Four Finalists for Pershing Square Redesign Unveiled
John Hill
29. April 2016
Existing park (Photo: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
Four design teams have been selected in the Pershing Square Renew Design Competition, with the winner replacing the little-used, much-hated public space in Downtown Los Angeles designed in the 1990s by Ricardo Legorreta and Laurie Olin.
According to the website of Pershing Square Renew, "Downtown LA has undergone quite the revitalization in the past few years," with the area's residential population doubling since 2000, and the concomitant creation of new food, nightlife, cultural and retail venues. Yet amidst the revitalization sits Pershing Square, the city's oldest square (dating back to the middle of the 19th century) but little used in its current incarnation.
So in 2013 LA Councilmember Jose Huizar formed the Pershing Square Task Force, a public-private partnership, to determine what to do with the public space. The following year saw the creation of the non-profit Pershing Square Renew, which launched a design competition in summer 2015 after 18 months of community meetings and pop-up workshops. With the goal of making Pershing Square "one of the top destinations in Southern California," Pershing Square Renew selected four finalists:
- Agence Ter and Team
- James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher & Partners
- SWA with Morphosis
- wHY with Civitas
Images and videos of the finalists' proposals are below, while the full proposals can be found on Pershing Square Renew's website.
The winning team will be announced in mid-May.
Agence Ter and Team
Agence Ter and Team (Image: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
Agence Ter and Team (Image: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher and Partners
James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher and Partners (Image: Courtesy Pershing Square Renew)
James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher and Partners (Image: Courtesy Pershing Square Renew)
SWA | Morphosis
SWA | Morphosis (Image: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
SWA | Morphosis (Image: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
wHY + Civitas
wHY + Civitas (Image: Courtesy of Pershing Square Renew)
