Lions Park

photos courtesy of: Tim Hursley

Its finally here!  We are getting ready for opening day. Here are some drone photos of the three shade pavilions. Enjoy!!!! 

As the opening date for the Lions Park Shade Project and the Fabrication Pavilion creeps closer, we are finishing up the last few details of the Rural Studio shade project.  At the front entrance to Lions Park, a group of helpers and the LP team planted local perennials, grasses, and an eastern redbud tree.  Previously the Lions Park landscape designed waterbeds at the front of the park. We helped to aggregate some of the plants from the water beds to smaller planting footprint. At the playground site, two baby swings were installed for casual park users and their young toddlers.  At the fork, we installed the last set of trashcans purchased from landscape forms.  

The result is a clean gray surface for the shadows to read easily on. Thanks to all the third years and Rural Studio staff for their strength and good humor. 

First, we draw strings across the site to place the location of the edge metal. Once the location of the edge metal is selected, we level and trench the dirt to 8 inch depth.  Next the plate is cut to is correct width and placed into trench using steel angles keeping it straight. The last step requires driving 1″ carbon steel rods into the ground and welding them to the plate. These steel rods are spaced 24″ on center. 

We have completed the roof installation for all three shade pavilions, wohooo!!! The playground was the final site to receive the Alpolic material. It took us a week and a half to install 54 fins at this site. By ratio of fins to time, this was the fastest installation between all three sites. We would like to thank Mistubishi and Altech Panel Systems for the consistent help. The next step is to work on metal edging to contain the gravel surface. 

What is a shaded oasis without water. Well we brought the high line to Lions Park.  Above are photos of the prepared foundation and plumbing work in place for fountain installation. The fountain is made of galvanized steel and shaped to allow water to self drain into the ground. The cantilever overhang of the water spout increases accessibility for park users. There are a few more fountains to install at other locations along the walking trail. We want to make sure the park stays hydrated.

Thanks to all 5th year thesis and 3rd year students for your help during Neckdowns. You made it!

We have installed the ALPOLIC roof on the pavilions at the front entrance to Lions Park! A total of 52 sheets at 6 ft, 10 ft, and 16 ft lengths were folded, cleaned, and riveted into place. Currently our average time to install a single fin is around 45 mins.  That is 15 mins faster than our initial installation time. One more site is left, the Playground. 

As Team LP is installing the final set of fins at the largest of the three sites, we are able to capture some unique light and shade moments under the canopy. Enjoy!

To end the month of July, Team LP was able to complete the installation of two bathroom gates at Grand Central Lions Park. Both gates are located at the west and east entries into the bathroom corridor. During baseball offseason, the City of Greensboro now has the ability to close and winterize the bathrooms. Each gate is made of aluminum tubing frame evenly space to allow views into facility. Surprisingly at 10' x 6'  the aluminum only weighs 120lbs rather than steel at 350lbs. Such a lightweight frame allows the gate to pivot on a single column with two circular hinges. Thanks to Terry Woods for offering his expertise and skills of welding aluminum!

We apologize for the lack of post this Summer. It is the peak season for leftover 5th year students to build Rural Studio projects because of the longer days and lack of disruptive weather.  In the midst of building three shade pavilions around Lions Park, the team has been tasked to design an outdoor mural for the Hale County Extension Office. The steel letters and logos above were set into brick façade via 4" metal studs welded on the backside of each piece. To align the letters we printed a 1:1 scale drawing that we taped to the brick façade. The drawing has marked locations where we predrilled holes in the grout lines.  The letters are set into place using a fast dry adhesive epoxy and bit of tampering to keep them visual straight. We are happy to announce the sign installation is complete. Only one letter R was harmed in the making of this sign.  Thanks to Andrew Freear and Steve Long for helping team LP with this project!

As promised here are some updated photos of our roof installation progress. Currently we have installed 50 Alpolic fins at the Fork site next to the Lions Park Scout Hut. We have some nice aerial photos to help you understand the scope of work. It takes around an hour to install each fin. This involves lifting and placing the fin, aligning its orientation north and south, drilling and riveting the fin to the aluminum beam structure, and a post-touch up to keep fins clean of debris. We are really excited to see the Alpolic go up! 

We have reached the point of the Lions Park Shade project where we are beginning to install the roof material. You may have heard us refer to the roof material as fins, V’s, canopy, or shade structure. The material itself is called Alpolic, an aluminium composite material. Above are drawings of the Fork Site next to the Lions Park Scout Hut. It is the largest of the three sites with over 150+ individual fins ready to be installed. These drawings help us locate and order the placement of each Alpolic fin. Stay tuned for updated photos.

We are continuing to design light fixtures at the front entrance and fork site of Lions Park.  The goal is to bring light to the shade pavilion during the early evening hours.  Here are some examples of drawings and renderings that we have used to communicate with lighting designers, community partners, and Rural Studio staff.  The idea is to install low maintenance lights into a steel pipe.  There is an expanded opening at the top of the light fixture to make room for two lamps.  It also allows for a wider angle of dispersed light.