Tonight, design consultants Hargreaves and SOM will be leading the next public meeting regarding the design of the public spaces at the Denver Union Station project. Tonight’s agenda will focus on the public realm programming—as in what activities (markets, concerts, play areas, etc.) the public would like to see occur in Union Station’s public spaces, and specifically where. Before getting too far into the design process, understanding the public’s desired uses of the public realm at Union Station will be critical so that the design can accommodate the desired uses.
The meeting tonight, Tuesday, September 23, runs from 7 – 9 PM at Room 4.G.2/4.F.6 at the Wellington Webb Municipal Building. The meeting room is on the 4th Floor, on the Court Place side of the atrium. See you there!
I wasn't able to attend, but I'd be curious to hear a recap from someone.
I went, but missed about half of the presentation, but was there for the community feedback portion.
I was stuck in a group with a couple of crotchety old men who were essentially only at the meeting to protest the idea that "wing" buildings will be constructed on either side of Union Station, and refusing to offer any additional input, yet taking up everybody's time. One guy in particular was tremendously rude, ridiculing both the Hargreaves designer assigned to our group and even a few the other group members. It got pretty intense. As a result, my group didn't have anything productive to add to the discussion, but some other groups had some really good thoughts.
People generally seemed to really like Hargreaves approach of making the space adaptable as possible. In their presentation, they showed that they had planned the outdoor public spaces for a number of uses including a variety of events. I think people wanted more elaboration on how the designers planned to use light/water/art/etc to help the space feel active at all hours of the day, not just at peak commuter hours or during events. There was also the suggestion that the group try to make lots of kid-friendly artwork to climb on and play around, rather than a dedicated play area, which I thought was smart.
I definitely came away feeling like the project was in good hands from an outdoor spaces point of view, and I look forward to seeing what they show in October when they return with more finalized designs. I'll just make sure to keep a safe distance from that pair of obnoxious jerks next time.