Shelby Farms Park

Written By Serhii Chrucky
Shelby Farms Park visitor center reflected in the lake, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee

Architect: Marlon Blackwell Architects
Landscape Architect: James Corner Field Operations
General Contractor: Montgomery Martin Contractors
Structural Engineer: Engineering Consultants Inc.
Lighting: Renfro Design Group
Location: Memphis, TN

A former penal farm until the 1960s, this 4,500-acre tract on the eastern edge of Memphis is now one of the largest urban parks in the country. The grounds are organized into a network of distinct landscape zones connected by trails around a central lake. The collection of buildings and pavilions take cues from the site's agricultural past, reading as an abstracted family of barns, silos, and sheds. The focal point is the visitor center, a long horizontal front porch wrapped in aluminum, with a similarly low-slung event pavilion across the lake and a boathouse anchoring the far shore. Walking paths wind between lawns and restored wetlands of cattails and cypress.

 
Shelby Farms Park aerial over the lake and trails, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park visitor center in aluminum mesh and reclaimed wood, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park river birch grove in the entry plaza, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park path among bald cypress and cattails, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park visitor center glass porch with colorful chairs, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park tree-lined path to the lakeside pier, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park lakeside pavilion with a single-pitch roof, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park boardwalk over the cattail wetland, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park visitor center front elevation across the lawn, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park visitors on the path by the wetland, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park prairie below the visitor center, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park aerial of the visitor center above the lake, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park wetland with bald cypress and reeds, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park walkers on a tree-lined lakeside path, landscape by James Corner Field Operations - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park glass event center reflected across the lake, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
 
Shelby Farms Park boathouse and lake pier backlit at sunset, by Marlon Blackwell Architects - architectural photographer Memphis Tennessee
Serhii Chrucky https://serhiichrucky.com
Previous

21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
Next

Steelcote Flats