Five designs chosen for Curb'd parklets in Covington this spring


Five ideas from local businesses and design teams were chosen last week for Curb’d, which will turn ordinary parking spaces in Covington into parklets, or miniature parks. The activation project is a collaboration between Renaissance Covington and MainStrasse Village Association and is funded by the Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation.
 
Forty-two designs were submitted from 11 local businesses that wanted to host a parklet. A review board of leaders in the local design committee judged designs based on the durability, safety and design connectivity to the businesses. Designs were then cut down to 11, one for each business, and five businesses and design teams were chosen from that lot.
 
The final decision was based on concept, context and construction feasibility of the parklet ideas. Winners of $15,000 grants through the Haile Foundation are:

Braxton Brewing
Design team: A+D; parklet: Hopscotch Garden, combining a hops garden and hopscotch game boards 

Cutman Barbershop
Design team: MSA Architects; parklet: The Boxing Ring, a seating area that resembles a boxing ring

Inspirado at Madison Gallery
Design team: Hub + Weber Architects; parklet: Ride, which allows people to jump on a stationary bike and power a projector that takes them to faraway places

Left Bank Coffeehouse
Design team: Seth Trance & Harry Ross; parklet: Wish-Igloo, a seating area that allows for different forms of interaction

Stoney’s Village Toy Shoppe
Design team: John Noble/SHP Leading Design; parklet: mountain/tunnel/xylophone, an interactive playground for kids
 
Parklets will be installed around Covington in early May and remain on display through October. See the 11 design finalists here.
 
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Caitlin Koenig is a Cincinnati transplant and 2012 grad of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. She's the department editor for Soapbox Media and currently lives in Northside with her husband, Andrew, and their three furry children. Follow Caitlin on Twitter at @caite_13.