Lions Park is a 40-acre space at the southern edge of the rural Alabama town of Greensboro. Ten years ago, it consisted of little more than a few frequently flooded baseball diamonds and a huge expanse of featureless, shadeless ground baking in the relentless summer sun.
Still, it was the largest shared space for this community of about 2,400 – a place that belonged to people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests. And they deserved a welcoming park with something for everyone to enjoy. For the last ten years, hanging out at the park has provided an opportunity to witness a remarkable community transformation that has now come to fruition. Thanks in part to materials donated by ALPOLIC, the Lions Park Shade project will hold its grand opening on November 12.
Rural Studio: A Hale County Love Story
Rural Studio is an undergraduate program of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at Auburn University. Since 1993, Rural Studio has educated more than 600 “Citizen Architects” working in small teams to build more than 150 projects designed to improve and connect the lives of people living in rural Hale County.
Relief from the Summer Sun
Until now, there has been very little shade in the park beyond a narrow band of mature trees bordering the lake. In the heat of an Alabama summer, shade can make the difference between enjoying the park or staying home with the AC on. To address that need, the Lions Park Shade project was recently completed.
The four-person team has created intriguing canopy designs to shade three key areas of the park, from the pick-up and drop-off location to spaces for relaxing, reading and picnicking. More than simply giving relief from the sun, the canopies are designed to offer an ever-changing perspective on the sky and surroundings. The iterative process of envisioning and realizing the canopy design is documented on the Rural Studio blog, and it’s a fascinating journey to follow.
Prototypes were fabricated and color tests made using ALPOLIC® materials. The final installation will incorporate ALPOLIC® ACM with a Lumiflon® FEVE resin-based finish by Valspar in a color custom-matched to the team’s precise choice of blue.
Altech Panel Systems is also providing its services to fabricate panels for the project, which will greatly simplify the students’ work when the time comes to build the shade canopies they’ve worked so hard to perfect. This summer, the students had an opportunity to tour Altech’s Cartersville, Georgia facility, meet the Altech team, learn about the fabrication process and work out details of design and scheduling.
We’re Proud to Be There
The new Lions Park Shade project is the culmination of ten years of design work and physical labor donated to the people of Greensboro. Along with Altech and SAF, we’re honored to be partners in helping these brilliant young people create their first extraordinary project.
Related Stories
| May 15, 2014
Paints, coatings, and sealants: 10 new ways to seal the deal
Color-shifting finishes, dry-erase surfaces, and stain-blocking paints are highlighted in this round up of new offerings in paints, coatings, sealants, and finishes.
| Apr 1, 2014
Paints, coatings and sealants: Choosing products and procedures for best performance
This course covers life cycle assessment, color selection, emissions, durability, resilience, corrosion resistance, specification standards, and other critical aspects of choosing coatings for interior and exterior walls, ceilings, and roofs.
Sponsored | | Mar 21, 2014
Kameleon Color paint creates color-changing, iridescent exterior for Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral
Linetec finishes Firestone’s UNA-CLAD panels, achieving a one-of-a-kind, dynamic appearance with the first use of Valspar’s new Kameleon Color
| Mar 20, 2014
Common EIFS failures, and how to prevent them
Poor workmanship, impact damage, building movement, and incompatible or unsound substrate are among the major culprits of EIFS problems.
| Mar 4, 2014
How EIFS came to America
Design experts from Hoffmann Architects offer a brief history of exterior insulation and finish systems in the U.S.
| Feb 19, 2014
AIA class: The ABCs of IMPs – How to design and build with insulated metal panels
This AIA/CES class offers insight in areas including policies and codes surrounding insulated metal panels, contributions from LEED and tax credits, energy modeling, and business development opportunities available with IMPs. Take this course and earn 1.0 AIA LU/HSW/SD.
| Jan 7, 2014
Concrete solutions: 9 innovations for a construction essential
BD+C editors offer a roundup of new products and case studies that represent the latest breakthroughs in concrete technology.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| May 14, 2013
Paints and coatings: The latest trends in sustainability
When it comes to durability, a 50-year building design ideally should include 50-year coatings. Many building products consume substantial amounts of energy, water, and petrochemicals during manufacture, but they can make up for it in the operations phase. The same should be expected from architectural coatings.
| May 3, 2013
5 common failures in paints and coatings
As experienced designers, contractors, and owners know, most paint and coating problems are correctable, but some are especially stubborn to address. Here is a partial compendium of typical failure modes and methods for addressing the problem.
