Lin, Van Valkenburgh BioMed21 Plaza a Step Closer to Reality With New Renderings
{a rendering of the BioMed21 plaza}
Comments on the last post regarding the participation of two world-renowned architects in the design of the new BioMed21 plaza centered on the closure of an additional block of Euclid Avenue and a portion of Children's Place - an important issue for sure, and one that will be the focus of a future post. But new renderings of the plaza are out. So what do you think? Perhaps the relative success or failure of a particular architect's participation is in the details and execution, but that judgment will have to wait.
The plaza is big and will certainly provide a central focus to the medical campus. The renderings seem somewhat void of real opportunities for people to gather, sections of seating for lunch crowds or defined spaces. A place this large could seemingly accommodate both an oasis feel and functionality (of course perhaps the oasis is the function...).
{the plaza on 11/19/09}
How is it that virtually all Americans came to think of themselves as "middle class" in the twentieth century? In this cultural history of real estate brokerage, Jeffrey M. Hornstein argues that the rise of the Realtors as dealers in both domestic space and the ideology of home ownership provides tremendous insight into this critical question.
I think unimaginative comes to mind. Looks like every other plaza w/fountain I've seen. Maybe I expected more. The City Garden raised all our expectations about new public spaces. Compared to C.G. this is ho hum stuff. But then most of W.U.s new buildings are unimaginative and ho hum, aren't they?
But we should expect something different than City Garden here right? CG is in the middle of the downtown of a region with 2.8M people. It's a civic space if there ever was one. The WU/BJC plaza is a public space, but otherwise is different in form and function. My hope is that it's a shaded area with purposeful space that serves as a true town square or meeting spot in the medical campus.
Why don't people recognize that Barnes-Jewish, Children's and Washington University are literally world-class institutions that are underappreciated assets. None of that means that we should bend over backwards and allow them to do whatever they want, but it's ridiculous when people act as though we should tell WU/BJC that they MUST build here or absolutely CAN'T do something. This plaza is going to be very nice and a great addition to the medical campus.
There are lines and there should be some give and take. Let's focus on making sure that the old Shriner's Hospital and CID buildings are preserved and reused.
Lookin Good!
What is this giant black disk in the middle? A performance space? A memorial as a void like at the world trade center site? The disk appears to be raised a little. It is too high to walk directly over and too low to be a bench. I predict that people will walk around it. It'll be a big black obstacle that manages to allow clear sightlines, but doesn't really enhance the space at all. It's a non-fountain.
Seriously, what is it?
I should reserve judgement until it is completed, but the blank walls of the new BioMed building at the first floor that will face the plaza give me little to hope for. It is also painfully obvious that no one associated with the building or plaza projects took into consideration that one of the busiest MetroLink stations is literally at their doorstep to the east. Huge missed opportunity for TOD.
Daron - I believe it's a fountain and/or light feature that you can walk across. Take a look at the third rendering image.
Vanishing STL - couldn't agree more and I've spoken to some who are involved in development of this area (not in an official capacity) and they recognize that this was a huge mistake. In my opinion it should have been the trade off for closing Euclid and Children's Place.
The problem seems to be that WU/BJC has no one interesting in or able to manage commercial space. That said, they did locate the Barnes and Noble and Applebee's for pedestrian access. And the new tower on the northwest corner of FPA and Euclid has retail. Of course we all think that's a no-brainer, but I don't believe that the original plan called for any retail.
A closer look at BioMed21 shows that the wall closest to MetroLink cannot be altered to include retail and I doubt that they are going to want to face their new "landmark" plaza with retail. This would have been a perfect spot for a Walgreens of CVS - incredibly convenient for the thousands of workers and commuters daily.