Linwood Park

About

The Township of Lower Merion purchased a one-acre parking lot in Ardmore and commissioned SALT to design a new community park. Through a participatory process, involving hands-on charrettes with adults and children, SALT’s team developed a design rooted in the native hydrology, topography, and riparian habitats of Cobbs Creek and Indian Creek watersheds.

Categories Place Parks & Play Spaces Recreation Therapeutic

Project Details

Description

The park design reimagines the historic ridgeline between the two watersheds as a bold, playful landform that shapes the site’s identity. Along the edge of the landform, a colorful, low curving wall weaves through the space, serving as seating, a stage, or a walkway. This dynamic feature not only guides stormwater but also creates flexible, unprogrammed areas for recreation and relaxation while transforming the visual experience of the park. A rich planting palette—including an abundance of new canopy and understory trees, shrubs, and perennials—forms a multi-layered native woodland. The vibrant ground layer enlivens the lowland habitat and supports existing mature red oaks. Together, the landforms and diverse plant communities enhance native wildlife, positioning the park as a vital link within the regional green space network.

Today, Linwood Park serves as a model of community stewardship, with the Friends of Linwood Park earning recognition from Lower Merion Township and Montgomery County for their dedication to stewardship of the Park. Throughout the year, the Friends group hosts numerous community events and programs in the Park, which have made it a beloved gathering space for neighbors and visitors alike.

SALT was hired by the community to develop a park master plan (completed in 2009) and then hired by the Township to prepare design-construction documents and conduct Construction Administration. The project has received several prestigious honors, including a Merit Award for Planning from PA-DE ASLA in 2009 (for the Master Plan for Linwood Park), the Public Spaces Garden Blue Ribbon Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 2014, and the Excellence in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Award from the Sustainable Business Network of Philadelphia in 2018.

Contact SALT Design Studio info@saltdesigns.com SALT Design Studio Linwood Park Project

Construction Details

Design Firm
SALT Design Studio

General Contractor
Puhl’s Landscaping

Sub-contractors
Yerkes Associates, Studio Gaea

A child on all fours draws with chalk on pavement while multiple other children play in the background.

An adult walks along a trail flanked with bright green foliage on either side.

A salmon colored wall meanders through a park adjacent to lush green grass and open space. Several trees have leaves that are changing from green to orange.

A child walks over a dry stream with waist high foliage on either side while another child is blurred in the foreground as they ride past on a scooter.

A salmon colored wall meanders through an open space with foliage on one side and a large gathering area on the other.

An adult in a blue sweatshirt holds a child’s hand who is wearing a bright red jacket as they walk along a path. Trees and colorful grasses are on either side of the path.

A child in blue stands next to fluffy pink shrubs.

Recent Case Studies

A group of youth play with a football while other children sit on the berm. Behind them, kids play on the climber dome. The school building in the background is painted with bright colors and artwork.

Place

Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy (formerly Chester Arthur Schoolyard)

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Surrounded by an abundance of green, a participant reaches up to carefully inspect a particular branch of leaves during one of Tremont’s herpetology SANCP classes.

Program

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a nonprofit field school situated within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It offers immersive, nature-based programs that enhance health and spark curiosity across all ages through profound engagement with the natural world.

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Program

City Kids Wilderness Project

City Kids Wilderness Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the development of youth from under-resourced communities in Washington, DC through innovative outdoor experiential education and career readiness programs