Mary Gibbs & Jesse Jones Greenway


White Oak Studio transformed a derelict, overgrown parking lot island into a wooded, meandering wetland stream in Houston’s Hermann Park. Working with the client, Hermann Park Conservancy, we incorporated special storm drainage features within the adjacent Lake Plaza to celebrate the urban water cycle. Runoff is collected in decorative runnels and directed to the Greenway to be filtered by native wetland plants on its way toward Braes Bayou. The stream is used as a tool to educate the public about the stormwater cycle through a display of interpretive signage at key overlooks. The Greenway serves as a stormwater detention basin as well.