Urban Design

Sacred Heart

I don’t know whether to love or hate some of the street art in my RiNO neighborhood. The art next to Sacred Heart is a good example of my ambivalence. On the one hand it is a clever use of the twin-tee warehouse wall construction in creating an image that changes as you approach it. On the other hand, it is an image that has its roots in juvenile anime, perhaps with meaning only for the initiated adolescent. That it is juxtaposed with the landmark Sacred Heart catholic church is another conundrum. Is it simply a coincidence – a chance encounter between the whim of an immature artist and an object of deep religious meaning? Is it an effort to capture the innocence of children linked to the innocence of faith? Or is it the reverse, a sly critique of religious faith as a naive wishfulness? My money is on the first instance. In any case, I find it disrespectful both to the church as a sacred place and as an architectural landmark, and wish that whoever funded the project had some sense of context and appropriateness.

Logo

There is a little story behind my logo.  It looks like just a street grid and a north arrow, but it really isn’t.  The ‘north arrow’ is an unstrung bow referring to my Native American (Omaha) heritage on my father’s side.  It has a sadness to it – the ending of a way of life, a life tied to the land.  The street grid is a nod to my profession – making cities livable, beautiful, healthy and exciting places.   The logo tries to express respect for both entities – the natural environment and the constructed city.

Metrocenter Mall, Phoenix AZ

As a subconsultant to Parsons Brinkerhoff, and based on their planning diagrams and direction, I created a mixed use retail, office and residential development incorporating most of the original mall’s anchors as well as a proposed new light rail station adjoining the mall site.  Using realistic retail, residential and office building types with surface and structured parking, I laid out the mall site and the surrounding area and provided a hand drawn plan rendering.

I35 Corridor Study

I35 Corridor Plan, Lewisville TX

 

Working as a subcontractor to Parsons Brinkerhoff’s Phoenix office, I laid out the urban design form and provided hand drawn three dimensional visualizations for several subareas in Parson Brinkerhoff’s I 35 Corridor Plan through Lewisville, Texas.

Castle Rock streetscape