“Architecture by its nature creates public space: a wall goes up, there’s now a wall to the outside as well as the inside. When the inside and outside disconnect, neither works. It’s so elementary I can’t imagine anyone could argue it.”

- Mary, commenter at PPS.org

A while back I posted some pictures of Axel Peemoeller’s Funky Parking Garage, well I just came across a post over at weburbanist.com with more high-tech, artistic, and/or just flat out strange parking solutions from around the world.

Here is the link: 15 Creative, Innovative & Hilarious Parking Solutions

Enjoy!

So I will be en route to Oklahoma City tomorrow and wanted to leave you with what I think are some of the best posts from the last six months.  Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas!

1. Mapping Pedestrian Friendliness in OKC

This was one of my earliest posts and still my favorite. I really like Gehl’s work and it is interesting to apply it to Oklahoma City. Check it out and try to contribute to the map of pedestrian friendly places. Though I heard from someone the other day that there is not really a reason to map pedestrian-friendliness in OKC, you can just count of the places on your fingers…:)


2. Ten Must-Haves for OKC’s Downtown Park

It is fun to dream about the future of the “central park” that is being planned as part of Core 2 Shore. OKC has needed a downtown park or other place to serve as the “heart” of the city for years and it seems it is finally coming. Check out the list and add your own lists!


3. Oklahoma City’s 1910 Plan for Grand Boulevard by W.H. Dunn

OKC has a fascinating planning history that is largely unexplored. I am in the middle of researching a thesis about this history and found this great plan for OKC’s parks and boulevards.


4. The NEW I-40 Pedestrian Bridge

The bridge is beautiful! What more is there to say?


5. Bricktown Parking: Killing Two Birds with One Streetcar

Parking in Bricktown was a hot topic last summer!  I say, if we really want to solve the parking problem then we have to think outside the box and take our first steps toward a downtown transit system. In this post I layout a plan to make it happen.


6. I Love Oklahoma!

First big post and it took me forever to produce; so there is some sentimental value there.


7. What Is the Future of Suburbia?

Ideas that I enjoy discussing (keeping comment vague and general because I can’t remember exactly what I talked about).


8. Oklahoma City Gas Counter

Tells an amazing story! The steep “double black diamond” slope on the right shows both my stock portfolio, as well as my dreams for cities that encourage biking, walking, and smart urban form, come crashing down.


9. Walkability Rankings: Oklahoma City #35

I love cities that allow for walking and think Oklahoma City has plenty of room for improvement – as this walkability ranking attests. This post overviews the rankings, some of the flaws with their analysis, and discusses other issues related to walkability in Oklahoma City.


10. Axel Peemoeller’s Funky Parking Garage

This is just sweet!

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BONUS: Sunrise in Boston!

I am digging this new mobile upload feature and can’t believe I scored this amazing sunrise the day after I set it up! Looking forward to many more posts on the go in 2009!

Follow up on my previous post on the new I-40 pedestrian bridge, which I now know is called the “SkyDance Bridge”. Doug Loudenback has put up a nice post that includes the Core to Shore masterplan and shows the location of the bridge on the Harvey alignment and photos of a model of the bridge that currently is sitting at city hall. This north-south pedestrian alignment will extend all of the way from the river, across I-40 (via this bridge) and up into downtown where it will intersect the new Devon Tower rotunda. The model of the bridge is especially helpful in understanding the whole design, including a small pivot that takes play halfway across the bridge, which I assume is both for aesthetic value and to help align the paths on either side of the highway. Also, I have included all of the members of the team with links to the websites that I have found. While many of these guys have yet to do a project of this scale and significance, all of them have have been doing terrific architecture around Oklahoma City for years. Finally, there is the video from newsok.com that includes commentary from lead designers Hans Butzer and Stan Carroll on the design, including information on the two lighting schemes that will either glow from withing the translucent ETF skinned north face or provide dramatic sculptural lighting that shines from below.

Video

MODEL OF THE BRIDGE	DESIGN TEAM
	Hans Butzer Butzer-Gardner Stan Carroll Beyond Metal Kenneth Fitzsimmons TASK Design Jeremy Gardner Butzer-Gardner Brett Johnson J3 Architecture Doug Klassen MKEC Engineering Laurent Massenat Obelisk Engineering Chris Ramseyer OU School of Civil Engineering Karl Svaty MKEC Engineering David Wanzer J3 Architecture

RELATED LINKS

Previous post: The NEW I-40 Pedestrian Bridge

More model Pictures: DougDawg.blogspot.com

Here are some pictures of the new Devon Tower that was just unveiled. The tower is planned to rise 54 stories / 925 feet. I am sure I will have more to say at a later date, but just enjoy the pictures for now!

Midtown Oklahoma City Animation – by Skyline Ink from imagiNATIVEamerica on Vimeo.

For more of Skyline Ink’s amazing work, head to their their website!

The other day I happened upon the online design portfolio of Brandon Specketer. Brandon is a fellow alum of both P.C. North and the University of Oklahoma. He graduated two years ahead of me and I always knew him to be a stand-up guy and an incredibly fast runner. While at OU, he studied under Hans Butzer – the award-winning designer of the Oklahoma City National Memorial – and has also previously worked as an intern for Elliot + Associates here in Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, Brandon is currently living in New York, continuing his architecture career with Cook+Fox. Hopefully he will make it back to OKC soon so that we can experience his design work firsthand, but in the meantime he has given me permission to highlight some of his work.


OKLAHOMA CITY METRO STATION

These designs for an old class project exploring the possibility of commuter rail in Oklahoma City caught my eye immediately. As a huge proponent of improving and expanding our transportation options (a position becoming increasingly popular these days), it is interesting to consider this straight-forward design that utilizes the existing rail infrastructure.

THE FLATIRON

Another project from his days at OU focuses on 131 Harrison, the building referred to as ‘The Flatiron’. Many of you know that this property is currently being developed by The Humphreys Company, where my older brother Grant serves as CEO and father Kirk as Chairman. Jim Hasenbeck and the gang at Studio Architecture have put together an absolutely terrific design that – in my somewhat slash completely biased opinion – will be the exemplar urban mixed-use development in Oklahoma City (you can check out some renderings at OKC Central). That said, it is always fun to see another person’s vision for the city and what Specketer offers is pretty cool.

Conceptual sketch of circulation and conceptual model of structural system.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Brandon had the opportunity to show off his interior design capabilities when HGTV.com showcased his NYC ‘bachelors’ pad‘. His apartment is cool, but what I really like are the designs for the London offices of Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City based advertising firm. Brandon contributed to the project as an intern alongside Jay Yowell and the firm’s principle Rand Elliot. The project won an AIA 2005 Interiors Honors Award and a Merit Award in Interior Architecture in a competition of the Central States Region of the American Institute of Architects. They say that it is “The illusion and abstraction of London fog carries the project” and you can certainly see what they mean:

All photos of Ackerman McQueen © Robert Shimer/Hedrich Blessing

SKETCHES

Finally, check out these sketches. I am envious of anybody that can create such beauty with only pencil and paper.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Brandon Specketer is a great talent. I wish him the best with everything, even if life doesn’t lead him back our way. But my guess is that at some point Brandon will move back to OKC, because I believe that the paradigm has shifted, that the tremendous renaissance currently being experienced by our City has caught the attention of Brandon and many others like him. As the quality of life in our city improves and the opportunities for creative professionals increase, Oklahoma City is likely to experience a rush of talent like it hasn’t seen since 1889. Because all else being equal – the familiar places, friendly people, and absolutely beautiful sunsets are hard to pass up!

If you would like to see more of Brandon Specketer’s work you can check out his portfolio at ryecroft.net!