Photo Credit: Marion Brenner
An upgraded landscape at Mission Boulevard Linear Park in Hayward, CA demonstrates how reuse of materials on a grand scale can save money and reduce climate impacts. Designed by landscape architects at Surfacedesign, the mile-long park and walking and biking trail repurposed asphalt, concrete, trees, soil, and even benches.
Photo Credit: Marion Brenner
Surfacedesign saw an opportunity to try something new at the site. The existing landscape at Mission Boulevard Linear Park included a run-down trail with cracked asphalt, overgrown plants, and dying trees. Abandoned land on either side of the trail spanned 60’. Yet the existing trail could be expanded and enlivened by native trees and plants, new seating areas, stormwater management systems, and visual connections to the surrounding mountains.
James A. Lord, FASLA, founding partner at Surfacedesign, said reducing costs for the client, the Hayward city government, was a priority, but it wasn’t about that alone. “We thought: how can we reduce our carbon footprint? How can we reuse what was already there?”
Surfacedesign pitched their reuse plans to the city government during the midst of the pandemic. They found a champion for their vision in Michelle Koo, the city landscape architect, and other officials. “This project required tenacity but also visionary people in government who allowed it,” commented Lord.
The team then collaborated across multiple departments to get permissions and source city-owned materials.
Creative Tenacity
Photo Credit: Marion Brenner
Upgrades at the Mission Boulevard Linear Park included:
Photo Credit: Marion Brennan
• The existing cracked asphalt was cut to create more sinuous pathways. Since dog walkers had complained the hot asphalt hurt their dogs’ feet, the width of the trail was expanded by adding beds of decomposed granite from a local quarry.
• Seating areas incorporated logs from fallen trees.
• Over 10,000 square feet of concrete weighing 250 tons was cut out of the foundation of a deconstructed municipal building and reused as pavers
• The team refurbished benches from the 1980s that were collecting dust in a city boneyard. “We used the same approach as with car detailing,” said Lord.
• Unused soils from another park were brought to the site to form hills that “visually connect to the hills beyond,” commented Lord.
• The team also reused municipal trees. In total, 48 trees sourced for other city projects were planted. “The trees are all native and will soon not require irrigation,” Tyler Jones-Powell, a senior associate with the firm, said. And by rejuvenating soils, many redwoods were saved.
Custom Without The Cost
While there may be a perception that reuse is “bespoke” and therefore expensive, the extensive reuse of materials didn’t cost more, Lord asserted. In fact, the seven-acre project came in at $2 million, or $7.50 per square foot.
The cost of transporting materials was also kept low. “All the materials were from within city limits, just a few miles,” said Jones-Powell. This also resulted in far fewer greenhouse gas emissions from trucking in materials.
Photo Credit: Marion Brenner
This project is a prime example of how old materials can provide new inspiration for landscapes and landscape designers. The history of past use adds to the beauty of the elements. “There is a dynamic register of what the thing was,” Lord said. “The project is about distilling simplicity into something.”
“And reuse was the responsible thing to do,” Jones-Powell said. His advice to other landscape architects:? “Don’t wipe the slate clean.”
Green is the senior communications manager at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and editor of its blog, The Dirt. He authored “Good Energy: Renewable Power and the Design of Everyday Life” (Princeton Architectural Press, May 2021). An original version of this article appeared in The Dirt in February, entitled “New Linear Park Shows the Great Potential of Material Reuse.” Visit asla.org or dirt.asla.org.
All Photos Credit: Marion Brenner
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