Hope

maier land­schafts­ar­chi­tektur (Maier Land­scape Archi­tec­ture), in coope­ra­tion with skate-aid and SOS Children’s Villages World­wide, planned and built a skate park which opened in July 2019. That alone is a feat. Moreover, the Damascus Skate Park is func­tional as well as high-quality, inclu­sive and open to all perfor­mance classes.

Faci­li­ties

Damascus Skate Park, which is actually called the Qudsaya Skate Park, takes all this into account. The large concrete areas next to the skating compon­ents offer enough space for newco­mers to be able to roll through the park or to give the sport a try by slowly feeling their way up the mini-ramp. At the same time, expe­ri­enced skaters will also get their money’s worth by going through the various rails, banks, tran­si­tions and curbs.

In addi­tion to mini-ramp and street sections, a playing area comprises part of the complex. It provides a large equipped play­ground, sanded areas, communal spaces and a public toilet. Finally, the entire square was replanted. As a result there is some­thing for every age group.

Kids, be kids

In addi­tion to the acti­vists from skate-aid, many Syrians and a specia­list from maier land­schafts­ar­chi­tektur were present during the cons­truc­tion itself. A lot of volun­teer work, many unpaid workers and much support from local resi­dents – from supp­lying food to the washing of laundry – marked the cons­truc­tion phase.

Since its opening the skate park has been used by many school­children every day and is an inte­gral part of the neigh­bour­hood. Children from the SOS Child­ren’s Village, which lies a few kilo­me­tres away, are regu­larly driven to the Damascus Skate Park. There they get skating lessons from expe­ri­enced skaters.