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These renderings integrate ideas generated
during the Urban Open Space Foundation and Jones & Jones’
Community Visioning process (November 26-28, 2001). These
visioning workshops produced a grass-roots concept of what
Madison’s Central Park can be.
In these drawings, a landscape architect
has created conceptual park “rooms” that illustrate
how public input can be fit together, especially focusing
on the synergy between the park and its built surroundings.
Note that these rendering are not to
scale, and that they are not intended to depict specific Madison
streets or specific blocks of a Central Park – they are
conceptual drawings.
The
“nature room” concept (left) shows how rain collected in
the residential areas next to the park can be directed to
a network of green infrastructure that becomes an amenity
in the park and an important wildlife habitat. The wetlands
might even be used to create a physical barrier between the
park and the rail corridor (a “ha-ha”) that doesn’t
block views. Also, integrating community gardens around a
marketplace builds relationships between urban and rural farmers,
artists, craftspeople, and residents. Gardeners and small-scale
commerce contribute a steady source of “eyes on the park”
to ensure safety.
A plaza and the marketplace and
the station could function in different ways for community
events and activities: art fairs, farmers markets, and more.
Mobile vendors’ kiosks could serve food and expand the
space of the marketplace and serve people arriving and departing
on a future rail station. Paths and boardwalks could wind
through the woods, small ephemeral ponds, and wet prairie.
These paths would sometimes be in shade, and sometimes break
into openings such as the Sky Garden or Drumlin Field to provide
a peaceful and dynamic journey through the park.
The
“culture room” drawing (left) shows how the development
of higher density mixed-use buildings near the park creates
opportunities for terraced spaces such as cafes, restaurants,
and commerce, with views over the rails into the park and
its vibrant array of activities. Affordable housing and space
for artists and small businesses could be located above the
ground floors and take advantage of the abundant sunlight.
The ground floor is devoted to commercial and retail uses
that draw activity to the streetscape. Structured parking
could be built into these buildings and open to natural light
on the sides facing the rail corridor.
Nearby streets in the revitalized
commercial/industrial corridor are attractively streetscaped and made
friendly for pedestrians and bikes, while still allowing for
motor traffic. Themes of energy weave through the park and
the adjacent areas, involving historic architecture, modern
production facilities, innovative methods, public art, and
perhaps an energy museum
Performances and happenings in the Amphitheater
-- both organized and spontaneous -- as well as activities
in the Skateboard Bowl and the “Small Fry” Play
Area encourage civic engagement and bridge differences between
visitors of different ages and lifestyles. A diversity of
visitors to the park and wide range of inviting ways to experience
the park provides more “eyes on the park” to ensure
safety.
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