The City of Newark is engaged in an ambitious redesign of their Civic Center, replacing a 60’s era building with a new, modern City Hall, Library and expanded space for the Police Department.  

Working with a team that includes three architectural firms and many community stakeholder groups, Thuilot Associates developed a plan that unifies the disparate architecture of three new buildings while providing a flexible, multipurpose space for outdoor civic events.

Strategically placed signage mounted on low landscape walls guides visitors into an oval gateway plaza. Terraced planters serve as amphitheater seating for days when there are public performances and quiet places for city workers to eat lunch at other times. Overlapping this pattern, a dynamic arrangement of trees provides shade and a transition to the larger space linking City Hall and the Library. The design balances flexible spaces scaled to pedestrians with a sense of expansive openness appropriate for a civic plaza.