Client:

Orland Park Recreation and Parks Association

Engineers:

V3 Consultants, Fisher + Partners

Contractors:

Williams Development

Other Consultants:

Hey & Associates

Category:

Design

For many years, 50 acres of land adjacent to Orland Park's Centennial Park lay fallow. The site, a peat bog, had been mined, stripped of its topsoil and used as a dumping ground. Overgrown with wild and invasive plants, the degraded site limited the public's access to Lake Sedgewick, a 400-acre asset of this south suburb.

The largest park in Orland Park, Centennial Park boasts soccer and baseball fields and a substantial water park. Yet there were no natural areas that could be used to enjoy and study nature.

The village of Orland Park hired Chicago's Wolff Clement and Associates to create an environmentally sustainable area that could be used for passive recreation - picnicking, fishing and boating - and educational activities. Building on this philosophy, the firm chose construction materials and techniques that would complement the natural feel of the park, including the use of native dolomite slabs to form the stage of an outdoor amphitheater as well as fishing stations along the lake's shoreline.

Acting as the prime consultant, the landscape architect assembled and managed a multi-disciplinary team that included civil engineers, structural engineers and environmental and wetland scientists. The site now includes 4,000 linear feet of walking and biking trails, 2,000 linear feet of boardwalks, two overlooks, a boat marina and fishing docks, outdoor classrooms and a conservation education day camp.

Today, the land now provides residents new and exciting recreation programs and an opportunity to experience and learn about nature.