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LIBERATION
PARK
Oakland, CA
Client:
Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation (BCZ)
Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST)
Curtis Development
Designed in collaboration with Studio Serrette
Liberation Park in East Oakland is envisioned as a catalyst for Black economic and cultural prosperity. The two-building program includes a Market Hall and 119 affordable residences, organized around a 2-story courtyard programmed to celebrate communal identity, pride, and activism. Weekly roller skating parties draw residents from around the neighborhood, as does the AKOMA Market, where Black entrepreneurs sell their creations. The Market Hall is comprised of a community center and food stalls with ingredients sourced from an urban farm located on the roof deck.
PERMANENCY, PROSPERITY, AND PUBLIC LIFE
As an interim public space, Liberation Park brims with activity. The Black Cultural Zone CDC licenses the triangular parcel to host weekly events, headlined by the AKOMA Market and UMOJA Outdoor Roller Rink. RELM’s chief task in developing the landscape for the building program was to ensure the continuity of these successful community activities on a small footprint and striking a balance between engagement and respite from the street edge.
FOSTERING AFROFUTURISM
The development calls for a 26,000-square-foot Market Hall comprised of a food hall, cultural performance space, and office space for cultural entrepreneurs opposite a multi-family structure housing 119 affordable residences. The open space design reconciles these two diverse programs, inviting the public into ground floor areas and creating more secluded spaces for tenants.
