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Showing posts from August, 2012

ASLA 2012 Awards: Powell Street Promenade

ASLA announced its 2012 Professional Awards two days ago and I recognized a few of the projects. The awards are given in several categories: General Design, Residential Design, Analysis and Planning, Communications, Research, Collaboration and Community Service. Over several posts I will showcase the landscapes I have seen or can easily visit.  The list includes 200 5th Avenue (NYC), National 9/11 Memorial (NYC), and Powell Street Promenade (San Francisco) which is featured below. On my way to Union Square in May, I took out my camera as soon as I saw the Powell Street Promenade designed by Hood Design Studio of Oakland, Calif.  The materials and forms stand-out against the traditional materials lining this iconic San Francisco street.  The promenade received a Honor Award in the General Design Category.  Here is the project statement from ASLA website: On one of the busiest thoroughfares in San Francisco, four city blocks of parallel parking are replaced with a new pedestri

Another Murray Hill landmark building

Like the house at 153 East 38th Street , Sniffen Court provides a delightful break in its block's streetscape.  I like that two street trees frame the entrance.  The Court is composed of 10 carriage houses which were completed in the 1860s.  The stables were converted to residences in the 1920s. Sources: If Your [sic] of Living in Murray Hill [New York Times, 1982] Sniffen Court. Historic Manhattan Alleys [forgotten New York] The Charming 1864 Sniffen Court [Daytonian in Manhattan]

Co-benefits of playground water timers

Playground water features use a lot of water!  According to a press release from NYC DEP and Parks, " [w]ithout timers and reactivation buttons, playground showers use approximately 7,000 gallons of water per day. Timers will reduce that consumption by 80%, or approximately 5,600 gallons per day."  The two agencies announced that the city would install timers and activation buttons on 23 by the end of this summer and on a total of 400 playgrounds by 2017.  The playground initiative is part of the Water for the Future program and will contribute to a 5% reduction in water use citywide.  The announcement was widely covered by the Times , NY1 , DNAinfo , NY Daily News , Staten Island Advance , and Mommy Poppins . The timers offer several co-benefits, too.  One, an activation button enables a child to control another aspect of her play and play space.  Two, the lull time between sprays -- sprinklers spray for two minutes -- provides a natural break in play.  Three, the lul

Four strategies for a more natural playground

Steve King's strategies for designing "more natural" play environments is one of the articles I enjoyed in the Landscape Structures "Play Naturally" brochure.  See yesterday's post about Louise Chawla's literature review of benefits of natural experiences for children.  King's four recommendations for natural playgrounds are: 1. Incorporate the existing natural elements on the site; Image: Slide structure beneath mature horsechestnut, Diana Memorial Playground, Hyde Park (London) 2. Place play structures to take advantage of views of natural elements ; Image: Tot Playground in Washington Square Park surrounded by trees (NYC) 3. Install each feature with a specific purpose in mind (for example, rocks for climbing); Image: Boulders near the Marsh at Teardrop Park (NYC) 4. Include signage to educate users and/or to initiate play (King suggests a nature-themed treasure hunt for leaves, flowers, birds, etc.). Image: Marsh sig

Four classes of benefits of nature for children

Image: Picking Juniper berries I picked up a copy of Landscape Structures "Play Naturally" brochure at the Greater and Greener urban parks conference held in NYC July 14-17, 2012.  Two of the articles resonated with me: "Benefits of nature for children" by Louise Chawla and "Planning ideas for a more natural play environment" by Steve King.  The first is the subject of this post.  I will discuss King's article in tomorrow's post . Louise Chawla is a professor at the University of Colorado at Denver . She is the co-editor or Children, Youth and Environments; member of Executive Committee of the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design; member of the Growing Up in Cities team for UNESCO; and member of the Built Environment Panel of the National Forum on Children and Nature.  Chawla reviewed eleven research studies, including one of her own, and found that exposure to nature provides benefits to children in the followin

It's standard: Bottom of trunk flare at grade

Image: Zelkova, no trunk flare  Two weeks ago, "Dano" left a comment on our post about soils in cities which featured a photograph of a Zelkova that looked to be missing its trunk flare (also known as root flare).  Last month, the American National Standards Institute completed a "major revision to ANSI A300 (part 6)-2012" which now includes a section on tree planting standards. Image: Correct tree planting dept, ANSI 300 part 6-2012 via TCIA ( source ) The standard includes the following information about tree planting depth : "The correct planting depth of a tree is based on locating the trunk flare and being certain that the bottom of the trunk flare is at finish grade upon completion of the operation."  The Zelkova in the first photograph is dying; this tree was a replacement for a Zelkova planted during the fountain renovation.  Someone once told me that Zelkovas do not have a pronounced trunk flare.  If so, then this Zelkova might have b

Pruitt-Igoe and other 99% Invisible design

Image: Pruitt-Igoe collapse series, April 1972 ( Source : U.S. HUD Wikipedia) I picked up a copy of Metro Source in my building's lobby and flipping through found a profile of Roman Mars's design radio show named 99% Invisible about "design, architecture and the 99 percent invisible activity that shapes our world."   You can read the Metro Source interview here .  Below are several episodes I found appealing and thought you would like to listen to, too. Episode 44: The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Episode 29: Cul de Sac Episode 24: The Two Fates of the Old East Portico Episode 13: Maps, they don’t love you like I love you Episode 9: Private [as in Privately Owned Public Open Spaces] The show's complete archive is here .

Walking the labyrinth

The Seed Labyrinth on Laguardia Place is another gem in Greenwich Village's superblocks . Image: The Seed Labyrinth by Sara Jones at Laguardia Place ( Source : nycstreets Flickr) The labyrinth was designed by Sara Jones for the NYCDOT Urban Art Program .  The labyrinth is an ancient symbol meant to cement the relationship between the natural world and art with just one path to the center of the maze and one path of return. The sidewalk on which it was painted is a crossroads of the community garden, the Time Landscape, and the massive sculpture entitled “Sylvette” by Pablo Picasso. Entering the Seed Labyrinth, one slows down taking notice of nature in this busy city. Russell Bowes contributed a fantastic essay about labyrinths versus mazes to Human Flower Project in 2009 and I have edited my comment there below. This Greenwich Village labyrinth is not my first experience with a labyrinth. The first labyrinth encounter I can recall was, like the one in NY, experienc