Winter Photography 2

Eeehh?

Winter Photography

Can anybody (in Fort Wayne) guess what this is? (I know...it's an easy
one)

Harrison Square City Park

The new City Park at Harrison Square is coming along nicely.

The first two images below are renderings showing the features of the new park. Included in the design are a performance stage and amphitheater, a fountain designed to be both visually stimulating and interactive (bring your swimsuits), a lushly landscaped perimeter, and a grassy hillside for lounging and enjoying the green oasis among the concrete, glass, and steel. The park will open in April 2009 along with the ballpark.

CLOSE-UP OF STAGE AND AMPHITHEATERVIEW OF STAGE AND AMPHITHEATER FACING SW
NOT SURE HOW I EXPLAIN THIS CONCRETE ENTRENCHED 2 GALLON BUCKET TO MY BOSS

GRATUITOUS FIELD SHOT

Unless, Of Course, You Hate Trees

Click and Zoom To Read

Go to the Friends of the Parks website for more info!

Fort Wayne's Second Newest Park

Thought I would share some photos of the nearly completed Buckner Park Phase I improvements. Most improvements should be completed this fall exluding wetland plantings, which we will be installed next spring. The splashpad is finished but will not be turned on until late spring. Grand opening to be announced...


Buckner Park is located on Bass Road just west of I-69.

Pavilion with restrooms (picnic tables soon to come)

Column detail
Splashpad (wetland theme)
5-12 year old playground Playground with poured-in-place rubber safety surfacing

Planter
Parking lot bioswale (will capture and filter stormwater before discharging into wetland)

View from Bass Road

The photos above are from Phase I. Phase II and III will be completed as funding allows.

The map below shows the master plan for all 3 phases.

Bring On the Rain

The Westbrook rain garden project is nearing completion so I stopped by and took a few photos. This is a Public Works project designed as a component of the city's flood control efforts.

Westbrook Avenue has been removed and replaced with a linear rain garden planted with a low-mow seed mix, native grasses and forbs (flowers). A berm was constructed along the west edge of the site to protect the remaining homes. The existing sidewalk remains as does the curb on the creekside of the project and most of the existing street trees. The curb was left to reveal the historical signifigance of the boulevard designed by George Kessler. George Kessler was one of the preeminent landscape architects practicing in the early 1900's and he developed park boulevard systems for Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, South Bend, and Terra Haute. He was also involved in designing the campus landscapes for Indiana University in Bloomington, Butler University, and Rose Polytechnic in Terra Haute.

View Looking NW from Clinton Street

View Looking SE from State Street Area
Former Westbrook Roadbed With Curb Remaining.

Do The Wave

Maya Lin's "The Wave Field"

on the University of Michigan campus

I get asked a lot, "What does a landscape architect actually do?"
My reply is usually something like "Well, they can do a lot of different things. From small-scale residential design to urban planning, from ecological restoration to regional land planning, from GIS spatial analysis to landscape art." The 'landscape art' thing often results in a bit of confusion. Many people conjure up an images of pastoral landscape paintings and as a matter of fact, do a google search on 'landscape art' and that is exactly what you get. I think perhaps 'landscape sculpture' better captures the idea of utilizing the earth and it's flora as an integral material in a work of art. The Maya Lin sculpture above illustrates that definition at it's most basic form. Manipulating topography as a means to reveal processes.
I am guessing that the guy or gal who has to mow this particular lawn is not terribly impressed. This particular form of art is intriguing to me because it is so experiential and often surprising.

Many visitors to the sculpture are so overwhelmed by the experience that they immediately pass out, as you can see in this photo.