Parque Las Mercedes

Overview

The site of Parque Las Mercedes has a difficult history. It was Costa Rica’s leper cemetery in the early twentieth century and then spent decades abandoned, until a change in land use opened the possibility of an urban park in the south of Tirrases. The design creates a new atmosphere without erasing the memory of the place.

The composition works with overlapping circles that create continuous paths and interwoven play spaces. The program is organized into four zones (lounging, children’s play, skating and an amphitheater stair). Access from the east and south creates a diagonal oriented toward the center of Curridabat. The project adapts to the contour lines and a green strip buffers the irregular perimeter of the lot. The chosen material is exposed concrete, for its quality and low maintenance.

Lighting extends the hours of use and improves safety. The park turns a place closed to the public for decades into a meeting place for Tirrases.