forest in winter

The bear dens in contrast with the rest of the surroundings of Franklin Park are concrete—they are different than the other spaces, and because they stand out in comparison to the vastness of the fields and paths surrounding the park, it is hard not to be intrigued to move closer. It is easy to lose oneself in the vastness of the park, but the Bear dens provide a moment to focus and concentrate. Even on the coldest days (like last Saturday), the dens present us with challenging imagery and spaces. The Dens were a popular location in the Franklin Park zoo at its creation, the stills in our video showing the carved rock display the home of the bears, but also the skyline of Boston at that time – this was an important image and gave a sense of hometown pride. The understanding the connection between human and nature were intertwined even within the zoo. Nature was to be experienced and to provide respite from the city. Our experience in the bear dens started with the known – the materials (textures, plants), the buildings, the objects that once had function but now are almost allowed to be viewed as formal objects in a landscape – their use is obscured, but still can be appreciated by those seeking to understand the history of the site, or the person who happens to stumble into the dens by happenstance. We are not questioning if the design endures or is being forgotten, we explored the space itself – as it is now – as a means to begin our understanding of Franklin Park. We are interested in the duality that exists between history and present. We hope to be able to address these concepts in our future designs as landscape architects.

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