Harbor View Plaza
Harbor View Plaza, Milwaukee
In 2016 Ayres partnered with Quorum Architects and won the Milwaukee Harbor District Inc.’s Take Me to the River design competition. The competition’s goal was to develop a catalytic, new public park space in the heart of Milwaukee’s primarily industrial Inner Harbor. The Ayres/Quorum team’s winning design for Harbor View Plaza highlighted the intersection of historical lake shore ecologies and the pattern of industrial-period settlement and development.
The new park’s design features a lake shore promenade, a public canoe and kayak boat launch, a wetland-themed living fountain, and a playground tower patterned on the shipping containers ubiquitous to the working harbor. The playground tower reflects the cultural and industrial heritage of the Inner Harbor while serving as a beacon for Harbor View Plaza visitors and a gateway for future redevelopment.