Site Plan
Landscape Architects use plans as a tool for design because they are a quick way to determine the arrangement, form, and size of landscape components. They also put the landscape in context, helping to ensure that the design complements its surroundings. (Use this plan as a reference for the following photos.)
Image: MVVA
Lush Entryway
The lushly-planted entrance from Etonia Street funnels visitors into the park. Low berms help to screen the parking lot, making this small urban park a place of respite from the daily hum of city life. London plane trees, with their mottled bark, and aspen trees, with their “shaking” leaves, provide a distinctive canopy over the entrance.
Image: MVVA
Repurposed Fountain
The Lion Head Fountain is made from building remnants that were found during the excavation of a nearby Harvard building. Their exact origin unknown, they have been repurposed here to make a refreshing summertime water play feature. Water is conserved by using fine misters which are operated by a timed push button.
Image: MVVA
The Hilltop
A simple but powerful design move is the Hilltop, a 25-foot high earth mound that is the most prominent feature in the park. Meant to be whimsical and unique, it has a path that winds its way up to a seating area that has views across the nearby Charles River.
Image: MVVA
Billowy Edge
The Hilltop path is flanked by billowy little bluestem grass. Not often seen in urban settings, little bluestem is high enough to give a sense of enclosure and mystery, yet low enough to allow views to the park and beyond. The grass changes character throughout the seasons and are shown here with the pink tips they develop in the fall.
Image: MVVA
View Across the Lawn
A view from the Hilltop Path looking across the wide-open Central Lawn and into the treed Event Lawn. Fastigiate English oaks and evergreen arborvitae trees were chosen for their contrasting form. Native oaks, maples, American hornbeam and Allegheny serviceberry provide a green frame around the park’s perimeter, shielding it from industrial buildings and lending privacy to neighboring residences.
Image: MVVA
Sustainable Design
Mellone Park is a pilot project in sustainability for both Harvard and the neighborhood of Allston. The park introduces increased ecological diversity through 150 native or naturalized trees, creates wildlife habitats, and collects stormwater runoff for groundwater recharge through rain gardens, pictured here. The park is organically maintained, with an emphasis on soil health to make plants vigorous and enduring.
Image: MVVA