Mahan Rykiel Associates (MRA), Baltimore based landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm, won two awards from the Maryland Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (MD ASLA) on Thursday night at the awards ceremony held virtually this year due to Covid-19. In the unbuilt category, MRA received an Honor Award for Rash Field, for the redesign of the Baltimore Waterfront Park. In the design category, MRA received a Merit award for Suburban Square, a retail redevelopment in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
Mahan Rykiel was selected by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore to re-imagine Rash Field to be Baltimore’s destination location for a diversity of uses and users from across the demographic spectrum who are interested in health & wellness, arts & culture, local food, and urban nature. Planning for such uses involved a diligent public engagement process that necessitated numerous community stakeholder meetings and solicited input through a website, surveys and focus groups.
Based upon the input provided via the engagement process, a plan for Rash Field emerged that will transform Rash Field into a location for community members and tourists interested in play, health & wellness, urban nature, education and arts & culture. President, Peng Gu said, “it is very exciting to be recognized by our peers for our design, but it is also fulfilling, as a designer, to see our projects realized and it will be great to see people using our built park next Spring.” The design team included Peng Gu, Scott Rykiel, FASLA, Tom McGilloway, Jason Castillo, Michael Humes, Elaine Ku, James Sink, Terry Burns, Rudraksha Jhaveri and Amina Mohamed. See more images
Mahan Rykiel has been leading the overall master planning and repositioning of Suburban Square, which is an historic retail center that was founded in 1928 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Analyzing the opportunities and constraints of the existing site, our team crafted an overall vision plan for the property with a focus on establishing distinct districts that are to be unified through a series of retail promenades. The core of the project is a central, pedestrian-only activity and events space that is envisioned as the social hub for the community. Retail promenades and streetscapes extend from this central space, creating well-defined linkages to the existing Ardmore Farmers Market and several future development parcels.
The vision plan also emphasized strengthening the branding and presence of Suburban Square in the regional community with an emphasis on a simplified design approach, unified signage and unique design elements. This new branding, combined with a new focus on the pedestrian experiences and spaces is the foundation upon which the new vision for Suburban Square is set. Matt Renauld, the project manager said, “Our client gave us an opportunity to do what landscape architects do best and that was to put a refocus on people, place and community. Kimco Realty's commitment to our vision for the public-realm provided the framework for Suburban Square's ongoing revitalization and success.” Other design team members included Scott Rykiel, FASLA, Mark Pelusi, Travis D’Onofrio, Shihua Wang and Ben Chronister. Recently, Suburban Square also won the Commercial Property Executive's 2018 Distinguished Achievement Awards, for "Most Effective Repositioning/Redevelopment Plan," and the 2020 Montgomery Awards-Station Row at Suburban Square. MRA is continues to work at Suburban Square as the project continues to reposition itself. See more images
To see more of Mahan Rykiel’s award winning work, check out our website at www.mahanrykiel.com.
