Rendered Master Plan

I finally have a rendered master plan. I think this is my fifth or sixth version of the master plan. It’s coming along well, but of course, there are many things that need to be addressed. I think the four sections of the park are tied together well through the plazas and the large allees of trees. The large trees can only be planted where the structure and soil depth will allow, so that is the reason they don’t always run the length of the park.

I think that sections II & III work the best. They are the least programmed of the four sections. Section II features a nice plaza. In the center of the plaza is a café, with outdoor seating facing Broadway under some trees. Behind that is an amphitheater, which is a good way to deal with the grade of this section. It also allows the open space behind the amphitheatre. Along the sides of this section are allees of trees providing circulation. The grade here is at ADA standards. The allees lead to an open space and converge on a sculpture garden near Demonbreun. The deck also makes room on Broadway and Demonbreun for BRT stations.

 Section III is designed as an open meadow and cedar glade. I envision it planted with Broomsedge, which is a short grass common in the Central Valley of Tennessee. It is short and thin enough to allow people to explore this open space. Again, there are allees of trees along the sides that allow for pedestrian flow. There are also gravel paths that run through the center and lead to a cedar glade and pavilion. The view of the pavilio is framed nicely by the cedar trees when approaching from the east on the plan. The pavilion would be carefully designed to fit rural concept of this section. While this overall rural theme does not coincide with the rest of the park, I feel that the plazas with their common raised planters, along with the continued allees will give it all the commonality that it needs.

I am not as pleased with section I & IV. Both are heavily programmed for active recreation. Section I features 2 basketball courts, 2 tennis courts & 2 sand volleyball courts. There is also a skate park. I think the skate park may be a bit large. I arrived at this size by looking at other skate parks. I also wanted to create an alternate route into the skate park by bridging over the interstate ramp. The further this bridge is to the east on the plan, the higher it needs to be in order to clear the off ramp. I want the skate park to extend to the plaza at Broadway. The reason for this is so that the height of the skate park can allow for the façade to be used as an artist wall which will face Broadway. I really like this idea. After some reflection on the plan, I feel that I might consider deprogramming it some. It seems very busy. Then again, if there are residents living at the fringes of the park as planned, these features might be really nice to have at such close proximity. Overall, this section may need to be reorganized. I do like the plazas on section I, especially the splash pad. I like the way it works with the common grid common to each plaza. Most importantly, the grid works well for a splash pad.

Section IV is not that bad off. The first big decision was what to do with the roads. Unlike the other sections of the park, this section is mostly on grade with the surrounding topography. This will allow the free flow of people in and out. The urban master plan Erin did called for streets along the base of the buildings. After much thought, I decided to remove the streets on the deck and make this a pedestrian zone. I reconfigured the street grid and building footprints to make this happen. Where the deck is not at grade with the surrounding topography, the buildings were used to avoid having a deck that faced a neighborhood 15’ below. Another idea I had with this section was that of using the plan north pedestrian walk as a water catchment feature, as this where the water will naturally run to. What I don’t like about this section is the dog park and the soccer field. So how necessary is the dog park? I think there is a need for it, but where does it fit. The dog parks I have visited have been large and fenced. Like the skate park, it takes up a lot of space. I think the overall bones of this section are great, but perhaps the interior would work best as a nice open lawn. This would allow people to use it however they choose. I wanted to put some urban gardening space in this and other section, but for some reason, I forgot to design them. I think they would work well in the small tree plantings at each plaza. That seems like a logical place.

Connectivity

My thesis statement is as follows. “Are parks built over highways successful in connecting severed neighborhoods, reducing noise and increasing urban open space?”  A large part of this project concerns connectivity. What is connectivity? I have read about, “connecting the urban grid”. Precedence studies like the recently named Klyde Warren Park in Dallas literally provide pedestrian access along all borders. It is not hindered by interstate ramps. These ramps prevent both street and pedestrian connections. As discussed before, pedestrian entrance to each section is limited to the corners along the cross streets. Section IV is the only exception to this.

So if this park does not “reconnect the urban fabric” then what is it reconnecting? Is it simply making the narrow sidewalks flanking the cross streets over the interstate safer and more pleasurable? I do believe that wider sidewalks and separation from vehicular traffic will be a positive improvement, but I think there is more here. I think connectivity goes further than reconnecting roads and providing pedestrian access over the interstate.

The area between midtown and downtown, the area around the interstate, is void. Midtown is active. Downtown is active. The Gulch is becoming more active. In between there is nothing. Perhaps connectivity is about taking a part of town that will continue to be void due to the presence of the interstate and making it usable. I think it’s more about filling a void in Nashville than it is about a physical connection like a bridge. This park, by covering the interstate and providing the open space that is necessary to make urban living truly attractive, will fill the void and activate an entire part of town.

People focused master plan

I made this master plan with people in mind. People are the primary focus. With people in mind, some of the ideas are difficult to represent. A good example of this is the skate park pedestrian bridge over the interstate ramp. For the next master plan, I will do further exploration in section. Another example is the BRT station on Broadway.

Section I

This section is programmed for a nature play area, a skate park, a splash pad, and active recreation. One of the big changes was moving the skate park to the plan East end of the section near Broadway. The purpose of doing this was to utilize the vertical façade of the skate park, which will be as tall as ten feet. By moving it next to Broadway, there is an opportunity to have some kind of artist display on the wall facing Downtown. It would be 60’ wide by about 6-8’ tall. There is also a café at this plaza with outdoor seating. The façade on the plan north side can be used as a climbing wall. The West end of this section is utilized as an open lawn for active recreation. Both plazas have raised planters over the interstate lanes which will provide visual identity and shaded seating.

Section II

I think I am most excited about this section. It is programmed as a cultural center for the park given its proximity to Broadway. Broadway is the main transportation corridor and also has the new BRT transit line. As of now, there is not a bus stop at the site. This is because there is not much worth stopping for there right now. It is also likely due to the fact that there are Interstate exchanges on either side of the park. I am exploring the idea of widening Broadway to make room for a BRT stop at the park. The stop needs a bus lane on either side of the 15’ wide stop. There is room to do this with the presence of the highway deck. A closer evaluation at a larger scale will prove or disprove. I look forward to having a conversation with my committee members concerning traffic. Moving to the plan West plaza of this section includes another restaurant/café & a visitor center with bike rentals similar to that on the riverfront. Raised planters over the interstate lanes provide shaded seating. These planters will be bordered on the West side with spaces for food trucks.

The amphitheatre is oriented the same way as the previous plans. This is due to the natural slope of the deck dictated by the surrounding topography. Like the planting master plan, there is a promenade on either side of the amphitheatre that converge on a sculpture garden on the plan East side of the section. There are two shallow pools that will look to use vibration from the traffic below in some type of interacting fashion. This idea will be explored further when I zoom in on one section.

Section III

This section is programmed for passive recreation and meditation. Previous drawings for this section featured walking paths, gathering spaces planted with meadow grasses and cedar trees. This design keeps the densely planted trees on the park edges but leaves the center as an open lawn. The open space has enough room for a disc golf course. The dense plantings would help keep discs on the deck. Cedar planting at either entrance would keep the make a nice entrance to this section of the park and are show in the sketch below.

Section IV

Section IV focuses on active recreation. This section is level enough to offer a 150’x300’ open field. Previous plans have extended 14^th and 13^th avenue across 12^th South to Division street. This plan does not. It makes this space into pedestrian allee’s, providing more space for the open field. There are not plazas at this section. There are, however, much wider sidewalks separating pedestrian from automobiles.

I haven’t brought this up much yet, but the grading plan reveals that there is room for a deck on the other side of Division St. This plan uses this space for community gardens. The pedestrian walks continue to the end of the deck, where there are viewing platforms. The interstate can be interesting to watch as a pedestrian when viewed from an overhead, sage place. This would also provide an opportunity to design a visually interesting entrance into the tunnel from the interstate.

Tree Focused Master Plan

This master plan version focuses on tree plantings. This means that the design was primarily driven by where large trees can go. Trees cannot go everywhere in the park due to shallow soils. I know this from previous analysis. It was shown in a diagram posted on this blog under site analysis.

One of my favorite ideas with this master plan came from trying to figure out how to get some plantings into the plazas adjacent to the cross streets. Soil would certainly be shallow in these areas. The obvious answer is in using raised planters. These may also provide seating. I have also been thinking of ways to link the four sections so that they may “feel” like a linear park despite fragmentation by cross streets. One of these linking elements could be in the plantings at the entrances to each section.

What if each of these plantings was somehow planted in a manner that abstractly related to the interstate lanes below? Each row of trees could represent a lane. These spaces could serve as shaded sitting areas as shown here.

Or they could serve as a vertical visual element. The sketch here shows rows of cedar trees under planted with broomsedge, a common site in Middle Tennessee. This idea would work in section III which is programmed for passive recreation.

The same form could be given to the splash pad in section 1.

 Master Plan

I scanned each section so they might be a little more legible on screen.

Section I

As with the previous plan, the areas near the cross streets are treated as plazas, as they are the primary pedestrian entrances to the park. As I was looking back at my tree planting diagram, I was thinking hard about the site vertically. The skate park will be elevated at least ten feet from the deck, as this is a good depth for skating pools and bowls. Since the skate park is elevated, there is opportunity to provide shade with trees on the skate park. Thinking about the skate park in section led me to think about the idea of a pedestrian bridge over the I-40 on ramp at the plan Southeast corner of the park. The corners of the park are planted with trees as possible. These tree plantings will not be thick enough to block vision into and out of the park. They are canopy trees, which could also help users recognize the presence of the park.

Section II

The underlying structure of Section II provides the opportunity to have an allee’ on both sides of the Broadway entrance. Again, the amphitheater stays largely in the same spot as before. I believe this is an obvious place for an amphitheatre given its proximity to Broadway and that it is the steepest part of the entire park. The lateral allee’s converge on the plan East side of this section in a sculpture garden. The East plaza is planted with shade trees at the corners and is largely open to the street. Both plazas feature raised planters located over the interstate lanes below, as described above.

Section III

Section III was treated in a similar fashion as it was in the last master plan. East and West ends are planted as meadows with a cedar glade in the center. There are two pavilion/gathering spaces and a central council ring. The North and South flanks are planted as a meadow edge. The entrances to each end are planted with a grid of cedar trees. There is no need for a raised bed this time due to the shallow soil depth tolerated by these trees. They will have a nice parallax effect and are appropriate for a section that is programmed for passive recreation and meditation.

Section IV

Section IV is programmed for active recreation, a dog park, and community gardens. This plan uses pedestrian promenades to level the open spaces. Community gardens are located at the corners of the park. They are located over the interstate lanes and will be raised to achieve proper soil depth.

All in all, I think the tree helped to reach some good design ideas.   

schematic design

The time has finally come to start getting into some schematic designs. I have decided to do several of these over the next week, each exploring a different goal. For example, the first one focused on hydrology. I am still keeping the programming goals which I established earlier in the semester in mind, but the first diagram I refer to is hydrology and topography. This was done pretty quickly, so I hope it is legible enough on screen.  

I have divided the park into four sections. I have also done calculations to know the amount of stormwater runoff produced by each section in a one inch rain event.  This tells me approximately how large a storage reservoir might need to be.  Calculations were made using pervious and impervious CN values and % coverage. I do not know the surface types of the park because it is yet to be designed so I used 40% impervious surface with a CN value of 98. The remaining 60% was considered greenroof with a CN value of 84. The diagram outlining the beam walls and available areas for substantial tree roots can also serve as suitable areas for under deck water storage. Later in the design process, I can determine how much runoff is available from runoff. I can also determine possible use quantities for that water according to irrigation needs for lawns or gardens.

 Section I

Using this method, the first section (between Church and Broadway) is 3.56 acres and produces 3,950 cubic feet of runoff in a one inch rain event.  Water is collected on the plan north end of the park in a natural streambed surrounded by grasses. The water runs to an underwater storage reservoir for possible use in irrigation. A splash pad is located nearby and could possibly use this water with the addition of a UV filter. Runoff from the skate park is also channeled into a streambed.

Section II

Section II is 2.95 acres in size and produces 3,273 cubic feet of runoff. Section II features a similar streambed planted with grasses to channel water through the site to a storage reservoir below the deck. Water is also channeled in the east plaza, and could make for a nice design element. One issue with a ephemeral stream running the length of the site is pedestrian crossing. Since it will be dry a majority of the time, crossings could be a step over a rock. Bridges would provide crossing when the stream is wet.

Section III

Section III is the largest section at 4.47 acres and creates 4960 cubic feet of runoff. Section III was designed in this version as a park for passive recreation and reflection. The structure below allows for substantial tree planting on the North and South ends, blocking the city traffic. The East end is planted as a cedar glade, which is perfect for shallow soils. Cedar glades are common in the Central Basin of Tennessee. The West end is planted as a meadow. A streambed provides natural division of the meadow and the glade. Both feature a central gathering space at the conversion of the pedestrian paths. The stream culminates with a below grade storage reservoir. Since the plantings in this section will require little water, the topography could allow for the irrigation of the lawns with Section II to the East. There are obvious issues with this design. Blocking out the city also screens the view into the park, but I wanted to put it down on paper anyways as I think it would be a special space in the city. It could be closed at night at each plaza to prevent any funny business after hours.

Section IV

Section IV is 3.36 acres in size and produces 3,728 cubic feet of runoff. Streets on the North and South sides of the park dictate the park edges (thanks again Erin). This design keeps the roads. Unlike the other decks, this deck is 75% on grade with its surrounding topography. This means that pedestrians have more entrance points into the park. Water is collected in a similar method as the other decks. The streambed is on the North end of the deck. This section is programmed for active recreation. The field of the West end of the deck has the opportunity to be leveled, making it a suitable surface for ball fields. The West section will be sloped and is suitable for a dog park.

Site Analysis

I drew this series of site analysis diagrams earlier in the week. Each one reveals specific characteristics of the site. My hope is that these will drive my decisions when designing the park.

Hydrology

As discussed in an earlier post, I did a grading plan for the proposed park, yielding the necessary clearance for the interstate below and graded as flat as possible. The park can not go any lower than that grading, but it can build up from there if needed. Using that plan I drew a hydrology diagram showing where the water would naturally flow and collect on the deck. Again, this will likely change as the park is designed, but this is a good starting point. Not the lowest points on each deck. These may be logical places for water collection.

Pedestrian Circulation

This diagram shows the pedestrian circulation through and around the site. I used thicker lineweights to show the routes most traveled, particularly the East/West corridors. The surrounding buildings are either existing or proposed. The proposed buildings are from Erin Gray's design on the site last semester. The dashed lines represent the deck where it will not be on grade with the topography due to interstate ramps or lower terrain. The solid lines representing the deck are where it will be on grade with the existing topography. The key point to this diagram are that the entrances to the park mostly fall along the streets and at the corners of each deck.

Vehicular Circulation

This diagram shows the vehicuar circulation around the site. It includes the city streets, the interstate and the ramps leading to the interstate. Since I have been staring at these maps for most of the semester, I have a good understanding of how the ramps work. This diagram was drawn so that people who have not spent as much time with the project can gain a quick understanding of the flow of traffic arround the site. It also includes the additional roads proposed by Erin Gray last semester. Key points from this are that this park is surrounded by ramps. The streets running parallel to the decks are one way streets, which is easir for pedestrain crossing. The streets running perpindicular to the decks and running through the park are much busier. Like the pedestrain circulation, there is heavier East/West flow. Broadway is the busiest of these crossing streets and will also host the new BRT line. This will certainly be considered in the design. Division and 12th South are less traveled and have only 4 lanes.

Primary Structure

Here we go again. I think I touched on this as I was making the initial deck grading. This project would require a team of structural engineers. I am not a structural engineer, nor am I an architect. I do want to have enough understanding of the structure to draw up the basics. I know there will be verticle walls running parrallel to the interstate to serve as beams. Upon these walls will be the joists, which will run perpendicular to the interstate. This diagram shows the primary walls running parallel to the interstate, one on each side and one down the center between the lanes. This configuration does allow for on and off ramps.

Tree Planting Zones and Secondary Structure

The diagram above shows not only the primary walls, but also some secondary walls that would allow for areas between the outermost interstate lanes or ramps and the city above to be backfilled with soil or perhaps used for water storage. The primary purpose of this would be to allow for the planting of larger trees. This may be difficult on much of the deck due to shallow soils. The green hatching represents areas that would be suitable for larger tree plantings with the additional structure and backfill. The section drawing helps illustrate the idea. The solid green represents areas suitable for large trees simply by backfilling the primary structure.

The joists would look something like the option on the left. The option on the right allows for more soil depth and tree plantings between the joists, but it will cause problems with freezing. The option on the left also allows for free movement of water along the deck. Loads have yet to be calculated and are dependent on the design.

 

Site Model Finally Finished

I finally got the buildings put onto the site model. I also made pieces that place over the interstate to represent the deck. I wanted to get some pictures up of the completed version. The site model gives a instant visual understanding of the current lay of the land. It also gives anyone who is unfarmiliar with the project an instant understanding of what is happening. 

Although it is at 8 ft. contours, it still gives a good picture of how the ramps come to and from the interstate below. Perhaps the aerial image helps show some detail where the large contours are lacking. Hopefully I will have time at the end of the semester to make some final models of the actual designed park to place into the site model instead of the blank, white deck that is there now.

moving forward

I think my next steps are to layout the structural supports for the park and to start master planning. I am not how the structural elements will fit together, but the Woodall-Rogers Park in Dallas shows 13’ box beams spaced 7’ apart. This aerial image shows the beams being laid across the interstate. Simple enough, but what about the curve in the interstate between 12^thSouth and Division?

 I will also start sizing some of my programming elements and seeing how things fit. Where does pedestrian circulation go? These will help form the basis for the master plan, which I would like to present to my committee on trace paper by early next week.

grading

I know from my site model and from visiting the site that the engineering of the park will be a little trickier than the Woodall-Rogers Freeway park in Dallas. The park in Dallas is flat and straight. The terrain in Nashville, typical to Middle Tennessee, contains rolling hills. There is also the issue of surrounding ramps, which I have expressed concern with before discussing the possibility of these ramps limiting accessibility to and from the park. There must be proper clearance below not only for interstate traffic, but also for vehicles exiting and entering the highway. I am by no means a structural engineer, but do need to have a good understanding of how this would work. I will likely learn more during my next committee meeting (3 architects, 1 landscape architect) but for now, I am using the thickness of a parking garage floor I measured (38”) with the required bridge clearance for an urban interstate (14’…I used 14.5’ for a little extra room). This comes to 17’8”. I rounded up and decided the deck needs 18’ from the surface to the interstate below work.

 My site map only has 4’ contours, so it is not exact. I feel that I now have a good idea of where how the ramps will affect the deck above. Bottom line is that there is less room for these ramps than I had originally thought. The drawing below shows where the deck can occupy space without regarding the ramps. As I begin to conceptualize the master plan, I will decide if the ramps should be regraded or not.

As stated before, the rolling terrain will have to be dealt with. My next step was to draw out how the park would be graded to make the existing grade transitions at the edges of each deck as smooth as possible. The deck grading could be thought of as a base map for the deck. It can be modified of course, but this shows the smoothest transitions possible without changing the elevations at each corner or each of the sections. Certainly, regarding at the edges will probably be desired in some areas. The green represents the deck. Solid lines are at existing grade while dashed lines represent edges that are not at grade. Again, this is partly due to the existing topography and partly due to the ramps at the edges. Pedestrian access can only be gained where the deck is at grade with the existing topography, mostly at the corners for three of the sections.

Development Moments

In learning about the history of the city and the site, I have discovered some old maps from various sources. I have assembled some of these maps into a diagram series that shows development moments through time in Nashville. The series focuses on transportation and building density and development as perceived. Together the maps and the diagrams show a shift in transportation from the river, to street trolleys and railroad, to the pikes, to the interstates. The development shows a very dense city in the 1860’s becoming increasingly decentralized through the 20^th century until the height of sprawl we see today. But we are seeing people moving back into the city with a downtown resurgence. But where will this development take place? Historically, development has most heavily followed the East West Corridors from East Nashville, through town and into midtown. Future development predicts an increase in centralized living and a need for increased growth of the city across the interstate loop along the same corridors growth has followed historically. This deck park would help to facilitate this growth and make downtown living more appealing to people considering moving from the suburbs to the city. This park would serve its growing community.

Sketches

I attended a design sketching workshop last weekend. The leader of the workshop went over some techniques for the first hour, and then asked us to sketch whatever came to mind. Of course, I sketched a deck park. I didn’t have a scale or specific dimensions, so proportions are not accurate, but it shows the general idea. I also came up with an interesting idea that I might use in the design of the park. What if I could use the vibration, sound, and movement below to create a reaction above the park? The sailboat looking object I sketched could be a way of channeling the vibration below into through the large metal shape. This vibration could cause ripples in the surrounding water on calm days.

The Foundry Event

The event at the foundry was an opportunity for graduating students to share their semesters work to this point with local professionals. This proved to be a valuable experience. I was able to have a nice conversation about my project with a talented landscape architect early in the evening, before things got too busy. My design decisions to this point are simply programmatic, based on context and demographic information. I think I am on the right track with my programming ideas, but it was suggested that perhaps I don’t be so dry about how I word these ideas. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time in the architecture building lately. It was also suggested that I produce a master plan for the entire park, and focus a detailed design on one section of my choice. This would prevent me from just doing a mediocre design by taking on too much.

I also got some good information on the Rose Kennedy Greenway from someone who has lived in Boston. This person suggested that perhaps I am being too critical with my assessment, and I think this is probably true. I guess that is to be expected from a former Bostonian. We did agree that some sections of this park serve the community better than others.

As far as the rest of the evening went, it was great to get some work pinned up. I also got to show off the site model I built (which I’m quite proud of, in case you couldn’t tell). I finished the buildings and made some inserts to place over the interstate, representing the park. The model served as a useful tool in gaining a quick understanding of the concept and the site.

The event at the foundry was an opportunity for graduating students to share their semesters work to this point with local professionals. This proved to be a valuable experience. I was able to have a nice conversation about my project with a talented landscape architect early in the evening, before things got too busy. My design decisions to this point are simply programmatic, based on context and demographic information. I think I am on the right track with my programming ideas, but it was suggested that perhaps I don’t be so dry about how I word these ideas. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time in the architecture building lately. It was also suggested that I produce a master plan for the entire park, and focus a detailed design on one section of my choice. This would prevent me from just doing a mediocre design by taking on too much.

I also got some good information on the Rose Kennedy Greenway from someone who has lived in Boston. This person suggested that perhaps I am being too critical with my assessment, and I think this is probably true. I guess that is to be expected from a former Bostonian. We did agree that some sections of this park serve the community better than others.

As far as the rest of the evening went, it was great to get some work pinned up. I also got to show off the site model I built (which I’m quite proud of, in case you couldn’t tell). I finished the buildings and made some inserts to place over the interstate, representing the park. The model served as a useful tool in gaining a quick understanding of the concept and the site.

Transit Corridors

Regarding traffic corridors, I have looked at the roads running through the site as a hindrance that will cause divisions in the space. I later decided that I should respect and embrace these and view the site as four separate spaces. After studying the transit through the city and through the site, it is clear that the Broadway corridor is busiest in the city. Of the 45 MTA routes, 14 of them run through the site, most of them using Broadway. Most exciting is the new Bus Rapid Transit line, which will run through the site starting in 2013.

While reading through the MTA’s transit study concerning future transit options for Nashville, I ran into an interesting paragraph. It reads, “The East‐West Connector serves as the region’s Main Street. More than any other corridor in the area, it brings together universities, hospitals, businesses, tourist and cultural attractions, key residential areas and centers of federal, state and local government. From St. Thomas Hospital to LP Field, from Vanderbilt University to the honky tonks of Lower Broadway, everyone in the region has a reason to use this vital corridor.”

For a park that will serve the surrounding neighborhoods, the city, and tourists, being situated along this corridor is a great advantage, as it will provide easy and convenient access for everyone. The importance of this corridor will also help to dictate design decisions. Transit stops will be important.

Nashville Existing Parks

I put this diagram together which outlines the existing parks in Nashville and their relation to the proposed deck park. The blue circle around the site represents a half mile radius, which is widely accepted as a comfortable walking distance. There are few options within the site. Notice that there are no parks near the gulch, which is a mixed use development started in the early 2000’s. It is located just southeast of the southeast corner of the site, near 12^th avenue and division. This park would fulfill a void of open space between midtown and downtown.

Site Model

Here are some images of a site model that I made. I think it will be a useful tool in the design process. I still need to mass up some buildings, but I am considering waiting on the buildings along the fringes of the site so that I might build those as porposed buildings along the park.

Rose Kennedy Greenway

Today I went back and revisited an appraisal of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. While the Big Dig was widely praised as a linear, connected greeway, Alex Krieger offers some criticism. Boston is much older and larger than Nashville, but I feel that there is much to be learned from this project.

Krieger points to the insight of Jane Jacobs. He argues that the Rose Kennedy Greenway should not have been designed as a single linear park, but that it should have been looked at as seven different parks. As a single linear park, it is severly fragmentated by crossing streets and the presence of access ramps to the highway blow. The site in Nashville will face the same challenges.

 He uses the nearby Post Office Square, which is only three blocks from the RKG, as an example. This space has the appropriate development along its fringes and offers users intimacy. “Post Office Square is brilliant not only for its extensive and beautiful planting, and so on a roof of a substantial underground garage, but because it is perfectly sized for a downtown, and its logical users, and very well located.” 

Having read Jacobs perspective on urban design, I agree with this idealology. Perhaps this offers insight on how to approach the design of a linear park over I-40 in Nashville. Broadway and Demonbreun both bring six lanes of traffic across the interstate. Division would perhaps be less intimidating to pedestrians with four lanes. There is also Church Street to the North with five lanes and 12^th Avenue on the south with four lanes. These streets will likely make it difficult to achieve much linear connectivity. Instead, perhaps viewing each segment as its own moderately scaled square with a mix of uses will be appropriate. The size of each segment is comparable to the size of Post Office Square.

Literature Review

I'm going to get my progress to this point updated on this blog so that my committee will be aware. My readings thus far have mostly been concerning highways in cities and parks in cities. The following is a brief review of my readings.


The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs

This book is a great look into a city from the ground level. One of the key topics she discusses pertaining to my project is that of "border vacuums". Border vacuums often occur in cities along large swaths of single use areas, such as large parks, large housing projects, waterways, railroads or interstates. When the areas directly around these large land use areas are left unused or in blight, this is the result of a border vacuum.

There is certainly a border vacuum on the fringes of Interstate 40. I think careful attention must be paid to the fringes of any future park over the interstate to prevent this. I think Erin's project last semester addressed the fringes of the site so I look forward to learning more about her work. Development along the edges of the park will be important.

There is also a chapter focused on the automobile in the city called, Erosion of Cities or Attrition of Automobiles. Like other readings I have done, Jacobs recognizes the convenience the automobile brings us. It is our reliance on the automobile that causes the problem. The addition of parking, widening of roads, and introduction of interstates causes the erosion of the city. This process often happens slowly, but the results over time are enormous. This is evident when comparing an arial from 1959 Nashville with an arial from today.

Interstate: Express Highway Politics, 1941-1956 - Mark H. Rose

This book gave a good insight into the thought process of postwar interstate planning. The primary motives of were economic growth, faster traffic, and renewed cities. The main promoters for the interstates were leaders of trucking firms, planners, farmers, and engineers. There is a chapter concerning highways in the city. It seems that many of the planners of the time viewed the highways as a way to renew cities. This, of course, was not the view of all planners, but it was the majority.

The Highway and the City - Lewis Mumford

                Lewis Mumford was certainly an outspoken opponent of the interstate system in urban areas. This book highlights much of that criticism. Relevant points include the sacrifice of other forms of transportation for that of the personal automobile. I find it interesting in that Nashville is now implementing a Bus Rapid Transit line that will run through my site. It seems that many of his warning which were widely ignored are evident in the condition of the city today. One of these warnings is aimed at engineers for not learning from the lessons of the railroad. These lessons include pollution and urban destruction that it often brought when not properly thought out. There is a railroad only two blocks away from the interstate in Nashville. What a coincidence!

Freeways – Lawrence Halprin

                In this book, Halprin outlines the form-giving potential that highways can have in the city. Written in the mid-sixties, it is in some ways a critique of freeways in America. Urban freeways are discussed in depth. Urban freeways are meant to serve three purposes. One is to function as a by-pass road. Two is to serve the commuter from the suburbs. The third is to serve the commuter within the city. From this framework I ask myself, “how does interstate-40 serve Nashville and how does the entire system serve Nashville”. But do I really need to understand the interstate system? Yes and no. Yes if I am going to need to make modifications to the current flow of traffic. That would require knowledge of the entire transportation system. No if I am simply going to design a park over the interstate and keep the existing road system as is. At this point, I am not sure. I do believe that the roads as they exist are going to bring fragmentation issues which I will have to consider.

Back to Halprin’s book, below grade urban highways are deemed as a viable option because they hide the freeway from view, crossing is achieved with at grade bridges, and they depress volumes somewhat. The disadvantage is in the width below grade highways require. They have a tendency to “disrupt neighborhoods, destroy the fine grained texture of older areas, and wreak havoc with existing structures”. This accurately describes the situation in Nashville.

Tunnels are also described. They are of course expensive, but considering what might be preserved with their implementation, they may be viable. Community impact is good except for at portals or vents. Problems also arise when access to the city above is needed, such as ramps.

Essentially, this project is attempting to take a blow grade highway and convert it into a tunnel. Some of the issues Halprin describes will challenge this project. Ventilation and ramps are primary concerns. The section of interstate in my selected site includes three interchanges! Halprin also suggests addressing the entrance to the tunnel and even the experience while driving through the tunnel. Opportunities include bringing in natural light and artwork. Natural light will probably not be considered due to the desire of noise suppression above. Artwork, while interesting while riding on a subway, could cause distraction to a driver. Halprins Freeway park serves as a good example of a well addressed entrance.

The Freeway in the City

           

Topics include the location of the freeway in more detail than in Halprins Freeways. It is recommended that highways go around a city and not through it. This is the case in Nashville, but is the ring large enough? Does it allow for the urban core to grow? The urban core in Nashville has certainly changed much in the last fifty years and will continue to change. It is also recommended that freeways follow the street grid, which was for the most part the case in my area of study in Nashville.

Urban Open Spaces, Helen Woolley

            While much of the research from this book comes from Europe, this book is great for making that case that urban open space is a necessary element to urban living. It outlines its importance, from social, to economic, to ecological. It does this at a variety of scales, from domestic, to neighborhood, to civic. I think that this type of reading is important in that one of the justifications for building a deck park over an interstate is to increase open space in the city for the betterment of the entire community. This book helps emphasize the important role that parks play.

            In addition, the website at the Center for City Parks Excellence also serves as a good source for research concerning the role of city parks.

 

Urban Green

This book asks not, should we create more parks, but how should we. Harnik outlines the process of creating parks. I have spent time studying and designing parks but it is not until recently that I have begun to understand how much work actually goes into the creation of a city park. There is certainly a public and political process. Funding is also discussed. From there the book outlines different physical opportunities for urban parks such as brownfields, landfills, stream corridors, eliminated parking, etc. This is where I first learned about decking freeways and how widespread it is in the United States.


Superhighway - Superhoax

Since the New Year

I haven't updated since December. I have found "The Park" in Dallas over Woodall Rogers Freeway to be a great example concerning the necessary structure. The park is currently under construction. Basic information on the park can be viewed at http://www.theparkdallas.org/. Of all places, the facebook page for the park is a great source of the construction process as photos are updated often http://www.facebook.com/TheParkDallas The park was designed by The Office of James Burnett. I was able to speak with some of the fine folks there. They have helped my to at least understand the basic structure of the park and provided me with a very helpful diagram as well. If you look at some of the construction pictures on the facebook page, you will see a series of reinforced concrete beams running perpendicular to the interstate. All plantings go between the beams, as does runoff. Unless I find a way to get more detailed structural information, I plan on using Woodall Rogers park in Dallas as a guide for what can go onto a deck park. Woodall Rogers Park features pavilions, water features and plenty of sizable trees.
I also spent time reading the Feasability Report for the Hollywood Central Park in Los Angeles. This is another proposed park. The Feasability Report is extensive and has good examples I can use for my site analysis.