Downtown OKC 2020: Dennis Wells
Dennis Wells
Guests blogs on the future of downtown Oklahoma City continue with this latest post by architect Dennis Wells. Dennis is one of those guys I still need to enjoy a long cup of coffee with – most of my conversations with him have been by phone. He has become a leading voice (though not for all) in the residential section of MidTown (he calls it SoSA, others call it the Cottage District). If you’re looking for a traditional neighborhood consisting of identical Dallas-style homes, stay far, far away from the area around NW 8 and Shartel where Dennis is a leading champion for bold modern architecture. Dennis, count on me calling you soon for a cup of coffee. I’ll let you pick the place – that’s always a good insight into who a person is!
What should downtown Oklahoma City look like in 2020, and how can this vision be best achieved?
Oklahoma has some uniquely positive attributes characterized by our people and geography: We are abnormally friendly… We are more Native American than any other state… We reside on top of large amounts of petroleum… We have a rich country music and blues heritage…
There are also some not-so-positive images: We are perceived as being red-neck… The weather is often windy, and seasonally dangerous… Our State is not known for its high-profile natural beauty…
Our downtown should represent us by amplifying our good attributes and by spinning our negative images in surprising ways. Amplify and surprise. Our urban design should showcase our friendliness and somehow promote our perceived negatives as positives.
Right now Bricktown is maturing into a truly world-class entertainment district. Several CBD rim districts are growing into vital niche neighborhoods, and the Devon tower is ratcheting-up our urban image physically and psychologically. This important momentum is happening even in the midst of global economic downturn, and should be protected and nurtured.
The relocation of Interstate-40 opens opportunities for redevelopment of the abandoned highway and creates challenges for unifying the proposed Core to Shore district. A budding river environment offers incredible potential. This is an enviable position, and moving forward here’s what we need to do…
Protect and nurture the existing momentum: There are certain components of the Core to Shore vision that should happen now, but opening large new parcels for development will absorb projects and stunt the growth of all the other rim districts including Bricktown. The existing CBD and adjacent districts need more time to mature and “finish out.” There are too many gaps in the existing downtown that need to be filled with housing and other good urban architecture.
Validate the Boulevard design: Why are six new lanes of traffic needed where previously there were zero? An impressive new boulevard will be great where it’s justified, but Core to Shore will already be lacerated once by the new I-40; why would we purposefully construct another pedestrian barrier? Where is it written that ALL of the old I-40 space has to be used for a boulevard? What if local artists competed to transform remnants of columns and/or roadway into works of art, or unique public spaces? The avoided demolition dollars could be used to create a signature landmark for the city.
Downtown still has several large vacant, undeveloped lots.
Create seamless pedestrian access between key nodes: The existing pathways between the convention/hotel area and Bricktown are offensive. There are several ways to improve them, but canal extension is the best. Some sort of transit system that is frequent and fast should be provided between other CBD nodes and the rim districts… This service should be frequent and free between high density tourist nodes. MAPS-3 should include a component for ensuring top-tier connectivity between Bricktown and key adjacent areas.
The Bricktown Association is proposing a $25 million canal extension be included with a MAPS 3 ballot that would ensure connection to a convention center proposed as part of the same ballot. This map assumes construction of a convention center south of Ford Center - a site shown in renderings released by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
Most of us are not urban planners or engineers or politicians, but the process for determining and implementing any urban plan requires all of their skills. Steve Lackmeyer does a great job of extracting our thoughts, and this web log is useful in that regard but ultimately we must make sure we’ve got the right planning team, and then rely on them to do their jobs well, and on the voters to approve their work.
…Now, how do we spin our redneck image? Easy… stock the canal with giant catfish and get Larry the cable guy to host an annual Bricktown Noodling Festival, which we’ll schedule during peak tornado season!
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Comments
Thanks Blair,
I really don’t have a vision for the OKC aqueduct ruins, but I’m sure something very cool would be generated by a bunch of local artists competing for the commission.
Pedestrian grade crossings over a canal would add interest, not barriers to the street level pedestrians. I agree with you that a canal might not encourage new storefronts, but I like the idea of being able to stroll from the convention/hotel district to Bricktown without crossing ANY streets… If Gaylord Boulevard remains a 6-lane roadway, and the railroad pedestrian dam isn’t punctured, how can pedestrian access best be improved?
Sure, why not narrow E.K. Gaylord from 6 lanes to 4 lanes.
The latest traffic figures for 2008 showed that less than 10,000 cars travel on that section of E.K. Gaylord each day. Here in Boston, Massachusetts Avenue – a 4 lane street – accommodates well over 30,000 cars per day. Will there be more congestion – may. But there will definitely be more pedestrians.
Also, another great idea, we should look at creating a pedestrian connection through the rail dam on the axis of California. This would certainly be cheaper than a canal extension and more effective at creating a pedestrian connection. Plus, it would create a stunning entrance to the upper Bricktown Canal.
Just to be clear, I am not in anyway campaigning against the canal extension. I just think we should be clear about what the objectives are and how those objectives can best be achieved. If we put the convention center south of the Ford Center, the location is bad for the park and bad for Bricktown. The best site for the new convention center is the Cotton Mill site. This decision on the convention center’s location is much more crucial to the future of Bricktown than whether or not a canal extension is implemented.
WOW ! Dennis, I congratulate you for your fabulous vision with the I-40 columns. Why not keep a block-long stretch of I-40, and create our own totem-pole park.
Let’s take columns of varying heights, arrange them in a pleasing manner on this block, and then invite proposals from local artists. These could be muralists, sculptors, even light artists.
Location? I suggest one of two sites. First, between Gaylord and Robinson, to connect the Convention Center with Ford Center. The second possible site would be between Hudson and Harvey, to connect the Myriad Gardens with the C2S Central Park.
The block would have greenspace, along with walking and bicycle paths. Each pillar would have a plaque describing the art and a photo showing where the pillar was located as part of I-40.
One final suggestion, topping the pillars with OKC history; like nostalgic signs (Liberty Tower Weather Beacon, Hollies Drive-In, Kerr-McGee), or faces of world-famous OKCityans. Or, maybe a lighted outdoor sculpture that could become our Golden Gate Bridge, Space Needle, or Gateway Arch, drawing tourists from everywhere.
[...] understandable is their desire to replace it with, of all things, another road. Architect Dennis Wells, guesting at Steve Lackmeyer’s place, finds the whole idea superfluous: Why are six new lanes of traffic needed where previously there were zero? An impressive new [...]
An idea to bring tourists, improve quality of life and increase tax revenue.
Consider building a very large hill or mini mountain. Artificial Rock shell near or in a large park in downtown OKC.
This rock hill or mini mountain could do many things. Cave atmosphere inside structure.
Caves, water falls, cliff repelling, rock climbing, water park, roller coaster going in and out of cave openings and around out side of mountain, retail shops and restaurants with open air eating places in cave openings, etc. Possibilities unlimited. Architects and designers could go wild with creative design. Example: Indian cliff dwellings as retail shops. Unconventional building designs could be used because the outside and inside surface is just rock formations. Don”t have mountains? Build one. Private investment could fund part of the cost. Use it to improve quality of life and increase tax revenue.
More from last post:
Forgot to include possibility of the canal running through or near the Artificial Rock Mountain.
Think, Rock formations from Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado as model for Artificial Rock Mountain.
Great post Dennis!
I would be interesting in hearing (and seeing) more of what you have in mind for the I-40/boulevard columns. Sounds really cool. There is certainly enough right of way to do something special in the way of a linear park / urban art piece, while still meeting the (real or perceived) demands of traffic.
“Seamless pedestrian access”…I like the way you calibrated your words there. I think a lot of this can be solved by reducing the portion of the public realm designated car-only and by being thoughtful with the selection of the new convention site. A canal extension may be many things, even many good things, but I don’t think it is the best solution to pedestrian connectivity. Ultimately the depressed right-of-way does not activate storefronts, rather it takes people off of the first-floor plane and actually creates a new barrier for pedestrians traveling tangentially to the canal’s path. I think a canal extension is a good idea, but the connection is more psychological and novel than it is pedestrian.
Anyhow, well done on the post. I really enjoyed your thoughts and ideas. I hope there is an opportunity for you to give us a better picture of what the I-40 ruins could become.