the Connecticut Landscape Architect

the Connecticut
Landscape Architect
A publication of The Connecticut Chapter of
the American Society of Landscape Architects
Winter 2003
Design Awards
2
the Connecticut
Landscape Architect
The Connecticut Landscape Architect
is published by the Connecticut Chapter
of the American Society of Landscape
Architects.
Editor
Mark E. Westa
Assistant Professor
University of CT/Plant Science
Box U-67, 1376 Storrs Road
Storrs, CT 06269-4067
Phone: (860) 486-6069
Fax: (860) 486-0682
Email: mark.westa@uconn.edu
Editorial Board
Channing C. Harris
Sarah W. Middeleer
Mark Westa
Layout and Advertising
Jeffrey H. Mills
J.M. Communications
205 North Farms Road
Coventry, CT 06238
Phone: (860) 742-7234
Fax: (860) 742-7349
Email: publishing@ctasla.org
From the Editor
W
inter always seems a time of change, a time of celebration, a time of
maturation. And so it is this year.
For readers of The Connecticut Landscape Architect it is a time of
change. For the last 31/2 years Sarah Middeleer has shepherded this publication from concept to your hands. She has done a wonderful job selecting
timely subjects, prompting writers to submit articles and editing that work.
Her last issue, “Campus Design & Planning,” is a perfect example. Thank
you Sarah for your hard work and dedication.
With this edition we celebrate the winners of the 2001 CTASLA Design
Awards (also featured in our 2002 Handbook ). It is fitting to look at the accomplishments of our profession through these award winners. These
projects depict both the variety of our work as well as the quality with which
we do it. This is important information for us but even more so for those who
don’t fully comprehend the profession of landscape architecture. If you have
a chance, share this edition with friends, family, clients or public officials.
As for maturation, it can be used to describe my hopes for this publication and the profession. I see landscape architecture maturing into a profession that will lead society on issues of land conservation and development. It
has to be us. We have the training and knowledge to create a thriving, sustainable world for our children’s children. I would like this publication to
play a role in that leadership. If you have ideas or wish to create articles
please let me know.
To contact CTASLA:
Voice mail: (800) 878-1474
Email: mail@ctasla.org
Web site: www.ctasla.org
M ARK E VERETT W ESTA
INSIDE
On the cover: The grove at
A Country Home, Greenwich, a 2001
CTASLA Design Award winning project
by Devore Associates, LLC.
President’s Message
4
2001 Connecticut ALSA Design Awards
5
p.9
p.5
this issue
Trustee’s Message
8
Book Review
Building the 21st Century Home: The Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood
9
Need to Know Basis
BOCA Basics
12
p.18
The Student News
18
p.25
Stupid Tech Tips
MAGIC Magic
21
p.21
Bass Weather
A Report from the Links
25
3
President’s Message
A
I met with almost all of our State Senators and Representatives or their staff to ask for their support for the Community Character Act, the Urban Park and Recreation
Recovery Program and the renewal of the Transportation
Equity Act of the Twenty First Century. All were received
well.
On the final day of the meeting I was able to take
part in a training session for those Chapter Presidents
interested in assisting National in Leadership Training.
This training led by Thomas Dunbar is by far the best
initiative ASLA has had in a long time in my opinion. I
am pleased to announce that I am now a trainer and I
look forward to hosting a program on ASLA leadership
development in the near future and ask the question
“How do you draw your Pig?” More to come.
As always I would like to encourage the membership to become more active in the chapter. If you would
like to serve on the executive board or a committee
please contact a current member. If you have a creative
way to advance the profession let us know.
year has already passed
by and for the most part the
turn in the economy does not
seem to have too many adverse
effects on the Chapter. The
awards issue of our publication
is one of my favorites. It recognizes the hard of work and
dedication of our membership
to our profession. Congratulations to all the award winners.
Thank you to all that participated and a special thanks
goes out to the Northern California Chapter and Dwight
DeMay for their help in judging the entries.
The CTASLA also had the pleasure of helping out the
Northern California Chapter by judging their awards
back in May. I would like to thank Aris Stalis, the New
York Chapter President, Sylvia Erskine and Diane Devore
for their efforts.
In April I attended the Chapter President’s Council
meeting in Washington. It was packed full of events and
a full day of lobbing on Capitol Hill. Whitney Talcott and
T HOMAS R. T AVELLA
The Connecticut 9/11
Living Memorial
Towers|Golde has well represented our profession by donating
its skills and effort to create a
meaningful memorial to the 189
Connecticut citizens whose lives
where taken on September 11,
2001. The memorial is being constructed on Sherwood Island State
Park in Westport where it looks
out across Long Island Sound to
the Manhattan skyline. Their design weaves enduring granite
with the seasonality of trees and
shrubs and the sea’s tranquility to
create a quiet place of memory.
We will feature the 9/11 Living Memorial in greater detail in
the next issue of The Connecticut
Landscape Architect.
4
2001 Connecticut ALSA Design Awards
SARAH MIDDELEER, ASLA
T
he 2001 CTASLA Design Awards
competition had many outstanding awards submissions.
The projects were peer-reviewed by
representatives of the Northern California chapter of the ASLA. The winners were:
DESIGN – RESIDENTIAL
• Honor Award – Susan Cohen,
Miller Residence (Greenwich)
• Merit Award – Devore Associates,
A Country Home (Greenwich)
DESIGN – MUNICIPAL/PUBLIC
• Merit Award – TO Design,
Franklin Square Rehabilitation/
Sister City Plaza (New Britain)
COMMUNICATION
• Honor Award – Johnson Land
Design, Mason Design Inc.,
Guidelines for Community Design
(Simsbury)
Thanks go out to the jurors who
assisted with the awards competition.
They were: Dwight DeMay, senior
associate with Hart Howerton and
president of the Northern California
chapter of ASLA; Richard Macias,
campus planner with San Jose State
University and trustee of the chapter;
Christopher Kent, associate with
Patillo and Garrett and vice president
of the chapter; Elizabeth Flack, education director at the Strybing Arboretum
and central region chair of the chapter; and Jeffrey George, senior associate with Terra Design Group and central region director of the chapter.
A general comment made by the
jury was that the images and photographs of submitted projects often
“…did not do justice to the thought
and care that was obviously put into
the projects. The jury was intrigued by
several other projects that seemed well
done and were described well in text,
but the images were not compelling…
we would have given two or three
more awards if the images were better.”
So start taking pictures now for next
year’s awards competition!
■
Miller Residence, Greenwich
Landscape Architect: Susan Cohen
Landscape Architect
The site of the Miller residence is
described as “high above a scenic
lake.” When an addition was planned
for the house, it was decided to make
the lake more accessible by terracing
the slope. But the main factors driving
the design were the clients’ programmatic requests and their stylistic
choices: “The clients’ love of Italy and
their affinity for the motifs of the Italian
Renaissance period informed the design of the pool and the two terraces.
The small courtyard terrace sits a few
steps above the large pool terrace and
evokes an old cobble-paved cloister
garden. Paved with square granite
cobbles, it has as its focal point a perfectly scaled northern Italian bowl dating from the 1870s…”
Other features recalling historic
gardens are wrought iron fencing, a
curved stone wall planted with vines,
a lion’s head fountain spout, and a
simple planting scheme that emphasizes boxwood, catmint, and roses.
The pool itself is described as inspired
by the work of the English architect
Edwin Lutyens.
(continued next page)
Miller Residence, Greenwich. Left: Upper terrace with antique Italian basin surrounded by annuals and low boxwood hedge. Right: Swimming pool and
spa, inspired by the work of English architect Edwin Lutyens.
5
Design Awards, cont’d
■
A Country Home, Greenwich
Landscape Architect: Devore Associates, LLC
Project Manager: Howard Williams
This project is described as presenting traditional and modern elements together, through the use of
stone, plants and grading. Certain
elements, such as a wall near the pool
and plantings nearby, are meant to
suggest that they are remnants of an
earlier use, having evolved to their
present appearance over many years.
The landscape architect responded
to the architecture, as well as to requests by the clients. The project description recounts, “The site revolves
around a large shingle-style house.
The clients requested a landscape full
of spaces inviting to children and appropriate for entertaining large or
small groups of friends. While the
scale of the house suggests a certain
formality, the plantings and detailing
of amenities evoke an informality consistent with the architecture’s details
and the rhythm of everyday life.”
A low retaining wall extends
along the rear of the house. “Worked
into the gentle contours, the height of
the wall is greatest in the center, diminishing as it spreads to either side
until it meets the adjacent grade flush.
Projecting from the wall are stone buttresses which vary in length according
to the slope. Designed to mirror the
pitched roofs of the house and facade
detailing, their ramps are elements
down which the children can run and
ride bikes.”
Plantings are used to beguile children and adults alike: “A vegetable
garden leads from the pool area to a
grove of deciduous trees. Climbing
towers, slides, and swings are hidden
in the branches of the trees…The center of the grove is left open for use by
the children in their play, and as a
destination and gathering spot for the
clients and their guests.”
■ Franklin Square Rehabilitation/
Sister City Plaza, New Britain
Landscape Architect: TO Design
This project was undertaken as
part of an effort to renovate a number
of public parks and green spaces in
New Britain, in honor of its sesquicen(continued on page 14)
2002 Winners Announced
Eighteen entries were submitted for
the 2002 CTASLA Design Awards,
which were awarded at the Chapter’s
holiday party in December. We are
pleased to announce the following
winners, which will be featured in a
future issue of The Connecticut
Landscape Architect and in our 2003
Connecticut Landscape Architects
Handbook, coming this Spring.
Thank you to all who participated!
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN – BUILT WORK
■ Residential
MERIT AWARD to Dickson
DeMarche Landscape Architects for Jones Residence, Nod
Hill Road (Wilton, CT)
■ Municipal/Public Spaces
MERIT AWARD to Diversified Technology Consultants
for Sherwood Island State Park
Entry Plaza and Parking Improvements (Westport, CT)
■ Corporate/Institutional
EXCELLENCE AWARD to
Wesley Stout Associates, LLC
for Lock Building (South
Norwalk, CT)
MERIT AWARD to The
S/L/A/M Collaborative for
University of Connecticut
Foundation (Storrs, CT)
LANDSCAPE PLANNING AND
ANALYSIS
MERIT AWARD to LANDSCAPES for Marshlands Conservancy & Jay Property Cultural Landscape (Rye, NY)
A Country Home, Greenwich. View of pool enclosure, showing stone wall interspersed with privet
hedge and concrete pavers set in lawn.
6
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL
COMMUNICATION
HONOR AWARD to Mark
Westa, ASLA, AICP & Susan
Westa, AICP for “Development
Alternatives in the QuinebaugShetucket Heritage Corridor”
7
Trustee’s Message
Despite having a rough financial time due to the
The activity at ASLA’s web site continues to amaze
everyone. The numbers have risen dramatically to a
sustained volume of over six million hits per month
over the last six months. The IT staff have been rolling
out new enhanced services to allow members to use the
ASLA Online for delivery of more learning, interactive
and professional services.
ASLA’s efforts to promote licensure are also gaining
momentum. Together with CLARB and CELA, we have
formed the “Partnership for Advancement of Licensure,”
a coordinated effort which embraces revised ASLA
licensure policies, a Model Law and state licensure
campaigns. So far in the last year and a half, six states
have passed practice acts. ASLA’s goal is to have all 50
states with practice acts by 2010. Connecticut, with
CTASLA leading the way, upgraded its law to a practice
act four years ago, so we are currently ahead of the
curve.
Next year, ASLA’s annual meeting will take place in
New Orleans in Early November. If any of you have not
been to an ASLA annual meeting I encourage you to try
and make this one. New Orleans is a special place, not
to be missed.
economic recession, ASLA continues to find ways to
deliver and enhance its services to the profession.
ASLA, along with sister organizations CLARB, CELA
and LAAB, have contracted to conduct the “Landscape
Architecture Body of Knowledge” study over a two-year
period. This important study will set a baseline for future developments in education, practice and licensing.
Some of you old folks may remember the 1972 “Fein
Study” that this is intended to replace.
ASLA’s Government Affairs is an active part of your
organization. ASLA supports open space protection;
the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program; invasive species control and
other programs that fit with our recently revised policies
(check them out on the web.). The principal legislation
we support are Urban Parks restoration (UPARR), the
Community Character Act (CARA) and the reauthorization of TEA-21 (now known as TEA-3). This legislation
affects a broad selection of Landscape Architectural
interests, and if funded, can allow us to do some good
work. ASLA‘s government affairs program is a key area
in which we can raise the profession’s visibility.
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8
Book Review
Building the 21st Century Home: The Sustainable Urban
Neighbourhood…by David Rudlin & Nicholas Falk
REVIEWED
T
BY
KRISTIN SCHWAB, ASLA
he spelling of “neighbourhood”
was a dead giveaway —
another one of the those interesting books from England that probably wouldn’t quite translate to practice here in the U.S. Yet once I got
past the stilted language, the premise
and attitude of this British book on
urban planning and sustainable housing was not only relevant, but wonderfully argued, structured and illustrated.
The book’s main premise is that
society is increasingly aware that
current patterns of development are
socially and environmentally unsustainable. Further, that these problems can
be addressed through recognized
principles including increasing urban
density, mixed-use zoning, and decreasing the car’s dominance on the
built environment. The authors focus is
the difficulty of applying these principles in an economic and regulatory
environment that perpetuates these
patterns.
Mainstream inertia, characterized
by a fear and misunderstanding of
density and mixed-use zoning, has
resulted in the loss of true urban character in all but a very few cities. It has
also taken away our sense and treatment of towns or villages as smaller
“urban” places. The authors posit that
we must identify the critical factors that
will allow us to move beyond experimentation and utopian settlements
toward widespread implementation of
urban principles in the repopulation of
our declining cities and towns.
With this mission in mind, the
book is structured in three parts. The
first places our current dilemma in its
Building the 21st Century Home is full of simple yet powerful graphics. Here the authors depict first a typical
suburban pattern and then one based on an urban framework. The text discusses the benefits of the latter and
the problems of the former.
9
historical context. It offers an illuminating comparison of two major movements that turned away from traditional urban form — the Garden City
and the Modern movements — and
have contributed to the patterns of
contemporary suburban form. While
the modernist school (led by Le
Corbusier, Wright and the Bauhaus)
came to dominate planning in cities,
the garden city movement’s (Ebenezer
Howard, Unwin) influence has thrived
in the new town and the suburb.
Though the two are vastly different in
physical form, the principles on which
they are based are similar — both
thought in terms of neighborhood
units, promoted the benefits of open
space and sought to reorganize settlements to accommodate the car.
The failure of these movements to
produce successful urban patterns
caused planners and designers to fall
out of favor, though the patterns have
been perpetuated. Urban renewal of
the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s exacerbated
these problems. Density became
(continued on page 10)
Book review, cont’d
recognized as over-development,
mixed-use became incompatible uses,
and “individual practices which
seemed logical when taken together
become profoundly anti-urban.”
This section concludes with a look
at the evolution of housing forms and
demographic trends that have resulted
in highly segmented markets. Private
housing in its leafy green enclaves,
and “social” (public) housing in its
earlier high-rise and more recent copycat suburbanized forms. Demographically, while household size is going
down, the number of households is
going up, causing a demand for new
housing. Yet, “having had our fingers
burnt when we last addressed these
issues there is little appetite for innovation.” The utter lack of new ideas
about housing design is the point of
departure for the middle section of the
book, which identifies what the authors consider the primary influences
on housing and urban development:
the “Four C’s” — conservation,
choices, community and cost.
Delving into what most new urbanist development largely ignores, the
authors place proper importance on
the influence of the environmental
movement and its increasing power to
promote natural resource “conservation.” Local issues such as air pollution, water pollution, loss of open
space and overflowing landfills, they
point out, are increasingly likely to
affect the planning of towns and cities.
This coming as a result of public and
regulatory pressure as well as the
tightening supply of natural resources.
There is a growing realization that
protecting our rural and wild open
space goes hand in hand with encouraging urban dwelling.
The influence of “choice” refers to
the need for new housing options for
changing lifestyles and household
composition. Such factors as the decline of the nuclear family, changing
career patterns and the rise of
telecommuting are creating new possi-
The book contains many expressive/artistic graphics that help explain the text but also add real visual
interest. These are balanced with charts and data to tell a compelling story.
bilities for housing forms. “Atelier”
units designed for both living and
working behind the same front door, is
an example of such a choice.
The notion of “community” is
dealt with very compellingly. The authors paint two very different pictures
of the idealized “good” community —
one typified by the village where everyone knows each other, there is a central hub, and where there are clearly
defined boundaries. The other is the
urban community, of Jane Jacobs’ affinity, where one may feel anonymous
and at the same time intensely connected to their small subset of the
larger city. Yet, few of our suburban
places provide the former, and even
fewer of our urban places provide the
latter. Alternative types of community
structure, such as co-housing, which
provides individual housing with a
communal gathering place, are a response to this lack of fit.
Finally, the issue of “cost.” The
authors point out that “location, location, location” has come almost exclusively to mean private, secluded and
green. Greenbelt policy, widely implemented across England, has had the
mixed result of limiting growth, but
exacerbating the flight away from the
middle of the city to the desirable periphery. If urban repopulation is to
gather momentum, financial incentives
are required. This is defended by
pointing out that the taxpayer has
10
been subsidizing peripheral development for years through commuter rail
lines, roads and other costs. Money
spent on urban housing is a good investment because it makes use of existing infrastructure.
The third section of the book is
devoted to the form that these four
factors combine to suggest — a model
for the “sustainable urban neighbourhood.” The main gist of this model is
that compact urban environments have
the greatest potential to be sustainable. A study is cited which shows that
settlements of 25-30,000 people was
considered the threshold for sustainability, with the ability to achieve a critical mass of jobs & services and support a good public transport service.
A 1980s study reported a clear correlation between per-capita petroleum
consumption and population density,
with U.S. cities having twice the petroleum consumption of Australian cities
and four times that of European cities.
While the authors wrestle with the fact
that we can’t force all people to live in
cities, finding new ways to make them
appealing to a wider segment of the
population is critical to sustainability.
In naming their model the “sustainable urban neighbourhood,” the authors have consciously chosen three
loaded terms, yet they are clear as to
what each means to the model. While
one might be tempted to think of cities
as environmental disasters, they ex-
pose the wide misconception that
“green” equals sustainable, noting
that the quantity of green space in a
city is not as important as the quality.
In fact, there are many other important
indicators of “sustainable,” such as
transit, waste treatment and water
usage. As for the term “urban,” they
borrow heavily from Kevin Lynch, Jane
Jacobs, and the new urbanists with
their focus on the structure and hierarchy of streets and blocks, the unique
identity of individual districts, and the
mix of uses required to sustain social
and economic life. The meaning of
“neighbourhood” is centered on
the idea that neighborhoods are social
structures that must evolve; they are
not instantly created. Incremental
small-scale development and re-development foster this.
These elements come together in a
final case study of the Hulme district of
the city of Manchester, an urban area
that had gone from a population high
of 130,000 in 1923 to a low of
12,000 in the early 1970s. After almost completely razing the entire
area, an initial attempt was made to
redevelop with large public housing
projects and shopping centers in the
1970s. When this failed, the authors
became involved in writing a development guide incorporating the principles outlined above. ”There was
nothing particularly original about
these principles. However initially the
Hulme guide was fiercely resisted. The
housing developers said it would
make their housing expensive and
unpopular. The Housing Associations
complained that it could not be
achieved within their regulatory framework or cost yardsticks. The police
argued that it would increase crime,
the traffic engineers that it would lead
to accidents and the institutional investors that it would reduce the returns on
their investment.”
After many years of persistence,
the guide was not only adopted, but
also extended to the whole city of
11
Manchester, where it has had a profound impact on standard development practice. As for Hulme, it has
slowly begun the process of rebuilding
with a few very successful neighborhoods waiting for the rest of the city to
join them. While this end was somewhat of a disappointment after the
hopeful buildup, the authors are quick
to remind us that successful stories do
not happen overnight, but rather are a
process of incremental change, compromise and dialogue.
This book reveals that much of
what we build is dictated by standards
or assumptions that we do not often
enough question. The future of our
communities depends on more of us in
the design field being willing to look
through a larger lens, innovate and be
persistent.
Kristin Schwab is an Assistant
Professor in the Program of Landscape
Architecture at the University of
Connecticut.
BOCA Basics
CHANNING HARRIS, ASLA
Author’s Note: In recent discussions of the CTLA Editorial Board, it was suggested we do a regular feature on the topic of important technical and legal
knowledge, both as a reminder to professionals, but also as a way of informing
the two-thirds of our readers who are not landscape architects about our concerns. Every landscape architect is involved in some way with the public’s
health, safety and welfare. This may vary from expertise dealing with largescale environmental management to being expert in playground access for the
disabled. In today’s world we need to have defensible standards to support
many of our design decisions, as well as using inspired creative design and
common sense. Therefore, we thought it would be illustrative to share some examples of issues commonly faced by professionals and to relate which regulatory sources may guide our decisions. We’ll also note where to obtain them.
We welcome your comments and invite anyone to submit topics or accounts of
your own experiences. Incidentally, I’m not a legal expert and the opinions expressed herein are solely mine and are not necessarily reflective of any CTASLA
policies or those of the firm with which I work.
O
f the four to five feet of shelf
space in our office library
dedicated to regulations,
zoning codes, standard specifications
and such material, probably the most
important and often used is the BOCA
National Building Code. The 1996
Edition is currently law in
Connecticut, in association
with the Connecticut State
Supplement (1999) and
Amendment (2000). This
overrides certain national
items, and, in conjunction
with the Life Safety Code
(NFPA 1997) and its Connecticut Supplement, they
constitute a critical package
of information affecting the landscapes immediately surrounding buildings. BOCA is the acronym for the
Building Officials and Code Administrators International organization,
which researches building safety and
publish the codes, usually every three
years, with updates. BOCA generally
applies to larger buildings, certainly
all public and institutional ones. A
different code, CABO, applies to oneand two-family residential structures.
(BOCA is only one of a number of
standards out there, as well, and some
states and municipalities have their
own, unique, codes. Don’t be distracted by the BOCA National Fire
Prevention Code, not adopted in Connecticut. When working in a new state
or municipality, be sure you know what
code applies to your work!) Different
standards may also apply,
depending on the type of use
of a building.
There are also separate
trade-related codes, such as
the International Mechanical,
Electrical and Plumbing
Codes, which we rarely use
in our firm, but do need to
be aware of. Many in our
office also like the annotated
version of the building code available
from BOCA with commentary, graphic
examples, diagrams and explanations. The Connecticut Department of
Public Safety, Division of Fire, Emergency and Building Services also provides updated information on its web
site, www.state.ct.us/dps/dfebs/UPDATE/update.htm. There are also past
editions of the monthly journal, Update,
but this is no longer going to be printed,
due to state budget cutbacks. Update
provided notices of statutory changes
in regulations affecting the building
Need
to
Know
Basis
12
code, and featuring a column on formal interpretations of the questions
related to the code, written by the
State Building Inspector. (The formal
interpretations will continue to be
available online.) Note these codes
may not be the only ones regulating
your design. For example, public
schools also fall under the purview of
the State School Facilities Unit regulations in addition to BOCA.
So why are landscape architects
concerned with such things? Principally, because the codes regulate the
sites immediately surrounding buildings, such as routes of exit in emergencies, which often include stairs, ramps,
walkways, terraces and sometimes
parking lots. They also describe, in
detail, many limits on specific design
elements, including stair treads, risers
and landings, handrail heights and
sizes, ramp slopes and widths, guardrail requirements and lighting at exit
routes. The required width of a “means
of egress” may only be part of the
width of a “monumental stair” you’ve
designed for that important structure,
but you’d better be sure you’ve also
addressed the requirements for an
“accessible egress route” where required, as well. Codes have very specific vocabulary! BOCA also has a lot
to do with swimming pool design and
particularly fencing, gates and alarm
systems and pool safety and security.
This is an area that has particularly
seen a number of changes in the last
few years. We occasionally also consult it for such things as “legal” frost
depth for foundation design and wind
speeds for site lighting and flagpole
design.
There’s enough to save it for another article, but an integral part of
the Connecticut Code concerns handicapped accessibility. This is articulated
in the code booklet, ICC/ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standard A117.1, 1998, “Accessible and
Usable Buildings and Facilities.” This
is also available via the Department of
Justice “Code of Federal Regulations,
(continued on page 17)
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13
Franklin Square, New Britain. Clockwise from above: Rendered plan showing
Franklin Square in relation to city streets; original sculpture by Robert Aiken; plaza
with flags set in granite paving.
Design Awards, cont’d
tennial anniversary. Franklin Square
was one of the first such spaces to be
restored and was to have a new “sister city plaza” added to it. There was
a tight deadline: “Because of a scheduled event in Franklin Square to receive and honor sister city mayors
from around the world, the landscape
architect was given a very limited time
frame (six weeks) to complete the
$400,0000 design. In addition, construction had to be completed within
four months.”
Franklin Square is a
“…small ‘town green,’
…home to the beloved
Elihu Burritt Memorial, [a]
beaux-arts styled limestone
sculpture, and surrounding
plaza constructed in
1916.” As noted in the project description, the original plaza was a
collaboration between sculptor Robert
Aiken, architect H. Van Buren
Mongonigle, and landscape architect
Ferruccio Vitale, “…frequent collaborators and renowned 19th-century
designers.”
In order to convey timelessness
and connection between various cultures, it was decided to create map
medallions out of granite: “Each medallion is constructed with a minimum
of three types and colors of granite. A
bronze star locates the specific sister
city. In the center of the plaza is a
larger medallion of the New Britain
seal…To execute the idea of shared
A Country Home, Greenwich. Left: Rendered plan. Right: The
vegetable garden as seen from the children’s play area, with a
view of the pool beyond.
14
Miller Residence, Greenwich. Left: View of lake from terrace.
Right: Plan showing terraces, plantings, and water.
values a word [such as ‘understanding,’ ‘brotherhood,‘ or ‘communication‘] was sandblasted into solid granite blocks, once in English and below
it in the sister city language. The
blocks also function as benches.”
■ Guidelines for Community
Design, Simsbury
Landscape Architect: Johnson Land Design,
Mason Design, Inc.
This document is introduced by
giving a bit of its history: “The Town’s
1994 Plan of Development and Implementation Guide designated the Design
Review Board to play a primary role
to ‘develop guidelines for community
design and appearance,’ and in partnership with the Planning and Zoning
Commissions, ‘to develop a publication containing land use design standards appropriate to Simsbury.’ This
document is the result of that request.”
The following main points are
listed as guiding principles for the book:
• Quality design is a study of relationships — connections among individual structures in the built environment, the natural landscape, the
historical context, and the people who
experience it.
• Architecture and landscape design should emerge from local climate,
topography, history, and building
practices. Individual projects should
link seamlessly with their surroundings,
transcending style.
• Preservation and renewal of historic buildings, districts, and landscapes affirm the continuity and evolution of our community.
• The whole of Simsbury is greater
than the sum of its parts.
The book is divided into two main
parts: General Standards and Character Places. In the first part, the authors
present design guidelines to help ensure that future development correspond with the best of Simsbury’s
character. Finally, there are appendices outlining a proposed design review procedure, signage, and
streetscape details.
Congratulations to all the winners
in the 2001 Design Awards competition, and thank you to all who participated.
Guidelines for Community Design, Simsbury.
Sketches showing proposed streetscape standards.
15
16
BOCA Basics, cont’d
28 CFR Part 36, ADA Standards for
Accessible Design.” The Connecticut
State code is separate from (and in
some cases, more stringent than), the
Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal Legislation which protects the federal civil rights of disabled Americans.
BOCA documents are available
directly from BOCA Service Center, at
(800) 214-4321, ext. 371, or via
www.bocai.org/boca_codes.asp. Life
Safety Codes are available from the
National Fire Protection Association,
Inc., Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269. Tel: (800) 3443555. These two codes overlap somewhat, especially on emergency exit
requirements, but they also have differences, which may important to your
project. The Connecticut Supplements
are available from: Commission on
Official Legal Publications, Office of
Distribution, 111 Phoenix Ave., Enfield,
CT 06082. Tel: (860) 741-3027.
Web: www.state.ct.us/dps/dfebs/
OSBI/TechServ/Codes.htm.
Fortunately for all of us however,
AIA/Connecticut offers a complete
package of these, including BOCA,
NFPA, ANSI, CABO and the Connecticut Supplements, at a package price.
Contact them at AIA/Connecticut,
87 Willow Street, New Haven, CT
06511, (203) 865-2195.
Advertise in the 2003
Connecticut Landscape
Architects Handbook, the
twelfth edition of the
venerable desk reference for
Connecticut’s landscape
architectural community.
This 170-page guide book
has it all! For more
information, or a copy of the
rate sheet, please contact
Jeff Mills at (860) 742-7234
or publishing@ctasla.org.
17
Channing Harris is a Senior Associate
with Towers|Golde, Landscape Architects and Site Planners of New Haven.
He can be reached at (203) 773-1153
or charris@towersgolde.com, where
he may be found in the office library.
He extends his thanks to the State
Building Inspector, Christopher Laux,
for assistance with this information.
ASLA
2003
CONNECTIC
LANDSCAPE UT
ARCHITECTS
HANDBOOK
INFORMATIO
N,
P RODUCTS AN PEOPLE ,
D S ER VI CE
S
The Student News
BROOK MCKEE
T
he student chapter of the ASLA at
the University of Connecticut
started this semester with a bang
including meetings, a design charrette,
a design competition, lectures and a
picnic.
The design charrette was held at
the Anna Reynolds Elementary school
in Newington, and focused on the
central courtyard of the school. The
students broke into teams and designed
features such as quiet reading corners,
mazes, outdoor amphitheaters, as well
as color and texture gardens. The entire school then voted on the designs
and will work to have one built. Hopefully the student chapter will be able to
return to see the final product.
The club also participated in the
annual Cornucopia Festival. Teachers
and students from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources spent
the day explaining the various programs and facilities to help promote
the school. The Landscape Architecture program sponsored a design competition in which students were asked
to create artistic interpretations of the
theme “A Celebration of Autumn.”
Both the senior and junior classes participated. Three designs were selected
and built around the festival grounds
where they could spark interpretation
and interest for the program.
Nancy King, the student lecture
series coordinator, has been working
hard to organize this year’s events.
The lectures are held almost every
week, and all are welcome to attend.
We are always looking for professionals to talk about their work in landscape architecture or related fields.
One recent lecture was titled:
“Whirlwind European Tour.” It featured three UConn students who
showed slides and spoke about their
travels across Europe. The next lecture
featured another group of UConn students who spoke about their internships over the summer. On October
16th, UConn alumna Courtney Bello
spoke about her work at Peter Cummin
Associates. It was great to learn from
a recent graduate what life out of
school is really like.
Student designs for the central courtyard of Anna Reynolds Elementary School in Newington.
18
The senior class has started their
final year with a great deal of enthusiasm. They have already gone on the
annual trip to Stockbridge, MA to see
the town as well as analyze the planting design and layout of Naumkeag.
The seniors appreciated the learning
experience as well as getting out of
the studio for some fresh air. Seniors
then prepared for the first outside crit
of the year for their senior studio with
John Alexopoulos. Hank Torcellini from
Gardener & Peterson, Engineers
stopped by to give desk crits for a
subdivision design the seniors had
been working on. A final pin-up including town planners and other local
officials followed.
The junior class was happy to set
up shop in their new studio and they
quickly found out how much time they
will spend there. They are learning the
ins and outs of the computer lab as
well as how important it is to learn
from each other and the seniors. The
junior studio class with Mark Westa
started off the semester learning site
analysis and design diagrams. They
analyzed a small site near campus and
then started a project to locate a new
UConn visitor center. In construction
class with Kristin Schwab they learned
about construction layout as well as
how to analyze various construction
materials. They traveled to Boston and
Providence and will visit Storm King,
PepsiCo and other sites in the Hudson
Valley on an upcoming trip.
The incoming sophomore
class took Kristin Schwab’s design drawing class, with over
30 students enrolled. Kristin is
teaching one section of this
large group while Adjunct
Kathy Dorgan is teaching a
second section. The sophomores
are a talented group and many
of them look forward to being
accepted into our program.
Please let us know if you
would be interested in lecturing
or visiting the program. Also, if
you are looking for interns, summer help or full-time employees,
please send a notice. We would be
happy to place it on the LA Job
Board.
Juniors and seniors in UConn’s Landscape
Architecture program participated in a design
competition focused on artistic interpretations of
the theme “A Celebration of Autumn.”
Three designs were selected and built around
the grounds of the annual Cornucopia Festival,
where they could spark interpretation and
interest in the program.
KOMPAN offers ASLA
accredited training
to help you design a
playground that complies
with the latest ADA and
safety regulations.
www.kompan.com
For details on scheduling a
seminar call John LaRue, CPSI
Phone: 800-986-3716
Fax: 401-625-1562
kompannewengland@juno.com
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20
MAGIC Magic
MARK WESTA, ASLA
Editor’s note: This will be a recurring section intended to
allow the more “tech savvy” to share their insight and knowledge with those less fortunate. While we don’t want anyone
to share their secret to success, there are plenty of small hints
to keep this column going…well, forever.
If you have a Stupid Tech Tip or comment please send it
to the editor. If it helped you it will probably help many others. If you would like further information about specific aspects of this article, please let us know and we will provide
additional information in a future issue of CTLA.
T
he University of Connecticut’s
Map and Geographic Information
Center (MAGIC) is a great place to
find data about your project site. As
many of you know there is a
wealth of data that can be
used in your geographic information system. This information is typically located in the
Town Level or Quad Level data
libraries and includes mapping
of things like roads, soils,
floodplains, waterbodies and
much, much more.
A good deal of data is also located at the State Level data library.
Of particular interest are Aquifer Protection Areas, Public Water Supply
Wells, and the National Diversity Data
Base. There are many other data sets,
particularly ones that would be helpful
for larger scale land-use or planning
project. A series of historic maps also
provide some interesting viewing for
anyone interested in the history of
their town or a specific project area.
The .sid maps are particularly interesting because you can zoom and pan
very easily. (You may need to
use Internet Explorer to view
these.)
At the home page (http://
magic.lib.uconn.edu) there is
a connection to Connecticut
Raster Data. This contains a
composite of USGS quadrangles for the state with
easy zoom and pan features and a
composite of aerial photos of some of
the state. This is great way to familiarize yourself with a site in just a few
minutes (maybe while on the phone
with a prospective client — won’t she
be impressed!)
Finally, and less well known, is the
information that can be used by those
who are not in the world of ArcView
or MapInfo. Within all the levels of
Stupid
Tech
Tips
21
The Map and Geographic
Information Center is a
great place to find data
about your project site.
data (state, town, quad, etc.) are
many files that can be downloaded
and used in non-GIS programs. These
include .dxf files that can be used in
CAD, and .tif, .jpg and .sid files that
can be used in image programs such
as PhotoShop or pulled into CAD to
create a base drawing.
Whatever your needs and expertise
I would encourage you to spend a few
minutes at http://magic.lib.uconn.edu.
There is a wealth of information waiting for you to use in your next planning or design project.
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23
5th Annual CTASLA Golf Outing (October 4, 2002) — Winner & Prizes
First Place Winners (Gross score)
Prize: $100.00 Gift Certificate @ Golfer’s Warehouse
Lance Dellacroce, Jennifer Mitton,
Chris Corcoran, Chuck Cullan
Third Place Winners (Net score)
Prize: $30.00 Gift Certificate/Lyman Orchards
Craig White, Brian Trainor,
Matt Foley, Brian Kallmeyer
First Place Winners (Net score)
Prize: $100.00 Gift Certificate @ Golfer’s Warehouse
Tom Tavella, Alan Minkus,
Ray Wasson, Rich Brannigan
Last Place Winners (Gross score)
Prize: Putting Cup & Golfer’s Quick Manual
Ruthann Smith, Elisabeth Saint-Armand,
Elizabeth Rains
Second Place Winners (Gross score)
Prize: Lob Wedge
Bill Aniskovich, Scott Temple,
Gerry Lombardo, Ron Bugbee
Closest to Pin Winner
Prize: Olimar Fairway Wood
Larry Nicolai
Longest Drive Winner
Prize: Ping Isopur Putter
Justin Shanley
Second Place Winners (Net score)
Prize: # 7 Wood
Chris Ferrero, John Ferrero,
Chris Nelson, Ron Janeczko
Hole-in-one Winner
Prize: Set of Golf Clubs and Golf Bag or
$1,000.00 Cash
None. (Better luck next year!)
Third Place Winners (Gross score)
Prize: $30.00 Gift Certificate/Lyman Orchards
Tom Woodruff, Mario Calcagni,
Justin Shanley, John Peters
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Bass Weather (a report from the links)
ROB CLAPPER, CTASLA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE
F
riday, October 4 was CTASLA’s fifth annual golf outing at Lyman Orchards
Golf Club. While the day started out cloudy, threatening our track record of beautiful weather, the precipitation waited patiently until after the golf, when it settled
into a light drizzle during the luncheon, awards and raffle. Chris Morhardt (your
CTASLA Vice President) and I were teamed up with Brian Cossari from Hoffman
Landscapes and Stephen Geckeler from Aqua-Lawn. The tournament, played on
the beautiful Robert Trent Jones Championship Course, was a scramble format
with our foursome starting on the twelfth hole. We played as contenders until the
fourteenth fairway, where Chris drove the ball — and his club head went flying
further than the ball. Then came the fifteenth hole — the one with the large water
hazard. I pulled out my ultra-light fishing rod and started casting. That’s when
Brian and Stephen knew their chances of being in the running for a low score
were finished, so they started having some fun. I caught two small bass on the
fifteenth hole and a whopper on the eighteenth (see photo, and no, it was not
digitally enhanced). Definitely bass weather.
Eighteen holes and four sleeves of balls later we headed back to the clubhouse for a scrumptious smorgasbord: pasta, veggies, beef, chicken, pork ribs,
green salad, rolls and draft beer. (Yes, I know, it sounds like the perfect Saturday
night date.) Once everyone was stuffed the scores were announced (see page
24) and then it was on to…the raffle. As always, the “pie and a pound” (Lyman
Orchards apple pie with a pound of coffee) was a big hit. And, for the first time
this year: high-end goodies, including a two-day golf school at Stratton Mountain,
Vermont, a digital camera, $250 gift certificate to Oliver Nurseries and a box of
cigars. I didn’t win anything (why do I keep buying the tickets?) and Karen
Shopis, as usual, came out a winner with a folding camp chair donated by
Hunter Industries. But…I didn’t leave empty handed. When you signed in, every
player was given an insulated CTASLA 2002 Golf Outing coffee mug, which I
used, a week later, on my trip to Michigan.
So let’s see: large mouth bass, CTASLA coffee mug, getting to know Brian
Cossari and Stephen Geckeler, and watching Chris Morhardt’s club head fly further than his ball. Surely a worthwhile outing. If you did not attend this year’s
tournament, make plans now to join us next year!
In this digitally NONretouched photo of
action at the fifth annual
CTASLA Golf Outing at
Lyman Orchards Golf
Club, author Rob Clapper shows he has no
handicap with the ultralight rod in the water
hazard off the 18th
fairway. The trouble
comes, he says, when he
picks up the golf clubs.
25
Thank you thank you!
We appreciate the support of
the following sponsors of the
2003 CTASLA Golf Outing:
Anderson Turf Irrigation, Inc.
Aqua- Lawn Inc.
Atlas Fence Co.
Bartlett Tree Experts
BISCO/Boston Irrigation
The Care of Trees
The Concord Group, LLC
CT Bomanite Systems, Inc.
CT Stone Supplies, Inc.
Consolidated Brick
Environmental Site Developers
Executive Landscaping
Game Time Recreation Equip.
L.H. Gault & Son, Inc.
Glen Terrace Landscape
Hoffman Landscapes
Hunter Industries Inc.
Ideal Pavers & Block Co.
J.M. Communications
Johnson Land Design
Landscape Forms/Lantz
Lighting Affiliates, Ltd.
LSI – Lighting Systems, Inc.
Mattera & Sons, Inc.
M.E. O’Brien & Sons, Inc.
Milone & MacBroom, Inc.
Nicolock Paving Stones
O&G Industries
Oliver Nurseries
Rain Bird Corporation
Riverside Fence Co.
Ryther-Purdy Lumber Co.
Shoreline Pools, Inc.
Signature Pools, Inc.
Silvestri Fencing
Susan Cohen, LA
Tate & Associates, LLC
Tilcon Connecticut, Inc.
TPA Design Group
Turf Products/TORO
Twombly Nursery, Inc.
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Wausau Tile
The WBA Group, Inc.
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