Park Review: Parc Central de Nou Barris; Barcelona, Spain
If there is one city that portrays connectivity as a key to good urban design, it is Barcelona, Spain. In my first visit to the city in the Fall of 2009, I was blown away by how well organized the city and its layers were. By far, it is my favorite city I have visited and a beautiful example of the synergy between society and urbanity. One of the hundreds of site to visit in Barcelona is Parc Central de Nou Barris.
Lake Whitney Water Treatment Plant, New Haven, CT.
In an effort to redesign the defunct ‘sand filter’ Lake Whitney Water Treatment Plant, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA) and Steven Holl Architects collaborated to create a new state-of-the-art treatment facility while putting the sites landscape at the forefront of the design. Their stellar creativity and environmentally sensitive design was rewarded with a 2010 ASLA Honor Award.
Park Review: Soundscape, Miami Beach, FL
As reported online 9 months ago, West 8 opened their first U.S. landscape design in Miami Beach, Florida. The park plays counter part to Frank Gehry’s unclad and reposed Music School and complements both the architect, the city and the client brilliantly. The 2.5 acre (1 hectare) park serves as a gathering space for the city of Miami Beach and maintains an open and inviting entry to the New World Symphony and successfully parallels the tropical and contemporary art culture the city is renowned for.
Shanghai Houtan Park
Built on a brownfield of a former industrial site, Houtan Park is a regenerative living landscape on Shanghai’s Huangpu riverfront. The park’s constructed wetland, ecological flood control, reclaimed industrial structures and materials, and urban agriculture are integral components of an overall restorative design strategy to treat polluted river water and recover the degraded waterfront in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Park Review: The Yards Park, Washington D.C.
The site is adjacent to the operating Washington Navy Yard and was formerly part of the Navy Yard’s industrial operations, which ceased, for the most part, following WWII. The Yards Park is part of the larger 42 acre parcel of land known as “The Yards”, which boasts several historically protected and former industrial buildings. Some of those buildings are currently being redeveloped as residential and retail facilities. At full build-out, The Yards will include 2,800 new residential units, 400,000 square feet of retail space and 1.8 million square feet of new office space in addition to the world-class urban waterfront park.
Park Review: Naples Botanical Gardens
After introducing Landscape Invocation readers to the countries newest botanical garden last November. This Southwest Florida native decided to revisit the landmark garden in south Naples to see the progression being made and critique south Florida’s tropical design capabilities.
From the entry road to the parking lot, sustainable considerations were made throughout the gardens. Shell mulch and pathways decrease impervious areas and parking medians are sunk in to act as rain gardens and filtration. With money very rarely being an issue in Naples, design details flourish, with brightly colored Porteas and Aechmeas (Bromeliads) and specialty curb cuts.
Park Review: Centennial Olympic Park Atlanta, Georgia
Established for the Summer Olympics in 1996, Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia continues to be a center piece for downtown Atlanta. My first visit to this park came in the Summer of 2009, a time where the heat index ran to about 100 degrees and Centennial Park was a haven for those trying to get away from the dreadful city heat (and summer pollution). It was evident then that this park had served its purpose to host thousands of visitors during the Olympics but that it had also become a prime example of why cities require open spaces and one of the most popular locations for Atlanta’s downtown residents.
Park Review: Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle.
Olympic Sculpture Park is no stranger to accolades and positive reviews. Today’s update is no exception as Seattle is fortunate enough to house this fluid, didactic, sophisticated gem of a park.
Designers Weiss/Manfredi Architects won the international competition in 2005 and completed the project with Charles Anderson Landscape Architects in 2007. The park is open to public with no admission fees and free guided tours. SAM (Seattle Arts Museum) maintains the park operations and sponsors farmers markets, evening events and outdoor exercise in the park.
What began as an industrial port and brownfield gas plant with access to rail and highways has now become one of Seattle’s favorite parks. This says a lot for a city that is home to Dan Kiley’s Discovery Park, The Space Needles 1962 Fair Grounds, Richard Haag’s Gasworks Park, and Larry Halprin’s Freeway Park. Olympic Sculpture Park accomplishes this by properly addressing a multitude of nodes and connecting beautifully with the surrounding architectural and urban forms.
Weiss/Manfredi is a multi-disciplinary firm based in NYC with a holistic approach to the built environment. Their understanding of urban infrastructure and architecture provided vital experience in synthesizing the many conditions. Transportation constraints and pedestrian connectivity were handled with ease as a Z-shaped pedestrian bridge seamlessly moves users on green platforms over a four lane freeway and industry rails. The grading and site work reflects distinct ecological landscapes of the northwest: temperate evergreen, deciduous forest, and shoreline.
At the main entrance, an exhibition pavilion provides parking below and galleries, gift shop and educational areas above.
There are many places to sit, enjoy, reflect, gather and converse. The rigid geometries of the pathways organize but still allow open spaces for improvisation. The north end of Olympic Sculpture Park merges with another park on Elliot’s Bay and provide bike access for commuters and tourists. The bay shoreline becomes a sculpture in itself as driftwood gathers on the beachside inlet.
The park itself exhibits a good range of art throughout the property. Whimsy and cultural appeal describe most of the pieces and tend to produce a smile rather than a tearful awe. Most of the published criticisms are aimed at the ‘Don’t Touch’ instruction plaques and the ‘underdeveloped’ experience of the artists. But for those with average concern for high art, I deem it better than most installations. Each art piece holds its own in the park and are situated very well. This allows great views framed by the art throughout the site.
Beyond the contextual and user oriented successes, the design details excel and shine. Well designed plaques locate beneficial plant species and significant cultural ideas. Crisp edges and clean modern materials mix well with native planting beds and expansive lawns.
Ecology is consistently addressed and provides a necessary teaching element. My favorite installation is a living piece grown in a shade house that consists of thousands of spore and seed bearing species. Most of these fungal and plant species were dwelling on a felled redwood that was trucked to the site and maintained as a public classroom.
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James Wheeler is a student of Landscape Architecture and Botany at the University of Florida and a contributing writer to Landscape Invocation.
