The design team was inspired by the site’s location in the Central Flyway for fall monarch butterfly migration. Pollinator gardens within the park and large swaths of prairie meadow in other parts of the development contribute to new habitat creation.
Building on the tradition of bringing nature, art and active spaces to humanistic development, Kaleidoscope Park is the latest OJB-designed open space commissioned by Craig Hall. The park is the centerpiece of the larger Hall Park development in Frisco, Texas, designed as a comprehensive ecosystem of buildings and landscape across 162-acres that bring people together against a backdrop of vibrant parks and open space.
The 5.7-acre public park known as Kaleidoscope Park is the anchor of this first phase of planned re-development of Hall Park. The core themes of celebration, connectivity, and regional character are expressed in the central core of the site. Communities Foundation of Texas, a Dallas-based charity with a county office in Frisco, is the park foundation and operator behind Kaleidoscope Park.
Free year-round programming for arts and culture is central to the equitable vision for the park. A diverse collection of spaces supports concerts, films, music, dance, health, recreation and children’s play with a sensory design specific to the climate and landscape of North Texas. Major features include shaded pathways and overlooks, rain gardens and a palette of native and adaptive plants. With art and culture as the primary design drivers, the park is a remarkable container to host and bring people together.
The gardens include a wide variety of plants that draw butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, with both flowers and shrubs that bloom and attract pollinators year-round. The gardens frame an arts plaza, with a permanent canopy installation designed by the acclaimed fiber artist Janet Echelman. Her ethereal installation, “Butterfly Rest Stop” brings color and focus during the day, enlivened by the wind, sun and rain, as well as sparkling light from fiber optics at night.
A memorable play garden with one-of-a-kind play elements can be entered from the arts plaza adjacent to an interactive water feature. At more than 20,000 SF, it is one of the largest dedicated playgrounds in North Texas.
”Extensive rain gardens run the length of the 5.7-acre park on the south edge, handling the extremes of Texas weather. More than 26,000 plants focus on pollinators and North Texas natives.
