The main idea behind Costa Azul Park is the creation of a democratic venue, one that promotes health and well being, as well as collective coexistence. The park is located on 14.000 m² of a challenging hilly topography with a beautiful sea view that inspired different project solutions. In addition to the main area, the initiative to transform the place also includes the surrounding streetscape and the 2,300 m² Praça Marcílio Dias, forming a set of public spaces measuring 18,500 m². The renovation of the area brought a strong identity to the neighborhood, and was immediately appropriated by the local community, becoming a park reference for others across the city.
The main leisure area of the complex is located on a steep slope, overcoming more than 21 m of elevation, creating an alternative route to be explored by users besides the regular paths, as more than one route is possible. Visitors can follow the winding paths across the hilly park, or they can choose a more playful one, through the Play Area. This is like a playground for all ages, made with yellow slides inserted in the land and stairs made of basalt plates that connect the colorful levels. Here, the play takes place amidst dense beds of yellow-flowering vegetation, including the bushy Lantana camara, Bulbine frutescens and Arachis repens. The park organizes routes through accessible paths or through the Play Area, but encourages free play and strolling along contour lines that have predominant grassy vegetation, once all other areas remain practically loose, freely accessible and only vaguely defined. On these grassy slopes, it is not unusual to see children sliding down on cardboard sheets, expanding the play possibilities. The picnic area is also frequently seen filled with people under the pleasant shade of the existing trees.
When elaborating the landscaping project, community participation was reinforced through the application of a questionnaire to identify the user’s main needs. This way, the global intervention strategy was guided by the several requests revealed in the research, respecting as little earth movement as possible. The existing pet place was then remodeled and repositioned, enriching the already well-established use of this space.
The sports area is concentrated at the lowest levels of the park, where there is already leveled space for the former sports equipment. The football court was replaced by four sand courts, enabling a more diverse and democratic use of the space, as this enables more people to use it simultaneously and also diversifies the user profile by increasing female participation. This lower area also contains a new basketball court, two ping pong tables, and a leveled children’s playground, all of which are surrounded by colorful vegetation beds.
At the highest levels of the park, a large landing provides not only a pleasant living space in the shade of the existing mature trees, but also serves as a large viewpoint overlooking the sea of the Baía Norte and the Santa Catarina Island in the background. The access path now forms a spiral around a large tree to guarantee universal accessibility conditions for this contemplation area, with a gentle ramp that complements the renewed staircase. After careful pruning on the existing vegetation to raise the canopy of the existing trees and broaden the views, the bay view was once again brought back to the users daily life. Along with pruning, a new lighting scheme was proposed to avoid hidden and unsafe spots in the park. The city then becomes a stage to be seen from within the park, one that now properly supports urban life.
The intervention is extended to the existing Praça Marcílio Dias, located north of the park and closer to the bay. Integrated into the new streetscape of the surrounding streets, existing parking space was reorganized to reduce car presence, and to add new native trees, new pavements and new street furniture, providing more comfort for pedestrians in general, but also ensuring universal access. In the refurbished square, the flower beds were remade to fit the new design, one that reorganizes the circulation axes and highlights the existing Marcílio Dias bust statue. New water features were added, bringing water movement on top of elevated squared blocks; these blocks act as an element of protection for pedestrians from the nearby avenue.
Location: R. Eugênio Raulino Koerich – Jardim Atlântico, Florianópolis – SC, 88095-151
Design year: 2021
Year Completed: 2023
