A few months back in my post about the approved Jefferson Avenue Bike Boulevard, I promised an update. I’ve been waiting to post until I see signs of implementation so I’ll save that post until I have some real life photos. Cliffhanger, I know.

In the mean time, there are other excellent bicycle-related efforts happening around the City of Saint Paul. The nascent Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition will have its fourth meeting next week, and the Saint Paul Greenway Committee is working hard to  generate interest in [thus implementation of] a greenway that would bring the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway goodness all the way to downtown Saint Paul. I am working on some renderings for the effort (see that image up there at the top). The City and the dis-banded Saint Paul Bicycle Advisory Board have been working on the Greenway for quite some time and it’s been a long, and at times bumpy, road. The Saint Paul Greenway Committee, formed back in September of 2009, is diligently continuing the effort despite the bumps. They’d like you to share your voice, vision and support for this essential urban trail at the upcoming Envisioning the Saint Paul Greenway Event. The Committee will be on hand to answer questions, as will Smart Trips (the awesome Saint Paul-based organization that is helping lead the charge along with a swell group of citizens). We ask you….do you want this:

Or this?

We’ll have more information at the event but here are the essential details:
ENVISIONING THE ST. PAUL GREENWAY
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Linwood Rec Center (860 St. Clair Avenue, Saint Paul 55105)

Please come and join the effort of creating a world-class greenway system in Saint Paul!

Download a pdf of the flyer Smart Trips produced and feel free to print and leave it at your local coffee shop. Really, we’d love it.

The Minneapolis Park Foundation, College of Design, and Walker Art Center have teamed up to bring us a phenomenal lecture series, “The Next Generation of Parks”. Wednesday night’s conversation on New York’s High Line was the second of three summer events. If you didn’t get in the doors, or couldn’t make it, you missed something great, but you can find the full lecture here. Todd and I have been to many a lecture on the subject of design, landscape architecture, architecture, and planning. A few on bicycling, too. This, though, was far more than just your average power point presentation or ubiquitous “here is what I’ve done in the field” lecture. From the introduction by Cecily Hines and Andrew Blauvelt to the last word by Lisa Tziona Switkin and Robert Hammond, it was damn inspirational. Why? We’ll give you our top three reasons.

1. Not just envisioning potential, CREATING potential.

Robert Hammond appreciated the abandoned elevated industrial era ruin of a railroad in his West Village neighborhood enough to take action when it was slated for demolition in 1999. How many of us wonder about the things we see on a daily basis, but when they come crumbling down for surface parking we tell ourselves ‘there’s not much you could have done about it anyway, so don’t fret you didn’t speak up’? Like those cool abandoned grain mills in our Minneapolis skyline. Sure we envisioned a cool future for them, but when they were felled, ground up, and a slab of asphalt was put in their place. Not again.

Linear park in an abandoned elevated rail corridor? Of course. It is a no-brainer now. But, such was not the case before Hammond and his Friends of the High Line co-founder Joshua David, did something about it. Hammond and David used their entrepreneurial spirit to create a movement that resulted in an overwhelmingly successful public space, likely by every index imaginable.

2.  Project process and tactical brilliance.

A lot of the process was no different than what developers, planners, or landscape architects do for every project (develop concepts, present to the public, attend seven bazzillion meetings, gain support, refine concepts…implement). But, a lot of the process WAS different. Hammond et al. recognized the power in branding and visualization early on in the project, and as they enter phase two and three, we would predict their savvy in the realm of communication and its power is going to prove to be a game changer.

Before beginning the project, they had a year-long photography project commissioned in effort to show people the life of the rail corridor thus making the space visually (and we would argue emotionally) accessible to those who usually just experience the steel undercarriage of this elevated line. For more project awareness, Paula Scher at Pentagram created a so-simple-its-brilliant logo. And, they held a design competition with phenomenal renderings by the winning landscape architectural and architectural team James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. (Full design team listed here.)

The game changer? Well, the area where High Line Section Three would be is also currently slated to potentially house twelve million square feet of development. Of course, the current plan does not include what could be the coolest end of the High Line.

Friends of the Highline are pushing for a temporary (and relatively inexpensive) walkway installation in this section. The renderings illustrating this temporary installation are gorgeous and compelling (and not available yet). If they are successful in receiving the okay on a temporary walkway they will create insurmountable public support. The public will LOVE IT and when Mr (Mrs?) Developer comes in to place what amounts to TWO DOWNTOWN SEATTLES (Hammond’s smart analogy), the outcry of “not to my Highline!” will be loud. Very loud.

Brilliant.

3.  1+2 = 3 for us. Listening to Robert and Lisa describe what we imagine is the abridged version of the project process and game changing tactics resulted in a new vision of possibility for us.

We could list the numerous calls to action we felt last night as a creative duo, but let’s just leave it with the most inspiring. Believe in your vision, hone your technical AND tactical skills, and surround yourself with crazy brilliant talent who will make you better at your own work. Push the envelope in design AND process. The High Line raised the expectations of our own work and the possibilities for public space in the Twin Cities. We hope it does the same for you.

Above images by James Corner Field Operations, but retrieved from the High Line website.

1 & 3 by flickr user don juan tenorio. 2 by flickr user lucas_roberts426, but retrieved from the High Line website.

Following up on the theme of my resent marketing presentation for the Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects I was just made aware (thanks to chapter president Richard Murphy) of a terrific article emphasizing the need for firms to engage in social networking. The article “If You’re Not Online, You’re Behind” was written by architect Evelyn Lee and published on the Design Intelligence website. It’s a great introduction to Linked In, Facebook and Twitter. Refreshingly the story does not obscure its purposeful and simple moral -why you should get involved – in the cloud of jargon and statistics common in discussions on this subject.

Design Intelligence (a publication of the Design Futures Council) is targeted squarely at the architecture profession. This is an important point. I’ve spoken to many a Landscape Architect who has a small but legitimate chip on his/her shoulder acquired through years of experience providing a design service that seems all too often to come as an afterthought to a site’s architecture. Personally I think it is important to see more synergy between structure and landscape. For this to happen landscape architecture firms need to gain a stronger presence in the minds of architects and in the public consciousness. Social networking can help achieve this because it is functioning (for better or worse) as the new town square where hundreds of millions of people are asking questions. If you don’t want architects to be providing all the answers about landscape architecture you need to jump into the fray.

Thank you to everyone who attended the ASLA-MN seminar “The Competitive Landscape – Insights to Help Landscape Architects Use Marketing to Define the Terrain”. It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you learned a few things and came away enthused about the opportunities to market yourself or your company in exciting new ways that benefit both you and your audience. Please feel free to download the presentation so you can continue the conversation.

Download Presentation (19mb  pdf)

Andres Amador an artist operating out of the creative miracle that is the San Francisco Bay Area creates beautiful, expressive patterns in the sand of beaches at low tide. Attendance at Burning Man in 1999 (just before the world was scheduled to end if you recall) set him on a path exploring the expressive arts with a particular interest in flow. While his website is not as lovely as his work I do love the amazing photos, his simple, heartfelt explanation in general and this line in particular: “To wield a flow instrument is to learn to listen to one’s self.”

Andres credits many sources of inspiration but presumably it is this flow of self-aware body movement that is the primary contributor to his creations. They really are quite remarkable and worth the time spent clicking through the photos on his site which also contains some videos and even an interview on CNN. He also does light sculptures, gives workshops and insights into team building which are probably much more interesting than anything you’ve experienced through your HR department.

I don’t know Walter Hood, but have attended a few of his lectures and if I could create a professional trajectory similar to his, I would be pretty psyched. Well skilled in the realm of design, at times he also assumes the role of social advocate, environmental advocate, fundraiser, and professor. And, he seems like a damn cool dude to boot.

Probably best known for his work at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, or his books Urban Diaries and Blues & Jazz Landscape Improvisations, my favorite project of his is LaFayette Square in Oakland, California. The project was hugely controversial; many people wanted to see small this parcel developed, in a way, to get rid of the transient population who perhaps had stayed too long. Hood worked with the community, city officials, homeless, and various funding sources to create and implement a design that would embrace those who need a place to crash, yet didn’t look like one big king-sized bed in the middle of Oakland. As with most design, the devil is in the details. Outfitted with water, showers, bathrooms and electrical plugs, the park infrastructure makes life a little easier for those who don’t have direct access to such luxuries. Well skilled at creating cool landscapes, Hood also programmed in some Depression-Era elements such as tables with chessboards and horseshoe pits, and believe it or not, comfortable park benches!

all images from Hood Design

While it is true plants are part of the palette of landscape architects, the really cool stuff doesn’t necessarily bloom. The fun parts of the job include things like manipulating landform, playing with hard materials like stone, copper and steel, assessing water flows, and understanding people flows, too. I can’t speak for all in the field, but the most interesting projects have more to do with fitting in to context than specifying the right perennial. During the month of May, I’ll share a few inspirational projects that may bend the idea of landscape architecture.

The first on the list (‘cause it’s local, and well, I happened to work at the landscape architecture firm): Westminster Courtyard and Columbarium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Employing only two plant species (honey locust trees and creeping thyme), the beauty of this project lies in its comfortable size, its relation to the existing structure, and its minimal material palette. A pattern abstracted from the stained glass windows becomes a perforated copper fence, a constantly coursing water rill muffles the adjacent street, soft illumination allows for evening congregation, and a timeless columbarium wall complements the 110 year-old Westminster Church and its engaged community. Check out Coen + Partners website for a lengthier (and more interpretive) description of the project.

All images by Paul Crosby Architectural Photography