SITE:
A line of three lakes that, with the promenade, forms a ‘T’ that functions as the spine of the park; the lakes make the top bar of the ‘T.’ The shape of the lakes make them look naturally formed; but the one straight edge of each reveals that they are person-made – the lakes are holding tanks, for purifying water.

PROJECT:
The parting of the lakes.

A trench is dug across each lake; a channel is inserted, like a V-shaped gash, into the water. The channel is triangular in all directions; both in plan and in section, the channel begins as a point, near the shore, and flares out into a ‘V’ at the middle of the lake.

The trench in the water makes a void in the water; water is displaced, from within the lake to the top of the lake. The V-shaped channel extends up, on each side, into an inverted ‘V’ on top of the water. Waterfalls flow down the inverted ‘V’: on one side, water flows down into the cut – on the other side, water flows back out, into the lake. The waterfalls put each lake in motion, and keep the water from becoming stagnant.

As the cut descends, within the lake, the walls of water ascend, above the lake. The valley in the water makes a mountain of waterfalls, on either side of the valley; the mountain of waterfalls makes a valley in the water, between the mountains.

The parting of the lake makes a passageway through the lake. From opposite pathways, on the long sides of each lake, a walkway goes out to the water. The land slopes, from the pathway down to the lake; the walkway begins like a bridge. The bridge sinks; the walkway ramps down into the lake. The walkway is made out of grating; you see water under you as you walk; it’s as if you’re walking on mid-air, above the lake –it’s as if you’re walking on water, as the walkway goes down into the lake.

The walkway fits into the cut in the lake. As you walk down into the water, a wall of water rises above you, on either side of you. You walk between waterfalls that slope down toward you and come together beneath you. Light shines up from under the grating beneath you; light glows up through the water that flows down beside you.

The cut bends in the middle of the lake. As you walk through the lake, you can’t see the land on the other side --you’re walking toward a wall of water.

You can sit within the wall. In the deepest part of the cut, at the bend in the cut, the sheet of grating that makes the walkway extends off to the side, into the waterfalls. The extensions of grating fold up to make seats, inside niches within the wall. You can sit alone, on a seat for one; you can sit with another person, on a seat for two; the waterfall flows down around you – the waterfall flows down behind the back of your seat, and under your seat, and behind your legs and under your feet as you sit. The hole in the water makes a park inside the water.