1995 - Minneapolis, MN, USA
Cedar Lake Park
Minneapolis, MN, USA
CLIENT Cedar Lake Park Association / STATUS Completed 1995 / SIZE 133 acres / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates
Site-specific interventions occur throughout the length of a linear park, functioning as special connectors and markers, their forms using the iconography of threads and spirals.
Balmori Associates was asked to work with the Cedar Lake Trail's community group to select sites of special significance along the six-mile long path that traverses the Minneapolis suburbs, city center and Mississippi River.
The first intervention is a spiral of trees in the triangle formed by the intersection of several paths. Considered to be the heart of the linear park, this quiet space is to be memorialized by the active participation of the trail patrons, who will plant and commemorate the trees with plaques.
In the second intervention, an existing mound adjacent to Cedar Lake is slightly modified into a truncated cone. Two interlacing paths are inscribed into its surface, weaving up the landform. A concave peak accommodates gnomons to indicate the path of the sun and its solstices.
A third intervention includes the creation of a mound that negotiates and crosses the railroad tracks by way of a spiral pathway that descends the earthwork and wraps around Spring Lake, bringing trail users into the city.