Friday, parking spaces throughout Ames’s downtown area were converted into small parklets for the public’s enjoyment.

The parklets were designed and built by students of Iowa State’s Landscape Architecture program as part of a global participatory art project, Park(ing) Day.

Park(ing) Day began in San Francisco after a group called Rebar realized that metered parking spots were some of the cheapest, most available pieces of real estate throughout the city. As the group created their first parklet, word spread, and people worldwide began creating parklets to fill parking spaces in urban areas.

In Ames, students split up in groups and partnered with six small businesses. They were given a small budget for materials and tasked with meeting the business owners and deciding how the park should represent the business. This collaboration not only gave the public small parks to enjoy across downtown, but it exposed students to real experiences, mirroring the careers they’ve been working towards.

The parklets were designed and constructed on campus, then moved via truck to the designated parking spots.

The students’ roles?

Designing their parks and figuring out the logistics of actually putting them together. 

Many students had little or no experience with carpentry or construction, forcing them to learn as they went along.

Some businesses students partnered with included Everts Flowers Home and Gifts, the Octagon Center For the Arts, Chocolaterie Stam, the Ames Public Library and Dog Eared Books. One group partnered with several businesses, which share one owner— Cooks’ Emporium, Nook and Nest and Z.W. Mercantile.

In front of Everts Flowers stood a small parklet surrounded by both real and fake plants as well as some sculptures and decorations provided by the store owner, Brian Smith. Overshadowed by two trees, the parklet even featured a small pool with live fish inside, making the parklet feel like a small version of the full-sized parks so many are familiar with. 

One group member who put together the parklet in front of Everts Flowers, junior landscape architecture major Hagen Carter, explained some of the details in his group’s parklet. 

“I’m really glad we got the trees, it creates more [of an] enclosure which is a nice sense as a pedestrian,” said Carter. “You don’t want to feel out in the open, exposed. We tried to create something that was very green, lush or restorative, as we call it. Just a place you want to enjoy for a bit.”

Smith expressed his feelings on Park(ing) Day and his collaboration with Carter’s group.

“It’s been great, we met with them a couple of times on ideas they had that they wanted to incorporate,” Smith said. “Then I also went around the store and had things they could use from my business to support what they were planning to do, it’s been a win-win thing. It gives students an opportunity to get out and meet people. Some people never know downtown Ames exists as a student, so I think it’s a good thing to try and get more students downtown.”

Smith pointed out how well the students were able to match the aesthetics of the flower shop.

“Their concept of what they wanted to promote I think just tied in very well with my business, with plants, growing, outdoors, things like that. It was a real good fit for what they were promoting,” said Smith.

This project allowed students to practice interacting with clients and designing a park or landscape that fit the client’s desires. Another group of students who worked hard to encapsulate their business was partnered with Chocolatarie Stam, a business with a rich history and an interior packed with personality.

The parklet stood out, appearing as a cozy parlor, complete with places to sit, coffee tables and plenty of plants and decorations to fill in the space. One member of this group, junior in landscape architecture Juan Rodriguez, explained the business and design choices that went into their parklet. 

“We sat here for hours and we noticed that most people just get a coffee, or some chocolate,” Rodriguez said. “They sit there for hours just to talk, read, do homework. It’s a study spot too and that’s what we wanted to do over there. That’s why we stained the floors, we wanted to give everything a real used look, we went to thrift shops and got all the furniture, we wanted to get that iconic brick wall represented with our little brick wall.”

Bringing together students from Iowa State and several small businesses in downtown Ames, the project gave students a chance to practice the skills they have built in school while helping small businesses gain exposure— a mutually beneficial project that gives the public some extra spaces to enjoy in Ames.