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.
