A design team led by landscape architect Mia Lehrer + Associates (MLA), and featuring Rem Koolhaas’ OMA, has been selected by the City of Los Angeles to design “one of the most important civic spaces in the city’s vibrant downtown core”.

Located on First and Broadway and known as FAB Park, the project incorporates themes of food, art and land to celebrate LA’s diversity.

The City’s Department of Recreation and Parks organised a design competition for the commission on the 1.96 acre site.

The winning entry features a lushly planted grove of mature trees with a split level restaurant and sculpted shade canopies at its heart. A collection of shaded outdoor rooms for small group gatherings will be created for food fairs, art installations and other community events.

According to design architects on the project OMA, the vision “maximises the site’s potential to draw in the diverse mix of people that live, work and visit downtown, providing a comfortably cool space of respite and a dynamic place for cultural events.”

OMA Partner Jason Long said: “FAB park will be a meeting point for civil servants, journalists, arts patrons and Downtown LA residents.

“Our design for the restaurant is a dynamic building that facilitates two distinct levels of service: quick and casual on the ground, refined and elegant above. Each level activates diverse experiences ranging from café to test kitchen to amphitheater seating.”

The project will be managed by the City’s Bureau of Engineering and global design and innovation firm IDEO will design the park’s programming.

FAB Park is anticipated to open in 2019.

The City of LA is driving the development of its parks and green spaces. A design team led by French architects Agence Ter recently won an international competition to revitalise the downtown park at Pershing Square.

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