The City of Sunset Valley’s City Hall is adjacent to an open space that presented an opportunity to transform into a community gathering space. It is currently the location of the City’s community garden, and the beginning of the South Hills Conservation Area trail. The area has many opportunities for a playground, gathering spaces, art opportunities, and ADA path improvements to serve the Sunset Valley community. The design of “City Hall Backyard” includes a new orchard, shaded picnic area, new signage, labyrinth, improvements to the community garden to make it ADA-accessible, and fun, challenging play opportunities for all ages.

City Hall Backyard is envisioned to become a gathering space for all community members of Sunset Valley, and the Mend team wanted to ensure the needs and desires of the community were captured in this project. Our design process included a survey and community design workshop to solicit feedback on the design of the park.

Bringing an exciting play experience to City Hall Backyard emerged as a strong desire from the community. To achieve this, Mend Collaborative created a series of challenging and fun play experiences for all ages made of natural materials to reduce the environmental impact of the design.