A step beyond the horizon

A park forest with a new iconic outdoor staircase

The project involved renovating an existing municipal park located within a coniferous forest characterized by steep topography. The objective was twofold: spatially, to create new accessible pathways, notably by reconnecting the upper and lower parts of the park down to the lake; programmatically, to design an "inspiring park", notably through active design installations that encourage visitors to explore the region’s natural parks via a trekking route that begins symbolically within the park itself.

Location
Beloretsk, Bashkortostan Republic, Russia
Timeline
2020–2021
Status
implemented
Client
City of Beloretsk

Context

The city of Beloretsk is the starting point for long-distance hiking trails leading to numerous natural parks that surround the city. It is also an important center of metallurgical production, with three metallurgical plants currently in operation.

Objectives

The objectives of the project were to reconnect the different neighborhoods of the city — particularly the upper and lower parts through the park — and to create inspiring spaces that encourage exploration of the surrounding regional nature reserves. The pathways follow and embrace the site's complex topography.

Monumental staircase

The Metal Ribbon Staircase is an outdoor staircase built in 2021 which combines a climbing spot and the viewing point at the top of a 2 m height rock. It provides a new connection between the lower and upper part of the Beloretsk city park in the South Ural.

We choose corten and metal to create a "monolith effect" contrasting with the intricacy of geological lines and the wide color palette of the rocks. The staircase acts as a "ribbon" which dynamically envelops the climbing rock, providing different viewpoints along the way. The use of metal is also a symbolic link with the ferrous metallurgy industry of the town; a symbiotic and sometimes conflicting relation between nature and industry.

In the evening, a low light of the metal ribbon staircase can be seen through thin vertical openings and from the bottom, whilst providing comfortable lighting inside. A few outdoor light projectors are delicately illuminating the big climbing rock. This low light evening scenario corresponds well to the natural character of the forest, where the rock is located.

Active design and educational signage

In the forest area of the park, we have created a circular route which storytells the region nature through unique educational installations and special sport elements (active design) integrated in the forest. The path was co- designed with students of the city Tourism Center. Students explored the area and were the first to see prototypes of sports elements, testing its difficulty levels for different ages.

The sports objects help to develop agility and endurance, in link with natural features of the South Ural region. In addition, the path is equipped with a rope railing designed for visually impaired people, a strong local community. Those public spaces have become not only a platform for sport and promenade, but also a place of inspiration and ethical connection between people and nature.

Lake Embankment

Along the lake shore, a wooden boardwalk was created with places for sitting and relaxing. A nice view to mountains and lake opens up from here.

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