MDI was retained late in 2016 to help the Provincial Government – owners of the Victoria Courthouse Green site – through a rapid (less than six month) design and landscape construction process. A major donor had provided funding for a proposed playground, and the Greater Victoria Afghanistan Memorial Project Society (www.vicafghanistanmemorial.ca) hoped to locate a proposed memorial on the site.

Our role as the principal designers was to integrate the proposed playground and Afghan Memorial in a manner that was respectful, and at the same time playful. Given that the site's soils were found to be contaminated, we also helped to coordinate the soil remediation process with engineers and the soil remediation contractor.

We are proud of the park design, and excited that it is already seeing intensive use by a diversity of users. The landscape construction contractor – Bricklok Surfacing & Landscaping (Bricklok.ca) is thanked for their collaborative spirit and hard work on this project, and for completing it in such a timely manner. We look forward to visiting this downtown park and enjoying an ice cream on the lawn!