Confluence | Detail

Little Bear Garden at Gallery Park

Client

Village of Glenview

Size

140 acres

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Little Bear Garden at Gallery Park

Glenview, Illinois

Little Bear Garden is a children’s garden within Gallery Park, the 140-acre park at the center of the Glenview Naval Air Station redevelopment.

The goal was to develop a garden that would be educational through engaging play, stimulating to the imagination, and physically challenging at an appropriate age and developmental levels. A parallel goal for adults was to provide a gathering place where parents, relatives and friends could meet. Little Bear Garden is surrounded by a circular walk and fence, with one point of entry for security and safety. The central circle is a small “village green.” This is surrounded by a circular trellis and walkway with “porch swings” hung from the trellis, providing a place for adults to rest, meet, and watch the children. Outside the trellis are six gardens: maze, planting garden, sand play area, playground, interactive water feature, and storyteller’s corner. These gardens are connected on the outside perimeter by a serpentine tricycle or walking path. The entire garden is planted around the perimeter with trees and shrubs for both seasonal interest and screening from the surrounding roads and parking. Confluence was the landscape architect for the project, and worked closely with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the architect and prime contractor, in the development of the concept. SOM was responsible for all hardscape design and documentation.

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