By CJ Vetter
KYLE – Heroes will soon have a dedicated space in Kyle.
As Heroes Memorial Park comes closer to opening, landscape architect Philip Koske, of Nudge Design, discussed the process of designing the park and how the team worked with the community to create a space appropriate for all heroes.
Koske,Toni Toscano, and Annie Furlong were the three designers responsible for the architecture of the new park, which is located in the 138-acre pedestrian-focused mixed-use development in The Brick and Mortar District, located at FM 1626 and Kohlers Crossing.
The park was originally designed with veterans in mind, but has since been expanded to honor heroes of all kinds, including first responders.
“The project, at its most basic level, was that the veteran community was trying to get a veteran memorial place, not really considering it a park, but still a space in a public setting away from the VFW where they could establish a memorial, and that had been on the council’s radar,” Koske said. "At some point in the political leadership, there was discussion about wanting the park to be as inclusive as possible – every one that they saw as putting their life on the line – and that sort of changed the concept of a veteran memorial to being a heroes memorial. That brought a much bigger umbrella of recognition, like fire, EMS, law enforcement, and the branches of the military that fall under the pentagon."
Many features, themes and design elements were put into consideration as the team went about creating the initial drafts of Heroes Memorial Park. As the community worked with the team, all groups involved gravitated towards the park being monumental, but casual.
"I think one of the special things was how all of the groups approached it in the same way, with all the groups gravitated towards specific words like “impressive” and “monumental” but at the same time, they wanted it to have a casual feel, and that's a really different pairing of ideas," Koske said.
Areas were created within the park for both ceremonial and recreational use. The main garden was designed with speeches and events in mind, while the peace garden section was created to give a naturalistic and peaceful environment where people can unwind.
"We really wanted the place to feel comfortable, where someone from the community could come and feel at ease, versus a very formal or unwelcoming environment," Koske said.
One particular aspect of the park that many veterans wished was included, and that Koske found intriguing, was peace and reconciliation. To that end, the designers included numerous circular spaces, which represented equality.
"The VFW wanted the idea of peace represented in the park, which I thought was just a really nice gesture in that they are recognizing the goal, so we included a small circular area, where all the seating arrangements are circular, because a circular seating arrangement encourages conversation, and a circle is always equal, no matter which edge you are on,” Koske said. "There is also a ring of floating stones, with words etched on each stone, and the words are all about reconciliation and focused on achieving personal peace. They're not there to tell people what to think, but give them different words to think about as they think about their personal life."
As part of a larger effort to connect the city, Heroes Memorial Park will also be connected to the upcoming La Verde Park and the main street in the retail district via bike and footpath. Once completion of the parks and district has been accomplished, the entire area will be accessible by foot.
