NBW, in partnership with Rogers Partners, is working to design an innovative on-structure 9-acre park that will stride the GA400 freeway. Slicing through the heart of Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, the freeway has fragmented the community for many years. HUB 404 will physically reconnect this neighborhood, provide much needed park space, and will integrate the Marta rail line with bicycle and pedestrian connections to the neighborhood. The project seeks to become a model of public infrastructure for the future of a multimodal Atlanta.
HUB 404 recognizes an opportunity to occupy the gap in the neighborhood created by the GA400 freeway with a dense cover of native trees that link adjacent tree canopies. Envisioned as a series of bridges rather than a consistent cap over the 9-acre space, the three distinct spatial elements of the park will be connected by a strong central allée of high canopied pines. The Commons will include a shaded grove for picnics and casual gatherings, the Plaza will be defined by its vibrant edges and a large public display at the Marta stop, and the lushly planted and intimate Gardens will provide opportunity for immersive nature and art walks. With dappled shade and majestic trunks, the allée moves through the distinct zones with a linearity that contrasts with the sweeping curves of the ground plane. Enveloping plantings derived from native Piedmont plant communities tell the natural story of the region while providing ecological function – reducing the heat island effect, capturing stormwater, and supporting the native flora and fauna that are co-adapted to each other and the Atlanta climate.
The park creates community in a space that otherwise would not exist - in the gaps and divisions of GA400 and the Marta line. It will also be a destination on Path 400, the Buckhead neighborhood pedestrian and bicycle trail.
Collaborators: Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, Guy Nordenson and Associates, Sherwood Design Engineers, ASD | Sky, Perez Planning and Design, Renfro Design Group, HR&A Advisors, ETM Associates, LLC, Ernst and Young, Coxe Curry and Associates
