Olympia Fields and Community Center
The new and preexisting structures define a homestead set within the cultivated landscape.
The design for this 20-acre park and community center integrates an existing park, a 10-acre former nursery, and a series of nineteenth-century farm buildings. The new and preexisting structures define a homestead set within the cultivated landscape. Sculpted landforms provide sites for new recreational activities, and accommodate rigorous water detention and retention requirements, and a working windmill that stands as a landmark for the community.
The renovated barn, with selectively cut openings and additions, becomes a community center for Olympia Fields. The farmhouse serves as the new administrative center for the park district, and the milk barn has been converted into an art studio. Together these elements define a new setting which overlooks the cultivated landscape and invests the park with cultural and recreational activities.
