GATHER ALTADENA
Rebuilding the beloved Farnsworth Park after the Eaton Fires
First place winner of the 2025 Denhart Sustainability Prize
Designed in collaboration with Sophie Metzger, Ruby Yuan, and Alejandra Cordero
In the aftermath of a devastating fire, how does a community hold onto its identity, its spirit, heart, and soul while facing trauma, displacement, and an uncertain future?
Gather Altadena is a community greenspace designed as a vessel for healing, resilience, and renewal in the wake of the 2025 Eaton fires, supporting collective recovery and long-term community growth.
568 Mount Curve Ave E, Altadena, CA 91001
Located at the Charles S. Farnsworth County Park. This park is located in an area of Altadena that was heavily affected by the Eaton Fires. It was a gathering place in the community, and with that in mind, the community’s needs were at the core of the design.
Map of affected homes in the area surrounding Farnsworth Park
The city of Altadena sits just north of Pasadena, situated between the urban fabric and the San Gabriel Mountains, giving it a distinct relationship to landscape and nature. It is home to a diverse, multigenerational population with deep neighborhood roots and a strong culture of community care.
The highlighted green is the space that Gather Altadena will utilize. The courts, ampitheater, and much of the green space will remain intact.
Site Plan
“We did not design a destination, but a process”
Honoring the past, the soul of place.
In the aftermath of the devastating Eaton Fires, how does a community hold onto its identity, spirit, heart and soul, throughout the rebuilding process?
Shared
Grounded
Familiar
Gather Altadena was born from this question, an effort to rebuild for a community trying to heal and hold onto its roots. The design places the community at the forefront and stays aligned with the spirit of Altadena. Through materials, experiences, and an effort to give back to the community, Gather Altadena is a vessel for honoring memory and inviting healing, reconnection, and a gentle transformation.
Entry
Residents are greeted with an immediate symbol of comfort and familiarity, the Oak Tree. The Oak Tree is a symbol of pride in Altadena, and is tapered throughout design elements, bringing a sense of process in rebuilding and growing with the land.
Community Garden
A place for residents to begin their gardens while their homes are being rebuilt. A haven for cultivating plant life, gentle social interactions, and connection to the earth.
Nursury
Purchasing and planting a tree from the nursery directly supports the community’s ability to rebuild and remain rooted in place. By nurturing what grows here, residents collectively protect both the present moment and the future they are shaping together.
Art Space
By blurring the boundary between studio and outdoors, it invites visitors to create and reconnect with their creativity as a grounding, restorative experience.
Within the tool library, residents can borrow tools for home repair, gardening, and everyday projects, helping ease the financial burden of rebuilding while encouraging shared resources and mutual support.
Outdoor Kitchen
The physical and emotional heart of the project is the Community Kitchen With homes gone and the park partially closed, the need for a living room for Altadena is urgent. This flexible, hybrid space answers the vow of residents to “come back and take up space.”
Children’s Space
Children’s Art Spaces and playful landscapes acknowledge that the future is watching. These are spaces for making new memories amidst reconstruction, signaling that joy and creativity are essential materials for rebuilding.
Memory Map
A tangible collection of memories around Altadena. Visitors are invited to pin their favorite memories and spend time in a space for healing and reflection.
Materials Palette
1 Linen
2 Recycled Cotton
3 Stone
4 Concrete
5 Rosemary
6 Foresso
7 Jute
8 Powder Coated Aluminum
9 Brass
10 Cork
11 Wood Composite
12 Wood
13 Stone
14 Etched Concrete
15 Ceramic Tiles
16 Concrete
17 Rocks
Material choices were made with a strong commitment to sustainability. The project utilizes many repurposed materials, natural textures, and native plants across the landscape.
Sustainability
Repurposed Concrete Gabion
Memory is woven into the material language of the site, using repurposed concrete pieces into gabion pony walls that guide visitors through the space.
Native Plantings
The landscaping throughout the site as well as what is sold at the nursury are all local and native plants. They include but are not limited to the plants listed here.
Native, place-rooted planting for long-term resilience
Native plantings support local ecology and long-term resilience through a landscape that can recover, adapt, and be resilient to future climate events.
Economic Sustainability
Community-powered reinvestment loop (social enterprise model)
Affordable garden plots and a donation-based nursery create a self-sustaining system where revenue is reinvested into upkeep, programming, and local rebuilding support, building long-term neighborhood resilience.
1/4" =1'-0" Scale Site Model
1/36" =1'-0" Scale Site Model
Site Model
