THE STORY OF A TRELLIS

Rummaging through Facebook earlier, I found this very nice picture of my friend Jon-Arne and his friend Isabelle standing under a beautiful trellis in what appeared to be a park of some kind. I got curious about the age and designer of this piece, and after getting some vague description of "Boston, down by the harbour", I employed my superb googling skills, using such search terms as "Boston harbour", "Boston trellis architect" and "Columbus park architect", and I eventually found what I was looking for.

It appears the park and the trellises was somehow threatened by a complete redesign in the early 2000s, which resulted in a preservation campaign and several articles written, including this very enlightening one. I guess it went ok; at least the trellises were saved.

Architects were Sasaki Associates, which seems to be a very interesting practice, especially when it comes to landscape architecture. Their project description with more pictures is here. The park was built in 1976 as an initiation of a major waterfront redevelopment in Boston, clearing old sites and roads to connect the city with the water in a mindful combination of greenery and open space. As a reflection of the site's past as a harbour, materials such as wood, iron, brick and granite are used in a diverse manner throughout the site. I especially appreciate how the space between the water and the streets going down towards it is kept completely open. I imagine this provides people with an opportunity to see the water from within the urban fabric and get a feeling of the landscape.

The beautiful geometry of the trellises oveergrown with Wisterias seem to fascinate many people. There's a "Trellis lighting" here every December, people seem to like hanging around next to them, and an abstracted version is even the logo of Friends of Christopher Columbus Park.

Picture credits:

I: Jon-Arne Bilben Haughseth
II: FOCCP
III: Sasaki Associates
IV: Sasaki Associates
V: FOCCP