Once a part of the Pacific coastline, the Wilmington community became disconnected from the waterfront by the Port of Los Angeles—a burgeoning, diverse mix of industrial maritime facilities. After completing the Wilmington Waterfront Master Plan, Sasaki identified three open spaces for implementation: the Wilmington Waterfront Park, the Avalon North Streetscape, and the Avalon South Waterfront Park. Avalon Waterfront Park provides a dynamic landscape narrative which features the natural history of the shoreline, the rich maritime heritage, and the essential reconnection of the community with its waterfront.
The expression and use of water is a foundation for the Avalon Waterfront Park design. The park incorporates a processional series of green parks, plazas, promenades, and fountains with a pedestrian waterbridge and a monumental observation tower. The iconic waterbridge spans the port's Main Cargo Terminal railway corridor and celebrates harbor views and sensory water elements—interpreting the rich history and continual dialogue of water as a resource within the Los Angeles Basin and the port. The pinnacle of the Waterfront Park is an interactive wave pool emulating the shoreline. The inner harbor promenade celebrates the natural and ecological heritage of the site with a series of emergent marshes, rocky outcrops, sand bars, and lagoons—all artistically constructed to convey elements of the former harbor ecology.
To offset the high water demand of many design elements, the design team investigated a closed-loop system that harvests water from the harbor, cycles it through the water features, filters it, recycles it for plantings, and then returns it to the harbor. Achieving sustainable design in this regard truly strengthens the poetics of the park design and the metaphorical and literal connection of the community of Wilmington with the water.
