Sasaki, in Partnership with Torre Design Consortium, will lead the effort to deliver many signature elements of the Greenwood Park and Baton Rouge Zoo master plan. Greenwood Park, the largest park in East Baton Rouge Parish, covers 660 acres and serves the communities of North Baton Rouge and Baker. Sasaki’s design vision will transform the fragmented park into a balanced and connected destination serving community members from all walks of life.

The park master plan began with a visioning and planning process, which included an intensive community engagement effort. The Sasaki team spoke to over 4,000 Baton Rougians to ensure that the design is reflective of the community’s needs. The design’s first phase will include a signature adventure playground, a new entry building and sequence for the zoo relocated within Greenwood Park, AZA re-accreditation for the zoo, a giraffe feeding, a pygmy hippo exhibit, re-routing of the zoo train, an expanded and upgraded J.S. Clark Golf Course, the restoration of Cypress Bayou, and the creation of the Signature Bayou Promenade.

At the meeting, commissioner Davis Rhorer reaffirmed his confidence in Sasaki and Torre: “This is a phenomenal design collaborative that is coming together for the zoo and Greenwood.”

Anna Cawrse, PLA, ASLA, project manager and Sasaki landscape architect, added, “Everyone in East Baton Rouge Parish will benefit from the park and zoo’s transformation and we’re proud of the plan we created together with the community and BREC. It will be a fantastic new chapter for Baton Rouge and we are excited to see Phase One built!”

Construction for the park will begin in 2020. Read more about the park and its initial master plan approval here.