With all eyes reliably focused on the redevelopment of the Greenville News site on Main Street, the city of Greenville has hired Design Workshop, an international landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm to guide the city in the planning process.
Design Workshop has an office in Asheville along with nine other offices and projects that span the globe. UBJ recently connected with Rebecca Leonard, president of Design Workshop, to talk about the project and what her firm will be looking for as the project progresses – including its desire for “activated” spaces that will attract and engage the public.
What’s your company’s background?
Design Workshop is a landscape architecture, land planning, urban design and strategic services firm. We’ve been providing these services for almost four decades to developers, property owners, government agencies and other clients engaged in improvements to the land. In our years of practice we have evolved a proprietary approach and distinct culture.
Design Workshop is a firm born in the pursuit of ideas. While college classmates, founders Don Ensign and Joe Porter resolved to someday start their own landscape architecture firm. The opportunity came in 1969 when both assumed teaching positions in North Carolina. Early on, they were invited to assist private sector clients, often engaging colleagues and students in a collaborative process they labeled “design workshops.”
These early assignments were the chance to marry the idealism of academia with development realities and to begin a small professional practice. A few years later, Don and Joe relocated the fledgling firm to Aspen [Colo.] and quickly earned a reputation for solving the complex problems found in fragile ecosystems and development challenges of the western landscape.
Over the last 45 years, we’ve had the opportunity to expand the breadth and sophistication of our firm. Our experience ranges from master plans for counties, planned communities, urban centers and resorts, to detailed design for urban districts, public parks, residences and roadways. We have continuously honed the collaborative dynamics of the workshops and the pursuit of the ideas and ideals that result in the best solutions for every assignment. This approach remains the hallmark of our firm.
What exactly will your role be?
Design Workshop was hired by the city of Greenville to provide professional services to review proposed site plans for the redevelopment of the Greenville News site in downtown Greenville. The site is approximately four acres and is a highly visible corner on Main Street, adjacent to the award-winning Falls Park. The site is being developed as a mixed-use development that may include a hotel, office, rental housing, condominiums, movie theater, health club, retail and restaurants.
What other projects have you completed that might be similar to this project?
Over the years, Design Workshop has led the design and planning efforts of many urban districts across the country. Riverwalk Commons in Denver, Hardy Yards in Houston, The Domain in Austin and the Railyards in Santa Fe are examples of some of our firm’s district work.
What specific design elements will you be looking for?
We are looking at the development to ensure it meets the intent of the Design Guidelines and Downtown Master Plan. Walkability and activated street frontages are a key piece of that. This includes ensuring primary entrances to buildings are from streets and key public spaces, maintaining the existing setbacks in the area (most buildings are built to the property lines), strong streetscape treatments and activated plaza spaces. In addition, the architecture needs to reflect the traditional geometries and materials.
Is there any type of design or structure that has been discussed that might not work (such as the underground movie theater)?
No. We have discussed how to activate the streets and public spaces.
What is the single most important item in the redevelopment of this property?
The Design Guidelines suggest that Main Street and Broad Street frontages are the most important. This is where we have focused our conversations.
In the current design, it’s a raised plaza approach. In your experience, how successful are those in keeping with a walkable, open Main Street concept?
There is 35 feet worth of drop from the corner of Main Street and Broad to the corner of Falls Street and Murphy Street. A portion of this site will always be elevated or submersed. The key is maximizing visibility and activating space.
Since these are going to be signature buildings in the heart of downtown Greenville, what kind of originality or design specifics will you be looking for?
We would like to see this reflect the historic approach to site planning with buildings addressing the streets and public spaces and architecture that reflects the patterns in place in the community, but this site offers the opportunity for innovation and new ideas as well. This is a bridge from the past to the future. The key will be making this compatible with its context.
Anything else about the project you’d like to comment on?
Looking forward to shaping the west end of Main Street and connecting it with the park and other successful developments in the area.
