Rickenbacker Woods Foundation Community Greenspace Columbus, Ohio
Services Provided
Park Planning & Design
Community Engagement
People Involved
Kerry Reeds
Jonathan Staker
Ryan Atkinson
Alisa Burnside
Nathan Young
Transforming a neighborhood greenspace into a welcoming community park.
Over the course of just a few months, the MKSK Community Impact Studio assisted in the reactivation of a 0.16 acre greenspace in the Driving Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, alongside the Creators Originator & Innovators of Tomorrow Workforce Initiative Interns (COITWI) at the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation.
The Rickenbacker Woods Foundation strives to ignite the spirit of innovation and perseverance embodied through the lives and legacies of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker and Granville T. Woods; providing youth access and opportunities to STEAM education while fostering the personal development of families and the community. Their campus serves as a resource for families and the community through the facilitation of programming that provides Holistic Opportunities for Personal Enrichment (HOPE).
To kick off the project, MKSK and resource professionals from Keeping it Native Land Management met with the student interns at the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation to introduce the team. For many students, this was their first experience learning about the professional field of Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture. With this in mind, the MKSK team provide an overview of their day-to-day and highlighted some more recent projects around town. Following the meet and greet, the group walked over to the project site to evaluate the existing conditions of the space, assess the presence of invasive species and other undesirable elements, and start visualizing what the space could become.
During the first two design workshops with the COITWI interns, MKSK facilitated the design development phase for the park. The interns broke out into six project teams, each equipped with a scaled site diagram, dry erase markers, and a selection of design elements. The teams worked together to brainstorm “big picture” ideas for the park space and drafted their preliminary designs before presenting their diagrams to the group. No idea was too big or too small to explore – pathways, reading nooks, tree houses, gathering tables, art installations, and lighting were among the many design concepts. The interns were encouraged to tell the story of their park space, detailing their aspirations and what they envision the space to be in the future. The interns then worked to refine some of their best ideas and unify their concepts into a cohesive plan in preparation for developing the final plan.
For the final two workshops, the student COITWI interns rolled up their sleeves and began to work on the physical implementation of their 0.16 park design, developed in conjunction with MKSK during the previous three design workshops. During these workshops interns learned about site layout and planting best practices. Ultimately, everyone got down and dirty, helping bring the site to life, preparing the site pathways, planting beds, and environmental graphics.
Just three months after the first kick-off meeting, the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation and MKSK hosted a Grand Opening Celebration for the newly refreshed Livingston Reads: Our Storybook Park. The celebration invited residents, families, and friends to the park where they met the project team, shared lemonade, and explored the new storybook themed public space. The reading cove addresses the urgent need for a safe and inviting space where young people can immerse themselves in the joy of reading and relaxation.
This park is not just a beautiful addition to the neighborhood – it is a proactive measure to reduce youth violence and promote mental health, while also enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the community. Hammocks, native plantings, walking paths, opportunities to feature local artwork, and a Little Library are just a few of the enhancements to be experienced in this refreshed greenspace.
This project continues the Community Impact Studio’s commitment in advancing the public good by fostering meaningful opportunities to facilitate, participate, and champion MKSK volunteerism to address community needs and positively impact lives.