The design strategy aims to open the new park to the city and the community. The urban void will be transformed in a lush and open public space that ties the different areas together (commercial district, university campus, river, etc.) and is accessible for every citizen and visitor. The park consists of multiple different places all connected by a “central square”. The main concept is rooted in conservation, biodiversity, ecological connectivity, cultural heritage, landscape character and diverse recreation opportunities. Experiencing and exploring nature is an important part of the park concept. The initial contact with nature will be provided by the meadows and woodlands, that are to be preserved and enhanced also to increase the already started phytoremediation process of the soil. The “Central Square” will be the urban core of the entire area, as a vibrant hub of community activities and pop-up events. It is the central part of the open area of the site where visitors can eat, chill, dance, play with water jets during hot summer days or have a coffee while admiring the expansive views the “Great Lawn”. The park areas are different in size and identity to host multi-purpose spaces and multiple activities at the same time. The new paths, trails and connections inside and outside of the park area are fluent and fully open. The new park is seen as a living process where residents, visitors, animal and plant species live and thrive side by side and it is flexible for future alterations, while values and needs are changing. Paths are drawn for different uses and speeds. The naturalistic trail are drawn as floating paths in the nature, able to overcome the irregular height difference of the soil.
