Vista Hermosa Natural Park

Landmark Award

The Landmark Award

Los Angeles, California, United States
Studio-MLA
Client: Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Los Angeles Unified School District

A "Window to the Mountains" in downtown Los Angeles.

Once an oil field, Vista Hermosa Natural Park is an iconic 10-acre park in urban LA that bring nature to a hillside neighborhood which had little.

Image Credit: Hunter Kerhart; Article thumbnails from LAM, LASN, PRB, NY Times, and LA Times
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The neighborhood had suffered from a lack of public green space. Despite being geographically close, many residents had never visited the mountains.

The site's topsoil caps and mitigates methane gas left over from oil extraction and expands recreational opportunities for all residents.

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A hilly and seismically active site, the plan delineates 3 distinct terraces.

The northeast upper terrace includes play areas, the middle terrace overlooks the city, and the lower terrace includes parking and a soccer field.

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Vista Hermosa – “Beautiful view”

The park gives Angelenos iconic views to downtown and a connection to the native ecologies of the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains.

Image Credit: Tom Lamb
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Vista Hermosa is the result of a diligent stakeholder partnership between LAUSD and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

The park's completion represents a significant community benefit on a geologically and historically challenging site.

Image Credit: Tom Lamb
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Re-created habitat in the heart of the city.

The park provides habitat within the Pacific Flyway for 60 bird species observed on site and provides breeding grounds for at least 1 tagged coyote.

Image Credit: Tom Lamb
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A walking and running trail winds through the entire park.

The trail connects the many freeplay areas with the children’s adventure area, the grotto, and the amphitheater, restrooms, and soccer field below.

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A diverse tree canopy provides shade, habitat, and carbon sequestration.

The +800 trees planted on site capture an estimated 22 tons of atmospheric carbon annually.

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This iconic bench has been featured in dozens of television shows and films.

A place of prospect and refuge – where visitors connect with nature and the city at once.

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Places for quiet respite.

The steep hillside was planned and graded to treat and detain urban runoff on site, and separate areas to allow for flexible yet distinct programs.

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The children’s adventure area incorporates custom-designed play sculptures.

Custom sculptures of native animals accentuated by natural boulders and logs and plenty of seating engage people of all ages to perch and picnic.

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Ahead of its time. Vista Hermosa presents a model of naturalized park design as relevant today as when it was constructed.

The park is teaming with both visible and hidden low impact design strategies to treat stormwater, provide habitat, and connect people to nature.

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Vista Hermosa features a dryer, climate-appropriate aesthetic.

Rather than the turf of traditional parks, the park uses native plants and permeable decomposed granite that doubles as gathering and play surface.

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The park draws regional visitors, including more than 60 bird species passing through the Pacific Flyway corridor.

The soccer field conceals a massive cistern for rainwater reuse on irrigation. Volunteer rangers teach programs about wildlife & nature in the city.

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A Park for LA. Vista Hermosa sparks the imagination of the greater Los Angeles community.

In addition to local visitors and events, Hollywood regularly uses the park for film shoots, bringing in over $100k annual income for maintenance.

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The park's social impacts are evident.

Vista Hermosa's construction increased average park acreage per 1,000 residents by 13% for 111,803 Westlake neighborhood residents. (2010 Census data)

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“

The first park to open in downtown Los Angeles in over 100 years, this park is a testament to the great social and health equity that a public landscape can consistently deliver to communities over many years. What's important is the availability of space for people, especially those underserved, and careful design and planning considerations that weave together human and ecological elements, deploy appropriate design expressions, create memorable places, and plan for longevity in accordance with its operational context. The diversity and richness of natural plantings, balanced with spaces for running, playing, and socializing, exemplify sustainable design principles and create lasting memories rooted in an ecological setting. Serving as a cultural staple in the Los Angeles community, this park has held deep importance to the community it serves.

”

- 2023 Awards Jury

Project Credits

KPFF Consulting Engineers, Civil and Structural Engineer

M-E Engineers, Electrical Engineer

ERW Design, Architect

Sweeney + Associates, Irrigation

EPD Consultants, Pond Consultant

SCS Engineers, Methane Mitigation Engineers

C. P. O’Halloran Associates IncC. P. O’Halloran Associates Inc., Cost Estimating

Brett Goldstone, Gate and Fence Artist

Art Share, Public Art Signage

Los Angeles Engineering, General Contractor

Project Statement

Vista Hermosa was the first public park built in downtown Los Angeles in over 100 years. Previously an oil field located in a park-poor urban area, the park provides residents of a dense, primarily working-class Latinx neighborhood with "a window to the Mountains," opportunities for recreation, access to nature, and quiet reprieve. Marrying environmental justice to social justice, the park provides a safer environment in what was once a dangerous and contaminated vacant lot. As re-created habitat in the heart of the city, Vista Hermosa features many resilient, nature-based solutions that were ahead of its time. The park has become a symbol of Los Angeles, bringing a natural experience to those who are unable to visit the nearby mountains.

Project Narrative

Social Equity
Vista Hermosa – Spanish for “beautiful view” – is a 10-acre urban habitat and recreation park located in an urban, park-poor neighborhood north of downtown LA. The project earned its legacy status by becoming a beloved icon of the city through its transformation of a former brownfield site once holding oil wells into a nature and play destination. Public workshops were used to gather local knowledge for park design, and the project was evaluated for environmental, social, and economic performance. As a participant in the Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigation series, the park was evaluated in great detail for its environmental, social, and economic performance.

Sustainability
The landscape architect and civil engineer collaborated to transform a steep hillside into a 10-acre urban park. Soft terraces defined play and gathering spaces and captured urban runoff. A nature walk navigates the hillside through native shrubs and trees, while a meadow doubles as a detention basin for rainwater retention. Native trees and plants provide habitat for 60 bird species on the Pacific Flyway, reducing irrigation and maintenance. Toxic gases from the former oil field required mitigation measures, such as removing the topsoil and adding new layers to safely release gases. Venting systems prevent gas accumulation under impermeable slabs in park buildings and a cistern, as well as the adjacent school buildings.

Climate Change
Vista Hermosa Park captures 54% of annual runoff, retaining 120k gallons of water during storms, which is equivalent to one-fifth of an Olympic-sized pool. The park's 600-700 trees cool the surrounding area by 0.9ºF and save 8.1M gallons of water, equal to $81,339.97 in cost savings. The park also reduces carbon emissions by 84% (1,831 lbs of CO2) and sequesters 22.23 tons of carbon annually, equivalent to emissions from 4.3 cars or the annual energy use of 2.1 homes.

Diversity & Inclusion
Vista Hermosa Natural Park brought with it many human and social benefits. The park serves over 21,000 people who live within a half-mile radius in a neighborhood with a median household income of $25,184. By offering recreational opportunities such as soccer, walking and running trails, and adventure play, the park helps support physical fitness in addition to the mental restoration being in nature provides.

The client leverages the park’s abundant nature by hosting an average of 67 programs, including educational lectures and tours provided in both Spanish and English, averaging 161 hours a year and serving 1,487 attendees. The site also acts as a departure point for the “Transit to Trails” program, which facilitates transport to, and exploration of, the extensive natural areas surrounding the city.

Resilience
Vista Hermosa Park saves $70,000 annually on maintenance costs by using artificial turf for the soccer field. The park provided over 6,000 hours of employment during construction and employs multiple staff on-site. The park contributed to a 35% increase in nearby housing units between 2000-2010, compared to 5.7% city-wide. The park generates $87,042 in annual revenue for operating expenses from 35 days of filming fees.

Products

Furniture
- Drinking Fountain: Canterbury
- Benches: Victor Stanley
Drainage/Erosion
- Cistern: Invisible Structures
- Cistern Pump System: See drawings
Irrigation
- Irrigation: Rainbird
- Irrigation: Hunter
Parks/Recreation Equipment
- Custom Turtle Play Sculpture:Cemrock
- Custom Snake Play Structure and Concrete Slide: LA Engineering
- Soccer Goals: Porter Athletic Equipment Company
Water Management/Amenities
- Waterfall Boulders and Decomposed Granite: KRC Rock
Green Roofs/Living Walls
- Modular Green Roof System: Green Grid Roofs
Soils
- Organic Compost: Earthworks
Hardscape
- Permeable Pavers: Orco Block

Plant List

Agave spp. / Agave
Fraxinus / Ash Species
Salvia Mellifera / Black Sage
Quercus Agrifolia / Coast Live Oak
Aesculus Californica / California Buckeye
Schoenoplectus Californicus / California Bulrush
Platanus Racemose / California Sycamore
Eriogonum Fasciculatum / California Buckwheat
Juglans Californica / California Black Walnut
Umbellularia Californica / California Bay Laurel
Encelia Californica / California Encelia
Juncus Patens / California Gray Rush
Artemisia Californica / California Sagebrush
Prunus Ilicifolia ssp. Lyonia / Catalina Cherry
Typha / Cattail
Ceanothus / California Wild Lilac
Agave Americana / Century Plant
Artemisia Californica Hydroseed Mix / Chaparral Sage Scrub
Salvia Clevelandii / Cleveland Sage
Keckiella Cordifolia / Climbing Penstemon
Sequoia Sempervirens / Coast Redwood
Iris Douglasiana / Douglas Iris
Nassella Tenuissima / Feather Grass
Fremontodendron / Flannel Bush
Ribes Speciosum / Fuchsia Flowering Gooseberry
Gambelia Speciosa / Island Bush Snapdragon
Rhus integrifolia / Lemonade Berry
Romneya / Matilija Poppy
Sambucus Cerulea / Mexican Elderberry
Mahonia Nevinii / Nevin Mahonia
Mimulus Aurantiacus / Sticky Monkey Flower
Pinus Torreyana / Torrey Pine
Cercis Occidentalis / Western Redbud
Alnus Rhombifolia / White Alder
Salvia Apiana / White Sage
Salix / Willow Species (Arroyo Willow, Gooding’s Black Willow, Golden Willow, Red Willow)
Quercus Lobata / Valley Oak