City Garden

CITYGARDEN, St. Louis, New york

Shubani Chandra J101111017


INTRODUCTION:

CityGarden is a new sculpture garden and park in St. Louis designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz of Charlottesville, Virginia, in partnership with the City of St Louis and funded by the St. Louis-based Gateway Foundation.

CityGarden, which opened on July 1, 2009, extends over two formerly vacant blocks on the Gateway Mall. The project originated in 1999 as part of the master plan for downtown St. Louis developed by the non-profit group Downtown Now.


BACKGROUND:

• In 1940, a large Carl Milles (Swedish Sculptor) work was installed outside St. Louis Union Station. This later became one end of the mall when it was created in the 1960s, with the Gateway Arch on the other end.

• In 1982, Richard Serra's Twain—a sculpture comprising eight large plates of weathering steel - was installed on the 1.14 acres (0.46 ha) block immediately west of Citygarden, creating Serra Sculpture Park.

• In 2006, the City of St. Louis asked the Gateway Foundation to prepare a master plan for the entire Gateway Mall strip.

• In early 2007, the foundation sponsored a competition, soliciting designs for the planned project; Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, a Charlottesville, Virginia landscape architecture firm, was the winner.

• The partnership to develop Citygarden was announced in June 2007. The project was initially proposed to the St. Louis Preservation Board in October 2007, while development of the land began in April 2008

• Over 250,000 people visited Citygarden before Christmas, 2009, a figure that has since risen to an estimated one million or more. However, because Citygarden has no gates, there is no official visitor count.


In this map of downtown St.Louis, the Gateway Mall is outlined in orange and Citygarden in red

Before being converted to a garden and park, the site comprised two empty blocks of grass.



VISION: The design of CityGarden represents the intersection of nature, art, and

civic life within the St. Louis landscape. The park itself is designed to represent the St. Louis landscape and the

natural processes that shape it. The main inspiration for the park’s landscape is the Mississippi River, whose banks are only a few blocks away.

The site is designed to evoke images of how rivers have shaped the landscape throughout history. The processes of water that shape the landscape and, as a consequence, urban form, are the inspiration for CityGarden’s design.


The design of the park is connected to water through two main features: the landscape, which is modeled after the landscape surrounding rivers, and the park’s fountains.

LandscapeThe design of the park’s landscape is intended to evoke river landscapes, and, in particular, that of the Mississippi River, which runs only a few blocks to the east of the site. The park is divided into three bands running east to west. • The northern band represents the river bluffs, the middle band

represents the floodplain, and the southern band represents the cultivated river terrace.

• The three bands are separated by a long curved wall to the north and a low meandering wall in the south.


FountainsThe park contains three fountains; each has a distinct design intended to offer different experiences of water’s role in the landscape.

• The two larger fountains in the north-east and south-west sections of the park are designed with special consideration to the experience of water.

• The largest fountain is located in the north-east quadrant of the site, on the border between the northern and central bands of the park.

• The fountain consists of two split-level basins separated by a six-foot drop. The upper basin is a large reflective pool .

• The water flows out of the reflecting pool into the lower basin, which contains stepping stones that invite people to move through and interact with the fountain.


Fountains• The second fountain is the play fountain in the south-eastern quadrant

of the park, the southern boundary of which is the meandering wall on the southern border of the central band of the park.

• The play fountain consists of 102 nozzles arranged in a grid, each of which can shoot water as high as six feet into the air.

• A computer system controls the constantly changing patterns created by the water throughout the day and night.

• The water used in this part of the fountain flows into an underground reservoir, which filters and cleans the water using minimal chlorine and chemicals, and then re-circulates the water through the fountain.

• Thus, the system is designed not to waste water. To the side of this fountain is a small, one-inch deep pool of water that contains “Voyage” by Jean-Michel Folon.


SCULPTURES:

• The park was designed so larger works of art rest on wide lawns, while smaller spaces are reserved for more private areas and it is home to 24 sculptures.

• Park visitors are allowed to touch the sculptures and even walk inside them.

• This means, however, that some of the works require more frequent maintenance, such as re-waxing.

• The sculptures range in medium from various metals—bronze, stainless steel, cast aluminum, fiberglass and even polyester.

SELECTED WORKS:

• 2 Arcs x 4 and 230.5 Degree Arc x 5 (1999) comprise a series of three steel sculptures

• Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels (2009) is a statue of Pinocchio• Eros Bendato ("Eros Bound"; 1999) is a large bronze head by

sculptor Igor Mitoraj. • Femmes au perroquet is a bronze relief situated on the wall of

the restaurant building.• Four Rectangles Oblique IV (1979) is a kinetic sculpture• Bruce and Sarah Walking (2007) is an LED panel that displays

two people walking. • Voyage (1999), depicts a boat sitting amid a pool of water• Zenit (1999) is a bronze horse sculpted


FEATURES:• Citygarden is not enclosed from the street and can be entered from any

direction.• The park includes

a 102-fountain "spray plaza" in which children can play, as well as a 180 feet (55 m)-long pool with a 6-foot (1.8 m)-tall waterfall.

The fountain's water is recycled, and filtered rainwater is also used.

A low, winding, 1,110-foot (340 m)-long, granite-topped "meander wall" runs through the park's southern half and acts as seating for visitors.

In the northern half, a 550-foot (170 m)-long curved wall of yellow Missouri limestone stretches across the property.

A 16-foot (4.9 m) LED video screen is on the wall; it displays movies and artworks, as well as some baseball games.

In October 2009, two films—"The Way Things Go" & "Conical Intersect"—were featured on the video wall, running a total of 50 minutes.

Previously, the video wall had displayed a series of nine short films focused on humor and the absurdity of life.

Visitors to Citygarden can listen to an audio tour by dialing a special number on their mobile phones.


Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels (2009) is a statue of Pinocchio by Jim Dine.

Pinocchio greets people with outstretched arms, and welcomes children to the nearby fountain that squirts its water straight up from the stone floor.


Eros Bendato

• "Eros Bound"; 1999 is a large bronze head by sculptor Igor Mitoraj. Located on the corner of Eighth and Market streets.

• The statue lays sideways on a slanted granite circle, which is covered by a steady stream of water


SCULPTURES AND PLAYING ELEMENTS FOR CHILDREN


WALKING TRACK AND SEATING AREA IN THE GARDEN


Two Rabbits Sculpture (2004), by Tom Claassen, consists of rabbits cast in bronze and then painted white

A pink suit sculpture


This is Bruce and Sarah Walking (2007) is an LED panel that displays two people walking.

The work, created by Julian Opie, is located next to Tenth Street.

Another version of the installation, depicting walkers "Julian" and "Kiera," is located in another part of Citygarden.

The video of continuously moving walkers greets people at both ends of Citygarden.


Zenit (1999) is a bronze horse sculpted by Mimmo Paladino.

Instead of a rider, the horse carries a small stellated dodecahedron on its back.

A horse with 3D star on its back stands atop a grassy hill perfect for rolling down


A crow-person waits quietly near the cafe in the park with outdoor tables overlooking Citygarden

The Tai Chi pose invites movement and serenity.


Voyage (1999), by Jean-Michel Folon, depicts a boat sitting amid a pool of water. The boat has two passengers: a man with a hat—the everyman—on one end, and a sleeping cat on the other end

Four Rectangles Oblique IV (1979) is a kinetic sculpture by George Rickey


Femmes au perroquet

"Women with parrot"; 1952 is a bronze relief situated on the wall of the restaurant building.

Created by the Cubist artist Fernand Léger, this work features a group of women with a parakeet.


Terrace garden restaurant with a large reflective pool.


Water fountain along the meandering wall with stepping stones inside.


Night view with lighting along the play fountain in the Citygarden


Night view with lighting on the sculptures in the Citygarden

City Garden

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