Hargreaves Associates, the firm hired to design the public spaces at Union Station, presented last week their proposed public space design “framework” for Denver Union Station–i.e. not the design itself, but the organizing features and themes on which the design will be based. I was very impressed with their concepts and I think we’re off to a good start. In a few days I hope to be able to post their presentation here at DenverInfill as well as on the Union Station Advocates (USA) website, which I manage as part of my duties as a member of the USA board.
Over the next few months, the design of the public spaces at Union Station will be determined. This moment has been years in the making, but I’m glad it’s finally arrived. The public realm at Union Station has the opportunity to give Denver an extremely special public place that could become the heart of Downtown and the region, and a must-see place for visitors. As part of the design process, the Union Station project team will hold several general public meetings in addition to their Land Use/Urban Design “break out group” meetings which are also open to the public.
As a complement to those efforts, Union Station Advocates is planning on hosting several of our own meetings to further engage our membership in the public space design process. For example, starting next Monday, August 18, we will kick off our first Union Station Roundtable, a meeting just for USA members at which we will discuss as a group a particular topic related to the design of the public spaces and formulate specific ideas and recommendations that will be conveyed to the Union Station project team. We plan on having these Roundtable meetings every two weeks throughout this critical design phase.
Not a member of Union Station Advocates? This week we’ve got a good deal going on. On Thursday, we’re holding our first Union Station Advocates picnic! Members can join their fellow Union Station enthusiasts for Brothers BBQ, wine, beer, and music. Cost of the picnic is just $10 for members… and for non-members, if you join this week, you’ll get free admission to the picnic with your new membership! Check the Events page on the USA website for the picnic details. You can join up on the Membership page.
Over the next six months, a lot of important decisions are going to be made relating to the Union Station project. Now is the time to get engaged.
I really hope Denver pulls this off. I hate to be negative but in my experience modern day planning, committees, neighborhood groups, regulations, etc really seem to 'dumb down' huge projects like this. In the past, 1950s and prior, there were some spectacular public spaces made. Some of the best were done at the order of individual, visionary people or created through simple organic development. Denver could really use a world class square, but I have a nagging feeling that we might end up with something like Albany's Empire State Plaza. However I do think Americans have gotten better at creating communal projects over the last 50 years. On a side note I found this website that is dedicated to public spaces. It has some great articles about public squares, streets, markets and such.
Here's hoping Denver can create something that rivals areas in other worldly cites. (Ken please don't think I am trivializing USA or any other groups that are working hard to make this happen.)