The Village of Schaumburg Veterans Gateway Park project recently won the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA) 2010 Silver Medal in the category of commercial landscape construction.

The Veterans Gateway Park project includes rejuvenation of the area around an existing clock tower through the introduction of new entrance features, landscaping, trellises, benches, quotation plaques, flags, lighting, and brick paving. Together, these elements create a multi-functional memorial space utilized for everything from quiet reflection to moving ceremonies.

The site presented with two major constraints which drove the project’s design.  First, the site was bordered by two main roadways, making it difficult to provide a quite area for reflection.  Second, the site had an existing clock tower which dwarfed everything around it, robbing the site of any sense of human scale.  These two constraints solidified the design goals to provide intimacy and scale in a space dedicated to honoring our veterans.

Landscaping plays an integral role in meeting the design goals for the park. The introduction of new landscaping helps to soften the sterile appearance of the clock tower plaza area. The design uses a variety of plantings to provide more interest at the human scale. Evergreen trees create a visual backdrop to the clock tower. Shade and ornamental trees bring the clock tower into scale with the site and surroundings, while maintaining areas of open sightlines from the adjacent roadways. New shrubs and perennials around the perimeter and clock tower plaza infuse vibrancy to the area through the use of color and texture.

The transformation of the space into a veteran’s memorial is cemented with the addition of site furnishings. The arrangement of eight flags encircling the clock tower is designed to make a statement by adding movement and symbolism to the design. The village’s intent is to focus on the hope and regeneration that war elicits. This idea plays out in the design of the memorial as a garden space complete with benches, trellises, and lush plantings.

The design of the park was a collaborative effort between the Village of Schaumburg and the design consultant, Hitchcock Design Group of Naperville, IL.  The park’s complicated construction was contracted to Lamp Incorporated of Elgin, IL.  The end result is a new veteran’s park which surpasses the expectations of the community, the local veteran’s organizations, and everyone involved in the project.