Site Master Planning, Design and Landscape Architecture

King Philip’s Stockade Park Renovations and Improvements

gzachris — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:12:33 +0000

King Philip’s Stockade Park Renovations and Improvements

Springfield, MA

gzachris Mon, 01/22/2024 - 13:12

Challenge

The King Philip’s Stockade, an historic area of the larger Forest Park managed by the Department of Parks, had been closed to the public for several years and was in need of new and improved facilities. Additionally, the park did not originally provide comfort stations and there was no sewer service to the site.

Solution

GZA provided civil engineering and landscape architectural design services, which included new vehicular access and parking, an extensive pedestrian trail system, restoration of the historic overlook area, and other recreational amenities. All facilities are handicap accessible. Additionally, an historic bronze statue of King Philip was brought from its temporary home at the Springfield Technical Community College and re-installed at the Stockade.

In response to the City’s desire to provide new restrooms, GZA designed two modular and fully accessible comfort stations, each with men’s and women’s separate restrooms. Both comfort stations include a grinder sewage pumping system, with force main connection to the public sewer in the adjacent town of Longmeadow. This work required close coordination and permitting with the adjacent town, as well as the regional wastewater authority.

New or renovated park features:

Two (2) modular comfort station and restrooms facilities, with grinder pumps discharging to a municipal sewer
Two (2) 3,700-square-foot pavilions
Expanded parking facilities and improved accessibility
Improved site drainage
New domestic water service
Ornamental site lighting
Relocation of historic King Philip’s statue
Picnic pavilions with tables and accessible seating
Installation of water fountains and trash receptacles
Site landscaping and irrigation

Benefit

The project included ADA-compliant accessibility improvements and the inclusion of bathroom facilities. The variety of park amenities installed can be enjoyed by park-goers of all ages.

Sewer connection made to public sewer system of adjacent municipality
Addition of comfort stations and restrooms as well as a variety of park amenities
Involved the relocation of an historic statue

Massachusetts

Government

Site / Civil Engineering & Design

Redevelopment of Stearns Square and Duryea Way

gzadan — Fri, 13 May 2022 14:21:46 +0000

Redevelopment of Stearns Square and Duryea Way gzadan Fri, 05/13/2022 - 10:21

GZA provided landscape architectural and civil engineering services to the City of Springfield for the redevelopment of Stearns Square and Duryea Way as part of a downtown rehabilitation effort. GZA provided conceptual master planning/design, coordinated multi�� City Department reviews (DPW, Planning, Parks, Traffic Commission), estimated cost, prepared construction documents, and provided construction phase services.

Challenge

Built in the 1880s, Stearns Square Park is one of the first public sculptural parks of its kind. Designed and realized by famous sculptor and architect duo, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Stanford White, Stearns Square is situated across Worthington Street from another historically significant public space, Duryea Way, named after the Duryea brothers who were the first Americans to build a gasoline-powered automobile. It was the City of Springfield’s hope that improvement in this area will serve as a catalyst for future investment and community engagement in the Innovation District and downtown entertainment area.

Solution

The City hired GZA to prepare a “Preliminary Master Plan of Stearns Square Park & Duryea Way��. The Master Plan received input from several City Departments and stakeholders, municipal departments, community members, and business owners in a series of design review meetings. While several site improvements and upgrades were selected during the design meetings, the overriding redevelopment themes were chosen to pay tribute to the deep historical roots of the neighborhood. GZA’s design features elements that honor historical roots while making space for modern use.

Benefit

The $1.7-million construction project involved reconstruction of a historic fountain originally designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, creation of pedestrian spaces and outdoor dining areas Duryea Way and sidewalk bump-outs along Worthington Street and Stearns Square ��Ϸ��st, improved pedestrian connections, installation of new lighting and landscaping improvements, traffic calming measures, way-finding signage, bike share terminal, and utility upgrades. The project was completed in the Spring of 2019 and today features outdoor farmers markets, dining, and jazz and classical music performances in the park.

Master planning
Landscape architecture
Civil engineering
Permitting
Construction phase services

Massachusetts

Government

Site / Civil Engineering & Design

Nells Woodland

gzadan — ��Ϸ��d, 27 Apr 2022 14:59:54 +0000

Nells Woodland gzadan ��Ϸ��d, 04/27/2022 - 10:59

The Nell's Woodland Foundation is an organization dedicated to facilitating a meaningful and connected relationship to nature through programs that support stewardship in the areas of Ecology, Health & ��Ϸ��llness, and the Arts, all of which will utilize inspiration supported by the 60-acre preserve located in Ottawa, IL. By connecting with nature, visitors will benefit from the powerful, healing, and inspirational aspects of nature.

Challenge

To help bring Nells Woodlands�� goals and aspirations to fruition, GZA conducted several site assessments to fully articulate the existing conditions, document important characteristics of the steep ravines, and identify ecotypes within the woodlands that will form the basis of numerous educational features.

Solution

Working closely with Serena Sturm Architects, the Master Plan identifies buildings, bridges, trails, overlooks, outdoor spaces, healing gardens, passive recreation, nature-based activities, and places for reflection that connect visitors to the landscape. At the Ecology Center and ��Ϸ��llness Center, visitors will find outdoor spaces that are extensions of the interior classrooms, kitchens, and lecture halls. The outdoor spaces incorporate raised beds for food production, native plant gardens, and seat walls that emulate natural stone outcroppings found in the ravines. Walking trails through the oak woodland lead to ravine overlooks that offer quiet places to rest, read, and rejuvenate the spirit. For those looking for more active programs, a high ropes course in the woodland will allow visitors to ‘walk�� through the canopies of century old white and red oaks.

Benefit

The entire development is seen as an asset to Ottawa; a place where people can learn about nature, express themselves through art, and develop relationships with the environment that begin to heal through the inspiration of nature.

Conducted site assessment of property to identify issues and opportunities for restoration
Connecting people to nature through ecology, history, and land stewardship
Programming and education to support the Ecology Center
Inclusion of various green infrastructure strategies, such as permeable pavements, rainwater harvesting, solar carports, and car charging stations

Illinois

Natural Resources and Ecological Services

Land Use and Environmental Planning

Development of Camp STAR Angelina in Forest Park

gzadan — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 18:51:30 +0000

Development of Camp STAR Angelina in Forest Park gzadan Tue, 04/12/2022 - 14:51

Camp STAR Angelina is an all-inclusive summer day camp for children ages 5-14 with and without disabilities, that is run by the City of Springfield’s Department of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation (DPBRM) that previously had been held at various City-owned sites located throughout the City of Springfield.

Challenge

It was important to DPRBRM that the camp consolidate its activities at one centralized location where it could offer outdoor, nature-orientated recreation, while also being inclusive and accessible for children of all abilities. DPBRM hired GZA to help explore master planning options that would explore redeveloping a long forgotten and run-down former camp within the 780-acre Forest Park into Camp STAR Angelina’s new barrier-free headquarters. The former camp was last operated in the 1970s and contained relics of a former swimming pool and dilapidated maintenance building. GZA landscape architects, together with civil engineers, licensed site professionals, and wetlands scientists were put to the task of performing and in-depth site analysis a multi-phase master plan of development.

Solution

GZA’s master plan of development was instrumental in the City being awarded funding for the first three phases of the project. For all three phases GZA was the lead landscape architecture and civil engineering firm. With Phase I, GZA designed a new access road, utility connection, low-impact- design stormwater management solutions, zero-entry pool surround design, demolitions of existing structures (pool and buildings). Phase II included a 200-seat fully accessible outdoor amphitheater. Currently Phase II is being developed per GZA’s designs which includes an accessible nature trail that leads from the main parking/amphitheater area through a steep forested ravine down to the shore of Porter Lake- an approximately 80-foot descent.

Benefit

Since completing the first phases, Camp STAR Angelina has enjoyed a new summer home that offers a shady respite in warm summer months for children of all abilities.

Landscape architectural design for Master Plan of Development
Phase I environmental site assessment
Geotechnical investigation, recommendations, and design
Site civil engineering
Low-Impact Development (LID) stormwater management
Universal/ barrier-free site design
��Ϸ��tlands delineation, assessment, and permitting
Utilities design

Massachusetts

Government

Geotechnical Engineering Services

Site / Civil Engineering & Design

Firmenich Fragrance Manufacturer, Ecological Restoration and Conservation Management

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 14:46:46 +0000

Firmenich Fragrance Manufacturer, Ecological Restoration and Conservation Management Anonymous Mon, 09/23/2019 - 10:46

Challenge

Firmenich retained GZA to complete a large-scale ecological restoration project on its active industrial property adjacent to Newark Bay, an area impacted by a long history of industrial use. The fragrance manufacturer was eager to re-establish a robust ecosystem supporting pollinators, migrating songbirds, raptors, small mammals and northern diamondback terrapins into the sterile waterfront.

Solution

GZA’s conservation management recommendations were to:

Install natural materials to stabilize wetland areas and create micro-niche habitat;
Create an aquascape settling pond with benthic construction and floristic enhancements;
Eliminate non-native vegetation, create a 25�� x 75�� brushpile, and revegetate with native materials designed to attract obligate estuary pollinators, neotropical migrating birds of concern, and estuary dependent species of concern;
Create favorable nesting site conditions for the northern diamondback terrapin, identified as a target species of concern;
Build a walking path and gazebo for employees�� enjoyment;
Empower employees to care for the project through annual Community Day involvement and exposure to GZA ecologists; and
Install signage about the natural history of the site and species targeted by the conservation management plan.

GZA collaborated closely with the City of Newark, conservation groups, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the project.

Benefit

GZA recognized the site’s great potential for ecological restoration, and Firmenich was eager to implement the project—which it considers to be a highlight of the company’s global sustainability initiatives.

Insights

Baseline inventory of Flora and Fauna
T&E species assessment
Conservation management
Collaboration with City of Newark and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Created nesting conditions favorable to target Species of Concern
Ecological restoration of macrosites to Northeast Atlantic coastal conditions
Coastal resilience project to offset future climate change affects

New Jersey

Industrial

EHS Regulatory Compliance

Natural Resources and Ecological Services