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.

Bench Siting

When I worked at the Bronx Zoo, I drew up a lot of quick little construction drawings for the installation of benches throughout the park's campus.  In a million years, a sketch indicating this would never be approved. Anyone know why?

We always had to incorporate some kind of paving (ideally a porous one) underneath the bench.  The arrangement above (though lovely with the pink granite pedestals underneath each bench foot) would require to much maintenance.   Mulch would have to be re-applied and weeds would need to be combated (particularly in a sunny location like this).  Granted, the operating budget for the Sculpture Garden may very well exceed that of the Bronx Zoo's, but this detail just looks unfinished to me.

Above, at the Bronx Zoo, benches are sitting away from the main traffic path and elevated above Astor Court's historic granite curb.

At Longwood Gardens, the benches are sitting on platforms and pulled back from the path, so your knees aren't in traffic.

The detail above, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, is even more elaborate.

 In Teardrop Park, the bench sits on a continuation of the sidewalk paving.

As it does at this church courtyard in Paris.

At the High Line,  the bench sits above a drain grate.

Finally, the bench I'd most want to sit on: a stone bench at Monet's home in Giverny, France has cobble paving to distinguish this from the main thoroughfare.