Waller Creek Conservancy Design Finalists

[lzppjb]

Austin's version of Galloping Gertie?

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Austin's version of Galloping Gertie?

Ok now who the hell is Galloping Gertie?! I give up...I'm going to bed...

[lzppjb]

Tacoma Narrows Bridge that collapsed in 1940 due to poor design and high winds.

• Video Link

[migol24]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

And now we know why Georgia O'Keeffe loved painting poppies.

She was a lesbian?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by migol24

She was a lesbian?

Yes. I have a great water color print of one of her Southwestern scenes that came from her museum in Santa Fe. (She did paint more than just vaginas disguised as flowers.)

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Ok, first of all, it looks more like a giant toilet seat from above than a vagina, never seen a white vagina before anyway.
And how the hell do so many of you know who Georgia O'keeffe is? I had to google her to get the...haha...joke...Guess I am culturally challenged. But getting back to the giant diaper on sticks, or toilet seat if you will, I foresee it blowing away with the first major wind gust.

Georgia O'Keeffe was pretty much required material in middle school. I remember learning about her along with the others. My grandfather was an artist, so I took art in middle school and high school.

Anyway, Family Guy's got that covered. Art -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Oy5fAwsPY

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Georgia O'Keeffe was pretty much required material in middle school. I remember learning about her along with the others. My grandfather was an artist, so I took art in middle school and high school.

Anyway, Family Guy's got that covered. Art -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Oy5fAwsPY

LOL, I forgot about that one.

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Georgia O'Keeffe was pretty much required material in middle school. I remember learning about her along with the others. My grandfather was an artist, so I took art in middle school and high school.

Anyway, Family Guy's got that covered. Art -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Oy5fAwsPY

lmfao

[NYC2ATX]

Now that I laughed for about 20 minutes at that Family Guy clip, I just want to jump in for a moment to say that I LOVE the poppy pavilion. MVV's plan was always my favorite, not only for the poppy but for this rendering:

Originally Posted by cvillehorn

www.mvvainc.com/

I felt like that design most got the dynamic of Austin's natural setting. The way they say that Atlanta is the city in the forest, I'd say Austin is the city in the wilderness. The MVV plan brings that to the forefront...and the poppy is a great, flexible space and a cool, sure-to-be icon that is perfect for ATX's nature-loving, event-going, party-having, show-seeing, festival-throwing populous.

[lzppjb]

I actually really like that part of the plan with the bridges and natural setting. I love old trees as much as anyone. I just hope there will be plenty of area up the creek dedicated to restaurants and shops along the creek's edge.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

And now we know why Georgia O'Keeffe loved painting poppies.

INdeed!

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Agree to disagree, obviously.

Oh yeah...all good!

[Austin_Expert]

The purpose of the creek is to have a beautiful constant flow body of water lined with green, inviting public spaces along it's banks.

The purpose was also to remove a lot of land from the floodplain, allowing underutilized land to be developed into a vibrant part of downtown. That part is up to private developers, and will assuredly come in the years ahead. The urban action will not be directly on the creek's banks, below street level such as along the San Antonio Riverwalk. Instead it will be on the streets, on what is now surface parking lots, crappy buildings, etc. In my opinion, that is where it should be, on the street.

[Jdawgboy]

I'm in the middle of this debate (which is unusual for me). I see and agree with both sides of whether Waller should be an urban waterway with restraunts, shops and nightclubs or if it should be left in a natural setting with the development on the fringes. My only gripe about how the city ultimately went about in reaching a conclusion is that it was a waste of time and only a symbolic nod to letting the community decide when city leaders already knew exactly what they wanted to begin with (more park land). I tend to agree with Austin_Expert in that development will morph the area over time into what some would like to see which is an urban destination that will complement Waller Creek. Let's also not forget the zoning for the district is already in place and that there will be sections of low to mid to high rise density which will help create specific identity along different areas along Waller. Last but not least I don't want to have a copy cat and uninspiring river walk, I want something that is uniquely Austin and my hope is we can get a mix of both worlds that complement the district, Downtown and the city as a whole.

[LoneStarMike]

To me, it's like San Antonio's Riverwalk, only wider and with more trees and grass and less concrete to heat up in the middle of the day.

And if you look at the design plans it looks like there are plenty of places high-rise & mid-rise development can take place. (All those light gray parcels labeled "Opportunity Site" "Potential Development Site" and "Future Development Site.")

[LoneStarMike]

From the American Statesman:

City Council approves several agenda items

Item No. 13: Authorized an agreement with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. to design the Sabine Street Promenade project. The project will include a bicycle and pedestrian promenade along Sabine Street between Fourth and Seventh streets. MVVA was also selected as the consultant for the Waller Creek District Master Plan project which is immediately adjacent to the Sabine Street Promenade. Having one consultant work on both of the projects will ensure they are coordinated and consistent in design.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...-makeover.html

Dec 9, 2013, 5:56pm CST
As Waller Creek prepares for makeover, conservancy reaches out

Robert Grattan
Staff Writer-
Austin Business Journal

With the agreements and organizational foundation for the Waller Creek restoration project falling into place, the Waller Creek Conservancy is beginning an outreach effort to try to build continuity between developers and landowners along the 1.5 mile stretch that the creek traverses downtown.

The conservancy has been through rounds of meetings with landowners and developers that are working near the project's path. The goal is to get a public-private partnership on board for the project and work toward the vision proposed in October 2012 by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. and Thomas Phifer & Partners.

The Waller Creek area just west of I-35 has seen a recent building boom, fueled by development moving east from the downtown core. Several buildings are going up in the Rainey Street area and others, such as the new University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, are planned further north.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.kens5.com/home/San-Antoni...258696281.html

Report: Riverwalk worth $3.1 billion to the city of San Antonio

by Jeremy Baker / KENS 5
Bio | Email
Posted on May 9, 2014 at 6:34 PM
Updated yesterday at 7:47 PM

SAN ANTONIO -- According to a report recently released by the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Visitors Bureau, the Riverwalk brings in a total of $3.1 billion to the San Antonio economy.

"The growth that we've seen in new housing, apartments, restaurants, all types of amenities for locals along that stretch of the Museum Reach, as well as visitors," said Steven Schauer of the San Antonio River Authority.

Out of the 11 million people who descend on the Riverwalk annually, about one-fifth are from Bexar County, according to the river authority.

[NYC2ATX]

Are they planning to start construction of the park immediately following the completion of the tunnel project? This is one the projects in Austin I'm most looking forward to.

[The ATX]

I'm really confused about this project. The renderings show a natural, park like setting, but the Fairmont and Waller projects seem to conflict with the original plans, although I would much prefer an urban riverwalk than another park downtown. I suspect it will be like Trammell Crow and the Green Water project. After the developer is selected, the plans become the whim of economic conditions and which way the wind is blowing.