Texas
Rangers Park, Arlington, Texas,
1991
In the rolling landscape
of North Texas, midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, an elevated
plateau of earth rises to become the focus of a new regional
park. Incorporating a major league baseball stadium, the park
will link to existing recreational events in the immediate vicinity
to synergize land uses, introducing functional density within
the natural landscape. The natural ecology of the site and its
suburban nature has prompted a new way of thinking about building
a gathering place which serves the population of an entire region.
The project is designed
to deal with the multitude of problems inherent in such a program:
enormous numbers of cars, radical population curves, economic
viability, creating a sense of order in the landscape without
forfeiting the casual arrangement of activities appropriate
to the program, and indeed promoting an awareness of the natural
ecology of the site.
Interstate 20 linking
Dallas and Fort Worth slices through the "recreation zone" and
forms one edge to the site. The excitement of arrival to a game,
and the park itself, has been exploited through a sequence of
images and events as one moves through the site. Two pedestrian
"viaducts" separate people from automobiles and provide access
to the earth mound and other events in the park.
The elevated plateau
of earth organizes the site and provides a ceremonial ground
for the ritual of playing ball.
The surface of the
mound, an "electronic turf" contains a grid of services to support
various restaurants and shops in a temporary festival arrangement,
as well as ticket booths and a Hall of Fame with its spherical
theater. Names and statistics of players are located on this
plateau, enhancing its meaning as a memorial.
The ballpark's field
has also been carved out of the mound. A trellis grown over
with vines and irrigated by mist, makes the exterior facade
into a green wall, creating a park like sensation while allowing
cooling breezes to flow through.
Rotating streams
of light visible from a great distance will emit from Victory
Island whenever the home team wins a game.
