Olmsted’s Crown Jewel: An Exhibition Celebrating Franklin Park

Honor Award

Communications

Manhattan, Kansas, United States
Emily Siler, Associate ASLA; Anna Rader, Associate ASLA; Caleb Payne, Associate ASLA; John Kalamaja, Associate ASLA; Katherine Herrera-Lai, Associate ASLA;
Faculty Advisors: Jessica Canfield, ASLA;
Kansas State University

Project Impact

To celebrate and communicate the rich story of Franklin Park, students designed an inclusive, multi-sensory exhibition reaching hundreds of visitors

Image Credit: Katherine Herrera-Lai, John Kalamaja, Caleb Payne, Anna Rader, Emily Siler
Members of the Press: Please submit high-resolution image requests to press@asla.org . Awards Images Terms of Use

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Designing the Exhibition

Students worked collaboratively to iterate and explore various design ideas—from the storyline and layout to color palettes and construction details

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Fabrication

All pieces of the exhibition were custom-designed and fabricated, including the jumbo “flip-book,” sensory trays and a topographic model

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An Interactive and Inclusive Experience

Designed to be a welcoming and inclusive experience, students carefully considered design elements to make the exhibit accessible and multi-sensory

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Exhibition Experience

As visitors weave through the exhibition, they follow the story of Franklin Park’s history, its current conditions and its future plans

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The Evolution of Franklin Park

Historical photos and documents gathered during archival research represent important events and turning points in the park’s history

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Visitor's Experience: The Timeline

The timeline described three significant periods in the park’s history, highlighting how the park had evolved from Olmsted’s original vision

Image Credit: Katherine Herrera-Lai, John Kalamaja, Caleb Payne, Anna Rader, Emily Siler, Historical Photographs Courtesy of National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Members of the Press: Please submit high-resolution image requests to press@asla.org . Awards Images Terms of Use

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Community Context

A series of boards present the rich history and cultural diversity of the surrounding community that has, and continues to, shape Franklin Park

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In Action: The Flip Book

Flipping the book allows visitors to compare Olmsted’s original plan with a current day park plan and an annotated plan describing the park’s future

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Up Close: The Scale Model

A tactile element, the 1:150 topographic relief model of the park revealed the park’s distinct landforms and dramatic topography

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Designing Beyond Vision

Sensory trays displayed collected artifacts as well as buttons that played sound recordings from the park engaging the tactical and auditory senses

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Comparing Changes: The Past, Present & Future

A series of “flip-books” showcased historical and present day photos as well as proposed renderings of four prominent areas of the park

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The Action Plan

Visitors could flip through key pages of the Boston Parks & Recreation Dept.’s Franklin Park Action Plan, which presented a community-driven vision

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Individual Research

Students displayed their individual Master’s Report research which further explored topics related to the park’s design and future plan

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Artistic Interpretations

Students represented their visit to Franklin Park in artworks using a variety of media from watercolor to printmaking

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“

Finally documenting a design of an exhibition process and outcome with a clear, intentional process and interesting content to match! So many layers and dimensions here - all melded together into an overall idea. Exhibits are designs of designs and they often get less attention than the actual work - but here this project has revealed an important type of design in an inspired way. A great documentary piece! Informative and valuable work here!! Translation of group effort to cohesive experience was well done and demonstrates strong coordination of idea.

”

- 2024 Awards Jury

Project Credits

Ian Scherling
Project Advisor, Associate Principal and Landscape Architect at Sasaki

Susan and Paul Kissinger
Susan and Paul Kissinger Award

Project Statement

To learn how park planning, design and programming can more equitably and inclusively serve a diverse public, landscape architecture students in their Master’s Project Studio undertook a case study of Franklin Park in Boston, MA. The outcomes of the students’ collective work served as a foundation for an eight-week public exhibition, Franklin Park: Olmsted’s Crown Jewel. The interactive and multi-sensory exhibition features unique ways to experience the park’s history, its current conditions, and its vision for the future. Prominently located in a highly visible and accessible space, the exhibition received hundreds of visitors who learned about landscape architecture and the significance of Olmsted’s “forgotten park.”

Project Narrative

Coined the “Crown Jewel” of Boston’s 1,000-acre Emerald Necklace greenway, Franklin Park is a 500+ acre urban wonder—full of opportunities to gather, recreate and connect with nature. However, years of overuse and disinvestment have left the park needing renewal; Franklin Park is often referred to as “Olmsted’s Forgotten Park.” To celebrate and honor the rich story of Franklin Park, Olmsted’s vision and the impact of landscape architecture, students in their Master’s Project Studio designed and fabricated an inclusive, multi-sensory exhibition.

In the fall of 2022, a year after Olmsted’s 200th anniversary and near the publication of the Franklin Park Action Plan (FPAP) (Boston Parks & Rec 2022), students traveled to Boston to conduct onsite research and observational analysis of Franklin Park and to learn from the design professionals who authored the FPAP. Before visiting the park, students carefully planned information and items to be collected on-site that would later be incorporated into the exhibit. For instance, archival research was conducted to find historical photographs of notable areas throughout the park. Then, while onsite, students took photos from the same vantage point as the historical photos to show change over time in the exhibition’s flip-books. Using the same photos as a base, students created renderings inspired by the recommendations outlined in the FPAP. Additionally, students captured sound clips and gathered fragments of fallen leaves and twigs from prominent areas in the park. These materials were used in the exhibition’s sensory trays and added a unique tactile element to the exhibition.

Too often exhibition design engages only the visual sense. The students felt it was important for the exhibition to be a welcoming and inclusive experience for all visitors. This required careful consideration for making it accessible and multi-sensory. All decisions were intentional, including the choice of font and size, the panel height, the colors used, the arrangement of the space, the use of sound and the provision of tactile elements.

The exhibition featured:

A timeline of Franklin Park that highlighted three significant periods in the park’s history: The Olmsted Era (1878-1895), Controversial Changes (1896-1954) and Disinvestment & Renewal (1955-Now)

Neighborhood and community character boards that gave visitors a sense of the people and places that have shaped the park’s identity

A jumbo flip-book that allowed visitors to compare Olmsted’s historic plan, the current plan and the future plan

Then & Now flip-books that allowed visitors to visualize changes in the park by flipping through historic and current-day photos and proposed renderings

Sensory trays with sound buttons and artifacts to provide an auditory and tactile experience

A display of key pages from the Boston Parks & Rec Department’s FPAP that illustrated a community-driven future vision

Artistic interpretations of the park created by the students

A summary of students’ individual research projects that showcased a deeper dive into topics related to the park

On display for 8 weeks in a multidisciplinary design College’s gallery space, the exhibition received hundreds of visitors from within the College, across the University and nationally during the LABash Conference. The exhibition provided a unique opportunity to educate those outside of landscape architecture about the impact of the profession and the significance of one designer’s work across decades.