Project Narrative
CADEN SAEFKE
    
The central concept guiding this project is time specifically, how the sun’s movement across the sky shapes experience, comfort, and performance within a public park. Udall Park in Tucson, Arizona, provides a unique context where intense sunlight, extreme heat, and long days deeply influence how the community interacts with outdoor spaces. This project studies the sun’s angle throughout the day to develop a design strategy that protects athletes, enhances gameplay, and improves comfort for spectators, all while reinforcing the idea of a park that responds to the passage of time.
 
Udall Park is a major recreational destination, featuring soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, basketball courts, pickleball courts, and an indoor recreation center. These elements occupy approximately half of the site. The other half of the park transitions into native Sonoran Desert landscape, consisting of open desert habitat and walking trails woven through existing vegetation and dry washes typical of the region.

The central idea is to design a park that changes with time, using the movement of the sun as a design tool. Instead of treating sunlight and heat as purely negative constraints, the project leverages them to shape spatial experience, guide plant placement, and improve athletic performance.

The athletic fields are designed around the sun’s daily movement to maximize player visibility and safety. Field reorientation minimizes direct sunlight in athletes’ eyes during peak game hours, ensuring that morning glare and harsh afternoon exposure do not interfere with gameplay. Backstops, goals, and other critical sightlines are strategically aligned based on sun-path analysis. Spectator comfort is equally important. Shade canopies, berms, and clusters of trees are placed to intercept midday and late-afternoon shadows, creating cooler, more enjoyable viewing environments throughout the day.


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Udall Park Sun in Time SITE


Source:  Drone Footage taken by Derec Custer
I. Parti


This parti shows the sun angle for each hour of the day. The football symbol in the center represents the sports fields and helps show the connection between the changing sun angle and how the fields are positioned.
II. Time Based Context Diagram






The Time Based Concept Diagram shows the sun’s angle at 5 PM on the first day of every month. Even though the time stays the same, the diagram highlights how the sun’s position changes throughout the year.

Source:  Suncalc.org
III. Animated Master Plan
















The master plan illustrates how the park responds to the changing position of the sun throughout the day. By animating the shadows of trees, structures, and fields, the design clearly shows how light and shade move across Udall Park over time. This visualization helps demonstrate the project’s main concept. TIME. It highlights how the placement and orientation of each element, from the soccer fields to the baseball diamonds, is shaped by the sun’s daily path. The shifting shadows reveal how athletes, spectators, and trail users experience the site differently throughout the day, reinforcing the importance of sun-angle analysis in creating a comfortable, functional, and time responsive park design.

IV. Ball Park Prespective










This perspective of the baseball field highlights how the field’s orientation reduces glare for both the pitcher and the batter. By aligning the diamond to avoid direct east–west sightlines, the afternoon sun stays behind the players rather than shining into their eyes. This makes the field safer and more comfortable to play on while also improving visibility and overall game performance. The design demonstrates how careful consideration of sun angle directly enhances the athletic experience.

V. Precedent Images




The images highlight several features that informed the design of Udall Park. Covered basketball courts show how overhead structures can protect players from Tucson’s intense sun while still allowing open-air play. Baseball fields with netting systems demonstrate safe ways to guide foul balls away from spectator areas. Images of football fields with surrounding tracks helped reinforce the role of multifunctional athletic spaces for both sports and community use. Scenic walking paths around ponds emphasize the importance of shaded circulation routes that encourage relaxation and movement. Pickleball courts also appear in the image set, showing efficient layouts and shade opportunities for this fast-growing sport.