Newsletters

From time to time the Waterfront Center e-mails newsletters.  The most recent will be posted here.  If you wish to receive these newsletters by e-mail please send your e-mail address to mail@waterfrontcenter.org with a request to be added to the newsletter e-mail list.  To be sure that the newsletter is not blocked by spam filters, add the Waterfront Center e-mail address to your e-mail address book.

A Tribute to Ann Breen

In the River Action Inc. Eddy Magazine

Link to Home Page

Labor Day 2021 Newsletter

Mark Your Calendars! The Waterfront Center is pleased to announce Celebrating the Winners of the 34th Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program  Webinars - October 25-26, 2021 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. EDT Each Day Presentations by the Winners and Short Discussions as a Finale on October 26 Further information will be posted on the Website and in all communications.

A New Jersey Artwork focuses on Climate Change

"Water Table" - an interactive public art piece is most timely given recent climate events! The installation found at the Absecon Lighthouse educates visitors about coastal resilience. The piece, an abstract interpretation of an aerial view of the Atlantic City coast, used crashed shell, glass and sand sourced locally by artists Nancy Agati and Rebecca Schultz along with volunteers and others.

Atlantic City was selected as one of four coastal communities in New Jersey to create artwork as part of a Coastal Resiliency Art Program funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration and the N.J. Dept. of Environmental ProtectionProgram Coastal Management Program.  Artist Schultz commented "I work directly with scientists and  they have said we have the information, but it's hard to get across to people...and art breaks things down, you really can experience something by looking at a piece of art."

"Art with an impact," by Molly Shelly, The Press of Atlantic City, Monday, August 23, 2021, pp1-2 To tune into a press conference sponsored by the Atlantic City Arts Foundation about the work and hear from the artist go HERE

To see a gallery of photographs of the work go HERE.

A Thought for Labor Day

In an opinion piece by Cassady Rosenblum who recently left her job at NPR she reflects on careers vs. opting out for a spell. ("Work is a False Idol. Sit on the Porch Instead." August 25, 2021 New York Times, P. A23). Check it out HERE as there is food for thought. For the moment, as we think about the end of summer and hopefully taking a day of rest I totally agree with her on this: "Sit on the porch. It's not half bad. For what is the porch if not a place to chat with neighbors, to marvel at the hummingbird at the feeder, to listen to the wind chimes?"

Porch perch above in West Cape May, New Jersey where Monarch butterflies abound.

Liberty State Park Update

Liberty State Park Plan

Liberty State Park is a 234-acre parcel on the Jersey shoreline that had been eyed by developers for years. The vision to create a park is rooted in the dream of Morris Pesin who famously canoed from Jersey City to Liberty Island in eight minutes in 1958 to illustrate the proximity and potential of what was then a dumping ground. See a New York Times article by Tracey Tully HERE

Canoeing from Liberty State Park Liberty State Park opened in 1976, now attracting close to 4-5 million visitors. Sam Pesin, Mr. Pesin's son, now a retired school teacher, has worked to keep his father's dream alive. He has worked for three decades to fend off attempts to privatize the park. He is president of Friends of Liberty State Park, an all-volunteer group.  Now the Park is poised for a complete overall. New Jersey's DEP will lead the design process. The state will foot the entire bill using in part  contamination lawsuits settlements. The redesign plan calls for almost five miles of forested trails, 61 acres of ball fields and athletic courts and vast stretches of newly created wetlands.

Sam Pesin

There is a very lovely photo of Sam Pesin in front of an interpretive sign depicting his father's canoe trip.

Liberty State Park

We always admonish that waterfront transformations can take decades to achieve the final results while bucking up against development interests. Thanks to a cadre of folks who believed: Persistence paid and the public gained - in this case a fabulous waterfront park.

1994 Waterfront Center's Excellence on the Waterfront award for the Liberty State Park

Sidebar: In 1994 the Waterfront Center's Excellence on the Waterfront awarded the Liberty State Park Seawall and Liberty Walk an honor award.

Liberty State Park

September 2021 Newsletter

Mark Your Calendars! The Waterfront Center is pleased to announce Celebrating the Winners of the 34th Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program  Webinars - October 25-26, 2021 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. EDT Each Day Presentations by the Winners and Short Discussions as a Finale on October 26 Further information will be posted on the Website and in all communications.  The 2021 Excellence on the Waterfront Winners

August 2021 Newsletter

2021 Excellence on the Waterfront Honor Award Announced   The 2021 Awards Jury met via Zoom. Domenica Stasiak, Langan Engineering, jury chair joined co-directors, Ann Breen and Dick Rigby in Cape May, N.J. August 5-7. Architect Steve Dumez of Eskew Dumez Ripple of New Orleans and developer Matt Grady of Gramor Development Inc., Tualatin, Oregon rounded out the jury.    Breen and Rigby host the event but take no part in the discussions. The deliberations were lively as usual and the winners come from all over the globe as you will see in the list below - a very exciting, wide geographic spread.

The 2021 Jury Domenica Stasiak, Steve Dumez, and Matt Grady,

Announcing:   Excellence on the Waterfront – 2021 Award Winners In alphabetical order:

TOP HONOR AWARD – PROJECT   The Shipyards, City of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Shipyards, City of North Vancouver

HONOR AWARDS - PROJECTS

Bee Branch Restoration Project, Dubuque, Iowa

Bee Branch Restoration

Fritz Hedges Waterway Park, Seattle, Washington

Fritz Hedges Waterway Park

Illuminated River, The Thames, London, United Kingdom

Illuminated River

Juneau Downtown Seawalk Douglas Bridge to Gold Creek, Juneau, Alaska

Juneau Downtown Seawalk

Returning to the Yangtze River: The Resilient Riverfront design of the KowloonBund in Chongjing, Chongjing, China

Returning to the Yangtze River

Learning through the Yimin River: Resilient Waterfront Design in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China, Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China

Learning through the Yimin River

HONOR AWARD - PLAN   Visakhapatnam Beachfront Redevelopment in Visakhapatnam District, Andhra, Pradesh, India

Visakhapatnam Beachfront Redevelopment

Virtual Awards Event  We will once again offer a virtual Awards Event webinar with the winning entrants illustrating and describing their projects/plans.   While perhaps not as compelling as having an in-person awards ceremony during the conference, last year's presentations were very well received. Stewart McKenzie, our webmeister will orchestrate it again. Domenica, our chair will host the event.    We anticipate the webinar sessions will take place over two days sometime in late October. Details will be posted on our website and included in future e-blasts.

June 2021 Newsletter

??????????????2021 Top Honor Award Winner???????????????

It could be your project or plan.  Enter by July 15 and be part of the mix the Jury will be judging.

The 2020 top winners were:

Duwamish River Gardens

Buffalo Bayou East

Visit our website for full details on how to enter  HERE

Visit our interactive database on all winners to see the range of over 400 projects, plans, citizen efforts and student work from around the world.  See an introduction to the awards search engine and a short movie HERE Go to the page where queries can be entered HERE   Call with any questions: 609 884 7997 or 202 256 1263   Winners receive publicity on our website, are included in the awards 4-color publication and will be part of a virtual awards ceremony in the fall, see HERE

2020 Award Winners Booklet

2020 Award Winners Web Postings

News from Toronto and Boston Check out the websites below to get summertime news:

Waterfront Toronto's Latest

Read about a new bridge; flood protection; a summer-long photography festival and construction update on large in-water stormwater management HERE

Commissioners Street Bridge  Flood Protection

Photography Festival Stormwater Management

Charles River Conservancy June 2021

The Conservancy's floating wetland is back and moored along the Cambridge parkway, see HERE   You are encouraged to take al look by foot or kayak.

Charles River Conservancy's Floating Wetland

Rollback of Trump Administration's Relaxing of Clean Water Regulations

Good News. Plans are underway to begin lengthy rulemaking to protect the waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act of 1982. The very definition of "waters" has been the subject of debate.   According the the Washington Post (June 9, 2021) Michael Regan, the new head of EPA, says he is trying to strike a balance between conservation and development that the Trump and Obama administration failed to reach.

Drum Roll for Hudson River's Little Island Park at Pier 55

Little Island

The $260 million, 2.4 acre park was finally opened to the public in May. The design was accomplished by Thomas Heatherwick along with ARUP engineers and landscape architects, MNLA. The park sits atop  132 pod-shaped precast concrete piles of varying heights that each support 350 tons of landscaping. MNLA chose 40 species of plants and 100 types of trees. Two bridges connect the mainland to the 'island. Besides lots of public realm, the park includes an outdoor theater. The project was backed by media mogul Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer, Diane von Furstenberg.The park had its share of controversy and took 8 years to realize, although truth be told that doesn't seem like so long given the complexities.  See more information HERE

Little Island

Late May 2021 Newsletter

Reminder: 34th Annual Awards Program

Deadline for Submittals: July 15, 2021 Check the Center's website HERE for details. Check HERE more information on the 2020 award winners

News from River Action

River Action "Ride and Seek"

River Action who for years sponsored a Ride the River bike event to raise money for trails adapted to the pandemic by creatively sponsoring a scavenger hunt along the river. Visit their website HERE for more information on how to register. Sounds like a really fun thing to do.

River Action also teams up with the Sierra Club hosting an environmental book club. In case you might want to know what they plan to read:

Covington, Kentucky's Riverfront Commons Nearing Completion

Covington Riverfront Commons

Developer, Southbank Partners, has been working on a major reinvention of the riverfront in Covington for or more than a decade. A spokesperson for the project situated across from Cincinnati on the Ohio River said the commons will include a 1,350-seat amphitheater, a canoe and kayak launch, bike and walkway along with upgraded ovelooks and possible festival areas. See details HERE and HERE.

Tubing Season Coming Up: Time to get floating!

Warm weather, shallow water and river currents combine for what many 'river rats" truly enjoy: Tubing. One tubing business started by Greg Crance in 1987 was located north of Trenton on the Delaware River, see HERE. He made the five-mile river trip all the more fun by opening "Famous River Hot Dog Man" floating, grill a spot where folks could stop for hot dogs and other goodies. He employed about 75 locals to grill, and drive buses to transport the tubers who number in the tens of thousands per summer. Crance who died of cornovirus early in May was a big river booster. He said: "You can have as good or better experience than going to a private island in the Caribbean." One hopes his family will continue this fun operation.

Helsinki: a Look Back and a Look Ahead Ruoholahti and Mahasiiniranta

Looking back: Ruoholahti

Ruoholahti, Helsinki

Helsinki is one of the world's most delightful waterfront cities. We visited in the mid-nineties while researching material for The New Waterfront : A Worldwide Urban Success Story (McGraw Hill: 1996) and relished the experience including the public realm with its lively, colorful outdoor markets and cafes which we believed inspired Jane and Ben Thompson in their work. Jane, many remember, loved Marimekko and promoted the distinctive fabrics in the U.S. As we meandered around the waterfront and the downtown, we became curious to learn if there were any new developments to check out. We were steered to a 163-acre site, an industrial and warehousing district, being transformed into a residential and office precinct. After a planning competition, the first residents moved in in 1992 not long before we visited. We were struck by the high quality design of the mostly 6-to-8 story buildings, the canal reinforcing the maritime nature of the area and ample walkways. Today the area is a very popular neighborhood with lots of things to see and do, see HERE. If Ruoholahti is an example of a lively, interesting waterfront transformation from the '90s onward, it bodes well for this newest initiative.

Ruoholahti, Helsinki

Looking Ahead: Mahasiiniranta

Helsinki calls for proposals for Makasiiniranta

Mahasiiniranta in Helsinki's South Harbour

A competition has been launched to create a new cultural precinct on its South Harbour. Now home to parking and terminals, the 20.5 -acre- site is the last remaining area cut off from the public.

Mahasiiniranta  Plan Two acres have been set aside for a museum complex. The project wants to emphasize sustainability and become carbon neutral by 2035. The City is inviting development consortiums to register by Jun21, 2021. Plans need to submitted by December 2021. A shortlist of four will need to submit more detailed plans in early 2022 with the winner announced in Autumn 2022. For further information and details see HERE and HERE and HERE.

Helsinki South Harbour

The Waterfront Center Past Award Winners

Check out all the past winners to get an idea of the wide range of projects and plan by visiting our interactive database HERE. A short movie and text about the creation and structure of the search engine can be found HERE.

April 2021 Newsletter

Frederick Law Olmsted Celebrates 200th Birthday in '22

The National Association for Olmsted Park and all sorts of partners are gearing up to mark this milestone of this great Father of Landscape Architecture with lots of events. See HERE to see details. Go HERE to see the numerous organizations signing on to take part.

Frederick Law Olmstead

We still have hopes for a Detroit conference in 2022 and Belle Isle will definitely be on the list of  places to tour. Frederick Olmstead helped to design this huge swath of public realm with fabulous views of  downtown Detroit.

Belle Isle

He and his firm had a hand in scores of parks and landscapes. While not directly on the waterfront in many cases, water features play a big role in the likes of Central Park, New York, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and the Emerald Necklace, Boston to name a few.

Plans for Central Park NY

The lake in Central Park

The Floating Pool  Ann Buttenwieser, a charter member of our Board of Advisors and loyal supporter, has a new book coming out, see HERE Ann Buttenwieser, the Floating Pool Lady The Floating Pool won an Excellence on the Waterfront honor award in 2007 and we are doubly pleased that she has written this account. One reads of other pool initiatives in New York with no mention of her work which preceded any others. This will set the record straight. See an article on Ann Buttenwieser HERE. The Floating Pool Marianna Koval Apparently, an old friend of the Center, Marianna Koval has moved back to New York. Marianna was a key member of the team that helped us put on our unforgettable 2001 Conference in Brooklyn - only weeks after 9/11. Not an easy task by any means. Before the welcome reception, we held our collective breaths to see if anyone showed up and show up they did. The first people through the doors were from Sydney! I doubt anyone will forget that meeting. Marianna Koval Marianna headed up the Brooklyn Bridge Parks Coalition that led to the creation of 2009 award-winning Brooklyn Bridge Park. Barry reports she is now a colleague: the Director of the Invest NYC SDG Initiative at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, where she manages a team engaging the private sector to drive financing toward a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient New York City. Using the UN SDGs as a guiding framework, the team is developing investable projects to advance NYC’s sustainability goals in waste, food and health, climate resilience, renewable energy, the built environment, and sustainable mobility.  Port Covington Port Covington As mentioned in an earlier blast Professor Barry Hersh moderated an NYU panel on Port Covington, the newest Baltimore waterfront project. HERE is a link to the video for those interested. Barry Hersh Conference: Walk Bike Places

Conference: Walk Bike Places June 15-18, 2021, Indianapolis and online. See HERE and HERE

March 2021 Newsletter

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

2021 Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program

Deadline for Submittals: July 15, 2021 Check the Center's website HERE for details. Check HERE more information on the 2020 award winners

Detroit's Riverwalk Wins First Place in USA Today's Contest

See link HERE As noted in February newsletter USA Today initiated a contest for best riverwalks that included 20 candidates.

Detroit International Riverwalk. The winning entry.

“The Detroit Riverfront is a very special place for our city and we are honored by this recognition,” said Matt Cullen, board chairman of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. “We have a tremendous year ahead and will continue to set the bar even higher as we finish up the East Riverfront and move to the west.”

“Every great city has a place where the entire community comes together,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. “Detroiters love their riverfront, and we are incredibly proud to be recognized and celebrated on a national level."

Riverfronts in Wilmington, North Carolina, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Cincinnati rounded out the top five on the list.

Check the full results HERE

City Parks Alliance

City Parks Alliance Offering Virtual Summer Series June 14-25, 2021 see HERE. Of Interest: "Resilient Waterfronts" with panelists Chris Reed, principal, Stoss, Boston and Alda Chan, Director of Resiliency NYC Parks.

Resilient Waterfronts

Resilient Waterfronts

Chris Reed won Top Honor in our 2011 Excellence on the Waterfront Awards program. He has also been a featured speaker at our conferences. Visit our interactive data HERE and enter CityDeck in the search box to see the winning CityDeck in Green Bay, WI. that will be discussed. For more information and registration see HERE or email: summerseries@cityparksalliance.org

CityDeck Green Bay, WI.

Waterfront Toronto Launches International Competition

A vision for the Toronto waterfront

Waterfront Toronto launched an international competition to secure a development partner for the Quayside lands. The first step in this effort is to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify potential development Proponents with the proven experience, design portfolio, financial resources, and shared vision necessary to bring Quayside to reality. The revitalization of Quayside will usher in a new chapter in Toronto’s development. It will remind people of everything they want from living in the city and demonstrate what is possible when vision, passion and design excellence are brought together.

A vision for the Toronto waterfront

We have worked closely with stakeholders and community members to shape the vision for Quayside as a dynamic, inclusive and resilient community that will help reorient the city towards the lake. This area of our waterfront represents an extraordinary opportunity to create one of Canada’s most sustainable low-carbon communities, serving people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and incomes. It will offer market rate and affordable housing options for individuals and families, including the supports and amenities that will help seniors to age in place and live independently for longer. A place that is inviting and lively year-round, providing retail, restaurants, entertainment and cultural experiences to seamlessly fuse the city to the water with activation around Parliament Slip. Details about the development opportunity can be found HERE. Interested parties can see the Quayside Request for Qualifications Backgrounder HERE, the press release HERE, access the full RFQ through Waterfront Toronto's Procurement Portal HERE, or visit QuaysideTO.ca for additional information on this exciting opportunity. Visit our newsroom HERE to read what people are saying about Quayside. An artist rendering showing the proposed vision for the Parliament Slip A rendering of the proposed vision for Parliament Slip animation HERE, l

A vision for the Toronto waterfront

Clearwater, Florida RFP

The City of Clearwater and the Clearwater Redevelopment Agency is seeking RFP's for three prime waterfront sites. Deadline: April

Instructions on how to submit your solicitation documents electronically can be found HERE. Complete online form with “Your Information” Use the drop-down arrow to select “Project You Are Bidding On” Drag and drop your files into the “Upload Files Here” box

February 2021 Newsletter February depths of winter: cold, gray and wet. Ah, but can spring be far behind?

Deadline for Submittals:

July 15, 2021. Visit HERE for details and application forms.

Interdisciplinary Awards Jury - New Member added

Recently added: Matt Grady, Vice President, Director of Development, Gramor Development, Tualatin, Oregon.

Matt Grady

Matt was part of the team who guided the 2020 Excellence on the Waterfront award winner, The Waterfront in Vancouver, Washington. Check out the interactive database HERE to learn more about the project or view his presentation HERE. Matt will join Domenica Stasiak, Langan Engineering, New York, New York, jury chair, and Steve Dumez, Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, New Orleans. Louisiana

Take Note: Some Recent Articles of Interest

"Reveal the River" by Jonathan Lerner

The Chattahoochee River

Reveal the River" by Jonathan Lerner in the January 2121 Landscape Architecture Magazine. (pp. 65-81). See HERE. Atlanta may be one of handful of cities that doesn't have a major waterbody flowing through or adjacent to it. Lots of Peachtree Creek references but the major river nearby, the Chattahoochee, is nowhere near the downtown and has received little attention. That is about to change for this 100 miles of river that borders 19 municipalities in the Atlanta metro area. Thanks to a 1973 protective act, a 2,000-foot buffer preserves the shorelines on both banks. Since the 70's the population has tripled to nearly 3.5 million. SCAPE landscape architecture is undertaking a major study and report, The Chattahoochee River Lands, (available at chattahoochee riverlands.org.  Envisioned are about 125 miles of continuous, accessible walking and biking opportunities along with many recreational opportunities and environmental protections. This amply illustrated article details the many challenges involved in such a bold undertaking.

See HERE for the Chattahoochie Riverlands Report

"Give 'Em the Slip" by Clare Jacobson

Crane Cove Park

"Give 'Em the Slip" by Clare Jacobson in th February 2021 Landscape Architecture Magazine (p. 24-25), see HERE. A much-needed park has been added near San Francisco's Dogpatch community. Designed by AECOM, the 7-acre park celebrates the industrial past of this patch of waterfront. The centerpiece is an historic slipway to launch boats, two cranes and retained industrial artifacts. Designers had to contend with an intertidal zone, future sea-level rise, an accessible slope to accommodate beach, bike and pedestrian paths. Crane Cove Park as it is called is highly popular and is bracketed by two Excellence on the Waterfront Honor Award winners: Crissy Field (2001, project) and Ocean Beach (Ocean Beach Master Plan 2013). Check them out on the interactive database HERE.

May 2021 Virtual Meetings of Note:

Port Covington Webinar

Port Covington: Inside Look at $5B+ Baltimore Redevelopment (Under Armour). February 24, 12:30 - 1:30 See fly by of the Baltimore project HERE. Register for the Webinar HERE. Long-time board member, Barry Hersh alerted us to this and will host the session.

Waterfront Alliance - 14th Waterfront Conference

Waterfront Alliance - 14th Waterfront Conference - Confronting Unprecedented Challenges and Opportunities. See HERE May 10, 12 & 14 2021. New York City Rates vary. Early Birds March 20. Get tickets HERE

Waterfront Aaaliance Conference on a Boat

Congress for a New Urbanism (CNU) 29 Design for Change

NU 29 Design for Change May 19 -21, 2021 See agenda HERE Register HERE

Groundhog Day 2021 Newsletter

Happy Groundhogs's Day! After an event-filled time over the past 6 weeks including historic, moving moments and equally historic tumultuous ones, February 2, Groundhog Day, as always, offers the promise of spring's arrival. Before putting out news items we'd like to pause and remember the beautiful tribute to the pandemic victims with that stunning public art installation at the Washington Monument's Reflecting Pool. Water always dramatizes and it was breathtaking as the lights flicked on. The magic of water! The Waterfront Center commences our 40th anniversary year celebrating waterfronts which is quite a milestone. More on that in coming months. Excellence on the Waterfront 2021 Awards Program This year's deadline for submittals is July 15, 2021. Information and entry forms and details will be posted on the web. Jury is being selected. Thus far, Domenica Stasiak of Langan Engineering, New York will be Jury Chair and Steve Dumez of Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, New Orleans has signed on. Deliberations will take place in early August. Of interest might be the webinar of the 2020 virtual awards ceremony and winner presentations see HERE Also, folks may want to research among the over 400 award winners since 1987 and take advantage of our unique interactive database. It is a trove of information. See HERE Carol R. Johnson - 1929 - 2020 Carol Johnson The Cultural Landscape Foundation ran an announcement of the death of noted and pioneering landscape architect Carol Johnson on their website (tclf.org.) See " Remembering Carol R. Johnson" or "Carol Johnson's16 Rules." HERE. Carol and her firm won an honor award for the Lechmere Canal Park in East Cambridge, Massachusetts in1989. Lechmere Canal Park in East Cambridge, Massachusetts USA TODAY Best Riverwalks Contest. Our longtime board member, Harriet Saperstein of Detroit, alerted us to a fun contest USA Today is featuring on its website: USA Today 10 Best Riverwalks. See HERE. About two weeks left to vote for your favorite. Below is a list and images of the nominees. NOTE: Those with an asterisk have received awards from the Center in the past. Waterfront aficionados should enjoy looking through the list of 20 projects. See which you are familiar with -- or not, learn about them and then vote your favorite. San Antonio's Riverwalk San Antonio's Riverwalk or the Paseo del Rio is one of country's oldest designed by the late architect Robert Hugman. Besides the work of artisans on paving and the 20 different bridges, small, colorful barges transport tourists up and down the small waterway. Work begun in the late 1930s and continues today with expansions. The grand old dame was awarded a Center honor award in 1993. 20 nominated riverwalks not in Alphabetical order: Bricktown, Oklahoma City, OK Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, Minneapolis, NN Idaho Falls River Walk, Idaho Falls, ID Mississippi River Riverwalk, Dubuque, IA Smale Riverfront Park, Cincinnati, OH Trinity Trails, Fort Worth, TX Canalwalk, Indianapolis, IN * Charles River Esplanade, Boston, MA Chicago River Walk, Chicago, IL* Detroit International Riverwalk, Detroit, MI* Hudson River Park, New York (portions have received awards)* Milwaukee River Riverwalk, Milwaukee, WI * River Street, Savannah, GA* San Antonio Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX * Schuylkill River Trail, Philadelphia, PA Tennessee River Park, Chattanooga, TN (portions have received awards)* Three River Heritage Park, Pittsburgh, PA Waterfront Park, Louisville, KY Waterplace Park and Riverwalk, Providence, RI * Wilmington Riverwalk, Wilmington, NC Floating Markets in North America - a Query???? Our longtime board member, Kathy Wine from Quad Cities, sent me the following query? "Ann, If you know, are there any floating markets (like Xoximilco in Mexico City) in the US? Thanks so much, Kathy" Floating markets can be found around the world but they are less common here in US or Canada. Curious if you know any send me an email at and to Kathy herself at kwine@riveraction.org. Thanks.

The Waterfront Center | PO Box 53351, Washington, D

Thanksgiving 2020 Newsletter

Wishing our Waterfront World a very Happy Thanksgiving however we are able to pause and be thankful in these difficult days. For our part we are ever grateful to all our friends and supporters for lo these soon-to-be-40 years. A reminder that the 2020 awards event webinar is available on the Website. Lots of great work is presented by the winners HERE. For this communique we will focus on public art which has been a subject of great interest to the Center from the outset.

Siah Armajani, public artist 1939-2020

Siah Armajani

We were sorry to learn of the death of noted public artist, Siah Armajani, an Iranian American, who lived in Minneapolis. At our second international conference in 1984 we had a panel: "What Role the Civic Artist?" We had recently met Athena Tacha, herself a distinguished artist, and she rounded up two other panelists, namely Robert Irwin and Siah Armajani who enlightened what was a very small crowd. Today would be an entirely different story as a panel on public art would draw a large number. From the proceedings of the '84 annual meeting we offer brief summaries of their thinking. Athena pointed out that in her view, public sculpture should be all about being used and enjoyed for play, or sitting and other activities. She incorporates steps in many of her installations.

Athena Tacha Installation Green Acres, Trenton, New Jersey

Robert Irwin suggested that the artist's role should be to provide a special way of seeing a city's design opportunities. He went on to say that only after getting a feel for a city should ideas for a particular project be developed, in what should be a cooperative effort among the city, the architect and the artist. Siah Armajani explained that public art should be useful, common, low, near gathering places. The art should be to synthesize the setting and the social history of the place.

Siah Armajani's Bridge Over a Tree, Brooklyn Bridge Park

It should be noted that in the early '80s the National Endowment for the Arts was giving grants to encourage collaboration between architects, landscape architects and artists. One such effort was the World Financial Center Plaza, a major component of Battery Park City in New York. Siah Armajani collaborated with fellow artist, Scott Burton, architect Cesar Pelli and landscape architect, M. Paul Friedman. Siah's work incorporates passages from Frank O'Hara and Walt Whitman celebrating the spirit of New York incorporated in the fencing design.

Siah Armajani's Battery Park Fence

Siah Armajani's NOAA Bridge in the NOAA Western Regional Center, Lake Washington, Seattle

Spotlight on Art from Three 2020 Award Winners

From the modest but very artful work derived from the native American heritage of the Muckleshoot tribe in Tukwila, Washington, to the "Oh Wow!" enormous overhead fiber work in St. Petersburg, to the very large dramatic works found in The Waterfront - a 32 acre mixed-use project along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Wash., the sheer diversity of work found in these winning projects is striking. The 2020 Excellence in the Waterfront Awards are now on the Waterfront Center website. Recordings of the Zoom presentations by the award winners and PDF files of the presentation materials can be found HERE. The 2020 Excellence in the Waterfront Awards can now be found in the Waterfront Center awards search engine, go HERE and enter 2020 into the search window. A short movie and text about the creation and structure of the search engine can be found HERE. A digital version of the awards booklet can be found HERE.

Duwamish Garden Habitat Restoration, Tukwila, Washington

This 3-acre park designed by Jim Brennan, JA Brennan Associates that received top honor was once a degraded landscape. Now restored it provides access to the river both physically and visually. The handsome stonework "wall' offers seating for gathering circles, events and story-telling, while the artwork in the paving depicts the river.

Duwamish Gardens Gathering Circle

Duwamish Gardens Inlaid River Paving

Mike Perfetti of the City of Tukwila offered his thoughts about the project:  "We know from archaeologic evidence that the Duwamish Gardens site was used as a site for food processing; likely here or in the vicinity, people would have built fish and game drying racks of wood to dry salmon, deer, duck or other game; the sculpture is intended to depict that. The sculpture is intended to be an auditory experience when the wind blows, subtly conveying this story of Epic of the Winds. There are laser-cut metal salmon figures also among the chimes to convey the central role of salmon at this site and in this region." One can imagine how enjoyable it would be to sit quietly alongside the river and listen to tinkling of the 'fish' in the wind and learn more about the ecology and culture from the interpretive plaques.  Mike Perfetti and Jim Brennan collaborated on the art for the project.   A link to one version of the story can be found HERE   The presentation of this project by Jim Brennan and Mike Perfetti can be found HERE.

Duwamish Gardens Fish Drying Sculpture

St. Petersburg Pier Approach, St. Petersburg, Florida

Janet Echelman's Bending Arc

As you can see from the photos why we dub this an "Oh Wow" piece. This enormous installation is the largest work of net artist Janet Echelman to date. Entitled Bending Arc, it is the centerpiece of this two-acre project designed by Barbara Wilks, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Bending Arc is a reference to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Janet Echelman's Bending Arc

The piece incorporates 1,662,528 knots, 180 miles of twine, spans 424 feet and measures 72 feet high at its tallest point. To learn more about the work go HERE. The presentation of this project by Barbara Wilks can be found HERE

The Waterfront, Vancouver, Washington

The Waterfront, Vancouver

About eight years ago we did some consulting work with the city of Vancouver and visited the "before" version of this remarkable transformation. At that time the 32-acre, once industrial site was quite forlorn. So when we opened up the award submittal it was another one of those 'Holy Smokes' moments.

Larry Kirkland's Grant Street Pier

Public artist Larry Kirkland's Grant Street Pier is the dramatic focal point of the project both during the day and at night. If juts out 90 feet offering breathtaking access to and over the Columbia. The steel sculptural feature is meant to evoke the billow of a passing sailboat. Visitors can examine drawings of early sailing ships and working drawings of pier construction.

Larry Kirkland's Grant Street Pier at Night

Kirkland also designed the Columbia River water feature, Headwaters Wall, working with John Grant who built the fountain itself. One of my pet peeves is when fountains installed in public parks warn: Look but do not touch or play or whatever. This is the opposite of that and invites folks to come on and enjoy.

Larry Kirkland's Headwaters Wall

Besides the public art installations. a large concrete roller and gears once used in the papermill, industrial artifacts retained and exhibited to celebrate the industrial heritage of the area.

Papermill Gears

More Detail about Larry Kirkland's work on the Grant Street pier can be found HERE. The presentation of this project by Matt Grady of Gramor Development, who spearheaded the project can be found HERE

October 2020 Newsletter

The Waterfront Center invites you to A Virtual Ceremony to present the winners of the 33rd Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program

Every year since 1987 the Waterfront Center has invited applications for awards in the Excellence on the Waterfront program. This program is designed to find the best in contemporary waterfront planning and design and to recognize and promote the winning applicants. In previous years the winning applicants met in person at a ceremony to receive their awards and to present the winning projects and plans. This year, because of the Corona virus, the awards ceremony will be virtual, an online webinar of two sessions, October 20-21, 2020 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.  If you would like to attend this virtual ceremony click HERE to register Click “Select A Date” and follow the prompts.

And the winners are:

Click HERE to see more detail in a short movie

The Waterfront Center Wishes to Acknowledge and Thank   Patrons: Linda and Michael Krieger, Mahwah, New Jersey Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Harriet and Al Saperstein, Detroit, Michigan The Waterfront Center, Washington, District of Columbia Supporters:  Chris Carlson and Steve Durrant, Seattle, Washington Charlotte DeWitt, International Events, Boston, Massachusetts Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, New York, New York Virginia McLean, Memphis, Tennessee  Diane and Charles Norris, Norris and Norris, Cambridge, Massachusetts Kathy Wine, River Action, Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois

August 2020 Newsletter

Announcing the 2020 Excellence on the Waterfront  Top Honor Project and Top Honor Plan Award and Honor Awards for Six Projects and One Plan

A hallmark of the Center's awards program is the makeup of the jury members who have different backgrounds and expertise which once again enriched the discussions held over the two-day session via Zoom August 14 & 15. Our 2020 Jury is as follows:

Michael Sriprasert, president, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jury Chair, joined the group from Pittsburgh. Rod Marler, principal, Warren & Mahoney, Auckland, New Zealand beamed in from lockdown in Auckland

Domenica Stasiak, senior project manager, Langan Engineering, New York, New York was with us in person in Cape May, New Jersey Stewart McKenzie, senior associate, Environmental Design Associates, and our very own webmeister orchestrated the virtual meeting from his home in Somerville, Massachusetts

Co-directors Breen and Rigby followed the lively give and take offering information on facts. They are never involved in the decision - making.

The 2020 Excellence in the Waterfront jury Zoom meeting

The winners are:

TOP HONOR AWARD – PROJECT  Duwamish Gardens Habitat Restoration, Tukwila, Washington

Duwamish Gardens

Submitted by Jim Brennan, J.A. Brennan, Seattle, Washington and Mike Perfetti, City of Tukwila, Washington

Jim Brennan

Mike Perfetti

TOP HONOR – PLAN  A Vision for Buffalo Bayou East – Master Plan, Houston, Texas

Buffalo Bayou East – Master Plan

Submitted by Anne Olson, Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Brooklyn, New York and HR&A Advisors, New York, New York

Anne Olson

Michael Van Valkenburgh

HONOR AWARDS - PROJECTS Alphabetical order

Clippership Wharf, East Boston, Massachusetts

Clippership Wharf

Submitted by Robert Adams, Halvorson| Tighe & Bond Studio, Boston, Massachusetts and Nicholas Iselin, Lendlease Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts

Robert Adams

Nicholas Iselin

Inter-Tidal Pool at Roberto Clemente State Park, Bronx, NY

Inter-Tidal Pool at Roberto Clemente State Park

Submitted by Molly Bourne, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, New York, New York and Leslie Wright, New York City Regional Director, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Molly Bourne

Leslie Wright

Saluda Riverwalk, Columbia, South Carolina

Saluda Riverwalk

Submitted by Mike Dawson, River Alliance, Columbia, South Carolina and Will Schenk, EngenuitySC, Columbia, South Carolina

Mike Dawson

Will Schenk

St. Petersburg Pier Approach, St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg Pier Approach

Submitted by Barbara Wilks, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Brooklyn, NY and Raul Quintana, City of St. Petersburg

Barbara Wilks

Raul Quintana

The Waterfront, Vancouver, Washington

The Waterfront, Vancouver

Submitted by Matt Grady, Gramor Development Inc. and Julie Hannon, City of Vancouver, Parks & Rec., Vancouver, Washington

Matt Grady

Julie Hannon

HONOR AWARD – PLAN  Plan: Wayzata Lake Effect Park - Comprehensive Plan, Wayzata, Minnesota

Wayzata Lake Effect Park - Comprehensive Plan

Submitted by Mark Johnson, Civitas, Denver, Colorado and Mark Johnson, Civitas, Denver, and City of Wayzata,Wayzata, Minneapolis

Mark Johnson

Jeff Dahl, Wayzata City Manager

CLEARWATER AWARD To recognize volunteer, grassroots waterfront work

Friends of the Chicago River River Day Volunteers, Chicago, Illinois

Friends of the Chicago River

Submitted by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Friends of the Chicago River – River Day Volunteers

Formal Announcements and Presentations

The Center and Jury Members will be working on a Webinar to announce formally the winners and offer presentations by the winners showcasing their work. We will announce the dates for the Webinars on our Website and through these Newsletters.

GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT PASSED

Great American Act Passed What wonderful news for our parks and public lands that the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law providing $900 million in permanent and dedicated annual funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund and money to address the backlog of maintenance.

CONFERENCE/MEETING UPDATES

ASLA Annual Meeting

The American Society of Landscape Architects has cancelled it 2020 annual meeting that would have been held in Miami Beach October 2 -5. Answers about any logistical questions about refunds and the like can be found on https://www.aslaconference.com/.

Upper Mississippi River Conference

River Action of the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois made the difficult decision to forgo their in-person conference scheduled for October 6-8, 2020 and will offer instead a series of  50-60 minute Webinars featuring some the planned speakers at $10 per session or three for $25. See more detail HERE.

Waterfront Alliance's Heroes of the Harbor

This event scheduled for October 4 from 6-8 o'clock will be virtual rather than in person. Visit #HeroesofHarbor. You can register for the event HERE

City Parks Alliance Greater and Greener Conference

City Parks Alliance Greater and Greener Conference. The Alliance is postponing its conference scheduled to be in Philadelphia in July 2021 until Summer 2022. See HERE and HERE.

June 2020 Newsletter

2020 Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Deadline July 15, 2020

We encourage you to take the next month to gather your visuals and other materials to submit to this year's program -- our 33rd. So much good work is going all over, we want our jury to have a great selection to go through. This year most of the jury deliberations will take place virtually - a new experience for us all. We certainly will miss the back and forth going on around a table.

1999 Interdisciplinary Jury deliberations in Cape Cod. Seated around the table: the late Jane Thompson, Thompson Associates, Boston, (orange shirt); Diana Talty, Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia, ; Harriet Saperstein, Detroit Dept. of Recreation; Diane Cho, Cho Wilks Benn, Baltimore and the Honorable Helen Cooper, Kingston, Ontario, Canada at the end of the table. Affiliations as of 1999.

Additional time. Several folks have asked for additional time as they could not get to their site to finish their photography due to the virus. Just let us know by email or (202 256 1263) and we can give you a date. However, we need the submission forms and other materials to set up the databases for the jury. The jury deliberations will take place mid-August and winners will be notified promptly. Alas there will be no class photo of the winners and no festive gala dinner. However, we will conduct the awards ceremony virtually and hope to have all the winners present their projects or plans via Zoom or other techniques. We are targeting a date in late September to have this go on line. We will notify everyone and also post all info on the web.

2018 Excellence on the Waterfront Award Winners

Background

The Waterfront Center is known as an independent entity and the judgments made by its annual interdisciplinary juries are recognized as unbiased selections of merit. The awards are increasingly sought after and prized, meaning that the entries are generally of the highest caliber.           Between 1987 and 2019, the Waterfront Center will have conferred over 400 awards. An illustrated booklet of the awards has been prepared since 2004 and is highly valued. Additionally, descriptions and illustrations of the awards made from 1987 through 1981 are contained in a book entitled WATERFRONTS: Cities Reclaim Their Edge.  In recent years award-winning projects, plans, student work and citizen efforts have been posted on the Center’s website HERE and HERE and most of the awards since 1987 have been collected in a searchable database. Each award in this database has images, a project description, jury comments and the winner's contact information. The background information on this searchable database can be found HERE. Queries can be entered HERE. A movie describing the origin and use of the database can be viewed HERE The Waterfront Center believes that this outstanding collection of exemplary waterfront projects and plans plus citizen and student work that is freely available worldwide – a database without parallel.

Late May 2020 Newsletter

34th Annual Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program

The Center will conduct the awards program this year. Details are on our website HERE. We will grant extensions to those who need more time to complete their photography should sites be closed due to the virus. However, we would like to have people fill out the forms and send what info they have like the two page summary in order that we can put together the data base of names, project and other information for out files and the jurors. Deadline July 15, 2020. All or parts of the deliberations will be done virtually. Some jurors may be able to be on hand but others may not. Winners will be notified before Labor Day. While we will not be having the conference in Detroit in September 2020, we plan to have a virtual ceremony in September to let everyone know who the winners are and maybe skype or zoom short presentations. Details to be worked out. The awards booklet we, with the help of Chris Carlson and Steve Durrant, have put out since 2004, will be published in the fall of 2020.

The Waterfront Center Awards Booklets

If you are new to the Awards Program, we encourage you to visit our website and go to the interactive data where over 400 winners are depicted along with photos and details.

The Intertwine Alliance Seeks Executive Director

The Intertwine Alliance is seeking a new executive director. The Intertwine Alliance (TIA) is a coalition of 150 nonprofit, public and private sector partners working to ensure access to nature for all communities across the Portland-Vancouver region. Full job announcement is HERE Job Description is HERE

ASLA MIA 2020

Conference on Landscape Architecture October 2-5, Miami Beach, Florida

ASLA is forging ahead with their annual meeting. Two panels of interest: "Are We all in the Same Boat: A Waterfront Resilience Boat Tour" and "on the Front Line: Waterfront Parks as Resilient Infrastructure." Note: If ASLA cancels the conference they will fully refund your entire registration. If you cancel only the basic registration fee minus $100 will be refunded. Cancellations must be received on or before August 10. Rates vary from $675 - $900. Visit their website

Milwaukee's RiverWalk Expansion

Milwaukee's RiverWalk

Milwaukee's RiverWalk has been underway since the late 1990's and provides terrific access to the river. The first phases of the downtown RiverWalk received an honor award in 1998 and another for the Historic Third Ward section in 2005 including public art by Mary Miss. Visiting the website gives a peek at what other additions have have been made including handsome design detailing.

Milwaukee's RiverWalk

The new planned extension is being designed by Site, a Chicago firm and Baird & Associates and will take the walk from the Historic Third Ward to Bay View.

River Action News

River Action's Eddy magazine if always full of what's going on in the Quad Cities. You might want to become a member and get a subscription Link HERE.

The May/June/July issue has some fun things including announcement of the 2020 FLOATZILLA event August 15 - billed as the biggest and most acclaimed padding event on the Mississippi. Early registration is June 10.

Quad City River Trails

Kathy Wine, executive director, has been sponsoring a June Ride the River event for decades to raise money for the Quad City trails along the Mississippi. The initial 2 miles of trail has stretched to 20.

This year the group has added a month-long event: "Ride and Seek." It is envisioned as a month-long event, providing a challenging touchless family scavenger hunt, all in keeping with advised social distancing. Each rider will receive 36 clues. Details will be announced soon on their website. Sounds like a really fun and imaginativeidea.

Quad City Trail Riverway

May 2020 Newsletter

What a sad and difficult time for everyone. We hope this blast finds you and yours safe and well. We have delayed being in touch because we were trying to make important decisions related to the Conference and Awards.

Urban Waterfronts 2020 Postponed

Dick and I have, after serious consideration, decided it would be wise to postpone the conference until 2021 - perhaps the same September time frame. Not only is there a serious issue with a possible virus uptick this fall according to the scientists, but the economic crisis is truly severe. The more we thought about our attendees, the more we were convinced that with layoffs, furloughs and huge drops in revenues, the consulting firms, engineers, non-profits, local and state officials and others probably would not be able to come. So with the realization that our attendance would be way off, we think the wiser course of action is to postpone. We hope you understand and agree with us. Stay tuned for information about Detroit in 2021. We had started to put together a terrific programs and fun socials. We'll work hard to make 2021 the best yet!

Detroit Riverfront

Awards Program - a Go

We plan to go ahead with the awards program even if we have to do it electronically. So the jury may have to meet on Zoom in August. Then in September we would propose to have a ceremony via Zoom or Skype (we'll figure this out in detail later). We would also like to do a short promotional video about the 2021 conference in Detroit.  IMPORTANT PROVISION due to Coronavirus. We received an email bringing to our attention that there may be a problem for some to get images of their projects, especially if the park or public area is closed. The official deadline us July 15. If you need to get an extension in order to get images, e-mail or call us and we can give you until August 10. However, if you could submit an imcomplete submittal this would help immensely with our record-keeping and preparation of the materials for the Jury,

The Waterfront Center 2018 Award Winners

Waterfront Alliance Seeks New President

Chris Ward, board member of the Alliance has posted the following: "First and foremost, I want to commend Roland Lewis on 13 stellar years of service as the organization’s first President and CEO. We are enormously grateful for Roland’s leadership. With great expertise and tireless work, Roland quickly built an idea into a vibrant organization, and a game-changer on regional waterfront issues. We wish him the best in his new challenge. We will take time when we can gather again to mark together his many contributions and celebrate his service to the Waterfront Alliance. Second, I want to provide you information regarding the Board’s confidential process going forward to identify the next great leader of this organization. We have formed a search committee to assist the Board in its selection. Please view the job posting and encourage qualified candidates to apply. All inquiries will be held in strict confidence. Go HERE to the Waterfront Alliance We wish Roland all the best in his next Chapter.

February 2020 Newsletter

Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program

Entry Deadline: July 15, 2020 See: HERE for details.

Urban Waterfronts 2020 34th International Conference Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Riverfront

Mark you calendars: Spotlight on the Detroit Riverfront Wednesday September 23 (optional get-acquainted dinner) We have booked Sinbad's, a fun spot with a room overlooking the Detroit River for folks to start networking. Transport from the hotel will be provided.

Thursday, September 24. All-day workshop with a morning session of talks. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. An afternoon bus tour will include a complete riverfront tour with stops at specific sites along the way where you can take pictures and be briefed on the projects. The tour will end - where the riverfront renewal began 40 years ago at Hart Plaza with its centerpiece Noguchi fountain. Walk or return to hotel by bus.

Hart Plaza

Noguchi fountain in Hart Plaza

Urban Waterfronts 2020 34th Annual International Conference

Westin Cadillac Hotel

Thursday September 24. Welcome Reception at the Westin Book Cadillac followed by an optional dinner at Andiamo in Renaissance Center.

Andiamo Restaurant

Friday, September 25. Conference with keynote speech, and two con-current panels, lunch and the 2020 Awards presentation ceremony and reception concluding the day. An optional gala dinner in the hotel should be a festive Friday night.

Westin Cadillac Hotel

Saturday, September 26. Morning panels and a concluding plenary. Afternoon tours to Windsor, Ontario (passports required) and the International Wildlife Refuge will be optional extras.

Windsor Ontario

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

Waterfront Items of Note

Waterfront Alliance Annual Conference

2020 Rising to the Challenge A path forward on climate adaptation and resilience. May 12, 2020 See details HERE

Upper Mississippi River Conference

13th Annual Upper Mississippi River Conference Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois October 6-8, 2020 See details HERE

The Cultural Landscape Foundation Announces

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Prize to elevate the art and profession of landscape architecture. Starting in 2121, the award will be given every other year with a $100,000 prize to recognize a living practitioner. See etails HERE

John Beardsley will head up the Foundation's newest program. John gave a keynote address at our second annual waterfront conference in 1984 on waterfront public art. He is the author of Earthworks among other books.

Rails to Trails Winter 2020 Issue

You might want to check out "The Way Forward: Milwaukee County's Oak Leaf Trail" by Cory Matteson. See article HERE The 125-mile trail connects the county's neighborhoods, green spaces and cultural features. rtc.li/Oak-Leaf-Trail includes map. Also: "Trails Forecast: Resiliency and Repair," by Scott Stark. Trail managers are facing increasing flooding and other natural disasters. This article tells a few stories of disaster and recovery including: • Nebraska's Cowboy Recreataion and Nature Trail that has more than 200 bridges along its entire length. • Missouri's 240--mile Katy Train suffered from severe flooding that caused major economic hardship. • Mississippi's Tanglefoot Trail a 44 mile trail goes through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains experienced major spring rains that wreak havoc. • Texas's Bayou Greenways require major investment for routine cleanup. The flood control district spent $1.3 after Hurricane Harvey. The article also quotes Ning Lin, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, saying that 100-year floods could become an annual occurance citing a recent Princeton University study.

St. Patrick's Island, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

St. Patrick's Island Calgary

The January 2020 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine has an excellent, fulsome takeout on this recent Excellence on the Waterfront Center-award winning project: "No Plan is an Island," A Flood Friendly Park Re-creates a Resilient Landscape in Calgary's Bow River, by Brian Barth. See article HERE

St. Patrick's Island Calgary

This park originated as part of plan to revitalize the East Village neighborhood in Calgary,Alberta, Canada once a frontier outpost, that had fallen on hard times including a sizable homeless population. Calgary Municipal Land Corporation was established in 2007 as the redevelopment agency to create a master plan for improvements to the area. The 2010 master plan that was developed envisioned basically turning the neighborhood around and not to mince words: to gentrify the area. That is part of the back story. In 2013 catastrophic flooding caused millions of dollars of damage and inundated St. Patrick's Island in Calgary's downtown core. Barbara Wilks (W Architecture + Landscape architecture) and Mark Johnson (Civitas) - both Excellence on the Waterfront award winners - were involved in designing a 31-acre park on the Island. They took on the challenge of working with the river to achieve resiliency as well as provided lots of recreational opportunities for the citizens of Calgary. The article's author Barth comments that the "Island, intentionally or not, seems to have struck a balance of creating a welcoming environment for the public while avoiding a heavy-handed approach toward people experiencing homelessness." The park is densely forested providing a lush habitat and a form of erosion control. The forest and the many plantings throughout the island were extremely important to the designers. This beautifully illustrated piece has not only photos but drawings, diagrams and the planting plan.

Bottled Water War

A recent Washington Post article (Tuesday, February 18, 2020 p. E2) "Bottled water war (see article HERE): States seek to curtail firms in tapping local groundwater" by Alex Brown takes on the issue of bottling companies tapping spring-fed sources. The call to reduce plastic in our environment has been sounded for some time now. Single use plastic bags have been banned in so many communities and cloth shopping bags a common sight. Restaurants are using recyclable containers for take out or take home. Folks are buying their own cups for water and coffee. A campaign to to take a pledge not to drink bottled water was launched a number of years ago. So this article that details states that are introducing bills to restrict the bottling of groundwater or tax the industry is most timely. To quote a specialist from the environmental group Food & Water Watch: "As water scarcity is becoming a deeper crisis, you want to protect your local water supply so it goes for local purposes. [Bottled water] is not an industry that need to exist." We were surprised to read: • Two-thirds of bottled water sold comes from municipal tap water. • American consumed nearly 14 billion gallons of bottled water in 2018. • Bottled water sales are expected to grow to more than $24 billion in the next three years. The article goes on to describe state and local efforts to reign in the bottling industry including communities opposed to the construction of large factories. The battle between those concerned with the environmental and land use impacts of the bottling companies and the companies themselves including the International Bottled Water Association will continue on. In any event, it is an awful lot of toss away plastic bottles much ending up in the oceans. While bottled water can save lives in places like Flint or areas affected by disaster, it still gives one pause: most of us can grab a glass and turn on the tap. This will be an ongoing conversation.

The sea polluted by water bottles.....

.....as far as the eye can see

Late November 2019 Newsletter

ANNOUNCING

2020 Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program

The 2020 Interdisciplinary Jury A hallmark of the Center's awards program is the makeup of the jury members who have different backgrounds and expertise which enriches the discussions over the two-day session to be held in Cape May, New Jersey, in mid-July, 2020. Michael Sriprasert, vice president, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jury Chair Stewart McKenzie, senior associate, Environmental Design Associates, Somerville, Massachusetts Rod Marler, director Design + Place, Panuku Development Corporation, Auckland, New Zealand Domenica Stasiak, senior project manager, Langan Engineering, New York, New York

2018 Awards Jury: l-r Michael Sriprasert, Elan Zingman-Leith, Chair, Donna Walcavage, Mike Houck.

Deadline for Submittal: July 15, 2020

Visit the Center's Website for program details, application forms, criteria and background HERE Should you have any questions or need clarification email: waterfrontcenter@gmail.com or call 202/337-0356 or annelizabethbreen@gmail.com or 202/256-1263. We suggest applicants check out the awards database; the booklets or any other pertinent links.

Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner

2016 Excellence on the Waterfront Winners

The Awards will be announced and presented Friday afternoon, September 25th at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. A reception and a gala dinner will follow.

Reception 2016

Gala Dinner 2016

November 2019 Newsletter

Urban Waterfronts September 2020, Detroit

In early October we took a field trip to Motor City where our good friend, Harriet Saperstein, gave us a grand tour not only of the fabulous riverfront but other parts of this city on the move. We also met with Karen Slaughter du Perry at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. The non-profit organization is partnering with us to put together a dynamite convening. We have also made connections with the planner in Windsor, Ontario to make this a true North American gathering. We plan on a Saturday tour there and presentations a main conference. On tap is also an all-day workshop highlighting the Detroit riverfront by bus and numerous stops along way to hear first hand about the projects and of course, photo ops. What's there today is the culmination of 40 years of planning and hard work. Read about the latest addition Valade Park, designed by Groundswell, a three-time Excellence on the Waterfront honor award winner.

Valade Park

Valade Park

Alas we only had one day of fine weather but the pictures below give some idea of a few of the installations.

Carousel

The custom-made merry-go-round, The Cullen Family Carousel, depicts creatures relevant to the Detroit area is a popular attraction and a centerpiece of Cullen Plaza.

River Walk

One portion of the lengthy and popular RiverWalk we will be exploring.

Harriet Saperstein and Dick Rigby

Charter Waterfront Center board member Harriet Saperstein shows Center co-director Dick Rigby the interpretive panels in the handsome metal shelter in the Milliken State Park Wetlands.

Park Bench

Metal bench provides place to pause and enjoy the river amidst vegetated landscape.

Snapshots from Egypt

From my long ago 9th grade love of things King Tut and archaeologists' stories, I have always wanted to travel to Egypt. Dick and I finally journeyed there in October to be awed by the ancient wonders and artifacts. The fabulous museum in Cairo -- which is a treasure trove -- will soon be replaced by a huge, very modern building close to the pyramids which is nearly complete (Heneghan Peng architects; Patricio Pouchulu, architect). Google the Grand Egyptian Museum. Opening set for 2020.

Grand Egyptian Museum

Actually seeing the pyramids, the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, the Temple of Luxor, the Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Dead and so much more you leave amazed at the sheer size of the statues and columns, the intricate carvings and hieroglyphs. My wish list for Christmas includes a good photo book of all these amazing things.   For our waterfront world colleagues, the experience of being on the storied Nile was wonderful. Our Cairo hotel afforded us views of the urban riverscape and cruising on the small ship allowed us to drink in the blue waters, the green shorelines with the desert tan hills beyond that dominate while traveling along it.  Below are some snapshots:

Nile Boat

A sighting of a lovely felluca, the traditional wooden sailing boat, found on the river.

Embankment

Morning sunlight plays along one of the several steep embankments we climbed to take transport to some of the sites.

Trash Skows

Ubiquitous blue bags on several trash barges sighted along the river.

Ferry

One of the colorful vessels, used to ferry visitors from one side the Nile to the other.

Luxor Walkway

A glimpse of the waterfront promenade in Cairo.

Refurbishing Cairo walk

Long stretches of the shoreline in downtown Cairo are being refurbished.

Traffic

Another view from our hotel room shows not only the shoreline improvements, but also the fierce traffic found in the city. Anyone who has ever been to Cairo backs up the observation about the amount of chaotic traffic and the honking horns. Upon arrival it took us 3 hours to make the usual 45-minute ride from the airport due to huge and uncommon rainfall. Unforgettable.

Early morning on the Nile

The view from our hotel room very early morning.

Waterfront Art - Battery Park City in the '80's

Time was when what is now Battery Park City was landfill site covered with sand. Creative Time, an arts organization, stepped in to be, well, creative. A recent article (11/ 7/19) in The New York Times featured the work of conceptual public artist Agnes Denes whose work will be included in a retrospective at The Shed in New York City. Her 1982 two-acre installation Wheatfield - a Confirmation was, to say the least, a bit incongruous on the New York waterfront. Denes planted, cared for and harvested the crop.

Agnes Denes New York City Wheatfield

One of the best lines in a July 1, 2019 New York Times article ("At the foot of the Twin Towers A Beach that Time Forgot" by Jeff Giles, page A 18) was that the "Statue of Liberty finally got to see some amber waves of grain". This article reminded me of wandering along that 'beach' with Dick years ago and I found a photo from '82 in our archive of the iron-rod sculpture of "Lizzie and Gaffer Hexam"by David Saunders.

"Lizzie and Gaffer Hexam"by David Saunders

America's Most Endangered Rivers - 2019

The non-profit organization American Rivers has been publishing the ten most endangered rivers for decades and we'll share the 2019 list and encourage you to go their web site for details. They also named Ohio's Cuyahoga River as the River of the Year lauding its amazing comeback from when it infamously on fire!

Gila River New Mexico

Hudson River New York

Upper Mississippi River

Duwamish River Washington

Willamette River Oregon

Chilkat River Alaska

South Fork Salmon River Idaho

Buffalo National River Arkansas

Big Darby Creek Ohio

Stikine River Alaska

he Cultural Landscape Foundation presents: Landslide: 2019: Living in Nature

TCLF has just published a list of nationally significant sites threatened by climate change most of which involve sea level rise. Their website gives fulsome details and background for those wishing to learn more.

TCLF Sites Endangered by Climate Change