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: engage
"Recreating destroyed public places is
repairing democracy itself,” writes urbanist Roberta Gratz. The Chicago
Chinatown district’s only public park was sacrificed to highway
construction in the 1960s. An essential piece of the community was missing
until Ping Tom Memorial Park transformed a wasteland into an oasis and filled
the void.
"Today, the community is made up mainly of new
immigrants, new business owners, a whole new generation. The learning
experience for them has been that they have a voice. They are empowered to
speak out about what they need. We worked with the Chicago Park District to
hear what people had to say and create a place that matters to them. The whole
community is excited that they have this public space in their neighborhood
that belongs to everyone.”
Ernest C.
Wong, ASLA, is principal of Site Design Group, Ltd. in Chicago, designers of Ping Tom Memorial Park.
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: animate
Humans invented cities for good reasons, not least
of which was the fundamental need for social interaction. Even as we become an
increasingly suburban nation, we relish the sociability of civic life, the
stimulation of urban experience, the expanded possibilities of the public
realm.
"Richardson is a typical suburban city in Texas
that doesn’t have a true downtown. They crave for a sense of urban place.
Galatyn Park is intended to fulfill some of those desires. The Plaza serves as
the glue, so to speak, between many different elements that include a light
rail station, a hotel, a Performing Arts Center and offices, residential and
retail facilities. The city of Richardson hopes that Galatyn Park will
eventually become the heart of the Telecom Corridor, the center of what is now
just a series of strips along the highway."
Eurico Francisco is an architect at RTKL, Dallas, and
lead member of the Galatyn Plaza design team.
The Plaza is a multi-use pedestrian space that includes
paving, plantings, and a granite fountain that invites people to get in and get
wet.
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: attract
William H. Whyte called the city street “the
river of life.” Streetscapes are essential civic spaces in which commerce
and social life intersect. Business Improvement Districts have been key in
revitalizing downtown streets in cities around the country.
"Part of successful retailing is presenting a
good environment – one that is clean, attractive and safe. The 12 to
15-foot vertical storefronts and horizontal pavement together form the most
important aspect of any downtown: the sidewalk. The 34th Street BID invested in
sweepers and security, signage and display, lighting, and furnishings such as
benches and bike racks. A dirty, chaotic sidewalk was turned into a pleasant
and popular place. Upscale stores, shoppers and tourists returned. A good
sidewalk is the nucleus of a good experience and a revitalized downtown."
Norman Mintz is Design Director of the Bryant Park
Restoration Corporation and New York’s 34th Street Partnership. The 34th
Street Partnership and Grand Central Partnership are two BID’s that have
set the standard for big-city BIDs nationwide. A pioneer in downtown
revitalization, Mintz was the country’s first Main Street Manager.
BID Custom Planters: Ignacio Ciocchini, Industrial
Designer
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: inspire
More than 130 million people visit U.S. zoos every
year. That’s more than attend all organized sporting events combined. The
zoo is a public place of a special stripe - a civic space in which many species
meet.
"Visitors to the San Francisco Zoo include
toddlers in strollers to seniors out for a stroll. Creating views, circulation
and amenities for all is a challenge. We have entirely rebuilt our
Children’s Zoo, created a new major entry, and developed Zoo Street, the
primary circulation through the heart of the zoo. But when it comes to planning
and design, the animals really do come first. We have built a number of
wonderful animal habitats, including our Lipman Family Lemur Forest. People
just love it - and the lemurs seem to love it, too. It’s an important
step in our mission to connect people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature
and advance conservation action.”
John Aikin is Curator of Planning and Design at the San
Francisco Zoo. He is the liaison between scientists and design professionals on
the New Zoo’s extensive renovation project.
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: reinvigorate
Since the beginning people have gathered at the
water. Cities grew along rivers and seas, nations and empires spread from their
shores, civic life flourished along the edge. Reclaiming waterfront is
reclaiming history, identity, powerful civic space.
"New London is an old city that is very rich in
maritime history. Today, everyone realizes that waterfront is a valuable
commodity and an amenity that we should recycle for its best use. We built on
the community’s aspirations for what the place needs to be. Since the
waterfront project started, many more people now come here for programmed
events. Property values are up and business is improving. There are signs that
the revitalization of downtown that the city hoped for has begun."
Varoujan Y. Hagopian, PE FASCE is a civil engineer and
principal of Sasaki Associates, Inc., which carried out the master plan,
engineering and design for the New London, Connecticut waterfront.
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Q:Ping Tom Memorial Park has been hailed as a model for green space that is beautifully responsive to the community it serves. Describe the community and its aspirations.
"Chicago’s Chinatown is a very congested area with tightly spaced buildings. More than thirty years ago the only green space in the community was removed to make way for the I-94 Expressway. Meanwhile, the community was growing as immigrants from mainland China moved in alongside older Taiwanese residents. For years people in the community were going to parks in other communities for recreation and many times they felt unwanted. That has always been a difficult thing. Regardless of the factions within Chinatown politics, the community has been united in asking for some kind of green space to call their own."
Q:How did you work with the community to help it define what the park should be?
"Our involvement actually started earlier with the design of the streetscape that goes through the Chinatown business district. At that time we went through a participatory process led by the Chicago Department of Transportation. For the park, we took part in a similar process, inviting the public to voice their opinions and listening to what they had to say. By then people in the community were familiar with me, which made it easier. Many people wanted a place for active recreation, primarily organized sports. They were looking for a softball field and places to play basketball, volleyball and soccer. We described some of the site constraints and explained why the very linear site would not be feasible for those types of recreation. The focus then became how to create a green space that expresses the identity of the Chinatown community."
Q:How does the park reflect Chinese tradition and culture?
"The traditional Chinese garden is based on a series of courtyards in which everything is contained within walled spaces. Our original design was based on some of the traditional gardens I had seen in Suzhou, a city in China famous for its gardens. But our design for a walled entry plaza couldn’t be done because of security and vandalism concerns. So what we ended up doing was creating spaces that you pass through in the way you would if you were walking through courtyards. You can’t go directly from the entry plaza to the riverfront plaza. Instead, you walk on a pathway system based on the experience of moving through defined spaces. The pavilion is based on a structure that I admired in Suzhou. We designed the ornamentation and railings and obtained the roof tiles from a source in Japan that makes traditional Chinese tiles. Once the pavilion was completed the park really became a destination with a strong identity."
Q:It’s clear that you enjoy visiting the park. What goes on there on a typical day?
"The community learned that they really do have a voice. The public process that the Chicago Park District put forth encouraged this community to speak out about what they needed. And the park created another aspect to Chinatown. Now people from other parts of Chicago don’t come just to eat. They also come to visit the park. So, in a way, it has become a cultural destination."
Q:What do you like best about the park?
"In general, I love the location. Interestingly enough, a feng shui master who came to the site before we got involved said it was a terrible site. I think that had a lot to do with the grade of the land and the sixteen-foot drop down to the water. We wanted the park to face the river, so in our design we graded the land back and terraced it. Now there’s just a three- or four-foot drop to the river and people are drawn to it. This location along the Chicago River, with the juxtaposition of the classical pavilion against the industrial bridge, is just wonderful."
Q:You are now working on the design of the park expansion on adjacent land. How will that relate to the existing park?
"Well, in Phase 2 we will be developing the active recreation areas that residents have asked for, taking into account the mix of people who now use the park. For example, numerous families from the Pilsen Community to the west and the South Loop are coming to the park. In the expansion we are addressing the fact that this is not just a park for Chinatown, it is becoming a regional place."
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