Park of Desires
(Parque de los Deseos)
Image by Daniela Mejía
Medellin’s Park of Desires (Parque de los Deseos) is a child-friendly public space providing a variety of free cultural activities and events.
It offers a range of activities aiming to foster a sense of community and bring local residents together in an accessible public space.
Visitors can experience outdoor film screenings, concerts, thematic workshops on science, the environment and public services, themed tours, recreational activities, exhibitions, talks and aerobics. The park has a flexible identity, catering to a variety of social groups. On Fridays it is populated with students from the nearby University of Antioquia, whereas on Sundays there are more children and families due to the 7pm free screenings of child-friendly films.
Location
Medellin, Colombia
Organisation
EPM Foundation - Government
Date 2003
Scale of catchment City
Beneficiary Whole community
Built environment component Public space; Park
INTERVENTION DESIGN LEARNINGS
Spatial/physical
Flat surfaces and pavements get a moderate slope to encourage sitting and buildings are places as scenarios for music shows and film screenings.
Function
The park contains the Casa de la Música – a meeting place for artists and musicians – incorporating creative space into the community and promoting its growth.
Site Location
Within walking distance are Medellin’s planetarium, the botanic gardens and the interactive science museum Parque Explora. The park is also accessible via the city Metro and its feeder routes, making it a connected and celebratory landmark for the city. Implementation learnings Park of Desires demonstrates that multi-functional public space can engage a variety of social groups. Designing for childhood development does not mean designing exclusive places for children, but for the broader community.
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