Help Build the Peace Park Bamboo Pavilion

Peace Park is an ongoing project that was initiated by the 2015 Brown School of Social Works For the Sake of All report that documents significant health inequities in the St. Louis region. Through extensive engagement with the College Hill community it was decided and requested that the design and construction of a community park on the vacant lots that had been unofficially named “Peace Park” could be a effective first response to addressing these health disparities, and developing visions of brighter alternative futures. Stewarded across many faculty members and expertise Peace Park is emblematic of the types of deep engagements that demonstrate WashU’s ability to follow through on a WashU initiated research endeavor. The office for socially engaged practice is part of the Peace Park partnership team led by the City’s of St. Louis Economic Development Agency (SLDC), where we serve as the connector and conduit to facilitate WashU faculty expertise towards the implementation of the park. Faculty in disciplines in earth and environmental sciences, wildlife science, air quality, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and communication design continue to participate in the research and implementation of the project.

A landscape design was prepared by Arbolope Studio. During this process it was identified that two covered pavilions were desired, An “event pavilion” that could be used by the residents, and a “gateway pavilion” that provided some shelter from the weather as well acted as an architectural entryway into the park. In phase one of the construction which is currently underway students from Washington University, led by assistant professor Wyly Brown and assistant professor Penina Acayo students are designing and building the gateway pavilion, signage, and wayfinding during the fall 2022- through spring 2023.
 

The pavilion will be a grid shell made of a intertwined mesh of bamboo strips. This will be first assembled and tested with the help of students, staff, faculty, and community members from Nov 18-22. Bamboo is being shipped in from southern California, and bamboo construction expert, Hans Hernadez, is joining us from Costa Rica. We would like to bring in as many volunteers as possible for this 5-day construction workshop. For these workshops we will be providing food and tools. No prior construction experience is necessary. We are hoping to engage members from other schools and well as from the College Hill Community.

When built, Peace Park will be the first and only park in the College Hill neighborhood and the first community land trust owned park in the region. To find out more about Peace Park visit: https://www.greencitycoalition.org/peacepark.html