Project: Waller Creek
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Date
2020
Authors
Van Valkenburgh, Michael
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.
Abstract
Department
Description
The existing Waller Creek landscape comprises a mix of odd bits
of abandoned utilities, new super-scaled infrastructure, moments
of fragile natural beauty, and eroded earthen banks. The Waller
Creek corridor is also a series of intensely urban spaces
punctuated by municipal street crossings and unique
infrastructural and landscape circumstances at every block. At the
time of the Framework Plan, the study area of the creek also
intersected two existing, albeit underutilized, parks: Waterloo
Park to the north and Palm Park downstream. The presence of
these existing nodes, along with the potential of activating
underutilized areas around the creek, informed the central
propositions of the Framework Plan.
This integrated nature-machine system reflects an evolving global
narrative of how development of cities and promotion of natural
systems are necessarily intertwined. The Waller Creek project
recognizes the critical role of landscape architecture as a nexus for
spatial, ecological, and cultural planning.