The Big Dig -- The Boston Chinatown Park

Boston, USA

Parks + Open Spaces

Landscape Architects: Turenscape

Location: Boston, USA
Year: 2005
Client: Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
Team: Turenscape

Boston, Massachusetts had a world-class traffic problem. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority constructed a solution, called the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), i.e. The Big Dig. . The Big Dig Project will create more than 300 acres of landscaped and restored open space, including over 45 parks and major public plazas. The Chinatown project is one of these parks.

Turenscape, teamed with the local Boston-based firm, Carol R. Johnson Associates, proposed the Chinatown Park as a public space and performance theater.

This concept was inspired by the linked concepts of passage and progression associated with the Asian immigrants to Boston and the active uses of this small China center. The programmatic vision calls for a layering of uses that are constantly changing. Our design is intended to frame and support these uses and activities. We envision a flexible park changing to accommodate a wide variety of daily, weekly, and seasonal needs.