This past Saturday, September 16th, Lionakis participated in another annual Sacramento United PARK(ing) Day. PARK(ing) Day, a global event started in 2005 in the neighboring city of San Francisco, aims to occupy public parking spaces for the day, temporarily converting them to public spaces or ‘parklets.’ The one-day pop-up parklets act as a commentary on the challenges of urban settings, and how cities can best provide and allocate public space for human enjoyment. Hosted in Sacramento by the Sierra Chapter of the ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects), this year’s PARK(ing) Day theme was “Creative Capitol.” Moving from last year’s location at 10th & J Streets, the event was strategically placed at the metered parking spots around Capitol Circle, in direct eye line of the California State Capitol.

In typical Lionakis fashion, staff created an absolute masterpiece of a parklet. Working with construction partners Clark-Sullivan, Lionakis presented a unique structure that embodied the Capitol Region. Covering the base of the structure was carpet that depicted the bend of a river, an iconic visual often associated with Sacramento. At the head of the structure were clouds–constructed of coffee filters, recycled papers, and staples—enclosing the parklet and creating a floating overhead canopy. In between these representations of water and sky were the maps that made the structure unique from neighboring parklets.

At the north and south end of the structure sat two 4 x 8 ft maps depicting the downtown/midtown grid surrounding the Capitol. The north-facing map showed participants the favorite locations of Lionakis employees, who filled out their top picks just days before PARK(ing) day. The south-facing map beckoned participants to interact with their region, directing them to mark their favorite Sacramento locations with stickers. The map’s stickers, looking like Google Map pins, represented 5 categories for participants to mark: Music & Entertainment, Public Art & Murals, Parks, Food & Bars, and Other. Food & Dining was a popular amongst visitors—not surprising for the city who fancies itself the Farm to Fork capitol.

The map concept aligned perfectly with this year’s PARK(ing) day theme, and was a huge hit with visitors. From the start of the event at 9 am until it’s closing at 6 pm, staff witnessed visitors interact with the maps, completely filling in the designated slots. Visitors checked to see if their favorite hot spot was listed, while others simply enjoyed learning about new and interesting locations. Others made portions of the parklet a backdrop in their newest Instagram post, showing off their creativity with the hashtag #ASLAPD17.

It was a long day for those who assembled and broke down the structure, but an even longer couple of weeks for the same folks who worked hard to concept and bring their vision to life. Not surprisingly, some of the youngest staff at Lionakis are to thank, since PARK(ing) Day falls under the responsibility of Lionakis’ Emerging Professionals. After many hours spanning weeks of conceiving, building, painting, planting, printing, gluing, cutting and every other task imaginable, they did PARK(ing) Day justice. Another huge success for Lionakis and Clark Sullivan, who are definitely now the team to watch for PARK(ing) Day 2018!

 

To see photos of last year’s parklet, whose theme was “Play,” visit the link here.