The Contoocook River Park
At the confluence of the Nubanusit Brook and the Contoocook River, in the small town of Peterborough, NH, the Contoocook River Park explores the dynamic interplay between geology, water, atmosphere, and botany. Inspired by the striations and fractures characteristic of the region’s granite formations, planted swales, rain gardens, boulder outcroppings, and permeable surfaces, the project creates an integrated system for capturing, filtering, and infiltrating stormwater. Planted crevices accommodate ferns, mosses, and other vegetation adapted to varying conditions of moisture and shade, transforming stone formations into living microhabitats.
The Contoocook River Park is a 1 ha public landscape combining a 60-space parking area with the ecological regeneration of the riverine edges, embodying the materiality and atmospheres of New Hampshire. Informed by the region's glacial landscapes and their representations in historical postcards—between memory and imagination—the design explores the interplay between granite and waterways, erratic boulders and vegetation, humidity and shadow. It reimagines Peterborough's new public amenity as a living landscape of ecological, cultural, and aesthetic significance at the confluence of the Nubanusit Brook and the Contoocook River- a place deeply connected to the histories of Native American communities and the town of Peterborough.
Ethnobotany informs ecological regeneration through Botanical Bouquets. These are plant assemblages conceived as landscape “gifts” and featured in new postcards shared during an on-site community workshop. Five planting typologies respond to distinct habitats: (I) Woodland Edge and Understory, (II) Riparian Edge – High Ground, (III) Riparian Edge – Low Ground, (IV) Rock Outcroppings and Planted Crevices, and (V) Pioneer Vegetation. Together, they connect woodlands, riverbanks, granite outcrops, and regenerating ground.
The original granite abutments of the former Boston–Maine Railroad bridge over Nubanusit Brook recall the site's industrial heritage. A new pedestrian bridge of post-tensioned granite slabs, developed in collaboration with the German firm Kusser Granitwerke, appears to float above these historic structures, connecting the railway legacy with contemporary stone technology and New Hampshire's longstanding traditions of timber and granite craftsmanship.
Microclimate becomes both a functional and spatial design medium, particularly during winter. Wind simulations test strategies to reduce wind chill and snow accumulation associated with prevailing southwesterly winds. Large boulders along the river terraces and a new edge of evergreen plantings to the south shelter community gathering spaces. In summer, river terraces along the forested edges, overlooks, and seating coves invite visitors to experience the changing atmospheres of water, stone, vegetation, and seasonal light in this memorable riverine landscape.
The Contoocook River Park received 1. Prize in an invited design competition and progressed to the construction documentation phase before being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Client and Institutional Partners:
Town of Peterborough, New Hampshire
MacDowell Colony for the Arts, with Resident Director David Macy
Team: Silvia Benedito (Partner) Larissa Belcic (Project Manager), Ivo Hermann, Ken Chongsuwat, Emily Drury, Ellen Driscoll (Artist)
Technical Support: Ryan Associates, Landscape Architecture and Planning, Somerville, USA
KUSSER GRANITWERKE GMBH, Post- tension granite bridge, Aicha vorm Wald, Germany