{"id":216,"date":"2012-04-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/riverlifepgh.org\/?p=216"},"modified":"2012-04-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-09T04:00:00","slug":"keep-it-spicy-why-good-riverfront-design-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/2012\/04\/09\/keep-it-spicy-why-good-riverfront-design-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep it spicy: why good riverfront design matters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

by Eric Osth, AIA, LEED AP<\/h2>\n

\"\"
\nWhenever I ride my bike along the Pittsburgh riverfronts,<\/strong> I am reminded of the famous quote by Thomas Jefferson: “How wonderful are the rivers in Pittsburgh and how I long to stroll alongside them.” \u00a0I am kidding; he didn’t really say that. \u00a0However, I am confident that he would if he were alive today. \u00a0We know that Pittsburgh’s rivers are one of the trademark characteristics of our city. Pittsburgh deserves great waterfront edges to accompany our rivers.<\/p>\n

When I travel to Salt Lake City on business I am reminded of what we have at home in Pittsburgh. Interestingly, over many years of visits, I have never been close to the edge of the Great Salt Lake. \u00a0The very resource that gives the city its name is only a distant blue stripe (and quite a beautiful one) from a few key vantage points.\u00a0 By contrast, our rivers are much closer to home – Pittsburgh waterfront is already integral to the city\u2019s design.<\/p>\n

As we work through new projects along Pittsburgh’s wonderful rivers, there are three design criteria that we should keep in mind to build upon our strengths:<\/p>\n

KEEP IT SPICY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monotonous design attracts little attention.\u00a0 Although we do consider the Pittsburgh river edges as just ‘one’ park, we should insist that individual places maintain a good spicy variety. \u00a0Just as the rivers themselves vary according to location and topography, each pathway, lookout, and park, should be a unique and interesting experience.<\/p>\n

GETTING THERE SHOULD BE HALF THE FUN<\/strong><\/p>\n

At one point in the movie “Blazing Saddles” the sheriff strolls on his horse toward a western main street. \u00a0But instead of the backs of actual<\/em> buildings, we are seeing the back of movie set facades. \u00a0The conceit is indeed funny, but the scene is also a serious lesson in urban design.\u00a0 Effective development cannot just be a pretty facade but must connect and integrate into its surroundings.\"\"<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh’s river edges are at the heart of the city. \u00a0Very few people actually live on the river; but many travel to the river edge.\u00a0 The approach to the river should be as enjoyable as the time spent along the river itself. \u00a0Imagine a network of attractive riverfront connections spread across the urban grid: each neighborhood with several appealing ways to reach the river.\u00a0 When people can easily access the river, they will us the space along side it.\u00a0 In addition, living space and office space that ‘feels’ close to the river and part of the river experience would undoubtedly benefit from its design.<\/p>\n

ALL EYES ON THE RIVER<\/strong><\/p>\n

You never feel lonely strolling about the streets and parks of Paris.\u00a0 Around you are open windows and balconies on human-scaled buildings. \u00a0Even if you don’t see people in the buildings, it feels like there are people inside. \u00a0Something that we have learned from our affordable housing work is that the idea of “all eyes on the street” is not just critical to improving the safety of a challenged neighborhood – it is critical to the design of ALL places.\"\"<\/p>\n

Generally, Pittsburgh river edges are very safe. \u00a0However, they will feel even safer and more comfortable if, where appropriate, new development shapes the edge – meaning that buildings facing the river should be active with balconies, windows, and porches.\u00a0 The presence of people and suitably scaled architectural elements will make for a lively and very safe riverfront.<\/p>\n

Here in Pittsburgh, as we transition from using our rivers as an industrial resource (a back door) to a community resource (a front door), it is important that we design these spaces correctly. \u00a0I am sure Jefferson would agree that Pittsburgh is worth the investment!<\/p>\n

Eric Osth, AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal at Urban Design Associates (UDA) and member of Riverlife’s Planning and Design Committee.\u00a0 Prior to joining UDA, Eric worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, where he worked on projects in California and China.\u00a0 Eric served as the 2011 President of AIA Pittsburgh, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.\u00a0 Generally, Eric really<\/em> likes shoreline.\u00a0 Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, he never lived more that a few blocks of a waterfront.<\/p>\n

Riverfront Photos: (Top) The water steps at Pittsburgh’s North Shore, photo courtesy Urban Design Associates; (Bottom) Paris promenade by Vince Mig<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Eric Osth, AIA, LEED AP Whenever I ride my bike along the Pittsburgh riverfronts, I am reminded of the famous quote by Thomas Jefferson: “How wonderful are the rivers in Pittsburgh and how I long to stroll alongside them.” \u00a0I am kidding; he didn’t really say that. \u00a0However, I am confident that he would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucid-heisenberg.31-170-165-113.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}