Marina Matheson

Boulevard Crossing ParkBy

Marina Matheson

Course Instructor: Professor DavisClient: Beltline Inc.

A Senior Design ProjectPresented to the School of Environmental Design

College of Environment and DesignUniversity of Georgia

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture

Athens, GeorgiaSpring 2012

INDEX

Executive SummaryIntroduction Context Subarea 3 Master Plan Site Photos Site Location Map Site Inventory Site AnalysisDesign Concepts One Two Master Plan Site Plan Section-Elevations Site Details Planting PlanImplementation Grading Plan Staking Plan Construction Details

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBoulevard Crossing Park is a 22 acre greenspace project located in Atlanta, Georgia along the loop of the Beltline. South of Grant Park at the intersection of Boulevard and Englewood Avenue, the project is a sustainable park redsign featuring natural processes and spaces. The park is to serve as a hub of activity linking numerous trails and corridors, creating nodes of social and environmental engagement with the general pubic.

INTRODUCTION Boulevard Crossing Park is an effort of the Atlanta BeltLine Inc., proposal to increase greenspace in the city of Atlanta by forming a connected linear system that will become one of the nation’s great regional parks. Using the Emerald Necklace in Boston as precendence, the redisgn of Boulevard Crossing Park opens opportunities for mixed-usecommunities, streetscapes and local economic and transit oriented development.

CONTEXTThe context map displays the boundaries of the future Boulevard Crossing Park within Subarea 3 of the BeltLine and relative to existing parks within this section, including Grant Park and Chosewood Park. It shows the location of the proposed BeltLine trail and reveals opportunities for connectivity between the green spaces in Subarea 3 to each other and to sorrounding neighborhoods.

SITE PHOTOS

SITE INVENTORYGIS Composite Map

Elevations range on this site from a low of 880’ to a high of 1000’ above sea level. The land has been havily manipulated over time, at some point in thime every portion of the nearly 22 acres has been considerably disturbed. Along Englewood Avenue five different industrial/commercial facillities had been constructed, each of which has impressed a significant footprint on the land, creating several plateaus within the site that could be utilized in such a way as to limit earth moving or helpt to seperate dissimilar uses within the new park.

FUTURE TRANSIT STOP

BELTLINE

FUTURE MULTIFAMILY HIGH DENSITY

FUTURE MULTIFAMILY HIGH DENSITY

EXISTING PARK PLAY FIELDS

VIEWS TODOWNTOWN ATLANTA

STEEPSLOPE

VALLEY

FUTURE TRANSIT STOP

FUTURE TRANSIT STOP

FUTURE TUNNEL

EXISTING ROADS

ENGELWOOD

BOULEVARD

WATERFLOW

EXISTING TREECOVER

PROPOSED ROAD+TRAIL

PROPOSED ROAD

STEEPSLOPE

STEEPSLOPE

NORTH

SITE ANALYSIS

CONCEPTS The city of Atlanta is an urban jungle whose citizens battle sky scrapers and automobile traffic on a daily basis. Hot and muggy summers claim the year march through november, as an explosion of vegetation bursts from every seam leaving Atlanta a city of trees. Boulevard Crossing Park is to be a garden of respite along the bustling Beltline. An oasis for the urban dweller, the park should flow seamlessly with the city becoming a small wonderland hidden within the chaos of the metropolis.

BELTLINE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING

SCHUYLER STREET

BOULEVARD AVENUE:2 LANES @ 11’BIKE LANE 5‘SIDEWALK 6’ WEST SIDE, 5’ EAST SIDEPLANTING 4’ WEST SIDE, 2’ EAST SIENO PARKINGMEDIAN

ENGELWOOD AVENUE:2 LANES @ 11’BIKE LANE 5‘SIDEWALK 10’PLANTING 5’PARKING ONE SIE 7’-6”MEDIAN 12’

GREENWAY

COMMUNITY GATEWAYCOMMUNITY GATEWAY

ARBORETUM GATEWAY

TRANSIT STATION

NOTES: 

EDGES OF PARK ARE HARD WHILE THE CENTER IS SOFT. 

INTERCONNECTED PROGRAM ELEMENTS

LIKE A PUZZLE

NUMEROUS SMALL ROOMS GEOMETRICFOREST

WETLAND

DOG PARK

CLIFFS

ROLLING LAWN

POND

BASKETBALL COURTS

WOODLANDZEN

GARDEN

FITNESS WOODS

SKATEPARKPLAZAPLAYGROUNDFOUNTAIN

CONCEPT 1 THE CIRCUIT  BOARD

BELTLINE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING

SCHUYLER STREET

BOULEVARD AVENUE:2 LANES @ 11’BIKE LANE 5‘SIDEWALK 6’ WEST SIDE, 5’ EAST SIDEPLANTING 4’ WEST SIDE, 2’ EAST SIENO PARKINGMEDIAN

ENGELWOOD AVENUE:2 LANES @ 11’BIKE LANE 5‘SIDEWALK 10’PLANTING 5’PARKING ONE SIE 7’-6”MEDIAN 12’

GREENWAY

COMMUNITY GATEWAYCOMMUNITY GATEWAY

ARBORETUM GATEWAY

TRANSIT STATION

CONCEPT 2THE EYE OF THE STORM

ROLLING MEADOW

VALLEY

BAMBOO AURICULAR GROVE

BATTLE FIELD PLAZA

COOLING MOAT

FARM FIELD

NOTES:

THE EDGES OF THE PARK ARE FLUFFY “WIL-DERNESS” TO CONTRAST SHARPLY AGAINST THE HARDSCAPE OF THE NEW BUILT ENVI-RONMENT. THE CORE OF THE PARK IS HARD.

STRONG MINIMAL ELEMENTS CREATE AN ETHEREAL SPACE...LIKE THE CALM OF THE EYE OF THE STORM

THIS PARK ENGAGES THE PUBLIC IN A SEN-SORY EXPERIENCE APART FROM THE NORMAL URBAN SCAPE

MASTER PLAN

The design for this master plan draws inspiration from the classical forms of Olmstead & Vaux and the funky geometry of Burle Marx. Combining hard and soft edges, the park emerges from the sorrounding neighborhood in a culmination of stark forms uniting with luscious native woods.The park is a series of rooms, each one evoking a different experience for the visitor. A mixture of english pastoral scenes intermingle with sequences of formality,creating a dynamic placefor a diversity of people to enjoy.

Known as the Golden Cliffs, this limestone behemoth shimmers and sparkles all day to the delight of metropolitan visitors.

The Bamboo Forest takes the visitor on a transcendental experience, leaving the stress of the city far behind. A calm, ethereal lake lives in the heart of the forest, soothing the minds of the many who stop here to ponder and breathe.

The Cherry Blossom Lawn is a tranquil spot for families to enjoy spending time together.

The Stairway to Heaven, covers the grade connecting the urban neighbor-hoods from the Beltline with the Great Lawn of the park.

SITE PLAN

The experience of the park is to be one of pleasure. All five senses of the mind and body engage when entering the park. There are numerous entrances and features, all unique and dynamic spaces evoking different characters and moods. Small courtyards dote the perimeter, creating confined nooks with multiple textures, walls, vertical changes and views. Deeper in the park, the structure of the urban organism slowly melts, giving way to tree lines, ravines, alleys and a pond. Wild woods, a refuge for the wildlife living in the confines of society, protect the meadows and wetlands from the torrential downpours and outbursts of the city. Big and small lawns with places to rest and picnic abound. Animal lovers will enjoy exercising their dogs in the fragrant wildflower meadow, an elixir of life.

Cherry Blossom LawnDog ParkMeadow

Pond

Bamboo Forest

Basket Ball CourtGoldenCliffs

Pond

SECTION-ELEVATION

A

A

B

B

C

C

D

D

PLANT PALETTE

The plant palette reflects local native and adapted species of trees, grasses and flowers. Native varieties of flora educate visitors as they become familiar with regional varieties.The planting plan intends to create an environment which reflects the natural order of the Piedmont.

Key Quan(ty Common  Name Botanical  Name Size SpacingPS 16 Flowering  Cherry Prunus  sp. 1.5"  cal 20'GB 4 Gingko Gingko  biloba 2"  cal as  shownCV 6 White  Fringetree Chionanthus  virginicus 2"  cal as  shownCC 6 Blue  Beech Carpinus  caroliniana 2"  cal as  shownSA 7 Sassafras Sassafras  albidum 2"  cal as  shownMS 5 Saucer  Magnolia Magnolia  soulangiana 2"cal as  shownBD 10617  sf Buffalo  Grass Buchloe  dactyloides seedsZJ 13214  sf Velvet  Grass Zoysia  japonica seedsMM 24753  sf Wildflower  Mix Asclepias  tuberosa seeds

Chamaecrista  fasciculataCoreopsis  lanceolataEchinacea  purpureaEryngium  yuccifoliumGaillardia  pulchellaIpomopsis  rubraLiatris  spicataLupinus  perennisMondarda  citriodoraPhlox  DrummondiiRaGbida  columnarisRudbeckia  amplexicaulisRudbeckia  hirtaSalvia  coccineaTradescanGa  ohiensis

PLANTING PLAN

(16) PS

(4) GB

(6) CV

(6) CC

(7) SA

(5) MS

BD

ZJ

WM

GRADING PLANAlthough heavily altered throughouthistory, the new proposed contours intend to mimic natural landforms and movement, blending seamlessly within the existing fabric of the Piedmont.

P.O.B

STAKING PLANHardscapes

P.O.B

Trails

P.O.B

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

SOIL

GEOTEXTILEFABRICCOMPACTEDAGGREGATE

CONSTRUCTIONRUBBLE FILL

BOULDERS

POND ISLAND

WATER LEVEL

Pond IslandNTS

POND HABITAT

6"

24" 12"

WATER LEVEL

SMOOTHPEBBLES

SOIL

CUSHION

COMPACTCLAY

MARSH GRASSES

WATER LILLIES

Pond HabitatNTS

(LINER)

(LINER)

BATTER

HEIGHT

18"

2'

BONDSTONES

4" PERF.PIPE DRAIN

COMPACTEDAGGREGATE

CONCRETEFOOTER

6"

BONDSTONES

12"

HEIGHT

BATTER

BATTER 2" FOREVERY 1 FOOTOF HEIGHT

BACKFILL ANDCOMPACT

FIT STONESTIGHTLY

NOTES

DRY WALL

Dry WallNTS

BLVDX PARK

Marina Matheson