COEN + PARTNERS

On April 23rd, Shane Coen will give a a keynote presentation titled “Design Dynamics of the Collaborative Method” at the Oklahoma Chapter of ASLA in Oklahoma City, OK.

This March, Shane Coen will lead a design charrette alongside Gina Ford and Tom Oslund at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign. In the two-day event Shane will lead a group of students, from sophomores to advanced MLAs, in an examination of the impact of railroad infrastructure and develop visionary strategies for Champaign’s north-south rail corridor.

 Champaign, Illinois – originally West Urbana – began as a railroad town. The configuration of the city’s fabric was first influenced by the physical orientation of the rail line. As the city grew, rail infrastructure interrupted a more consistent urban pattern and now that corridor influences the way inhabitants perceive and negotiate their environment. Land adjacent to the railroad presents itself as a series of virtually contiguous territories that remain largely ambiguous in terms of ownership, land use, contamination, and public accessibility.

Shane Coen will serve as a judge for the Lost Spaces Competition, alongside with Susan Szenasy (Editor in Chief, Metropolis Magazine), Pierre Thibault (Principal, Atilier Pierre Thibault Architecture), Shauna Thompson (Curator, The Esker Foundation), and Diana Sherlock (Independent Curator).

The Lost Spaces Competition (2015.01.05 - 2015.03.30) is a call for ideas to reframe how underused spaces in Calgary might be used. The aim is to address a particular challenge of public space--what to do with seemingly remnant pieces of public property.

Concrete work is nearly complete and birch trees are ready to be planted…construction work on the new Minnesota Capitol Complex plaza in St. Paul, MN is going smoothly. (Check out our post back in May 2014 to see how much we have progressed over the past 6 months!)

Collaborating with the architects of BWBR, Coen+Partners created a new geometry for the public space outside the Department of Transportation Building. A native Minnesota plant palette was carefully selected to celebrate the state's four seasons. One of the most eye-catching features of the new plaza, the pyramid-shaped mound, is more than architectural land-form and in fact integrates stormwater management in an abstraction of natural systems.

What is stormwater? Why should we care about it?

Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt. Stormwater can soak in to the soil (infiltrate), be held on the surface and evaporate, or runoff and end up in nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies (surface water).

In natural landscapes such as prairies or forests, the soil absorbs much of the stormwater and plants help hold stormwater close to where it falls. In developed environments un-managed stormwater can create two major issues: one related to the volume and timing of runoff water (flooding) and the other related to potential contaminants that the water carries, i.e. water pollution.

Stormwater is a resource and ever-growing in importance as the world's human population demand exceeds the availability of readily available water. Techniques of stormwater harvesting with point source water management and purification can potentially make urban environments self-sustaining in terms of water.

St. Paul: history of the city sewer system…

It is the summer of 1984 and a thunderstorm has just passed over St. Paul dropping heavy rains on the City. Immediately, phones at Public Works Sewer Maintenance begin to ring. There are several hundred basements flooded with combined sewage. In the streets, children are playing in the water that has bubbled up from catch basins. Toilet paper and other debris are sad reminders that this is more than stormwater. In the Mississippi River aquatic life is choking on raw sewage and industrial waste. Within hours this mixture will be flowing past drinking water intakes of downstream communities…

Why was this happening?

Being a river town, St. Paul used to have a combined sewer systems. Back in the late 19th century and early 20th century it was standard engineering practice throughout the country to convey untreated sewage and stormwater overflow to rivers or lakes in a single pipe.

In the 1920s, the obviously polluted Mississippi demanded the attention of the city and its people—something had to be done.

In 1938, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary Sewer District was created. The very first sewage treatment facility on the entire Mississippi River went into operation.

In 1967, the Federal Water Pollution Control Agency convened a conference on the pollution of the upper Mississippi River. This was the first of many steps involving many Federal, state and local agencies and interest groups that would eventually lead to the sewer separation program in St. Paul 19 years later.

By 1985, over half of the City was served by separated sanitary and storm sewer systems.

In 1986, the Accelerated Ten-Year CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control started.

On May 17, 1996, the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and South St. Paul, the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission and others celebrated the completion of the ten-year, $332 million sewer separation program for CSO elimination.

Today, St. Paul has two completely separate sewer systems, one carrying surface water runoff and the other one carrying sanitary sewage.

Nevertheless, the work of protecting and restoring the Mississippi River goes on. And stormwater management plays a key role.

How can landscape architects integrate stormwater management into design?

Common stormwater management ideas:

Bioretention cells

Curb and gutter elimination

Grassed swales

Green parking design

Infiltration trenches

Inlet protection devices

Permeable pavement

Permeable pavers

Rain barrels and cisterns

Riparian buffers

Sand and organic filters

Soil amendments

Stormwater planters

Tree box filters

Vegetated filter strips

Vegetated roofs

Where can I learn more about stormwater management?

http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/stormwater/index.htm

http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=2686

Memorial Plaza The memorial garden and plaza at the Lifesource River Road Headquarters has been designed as a tribute to life — the life provided by the generous donations of thousands of people, past, present, and future.

We see the plaza space as contemplative, but quietly celabratory. The granite wall maintains the presence of loved ones; the low-slung benches offset the verticality of the building and the grove of solemn birch trees, while the simple rectangular plaza provides visual relief. Subtle changes in texture and color reinforce the concept of progression and change, while maintaining austerity.

Paving is taking place at the memorial courtyard.

C+P project manager Robin Ganser sitting on one of the custom-designed benches.

Roof Garden The new roof garden of the Lifesource River Road Headquarters will provide a splendid panoramic view of the skyline of downtown Minneapolis.

One unique feature of the design is the planting palette, wherein bold drifts of perennials and grass complement the architecture, plaza, and Mississippi River backdrop. Once fully-established, flowing will be a blanket of wildflowers and native grasses planted in broad, sweeping drifts. These waves of color and texture will develop and unfold throughout the year — flowers will dominate the summer and fall months, grasses holding form and collecting sculptural drifts of snow throughout the winter.

Check out our “what blooms when“ chart and don’t miss out any seasonal color!

Coen+Partners featured in article on gabions:

Coen+Partners is working with RSP Architects and Greiner Construction on the non-profit's iconic new offices on West River Road in Minneapolis, MN.

Coen+Partners is collaborating with BWBR Architects and Mortenson on a parking structure, streetscape, and public plaza at the Department of Transportation Building on Rice Street in St. Paul, MN.