Pardon the Interruption

Inconveniently, the landscape architecture department decided to have a week long design charette after only one week of being back in session for the semester. This threw a huge wrench into every senior's capstone routine which was just beginning to be established. We are all quite frustrated at this point. I will refrain from expounding any more on the charette, called "Design Week", so that you all may be spared from my overwhelming positivity (yeah right).

The site for Design Week is on St. Croix in the Caribbean. We are creating conceptual plans for an Eco-Resort... (Don't be deceived by the beauty. The island's extreme topography makes for quite the headache.)

Anyway, back to capstone...

After a brief trip back to Memphis to gather more base information, I should have everything I need to complete my inventory and analysis. Although this is not the most exciting part of the project, it is one of the most critical. Inventory is basically the process of gathering information about what is currently on the site. This includes vegetation, slope percentages, hydrology, architecture, surrounding land uses, and utilities among other things. This information is illustrated through a series of plans that show the various conditions. After I have a good grasp of what is existing, I need to determine what that means for my design. This is the analysis stage. For example, if the inventory shows that there are several large trees on my site, the analysis will probably state that these need to be protected. Or if inventory shows that I have extreme slopes on a portion of the site, the analysis might say that development should be limited in this area. As I finish with some of these graphics, I will post them so you can begin to understand what I am talking about.

Right now I am working on getting all my base information organized and beginning to decide how I want to illustrate what is already on site. This began with an AutoCAD survey provided by Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK), an architecture and planning firm with an office in Memphis. This provided most of the information needed on my immediate site.

Screenshot of AutoCAD survey

For information about the surrounding context, I am using the Shelby County GIS (geographic information system) Viewer. This helped me determine surrounding land uses, parcels, zoning, etc.. So far, most of my time has been spent merging all of this information into one CAD file that will be used as the base plan for my site. It now looks like this:

New CAD file with context information, aerial image, roads, streams, and site survey

With a file like this, I can turn different layers on and off in order to isolate the information that I want to illustrate. For instance, I can hide everything but the building outlines and turn these into a figure/ground map that illustrates density and development patterns.

Figure/Ground map (Overton Square site is shown in purple)

The 2 weeks will be spent creating maps like these, researching precedents of good urban infill and mixed-use projects, and deciding what I want to place on my site. I will keep everyone as up-to-date as possible and post images of what I am working on as I go. I hope that I am being clear in my descriptions of the process and not using too much LA jargon. 

Time to get back to work...

Map beginning to show circulation routes and patterns (in progress) 

Locator maps help clarify where the site is for those who are unfamiliar with the area.

A Quick Overview

Original Concept for Overton Square

During it's prime, Overton Square was a destination for shopping, dining, night life, festivals, concerts, and everything social. Places like Bombay Bicycle Club jazz bar, Paulette's French Restaurant, Gonzales & Gertrude's, and Solomon Alfred's music club were at the heart of this midtown node of activity.

First talk of the square came in November of 1969 with the passing of a Memphis referendum approving liquor to be sold by the drink (rather than by the bottle). The following day, the square's four founders went public with their plans to develop the small plot of land south of Overton Park, what was, then, one of Memphis' premier public green spaces. "Our project is not designed for young people," Robinson, one of the original founders, told the Commercial Appeal. "It's designed for people who think young -- whether they are 18 or 80. It will be contemporary, up to date. We're not interested in Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey, but we're not interested in hippies either." To be honest, I'm not sure who either one of those people are, but a lot can be taken from Robinson's statement.

Robinson was saying that they were setting out to design a space to the masses. They wanted diversity within the new development. It wasn't a matter of attracting one crowd or class. Overton Square was to be a place for anyone and everyone to gather and interact. This is what landscape architects, at least the good ones (in my opinion), strive to design. It wasn't about creating a space for the wealthy, well-to-do Memphians. Neither was it about a political or social movement. It was simply about providing a well designed space to foster interaction among citizens of a community.

After 5 years, Overton Square Expands

So what got it all started? Believe it or not, the cornerstone of the square was the first franchise location for TGI Friday's, the restaurant that we know today to have locations across the nation. Within 18 months of Friday's grand opening, 20 Overton Square businesses had opened their doors to the public. 

With business thriving and inspired by Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, the developers began to create what would become the premier Memphis destination east of downtown.

Lawrence Halprin's design for Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco inspired the developers with it's angled buildings, variations in elevation, strong definition of space, and diversity of visitors. After visiting Ghirardelli Square in May of 2011, I can definitely see elements in Overton Square that clue back to this precedent for semi-private space. However, Overton falls short to capture the same feeling. It lacks the unified architecture, customized character, and dynamic pedestrian experience found in Halprin's design.

And so it begins...

Another year, another semester. After 7 semesters in the landscape architecture department at Mississippi State, it all comes down to this... One project for the entire semester. Midterm submittal: 47.5% of final grade. Final Submittal 47.5% of final grade. Pass and I can graduate. Fail and, well, lets not talk about that... Scary huh?

With capstone, individuals get to pick their own project site for the first time. This alone is a huge decision. We will spend more time, lose more sleep, and pull out more hair over this one project than any other project in our college career. There are multiple factors that play into the choosing of a project. Will I enjoy working on this for the next 4 months? Is there enough to sink my teeth into? Is this what I want in my portfolio?

The last question is probably one of the biggest. Since we spend more time on this project than any other, it should be some our best work. And since we put our best work into our portfolio (which is a representation of who we are, what we are about, and how we design), capstone makes up a large part of it. This could, potentially, play a big role in the kind of firm that hires us or the kind of projects we work on in our professional careers.

For example, someone who wants to focus on community design after they graduate will probably choose a project that is centered around designing a larger site into a mixed-use development. Someone interested in working in the residential realm will choose a home to design around. Get where I'm going with this?

I have decided that I want to steer myself in the direction of a career in urban design (probably thanks to my recent trip the NYC). Thus, after much internal debate, I have chosen my site and what I want to do with my life (kind of).

The site for my capstone project will be [drum roll, please] Overton Square in Midtown Memphis, TN...