Atlanta Beltline Regional Masterplan: Creating Community Spaces for People in the Reynoldstown Neighborhood
by
Thomas Preston Brame
A Senior Design Project Presented to the College of Environment and Design University of Georgia Under the Direction of: Professor Verma In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Landscape Architecture
Athens, Georgia Spring, 2012
Atlanta Beltline| Reynoldstown Region
1 | Title Page
Table of Contents 3
Statement of Purpose
5
Site Location
6
Inventory / Analysis
10
Concept Designs
12
Final Masterplan
14
Site Plan
16
Section Elevations
17
Perspectives
18
Planting Plan
20
Staking Plan
21
Grading Plan
22
Construction Details
26
Signature Detail
28
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents | 2
Statement of Purpose My ideas started simply. Keep the trees, was one thought. Connect the neighborhood was another. Reynoldstown is a lucky place, because it has been preserved in a time when there were still pedestrians, a time when people walked. There are still blocks and sidewalks. It also has an industrial feeling that’s beautiful. It’s worn in and the bricks are aged. Designing for a smaller community meant for me keeping the right scale and proportions. A grandiose plaza here would be wrong, because it can add nothing but empty space. The integral elements I incorporated in designing are trees, water, walking space, and community. Ecological Impact The importance of the boardwalk is that it avoids cut and fill, or cutting down all the trees and grading the soil to be flat. I loved the idea of a medieval past of people walking through a forest to each others’ houses. Stormwater raises and lowers streams, making it unpredictable and difficult for creatures to live within or around the water. 4 | Statement of Purpose
This water running off hardscapes into watersheds typically carry a lot of chemicals and contaminants. I realized I wanted to take the polluted water, typically hidden underground in pipes, above and naturalize it. I selected pervious brick pavers which allow some of the water to infiltrate the soil slowly. What doesn’t is carried along in pervious pipes, which have holes in them, to a rain garden. When the rain garden fills, the water is piped into vegetated swales, where it flows to a constructed wetland for a final infiltration. The site is designed to give the water that falls many viable routes to return to the watershed cleansed and have the rate of flow slowed. Aesthetic Inspirations Cascading water is beautiful. The sheet fountain draws inspiration from modern graphic design and in the river drops of the Tallulah Gorge. I modeled the café after tall rowhouse brick buildings in the neighborhood. A grid of shade trees in plaza continues the native hardwood stand into the hardscape. The raised platforms give that important vitality to space and integrate with the boardwalk. The design, by an attempt at accommodating people, sun, wind, trees and water, fulfills the planning necessary for small sites that are “physically and psychologically [...] comfortable,” as stated in The Social Life of Small Spaces by William H. Whyte.
Site Location | 5
http://beltline.org/explore/maps/overview-maps/
Building Use
6 | Inventory & Analysis
Streets
Inventory & Analysis | 7
Site Conditions
8 | Inventory & Analysis
Photo Inventory
Inventory & Analysis | 9
Concept 1
10 | Preliminary Concepts
Concept 2
Preliminary Concepts | 11
Masterplan
Boardwalk
Roof-top Cafe 12 | Masterplan
Urban Forest Garden
Masterplan | 13
Site Plan 03
01
04
02
05
KENYON AVENUE
06
12
07 11 08
10
14 | Site Design
09
WYLIE STREET
01 Rain Gardens 02 Pervious Pavement 03 Perforated Pipe 04 Vegetated Swale
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02 Site Design | 15
Section Elevations
Fountain
Sunken Plaza with Honey Locust Trees
Planter
Section Elevation A-A’
Rain Garden
Shaded Open Plaza
Fountain
Platform
Train Tracks
Platform
Section Elevation B-B’ 16 | Section Elevations
Site Perspectives
Perspectives | 17
Planting Plan QP
AR GT PV
AG
BN
IT
IT
EA
AG AR
PV EA
PV 18 | Planting Plan
Plant Schedule Plant Schedule SYMBOL BOT. NAME
COMMON NAME
ZONE
SIZE
BLOOM TIME
FEATURES
AR
Acer rubrum 'October Glory'
October Glory Red Maple
4 to 9
Height:40' to 40' Spread: 30' to 40'
March; Red flowers
Brilliant red fall color from October to November; Low maintenance
AG
Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry Tree 4 to 9 Height: 15' to 25' Spread: 15' to 25'
April; White flowers
Produces edible fruit which are very popular with birds; aXracYve orange fall color
BN
Betula Nigra
River Birch
4 to 9 Height: 35' to 50' Spread: 25' to 40'
N/A
AXracYve exfoliaYng bark; yellow fall color
GT
Gleditsia triacanthos intermidia
Thornless Honey Locust
4 to 9 Height: 30' to 40' Spread: 25' to 35'
May to early June; Golden-‐ AXracYve fine textured green flowers foliage; very urban tolerant
QP
Quercus phellos
Willow Oak
6 to 9 Height: 60' to 75' Spread: 40' to 50'
N/A
Tolerant of urban environments
EA
Equisetum arvense
Horsetail
3 to 9 Height: 1' to 4' Spread: 6" to 12"
N/A
Evergreen; very tolerant of wet soil; vigorous spread by rhisomes
IT
Itea virginica
Virginia Sweetspire
5 to 9 Height: 3' to 6' Spread: 4' to 6'
May to June; White flowers Shade tolerant; Flowers aXract buXerflie; drought tolerant
PV
Panicum virgatum 'Northwinds'
Northwinds Switchgrass
5 to 9 Height: 4' to 6' Spread: 24" to 30"
July to February; Yellow Flowers
PD
Phlox divaricata
Woodland Phlox
3 to 8
Trees
Shrubs & Perennials
Height: 8" to 12" Spread: 8" to 12"
April to May; Violet-‐blue flowers
Tolerates dry and wet soils; verYcal form; stays upright through winter Tolerates dry and wet soils; verYcal form; stays upright through winter
Plant Photos AG
Amelachier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’
Betula nigra
Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’
GT
Gleditsia triacanthos intermidia
BN
AR
IT
Itea virginica
EA
Equisetum arvense
PV
Panicum virgatum ‘Northwinds’
QP
Quercus phellos
Planting Plan | 19
Staking Plan
20 | Staking Plan
Grading Plan
Grading Plan | 21
Retaining Wall Detail
22 | Construction Details
Pervious Paver Detail
Construction Details | 23
Bike Rack Detail
24 | Construction Details
CIP Stair Detail
Construction Details | 25
Sheet Fountain Detail
26 | Signature Detail
Signature Detail | 27
Acknowledgement I would like to thank my Wife Helen for being patient with me through late nights and crazy last minute fixes to projects before deadlines. Also for her artistic eye and attention to detail. I would also like to thank my Mom and Dad and Mr. and Mrs. Burdette. Without you all’s help finishing would have been impossible and I am so excited to celebrate graduating with you soon. Thank you to Professors and others in the college who taught me and helped me grow including: Prof. Cannady, Prof. Davis, Prof. Spooner, Prof. Buitrago, and more. A special thank you to Prof. Coyle who let me into the major despite my less than stellar academic record. Lastly, I would like to thank the other staff at the school who make the College of Environmental Design worth spending 5 - 6 years in. Audra Lofton, Marsha Grizzle, David at Broad Street Studios, and the night cleaning crew in Caldwell. Thank you for the special years here. -Sincerely,
Thomas Brame
Bibliography Atlanta Beltline www.atlantabeltline.org Perkins and Will www.perkinswill.com Blend America Clothing - Seattle Building Massive Edible Forest Filled With Free Food http://blendamerica.com/2012/03/seattle-building-massive-edible-forest-filledfree-food/ 28 | Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement | 29