Since 2014, the City of Boston has invested more than $114 million across the city’s parks systems, representing some of the most significant parks investments in city history. The improvements are aimed at supporting physical and mental health, protecting Boston’s urban wilds and taking proactive steps towards tree canopy stewardship.

A new shade pavilion located at the entry of the recently renovated 4.5 acre Garvey Playground in Dorchester, Massachusetts by GroundView is conceived as a lattice of alternating fins. From a distance the pavilion is read as a simple line mediating between ground and sky. On approach two inflections in the canopy plane provide points of focus for both spectator seating overlooking the fields and movement through the park and plaza.

Composed as fields of parallel steel bulb flats, the thin overlapping fins permit a variety of dappled shade conditions for users. The bottom layer and support structure is painted white to reflect the landscape, and the upper layer is painted gold to offer a subtle glow through the depth of the canopy that is only revealed when occupying the structure. The unique steel shapes, commonly used as stiffeners in ship and bridge building, offer a superior strength to weight ratio in comparison to angles or bars and reference Boston’s storied shipbuilding legacy.

Garvey Pavilion

#Design (4 files)

#Detail (3 files)

#Construction (2 files)

#Occupancy (5 files)