4.3.2011

The Barker Park along the River Aura is slated to become a new Turku key attraction

Capital of Culture Turku plans to build an internationally notable environmental art park in the Barker Park, which is located on the western shore of River Aura. Martha Schwartz, a well-known contemporary artist and landscape architect from the USA, will be responsible for designing the park.

During 2012, a children’s playground area included in the Master plan is scheduled to be completed. The goal is to complete the remainder of the plan at a later phase.

”The draft designs that are currently under preparation are a bold statement on the possibilities provided by the park and the city space,” says Suvi Innilä, Programme Director for the Turku 2011 Foundation responsible for preparing the Capital of Culture year.

The draft design is a part of the Urban Nature seminar

The draft design for the Barker Park is a part of the Urban Nature seminar that is included in the Capital of Culture year programme. The seminar gathers the world’s leading environmental artists, landscape architects, environmental psychology experts, nature philosophers, and gardening professionals in Turku 8-9 September 2011.

The goal of the seminar is to diversely examine the planning and research of parks, recreation areas, and urban nature as well as their effects on the human psyche and well-being. Martha Schwartz is the seminar’s keynote speaker.

• Barker Park is a park area comprising approximately 8,000 square metres that is located on the western shore of River Aura. Currently, the park hosts a playground for children and normal outdoor greenery. The park is not heavily used. According to Schwartz’s designs, the park will have a personal look and identity. An additional goal is to increase the year-round use of the park and to include the park as a part of the notable chain of environmental artwork along the River Aura. 
  
  
• Martha Schwartz is a world-famous American landscape architect and contemporary artist. She is especially famous for her designs that renew the concept of the modern landscape. Schwartz has developed a design language that surprisingly combines daring shapes and colors with different construction materials and plants. Her work combines landscape design solution approaches with visual expression through the methods of contemporary art.

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• Martha Schwartzin kotisivu