Dick told the commission he believed it was a “good start” to consider a consultant to assist in the Rumsey Green project; however, he believed there needed to be leadership in the entire planning of the triangle, which would eliminate planning it parcel by parcel, lot by lot.
This, times ten.
via Commission receives Rumsey Green update – News, opinion, resources | Shepherdstown Chronicle.
Debunking the Cul-de-Sac – Design – The Atlantic Cities.
See horse, beaten dead.
Related: More Maryland and Virginia drivers commute to another county than other people in the U.S. http://j.mp/ogj8tS (via Instapaper)
When I went to college for my bachelor degree in architecture, the campus was, at the time, possibly one of the ugliest universities in the United States, if not the world. We loved it all the same, especially the corner occupied by the College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning which was at one time part of Burnett Woods, a large park located just opposite the north edge of the campus “super-block”. We were especially fond of our building: it was in terrible condition and lacked air conditioning in most of the spaces — one might think a modern mechanical system would be considered an essential component for a facility holding a year-round program in the climate of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Now, thanks to a master plan by Hargreaves Associates and the initiative (and funding) for thoughtful implementation, the University of Cincinnati has found its way onto lists of noteworthy campuses around the world. It’s hard for me to imagine it deserves such consideration but it does at least qualify as a masterful transformation.
The Shepherd University master plan by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (now Pfeiffer Partners) from 2004 is, apparently, already obsolete. Seven years from inception is not long enough to implement a master plan — such plans are made for 10, 25, 50 year timelines (longer for megalomaniacs).
Perhaps it’s not a good plan? It is certainly possible. I doubt I could offer a review of worthy measure but I’ve not given it any measure. I have used it for reference when reviewing issues which impact Shepherdstown. Even without a thorough assessment, one thing jumps out: the planners are trying to give the campus cohesion and a sense of place.
When I was interviewing Shepherd students with regard to the new library project, they asked that the town library provide a comfortable and inspiring place to gather. In their view, the Shepherd campus provides no such place. The master plan for the campus tries to address this issue. One item in particular reflects that effort — to make east campus less car-centric and to create a “quad” at its heart.
Anyone familiar with the campus might wonder how this is even possible. This quad, as it turns out, is an ellipse (similar campus geometries exist). A “critical mass” of buildings might not be present to support the effect but it is a start. The location of that ellipse? — the low bit of ground between Sara Cree Hall and the Student Center. The planners went so far as to suggest that King Street, north of High Street, be closed to regular traffic. Looking at the rest of the plan, it appears to be the smartest and perhaps only option for creating a sense of place similar to what other universities enjoy.
A portion of the Shepherd University Master Plan by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates. Note the ellipse to the north of the current Student Center.
Confession: I like Sara Cree Hall. Q: Why? A: Swimming in room with wall of glass. I don’t know the history of Sara Cree Hall and why it has few, but nonetheless intriguing, architectural touches — the building stands just on the edge of thoughtfulness. Would that building make an interesting edge to a campus ellipse? Possibly…but no one is keeping this building (although I would love to have salvage rights on some of its parts).
The master plan calls called (?) for a new college center/dining hall in place of Sara Cree. Instead a conversation is occurring to raise money for a parking garage (“parking deck” for those driving from Maryland) at that site. The master plan does/did not neglect the need for parking nor would I suggest ignoring the need. For as much as I and others enjoy life outside automobiles, private vehicles are, at this time, a fixture of life at Shepherd University, Jefferson County and beyond.
Nor do I reject parking garages outright. As an architect, I can see the design potential in parking garages — they need not reflect the same lack of aspiration often presented. With some thoughtfulness, they can improve a landscape as much as the next building, not least by removing seas of asphalt.
Where the master plan called for the parking garage is (or was — who can be certain now) very thoughtfully adjacent the Frank and Butcher Centers. Sensible when considering massive, singular event parking periods, that location maybe falls apart when scrutinizing traffic flow. (Show me what corner of campus does not make the town shudder when considering traffic flow. Let’s ignore the traffic issue for now — the Sara Cree site can not possibly be better. If someone can show me a study/argument demonstrating otherwise, please do.)
Does the same lack of consideration for the master plan accompany this proposed parking garage? Has thought been given to traffic flow with the same lack of conviction that rejects the idea of an effective north-west bypass of the four-way stop at German and Duke? My apologies for forgetting the source but I heard it said of this proposed garage location — it will reduce the traffic traveling south at the four-way stop on North Duke Street. Wow. I look forward to being surprised when someone shows me that the bulk of commuting students at Shepherd are Maryland or Shepherd Grade Road residents. Perhaps primary access to the garage will be via King Street? I would then invite you to observe the intersection of King and High some morning for another conversation about pedestrian-vehicular interaction at a four-way stop.
Given the Shepherd University reliance on commuters who arrive by private vehicles (again I lack statistics but I’ll go with this based on the urgency for meeting parking needs) one might even argue that it is appropriate to have a parking garage adjacent to the singular student gathering place on campus. Let’s run with that. The design of the garage could respond to this idea — giving stature to the cars and the act of parking, allowing a lucky few vehicles to become part of the façade on that side of the ellipse. Perhaps the garage could encroach upon or occupy the space of the ellipse, addressing that unique West Virginia problem where flat land is in short supply. Imagine a new heart of campus — I’m going with an agora as a model here — that could occupy the top of the the parking garage. The dip of King Street could be removed; traffic using the lots to the west could interface with the garage — potentially all the way to Route 480; vehicles going through to the residence halls to the north could slip under this new campus green as well. That’s a lot to cram under there but I’m improvising here.
As Kinsella wrote: if you build it, they will come. This has become a mantra for forward thinking traffic planners as a means of limiting the amount of resources and space given over to the accommodation of private vehicles. Here, it might as well serve as a mantra for this misplaced garage — in a negative sense, not a positive one. People will park Ray, they most certainly will. Shepherd University has, as far as I can see, only one chance — one place — to supply its campus with a heart and soul. Build a garage, yes, but build it elsewhere. Moving vehicles and students is the essential circulatory system of the Shepherd University campus but a circulation system is nothing without a heart.
Much has happened since I completed this drawing which lacks a title — let’s call it Envisioning West Shepherdstown. I am reluctant to share those discussions now — not to say that secret plans are brewing; it’s just that I am not certain that everyone involved is on board with me sharing everything via the worldwide forum of this weblog.
Envisioning West Shepherdstown
This plan is one of many iterations which have come from my desktop — in the hands of someone else, more ideas would undoubtedly emerge. What is interesting as part of exercises such as these, for me as an architect, is that while I know I am looking at this plan from a considerable height, I can not help but imagine some of the smaller details that go unmentioned in meetings. So let’s zoom in a bit, with words.
Aside from all that has been stated already regarding the big picture (the importance of creating a sustainable, walkable community) one significant gesture drives this plan above all: to connect the library site north-south and east-west with existing major roadways. The extension-connection of Lowe Drive accomplishes this from east-west, starting as it does from Rt. 480 and connecting westward to Potomac Farms Drive (the bypass). From north to south, the connection is a staggered part of the grid being introduced, where a route through Rumsey Green moves south to catch Lowe Drive at it’s southern termination; immediately to the east of the library is then a street which connections again to the bypass, in a place different than the aforementioned Lowe Drive connection.
A suburban style traffic plan would have only one connection to Lowe Drive but the while point of this proposed plan is to create multiple paths and connections, as evidenced by the numerous other streets comprising the grid to the north and east of the library site. Washington Street is byt far the most critical of these but I want to focus now on the extension of Back Alley.
The extension of Back Alley (not unlike any proposed extension of Cherry Lane) has the potential to meet with as a great deal of resistance from residents and the lay of the land, geographically speaking and with regard to property lines. Arguably though, it a is more important element for any successful, sustainable and walkable development to the west of Shepherdstown’s existing core: it represents our best hope to move pedestrians conveniently and safely from “town” into Rumsey Green.
Back Alley currently has some restrictions for its use and the extension of it can play well with those restrictions. It could move local residents along its length in similar fashion to its use today (with physical controls to keep it from being a through street) and serve as a pedestrian/bicycle way for all. Those bordering the lane might cry foul at this, but the way already is public, and the residents there stand to benefit the most, gaining access to new shopping and services to the west at distances that are easily walkable. (Recall that at best the typical development would not even have a connection from the existing Back Alley at all. At worst, a physical barrier might impede what could have been an easy connection.)
Those two lines (the limits of Back Alley) to the north of the Catholic Church might appear to be minor but they represent just one of many important aspects of a interconnected and distributed grid. Even without that grid, the town would do well to at least enable that single connection of Back Alley when considering the annexation of the Rumsey Green parcel. That gesture alone, even without any impact on the walkability within the Rumsey Green development, grants it some status as a pedestrian accessible place, as viewed from the existing core of Shepherdstown.
I’ve written much about preservation issues in the past — maybe not here, maybe not for the public — and always seeming to focus on one idea. That the new work of architects and builders need not (should not) mimic the context in which they are placed. Mockery is not flattery.
What is important in any context, historic or not, is that insertions into that context serve to compliment and enhance. Always leave something better than you found it. As a designer, this dictum ranks at the top of my list.
With regard to Shepherdstown specifically, much is often made of the town’s preservation efforts. It is not an inaccurate statement as such but viewed with a different lens one must pay deference to some accidents of history. Shepherdstown was a critical commercial center at a key period of growth and richness for the region and then…time passed. The railroad brought no greater impact than what was first wrought (see Martinsburg and Hagerstown in contrast). In the late modern era, much historic fabric in towns and cities throughout the US (and the world) was lost but no compelling force effected change to Shepherdstown — a college town with a loyal population, the minor development in the area had little impact on economy which was “steady on”*.
So blessed by chance, eyes turned to saving that which is. But let’s be realistic — part of what makes Shepherdstown is a quirky collection of structures where few, in and of themselves, have deep architectural significance. But importantly, as an ensemble and composition, they hit many of the right notes.
At times, contemporary (and I don’t mean that in the sense of an architectural style) insertions into this fabric seem to work even though these break Department of Interior guidelines for preservation, when viewed within the entire context of the town. These insertions work not because of their architectural detail but do work because of their respect for the town fabric: scale, materiality (not strictly a choice of material but their qualities) and detail. This is felt most importantly in terms of how we interact with mass and how masses interact with one another.
Adapting a random moment in architectural history as a guideline for any inevitable expansion of Shepherdstown will underserve Shepherdstown. We will serve the existing context best by allowing for a complexity of organic growth — a similar effect that made Shepherdstown what it was in 1860, 1890, 1920, 1950, 1980 and 2010. At its core, the strongly predefined grid and “rules” for how buildings interact with that grid define that which makes us “relate” to the town.
The New Town to the west needs to capture the spirit of this organic growth without being saddled by architectural restrictions which would disallow it. Given the modern elements of development, we know already that the scale will be different: let us then allow for modern building technologies, different offerings in ratios of open to solid facades, and a dynamic “brow” on the street facade (where building facades meet the sky, much like any street in the core of Shepherdstown).
We do need to pay strict attention to the rules of town planning as are already defined — this core principle will link a New Shepherdstown the Old. Allow an owner or developer the choice to mimic a 19th century building if they wish but let this not be a diktat. It serves neither us nor our ancestors well.
*That compelling force was an increase in private traffic and the instrument of destruction was road design. While a river crossing proves important, the lack of significant destinations on either side meant no traffic and no overzealous road planning. Having happened later (continuing through now) meant that our sensitivities were allowed to catch up to our zealotry. Still have doubts? Think about how long the Yellow Brick Bank and the Bavarian Inn maintained their position as the only games in town.
Planning efforts over the last 30 years or so have concentrated on reducing the number of intersections and curb cuts onto arterial roads. Anyone familiar with US 1 north of Boston knows why.
At the same time, alleyways have been planned out of existence.
These two things, working from opposite directions, have resulted in arterial roads which are scaled to be more like interstate highways than local roads — both in content and their nodes (intersections). The distortion of a what was once a neighborly, pedestrian scale is felt all the way down to the front drives of many — little human scale interaction is achieved in many approaches to the typical american suburban home. Our cars have become in some instances literal extensions of our homes, as we dock them into garages which open directly into our living spaces.
I digress. To the issue of scale and movement is linked an important point I have made before. In a distributed grid, it would be wrong to have a driveway — a curb cut, in effect a mini-intersection — for each lot. Shepherdstown does not allow driveways along street frontage for a reason. This is where the alley becomes important.
Alleys enable traffic flow in the distributed grid to occur with the same efficient distribution of intersections as arterial roads. The constriction of individual vehicles/ways is restricted to the alley where flow is not important.
While increased arterial flow is good, we don’t want to bleed to death — or have such traffic flow that impedes or even prevents the sensible maintenance of other systems. For both our blood and traffic flow, we need something to keep things in check. Our blood coagulates so we do not bleed to death and pressure is kept in check for good health. We must do the same for traffic. If you’ve heard some discuss traffic calming this is its essence. Accidents, especially serious accidents, are kept in check as speed is kept in check and alertness is raised.
Roads can be designed to calm traffic and enhance alertness. Anyone who has found themselves at the end of an “unfair” speeding ticket might already have sensed that something else aside revenue seeking municipalities at work — the road itself might have contributed to the excess speed. It was designed for it.
One of my favorite traffic calming efforts I’ve seen is the tree planted in the center of a road in Denmark. Speed bumps are a favorite of the DC metro area. One of the easiest and with an additional benefit? On street parking.
Another way to measure walkability: Florida Again Found Most Dangerous Place for Pedestrians – NYTimes.com.
The recent presentation regarding the proposed pedestrian underpass for Shepherd University was thorough and encouraged, in particular with regard to the manner in which the audience relayed their approval or concerns regarding the project.
After the meeting , I had a chance to briefly speak with the engineer for the project, a representative of the WV State Department of Highways and a representative of the university to relay the thoughts I had already conveyed in writing here and emphasize two very important points:
These two things are related, of course and a number of the concerns at the meeting did touch upon these ideas — as did the positive review of the adjacent homeowner most affected by the change.
My conversation after the meeting ended abruptly though as I delved deeper into how the proposed detour is suggestive of the pattern of a traffic circle, which I outlined as an opportunity to solve one of the problems with the existing intersection and clam traffic on Rt. 480. In trying to relate how this traffic circle solution might function by building upon my own experiences, I started to mention observations of roundabouts in France and New England. This was already after a nod to Ranson.
I say I started because I did not get past the word France when I was interrupted by the gentleman from WVDOT stating, “This is America”. Playing the “America” card was, for all intents and purposes in this discussion, the equivalent to Godwin’s law.
Not being one to generate effective and pithy responses in these moments, I ended the conversation. Before that, points had already been made that West Virginia is not ready for traffic circles — the message being that WVDOT has no energy to devote to thinking in a macro view and that moving cars without interference by pedestrians is more important.
A quick rant to my brother about the conversation resulted in gold. I present, for your entertainment, two items regarding traffic circles which are presented on the West Virginia Department of Highways website:
One of the surprises in my most recent sketches for the west side of Shepherdstown came about with the extension of West Washington Street all the way to the new firehall.
Where the extension lands at the western end, is where old Martinsburg Pike deviated from its current course. Good stuff, that.
Architecture — I am being generous in my use of the term here — in modern development tends to be a commodity, “a [product] for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market.“
And it’s not just houses and office parks; it’s the restaurants and service buildings as well. When an architect is tasked with the construction of a fast food restaurant, a nationalized chain of muffler shops, they are given a prototype to follow. Some variations can and do occur, whether these are pushed by local requirements of a municipality or site — at times, the local architect of record might dive into the mix, working against the grain of the corporation (and raising a few hackles in the process — been there, done that).
This commodity architecture works on the level of giant signs, flying in the face, I might add of most sign ordinances. Shepherdstown has a very strict sign ordinance with regard to character and size of a sign for a business. What happens when the entire building is a sign. Yes, I am thinking about the possible annexation of the Rumsey Green development with its included Sheetz and, possibly, a nationalized casual dining restaurant.
In presentations of the Rumsey Green development, an assumption is proffered that the canopy of a new Sheetz filling station will be aesthetically offensive and, as such, will be behind the store. Let’s think seriously about this. These canopies are designed to allow amble clearance for tractor-trailer rigs. The space below them is as brightly lit as a wood shop. Suggesting that this element can simply be moved to the back is naïve or disingenuous.
Consider as well, that if one is purporting to create a walkable extension of the historic core of Shepherdstown, no ”behind the store” will exist. The sense of back comes from a car-culture assumption that West German Street-Martinsburg Pike (Rt. 45) is the front. Even if it was, the supposed requirements for successful development (with regard to sight lines of retail establishments and parking lots), the successful design of a contemporary filling station and the scale at hand will not allow the Sheetz to go unnoticed. That’s just bad business.
There is an alternative though. Do you remember when filling stations were designed? When Mobil rolled out their elliptical pump design with the round floating canopies? When filling stations were exciting? I love going to these big Sheetz stations and others of their ilk. They are, in their way, exciting. Let the architecture support that. Will it ever be mistaken for a delicate addition to the historic fabric of Shepherdstown? Of course not. But being a good player in a master plan does not always involve aping.
If a new Sheetz is destined to be jarring addition to West German Street, let it be a jarring addition of good design. The current model for any Sheetz is simply not. The canopies look cheap (and are cheap but these two things need not walk hand-in-hand) and the box store is rarely, if ever, well integrated into the canopy position.
Sheetz will push back against any variation on their “brand”. Moving the canopy to the back is, for them, a concession. But its a poor one. Should Shepherdstown annex this property the concession they should push for is for Sheetz to be more dramatic, more bold — that canopy and its adjacent box can be a Pavarotti. It will always be an oversized sign — make it a good great one.
