Fort Needham Wins in Inaugural APALA Awards of Excellence

Late last year, Fathom’s work for the Fort Needham Memorial Park Redevelopment was selected for an award in the category of Large-Scale Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect by the Atlantic Provinces Association of Landscape Architects.

Fathom has been involved in many stages of this project from the 2014 Park Masterplan, and the subsequent Phase 1 detailed design and implementation by Fathom Studio (formerly Ekistics Planning and Design and Form:Media), sought to re-tool the park to finally realize its potential as both a commemorative site and a neighbourhood park that would meet the needs of its surrounding community. At the same time, our main objective was to provide information about the explosion without detracting from the everyday use of the park by the community. The project was led by Landscape Architects and is a successful example of collaboration between various disciplines including experiential graphic designers, lighting designers, arborists, archaeologists, and engineers. From the layout and detailing of park pathways and furnishings, to the selection of materials, the interdisciplinary team coordinated on each decision, resulting in a design that is thoughtfully executed.

In this juried competition, jurors particularly noted that the project is “recognized for its successful integration of a commemorative site with a highly-active public space. The design succeeds at multiple scales, supports and enhances the use of the space by residents from the surrounding community, while drawing users into the details of the design through close attention to composition, materials and messaging.”