DC Legacy Project: Norlin Quadrangle CU Boulder Campus

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Norlin Quadrangle, “the quad”, continues to serve as a social center on the CU Boulder Campus. Design Concepts prepared an updated micro-master plan for Norlin Quadrangle back in 1990. The Quadrangle is the oldest part of the campus, and is outlined by the earliest buildings on campus, which actually inscribe a large open space in the shape of a cross.  This space is the heart of a part of the campus that is officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Norlin Quadrangle Historic District.

The long-term significance of this plan has proven its usefulness and also shows how the preservation of a historic cultural landscape can give form, meaning, and continuity to new features.  Because change is one of the elemental qualities of any landscape, the historic landscape can be used to allow preservation and progress to occur simultaneously. The new plan had to bring the old one into compliance with new standards, but it also went beyond that to show how preservation could also give form and meaning to new features in the landscape.  New features, in turn, can reinforce historic patterns, and thereby form a solid “legacy” foundation. 

Design Concepts Principals Contribute to NCSU’s Cost Analysis for Improving Park Facilities Study

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The wide availability of public parks in communities across the country makes them important resources in promoting active lifestyles. A number of studies suggest that parks contribute significantly to physical activity (PA) among adults and children but not all park features produce the same levels of physical activity. Some studies suggests that parks are used more often and users are more active following improvements or renovations, but the cost may vary greatly among different types of improvements and features. To find the optimum balance between cost and PA participation a number of questions should be considered, such as: What are the financial costs of adding or maintaining new facilities that could increase use and activity? Or what are the life span costs relative to increased use and additional physical activity?

A recent study provides estimates of physical activity intensity (calories burned) for different park areas. The number of people in each area and the cost of constructing each facility are combined into an index that measures the cost of the facility relative to PA intensity.  This allows park areas to be ranked based on their cost and ability to promote physical activity.

Answers to these questions can provide objective information to park officials, policymakers, and citizens to help them make more informed decisions about park facilities construction to promote active lifestyles. But to date, no ideal mathematical formula exists that tells us what to put into a park to “make” people active or healthy or to optimize a park’s design for achieving multiple goals. The prospect of a formula or rubric that would roll up all of the desired outcomes from parks and greenspace into a single model of coefficients and variables is alluring. Ideally, a park system would be expected to yield a set quantity of energy expenditure per capita, as well as other benefits.

Collaborating with scholars from North Carolina State University, Design Concepts Principals Robby Layton and Carol Henry contributed to this document that blends evidence-based research with real-world practical experience, offering guidance to planners, policymakers, and others involved in providing parks and promoting public health.

The report is supported by Active Living Research.

Easy Ways To Celebrate Smart Irrigation Month

July is Smart Irrigation Month, and here are some easy and effective ways to improve your system.

Let's start with things your can purchase and easily install yourself.

1. Drip irrigation - Drip systems do just that, they drip water out rather than spraying it through the air resulting in water loss.
2. A rain sensor - This is a small device you can pick up at almost any home improvement store for just a few bucks. It shuts off your sprinklers when it senses rain. Pretty smart, right?
3. A smart controller - This one's a little more elaborate, but highly effective. This, takes it to a level above a rain sensor. Smart controllers gather complete weather information from nearby weather stations. Not only do they shut off sprinklers when it's raining, they adjust the amount of water your system applies. If it only rains a little your controller knows how much more water to add to fill your plants' bellies.
4. A pressure regulator - If you notice water misting from your sprinklers it's likely due to too much pressure. Having the proper pressure assures your sprinklers perform as they were designed. Your sprinklers should only be spraying tiny droplets of water into the air, not creating a foggy scene from a horror movie. 
5. High efficiency nozzles - Different sprinkler types apply water in different ways. See if you can replace any of your heavier water using sprinklers with something more efficient, like a rotary stream nozzle. All sprinkler types can keep your plants healthy, so why not do so using less water?

Finally, let's go over some general principals to help you cut you water use

What Is Compost?

1. Adding compost to your soil on an annual basis, or topdressing, improves soil quality and its ability to retain water. Learn more about compost in the video at the right from the article "What Is Compost".
2. Avoid watering at the hottest times of the day, and run your sprinklers in the morning or evening. Makes sense, right?
3. And last, ask around with your local agencies to see what kinds of rebates they offer for your effort. You may find that they will cover the costs of some of your efforts. 

Good luck watering smarter!

Attendees At Landscape Architecture Foundation Summit Discuss Path For Next 50 Years

Design Concepts’ Principal Robby Layton, FASLA was one of 715 landscape architects from around the world who gathered in Philadelphia in June to ponder the role of our discipline and chart its course for the next 50 years. The 2-day summit, organized by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, included declarations from prominent landscape architects, panel discussions of key issues, and interactive sessions where all participants could weigh in with questions and comments. The outcome will be a New Landscape Declaration, to be presented and vetted at ASLA’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans this September.

The process was productive and one that should be repeated on a regular basis. Key takeaways from the summit are that landscape architecture is a discipline that can contribute greatly towards solutions to global issues in the decades to come, but to do so requires expanding the diversity of the profession and overcoming old notions about who we are and what we offer. Through discussions like the ones in Philadelphia, such progress is achievable.

Behind the Design at the Fairgrounds ... Nature Play

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The ‘play valley’ is designed especially for children to engage with the environment and interact with nature. It is a contoured natural play field gently sloping down to the pond.  

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In the valley, what seems to be part of the natural environment is actually designed into the site for the sole purpose of enticing children to play.  There are stepping logs, bridge log crossings, wood footbridges, and stepping-stones strategically placed for children to explore and play.  The contoured hills along the valley are natural magnets for kids to climb, and roll back down.  Even the pathway leading through the valley is a meandering winding trail that could create a journey. The most obvious feature throughout the valley is the stream making its way from the windmill down to the pond. It’s designed to mimic an eastern prairie stream that trickles and flows and even pools up in some areas. It’s a soft low-flowing enticing stop for children who will by their own nature, walk in it, splash in it and likely even sit in it!  

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Nature play is about non-structure play. It’s ‘free play’ unbounded by structures or formality. It’s putting children in their natural environment and letting their minds work…naturally.  Here, there are simply opportunities provided to encourage that interaction.

The stream flowing over rock drops at Arapahoe Fairgrounds Park