PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia announced today that Design Workshop, an international landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm, will lead a process to re-imagine the design and function of Philadelphia’s iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Working with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the city will work with a team led by Design Workshop, responsible for creating a plan for a people-centric, permanent change that will dramatically improve the appeal, use, traffic safety, functionality, and beauty of the Parkway.

The design and engagement project will last 12-18 months and include an in-depth public engagement process, schematic design, a recommended project schedule, and cost estimates.

Design Workshop, which has implemented large scale public space projects in Paris, Moscow, and Houston, stood apart in the following ways:

  • An iterative approach: With a vision to build a place for people, Design Workshop offers a realistic, multi-year framework to make improvements over time, creating meaningful connections and enabling Philadelphians to re-engage with the Parkway in different ways. 
  • Connections between people and places: Design Workshop’s proposal showed a clear understanding of the importance of creating a renewed sense of place on the Parkway and connections between adjacent public spaces.
  • Inclusive design: The team outlined an approach to urban design that puts inclusivity and equity at the forefront of the conversation and the solid previous project and engagement experience that the Design Workshop will bring to the Parkway. 

Closer to home, members of the consultant team Ground Reconsidered and CH Planning have experience designing new green spaces along the Parkway, like Maja Park, Winter Street Greenway and Dog Run, and the Oval+.