2021 ASLA COMMUNICATIONS AWARD OF HONOR: Sanctum by Evan Mather, FASLA

“Willowbrook是洛杉矶县的一个社区，以魔术师约翰逊公园为中心。该公园占地120英亩，在疫情席卷全球的当下，人们对开放空间的需求变得更加迫切，因而公园对于该区域的振新和发展将起到极为重要的影响。在2020年的乔治·弗洛伊德案件发生之后，参与公园改造项目的一名景观设计师自发制作了这部6分半钟的纪录影片，将来自社区的不同声音与公园优美缥缈的航拍镜头结合在一起。社区牧师Dawnesha Beaver在影片中讲到：‘公园和开放空间代表着经济、物质与社会的公平，同时也展现着一个社区的价值。’ 在其他声音的配合下，景观对于与之形成互动的居民的重要性被赋予了一层情感上的共鸣。”
– 2021年评审委员会

“Willowbrook, a community within Los Angeles County, centers around Magic Johnson Park—a 120-acre parcel that, as open space became much more urgently needed in the face of the global pandemic, brought outsized importance to the site’s revitalization efforts. A member of the landscape architecture team working on the project developed this 6 ½-minute documentary video in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, combining voices from the community with ethereal, aerial drone footage of the park. “Parks and open space represent equity: economic, physical, and social equity,” Rev. Dawnesha Beaver, one such community voice, proclaims. “Parks show that a community is valued.” In concert with other voices, the significance of landscape to the residents who interact with it resonates with emotion.”
– 2021 Awards Jury

来自 ASLA 对gooood的分享。
Sanctum | Evan Mather, FASLA

项目概述
PROJECT STATEMENT

公园对于黑人社区而言是一个神圣的空间，在每个充满艰辛的时代，它们成为了动荡世界里的宁静之岛。洛杉矶县Willowbrook社区的魔术师约翰逊公园就是其中的一个例子。2020年夏季，在同时面临疫情、内乱和总统大选的背景下，将公园改造为环境可持续且具复原力的示范性案例，这一任务的最初阶段也几近完成。这部时长6分半的影片由领导该项目的一位景观设计师构思，他将其视为一种记录历史性时刻的途径：在影片中，他询问了Willowbrook居民关于公园（尤其是魔术师约翰逊公园）的重要性的问题。从结果来看，该影片以一种创新且具有精神内涵的方式，阐释了公园和开放空间对于城市社区的意义。

Parks are sacred spaces for Black communities, and in challenging times they serve as islands of calm amidst the chaos. Case in point is Magic Johnson Park in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of Willowbrook. During the summer of 2020 – in the midst of a global pandemic, civil unrest, and pivotal Presidential election – the initial phase of transforming the park into a model of environmental sustainability and resilience neared completion. This 6-½ minute video was conceived by one of the landscape architects leading the project, as a means of documenting this historic moment by asking Willowbrook residents why parks – and specifically Magic Johnson Park – are important. The result is an innovative spiritual expression of the meaning of parks and open space to urban communities.

▲《Sanctum》影碟外观。该影片以一种创新且具有精神性的方式表达了公园和开放空间对于城市社区的重要意义，目前已在全球流媒体上播放，并推出了限量的DVD版本。Sanctum. The video is an innovative spiritual expression of the meaning of parks and open space to urban communities. It is currently streaming worldwide and available via a limited pressing of DVDs.

项目说明
PROJECT NARRATIVE

公园对城市社区意味着什么？

这是该纪录片的制作者，同时也是一位景观设计师，在2020年中期所考虑的问题，因为当时的魔术师约翰逊公园即将完成初始阶段的改造工作。作为设计团队中不可或缺的一部分，电影制作人从2013年的总体规划开始便一直担任项目领导，因此在公园相关的影片创作方面有着独特的优势。

（背景介绍：魔术师约翰逊公园是一个占地120英亩的公园，亦是洛杉矶县Willowbrook社区的核心。该公园最初开发于1970年代，长期以来一直存在设计上不完善以及过度使用的问题。）

在提出影片的概念之后，制作人也问了自己同样的问题：公园对城市社区意味着什么？同时对自己内心的看法提出了质疑。最终，他决定不采用典型的视频宣传形式——比如让客户和设计专业人士自吹自擂，发表一番陈词滥调——当务之急，是要借助Willowbrook社区本身的声音来推动这一叙述。

电影制作人与洛杉矶县总长Mark Ridley-Thomas领导的现场办公团队进行合作，确立了一个由Willowbrook社区成员组成的核心群体，并随后对其进行了采访。这些不同的声音来自长期居民和地方学校、教堂、图书馆、社区中心以及多个艺术组织的代表。此外，洛杉矶县艺术博物馆（LACMA）还从当地社区招募了一名实习生，以帮助完成“Willowbrook之声”的采访和拍摄工作。

该影片的制作起始时间不仅是在乔治·弗洛伊德案件引发全国范围的骚乱之后，同时也是在新冠疫情席卷全球期间。在这样的大环境下，社区成员的采访大都采用了视频会议的形式。在对数个小时的录音素材进行编辑和汇总的过程中，一种饱含力量的叙述逐渐变得清晰起来：公园，对于Willowbrook的居民而言是犹如精神圣地一般的存在。

这样的信息需要借助一种特殊的方式来表达。影片叙述的中心内容是一场“为开放空间而作的祷告”，它由当地黑人教会中的一位富有威望的牧师负责创作。祷文的内容主张是，像魔术师约翰逊公园这样的公共空间等同于城市社区的心脏：它们象征着人群、目标、繁荣与庇护。这一重要的信息，尤其是从2020年这样一个特殊的时期来看，具有不可被低估的重要意义。

这是一段为大众群体而拍摄的影片，它通过电影制作人的个人网站免费发布，网站上的其余影片也大都探讨了关于景观设计的问题。在发布后的头几个月里，该影片被广泛地分享和传播于社交媒体，收看者遍布世界各地。此外，它也被用作当地高中生的教学资料、公园社区中心的讲解内容，以及未来公园开发的宣传影片。项目团队还制作并发行了限量的DVD，以便分发给当地的学校、社区成员、设计专业人士和潜在的客户。

▲魔术师约翰逊公园位于加利福尼亚州的Willowbrook，影片的主题正是该公园如何再度换发生机的过程。经过重新设计之后，公园于2021年初向公众开放，成为了建立城市社区环境可持续性和恢复力的代表性案例。Magic Johnson Park. The subject of the video is the revitalized Magic Johnson Park in Willowbrook, California, which reopened to the public in early-2021. The park was redesigned to be a model of environmental sustainability and resilience for urban communities. © Calvin Abe, FASLA

▲主要的设计特点。该影片着重阐述了魔术师约翰逊公园改造工作的主要特点。一些专门用无人机拍摄的画面为影片增加了一层冥想的色彩。Key Design Features. The video highlights the main features of Magic Johnson Park’s transformation. The intentionally exclusive use of drone photography adds a meditative quality to the video. © Evan Mather, FASLA

▲背景：影片通过使用动态照片和地图，为观众提供了相关的历史背景。这组镜头展现了场地从农田向储油罐区的转变，以及后来它作为一个设计不完善的公园，被设施匮乏的当地社区过度利用的困境。Context. The video features animated photos and maps that provide historic context for the audience. This sequence illustrates the site’s transition from agricultural field, to oil tank farm, and as an under-designed regional park that was over-utilized by the park-poor community. © Evan Mather, FASLA

▲社区之声：公园施工过程的航拍镜头搭配着社区成员的讲述，他们对魔术师约翰逊公园的重要性表达了自己的看法和感受。讲述的内容与当时发生的社会事件息息相关，包括疫情、内乱和选举等等。Community Voices. Aerial footage of the construction process is narrated by community members who express their emotions regarding the importance of Magic Johnson Park, relative to the challenges of the moment: living in the midst of a pandemic, civil unrest, and election. © Evan Mather, FASLA

▲作为神圣空间的公园：影片以当地黑人教会牧师所做的祷告为结束，以充满力量的方式表达了公园和开放空间对于城市社区的重要意义。Parks as Sacred Spaces. The video concludes with a sermon by a minister from a local Black congregation, a powerful expression of the meaning of parks and open space to urban communities. © Evan Mather, FASLA

PROJECT NARRATIVE

What do parks mean to urban communities?

This was the question the filmmaker, a landscape architect, considered in mid-2020, as construction of the initial phase of Magic Johnson Park’s transformation neared completion. As an integral part of the design team, leading the project since it began with master planning in 2013, the filmmaker was uniquely positioned to create a video response to this inquiry.

(For context, Magic Johnson Park is a 120-acre park and centerpiece of the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of Willowbrook. Originally developed in the 1970s, the park has been under-designed and over-utilized for years.)

As the video was conceptualized, the filmmaker challenged himself to question his own assumptions of what parks mean to urban communities. It was determined that the video should not take the form of a typical promotional video – one characterized by self-congratulatory platitudes from the client and design professionals. Rather, it was imperative that the narrative be driven by the voices of the Willowbrook community itself.

The filmmaker worked with the field office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to identify a core group of Willowbrook community members to be interviewed for the project. These diverse voices included longtime residents and representatives of area schools, churches, libraries, community centers, and arts organizations. Additionally, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) enlisted an intern from the local community to help with interviewing the “voices of Willowbrook” and filming the video.

Video production began not only shortly after civil unrest erupted nationwide in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, but also during the global coronovirus pandemic. The challenges of interviewing community members during this moment were alleviated with the use of video conferencing. As these hours of recorded interviews were edited and assembled, a powerful narrative began to emerge: that of parks as a spiritual sanctuary for the residents of Willowbrook.

This message demanded a unique expression. The centerpiece of the video’s narration emerged as s a “prayer for open space”, composed by a locally-recognized minister of a historic Black congregation. The sermon advocates that parks such as Magic Johnson Park are the heartbeat of urban communities: they represent people, purpose, prosperity, protection – and sanctuary. The importance of this message relative to the 2020 moment in which it was created, should not be underestimated.

The video is intended for a wide audience: it is freely distributed via streaming video on the filmmaker’s personal website showcasing his films about landscape architectural design issues. In its first months of availability, the video has been widely shared on social media and viewed around the world; used as an educational tool for local high school students; screened for visitors to the park’s community center; and used as an advocacy piece for future park development. A limited number of DVDs are in production for distribution to local schools and universities, community members, design professionals, and potential clients.

More:  ASLA; Evan Mather, FASLA