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Vote: Move Forward with Civic Center Park Makeover or Redesign?
A Close Look at the Civic Center Spinner Tower
One of the features of the proposed makeover is a series of “spinner towers” that would be funded through private donations. It just so happens that one of these towers is on display outside of architect Rand Elliott’s offices at 6th and Harrison. I hope this photo helps.
I’ve also been asked to reprint Blair Humphreys’ full remarks concerning this project. I will also note that I’ve asked Elliott if he wants to comment on this matter – so far he has politely declined to do so.
Humphreys is no stranger to long-time readers of OKC Central. He is Executive Director of the Institute for Quality Communities and Asst Professor in the College of Architecture. He has a Masters in City Planning and Urban Design degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BBA in Entrepreneurship from the University of Oklahoma. He is a founding member of ULI Oklahoma, currently serving as the Vice-Chair for Mission Advancement of the statewide organization.
Humphreys teaches graduate-level Urban Design Theory, and has previously taught in the Urban Design Studio. In 2011, Blair served as the faculty advisor of OU’s award winning Hines/ULI Urban Design Competition team. He also has acted as a consultant in development efforts along Automobile Alley and in MidTown.
Humphreys’ comments to Downtown Design Review Committee on the Civic Center Park redesign:
The new Myriad Gardens is special.
It is a captivating mix of spaces and attractions that seem to offer something for everyone on every day, all year long. It gets right everything that the old Myriad Gardens got wrong, while being careful to retain everything that the old Myriad Gardens got right.”In fact, the shift from rigid to flexible is something of a theme with a park now appropriately offering “myriad” attractions for a range of users. A restaurant will sit on the edge of a fun-natured plaza sure to host laughing children year-round. The plaza features a splash fountain during the summer that converts to a skating rink during the winter.
As famed urbanist William Whyte pointed, “What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people.” The new Myriad Gardens gets this: It is a public space for people. Hopefully, it is just the beginning of our transformation into a city for people — a city worth staying in.
Simply put, the new Myriad Gardens and all Project 180 improvements to date have made our city a better place for people. The new Bicentennial park design does not.
I expressed similar concerns to the project manager about the direction of this park at informational meeting about Project 180 over two years ago when I was told that this park would be focused on passive observation. I am not aware of a single successful public park created for passive observation. Citygarden in St. Louis, the best new sculpture garden in the world, is the opposite, encouraging interaction with the art and among the adults and children that flock to it.
I have been waiting these two years for a public forum in which to offer my input both as a passionate promoter of great public spaces and a native citizen of Oklahoma City. I am not aware of any public meeting I missed, but apologize that these criticisms have not been offered until today.
When compared to the existing Bicentennial park, the new design is:
less walkable
less flexible
less respectful of our city’s history
less safe
and far less appropriate for such an important civic site.What makes the Myriad Gardens special is that it was carefully crafted for the people of our city, whether workers downtown, residents from surrounding neighborhoods, or children enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon. It may not win an architectural design award or be praised by the critics in New York and Chicago, but it is already cherished by the people of our city and will be for many decades to come.
In the case of the new Bicentennial Park, with polished steel, fresh landscaping and an abundance of beautiful granite it will definitely have some initial appeal. But ultimately, the inherent flaws of the design as a usable public space for people will lead to the parks demise. While we will be able to rectify this mistake with further design and additional investment, we will not be able to retrieve the history lost or return the money wasted.
I don’t support a continuance, rather I recommend denial of this item to provide for a complete redesign that includes the input of the community and the expertise of a proven public space professional. I would encourage the city to design a park (not to meet the 75th anniversary gala deadline next fall, but) that will still be cherished when the Civic Center’s 100 year anniversary gala takes place.
Care to Weigh In? Time is Running Out
In the past week since the Downtown Design Review Committee, Planning Department and Public Works clashed on the proposed makeover of the Civic Center park, I’ve heard only negative comments about the designs by Rand Elliott and Tulsa-based PDG Inc., which call for the removal of all trees (some of the biggest trees to be found downtown), sculptures, monuments and other landscaping. Read the full story on that debate here.
Rand Elliott doesn’t think small – I think it’s safe to say everyone would agree he always attempts to hit a home-run – he aspires to create great, eye-catching architecture and design. And I think his biggest fans and even his greatest critics would agree that the city is better off with his imprint. But what if one of those high-flying balls ends up being a foul? Will anyone tell the slugger when his latest hit didn’t go so well?
That’s the question ahead ahead for those who see this hit as a foul ball rather than a home run. I’m hearing that any differences between city planners and engineers is being ironed out behind the scenes and that the rare display of disagreement will disappear with a reapplication of the designs that skip over, for now, questions about the proposed archway, spinning towers and City Hall fountain.
Of course, that still leaves a lot of questions unresolved. I’ve been asked by more than a dozen different readers what they need to do to voice their opposition to these designs. They say these designs were not fully vetted, and some also are questioning whether the committee that reviewed this work consisted of too many people hand-selected by the design team.
This project HAS NOT been approved by the mayor and council. It must get five or more votes to move forward. So to those asking how they can voice their disapproval – or approval – now is the time to contact the mayor and council.
Contacts:
Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs: ward1@okc.gov
Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid: ward2@okc.gov
Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee: ward3@okc.gov
Ward 4 Councilman Pete White: ward4@okc.gov
Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell: ward5@okc.gov
Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer: ward6@okc.gov
Ward 7 Councilman Skip Kelly: ward7@okc.gov
Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan: ward8@okc.gov
Mayor Mick Cornett: mayor@okc.gov
NW 15 and Broadway: Delayed
The Planning Commission was asked for, and it granted a delay until Feb. 23 on consideration of a request for an ABC 2 zoning for the former car dealership at NW 15 and Broadway. To date, despite requests for interviews from the operators of this proposed restaurant/club, I’ve heard nothing other than the comments posted on this site.
There is a fundamental understanding, I suspect, with the operators. If the comments left on this site are any indication, they think by my posting advance notice on this zoning application I am “stirring things up.” Well, here’s the deal: the neighbors are SUPPOSED to know about this project before there is a vote on a change in zoning. They’re supposed to get the right to ASK QUESTIONS, GET THEM ANSWERED, and … get this … VOICE THEIR DISAPPROVAL AND ASK FOR DENIAL OF A ZONING CHANGE if they see it as a threat to their neighborhood.
A developer can take two approaches to such questions; they can meet with residents and answer their questions (not that they’re guaranteed to like such answers) and provide a look at their project though someone like me, or, they can get upset and say efforts to inform the neighborhood about a big restaurant and club opening up next door is “stirring things up.”
I’ve noticed work is already going on inside this building. Maybe they’re assuming approval of their zoning is a slam dunk
When We Grow Up
Brian Winkeler
Brian Winkeler thinks I blew him off.
And that’s quite understandable. He wrote a great presentation on his blog, even directed my attention to it via Twitter, and me? Sure, I meant to respond. But I wanted to do something more than a link. I had something more ambitious in mind. But I get scatterbrained at times, distracted, and before you know it, too many ideas end up getting lost in between the breaking news stories.
Brian is no stranger to this blog; He very eloquently did a guest blog some months ago about why “Oklahoma City Boulevard” might not have been the best branding attempt for the future boulevard set to replace the current I-40.
I’ve seen Brian around from time to time and I’m an admirer of his work.
"Bastard Road" by Brian Winkeler and Dave Curd
Brian has a memorable last name. And when I first began to encounter him in coffee shops, via social media (where he freely challenged me from time to time, often deservedly so!), and seeing his work, it occurred to me that somewhere, somehow, I had seen his name before. He’s made the paper before, sure enough, due to his cartooning and animation work. But something else made me think I had read about him before.
Oklahoman archives then popped up a story that had caught my attention years earlier.
Unemployed look at selves for options
Thousands of unemployed Oklahomans are struggling to find jobs. Many have found that opening their own business is their only option.
By Marcin Skomial
Business Writer
| Saturday, July 26, 2003 Edition: City, Section: NEWS, Page 1-A |
Four months ago, Brian Winkeler was wrapping up a multimillion dollar project at an advertising agency. His wife was eight months pregnant, and he had just sold his 10-year-old truck and bought a $30,000 sport utility vehicle.
Then his life took an unexpected turn. He was laid off from Jordan Associates, an Oklahoma City advertising and communications firm, where he worked as an art director.
“It was a shock,” Winkeler said. “We bought a car thinking my wife and I had safe jobs.”
With advertising jobs scarce in the metro area, Winkeler lost hope of finding a job at an agency. He chose to put up $10,000 for a computer, software and other items to open his own advertising agency, Robot House Creative. He runs the business from the living room of his Oklahoma City home.
I read this story. It’s one of those stories that grabbed my attention and stayed lurking in my subconscious. I remember reading it and thinking to myself “oh crap – what if that were to happen to me? What will I do?”
It was a valid question. At the time I was doing some serious contemplation of my own career. I was doing a mix of investigative reporting, Sunday feature stories and still dabbling in city and county government reporting. I could see the newspaper industry was going to change. I figured that in about a decade or so, print would be overtaken by online media and a shaking out was likely to occur with some painful cuts nationwide. I had to adapt – to change – or I’d be forced to make even more painful adaptation and change on my own – in the same situation faced by Brian.
I had the timing wrong; the “earthquake” and painful cuts started a lot sooner than I expected. But I adapted. I changed.
Brian is now a respected, established independent operator in the advertising community. He’s doing great work – on his own terms.
OKC is not NYC
I’m not George Clooney. And Oklahoma City is not New York City. And it’s not LA or Chicago or Dallas or Minneapolis or Portland or Kansas City or anyplace else. For better or worse, OKC will always be OKC. And it’s our obligation, as leaders of the creative culture of OKC, to be champions of the better.
- “The Culture of Design in Oklahoma,” by Brian Winkeler
Yes, Brian is talking about our design community, but it really doubles as a general statement about Oklahoma City as a whole. For years we’ve looked elsewhere – to Dallas, to Kansas City, to St. Louis, Denver, Indianapolis – any city we saw as “major league” and worthy of us emulating. I’ve seen this as an ongoing issue for our town for the past two decades. It’s OK to benchmark. But let’s stop and realize it’s OK – no, it’s more than OK – to aspire to be … OKLAHOMA CITY. Yes, let’s aspire to be Oklahoma City. Not the Oklahoma City of our past, not necessarily even of our future – but Oklahoma City in its present, in its best and greatest step forward.
Anyone can write a blog. But some words have more power than others. Brian Winkeler is not the only guy making a living in the creative community, and he’s generous in sharing the limelight in his presentation. He gives a nod to so many others I respect – folks like Philip Baker and the gang at Stapelgun, Matt Goad and his crew at Funnel Design … the list is, quite wonderfully, too much for me to list in its entirety. And having seen these guys progress in their own careers, I appreciate what they’ve pulled off – that they’ve had enough collective “oh crap” moments to last a lifetime. They know what they’re doing. And they’re pretty brilliant.
Somewhere between losing his job, sharing an “oh crap” moment with way too many readers of The Oklahoman, and then working his way up as an independent operator in marketing, advertising and design, Brian has come up with the very sort of insight that is truly a “state of our city.”
Now if only Brian will realize he should have burned that “Right Said Fred” CD long, long ago….
The Six Legged Dog
I have friends who are architects. I have friends who are engineers. I have friends who are contractors. I can think of no truer representation of a typical interaction (the ones you’ll never read about otherwise) between an architect and a contractor than in this clip. Warning No. 1: clip contains foul language. Warning No. 2: this clip was referred to me an architect friend who clearly understands SOMETIMES egos can get a little out of whack…
Seriously
Meanwhile, On the East Edge of Heritage Hills
While Heritage Hills residents have been focused on the pros and cons of The Edge, an apartment complex planned for NW 13 and Walker, another development at NW 15 and Broadway appears to have escaped their notice.
This old car dealership building is up at Planning Commission this Thursday for an ABC (liquor) zoning. From the plans below, it looks like the restaurant/bar, “Exhale,” will be a pretty ambitious remodel:
UPDATE: Yes, this “venue” will have a mezzanine. Not sure what this is going to be … Heritage Hills, ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS YET?
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Finally got to watch the presentation on the successful request for a variance on parking for this development at Thursday’s Board of Adjustment. Questions were asked about what kind of restaurant this would be – and the representative, restaurant and bar consultant David Ledbetter, responded it will be like “Babe’s,” a chicken chain in Dallas, during the daytime, and if I understood his answer right, Saltgrass Steakhouse, another Texas chain, at night.
That sounds like a pretty cool deal, if that’s all it is. But those I’m speaking to say this doesn’t add up. The stages, multiple bars, mezzanine, and even the kitchen size don’t seem to fit with these answers. I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated when I get some answers to all this.
FINAL UPDATE: We still don’t know what “Exhale” will be, but I just got off the phone with Dave Ledbetter, a well-respected restaurant consultant who is attached to this project, and his response to questions posted on this item, specifically whether it will be a strip club or hip-hop club, was “heavens no – it will not be a strip club or a hip-hop club.”
I hope to get more information for you on this project later this week.
Will’s Latest Photos
Two major corporate headquarter projects are transforming downtown – Devon Energy Center and SandRidge Commons. Will Hider, a frequent contributor to OKC Central, has been busy taking photos and videos of both. Here’s his latest work – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
To see all of Will’s latest photos, go here.
