Park Gazelle

The expansive Gazelle Enclosure of Park Gazelle, Jerusalem, maximizes the space for the animals and creating a series of ceremonial thresholds through which visitors pass to experience the urban nature preserve.  The urban edge along Golumb lies outside the fence.  This “Orange System” includes the bike path for commuting and other fast moving cyclists, accommodates several bus stops, and features the balcony overlook, with its great views into the bird-filled tree tops below and the savannah beyond.  A visitor’s center with toilets, a café, a shade-filled veranda for gathering and viewing the park, and a shop for buying a sun hat and picking up a nature guide will welcome groups and individuals arriving by vehicle.  From here it is an easy walk to the nature pavilion and nature loop, offering a sampling of the habitats and experiences in the larger park beyond.  The nearby care taker’s cottage, created from the existing guard house, would be integrated into a maintenance compound with room for maintenance vehicles and storage.  A new ramp to the north is required to enable bikes, wheelchairs and baby strollers into the park.  Of the six or more gates into the park, one will be on a trail system of multi-purpose and pedestrian paths meandering along the re-engineered stream course and the rich riparian habitats it supports, encircling an infinity meadow, and traversing terraced gardens and orchards.  Separated from the city by earthen berms and thick plantings, the triangular valley will become a respite for city-dwellers and animals alike.