Saiki Design was the lead consultant on a multi-disciplinary project that resulted in the complete renovation of the Senior Center Courtyard in downtown Madison. The highly-urban courtyard serves Isthmus residents and local service agencies such as the Madison Senior Center by providing a usable, accessible urban open space within the City’s urban core. When the courtyard maintenance was transferred to the City’s Parks Division, it prompted a re-investment in the parcel and catalyzed a process of re-design and renovation to provide contemporary amenities.
Saiki Design led a public input process that included stakeholder engagement on multiple levels and through multiple media. At the core of the project was the notion that the project embody the engagement and direction from community members and that it should function at its most basic level to serve the diverse physical, social and cultural needs of the community while simultaneously reflecting of the diversity of the City and neighborhood itself. Through in-person and online public input meetings, City-wide surveys and direct discussions with neighbors, alders and City staff, Saiki Design formulated a plan that provides flexible circulation, installs integrated and comfortable seating, preserves large trees for shade and to provide immediate scale to the space, and features additional lighting, plantings and a modest playspace with a custom-fabricated, reclaimed tree sculpture that doubles as a low climbing element.
Saiki Design worked closely with multiple engineering consultants and the City of Madison Parks Department to shepherd the project though a lengthy City review process. Ultimately, Saiki Design produced construction documents and provided construction administration oversight for the project, resulting in a fully-functional and inclusive urban pocket park.
