Gathering Places
The personality of a community comes to life when local residents come together to create a place of significance that will bring them together over and over again.
- Milenko Matanovic
A gathering place is a space for the entire community—what used to be called the commons—serving as a focal point for a community’s civic and cultural life, and an anchor point around which new, more livable urban patterns can emerge. We integrate social, artistic, and environmental activism into the creation of community-developed gathering places—working together with community members to create spaces that capture their collective talents, aspirations, and connections.
Pomegranate Center has led the design and construction of more than 20 gathering places in communities throughout the U.S. and abroad. These have ranged from amphitheatres for 300 people to shelters, community gardens, and small parks.
Selected Projects: 1993-2006
2006
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Medina Elementary School, Medina, Washington
Linking art with learning, architecture and community
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Cambie Community Gathering Place, East Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Creating a focal point for a neighborhood seeking a stronger identity
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High Point, West Seattle, Washington
Generating community pride in an affordable neighborhood
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003
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Riverwalk Point, Spokane, Washington
Integrating community-made art, street furniture and social spaces into an affordable neighborhood
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Benson East, Kent, Washington
Social spaces created with salvaged materials
2002
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Village at Overlake Station, Redmond, Washington
Integrating art into high-density, affordable housing
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Longfellow Creek/Roxhill Gateway, West Seattle, Washington
Making gateways to a neighborhood legacy trail
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Springwood, Kent Washington
Mailbox shelters as community gathering places
2001
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Pacific Rim Park, Yantai, China
Linking nations through artistic collaboration
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Lazear Elementary School, Oakland, California
Turning blacktop into learning environments
2000
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Terrace Hill, Redmond, Washington
Liberating parking spaces for children
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Kelkari, Issaquah, Washington
Providing a venue for celebrations, performances and play
1999-2000
1998
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Pearl of the Pacific, San Diego, California
Celebrating unity among the diverse cultures of the Pacific Rim
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Ashland Circle, Issaquah, Washington
Making a park as a neighborhood focal point
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Children’s Gateway, Issaquah, Washington
Turning a wall that separates into a gateway that connects
1997
1994-1995
1993
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Pearl Amphitheater, Vladivostock, Russia
Celebrating friendship around the Pacific Rim
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Kuchumaa Passage, Tecate, Mexico
Making a gateway to a sacred mountain
