Citygarden

Can you describe your design process for the Citygarden?

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects: The design of Citygarden derives from the cultural and natural histories of St. Louis and its environs. Acknowledging its position in the heart of the Gateway Mall, a few blocks west of the Arch and the Mississippi River, Citygarden is structured as three precincts delineated by two walls. The northern precinct (or band) represents the high upland ground, the river bluffs.  The middle band represents the low ground or floodplain. The southern band represents the cultivated river terraces. A series of outdoor rooms in the northern band provide shaded platforms for specific sculptures, while also providing for sitting, dining and prospects over the upper-level water basin to the rest of the sculpture garden. A 550 foot long arcing wall of Missouri limestone defines the edge between the urban groves of the “uplands” and the low ground of the grassy “floodplain” that occupies the middle band of the site. The third band of Citygarden runs along the southern tier, framed by Market Street on one side and the central “floodplain” on the other. The inner edge of the Market Street gardens is prescribed by 1100 linear feet of granite-topped meander wall, the second major site wall. This nearly continuous seat wall sinuously loops through the garden in evocation of the striking patterns of regional river systems.

The Missouri Botanic Garden has been instrumental throughout the design process, counseling on specific plant choices that will thrive on this urban site. The plant palette emphasizes Missouri native trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, and wildflowers. Plant selections and planting designs emphasize the four distinct seasons and contribute to a sense of the parks lushness. Citygarden is an urban botanical garden, with plants and garden areas labeled, and with every intention of using the design to demonstrate sustainable garden practices in urban settings.

How does the project compare to other ones in your office, be it the same or other types?

NBWLA: Citygarden was one of the most intensely detailed urban parks our office has designed. We do a wide variety of landscape projects, both public and private commercial, institutional, government, and residential with budgets ranging from a few hundred thousand to 30 million dollars. Our firms work breaks down as follows: 35% public (parks, institutional and ecological restoration), 15% corporate and urban mixed-use, 50%  private (residential & conservation agriculture).

How does the project relate to contemporary design trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?

NBWLA: Citygarden employs sustainable technologies which include raingardens that collect stormwater from approximately 70% of the site, green roofs on both buildings, pervious paving, a largely native plant palette, regionally quarried stone, and suspended slab construction to give tree roots in terrace areas room to grow. It is designed as a contemporary civic space that draws design references from the unique qualities and history of St. Louis and its environs (especially its riverine and limestone geologic/hydrologic context).

Are there any new/upcoming projects in your office that this project’s design and construction has influenced?

NBWLA: The process we developed for Citygarden informs all of our projects.  We learn from the design and construction of each of our projects – designs/details/methods that resonate either subtly or in a very direct, didactic manner; designs/details/methods that work well in construction. But each of our projects is unique and designed for its specific location, client, program, and budget. The construction climate and local techniques and materials are very different in St Louis than they are for the coastal US or other parts of the world. Each time we work in a new place we research local plants, locally available materials, and construction practices. We meld the particular – a place, a plant community, a certain landform – with universal archetypal forms such as the mount, the theater, the grove, the parterre - so that the local ethos of a place is never lost or homogenized.

Studio|Durham Architects, St. Louis:

What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project?

S|DA: Studio|Durham was hired based on an interview process. At the time the conceptual design of the two blocks was already completed. NBWLA and the Gateway Foundation interviewed many architects in St. Louis and we were hired.

Can you describe your design process for the building?

S|DA: Both of buildings on the site were designed to complement the overall garden design by NBWLA and the 24 sculptures featured in the park. We had two dramatically different design tasks: The café was located in a very prominent location on a raised plinth, needed to extend the space of the garden into the interior, and to feature two sculptures, on the interior and the large Leger relief on the exterior. The design solution for the café was a Miesian glass box for the public spaces with an asymmetrical steel trellis to protect the glass from solar gain, and a stone-clad service block that provides a back drop for the Leger.

The maintenance building which also includes a security office, needed to be functional, but was meant to visually blend into the other features of the park.

Both buildings had the design challenge of being one-story buildings in an urban environment where most of the neighboring buildings were 20 stories of more. The use of a green roof system and other detailing treated the roof surface as a fifth façade of each building.

How does the completed building compare to the project as designed? Were there any dramatic changes between the two and/or lessons learned during construction?

S|DA: The completed building is very close to the design documents. Design of the café building was based on a very tight geometry that was an extension of the grid of the large granite pavers in the overall garden. It was very difficult to work through all the coordination issues in such a tight construction schedule (end date of the construction schedule was based on the Baseball All Star Game being in St. Louis in July of 2009).

How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?

S|DA: Both buildings incorporate newer technologies: a tray-based green roof system that allowed for the roof to be installed fully grown; exterior walls of Indiana limestone panels were installed in a rain screen system. A large sliding glass door (10' tall and 16' long) allows the café to open to the exterior dining terrace on nice weather days.

E-mail interviews conducted by John Hill