Joy and Mary Muszynski (see testimonial to the right) collaborated to plan and design the San Agustin Mission Garden under contract with the City of Tucson and Rio Nuevo Board, with BWS Architects. The Mission Garden was a portion of the Tucson Origins Heritage Park. The construction stopped soon after it began due to funding issues, so the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (link below) formed by the neighboring citizens – fueled by a passion to make this garden a reality.
Joy assisted the citizen-initiated Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace to raise money, phase construction, coordinate with agencies and build the garden. The Mission Garden is a re-creation of the Spanish Colonial walled garden that was part of Tucson’s historic San Agustin Mission. Rebuilt on its original site, the Garden features heirloom plants and living and Timeline Gardens, interpreting 4,000 years of Tucson agriculture. Joy continued to help build the Garden in phases as a sponsor, volunteer and also as a consultant.
The Tucson Origins Heritage Park is a 25-acre cultural campus and community park. The site will contain recreated historic grounds, gardens and buildings. The majority of the park will be constructed over portions of two landfills; the remainder of the site is considered a sensitive archaeological area. Joy served as the local landscape architect in over 10 workshops, public and Advisory Team meetings. Downtown Tucson neighborhood concerns of safety and security were addressed with pedestrian connectivity, bike paths, landscape buffering and design. The Heritage Park design includes integration with the Santa Cruz River Linear Park, the modern street car line, the Cushing Street design, and the adjacent Mercado District of Menlo Park.
http://www.tucsonsbirthplace.org/tucsons-birthplace/mission-garden-project/
Client: Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace & Burns Wald-Hopkins Shamback Architects
Owner: City of Tucson
