The southwest corner of Hing Hay Park will be fenced off from January 16 to early February while Studio Fifty50, a design/make studio, installs the iconic artistic gateway structure for the park.
The gateway is the final design element in the park expansion project. It is a geometric red metal arch that will welcome the community into the park and define the main entry. The abstract perforations in the gateway represent leaf patters, an inclusive patterns representing all cultures in the Seattle Chinatown-International District. It is made of similar red metal used in the seating and stairs at the park. Studio Fifty50 is fabricating the gateway in their studio and will assemble it in the park.
In June 2017, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) opened Hing Hay Park expansion, which is located at 423 Maynard Ave. S at the corner of 6th Ave. S and S King St. The project doubled the size of Hing Hay Park and serves as an important community gathering place for the neighborhood.
The new park design includes a cultural performance space, with custom integrated seating that punctuates the terraces and provides micro-stages. The park also features activity areas for all community members to enjoy, including ping pong tables, seating, exercise machines, a badminton area, and shade trees. Additional features include planted terraces, lighting, necessary utilities and sidewalk improvements with ADA accessibility through the park.
The design of the park is the result of a series of community outreach meetings, input from local organizations and Friends of Hing Hay Park. The team of MIG|SvR, a local design firm, plus Turenscape, a Beijing-based firm, created the park design that reflects the many cultures of the neighborhood and seamlessly embraces the old with the new. SPR purchased the International District Station Post Office site with funding from the Pro-Parks Levy to expand the original park. The 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy provided the development funding and brought the community vision alive.
For more information, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/hing-hay-park or contact Kim Baldwin, Project Manager, Seattle Parks and Recreation at kim.baldwin@seattle.gov.