Downtown Riverfront Plaza Update

Downtown Riverfront Plaza rendering by Walker Macy (stripes and stones concept) 
 

Now that the new Downtown Riverfront Park is open, the City of Eugene (COE) is asking the community for its assistance in designing the central plaza, which will be the park’s next phase of development. Presently, the design team—led by landscape architecture/urban design/planning firm Walker Macy—is refining its concept for the 1-acre open space. Because it is still early in the design process, an opportunity remains for citizen input to inform the project’s character and amenities. Time is short though: If you haven’t already done so, take the time to respond to the City’s online survey and offer your thoughts about the plaza’s playground options, water features, hardscape and lawn layout, and interpretive elements. The deadline for input is this Tuesday, August 30.
 
The COE did host two open house events—one in June and one earlier this month—to engage the public and provide updates on the project’s process. The current survey will be everyone’s last opportunity to provide input before the key features of the plaza’s design are set, so don’t wait if you have strong feelings about the project’s design.
 
The survey presents two concepts developed by Walker Macy:

Headwaters (Stripes and Stones)
The Headwaters design concept focuses on bold linear elements to define spaces, draw your eye towards the river, and create clear sightlines from Ferry Street and 5th Avenue. Planters in the tree grove are rectangular bands with integrated seating elements for lounging in the shade. The water feature uses stone elements to define channels and waterflows towards the river, ending in a flat, interactive splash-play area near the plaza. The lawn area has seating along the edge facing the river, and is next to a larger open, paved plaza intended for large gatherings and events. The play area extends to the south edge with seating and connections to the bike trail and pathways in the Downtown Riverfront Park.
 

River Flow (Arcs and Groves)
The River Flow design concept is the more curved, open, and sinuous option, with distributed planters and groves of trees. It provides a welcome entry for people arriving from Ferry Street and 5th Avenue to meander through trees or linger in the planted seating area. A shallow flowing water feature extends in an arc to a more active children’s splash play area located next to the playground. Paths connect to existing arcs extending from the Downtown Riverfront Park and warp around a long seat wall with river views. A low-mounded lawn area offers lounging or seating spaces for events in the larger paved plaza zone.
 
The survey asks several questions, which include:

• Which plaza concept option do you prefer? 
• What configuration of grove area trees, planters and seating do you prefer?
• What type of design for water feature do you prefer?
• What configuration of plaza and lawn layout do you prefer?
• Which active children's play area option do you prefer (nature inspired, “topography,” or a custom theme)?

The plaza will include a feature art piece presenting an interpretive story, in the same vein as some already installed elements do elsewhere in the park. These features will focus on the rich 165-year history of the Millrace. The COE hopes the interpretive art piece will reflect a variety of different perspectives, relying upon words in the form of engraved or embedded bronze text, expressively typeset into patterns or ripples in or around the plaza water features. So, in addition to publicizing the plaza survey, the COE is encouraging everyone to submit their memories or experiences from the Millrace or other waterways in Eugene. The words you share may become part of the collective history expressed in the plaza’s integrated art.
 

Which of Walker Macy’s two initial design concept do I prefer? I think the River Flow (arcs and groves) approach is the better of the two. Precise adjectives fail me, but it simply appears to be less forced, and a more genuine response to its setting within the overall Downtown Riverfront development. I also think the curved elements would work well in complementing the angular geometry of the proposed new buildings that will bound the open space. Ideally, the groves will receive trees that are as mature as practicable so the concept is fully legible when the plaza first opens.
 
Walker Macy expects to complete the conceptual design next month. If all goes to plan, construction work on the plaza will begin in March of 2024. I’m looking forward to seeing and enjoying the Downtown Riverfront Plaza upon its completion in 2025!