VODA Landscape + Planning

VODA’s been involved with an exciting new project, one of Salt Lake City’s future Great Places, the Sugar House Streetcar Greenway.  Many groups, municipalities, and organizations have been working for years to see this project come about, and everyone’s excited to see the project finally under construction.  We’ve been working with the great design team at CRSA to develop documents for the construction of the greenway space along the new streetcar, which will also be home to Parley’s Trail, connecting major recreational facilities such as the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Sugar House Park, and the Jordan River Parkway.

Streetcar Alignment 2012- Construction Begins

The Streetcar Greenway will be home to Parley’s Trail, the Sugar House Streetcar line, community gardens, and many public spaces that will bring vibrancy and energy to the neighborhoods along the corridor.

Additionally, VODA’s been working with a group of University of Utah students to develop sustainability education features along the greenway corridor. The students have spent the last school year working on the initial concepts for “The Green Line: A Sustainability Corridor.”  The Green Line would brand the entire corridor of the streetcar as a sustainable place, with individual installations demonstrating various aspects of sustainability, including energy sustainability, food sustainability, transportation sustainability, and environmental sensitivity.  With a strong Sustainability brand, the Green Line can influence development throughout the neighborhoods along the corridor, encouraging more efficient and sustainable building patterns.

University of Utah Honors Students behind the Green Line, Nicole Zinnanti, Darrell Henrickson, TJ Owens, and Jeff Williams

Last night the Salt Lake City Council approved $6.8 million in funding for the greenway element of the Streetcar Corridor.  With construction on the streetcar finally underway, we could see the park and streetcar operational as soon as 2013.

The Alhambra (literally “red fortress”) is one of the world’s greatest treasures- a series of buildings, gardens, and fortresses atop a hill overlooking Granada, Spain. With thousands of years of history, this structure has seen the rise and fall of the Moorish people in Spain, the rise of Spain as the world’s first super-power, and has seen literally millions of visitors coming to wander its incredible grounds.

The Alhambra survives today as one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture and garden design in the world.  According to the local lore, when Ferdinand and Isabella’s troops finally seized the Alhambra from the Moors in 1492, the exiled Emir turned back and wept at the loss of his beloved palace.

The gardens demonstrate many of the typical elements of Islamic garden design: overflowing ponds and fountains (ablution), symmetry,walled gardens, and intricate patterns and details throughout.  It is home to two of the most famous gardens in the world: the Court of the Myrtles and the Court of the Lions.

Surely you’re going through Downton Abbey withdrawal with the rest of America, so let’s visit another Great Place, and look at the gardens of Highclere Castle, the real-life stand in for Downton. Highclere Castle is the home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, and evidence shows that there has been a home on this site for more than 1300 years.  The majority of the current castle dates from the 1800′s, and is built in the neogothic style.The drive and approach to Highclere are very typical of great English houses. Broad lawns with large specimen trees, running right up to the house with very little planting around the home is quite common.

The English gardens of Highclere are also VERY English. An answer to the highly geometric and pruned style of French gardens, the English garden is all about “neat chaos” and overflowing blooms and flowers.

18th Century Georgian wall on the border of the Monks’ garden.Architectural folly. Greatly in vogue in the English gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries, architectural follies or ruins were often constructed merely to be viewed either from the house or from across a lake.

http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/about-us/castle-gardens–castle-walks.html#

As the largest park in Madrid, the Buen Retiro Park (Park of the Pleasant Retreat) is the lungs of this grand city. Built originally as the private grounds for the king of Spain’s palace in the 16th Century, the park has changed over time.  In the early 19th century the Buen Retiro palace itself was demolished after the monarchy built a larger palace on the other end of the city, and after Napoleon’s army damaged the building beyond repair. In 1767 the park was opened to the public, and in the late 19th century it was given to the municipality of Madrid as a city park.

The park’s long history as a royal private garden is reflected in the number and scale of monuments and sculpture.

The Buen Retiro Palace was the seat of power for the Habsburg family during the time that Spain was the world’s dominant super power in the 16th Century. The message of power and control is communicated in the way that the garden is layed out and planted.The gardens of the Buen Retiro are heavily influenced by French and Italian garden design of the 17th and 18th centuries,  with long dominant plantings, and strategically controlled views of important buildings.

Vancouver, Canada has a reputation for being the most “livable” city in North America. With great housing options, enough density to make a vibrant city, and quick access to public open space, the city puts even the greatest American cities to shame.  Granville Island is a small island in Vancouver, boasting a daily, bustling farmers market, among other things. Mixing uses, people, and building types, Granville Island is a world unto itself, and is just a great place to hang out.

With lots of open spaces, and lots of food and people, Granville Island is where people want to be on a beautiful day in Vancouver.

The island has stunning views of the dense residential center of Vancouver across the water.

Food distributors, sellers, and restaurants inhabit the island, and with some “bleacher seating” and sunshine, the city itself becomes the show.

Houseboats are moored in one marina on the island, with some of the most expensive floating real estate you’ll find anywhere.

Istiklal Street in Istanbul is THE place to be on any given evening in Turkey. As Europe’s largest city by population, Istanbul is a vibrant, modern, and western city, literally bridging the divide between Europe and Asia. Istiklal is a microcosm of the many cultures that mix in Istanbul’s melting pot. As a pedestrian only street, thousands stroll nightly, sharing the space with the occasional streetcar.  High-end shops and restaurants line the street, and its literally standing room only on Istiklal at night.  Nearly 3 million people walk Istiklal on any given weekend evening.

At the head of Istiklal is Taksim Square, the central transportation hub of modern day Istanbul.

Monument commemorating modern Turkish independence in Taksim Square.

Streetcar running down the middle of Istiklal.

Istiklal Street ends in the old Genoese quarter of Istanbul, originally settled by Italians setting up a trade relationship with the Ottomans.

Zagreb is one of Europe’s most un-appreciated cities. An ancient capitol for the “Southern Slavs” (Yugoslavia), the city bears all the beauty of hundreds of years as a major city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  A series of parks surrounding the center of the city have come to be called Zagreb’s Green Necklace, home to stately parks, leafy trees, and the city’s grandest architecture.

Lying just below Kapitol Hill, the Green Necklace links the train station to many of the city’s important cultural buildings.

The Opera House, concert halls, government buildings, and many more flank the parks of Zagreb’s Green Necklace.

Park Guell is undoubtedly one of the most unique parks in all the world. Designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, the park reflects his unique design style on every light post, bench, fountain, and staircase.  The park was initially part of an unsuccessful development scheme by the wealthy Guell family, and transformed a once barren hillside above Barcelona into a lush public space.

Probably the most famous part of the park is the long serpentine park bench, covered in mosaic tile, with magnificent views of the city and harbor below.

Architectural detail and organic forms were a central tenet of Gaudi’s architecture, and unique elements are found throughout the park.

Gaudi used the retaining systems needed for the steep changes in grade as an opportunity to bring in structural and artistic elements into the landscape of the Park.

Long, organic colonnade.Views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean to the east.  La Sagrada Familia is seen on the left.

The Marin County Civic Center is arguably one of the most fascinating architectural gems in the USA. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1950′s, the building is one of ten of Wright’s works that have been nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.  The structure straddles three hills, and its long, linear form truly seems other-worldly.

Model of the Civic Center.

Central spire above the Civic Center’s gardens.

Completed after Wright’s death in 1959, the Civic Center’s construction was highly controversial at the time. Given the highly staid architecture of the 1950′s, the Civic Center is emblematic of the more daring architecture of the 1960′s and 1970′s.

Roof Detail.

Interior atrium.

Outdoor gardens near the “hinge” of the building.

Wright-designed garden sprite.

Utah’s state capitol building is a massive neo-classical building situated on the top of Capitol Hill, overlooking downtown Salt Lake City, and the entire Salt Lake Valley. From a site planning perspective, this building is unmatched in its prominence in the city or the state.  Utah achieved statehood in 1896, and its state offices occupied what is now the “City and County Building” from 1896 – 1915.  The current capitol building was completed in 1916, designed by Richard Kletting, one of Utah’s most prominent architects.  While the architecture is far from groundbreaking, the siting of the building gives it prominence as one of the most important buildings in the state.

While the cupola gives it some weight as a building, the location of the building really makes the capitol grounds a Great Place.

View from Capitol Building towards the south and downtown Salt Lake City.Building detail, view into the foothills of the Wasatch Range.

Interior after 2008 renovation.

Interior after 2008 renovation.

View to the east from Capitol Hill.

Mormon Battalion Monument, Utah State Capitol Grounds.

Interior mural of Brigham Young’s entry into the Salt Lake Valley, 1847.