Orange County Great Park Design Process Begins

Commencement of the international design competition marks the first step in the creation of the Great Park.

The Orange County Great Park Corporation has taken the first step toward creating the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century by issuing a formal Request for Qualifications, inviting world class landscape architects and designers to compete for the job of Master Designer for the Orange County Great Park.

“Fredrick Law Olmstead designed New York’s Central Park in the mid 19th Century and inspired the creation of great metropolitan parks throughout the United States,” said Larry Agran, Chair of the Orange County Great Park Corporation. “We are conducting an international search for the Fredrick Law Olmstead of the 21st Century, and are confident that we will find a designer of his caliber for the Great Park.”

Thirty-eight internationally known landscape architecture and design firms have been specifically invited to submit their qualifications, and any qualified design firm is also invited to submit its qualifications. Dr. Hamid Shirvani, Provost and Professor of Architecture at Chapman University, has been retained to assemble a design jury of respected academics, architects and designers to review the submissions. The jury panel and Dr. Shirvani will recommend six semi-finalists to the Orange County Great Park Board of Directors.

The semi-finalists selected by the Board will be provided a stipend to develop a conceptual design plan for the Great Park. A second design jury will review the designs and make recommendations to the Board. In October, the Board will select a Master Designer for the Great Park. The winning designer will be commissioned to fully develop all the schematics, implementation designs, plans and other necessary documents.

All conceptual design proposals will be on public display at Irvine City Hall and other locations throughout the County, and they will also be posted here on the Great Park website. The public is encouraged to review proposals and provide feedback. Public comments will be summarized and reported to the Board of Directors to assist them in the selection process.

The Great Park will be developed on the site of the decommissioned El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, on seven square miles of land in the geographic center of Orange County, California.