Landscape Archetype

Tree Nurseries: Cultivating the Urban Jungle

by

  Dominique Ghiggi, 

Just caught the end of this lecture- a fascinating project by a critic of 'design education'.  Professor Steinitz teaches at Penn State University, so you will find him there working on serious projects with some very lucky undergraduates!

Carl Steinitz, Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning, Emeritus, will be giving a talk entitled “A Framework for Geodesign” onMonday, October 3 from 1–2pm in Stubbins. In it he will describe a framework for collaborative design for the change of very large areas, specifically focusing on a case study related to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

Carl Steinitz is Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning, Emeritus, at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Honorary Professor at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London. He began his affiliation with the Harvard Graduate School of Design as a research associate in the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis in 1966. He has  been Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the Graduate School of Design since 1973.

Professor Steinitz has devoted much of his academic and professional career to improving methods to analyze large land areas and make design decisions about conservation and development.  In 1984, the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) presented Professor Steinitz with the Outstanding Educator Award for his “extraordinary contribution to environmental design education” and for his “pioneering exploration in the use of computer technology in landscape planning, especially in the areas of resource management and visual impact assessment.”  In 1996 he received the annual “Outstanding Practitioner Award” from the International Society of Landscape Ecology (USA).  In 2002, he was honored as one of Harvard University’s outstanding teachers. Professor Steinitz is principal author of “Alternative Futures for Changing Landscapes”, Island Press, 2003.

As an intern at NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, I've been witnessing their slow progression to a newer visual brand.  The enormous design firm, Pentagram, is behind the re-design which began in May and will eventually touch all aspects of the institution from park signage to digital advertising.

The following is from the Pentagram site:

"Pentagram’s Paula Scher has collaborated with the Parks Department on the design of a new identity that creates a unified, accessible and modern image for the agency. The program includes the design of a cohesive program of signage, wayfinding and environmental graphics for the more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities in the Parks system. The project allows Scher to make a lasting contribution to the city that has inspired so much of her work.

The graphic program for NYC Parks is designed to meet several objectives. The Parks Department was initially looking for standards for the consistent application of its identity across agency materials. Despite having one of the most familiar logos in the city, many of the department’s communications for the public were not immediately recognizable as “Parks.” At the same time, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe was looking for a system to visually link Parks and its partnerships with high-profile community initiatives such as the High Line and Madison Square Park, which have their own distinct identities. And Parks needed a cohesive system of signage and environmental graphics in the parks themselves.

Since 2006, Scher has served as a member of the Design Commission of the City of New York, where she frequently reviews signage and graphics to be implemented in city parks and other public spaces. She was familiar with Parks’ existing graphics and the need for a consistent system.

The Parks leaf logo is one of the most iconic symbols in New York. The logo’s exact date of origin and designer are uncertain; it was first introduced to the department’s letterhead and official documents in 1934, when the five independent borough Parks Departments were unified into one agency, and Robert Moses was put in charge of the agency. (Moses was New York City Parks Commissioner from 1934 to 1960.) The type of leaf has never been officially identified; it most closely resembles the leaf of a sycamore, London plane, maple or sycamore maple. It is known to the agency as “The Parks Leaf” and has been periodically updated over the years, most recently in the early 1980s. The leaf and circle motif was developed in 1978, when it was introduced on Parks trucks, and widely disseminated on Parks signage in the 1980s under former Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern.

In the new identity, Scher has tweaked the leaf logo to give it a more modern appearance. The shape of the leaf has been streamlined slightly to smooth out the edges, and the line of the surrounding circle has been made thinner. The color has been changed to a more contemporary shade of bright green that can be uniquely associated with NYC Parks—as opposed to the more generic fern or forest green associated with parks services in general—and may be updated according to fashion. (This change in the color green is for print, web and merchandising materials only, because they change continually and can be influenced by fashion. The signage program will retain its original green color.) The logo can also be used in black and white, where its distinctive silhouette makes a powerful mark.

The signature has also been changed, shortening the name from New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to the more colloquial NYC Parks. The type is set in Akkurat, the primary font of the identity; the secondary typeface is Chronicle.

The new program asserts the symbol as an icon, and the leaf can be adapted to fun and stylish patterns that can be used in brand merchandising for Parks.

The most visible application of the new program will be signage in the parks themselves. Currently, the signage in most parks appears as a confusing patchwork of information. Entrances to Parks properties are announced by the familiar green identification signs that feature the Parks leaf logo; these are accompanied by rules and regulations on separate signs, many of them containing only one message each, resulting in a crowd of directives and distracting visual clutter in the natural environment. This evolved out of necessity: signs were added as new regulations were introduced, or in response to the communities the parks serve; for instance, most signage appears in multiple languages. The sizes and colors of the signs vary, and they are produced using three different methods—routing, vinyl and silkscreen—creating a cacophony of signage types.

Existing Parks signage appears as a confusing patchwork of information. Current signage has been added over time as regulations have been added or information introduced.

The new system consolidates all of this into modular signage that can be expanded with additional panels to accommodate further information. The signs can be arranged in horizontal or vertical orientations for various locations—at park entrances, dog runs, pavilions, etc.—and to accommodate the different heights of fences and other fixtures. On fences, the signage is double-sided, with panels clipping together at the same spot to be seen from both sides.

The new signage functions as a modular system. Detail of the new system of modular panels, which clip into fences from both sides. Additional panels can be added as required.

The new signage is set in Akkurat, which is easier to read than Times New Roman, the font used in the existing system. The new signs are fabricated as prints set within high-pressure laminate (HPL) phenolic resin produced in a uniform forest green.

The signage will be installed on a rolling basis as park fixtures and facilities are upgraded or renovated, with the first signs to be installed at several city swimming pools this summer.

An important part of the new program is the creation of graphic standards to link NYC Parks with its partnership parks—the community initiatives, alliances, trusts and conservancies such as the High Line, Times Square Alliance, Bronx River Alliance, NYC Greenway and Madison Square Park that have established their own high-profile identities. The new system pairs the Parks leaf with the logos of these groups, producing a cohesive and iconic system that works in both horizontal or vertical orientations and in various applications like signage and promotional materials.

Book: After the Planners, 1971

By Robert Goodman, an urban planner from MIT, After the Planners is an attempt to challenge planners and architects to think about their role in perpetuating the corporate/government 'renewal' of neighborhoods and whole urban districts.  Written with fiery prose and disdain for the status quo, the book captures an era mid-century when the rhetoric, theory, and practice of planning had failed to progress from its formal, somewhat romantic beginnings (e.g. city-beautiful).  Goodman argues that the working-class city dwellers received very little benefit from the urban renewal programs throughout the 40's 50's and 60's, whereas the developers and industries profited massively.  

BLDGBLOG is actually a fully stocked blog and website.  You’ve probably visited at least a couple times.   I certainly had before I saw this book at the McNally Jackson Bookstore on Prince Street.  Although I’m blogging nowadays, I certainly prefer to digest my media in its physical form.  Plus huge archive of postings, the BLDGBLOG website feels a little overwhelming.  Happily, they’ve printed this lovely volume here and reproduced highlights of the blog’s first 4 or 5 years.  

Seemingly huge, the book reads very quickly, since the material is a string of ‘postings’.  A loose narrative is attempted, but the results are topically scattered.  I’m Mr. Linearwhen it comes to consuming books, so I struggled at many times to follow the logic.   But the point is actually to juxtapose a lot of different ideas and subjects and the book succeeds in this mission.  The author Geoff Manaugh basically suggests in the introduction to leave the book in your bathroom and browse at your leisure.  It’s a three-minute-a-pop theorist’s brainstorming session, freeing one’s mind from more practical constraints.  In this respect, the book is perfect for me- a hard science background in geology and earth sciences, entering design school with a huge emphasis on theory.  

Although I typically rail against ‘cubes floating in space’, and other purely fantastic form-based fantasies, it’s time to me to start thinking outside the ‘box’.  I say this because I can be a practical at times.  But having read the story of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Headquarters in my 20th Century Architecture undergrad lecture, I remind myself that radical thinking can break barriers.  One might say that Wright’s "dendriform" (tree-shaped) concrete columns were not at all radical – simply design true to nature.  But for the engineers and standards of the time, it was definitely outside the box!  Wright’s structural design wildly exceeded the standard load-bearing requirements and forced the revision of building codes.  Floating cube (or dendriform column) 1, establishment 0.

If design-related speculation is a vital brain exercise then this book is a 90-episode mental workout video collection.  Recommended for those who love the idea of blogs but ultimately prefer their reading on paper.

In State Parks, the Sharpest Ax Is the Budget’s

This article came out a month ago, but I wanted to touch upon the subject of financing public parks as I am currently interning for the New York City government (NYC Parks & Recreation).  This depressing article describes the dire situation in which Washington State Parks finds itself.

The enduring economic downturn has forced Washington State to cut much of its State Park operating budget. This in turn has forced the State Parks system to instate visiting and usage fees at many parks across the state.  Park 'Patrons' and 'users' will be viewed as 'customers', and each facility will begin to run itself more like a business than a resource.

Park rangers, any remaining staff, and dedicated volunteers all must carry the burden of maintenance and operations, often taking on two or more new roles.  Hours of operation will be cut, and security and patrolling will be significantly reduced.

Washington is not the only struggling state.  In Ohio, a bill was passed to enable drilling for oil on parklands, which has enabled the Parks System to fend off budget cuts.  Some argue that drilling on parklands is a better solution than cutting the budget and letting the park slide into complete disrepair.

I've written very few blog posts about my personal journey through life, here on year 26.  It must be because it takes more time to compose a thoughtful account of one's activities, thoughts, feelings.  I certainly don't want to let my time go by before I forget these experiences.

To bring thee up to speed, I began this blog around March after I finished applications to graduate programs in Landscape Architecture and began hearing back from schools.  Once I realized my landscape future was a reality, I hit the ground running, limping, galloping awkwardly.  After sealing the deal for September, I changed my focus to the very near future, a.k.a. summer internships.

I have been technically unemployed since November 2010, and through my dedication to my design portfolio and graduate applications I decided not to focus on jobs until February.  Once school in the fall was a sure thing, I knew I wouldn't be eligible for another salaried position, as was discovered after an interview in February.  Coupled with a severe lack of funds from no paid work, I decided I would stay in New York and enjoy my last summer here.

With connections to 'green, garden, and park'-related organizations in the city, I applied for internships at the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation.  I was fortunate to land a position in the Capital Projects division, working under the Staten Island design team. 

Capital Projects was started in 1934 by Robert Moses when he became the first city-wide Parks Commissioner.  Located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, The division concerns itself with the design, construction, and restoration of parks, plazas, pools, playing fields, beaches, wildlife preserves, and public spaces across all five boroughs.  To provide context, the other divisions include Maintenance & Operations, Public Programming, Natural Resources i.e. forestry, horticulture, conservation, and Arts & Antiquities.

I'm a month and a half into the internship, and so far its fantastic!  I am meeting amazing people who are working on impressive projects throughout the entire city.  Landscape architects, architects, engineers, construction firms and contractors, arborists, city planners, elected officials and politicians, community leaders, and neighborhood coalitions are just some of the people I meet every day.  What's really fascinating is the learning how sh*t actually gets done in the city.  Its a grueling process, which can take years to acquire funding, approve designs, and complete construction.  There's a lot of 'lifers' here, which makes me think that these are people who can handle the massive bureaucracy and thrive, while most others leave quickly out of frustration.  Although the process of creating or revamping a park can be convoluted at times, I see the sense of satisfaction in the designers and local community when a public project comes to fruition.  The advantage of Parks is that every project is ultimately for the benefit of the public. 

One of my main interests in studying landscape architecture is public space, so I feel quite at home here.  Secondly, my three+ years spent bike riding around the city, cataloging every park, scouring every grove of trees, is being put to good use.  Knowing the properties and the current issues at hand is quite helpful in wrapping my head around both the big picture and smaller goals.  NYC Parks like the High Line in Chelsea and Fresh Kills Park in Staten Island are world-famous experiments in public urban landscape, and its exciting to get the inside story.  Similarly, its humbling to learn about the tiny nooks and crannies in the city and the unique individuals that have spent their lives saving these locally famous places.

So far I have presented Staten Island projects in front of commissioners, regraded parks plans, and am currently designing a small Greenstreets park in Staten Island.  I'm also getting my first lessons in AutoCAD, which will be handy before jumping into the deep end this fall!

Career discovery at its finest.

I recently went on a tour in Queens with a Historic Presevationist who studied at Columbia GSAPP. I wanted to learn more about what preservationists might be doing, as I've become a bit of an NYC archi/infrastructure historian.  I was pleasantly surprised to find this post below the more typical (i.e. marble column) research projects that one might expect to find within a historic preservation department.

Study of Blues Music

Aleyna Becker, Xsusha Flandro, and Janine Wilcoscz (HP 2009)

Blues music, characterized by the 12-bar blues progression and melancholic lyrics, emanated from the Delta region in the early twentieth century. Many early blues musicians grew up on sharecropping plantations, where one of the main forms of entertainment was playing music at social gatherings. Older, local musicians served as mentors to these budding musicians, showing them how to play the guitar, piano or harmonica.

Photo: Blue Front Cafe, Bentonia, MS

        These musicians then set out to craft their music in juke joints, nightclubs near rural crossroads catering to sharecroppers and farm workers. The juke joints were a place where African Americans could gather to socialize, which was often accompanied by live music, dancing, food and alcohol. These joints typically had inconspicuous names because they were “underground” and relied upon word of mouth. Blues musicians traveled from joint to joint along Highway 61 and Interstate 49, which follow the Mississippi River. They would go to Memphis and Chicago to make a record but always returned to the rural juke joints to play music. It was here that these musicians entered their prime and became folk legends. Photo: Do Drop Inn, Shelby, MS

The objective of our traveling along Highway 61 was to revisit these old blues haunts and document them through photographs, sketches and personal experience. We discovered that many juke joints were not originally built as such. Musicians played in front of grocery stores, drugstores, in pool halls, theaters and sometimes at houses. These buildings were often altered using readily available materials, which usually included recycling found objects. This is one of the aspects that make these structures unique and also vulnerable to deterioration.

Photo: Po' Monkeys, Merigold, MS

Throughout our travels we encountered some sites that had already perished and others that were on their way. However, some efforts were being made to mark these sites, such as plaques installed at important locations by the Mississippi Blues Trail Commission. Of course, the best preserved juke joints are those still being used for live music. Eventually we plan to compile all of our information into a website so that others can expand this body of work.

Photo: From left, Aleyna Becker (HP 09), Xsusha Flandro (HP 09), Sonny Boy Payne and Janine Wilcoscz (HP 09)

Link: Mississippi Blues Trail Website