PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy recently was awarded a $235,000 grant from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust, to plan, design and conduct community engagement for an outdoor sensory classroom at the Frick Environmental Center (FEC).
The Parks Conservancy is excited to kick off the project by engaging with focus groups of Pittsburgh educators, caregivers, disability advocates and community members and assembling an Advisory Committee to ensure the design of the sensory classroom responds to the needs of educators, learners with exceptionalities and park users. In addition, the Parks Conservancy will work with experienced parks and sensory landscape-design consultants with the goal of repurposing and enhancing the existing spaces at the FEC with thoughtfully designed improvements to provide structured learning, play, discovery, observation and gathering.
Focus groups, listening sessions, surveys and public meetings will continue throughout the various phases of the project and feedback will be incorporated as the plan progresses. Construction of the outdoor sensory classroom is projected to begin in the fall of 2023.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is seeking a consultant team, led by a landscape architect, to provide planning, design, community engagement, and construction/permitting documents for a new outdoor sensory classroom at the Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The goal of the project will be to upgrade and enhance existing outdoor teaching spaces based on Universal Design for Learning and accessibility principles, creating teaching spaces that are immersive, inclusive, and welcoming to all Pittsburgh residents.
Proposals are due August 31, 2022. The full Request for Proposal, including all project and submission details is available by clicking HERE or below.
All interested parties are required to submit a Notice of Interest to PPC’s project manager and provide appropriate contact information, including name, email, and phone number of the interested parties’ designated point of contact. Notices of Interest should be sent to Brandon Riley, Capital Projects Manager, briley@pittsburghparks.org, prior to the deadline for questions on August 22.
