Delight in the Waterfront- Stephanie Belawicz

Below are Video Clips taken at the riverfront the day after it had rained. Rain persisted for three days, causing the river to overflow it's banks and dramatically change the essence of my site.

a. Proximity

It’s delight is owed to the fact that it is in close proximity to many commercial and residential institutions yet retains it’s privacy. It’s immediate surrounding include the school, the surrounding neighborhood, restaurants, shops and other commercial businesses. However, when at the waterfront, one loses visual connection with the urban landscape and ultimately loses all mental connections as well. The most enjoyable part of the riverfront is that one does not need to venture far to find natural tranquility that’s visually and experientially separated from the rest of the city.

b. Repetition

Structure ultimately provides the repetition of the waterfront. Bridges and concrete retaining walls moving along the waterfront seem to create an encapsulated form that encages the river. A visual repetition is further complimented by the movement of the river, allowing a consistent relationship between structure, river and landscape to compose a visual and experiential repetition.

c. Simplest and Largest Figure

The simplest and largest figure is undoubtedly the stairs cascading down from the street onto the river front. They not only serve as a figure notated in the landscape but also as a structure for activity. Groups of students, residents, etc. arrange themselves amongst the stairs and landings to create small points of activity moving with the shape of the stair down to the riverfront. This part of the sight is delightful to congregate about because the height differences amongst the groups offers privacy despite their actual close proximity to each other.

Although the river can be interpreted as the simplest and largest figure, it more closely relates to the horizontal landscape rather than a figure within it.

d. Figure/Ground Relationship

The river and walking paths serve as a unified ground plane while any vertical disruption becomes the figure. Essentially, in a completely horizontal landscape, any horizontal disruption becomes a clear figure in relationship to the ground. Thus, the boats and people become figurines. Even the bridges serve as landscape due to their own horizontal nature and the manner in which their shape completes the connection between the opposing sides of the river and riverbanks. It therefore serves as a connection point in the landscape rather than a figure within the landscape.

e. Proportion

The river itself is at an incomprehensible proportion to the human scale. In relationship to the surrounding neighborhoods, however, the river seems humbled. Large monumental buildings and walls of residential architecture tower above the river creating a strong contrast between horizontal movement and vertical structure. Vehicular movements becomes a small buzz between these two large geometries and pedestrian traffic becomes increasingly more inconsequential.

f. Scale g. Rhythm

The river has two rhythms which bring the incomprehensible scale of the Tiber into a personal scale with the human body. The first rhythm is the bridge system defined by vehicular traffic. This segregates the river at “x” many cross streets between the two opposing sides of the river. The second rhythm is defined by the vertical connection between walkways above and at the level of the riverfront, occurring at every “y” interval. Ultimately, these alternating rhythms create points for the person to relate their position amongst the city within context to the river. Therefore, an enormous landscape becomes proportioned to the human scale through the context of each segregated piece and the viewer’s familiar surroundings that are connected to the urban landscape.

h. Texture

The River itself has a texture that varies with weather, reflection, and vehicular movement. The waves move and define the texture of the river which is then altered and manipulated with the movement of boats and fishermen. The grass moving up the riverbanks adds to the natural texture of the river. These two surfaces are segregated by man-made walkways that have concrete and block textures and geometries. Essentially, two very natural and organic textures are defined and segregated by distinct geometries and textures that denote human interaction with a natural landscape.

I. Light and Color

Due to the reflective nature of water, the riverfront is always fairly bright and colorful. Although the water has become a grey-blue, the green grass and bright colors of boats docked along the shore add a lively spirit to the riverfront. On a sunny day, however, the light encompasses the entire site. The river becomes more segregated with the shadows from the bridge, adding another layer to the repetition of the structure.

Light serves as a physical element as well as an aesthetic one. Laying on the stairs, one can feel the heat from the sun coming from the sky, reflecting off the water and radiating off the concrete. The warm atmosphere afforded by the heat of the sun compliments the aesthetic benefits of it’s light.

j. Ornament

There is no ornament on the waterfront except for those afforded by nature. The most elaborate ornament would be the stairs, cascading down towards the river. At any water level, they create a strong connection between the upper street and the riverfront as well as providing a space for activity and entertainment. They have been beautifully molded to curve down towards the river forcing the user to turn in different directions for multiple views of the site while descending/ascending. Thus defining the visual experience the designer believed the user should have while approaching the site.