Exuberant Millennium Park .. Chicago

Chicago – Growing Greener and More Vibrant With Each Passing Year

Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion (Alice Joyce photo)

Gehry Glam! – The Frank Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park: Gehry’s exuberant architecture seems to have taken the world by storm. I’ll personally vouch for the architect’s design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The building proved to have superb acoustics when I heard a string quartet play in the Hall. Even before attending the concert, I’d been won over by Gehry’s exuberant style, impressed by the Concert Hall’s open-air gardens, which are open to the public.

But here the focus is on CHICAGO! In September last year I took in a performance at the Park’s Pritzker Pavilion. Each year during the World Music Festival, venues around the city offer free performances. In the photo above, Tambours San Frontieres is performing one afternoon: A Congolese group now based in Chicago.

Crown Fountain - Chicago (ALICE JOYCE Photo) Millennium Park

Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain is a crowd pleaser! Upright 50-foot towers deliver a welcoming splash and flow!

Jaume Plensa, a Barcelona artist, designed the multi-media water feature.

Chicago - Millennium Park Plantings (Alice Joyce photo)

Along the Magnificent Mile – Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, and throughout the landscape of Millennium Park, lush planting beds enliven the scene with the bold forms of grasses, tropical specimens, and brilliant annuals rich with color and texture.

Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa (Alice Joyce photo)

A shallow pool spans the space between the glass-block towers, their colorful video projections featuring a panoply of faces. 1,000 Chicagoans are featured… their changing expressions create a riveting display.

Millennium Park – Art & Architecture

May 6th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Chicago, Green Destinations | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)

Parc André Citröen, Paris


Parc André Citroën (ALICE JOYCE photo)

I set off on a pilgrimage not so very long ago, inspired by the contemporary landscape design of Parc André Citröen – representing the work of Alain Provost and Gilles Clement.

The park rose up in the southwest corner of Paris in the Javel neighborhood, a site appropriated as part of the city’s urban renewal efforts, after the closure of the Citröen car factory.

Away from the well-trod tourist paths, Parc André Citröen has won praise (and criticism, alike) for the forward-looking aspects of its design: A complex geometric layout full of surprising juxtapositions and horticultural interest.

Elements of cool postmodern style appear as architectural devices, defining the character of discrete spaces. At the same time, sequestered areas are given over to lush planting schemes and shaded allées, fostering a sense of intimacy. The parkland extends over 30 acres, and futuristic bent aside, its plan encourages visitors to linger amid open areas of lawn, a bamboo grove, and a rock garden.

Large-scale water features call to mind the aesthetic fountains and pools of classical landscapes, while inducing young and old to relax and refresh. Arranged on an axis perpendicular to the Seine, the totality of the park is oriented to echo the order of historic Parisian parks farther upriver.

Overview – www.worldarchitecture.org

The overall design concept puts into play an often startling sense of contrast, advancing from obviously man-made configurations to areas meant to reveal the spirit of untouched, natural places. At the heart of the park is a sprawling grassy expanse set off by a wall of clipped hedges and promenade evocative of formal French gardens.

Waterfall - Parc André Citroën (ALICE JOYCE photo)

Water elements lend particular distinction to a number of compartmentalized environments. Entering one such space, you see water flowing gently over an inclined wall, while directly across the way, its counterpart achieves drama with a decidedly vigorous deluge over a stepped surface.

Parc André Citröen - ALICE JOYCE photo

Cascading plantings of fragrant herbs echo the waterfall’s architectural form.

Moving on, a series of small theme gardens emerges, revealing a richness of shrubs, specimen trees and perennials. Unusual plant material is noteworthy in creating atmospheric garden spaces, such as the Jardin Blanc & Jardin Noir.

A tunnel passage signals the transition to another color-themed space, accented with blue salvias, fragrant mints, California lilacs, a wisteria-draped arbor, and  a pergola cloaked in variegated porcelainberry vine melded with clematis. At another juncture, towering mirrored-glass buildings are partnered with a long reflecting canal. The crisp outlines of the adjacent hedges restate the angular facades.

Interior - Parc André Citröen (ALICE JOYCE photo)

Suggesting sanctuary, an array of small-scale buildings line up along a walkway. A bold rectangular opening entices me to enter one structure, where I find an interior that capitalizes on a play of light and shadow created by a slat roof: The floor wears a carpet of Scotch moss.

When in Paris .. Parc André Citröen is located in the 15th arrondisement: Metro stop Balard or Javel.

Parc Citroën (ALICE JOYCE photo)

Parc Citroen Walkway (Photo: it_outsider)


April 9th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: France, Green Destinations, Landscape Architecture | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)

Andy Goldsworthy, The Spire - Presidio of San Francisco

Goldsworthy's 'Spire' - Presidio of San Francisco

Goldsworthy's 'Spire' at The Presidio of San Francisco: Photo, Alice Joyce

A U.S. National Historic Landmark, taking in some 1500 acres of beaches and woodlands, open parkland, destination restaurants, a restored tidal marshland and breathtaking views from any number of vantage points, The Presidio of San Francisco currently features a site-specific sculpture by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Golden Gate Bridge & Marin Headlands - Photo: Alice Joyce

Located near the Arguello Gate, west of Inspiration Point Overlook, Goldsworthy’s The Spire emerges in a clearing, where the park’s reforestation efforts are ongoing.  In this section by the Bay Ridge Trail, 150 dying trees have been removed. In 2008, the artist used felled mature trees to create the sculpture’s monolithic form. A quote from The Presidio web site offers insight into the artwork’s inspiration.

The Spire by Andy Goldsworthy at The Presidio of San Francisco (photo: Alice Joyce)

“The Spire tells the story of the forest, celebrates its history and natural rhythms, and welcomes the next generation of trees. It is a poetic reference to the forest’s past; as new young trees grow up to meet the sculpture, it will eventually disappear into the forest.” The forest we see today hearkens back to the 1880s, with pine and cypress trees primarily; a thriving natural habitat for wildlife. The reforestation goes hand-in-hand with restoration work on cliff side dunes, native plantings, and rare serpentine plant habitats. Check the calendar of events before visiting for tour and program information.

March 8th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Green Destinations | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)

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