WFP: Work from Park

Project Narrative

The world became mobile and isolated. Work From Home has benefits but takes a toll on mental/ physical health. WFH staff use basement or attic spaces that remove them from community. NIH found severe mental health problems among those who quarantine and isolate, particularly in high-risk populations. The Clermont County Park District (CCPD) recognizes this problem; this design is their response. Work From Park gives the public access to modern technology in an environment that reinforces calm and community. The design focuses on engaging the site’s history, topography, flora, and fauna while creating distinctive meeting spaces for residents, families, co-workers, and guests. The park becomes a restorative habitat that attracts CCPD’s bird-watching and pollinator enthusiasts. Each pod is Carbon Neutral utilizing mass timber and cedar.
Gravel paths connect to a larger trail network. An edible orchard for residents and wildlife sequesters carbon. Pervious surfacing is problematic with area soils; rain gardens and splash pads slow and filter rain from the lot. Check dams slow rain events while enhancing the habitat. WFP pods vary in size and adapt to small workgroups or team collaboration. Each responds to the land and users’ needs differently. One pod works with small mounds and provides a sense of enclosure, refuge, and the prospect of private work. Another pod acts as a covered raft on a sea of prairie grass that is open to the environment. Another pod is perfect for WFP parents with its view of a natural playscape.
A resource center for supplies, restrooms, recycling, and waste is open to all. The center uses home scale, regenerative features such as compost toilets, solar for NZE, and rain capture to educate and advocate for green living. An accessible observation tower offers unique views above a native field that attracts birds and pollinators. Native vines that turn red climb the latticework and provide a natural and iconic sculpture visible in the distance.

                                           

Project Details

Submission Category

Building Architecture- Small Scale (<10,000 sf)

Date of Completion

October, 2021