Landscape Architect Articles

The Urban Green05-10-23 | Feature

The Urban Green

Reno, Nevada
by Studio One Eleven

The Urban Green park, located in Reno, Nevada, was designed to enhance quality of life, nurture the well-being of the community, and provide a strong sense of place for parkgoers. There is even an included multi-use mountain pavilion that was designed for performances, concerts, and community gatherings, seen in the top right of this photo. The Urban Green covers two acres of the 32-acre mixed-use community.

With their angular forms and rustic materials, low carbon steel and red cedar, the architectural features of the park, like the pictured shade structures, offer places for covered gathering and activity. The "mountain" pavilion, at the top of the photo was designed by Studio One Eleven and built by Plenium Builders. The Corten steel wrapped structure is an irregular quadrilateral shape (32'-6" x 20'-3" x 36'-4" x 27'-6"). The roof slopes with its highest point sitting 20' tall and its lowest at 9'-5".

The sculpted metal bushes found throughout the site are topped with acrylic cubes that are in turn fitted with internal, programmable LED lighting.

The sunken lawn is perfect for tossing the football or watching sporting events. In the evening, the community can gather to watch movies on the 14'-6" high x 25'-7" wide LED video screen.

This linear shade element's steel and red cedar design was also designed by Studio One Eleven and constructed by Plenium Builders. The support poles are 23' tall while the canopy is 88'-6" long by 16' wide, set at 13' high.

Decomposed granite trails, gravel bioswales, and locale art enhance the garden that is broken into four tiers: alpine, mountain, meadow, and riparian.

Capturing sunset views from the boardwalk and sunken lawn that is specifically designed to be capable of capturing up to 42,000 gallons of rainwater.

The twisted forms of the sculptural play feature invite participation, exploration, and create whimsical shade patterns

'Entwine' is a 20' tall by 30' wide sculpted metal tree with illuminated cubic canopies, reaching into the sky and creating a forest of otherworldly shapes and light. (Industrial Artist - Charles Gadeken)

'Passage' is a captivating 13' tall man in a walking gesture with his right hand sweeping through stalks of wheat expressing the relationship that mankind, the mechanical, and nature all have with one another. (Sculptor - Dana Albany)

Large boulders salvaged from grading operations are dispersed throughout the park and, along with locally sourced, douglas fir benches, offer places to appreciate the sunset and mountains or plan your next adventure.

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INTRODUCTION
The Urban Green is a two-acre public space in Reno, Nevada containing a variety of outdoor areas, inspired by the natural forms and materials found in the nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains and Truckee River. It is the social hub of a new mixed-use community, located at the center of the new 32-acre Reno Experience District (RED), which was once the site of Park Lane Mall, an indoor shopping center closed in 2007. To create a sense of place around which the newly constructed elements of this modern urban district are arranged, Lion Living of Newport Beach, CA, tasked Studio One Eleven, an interdisciplinary design firm and Landscape Architect for the project, with creating a sense of place and developing many of the innovative design concepts needed to finish the project.

CIRCULATION
The park provides a network of different pedestrian paths and gathering spaces. Sinuous paths featuring bridge crossings and boulders reference the nearby river and hiking trails. A central wood boardwalk links the park to retail and residential buildings to the north and south, and a wide promenade cuts east-west through the park connecting the Century Cinema to a future market hall.

Sightlines of the western sunset are integrated into the plan and seating is located to direct park users toward distant views of the surrounding mountain peaks with Mount Rose, the most prominent peak of the greater Sierra Nevada range, located to the southwest.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
The built elements of the park are custom designed and strategically located to enliven and create a variety of social spaces. At one corner of the project is a 1,900 square foot leasing pavilion designed to take advantage of its connection to the park. In addition to serving leasing functions, the pavilion accommodates space for a future caf???(C), which will add further interest to the park. Along the north side of the site, a linear shade trellis, made from low carbon steel and western red cedar, provides a venue for outdoor dining, food trucks and a farmer's market. The structure is designed specifically to create strong shadow patterns and create much needed summer shade. Custom heavy timber benches utilizing locally sourced wood are situated throughout the park to provide rest areas and reinforce the design theme.

INTEGRATING LOCAL ART
In the spirit of the nearby Burning Man experience and to provide year-round interest, Studio One Eleven collaborated with renowned Burning Man artist Michael Christian to design a custom play structure that is a highly interactive feature as well as another piece of environmental art for the sculpture garden, that includes a fountain comprised of stainless-steel high-pressure misting rods providing a dynamic effect and cooling in the hot summer months.

PLANTING DESIGN
Embodying the natural aspect of the project context, the park features local plant species and construction materials. Existing boulders salvaged from grading operations were re-used throughout the park to enhance the planting areas. Quaking Aspen, Ponderosa Pines, and other regional natives found in Reno's foothills were sourced to populate the park. A variety of plants suited to the intermountain climate are arranged into three garden experiences (alpine, mountain meadow, and riparian) which introduce a variety of shade, scale, and seasonal interest to the landscape. The design served to establish the construction standards and plant varieties used on streetscapes throughout the district.

LIGHTING DESIGN
The lighting is designed to support park uses and reinforce the hierarchy of spaces. The great lawn is emphasized as the primary gathering space with event pole lighting followed by an array of special lighting for amenity and seating areas. A large video screen faces the great lawn and features a variety of sports and entertainment programming. The iconic mountain pavilion clad in weathering steel provides a memorable shelter overlooking the lawn.
Careful attention was made to highlight architectural and planting design features, including the mountain pavilion, its angular shapes inspired by the surrounding mountain ranges, the linear shade element, performance plaza, sculptures and specimen trees. General circulation and surrounding site lighting are integrated into the surrounding district.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY
Studio One Eleven focused on incorporating sustainability measures throughout the design of the Urban Green. These elements include a sunken lawn capable of capturing 42,000 gallons of rainwater per year, a large gravel bioswale that runs throughout the project (capable of capturing an additional 10,000 gallons of rainwater), high-efficiency drip irrigation and bubblers for all plants and trees, and locally sourced wood for custom site furnishings. Instead of utilizing concrete for all the walkways, which has a larger carbon footprint, pavers, boardwalk planks and decomposed granite were used. Artificial turf is used for the great lawn, eliminating the need for any irrigation, conserving over 145,000 gallons of water per year in the arid high desert. Overall, the project saves 1-acre foot per year or 325,850 gallons of irrigation water over traditional park planting design combined with turfgrass.

The misting feature provides relief for park users during the hot and dry Reno summers. This technology was chosen for its cooling effects combined with efficient water use. Approximately 1.5 gallons of water is used per hour for each misting pole. A savings of 32,400 gallons of water per day is achieved over a comparably sized pop-jet fountain with balance tank. A traditional fountain was not considered due to evaporation in the hot summers and the need to winterize in a cold winter climate.

CONCLUSION
The Urban Green incorporates responsible development into a beautiful and flexible space that represents the heart of this new urban district and supports a vibrant shared social life and sense of community. It serves as an asset to local residents and provides a larger community destination and accommodates a diverse array of year-round activities: ranging from relaxing in the gardens, walking the dog, dining at the food trucks, viewing the art, enjoying movie nights on the lawn, or gathering for seasonal events and farmer's markets.

PROJECT DETAILS
Client / Developer: Lyon Living - Newport Beach, CA
Landscape Architect: Studio One Eleven - Long Beach, CA
Civil & Structural Engineer: Wood Rodgers - Reno, NV
Lighting Designer: First Circle - Costa Mesa, CA
Contractor: Plenium Builders - Sparks, NV
Photo Credit: Copyright Caitlin Atkinson courtesy of Studio One Eleven