A new community park for wellness: revitalizing and healing the mind and body

Abstract

A New Community Park for Wellness presents a new vision for parks. It proposes a new era of park programming, the ‘Community Wellness and Holistic Health Era’ in order to improve our communities with design that highlights natural phenomena. Today, health is no longer about disease or death; it’s about maintenance - getting outside, having access to fresh food and living a balanced lifestyle. Drawing on historical and contemporary wellness precedents, this practicum aims to create a community destination that promotes health and prevents disease in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It documents investigations into park programming and design, current trends in health and wellness, potential roles of light and water in landscape architecture, and light in modern and post-modern Scandinavian architecture. The final design emphasizes natural phenomena and processes related to light, water and energy in order to promote health and reconnect urban residents with time, place and the changing seasons.