g Competition: p Linking Sacramento Capitol Mall Capitol Mall Design
Points of Interest
B A
California Fan Palm NIght Canopy View Looking Towards Bridge
Connection Points
Gatherings & Events –The vacant lot at the Northwest corner of the Mall will be utilized to create an Event Plaza with an outdoor auditorium for performances, concerts, open markets, and other large gatherings such as political rallies.
Catalyst Site(s) – The spaces that are created by the intersecting pathways serve as versatile public spaces along the central axial path. These public spaces include open green space, paved urban plaza, shaded public market space, and additional on street parking for adjacent restaurants and businesses. These spaces seek to create intimate enjoyable outdoor space and enhance the experience of pedestrian traffic walking along the mall’s central path. These spaces along the mall are meant to serve as their own destination points along the path where pedestrians can stop and relax. They can also be utilized for various outdoor recreational activities.
Linkages & Walk-ability – The design seeks to achieve a sense of natural movement across and through the mall corridor. The interlocking diagonal paths not only serve to enhance the commerce and business of the Capitol Mall Corridor, but serve as a unifying system of connections and linkages that solidify and tie together the proposed corridor design. The design is further unified by a single axial pathway running the full 6 block length of the Mall, thus creating a primary thoroughfare for pedestrian traffic along the mall.
Canopy View
Urban Canopy – Rows of palm trees along the central axial path and additional canopy trees along the length of the mall serve to strengthen the city’s urban canopy and create shaded semi-sheltered spaces.
Grasscrete
Composite Decking Transverse Section
Wayne’s Silver
B
A
Tall Grass
Connections
Central Mall View
The overall design philosophy is simple and to the point. “Activate and revitalize the Sacramento Capitol Mall so that it becomes a fluid thoroughfare for those citizens who work in the vicinity and come to visit this bustling surrounding area of Sacramento; while simultaneously creating a destination point for tourists from around the world, to come and experience all that the Capitol of California has to offer.” Activation – The diagonal transecting paths that cross the mall along the 6 block corridor, serve as natural connections between existing points of interest such as businesses and restaurants, while at the same time, creating new linked points of interest proposed by the new site design. Repeated elements along the length of the axial central path serve to reinforce the unity of the Mall Corridor. Rows of canopy trees, palm trees, light fixtures, and banners serve as repeated design elements along the mall. This design seeks to connect existing and future places of interest along the Sacramento Mall, thus strengthening and unifying the surrounding community.
Sensation Box Elder
Harringbone Bricks Pipe Vine
View Corridor – Repeated elements along the length of the central path including a row of palm trees on either side of the path strengthen the view corridor down the mall towards the California State Capitol Building to the east and the Tower Bridge to the west. Linkages & Walk-ability – The design seeks to achieve a sense of natural movement across and through the mall corridor. The interlocking diagonal paths not only serve to enhance the commerce and business of the Capitol Mall Corridor, but serve as a unifying system of connections and linkages that solidify and tie together the proposed corridor design. The design is further unified by a single axial pathway running the full 6 block length of the Mall, thus creating a primary thoroughfare for pedestrian traffic along the mall.
Evergreen Huckleberry
Sustainability – This design accommodates for minimal energy usage throughout the proposed Capitol Mall. All of the light fixtures that are implemented in the design are solar-powered as well as natural water retention ponds and the implementation of raingardens and bio-swales to reduce runoff throughout the site. The employment of solar/electrical powered public trollies provides a sustainable alternative to vehicular traffic and emissions along the mall.
Red-Flowering Currant
Implementation – This design for the Sacramento Capitol Mall would be very easily implemented in that all of the materials specified in the design are locally manufactured materials which can easily be brought to the site and utilized with minimal energy expended. The species of trees and vegetation being utilized are also local to the area including California Fan Palm and Box Elder, in order to reduce energy consumption and not to impede the natural ecosystem of the area.
Slate/Tan Brick
Travertine Slate
Residual Green Space
Circulation Paths