Pershing Green

Re-imagining where LA gets Made and Unmade Daily

In 2015, wHY was one of four international firms shortlisted to redesign Pershing Square, an historic central park located in downtown Los Angeles. Following the announcement, wHY assembled a multidisciplinary advisory board and teamed with the landscape architecture firm Civitas.

wHY initiated a collaborative process for creating a park and urban space that embraced Los Angeles’ vibe for arts, culture, food, people, experimentation, commerce and more. Integrating the past within the present, and looking to the future, the new Pershing Green sought to become a social laboratory of immersive experiences for a sharing community. The intersections of creativity would express the city’s creativity and reimagine LA’s central park for the 21^st century.

The new Pershing Green is designed to be a flexible platform that showcases the best of LA’s year-round food, arts, and cultural offerings. A high level of programming ensures activation and sustained use of the space for all ages and walks of life. A series of landscaped thresholds flow seamlessly from street to sidewalk to green and overlooking the city, with the idea of encouraging co- existence between pedestrians and cars, locals and visitors. Looking to the future, Pershing Green also maximizes natural resources through a net-zero sustainable water collection, filtration, conservation and distribution system that feeds the park around the clock.