Oakland Waterfront Walk - Part I: Urban Connections

I've been an officianado of ports for a few years now so now that I am a full-time Bay Area resident I thought I should do some port wandering here. The issues that continue to attract me to industrial ports are their interface with ecology, culture, and public access. European ports are much more accessible both visually and physically so I am putting US ports to that same test, without getting in trouble for trespassing, of course! I thought I would start with Oakland. By taking the BART and following the Bay Trail it looked like a relatively short walk Middle Harbor Shoreline on the waterfront just adjacent to the Port of Oakland. 

The Bay Trail will eventually be a 500 mile trail around the entire perimeter of San Francisco and San Pablo bays. 355 miles are completed currently. The goal is more a majority of the trail to be along the water but in some cases it has had to move inland due to obstacles. The trail also connects existing parks, public transportation, and ferries.

This was the section that I took on the walk. I went from the MacArthur BART and walked west on 7th Street to the waterfront. 

 The beginning of the walk is on normal sidewalks through West Oakland which is supposed to be pretty dangerous but at least on this particular day was fairly quiet. But I thought these traffic islands where the BART columns land have great potential as way-finding points with more color, art, and lighting to let you know you're on the right track.

The official trail signage shown here. Its proximity to the highway on-ramp signs gives you a clue as to the quality of the trail ahead.

Its a pretty bleak place but is the only connection to the waterfront on the Bay Trail.

 You enter this area that is where you enter I-80. There are tons of semi trucks, diesel fumes, and high concrete walls. It's a pretty daunting space but it does have a 10' sidewalk and pedestrian crosswalks

I was a little worried about this tunnel, safety-wise but it is short and there is nowhere to hide.  

 Your first view of the Port!

Utilitarian asphalt path between the train tracks and the BART. 

You have arrived! The use of palm trees as you get closer to the park was very effective. It is easy as you are walking/riding through the more dismal section to forget why you are going there. The trees were a nice way to let you know you are still on track and this cluster at the park entrance was a nice gesture. Some well-meaning concrete geometric gestures as well. 

Overall, its great that there is even a connection to the waterfront though this part of town and having the foresight to install 10' sidewalks in a place where they wouldn't normally be is great. It would be nice thought to try and make the journey a little friendlier considering the surroundings. Or maybe this is just a park that is better reached by car but the intention of the Bay Trail is recreation and accessibility so I imagine as the area improves the route will be more popular and may get more attention and maintenance. 

La Gavia Park - Toyo Ito

Everywhere that I have lived, whether the place was ideal or not, there were landscapes that I miss. Leaving Madrid next month, I know I will miss the surreal landscapes of Vallecas and the periphery. Below is a view down an empty median in the southern section of the PAU. It as a wild post-apocalyptic feel to it that leaves is open to so much possibility.

Adjacent to the PAU, Toyo Ito designed La Gavia Park that was meant to treat the water from the new development. Unfortunately the park was not completed and stands fenced and non-functional. But there was a hole cut in the fence and people seem to use it as an unofficial entrance which we used to bring the CEU San Pablo Landscape Masters class in for a tour. 

I do not have the complete story but from what I can gather there were issues with the Madrid water authority not approving the treatment of the water on site which seems ridiculous because that was the whole premise of the much publicized sustainable park. But it would not totally surprise me that there was a lack of coordination here between city agencies...

The park was built on an existing 39 ha landfill so the dramatic topography in the flat plane is welcome. You can see above that it is irrigated and one of the few green spaces in the area since irrigation is very limited due to the dry climate.

Here is a model of the system of "water trees" that would filter the water as is fed by gravity through successive cells until it reaches the restored La Gavia stream.

The sinuous design and and plantings are situated well within the topography and create a pleasant landscape even when not functioning. I can only imagine that if this were a working water treatment landscape it would be even more interesting to visit during different times in the cycle.

This is a view that we did not get to witness, of the "water trees" partially full of water. 

From the top of the hill where the museum and tower were meant to be is a large unfinished concrete structure that was to be the primary treatment. Since this is incomplete the system cannot function. But the view from the top was still stunning. You can see the new colorful architecture of Vallecas in the distance.

When you turn around you can see other landforms in the distance which are very sculptural and set off the remaining agricultural fields. Although I like the idea of the park and its forms, I wonder if they would have looked at the existing system of landfills as a recreational corridor and made smaller more localized water treatment throughout the urbanization, it could have been a more efficient and long term use of the 2.5 million euro budget?

Sculpture as Playground: Barcelona

While I was in Barcelona for the landscape Biennial this past month I found a quirky neighborhood called V---. While I was there I asked some local residents if there were any more interesting neighborhoods like this. One girl sent me to an area near the Sants station. While exploring I found this amazing park called Parc de l'Espanya Industrial (Park of Spanish Industry... no wonder I liked it!)

It had a large lake, tall cylindrical towers, the use of which were unclear to me, and a large modern sculpture. Well I thought it was just a sculpture until I got closer and saw that it was a playground! You could climb through the mouth of a dragon and slide down the tail. There are also multiple other slides going in different directions. One slide is actually closed from the top and can only be accessed from the bottom as a skate ramp. Afterwards I went walking through the neighborhood and found a nice plaza. But on my way back to the metro I was amazed to see the variety of activity in the rest of the park. There were women dancing in traditional Catalan dress, people playing soccer, paddle, and roller skating. It was exactly what you want to see in a park, multiple user groups and activities all at once! 

from a distance it looks like a sculpture in a plaza

entry through the dragon's mouth

and the structure looked different from every angle 
















sculpture as skate ramp

the tail as slide goes over the water

The street design was very pedestrian oriented. Most had one lane of traffic, one lane of parking and palms all down one side. And when the street met the plaza the parking stopped and the sidewalk bumped out to fill that space with additional palms and benches. The street also ramped up for an on-grade pedestrian crossing. 

Then I went to Placa d'Osca nearby which was really very nice. It has rows of trees that were not entirely regular that you could tell have been replaced over time (some are very old and some younger). There was space for cafes to have tables outside and some open space where young children were riding bikes and playing ball. I sat at a cafe for awhile and watched. It was a simple space but well proportioned and used. The plaza had some great graffiti (above) and waitresses with really amazing dreadlocks. It was an interesting way to end my trip to Barcelona

Disappointment and Discovery in Barcelona: Part 1

So this past week I had the opportunity to attend the European Landscape Biennial in Barcelona to represent Landscape Architecture Magazine. I was in the conference most of the trip but had a free day to finally see the design mecca of Barcelona. My first experience on the way to my hotel was a walk from Cataluyna Plaza along the famed Las Ramblas. And I'm sure this happens with many things that are long awaited and held up on a pedestal, I was disappointed. There I was finally standing in the perfect public space of my undergraduate dreams and this is what I saw.

Sorry for the fuzzy photo but it was nighttime and raining. It was a sea of tourists and tacky souvenir shops. During the day it was lined with human statues and the men selling those annoying squeaky mouthpieces and glowing slingshot helicopter toys just like in Madrid. In the daytime there were some traces of the flower shops that used to line it (the exotic animal sellers have disappeared). And I was told that locals still go there on Sundays and to the Boqueria market. 

It had all been built up too much in my mind. The scale of pedestrian space and canopy of London Planes was still nice but not so different compared to what I have seen in some other European cities. In the US this is more rare and may have been more impressive if I had come to Barcelona ten years ago. Now it is lined with casinos, sex shops, hostels, and overpriced restaurants. Just a few blocks west into Raval and you are out of the fray and everything costs half as much. But like New York, locals don't go to Times Square, the Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty unless visitors are in town.

All that to say that most often I am disappointed by the things I have planned to see and totally blown away by the things that I didn't know existed. But this is the way of life isn't it? So here are the things I didn't expect but made my trip amazing.

I was headed to the Vallcarca metro stop near Park Guell and saw this amazing graffiti in a random residential neighborhood (same name as metro stop).

There was a community garden in an empty lot

 as well as a homemade bocce ball court.

A great little place painted lime green! The neighborhood was only a few blocks in total but I met some nice girls and they told me that many of the buildings were very old and they had been torn down to accommodate new development. But the crisis hit and the lots remained empty so they were used for other interesting things by the creative neighborhood residents. The girls also pointed me to another interesting neighborhood but I'll save that for Part 2!

Exploring Parque Juan Carlos 1

After a failed attempt to reach Parque Juan Carlos 1 by bicycle, I decided to finally take the metro. It's just a couple stops before the airport in Madrid and is a large sculpture park built in the 90's. I could see this strange series of sculptures on a hill and from a distance they looked like buildings. 

Now, in my Valencia post I complained a lot about the disregard of context. But I have to say, that in this park, it is so large that defies the context of the area around it if there ever was any. It is far out, near the airport, near a large modern business complex hosting a large building for congress and many corporate headquarters. On some of the other sides there is residential that is relatively new as well. So the area may have been planned together. But it made me wonder about the handling of context when you are designing in the middle of nowhere with little context to draw from? 

The park plan is a large circle of water with large hills, monumental sculptures, and grids of trees. Its geometry creates an internal logic that, while a little strange, is very strong and consistent. And it was very purposeful the way that the columnar trees and vertical elements reflected in the waters surfaces (below)

There was also a lot of careful consideration to the horticulture. The park was divided into zones of planting types. Above shows a more tropical zone. It was much more lush and varied than other Madrid parks I have seen.

Some of the sculptures were interesting and playful

I especially loved this landscape sculpture covered in fake turf! I saw some kids riding BMX bikes on it so I assumed it was a play structure. But when you get close you can see it has a moat around it with signs to keep off. It was meant only as sculpture, but it does cry out for interaction!

Towards the end of my tour I came upon two large green hills. Most of the park is not irrigated so the lush grass really made the land forms stand out. They were very large hills so I am not sure if they were part of a landfill or just made to create vistas. One hill has a grove of mature olive trees on the top shown above. The other has a metal dome and 4 cypress trees. I spent some time on top of the hill looking out at the park thinking about context. And like most things, I decided that "it depends". There are times for connection and there are times for standing apart, and times when parks create the logic for the areas around them. Juan Carlos 1 may be a strange park but it does successfully create its own little world!

Anillo Verde Ciclista: Part 2

I honor of the Vuelta 2012, I set off today on another journey down the Anillo Verde Cicista! This time I headed east and then north counterclockwise around the loop riding through Madrid Rio Park and through Parque de Manzanaras.

Parque de Manzanaras: My trusty rental steed with basket of course

Parque de Manzanaras: Most of the main walkways and spaces in the park are paved in wood which is something we wouldn't even think of in the Northeast US because of the rot and maintenance but here the arid climate of Madrid wood lasts for a very long time. But it would have been very expensive because there is not a large natural supply of wood like we have at  home. 

 The wood and grass amphitheater is very dramatic. But it is not part of any natural landform. There are two other large hills on the site which I can only assume are former landfills. The amphitheater may have been built to buffer the park from the nearby expressway.
                                                                                                                                                                   

South of the city the river is not channelized and looks much more natural 

Photinia Maze! This could be great for all my southern landscape friends. They grow quickly so you wouldn't have to wait too long to get a functioning maze. Of course I'm not thrilled about the way the flowers smell but in a large park it wouldn't be intrusive and the red new growth looks dramatic.



Then heading further on the Loop it got to be a bit less picturesque. Many parts were along service roads and there was even a tunnel with a narrow pedestrian crossing to navigate

 So far this section of the loop is extremely exposed. Definitely bring extra sunblock and water because once you get outside of Madrid Rio Park there is nowhere to stop to get more. 

 The tunnel connection looked a little dodgy but was rideable.

Throughout the system there are these "rest stops" Most of them have benches, bike racks, and signage. The stops on this end of the route were very exposed, poorly maintained and had no signs. There looked like there was a water fountain at one time but it wasn't working. There was really no point in "resting" at any of these stops. The signage in general in this leg of the route was horrible. It was impossible to tell where to turn sometimes. The western leg I covered in an earlier post was not great but there were standard signs at most critical points. There may be some guerrilla signage actions in my future:)

A pretty rundown skate park along the Parque Lineal de Palomeras near the M-40 expressway

This video is along Parque Lineal de Palomeras. I was grateful to finally get some shade! 

But as a warning it is a very long steeper grade here, so be ready! It's a lot more fun on the way home. I saw some old men playing bocce ball (its called Petanque here in Spain more related to the french version of the game). The park wasn't that great but had some interesting landforms as a buffer from the M-40.

This was about where I think I lost the trail. After this pedestrian bridge I spent about 45 minutes riding around with another lost couple from Barcelona trying to get back on the trail to Juan Carlos I Park. But we ended up circling back to Parque Lineal de Palomeras. It was getting late so I just decided to call it a day. But this just emphasizes the real problem with signage on the route. I will go back to this point next time and try to figure out  where I went wrong. I've been told the historic gardens at El Capricho are really nice and that Juan Carlos I is interesting so it will be worth another try (or I could take the metro but what fun is that!)

On the way back to the bike rental place I ran into a pre-celebration for the Vuelta! There were tons of cyclists, families, and kids with numbers on their bikes having a blast. There was music and stationary bike races too.







People were really having fun with it. I loved these girls dressed in the scene from ET!













So hopefully I'll post again soon with guerrilla bike signage updates!