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AUGUST | PAGE 21 | 2014 Jeff Aten, Alissa Diamond (whose homework is to explore Memorial Park history, going back 10,000 years to the Karankawa Indians) and Samantha Dabney, who is tapped to envision and implement next generation usage. Woltz and his firm — along with the conservancy board and staff, led by board chair Jim Porter and executive director Shellye Arnold; Houston Parks and Recreation; and Uptown TIRZ (with Sarah Newbery as project director for Memorial Park's master plan) — are moving Memorial Park into the 21st century. They're adding yet another chapter to a rich story that dates back millennia to the Native Americans; encompasses the 19th century, including the Reinerman family homestead (1835- 1883); spans the era of Camp Logan (a training ground for World War I battalions that included many Medal of Honor winners and an African-American regiment that fought with distinction for the French side); and continues to the Hogg brothers, Will and Mike, and partner Henry Stude's acquisition then sale of the land to the city at cost, with Miss Ima Hogg acting as de facto guardian from the park's establishment in 1924 until her passing in 1975. This legacy was carried on after her death by ardent volunteers who coalesced in the 1990s to form a park advisory committee — the seeds of today's Memorial Park Conservancy. As the park heads toward 100, it's once again set to become Houston's most beloved field of green. Now Thomas Woltz weighs in. MOST INSPIRING PARK STORIES. In one public-meeting breakout session, a local citizen told how Memorial Park was the setting for a complete physical transformation. His doctor warned him that his high blood pressure and weight spelled dire consequences for his body. He said he "owed his life to Memorial Park" after using it as a setting for running every day as a part of his return to health. Another Houstonian spoke almost mystically about the experience of kayaking on the Bayou, and how it was one of the only places in Houston where he could feel himself as part of the natural world. As designers, we are very interested in these spirit-sustaining stories. They give us clues about what qualities are the most crucial for creating a functional, rejuvenating space for an urban public. WHAT STANDS OUT FOR YOU ABOUT MEMORIAL PARK. The scale of manipulation over time that the park has gone through. Far from being an untouched pristine forest, it was a post oak savanna managed by Native Americans for hundreds of years. In the 19th century, it was farmed as orchards, grazing land and logging land. Early in the 20th century, it was developed as a military base and finally a park as of the 1920s, at which time only half the land was covered with trees. PERSONALITY OF THIS PARK. Its wild aspect gives Memorial a very particular personality among the other parks of Houston. The urban wild is something we plan to enhance through our work by reorganizing roads to provide broader, uninterrupted swaths of forest and larger open spaces with greater connectivity within the park. These moves should enhance the sense of an oasis within the city. HOW YOU SEE OUR PARK'S NARRATIVE. Our research reveals two parallel storylines — one ecological and one cultural. Both are embedded in the landscape and are often unnoticed by users; through our design efforts, we will reveal both of them. Ruins of Camp Logan, restored traces of the Hare and Hare landscape plan from the 1920s and enhancement of the historic golf course will be achieved alongside prairie restoration, native forest regeneration, invasive plant removal and alternative storm-water management. WHAT ASPECT OF THIS PROJECT EXCITES YOU MOST? The number of people whose lives could be enhanced by improving the ecology, programming and connectivity of Memorial Park. Again, the scale of the park and the location in an urban center make it a great thrill and responsibility. FAVORITE GREEN SPACE ON THE PLANET. The New Zealand temperate rainforests of the North Island. They were so exotic to my eye the first time I visited 13 years ago. The scale of trees, the diversity of animals and the unique forest ecology that evolved on an island devoid of mammals was mind-blowing. This is unique on the planet, and now, after a decade of work in New Zealand, these exotic rainforests feel like familiar friends. YOUR FAMILY NARRATIVE. Both of my grandfathers owned farms, and my parents raised their five children on an angus and tobacco farm that belonged to my father's family. My maternal grandfather farmed land that had been in his family since the mid-1700s in western North Carolina. The idea that land is something you care for and have an emotional and long-term commitment to is in my DNA, I guess. Multigenerational stewardship of land also gives you a different sense of time; this has prepared me for the pace of landscape projects that can take decades to grow into your design vision. YOUR OWN PASSION FOR THE OUTDOORS. Growing up caring for animals on land where our own food was grown. As an adult, I learned about the ecological damage of irresponsible farming practices and the long-lasting damage of industrial processes. Through graduate school, I came to understand that landscape architecture provides a toolkit that could help address problems in both agricultural and post-industrial environments. BIGGEST BREAK. The support of former clients has been the most unexpected break. We've had individual clients who seem to take great pleasure in spreading the word about our work and finding ways to get our firm involved in exciting new design projects. They have played a very large role in the expansion of our practice — but one that feels organic and natural, not forced. ON YOUR LANDSCAPE PLATE. NBW is in a very exciting moment where we are working on multiple large public parks at the same time. Each is in a distinct climate and offers unique history and design challenges. These include the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine; Centennial Park in Nashville; the Devonian Botanic Garden in Edmonton, Canada; and Cornwall Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, is probably the current project with a climate and ecology most related to Houston. There, a great distinction is working on a landscape originally designed by the Olmsted firm. ON YOUR MANHATTAN PROJECT. We were selected as the landscape architect for Hudson Yards nearly two years ago, and the project will be under construction for a number of years to come. The first tower will open in 2017, but the plaza landscape will open in phases beyond that date. Creating a coherent public space that can hold together the massive and iconic skyscrapers surrounding it is a tremendous design challenge. The complexity of building over active rail lines in the heart of the West Side makes for an unprecedented challenge of design, engineering and creativity for our firm. THREE FAVORITE HISTORICAL GARDENS. Hidcote in England, in July; Courances in France, in October; Deeg Water Palace in Bharatpur, India, in March. ON DIGGING IN HISTORICAL DIRT. We worked on a Stewardship Master Plan for Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. We are also working at Olana, the estate of Frederick Church on the banks of the Hudson River, NY, and have worked on a site at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. TOP ENCOUNTER IN A GREEN SPACE THAT YOU'VE DESIGNED. Watching migratory birds come to roost in the wildlife preserve in New Zealand that we collaborated on designing with the owner and scientists. THE SCALE OF THE PARK AND THE LOCATION IN AN URBAN CENTER MAKE IT A GREAT THRILL AND RESPONSIBILITY. " " — THOMAS WOLTZ Woltz and his firm have come to roost in Houston for the coming months. Weigh in on ideas for Memorial Park at the next public forum: Wednesday, September 17, 6 to 8 pm, at the Learning and Development Center, Room 107 (Auditorium), 4501 Leeland, Houston. For future green updates or to donate: memorialparkconservancy.org. Jeff Aten, senior associate at Nelson Byrd Woltz, contemplates a hidden ravine near the Green Trail and Picnic Loop. Loblolly pine and cherry laurel encircle him. NBW's Samantha Dabney, staff designer, will develop new programs for the park's patrons or restore those that need repair, such as these fraying sand volleyball courts. NBW staff designer Alissa Diamond pauses on the Green Trail in front of Picnic Loop, Diamond functions as historian for the natural and manmade narrative of Memorial Park, both of which will be emphasized as part of the unfolding master plan. NBW staff designer Alissa Diamond pauses on the Green Trail in front of Picnic Loop, Diamond functions as historian for the natural and manmade narrative of Memorial Park, both of which will be emphasized as part of the unfolding master plan. Conservation director Nicholas Butler joined Memorial Park Conservancy in September 2013. His expertise and degrees in forestry and natural resources brought a slew of offers, but he relocated to Houston from Utah because of the "refreshing sense of ownership and energy" he saw focused around the park. Conservation director Nicholas Butler joined Memorial Park Conservancy in September 2013. His expertise and degrees in forestry and natural resources brought a slew of offers, but he relocated to Houston from Utah because of the "refreshing sense of ownership and energy" he saw focused around the park.