MSI DESIGN
01
urban design book
19
downtown columbus strategic plan
03
philosophy
21
the scioto mile
05
nationwide arena district
23
gay street corridor streetscape
07
arena crossing
25
poplar avenue park
09
burnham square
27
a. b. graham memorial park
11
ludlow alley
29
pittsburg north shore master plan
13
mcferson commons
31
louisville connectivity study
15
huntington park
33
over the rhine retail strategy
17
northbank park
35
project list
URBAN DESIGN STUDIO 03
OUR PHILOSOPHY MSI is a landscape architecture and planning firm formed around the vision of enhancing our community through the highest quality urban design. Our design philosophy is to build on the existing street network, open space, housing stock and centers of community activity to create a successful redevelopment site plan that respects the history of the neighborhood. Our focus is on interconnections with an emphasis on the streetscape environment. An exciting and livable environment is created by implementing a neo-traditional approach of tight development blocks, a grid street pattern, hidden parking, open plazas, linear parks and a pedestrian scale all designed to enhance the experience of urban life. The site design also allows for a successful integration of a variety of uses into one area including entertainment, retail, office, residential, mixed-use and parkland. The difficulty in planning urban neighborhoods is in creating an economically viable redevelopment plan without sacrifi cing the integrity of the urban experience. We use simple elements of appropriate architecture, building orientation, streetscapes, greens and pedestrian amenities that together generate a strong and desirable urban environment. MSI believes it is important to make each project a source of pride, enjoyment and prosperity for the area residents. Our designs focus on livable communities and friendly, walkable neighborhoods that enhance the lives of the residents. As a result, there is a strong emphasis on preserving and encouraging good design and public space to protect the character of the area. MSI strives to meaningfully link all the scales of planning from the natural environment of the region to the architectural design of the buildings. Our job is to revitalize and recreate urban communities. By focusing on what makes a community “work”, MSI capitalizes on the neighborhood’s strengths. MSI has produced a number of master plans emphasizing traditional neighborhood development patterns. Recently completed plans in the heart of downtown Columbus include the Nationwide Arena District Master Plan, the Brewer’s Yard Master Plan, and the PenWest District Master Plan. Each was designed to create a vibrant environment and wonderful sense of place while complementing and enhancing the quality of the surrounding urban fabric. The goal of these plans was to develop an integrated network of successful mixed-use development, urban streets, and civic open space designed for the enjoyment of the pedestrian. The MSI process of developing a clear work program in conjunction with the client ensures project success. All projects involve continued high levels of client interaction, ensuring that quality design is maintained throughout the creative process. By working within a well defi ned work program, budget control and project schedules are maintained. MSI has a strong history of collaborative work whether leading or participating in comprehensive project teams. It is this experience with and commitment to collaboration that serves both our design philosophy and our clients well. MSI will continue to advance our principles of planning and urban design. As we strive to redefi ne standard urban development practices throughout the region, we welcome the challenges ahead.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 05
NATIONWIDE ARENA DISTRICT The Nationwide Arena District Master Plan has served as the guiding development strategy for a vibrant, new downtown district. Designed around the focal point of the Nationwide Arena, the district features the nightlife corridor Ludlow Alley, a grand movie theater, a concert venue, a AAA ballpark and restaurants full of atmosphere. In addition, residential development establishes the Arena District as an emerging urban neighborhood. The Master Plan established a network of streets, open spaces, and an urban development blocks as the basis of this highly successful sports and entertainment destination, on what was once a vacant infill site. The relationship between the district and the emerging riverfront park system is strengthened by McFerson Commons, a tree-lined triangular connection from the riverfront to the doors of the Arena. Parking structures are hidden within the blocks to protect the pedestrian streetscapes. MSI Design served as the primary consultant for the master planning details, and is responsible for all subsequent design and implementation for the district. Designed around the focal point of the Nationwide Arena, the Streetscape District Plan establishes a network of streets and open spaces that help connect all of the unique sports and entertainment features of the district within the surrounding urban context. Thorough attention to detail in the selection of site materials, landscape, site furnishings, custom lighting, and graphics enhance the overall district aesthetic. MSI Design had direct responsibility for setting the design standards of the roadways, sidewalks, and finish grades and materials throughout the project site. Dedicated to achieving the primary vision of the project, MSI Design performed a full scope of design services, which began with master planning. In collaboration with project engineers, MSI Design completed construction documents for over $12 million in site improvements and also worked with the City of Columbus and project managers on site observation.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 07
ARENA CROSSING Arena Crossing is the fi rst installment of urban living within the Arena District. It permanently links the Arena District and the North Market District through Ludlow Alley. Over 250 rental units in two, seven-story buildings overlook either the pool courtyard, Ludlow Alley, or the downtown skyline. The site maintains a green roof over both the courtyard and the alley that covers the sub-grade vehicular corridor. Owner parking is concealed from view, while secure, sub-grade parking is provided for visitors. A re-claimed train bridge is utilized as part of the design as a pedestrian link to connect the north and south ends of the alley. Urban site constraints include a depressed railway corridor, an electric substation and an elevated roadway bridge. The rooftop pool courtyard includes a manicured garden terrace, complete with a Birch grove, outdoor kitchen and fi replace. MSI was responsible for schematic design, design development, construction documentation and observation.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 09
BURNHAM SQUARE One hundred condominiums wrap around a grand, linear urban courtyard to create Burnham Square. Tightly woven into the fabric of the city, the courtyard provides an oasis in this active mixed-use district. With both street-level townhouses and urban fl ats, all residential units provide views of the private courtyard or of he McFerson Commons public park. The courtyard and urban piazza shape a green roof that covers a corridor between two sub-grade parking facilities. Coordination of underground parking for this project and the adjacent offi ce use required careful planning. In addition, the site design hides an above-grade parking structure, fully screened by the western building. Installation includes reclaimed clay brick pavers for streets and plazas, and an elegant English Oak tree allee. Design challenges included incorporatng access to the parking area, while concealing it from view. The careful site design blends residential, offi ce, and retail uses. MSI Design was responsible for construction documents and observation, schematic design, design development, construction documentation and observation.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 11
LUDLOW ALLEY Ludlow Alley is a thriving nightlife corridor and entertainment destination that has become the active center of the Arena Distict for social gatherings, atmosphere, and dining. Linked to the Nationwide Arena’s front door, Ludlow Alley thrives with social gatherings and dining experiences on game days and throughout the week. Defi ned by a mix of new architecture and historic buildings, Ludlow Alley connects the Arena District to downtown. Made of reclaimed brick pavers, the alley harkens to past times by mixing pedestrians automobiles, and service areas in true urban character. A relocated historic road bridge, converted into a pedestrian walkway, maximizes pedestrian access and connects the Arena District with the North Market neighborhood and beyond, serving as an integral piece of downtown. MSI was responsible for conceptual and schematic design, design development, complete construction documentation and observation throughout the project.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 13
MCFERSON COMMONS McFerson Commons is a new great urban park space created as a link between the downtown riverfront and the heart of the Arena District. A thriving downtown park, McFerson Commons has become a popular spot for outdoor summer weddings, a preferred location for viewing Independence Day fi reworks, and the endpoint of the Columbus Marathon. It is common to see downtown workers taking a lunch break or children from a nearby day care center playing in the grass. This long, triangular stretch of green provides a centerpiece to the Arena District Low, stone walls forming a crisp border to the grand lawn, and double rows of red maples provides a natural dissolve into the surrounding urban fabric. Salvaged from the historic Union Station, the Daniel Burnham Arch is placed as a focal point of the design. MSI Design was responsible for all phases of design, originally proposing the park as a component of the Arena District Master Plan. As a direct result of this created greenspace, the value of adjacent development ground became substantially higher and progressed more quickly than market reports anticipated.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 15
HUNTINGTON PARK Huntington Ballpark is the new home to Columbus’ AAA professional baseball team, the Clippers. This top-quality facility will reenergize fans and thrive amidst the dynamic Arena District. Woven into the fabric of the city, Huntington Park complements nearby Nationwide Arena, adding to the excitement of an already strong entertainment district. Urban plaza entries and outdoor concourse areas surrounding the fi eld provide the facility with a modern feel, and fans walking along Nationwide Boulevard can watch the game right from the sidewalk. The primary project challenge was designing a professional, full-scale baseball facility on a tight, urban site. This required innovative solutions to site grading, with special attention to the limitations on funding available for construction. MSI Design provided conceptual and schematic design, construction documentation, and construction observation for the ballpark and adjacent surface infrastructure. Throughout the project, MSI Design collaborated closely with the project architect, 360 Architecture.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 17
NORTH BANK PARK North Bank Park is the premier new urban park on the banks of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus, Ohio. As the fi rst park to be redeveloped under the Columbus Riverfront Vision Plan, North Bank Park sets the standard for the entire urban riverfront. This 11-acre site serves as the gateway to downtown for many travelers and complements the rapidly-developing Arena District to the north. A glass pavilion, designed by Acock and Associates, anchors the end of Neil Avenue and forms a distinctive centerpiece to the park. Located on the pavilion plaza is a children’s fountain, ideal for summertime play. Also in the pavilion are plenty of shaded seating and a dining terrace, as well as available boat storage for downtown rowing clubs. North Bank serves as the vital link in the riverfront park system, a destination for downtown workers and festival-goers, and a lively neighborhood park for the expanding downtown residential population.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 19
COLUMBUS DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC PLAN MSI Design is working with the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, the Columbus Partnership and the City of Columbus to create the Columbus Downtown Plan. Recognizing that you cannot have a successful region without a successful downtown, civic and business leaders have come together to create a cohesive framework to guide the continued redevelopment and revitalization of downtown. Building upon both previous planning efforts and the success of recent public and private investment, the plan seeks to activate projects that are ready today, advance current initiatives and identify future redevelopment opportunities that should be pursued. Through a detailed planning process that involved working with a steering committee of civic and business leaders, conducting numerous interviews and gathering additional public input, MSI Design prepared a highly graphic, in-depth Interim Report that addresses opportunities and challenges, establishes planning principles and introduces several focus area plans. With this vision established and catalytic projects identifi ed, work is currently ongoing to create a robust implementation strategy that prioritizes efforts and develops a strong set of public policy initiatives to ensure the longevity and success of the plan.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 21
THE SCIOTO MILE The Scioto Mile project is an effort to reconnect the river with downtown by reinventing an essential urban portion of the Scioto River corridor. The Scioto Mile is a green corridor, made up of parks, boulevards, plazas and paths, ranging from the Arena District to Whittier Peninsula. This project builds on MSI’s recently completed, successful downtown Columbus parks, North Bank Park and McFerson Commons, as well as the urban design and planning for the Arena District. According to the plan, Bicentennial Park is transformed with a world-class water feature, a permanent band shell, and a glass-enclosed café.. The Promenade is the central component, featuring a linear canal with bubbling fountains, a colonnade with benches and swings, a stone-paved pedestrian plaza, and a centerpiece fountain with a variety of exciting water effects. Civic Center Drive is being signifi cantly narrowed and converted to two-way operation, in and effort to slow traffi c and better accommodate the increase in pedestrians walking the site. MSI is leading the multi-disciplinary Scioto Mile project team on schedule to complete the project in time for the City’s bicentennial in 2012.
CINCINNATI, OHIO 23
GAY STREET CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS The new Gay Street is the fi rst step in a reinvented roadway network for Downtown Columbus. For too long a one-way cutthrough between major access roads, Gay Street has been converted into the two-way spine of an emerging downtown neighborhood. Gay Street now boasts numerous restaurants, bars, a new hotel, and several new downtown residential projects. Through a $250,000 streetscape grant as seed funding, the Gay Street project required close collaboration with city planning, development, and engineering offi cials to provide the district with a tailored solution. The improved and expanded sidewalks are bordered by rain gardens that sensitively treat the stormwater run-off while providing a buffer for the many outdoor seating areas that have emerged from local restaurants. A raised urban median bursts to life each spring with fl owering trees and helps to slow traffi c speeds throughout the year. A modern, yet classic design includes a raised median, low iron fencing and small rain gardens for stormwater treatment of runnoff. Project challenges included working with individual property owners to maintain parking and access for existing businesses, while accommodating the traffi c-fl ow conversion. MSI Design was responsible for planning, conceptual and schematic design, design development, and bidding and award services.
COLUMBUS, OHIO 25
POPLAR AVENUE PARK Poplar Avenue Park provides a valuable open space along the dense High Street retail and dining corridor. The design philosophy was to create a comfortable, engaging space; using quality materials, detailing, and fl exible and comfortable design to accommodate all types of community events and uses. Formerly a through-street, the park has been converted to a public plaza as part of the I-670 freeway expansion. It is primarily made of reprocessed street brick, high quality limestone benches and paving, and shade trees with evergreen groundcover. Located adjacent to the interstate and situated in a confi ned urban space, the design of the park required careful attention to existing grade conditions at storefronts and streets, structural constraints at the freeway interface, and coordination with the construction of an adjacent freeway bridge structure. All design decisions required collaboration with multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders, including the city, ODOT, the neighborhood improvement district, adjacent property owners, the retail bridge developer and architect, and freeway designers and contractors. MSI provided complete design services from conceptual and schematic design through construction documents and observation, as well as bidding and award services for this project.
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO 27
A. B. GRAHAM MEMORIAL PARK The A.B. Graham Memorial Park honors the founder of the 4-H Club, who was also a citizen of Springfi eld. The 4-H Club now serves millions of people worldwide. The design of the park physically interprets the philosophy of 4-H. Lines of feather reed grass are used to create movement within the space symbolizing continued change within a community. Four 14-foot tall steel “H� structures are framed by Lacebark Elms and act as the backdrop to a statue of A.B. Graham. Each structure represents one of the four philosophical cornerstones of the 4-H movement: Head, Heart, Hands and Health. A main walkway divides the park into individual retreat areas and ends at a pedestal inscribed with the 4-H Club Pledge. Design challenges include coordination with civil engineering consultants and city traffi c engineers to creatively solve issues of off-site stormwater storage and road redesign along the south edge of the park. MSI was responsible for schematic and conceptual design, design development, construction observation, coordinating all aspects of the H-structure fabrication, and detailing the laser-cut creed panels and grates.
PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 29
PITTSBURG NORTH SHORE MASTER PLAN Pittsburgh North Shore is a master plan for an urban, mixed-use neighborhood between two of Pittsburgh’s professional sports venues, Heinz Field and PNC Park. Anchored at the confl uence of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, the vibrant new development plan replaces former parking fi elds adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh. Connections are made from across-the-river views designed by building, street, and public space arrangement. Due to the importance of movement within a successful urban area, the pedestrian scale is manipulated and varied through streets, public spaces, and landscape design. Retail, commercial, and residential uses are vertically-integrated on a block-by-block basis to create an exciting and well-connected district. Overhead vehicular bridges that bisect the site require a careful approach to the urban design district’s. Instead of hiding the bridges, they are exploited for their architectural character and scale, while public space and pedestrian corridors are created beneath them. MSI was responsible for schematic design.
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 31
LOUISVILLE CONNECTIVITY STUDY The Downtown Development Corporation engaged MSI Design to create the Downtown Louisville Connectivity Study to improve the linkages between new and existing destinations within the downtown core and along the Ohio River waterfront. Working closely with the Downtown Development Corporation, MSI developed numerous landscape and site improvement plans to enhance existing facilities and help ensure that future projects contribute to the overall success of Downtown Louisville. Taking into account existing conditions, present and planned projects, the study: • Clearly defi nes and connects existing and future destinations. • Connects the downtown core to the riverfront. • Simplifi es pedestrian and vehicular wayfi nding. • Better utilizes under-highway and under-bridge conditions to create unique, vibrant urban spaces. • Improves the pedestrian environment by making it safer, more comfortable and more inviting. • Creates usable, unique and well-defi ned public gathering spaces. • Develops the framework for a mixed-use district between the new Louisville Arena and Slugger Field. To accomplish connectivity goals, MSI Design developed several focus area plans. Using a combination of plan diagrams, renderings and benchmark images, a vision was established to enhance connectivity throughout Downtown Louisville. To help prioritize phasing and implementation, each focus area plan also makes recommendations for infrastructure, streetscape, and landscape improvements.
CINCINNATI, OHIO 33
OVER-THE-RHINE COMMERCIAL STRATEGY The Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine has, over the past decades, suffered from disinvestment and population loss. However, it is a historically, architecturally and culturally important urban district in Cincinnati. The community and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) have turned their attention and resources to the neighborhood. The new housing has been extremely successful; however, the commercial and retail development was not keeping pace. MSI Design worked with 3CDC and neighborhood stakeholders in devising a strategy to locate and develop commercial uses in a way that maximizes impact, encourages additional investment, and supports the neighborhood residents. The strategy developed by MSI Design focuses new commercial development at the highest impact locations and designates two of the main corridors as the prime commercial centers. The strategy includes ways to make connections throughout the neighborhood and fosters an environment conducive to business development. By creating nodes of commercial use, a critical mass will be achieved more quickly, creating a vibrant commercial destination in which continued investment will occur.
161 Frantz Road Streetscape Dublin, Ohio
A.B. Graham Memorial Park Springfi eld, Ohio Alhambra Towers Coral Gables, Florida Arena Crossing Columbus, Ohio Atlanta Olympic Competition Atlanta, Georgia Belmont Block Columbus, Ohio Brewers Yard Columbus, Ohio Bumby Avenue Colonial Gateway Orlando, Florida Burnham Square Columbus, Ohio
Campus View Boulevard Overpass Columbus, Ohio Canal Winchester Streetscape Canal Winchester, Ohio Cascade Plaza Akron, Ohio Chestnut Boulevard Streetscape Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Chillicothe Bicentennial Garden Chillicothe, Ohio Cleveland Avenue Streetscape Columbus, Ohio Der Brauer’s Platz Columbus, Ohio Firestone Alley at the Buggyworks Columbus, Ohio Gay Street Corridor Columbus, Ohio
URBAN DESIGN STUDIO 35
PROJECT EXPERIENCE Huntington Park Columbus, Ohio
Noe-Bixby Byway Guidelines Columbus, Ohio
Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, Ohio
North Cassady Streetscape Bexley, Ohio
Limestone Street Streetscape Springfi eld, Ohio
Norwich Street Hilliard, Ohio
Lake Baldwin Park Orlando, Florida
Ohio Moline Plow Building Columbus, Ohio
Ludlow Alley Columbus, Ohio
Orange Avenue Streetscape Orlando, Florida
McFerson Commons Columbus, Ohio
Park Avenue West Winter Park, Florida
Nationwide Arena District M. Plan Columbus, Ohio
Poplar Avenue Park Columbus, Ohio Pittsburgh North Shore Plan
Nationwide Arena District Streets Columbus, Ohio
Scioto Peninsula Floodwall Columbus, Ohio
Neil Avenue Rail Bridge Columbus, Ohio
Shaker Square Master Plan Shaker Heights, Ohio
MSI DESIGN CONTACT US columbus, ohio 462 south ludlow alley columbus, ohio 43215 614.621.2796 orlando, florida 934 lake baldwin lane orlando, florida 32814 407.896.4007 pasadena, california 572 e. green street. ste. 200 pasadena, california 91101 626.304.0031 www.msidesign.com info@msidesign.com