May 26, 2015

Hing Hay Park will expand and get a stage

Image courtesy of Turenscape [enlarge]

The city of Seattle will seek construction bids this summer to renovate and expand Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown-International District.

The 13,300-square-foot addition will be built on the site of a former post office at 414 Sixth Ave. S., west of the existing park.

The city's $3 million budget covers planning, design and construction.

The design includes a large plaza, lighting, grading, urban furniture, activity areas and integration with the current park.

Turenscape of Beijing is the conceptual design lead, and SvR Design Co. is the prime landscape architect and civil engineer.

Other team members are Lund Opsahl, structural engineer; dark|light design, lighting design; Travis, Fitzmaurice & Associates, electrical engineer; InterIm CDA and WKND, public outreach; and C & N Consultants, cost estimator.

People in the community have asked for the park to have a performance space, so the design includes an adaptable stage that will be defined by angled planes of perforated metal.

Terraces inspired by Asian rice paddies will be woven throughout the park and address grading challenges. Custom bleachers set into terraces will provide seating and mini-stages.

The expansion will double the size of Hing Hay Park, which was built in 1974 and designed by landscape architect S.K. Sakuma. The original park has a red brick square with an ornate pavilion that was designed and constructed in Taipei, Taiwan.

The name of the park means “Park for Pleasurable Gatherings,” according to the Seattle's parks department.

Land for the park was acquired with 2000 Pro Parks levy funds, and funding for the project was from the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces levy.