Face-to-Face in the Council Ring
Horizon Park, Chula Vista, Calif.

The council ring has a 20-ft. diameter to its outer edges and a 17-foot i.d. The 1-ft. 2-in. tall support columns are constructed of 12x8x12-inch CMUs with solid grout, faced with Rubble ?EUR??,,????'??Utah Desert?EUR??,,????'?? Ledger Stone. The seating height for the ring is 1.5 feet. The park?EUR??,,????'???s ornamental grasses are deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), foreground, and Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), the weeping, brownish tips. The new trees are Muskogee crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia x Fauriei), one with blooming pink flowers.

Horizon Park is a 5.3-acre neighborhood park developed by the Otay Ranch Company for the city of Chula Vista, Calif. Chula Vista is seven miles south of downtown San Diego and seven miles north of the Baja Mexico border, purported to be the world?EUR??,,????'???s busiest international border crossing.

Tucked away into the heart of Horizon Park is an interesting hardscape feature called a council ring.

Council rings were first designed by turn-of-the-century landscape architect Jens Jensen and placed within civic settings such as parks, mostly in the Midwest. Jensen is considered the ?EUR??,,????'??Frank Lloyd Wright of landscape architecture?EUR??,,????'?? and began the Prairie School style of landscape design in the early twentieth century. Jensen?EUR??,,????'???s council ring design was partly inspired by Native American council fire rings, and embraces the idea that all people come together as equals.

 

The park entry ledger stone incorporates a precast concrete sign panel with 8-inch recessed Arial lettering. The structure is 12 feet wide and the pilasters are 5-ft. 3-inches tall (counting the caps).

There is something special about people seated around a council ring. It contravenes any hierarchy, yet can be imposing. The speaker must project to be heard by all, and all eyes are on the speaker. Yet the formal quality breaks down as others make their voices heard and interaction increases.

The council ring at Horizon Park was designed in the spirit and character of Jens Jensen?EUR??,,????'???s council rings, but was never intended to be an exact replica of his work.

This circa 1920 photo shows a school teacher with her class circled around landscape architect Jens Jensen?EUR??,,????'???s council ring in Columbus Park in Chicago, Ill. Jensen?EUR??,,????'???s design was inspired by Native American council fire rings and people coming together as equals. King Arthur?EUR??,,????'???s round table was the same idea?EUR??,,????'??+no knight was ?EUR??,,????'??head of table.?EUR??,,????'?? Teachers for many years have stimulated student interaction by positioning chairs in a circle for face-to-face discussions.
Photo courtesy of Frank Waugh collection, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Adjacent to Horizon Park is the Ann and William Hedenkamp Elementary School. The idea is for teachers from the nearby school to bring their students to the council ring on field trips. The council ring can be an outdoor classroom where the children can sit in a circle and experience this communal environment.

To their knowledge, the landscape architects of Wimmer Yamada and Caughey believe this council ring in Horizon Park is the only one on the West Coast.

The council ring has words fitting for the park?EUR??,,????'???s name, Horizon. Engraved into the precast concrete seat cap are the words of Maya Angelou: ?EUR??,,????'??The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.?EUR??,,????'??

Project: Horizon Park

Special feature: Council Ring