retention pond design

make sure you take all your stuff out of studio they are clearing out everything to tidy up for accreditation. deadline dec 13.
spread the word.

make sure to get everything material put away and the rest uploaded….
peter

           I am thinking about “maybe” I will keep working this project. This will be a long term project. Just wondering is anyone interested it? Not quite sure if I am going to do it or not, I will do some researches during the winter break…and see if I am really interested this.

           And can you guys give me all the information, documents, and researches you have so far? (maybe burn it on the CD or something…I will have the blank CD available in studio) Thank you!

           I am thinking about closing my facebook after semester, so facebook will not be the way to get hold of me. So…if you are interested it, please contact me, or e-mail me. My e-mail address: elysewp@yahoo.com

Good luck on the final!

Elyse

To be considered Wetlands…

            Water or saturated soils for atleast part of the year

            Plants that have adapted to life in water environments (hydrophytic vegetation)

            Special soils that develop under depleted oxygen conditions (hydric soils)

What Wetlands can contribute?

            Nature’s kidneys

            Numerous species of waterfowl and wildlife

            Provide habitat for one-third of endangered plant and animal species.

Replenish ground water

            Provide fossil fuels, food, and products for human consumption

            Outdoor recreation/education

            Flood Control

            Erosion Control

Wetland Cells

Series of wetland cells can be linked to hold and naturally filter water before dumping into a creek.

Sedimentation Pond

            18” deep cell

            12” deep cell

            6” deep cell

            Creek or Gulf

Elyse and I went to visit the Bowen Elementary School. We asked for permission to take pictures of the school as it may in theory be connected to the park. The faculty was very hospitable and allowed to take as many shots as we wanted to, but no children were allowed to be photographed thus few pictures are available, but the school itself is shown. The path with the power-lines is also shown further down the road which I believe currently is a service road. The school is located near a residential site. Upon our arrival we asked the faculty if they knew anything about the project but nothing was really known other than that a new Target was being built. There was a complaint by one of the faculty that the land down the road was a wooded area that was torn down without any new development. She was rather upset with that and upon telling her about the project she become somewhat interested to find that type of conduct relatively common to the Bryan area as shown by our research. The faculty and staff have been invited to attend our review tomorrow. Pictures are provided. Please note that these pictures are taken from outside the trespassing lines of the site and pictures from the school were taken with permission.

In regards to the other PR project that my group and I have been working on, the Batallion is currently reviewing our footage taken Sunday. The interviews are currently at the Batallion office but no further news has been given other than the story may or may not air but as of right now the editor is reviewing our project. I hope to get that footage for tomorrow’s review, but as of right now, that is questionable as the reporter currently is not allowed to release it back to us.

If you click on the following links, pictures will be shown of the site, power line service road, neighborhood development, and school.

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/2.jpg

Beginning of nature preserve

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/5.jpg

Further into the nature preserve

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/6.jpg

Water flooding

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/8.jpg

Power line corridor

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/13.jpg

Power line corridor with water

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/14.jpg

Residential area development near the school

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/15.jpg

Passing the corridor near University Road

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/17.jpg

Inside Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/18.jpg

Hallway of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/20.jpg

Office entrance of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/21.jpg

Hallway of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/22.jpg

Library of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/23.jpg

Exterior left of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/24.jpg

Front Facade of Bowen Elementary School

http://xavier.tamu.edu/students/ebs4031/web/site1/26.jpg

Bowen Elementary School Park

 The pictures of the school were taken between 2PM and 330PM on December 3, 2007.

The pictures of the site and corridor were taken between the hours of 130PM and 530PM on December 2, 2007.  

However, since the Target site is not completed, we chose an alternate site to test out our theories. We decided to survey at the Post Oak Mall so that we could later apply our findings to our site. During the survey we discovered that one backbone reality to the whole process was that people do not want to be approached in any way that makes them feel uneasy or threatened. So we also had to locate ourselves in such a way to still make contact with the public but not make them feel cornered. Taking this back to the Target site, we decided upon two locations as well as two different ways to relay our information. The first trend we noticed was that the density of parking was heavily concentrated along the aisle that directly attached to access roads and faded off to the sides forming a semi-circle around the entrance. Because of this, we decided that the best place to position ourselves was along one of the central aisles allowing the natural flow of traffic to pass right by us. At this location we propose to hand out free drinks with a label containing basic information about our project attached to them. The drinks are an “ice-breaker” that allow us to make contact with the customers and still give them insight into our research without putting them on guard.

Our second point of contact is the convergence of the two main roads that cross the site. We are proposing that the traffic circle about would be an excellent point to station a person with a sign that simply says, “Nature Park” (or something to that effect) with an arrow, much like people do with car wash signs on the sides of the roads. This person’s effect would be to offer direction for people to go back towards the retention pond development and the nature trail extensions. Once again, this is an nonthreatening approach, allowing cars to accept or decline the offer. But on the other hand, such an approach is bound to make a viewer wonder about what might be back there.

The second half of our research involved conducting a survey to gain an idea of the general public’s views towards the new Target development, parks and recreation in general, and finally the new development that we as a group are proposing. We entered Post Oak Mall and started questioning those we passed four simple yes or no questions as follows:

1)Have you heard of the new Target development in Bryan, at the intersection of Briarcrest Dr and Highway 6?

2)Do you like shopping at Target stores in general?

3)Do you visit parks and other recreational areas in your spare time with family and friends?

4)Since we are proposing development of a park and nature area behind the new Target, would you consider going to that park?

From these questions we obtained these physical results:

1) 50%-yes; 50%-no    2) 93%-yes; 7%-no   3) 63%-yes; 37%-no   4) 73%-yes; 27%-no

We were excited to see the outcome of question 3 that showed that most people did enjoy spending their free time at parks or other recreational space. And we were even more excited that the statistics grew when we mentioned that we were planning on developing the area behind. Even some people who opted not to go to parks regularly said that they would enjoy visiting our new development sometime. While many people obviously have a love for shopping at Target, it is interesting to see a closely related interest of the general public to protect and enhance a nature or park area. Finally, it was also an interesting discovery to find that the people who knew the development was taking place was equal to those who didn’t. That statistic gives hope that our public relations can really raise awareness and our work will not be in vain.

There were some people’s comments that surfaced during the survey that we would like to elaborate on due to their specific importance to our project. The first man who caught my attention with his comment was an elderly man. At the mention that we were proposing development of the back area of Target as a Nature Park, he replied that he already visits the park that is already there. I found this amusingly tragic with my current knowledge that some of the park that he has visited could have been affected by the Target development. If it did escape the boundaries of the park, then our proposed development would surely be a positive impact on many people who frequent the current park and who would come back to find their park extended and more open than before.

Our second distinct conclusion did not come from a specific comment from one specific person but rather from the reactions of almost all the people we surveyed. When we attempted to make our inquiries, the first reaction that people naturally had was, “No thank you…”,”I’m not interested…”, or simply to lower their eyes and walk away from us as fast as possible before we had even said one word to them! However, we learned very quickly how to absolve their initial concerns and how to get them to participate in our survey. First of all, we made sure to tell them up front that we were taking a survey for school. This link to general education made most people who weren’t “late for work” stop and at least consider us. Our next move was to say that the survey was simple and consisted of nothing more than four ”yes” or “no” questions. When people realized we weren’t selling something and were not going to waste too much of their time, they stopped to talk to us. Alleviating their fear of wasting time and money was the key to capturing their attention.

Going back to the Target site, this unique discovery is exactly why we chose the two points of contact that we did for when the construction is finished. Again at the circle, a sign pointing to the nature park held by a person who is not asking for money gives them the idea that if they have the time they can spend it in a leisurely place that we provided for them. In the parking lot, handing out anything free breaks down the tendencies of people to protect their money, and the information printed in the labels provides the options first to read it and second to look up more information if they have the time and interest.

If people make it back to the retention pond, Karen and Nicole have proposed to build a pavilion that would have information about the site, the history of the area, what the city is doing for the area, and other such topics. This way people could learn about the project at their own leisure without feeling like they were sitting through a lecture about things they may not care about. We decided this would be one of the most objective, nonthreatening ways to present all of our research.

This Target development is not going anywhere, so our primary objective was to work with what is going to be there in order to create the best possible solution for the situation. Given Target’s popularity, we decided that instead of trying to push the negative aspects we would rather educate the public about the positive aspects of the development and what could still be done to better the site. We would also like to use the retention pond to point out in an objectionable way the importance of having green spaces in our communities and making responsible design decisions in regard to the environment.

Thanks and Gig ‘Em!

-Chris and Kara

We researched Rem Koolhaas, a designer who won the competition for Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada. He was teamed with Bruce Mau, one of the leading international graphic designers. They created a phased plan for the park, which was originally the Canadian Forces base in Toronto. The plan started with basics such as soil preparation and led to the integration of community events. The park is self sustaining and adaptable to the projected land changes. It will eventually be covered in 25% forests. It includes a network of pedestrian pathway that will be built over time. These trails will connect the park with the Black Creek and the West Don river system, connecting Downsview into the wooded river valleys, parks and public paths that currently exist in Toronto’s urban area.They “offer a strategy for accommodating and integrating – rather than opposing – urban activities, infrastructure, and architecture, recognizing that sites must adapt and respond over time … [they] are layered, nonhiearchical, flexible, strategic.”

here’s the link: Discovering our Options