the
Conservancy
opened
West
Riverfront
Park in
2014, it
has
become a
popular
destination
for
Detroiters
and
tourists
alike
who
enjoy
the
park’s
wide-open
spaces
and
sweeping
views of
the
Detroit
and
Windsor
skylines.
At 22
acres,
it is
comparable
in size
to
Brooklyn
Bridge
Park in
New York
City,
Maggie
Daley
Park in
Chicago
and
Riverside
Park in
Buffalo.
“It
was love
at first
sight
when I
saw the
Detroit
River,”
said
Michael
Van
Valkenburgh,
president
& CEO of
Michael
Van
Valkenburgh
Associates.
“I
immediately
recognized
that
this new
park
could
draw the
city to
the
water’s
edge. My
team and
I spent
a lot of
time
exploring
Detroit
and
meeting
many
Detroiters
in the
process.
We’re
looking
forward
to
making
West
Riverfront
Park an
amazing
place.”
Brooklyn
Bridge
Park in
New York
and
Maggie
Daley
Park in
Chicago
are
among
the
firm’s
most
notable
projects.
MVVA is
known
worldwide
for its
creative
and
unique
urban
design
with
projects
that
include
parks,
plazas,
cultural
institutions,
colleges
and
universities
and
gardens.
Clients
include
Princeton
University,
Harvard
University,
Wellesley
College,
The
Menil
Collection
and
Waterfront
Toronto.
The MVVA
team was
made
even
stronger
by the
addition
of Sir
David
Adjaye,
principal
of
Adjaye
Associates,
who has
been
described
in Time
Magazine,
as “one
of the
great
architectural
visionaries
of our
time.”
In 2017,
Adjaye
was the
only
architect
to be
named to
the Time
Magazine
list of
100 Most
Influential
People.
The same
year, he
won the
London
Design
Medal
and
received
a
knighthood
from the
Queen of
England.
He also
completed
the
Smithsonian
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
in
Washington
DC.
“This
park
will
have a
profound
impact
on the
lives of
Detroiters
and will
be a
regional
draw for
recreation,”
said
Mark
Wallace,
president
& CEO,
the
Detroit
RiverFront
Conservancy.
“The
work
that has
brought
us to
this
moment
has been
one of
the most
inclusive
and
transparent
processes
that has
been
undertaken
in
public
space
design
anywhere.”
From its
launch
in 2017,
the West
Riverfront
Park
Design
Competition
has
incorporated
a unique
community-led
design
process
in which
the
public
has been
encouraged
to share
their
ideas
and
input.
To date,
the
Conservancy
has held
more 20
public
meetings
on the
future
of West
Riverfront
Park.
Additionally,
the
Conservancy
created
a
Community
Advisory
Team
(CAT) of
Detroiters
who
visited
New
York,
Chicago
and
Philadelphia
to bring
back
ideas
for the
future
of West
Riverfront
Park.
The
Ralph C.
Wilson,
Jr.
Foundation
provided
a
$345,000
grant to
make the
West
Riverfront
Park
Design
Competition
possible
and
further
underscoring
the
power of
public-private
partnership
in
rebuilding
Detroit.
The
grant
comes
from the
foundation’s
“Livable
Communities”
focus
area
that
seeks to
create
strong
and
sustainable
communities
by
supporting
parks,
trails
and
green
design.
“We’re
proud to
support
the
design
competition
and
welcome
MVVA to
this
pivotal
project
for
Detroit,”
said
David
Egner,
president
& CEO of
the
Ralph C.
Wilson,
Jr.
Foundation.
“Transforming
West
Riverfront
Park
into a
world-class
gathering
space
allows
our
community
to take
a
significant
step
toward
revitalizing
the
entire
West
Riverfront.
This
project
has the
potential
to make
a
significant
positive
impact
that
will
resonate
throughout
our
region
for many
decades.”
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