Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
A new landscape in Hayward, California demonstrates how to reuse materials on a grand scale to save money and reduce climate impacts. Designed by landscape architects at Surfacedesign, the Mission Boulevard Linear Park — a mile-long park and walking and biking trail — repurposed asphalt, concrete, trees, soil, and even benches.
Surfacedesign saw an opportunity to try something new at the site. The existing landscape included a run-down trail with cracked asphalt, overgrown plants, and dying trees. Abandoned land on either side of the trail spanned 60 feet.
The existing trail could be expanded and enlivened by native trees and plants, new seating areas, stormwater management systems, and visual connections to the surrounding mountains.
James A. Lord, FASLA, founding partner at Surfacedesign, said reducing costs for their clients in the Hayward city government was a priority, but it wasn’t about that alone. “We thought: how can we reduce our carbon footprint? How can we reuse what was already there?”
The cracked asphalt was cut to create more sinuous pathways. Dog walkers complained that hot asphalt hurt their dogs’ feet, so they expanded the width of the trail by adding beds of decomposed granite from a local quarry.
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
Sitting areas incorporated logs from fallen trees. Over 10,000 square feet of concrete weighing 250 tons was cut out of the foundation of a deconstructed municipal building and reused as pavers.
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
The team refurbished benches from the 1980s that were collecting dust in a city boneyard. “We used the same approach as with car detailing.”
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
Unused soils from another park were brought to the site to form hills. “They visually connect to the hills beyond,” Lord said.
The team also reused municipal trees. 48 trees sourced for other city projects were planted. “The trees are all native and will soon not require irrigation,” Tyler Jones-Powell, a senior associate with the firm, said. And by rejuvenating soils, many redwoods were saved.
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
“The project is about distilling simplicity into something,” Lord said.
Surfacedesign pitched their reuse plans to the city government during the midst of the pandemic. They found a champion for their vision in Michelle Koo, the city landscape architect, and other officials. They then collaborated across multiple departments to get permissions and source city-owned materials.
“This project required tenacity but also visionary people in government who allowed it.”
While there may be a perception that reuse is bespoke and therefore expensive, the extensive reuse of materials didn’t cost more, Lord argued. In fact, the 7-acre project came in at $2 million, or $7.50 per square foot.
The cost of transporting materials was also kept low. “All the materials were from within city limits, just a few miles,” Jones-Powell said. This also resulted in far fewer greenhouse gas emissions from trucking in materials.
The project shows that old materials can provide new inspiration for designers. Their history of past use adds to their beauty. “There is a dynamic register of what the thing was,” Lord said.
Mission Boulevard Linear Park, Hayward, California / Marion Brenner, courtesy of Surfacedesign
“And reuse was the responsible thing to do,” Jones-Powell said. His advice to other landscape architects: “Don’t wipe the slate clean.”