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22 May 2019
'A place of imagination': SO-IL and West 8 to devise master plan for revamped ArtPark
By Andrew Manns
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CharcoalBlue are serving as the project's theatre design consultants
Photo: SO-IL and West 8
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Design practice SO-IL and landscape architects West 8 have won a competition to redesign ArtPark – a 37-acre cultural hub and events venue located on the Niagara Gorge.
The overhaul will see the 1970s-era attraction gain a renovated main stage, an outdoor ampitheatre, and a series of paths, walkways, viewing stations, and artist galleries – all of which will be integrated into the canyon.
According to West 8, the design team's master plan "envisions a new age for Artpark that celebrates both its incredible topographies and cultural roots".
"It's going to be a place of imagination," said Florian Idenburg, founding partner at SO–IL.
"Because of its legacy and location, Artpark can be the site that triggers contemporary conversations around nature, art, and humanity."
He continued: "Artists can experiment here with large-scale installations where once temporary installations of floating structures hovered above its ravines.
"Where multi-ton steel beams were dropped from cranes, plunging into the earth, storied musicians will draw crowds closer together."
Other members of the design team include theatre consultancy CharcoalBlue and Buffalo-based studio Gekh.
Backed by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Empire State Development, and a number of individual donors, the project is expected to enter the first stage of planning in June.
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