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MKE PLAYS
Seeing the future for a new generation
The initial focus of our project this year was simple: help the MKE Plays foundation reconstruct and rehabilitate a local park into a vibrant, natural community space that could be usable by all members of the surrounding neighborhood. As our initial meetings progressed, it quickly became evident how massive an undertaking this project could be. We had to meet a brand new community and listen to their perspective in order to design a park that truly reflects the unique voices and needs of that community. Along the way we would make new connections and forge a team capable of tackling the variety of challenges designing a park presents, while striving for the most well rounded design of the park for the community. The results of our project were sketches of a new park layout and a design of a pavilion.
MKE Plays 18-19: Welcome
MKE Plays 18-19: Gallery
OUR STORY
Our project began as a revitalization plan for the park on 29th and Melvina. The goal? To help design a park that focuses on elements influenced by community input for different features in the park. To gain insight, we worked closely with Joe Kaltenberg, the coordinator of MKE Plays, as well as Yvonne McCaskill, an active leader in the community and the neighborhood association.
Through Joe and Yvonne, we found the elements community members wanted most in their park: a gathering space to focus on building community, (such as a pavilion with storage and bathrooms), a basketball court, places to ride bicycles, a playground, and a garden area. The community had a strong interest in integrating art and green infrastructure into the park and implementing a stormwater management system to prevent flooding. With all these features, as well as existing pieces of community art, we began researching ideas for park elements and brainstorming different layouts. We all conducted precedent studies to see how different parks around the country solved some of the issues we were dealing with in our park. The results of our research were compiled into the five infographics linked below.
MKE Plays 18-19: Quote
MKE Plays 18-19: Pro Gallery
In the spring, we had a meeting with Joe and Yvonne as well as some major stakeholders and a few interested community members. The opinions voiced at this meeting confirmed that our initial ideas and designs reflected community need. This meeting put a large emphasis on the pavillion as the park’s cornerstone, where people of all ages could gather as a community, even in Wisconsin’s irregular weather.
Thus, our main focus shifted to designing this crucial piece of the space. Ideally, the pavillion will have bathrooms, water fountains and storage area, as well as a stage, and a place to gather all year round. Water fountains and bathrooms are important both so that people using the park have access and don’t have to leave the space for access. Additionally, outside programs like the Milwaukee Rec program could use the area which brings new people into the community. We have some initial designs that show a few theoretical designs and layouts. Our current structure design for the pavillion is based on a picture shown at the bottom of this page that had sparked interest at the community meeting.
The community meeting also gave insight for different elements for the new park. Apart from the pavilion, the elements people desired most -- the bicycle area, the basketball court -- are likely to be implemented in the park’s final design.
RESULTS
The most striking experience we had in the course of the project was the opportunity to interact with community members, listening to their input and implementing it into a new park design that better suited the needs of the community. The result of these interactions became the design of the the park layout and the pavilion, a digital rendering and walkthrough of which is pictured on this website. Our hope is that our work will provide inspiration for a better, cleaner, greener new park to be built on the site at 29th and Melvina.
MKE Plays 18-19: Text
MKE Plays 18-19: Gallery
Students Involved
(Left to Right)
Kaetryn Koneazny
Josh Kleinschmidt
Dakota Cole
Chris Drazek
Katie Wolfgramm
MKE Plays 18-19: Image
“The MSOE Mindset led me to succeed in my freshman year of college. It pushed me out of my comfort zone at times, but I know I am a better person because of it. I was involved in servant-leadership projects through the University Scholars Honors Program and I loved it. The skills I learned throughout the process and the connections I made are something I will always have, and I believe the benefits of servant-leadership and project-based learning are something every student at MSOE should have the opportunity to experience.”
- Dakota Cole
MKE Plays 18-19: Image
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