Located in downtown Columbia, Maryland, within the Merriweather District’s mixed-use area, Color Burst Park is designed to foster community interaction and creativity through its versatile public spaces. The park features five main areas: a promenade, a shared street, an event pavilion, an open lawn, and a fountain plaza, each serving multiple functions throughout the year to accommodate pedestrians, vehicles, and various events.
Key attractions include the promenade that connects to a future trail system and anchors to a restaurant, encouraging window shopping and outdoor dining. The shared street caters to both routine and seasonal uses like a holiday market. The event pavilion is a dynamic space hosting concerts in summer and serving as a skate rental hub in winter. The open lawn transforms seasonally into a venue for yoga, theater, markets, and an ice rink, while the fountain plaza offers a cool retreat in summer and a lit-up plaza in winter.
Sustainability is integrated into the park’s design with stormwater management features like bio-planters and bio swales, which also provide educational insights into sustainable planting and water management. Art is a central element, with installations ranging from sculptures to murals, enhancing the park’s aesthetic and engagement.
As a hub of connectivity and artistic expression, Color Burst Park is set to evolve with the community, continually adapting to meet the needs of the residents and visitors of Columbia.
Howard Hughes Corporation
Located in the Merriweather District, Color Burst Park sits within a mixed-use development centered on walkability, connectivity, creativity, sustainability, art, and nature. It is the heart and soul of a sought-after neighborhood located next to major destinations such as Symphony Woods and Lake Front District in the City of Columbia.
Framed by mixed-use buildings with local shops and restaurants at ground level, Color Burst Park comprises five primary spaces or “stages”: a 15’ wide promenade, a 35’ wide shared street, an event pavilion, an 150’X60’ open lawn, and a 140’X60’ fountain plaza.
The “stages” create an attractive and comfortable setting that allows people to interact with each other and the park in infinite ways. The “stages” also accommodate a wide variety of seasonal events and programming, including outdoor concerts, art shows, holiday markets, food festivals, fitness classes, movie nights, and book fairs.
The event pavilion acts as the focal point of the park. In addition to shade and seating, the pavilion provides varied gathering opportunities throughout the year.
The open lawn bordered by seat walls provides flexible public space. The lawn transforms throughout the seasons, creating space for a yoga field in the spring, an outdoor theater in the summer, a farmers’ market in the fall, and an illuminated ice rink during winter holidays.
The fountain plaza offers multiple uses throughout the year. During hot summer days, families and visitors can cool off in the fountain and under the adjacent shade trees. In winter, the fountain transforms into a hardscape plaza illuminated by colorful inground lighting. Seating around the plaza provides convenient rest and viewing spaces.
Retail stores face the promenade to the north of the park, offering window shopping and dining opportunities. A shared street along the south side allows for car traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle movement. During winter, tents, heaters, and fireplaces line the promenade and the shared street, transforming them into holiday markets.
The streetscape of Color Burst Park offers three distinctive zones with a Bio-Retention zone along the road, a pedestrian and cyclist zone in the middle, and a transitional zone along the building edges. These corridors allow people to move through the Park comfortably in different ways throughout the year.
Planted with native and adapted plants, the facilities present educational opportunities by highlighting sustainable planting design and on-site stormwater management strategies. Both aesthetic and functional, the plantings in the stormwater facilities comprise low-maintenance deciduous and evergreen plants that provide year-round interest.
Prioritizing the inspirational and expressive power of art, Color Burst Park provides strategic locations for art pieces throughout the site. Art manifests in multiple forms, including individual pieces, bold signage, colorful site furniture, and large murals. The park design also creates opportunities for temporary art installations and outdoor art classes.
Using placemaking strategies to activate space is one of the main features of Color Burst Park. As the name suggests, colorful and functional site furniture such as swings, lounge chairs, string lights, and umbrellas scattered throughout the park providing a sense of playfulness and an optimistic atmosphere.
Growth and connectivity are central to the design of Color Burst Park. Future pedestrian and bike connections to other parts of the Merriweather District, Merriweather Park, and Lakefront District were incorporated into the park design.
By considering the growth and evolution of the surrounding areas, Color Burst Park will grow and change over time alongside its users, continuing to function as the heart and soul of this sought-after Columbia community.
