High Line Phase II

So despite the fact that the second phase of the High Line Park opened last summer, and I have been to NYC probably dozens of times since then, I had yet to visit the newest leg of the park, extending from 20th to 30th Street.  I finally got there last week (though sadly, idiotically, I forgot to bring a decent camera, so these pics are with my very old, very slow iPhone 3GS). 

For the most part, the second phase is more of the same, though there are some unusual changes to the previous plant palette (more on that in a future post).  But what I enjoyed seeing most was this fantastic bird coop/co-op.

Built with steel wires and rods, the structure most be relatively heavy (and thus stable) and no doubt it's on footings.  But yet the whole thing looks quite light.  It provides ample opportunity for perching and the assortment of small stakes and boxes allow passersby to deposit apple cores for the birds and for small amounts of water to collect.

My only frustration was that the bird apartments (there were two, on each side of the path) were placed, no: squeezed, on a straight and narrow part of the park, creating bottlenecking and traffic.  Not only does that placement stifle circulation, but I kinda want to see this structure over a larger area so that there's more opportunity for birds to visit, deposit seeds and create a more complete model of urban ecological succession, which is of course what the park is all about.  

The somewhat clumsy placement makes me wonder if this was not an add-on.  I can imagine a city agency or organization bringing this to the program after design was already complete, and the designers needing to struggle to find a place for it.  And don't get me wrong, I love the structure!  I just wish it didn't feel like it was shoehorned onto an existing design. 

VOGUE: Houses, Gardens, People

This book - which weighs in on the portly side, as far as books go, is another source for ideas I would regularly visit at my old office.

It is 100% lifestyle porn, with great photos of interior decor and garden design ideas for residential or small scale gardens.  I finally ordered a copy this week, using an Amazon gift card that had been burning a hole in my wallet.  The book is edited by Hamish Bowles, Vogues go-to man for character driven profiles of designers and celebrities.  He's also the writer that profiled my former boss a few years back.

Evidently, though, the book wasn't a best seller, as new editions are heavily discounted on Amazon.  My copy arrives soon and hopefully it will still be a great place to visit when I have designer's block.

Jacques Wirtz

Back when I used to work for other design offices, one of my favorite "down time" activities was to grab a book and lazily leaf through the images, mining the text for design ideas.

One of my absolute favorite books was The Wirtz Gardens, chronicling the designs of Jacques Wirtz, a Belgian landscape architect and horticulturist.  The book has been out of print for years and last Christmas, when my folks asked for gift ideas, I hopefully nominated this item.  I was delighted to unwrap it on Christmas Day.  

If you're unfamiliar with Wirtz's work, he is most known for his luscious cloud hedges, typically made of Boxwood.  

These images are taken from his own garden, in an area that was for some time his laboratory.  Over the years, this boxwood allee almost took shape independently.  You can read more about the garden here.

 

If you want to read more about cloud hedges, check out fellow Arlingtonian Thomas Rainer's blog entry here.

...As designers, I don't think we're ever 100% satisfied with a 'finished' product -- there's always something we wish we could add, subtract or alter.  Similarly, our libraries are never finished -- there's always a new book we are lusting after!  This week - and perhaps through next week - I will be highlighting a few of the design books I love.  Some of them are in my library, while some are still on the wishlist.   

Fairytale Architecture

In case you missed it a few days ago The Design Observer Group posted a series of renderings by architects developing designs for various Fairytale structures.  It's a fun link.

The first is a house that should look like a chicken and thus is on impossibly high 'legs.'

The second installment is my favorite -- a drawing of Rapunzel's tower, complete with performance specifications like "Thorn Bushes Will Be Large Enough to Prevent Climbing by Infatuated Princes."

Finally, a very modern interpretation of Jack's Beanstalk House.

A fun exercise, I'd love to see more design studios have levity in their projects by incorporating something like this.  And those of us who have taken design studio courses know that, with an absence of budget or client, many of our studio projects already have a fairytale quality as it is!

Puakahi, Oahu

On Halloween, I arrived in Honolulu for my two-week work/vacation.  My first night in Hawaii, I was fortunate enough to be a guest at the home of the local landscape architect with whom I was collaborating.  Despite the jetlag, the first order of business, upon arriving at his and his wife's home, was a quick tour of their garden, accompanied by their sweet dogs.

The site rambles down a hill on the north side of Oahu, and grass paths were terraced out of the slope.  

When the path changes direction or pitch, these intersections are punctuated with fountains, significant trees or other garden follies.

Since the grade descends behind the house, the bedrooms are on the ground floor and open out to the pool terrace.  Above, my wonderful hostess smiles out from the living/dining area balcony.

A small pool structure is perfect for a drink or a poolside meal.

Balinese columns support planters of orchids.

The view of the pool and the harbor beyond from the upper balcony.

This property is made available for rent for Hawaiian vacations or weddings,  You can find more information here: http://www.puakahi.com

Long Bridge Park, Part II

Last May, I wrote a post about a construction field trip I took of Long Bridge Park in Arlington, Virginia.  Then in July, a reader submitted a photo of the construction's progress.  Well shame on that reader, for not sending some finished photos of phase I!  (Just kidding -- I know you've been busy!) 

 

Last Sunday, I finally went for a run through the park on what was a somewhat gray, dreary day. Above is a view from the southern entrance of the park.

Along the promenade, large concrete "benches" occur, though they aren't particularly inviting to me.  Concrete stays damp for so long, they aren't very usable in wet weather, plus they are a little...blocky or monolithic looking.  Though no doubt, the budget was friendly!

To the left of the promenade, a large stair leads to the sports fields.

While to the right of the promenade, people are actively enjoying views of the water and Reagan Airport.

Further down the promenade, a look to the left shows the rain garden.  I'm looking forward to seeing the plants in the summer.

While little kids happily look to the right at the passing train.

Another shot of the rain garden.

Finally, above, lighting at the sports fields.

New Pics from the Honolulu Moderne, nee Edition Waikiki

Last year, I was able to work (at Deborah Nevins Associates, with Ian Schrager Company and Yabu Pushelberg) on the Edition: Waikiki hotel in Honolulu.  I spent about four weeks on site doing construction administration, which was an absolutely (stressful) great time.

Last week I got to revisit the site (now operated as an Aqua property.  That's a long story.), and see how the design is faring.  I was delighted to see everything looking good.

The Alexander Palms (Archontophoenix alexandre) look great, as does the beach morning glory near the pool (we originally used plumbago, which didn't handle the chlorine spray well). 

On the lower pool deck, the autograph trees (Clusia rosea) are faring beautifully, despite relatively petite planters.  The maintenance team will need to regularly root prune them now, however.

It was so fun to have a Mai Tai on the pool deck that I first saw as a raw concrete slab with CMU block planters.  The shot below is during tree placement in April 2010.

This is the same view from last week. 

Seriously - what a fun job it is to be a landscape architect!

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Muhlenbergia capillaris, or muhly grass, is one of my favorite ornamental grasses.  It's compact, reaching a non-flowering height of 36" (which makes it more convenient than a plus size Panicum virgatum in smaller residential settings) but most striking are the purplish red blooms that appear each autumn.

Recently, I specified the plant on a contemporary modern home that had a perimeter fence made of 66" high Corten steel sheeting.  The house itself had a pure white stucco facade and I placed the muhly grass along the base of the structure, mirroring (on a conceptual level, at least) the deep rust of the Corten. 

I've been very happy with the results and as soon as I get some decent finished installation, I will place them on my firm's website.  But for now, in case you've noticed the lovely gem and wondered what it was, I thought I'd share these pics from Bartholdi Gardens in DC.

Courtyard Garden at the Art Institute of Chicago

With all the attention tourists and locals pay to the new (ish) Millennium Park, this small courtyard at the Art Institute of Chicago is now mostly ignored, or at least underappreciated.   Which is a shame, because it's a lovely space.

A large pool with bubbling fountains arranges the space, grouping planters of low, wide-spreading hawthornes (Crataegus) on each side. 

 

English ivy (Hedera helix) are trained up the trunks, which has to be a bit of a maintenance issue - I would think they need to clip them back a few times a year!

 Buffering the traffic of Michigan Avenue are large planters of honey locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis).  Much like at Paley Park, honey locusts are used to terrific effect as plants that can get quite tall in maturity but yet grow very well in the space to which it is confined.  In the open, the tree could have a broad, spreading shape.  But in narrow confines, it has a loose, columnar habit. 

Millennium Park Water Feature/Canal/'Stream'

A wooden promenade and shallow canal bisect Lurie Gardens just south of the Gehry amphitheater (seen to the left). It runs at a diagonal, which presumably accommodates pedestrians passing through the park while walking through the city, as well as creating a quite open space to simply people watch or read a book. 

The ipe (FSC certified, of course) boardwalk runs at a pitch downhill, meeting the cross street to the south just a few steps above grade.  The canal achieves the drop in grade with the placement of weirs, allowing the water to step down in grade and be consistently shallow enough to rest your feet on the bottom.  The boardwalk steps down as well, creating a long bench which, as you can see, is well used by visitors.

 

Metal bridges traverse the canal and are composed of naval brass, bronze and powdercoated steel. 

Millennium Park Site Details

Here are a few shots of some of my favorite site details at Millennium Park. 

I love the bench composed of separate 2x6s (or 2x8's-- I didn't measure it).  It makes for a great ad-hoc work space or picnic area in a park that is skimpy on lawn.

This fence separates a lawn area from the Frank Gehry designed stage to the right.

 

Check out how the profile diminishes as the fence gains height. 

 

The plant beds in Lurie Garden have stone retaining walls that are cut at an angle, so the appearance of a curb is minimized. 

A slip guard as one approaches a bridge over the water that runs through the park, bisecting Lurie Gardens from the rest of the site. 

The paths through the gardens are made out of small, long pieces of granite that vary in color between pink, peach, sand and white.

Millennium Park Lurie Garden

I've posted about Millennium Park twice before, though both times I used photos my mother had taken when she was in Chicago with my father.  These, I am happy to say, are photos I took myself.  I was recently in Chicago for the first time and of course, this park was my first destination.  

I was particularly excited to walk through the park's Lurie Gardens.  The park itself is designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., though the plant selection was a collaboration with Piet Oudolf who is quite the "it" planting designer these days (he also worked with Jim Corner and Diller Scofidio on the High Line Park).

It's a beautiful garden, with painterly drifts of native perennials and grasses.  And obviously, it's a wonderfully appropriate context, as it evokes the prairie landscapes that are typical to the midwest.

 

I'll be posting a few more shots of the park in the days to come, with some focus on design details and plant species. 

More on the National Arboretum's 'Ruins'

A little over a week ago, I posted about the structure at the National Arboretum, which was built from unused columns from the Capitol.