This reclaimed brownfield on Oakland Bay was previously the site of freight railways, dirt pathways and warehouses. As part of the design considerations, OLIN developed on-site remediation strategies to isolate contaminated soils from non-contaminated soils. Today, the park features inviting expanses of lawn, canted and oriented to provide maximum views to the bay. The lawns are edged with a series of low seat walls, reminiscent of lapping waves on shore. Tucked into and between the seat walls are shrub and perennial plantings native to California and coastal areas. The plantings on the waterside edge of the park ebb and flow along the promenade. Atop a mounded landform sits Cupid’s Span, a commissioned piece of large-scale sculpture designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. OLIN worked with the artists to determine the placement of the piece. Given the multiple interpretations of the artwork—Cupid’s bow and arrow, a ship, a part of the nearby bridge span, or a quill, among others—it was determined that the sculpture should sit like a ship, gently rolling off the crest of a wave.
