Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook / Safdie Rabines Architects

Save this picture!

+ 3

Text description provided by the architects. The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is a 57-acre urban state park located 500 feet above the city in the heart of Los Angeles. The park includes a new 10,000 square foot visitor center, observation deck and viewing areas, hiking trails, picnic areas and restored natural landscape. The turbulent history of the Baldwin Hills site, from oil wells to plans for massive residential development, stripped this mountain of most of its natural past. A critical part of the design process was to define the period that represented the site in its natural state and to create a suitable approach to the restoration of the site. It was also important to understand the history of land development in Los Angeles in order to better understand the symbolic value of this verdant mountain in the midst of a dense city.