The Formosa Pocket Park: Good Thing, Small Package

Peaceful, sustainable and verdant. 
The Formosa Park, located north of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, a green space designed for neighborhood use.

Enter through frosted glass.
It’s 4600 square feet, with drought-tolerant plants, water-conserving irrigation, rocks, sand and a water feature. Compared to most parks, it’s a postage stamp.
The forest floor is translated into a metal shade above, with cutouts that filter light and flirt with sky.
A sculpture reminiscent of a desiccated tree occupies an unexpected corner.
Seats mimic the scattered shapes of fallen leaves, punctuating the winding walkways.

The park was designed by Katherine Spitz Associates.

It adjoins the Formosa 1140, an 11-unit condominium building of blood-orange corrugated metal, wood and glass, developed by Richard Loring of the Habitat Group and designed by Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects. The condo building’s vibrant palette and towering geometry make it hard to miss in a neighborhood of vintage brick and stucco, giving the adjacent residences the effect of unwilling matrons clustered at an impromptu block party or a wake; the pocket park, somehow, softens the effect.

Formosa Park opened in August, 2009. It closes at night.