Bon Vivant Park
OVERVIEW: Whether attending a concert on a Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, enjoying a lunch break on a busy work day, or visiting with family on a lazy Sunday; Bon Vivant Park serves as both an entrance to downtown Greenville as well as being a major stepping stone to Greenville’s nationally known and locally cherished park system. By connecting form with function, Bon Vivant Park has been organized into public and private spaces that are specific to the surrounding economic and social amenities. In return, the park serves as an amenity to the adjacent Bon Secours Wellness Arena, as a thriving community space for the downtown location of Brown Mackie College, and as a connection between the east end’s businesses to Greenville’s growing park system.
Facilitated research and discovery explorations on site, established project plan and strategy, developed personas and user journeys, produced all diagrams, graphics, and illustrations, built physical models of the site design and presented to the City of Greenville for consideration
MY ROLE
Sole Designer Lisa Richter
CHALLENGE: Whether attending a concert on a Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, enjoying a lunch break on a busy work day, or visiting with family on a lazy Sunda
IDEA: Whether attending a concert on a Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, enjoying a lunch break on a busy work day, or visiting with family on a lazy Sunda
RESULTS: Whether attending a concert on a Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, enjoying a lunch break on a busy work day, or visiting with family on a lazy Sunda
Greenville is consistently named a top city to live in and was ranked “No. 5 Best Small City in the United States” in the 2021 Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards. The heart of Greenville is along Main Street which intersects with Falls Park and Liberty Bridge, which additionally receive national accolades. However, entering Greenville is another story. A busy 5 lane road crashes into the downtown area, and Bon Vivant Park, previously named “The Bermuda Triangle” sits alongside it. With severe topography and traffic issues, an abandoned site became my sole inspiration to welcome locals and tourists alike to the ever booming Greenville, South Carolina.
Weekday Lunchtime
Saturday Morning
Friday Evening before Concert
Site Analysis: Adjacent neighborhood, offices, church and places of business
Site Analysis: Adjacent college and connected parking garage
Site Analysis: Adjacent multi-purpose event arena and connected parking garage
Site Analysis and Exploration: Understanding the site’s location and its proximity to main street is essential to connect to the heart of Greenville. Vehicular traffic patterns follow the red arrows indicating 1 way roads vs 2 lane roads. Understanding how pedestrians are accessing the site and natural paths of movement through the site.
I first established that the site should act as both a destination but also a transition space, a place that is meant to facilitate pedestrian movement, such as getting a user from the Court House to the Bon Secour Wellness Arena.
Once the function of the site has been set, establishing forms that designate specific spaces naturally comes next. I knew I wanted a large open space for gatherings both large and small but mostly to act as an organic place to make your own. I also wanted to create spaces for quieter moments, think moveable outdoor seating, long elegant benches underneath trees, and built in seat walls perfect for people watching.
Lastly was selecting materials such as hardscape, lighting, plants, outdoor furniture, art and signage, and more.
Design Goals & Objectives
Create a statement park that recognizes the accolades Greenville is known for.
1. WHY
Greenville is more than just it’s main street and perfect Falls Park at the bottom of the Falls Waterfall. Creating a statement for both the vehicular and pedestrian traffic supports Greenville’s vision to be the a wholistic and ever improving city.
Users range from locals to tourists and everything in between. Bon Vivant Park sits adjacent to Brown Mackie College, Bon Secour Wellness Area, City Hall and multiple businesses and residents.
By not only focusing on the pedestrian traffic, but also the vehicular views, the entire site will be redesigned and imagined with the user in mind. Utilizing strong art and sculptural elements, cohesive identity throughout, and simplistic design elements, the site will be transformed into another gem in Greenville’s crown.
2. WHO
3. HOW
DEFINE & IDEATE
Schematic Design Work
Conceptual and schematic work that goes into the overall design.
I first established that the site should act as both a destination but also a transition space, a place that is meant to facilitate pedestrian movement, such as getting a user from the Court House to the Bon Secour Wellness Arena.
Once the function of the site has been set, establishing forms that designate specific spaces naturally comes next. I knew I wanted a large open space for gatherings both large and small but mostly to act as an organic place to make your own. I also wanted to create spaces for quieter moments, think moveable outdoor seating, long elegant benches underneath trees, and built in seat walls perfect for people watching.
Lastly was selecting materials such as hardscape, lighting, plants, outdoor furniture, art and signage, and more.
Design Goals & Objectives
Create a statement park that recognizes the accolades Greenville is known for.
1.
Prioritize any and all users that will be in the space. Both large and small, destination and transitioning, should view the space as safe, beautiful and inviting.
Enhance Greenville’s downtown experience with a beautiful public outdoor space in an untapped area. Focusing on the standards Greenville has established, the site will compliment Greenville’s aesthetic
Keeping art, architecture, lighting, and color at the forefront of the design. The site not only needs to function, but it needs to be beautiful to look at.
2.
3.
Scenario Exploration
Exploring and planning for how the site can function in multiple scenarios.
Weekday Lunchtime
Saturday Morning
Friday Evening before Concert