A DEEP SENSE OF PLACE...

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES ...in Huff Post

"Just as we are what we eat, I believe we are what we are surrounded by. The art of place-making was all but dead, as was the skill of creating genuine communities rather than rather soulless housing estates, until I determined to revive these timeless skills over 25 years ago. Although it seems misunderstood, my concern for design is part of a much wider concern about the impact places have on the people who live or work in or around them. My concern is for the built environment as a whole and how that environment affects the way people feel and live.

My ultimate concern in all my initiatives is for the well-being of the individual within community, so the big question is whether an urban environment enables a sense of community to flourish, or does it end up destroying that all-important bond because of the way it is designed? If the urban environment makes people feel isolated or unwelcome or even fearful, then it is hardly likely to engender positive, supportive and prosperous communities. We also have to face the fact that in the future we may not be able to afford to be so dependent upon the car, so it would be wise to design our towns and cities so they are user-friendly when everything is forced by economics to become more local again. These big issues are what drove me to set up what became my Foundation for Building Community. It is currently involved in over 30 developments throughout the UK, from redesigning children's hospitals and building satellite towns, to teaching architecture and urban planning. It is doing the same internationally, from Rosetown in Jamaica to Gabon in West Africa.

This film visits the Foundation's Summer School held in the grounds of Dumfries House, in Ayrshire, to explain how it works, and also the housing development nearby on the outskirts of Cumnock called Knockroon. The aim here is to regenerate the area by creating a vibrant, sustainable community with houses, offices, shops and a school. All the buildings are the result of an exercise in public engagement devised by my Foundation and are built out of local materials with designs reflecting the traditions and identity of the local area. The intention, as in places like Coed Darcy in Wales or Poundbury in Dorset, is also to create an environmentally efficient, walkable town.

This film then explains the work of my Regeneration Trust, a charity I set up nearly 20 years ago to try to tackle the rescue and re-use of many historic sites that are considered redundant. Naval dockyards, Army barracks, mill buildings or courtrooms, you name it, when I came across them they were all considered to be local eyesores, ripe for demolition and yet, to my mind and to many other local people too, they were actually perfectly sound structures that were rich in the heritage of their area. What they needed was to be given a new lease of life. The Trust has since renovated a million square feet of historic floor space, enriching the communities they serve and regenerating the area, all with a deep sense of place."

Richmond Virginia, June, 1929

Broad-Grace Arcade

3^rd and Grace Streets

John Eberson, architect

Indiana Limestone, metal, brick

The Broad-Grace Arcade was the indoor shopping mall of its day.  It was built to complement the massive Art Deco CNB building behind it on Broad Street.  It had entryways facing Broad Street, next to the front door of the CNB building, facing Third and Grace Streets. 

Architect, John Eberson, a native of Vienna, was noted for his flamboyant and ostentatious theatre designs which delighted many, but the restraint of this building has none of his usual exuberance.  The restrained nature of the structure make it easy to miss; but upon closer inspection one can revel in a bit of Richmond’s version of 1920’s modern.

There is a bronze trim around the windows of grape vines and Classical urns, and the front is faced with smooth sandstone cut with laser sharp lines.  Although, they are not shown in Charles Smith’s illustration shown above, and may have been a later addition, handsome glass and metal Art Deco light fixtures grace each side of the arched entrances on three sides of the building.

Smith’s Richmond magazine cover illustration is centered around the best part of the building’s design, both in form and function.  He shows us the function of the hallway lined with shops that can easily access Broad Street from Grace.  The tagline under the illustration tells us that we are looking from Grace Street towards Broad.  The entrance, with its grand two- story arch, and the wonderful details of the faced limestone and bronze details are the epicenter of the illustration.

In the June, 1929 issue of Richmond Magazine, an article by Hal Norton, stated that the Arcade “will be more than an allure to Richmond’s shopping element.  It marks a new step in the development of that type of building featuring the recent growth of Broad and Grace Streets”.  The article went on to exclaim “when fully linked up and completed, will create a picture of architectural beauty and harmony”.  Norton described the lobby as “splendid” and where two “high-speed elevators” are housed.

The completion of the magnificent CNB skyscraper and the Broad-Grace Arcade were important in the development of Richmond’s westward expansion, and in marking Richmond as an urban force.

We certainly see the influence of the Art Deco in this illustration.  The entire composition is vertical in nature; including the elegant people on the sidewalk and in the Arcade.   Its style is not unlike the mid-1920’s fashion illustrations in Europe and America more , with a more conservative edge.

CNB bought the arcade from the Broad-Grace Arcade Corp in 1973, and toyed with the idea of tearing it down.  The site remained unharmed, but remains empty and has been condemned by the City of Richmond.

Notes:

1.  Iain Zaczek, Art Deco, p.89, p.75

2.  Edwin Slipek, Jr., “An Urban Tragedy”, The Richmond Mercury, date unknown

3.  Hal Norton, Richmond Magazine, June 1929, p.33

4.  Robert P. Winthrop, Architecture of Downtown Richmond, p.115

Over the River

-Kathryn S. Cumming

The Belt Line Railroad bridge that spans the James River was built by one of the most renowned civil engineers in the U.S.  John Edwin Grenier of Delaware founded the J.E. Grenier Engineering Co of Baltimore, Maryland.  Grenier designed and inspected hundreds of bridges all over Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia throughout his impressive career.  He is included in the 2000 book Engineering Legends:  Great American Civil Engineers ,and won a gold medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers.  The small one-man shop in Baltimore of the early 1900’s grew to become what is today the URS Corporation which in 2000 employed over 15,000 people worldwide.

The events leading up to the construction of the Belt Line Bridge were so tragic as to be almost comical.  A wooden railroad bridge was constructed across the James River in downtown Richmond in 1838 by the Richmond -Petersburg Rail Line. It was intended to transport much-needed building materials, coal and goods for sale from Richmond to the southern parts of the state.  The bridge burned once from the sparks of a passing locomotive; was rebuilt and destroyed, again in 1865, when Confederate troops destroyed the bridge during an evacuation of the city.

In 1883, another bridge, this time made of steel, was constructed by the Atlantic Coast Line and ran from the Ninth Street warehouse south to the ACL yards across the river. At the same time, another trestle was run by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway between Fifth and Seventh Street at the foot of what was known as Gamble’s Hill.  This important line brought coal from the southwestern part of the state into Richmond.  

Problems and confusion arose from the running of so many rail lines across the James River, and many different companies vying for their use.  At one time, the Mayo Bridge was the main road crossing and rail traffic could only cross with the permission of the Mayo Bridge owners.  

Through the cooperation of the RF&P Railroad Co and the ASL Line, the artistic concrete structure seen in this cover illustration was completed in 1917.  The City of Richmond contributed to its construction and held stock in its ownership owing to the importance of this large, permanent double-track line. It cost $1,000,000 to build in 1917.  

The bridge design employs ancient Roman arch design where wedge-shaped concrete voussoirs are carefully cut to fit precisely together and abutments to strengthen the arch.  The bridge and road building accomplishments of ancient Rome were central to the rapid expansion and great success of the Roman Empire.  Arch bridges have been the favored design to carry heavy traffic for over 2000 years.


Notes:
1. “A Brief History of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad”.  
John B. Mordecai, traffic engineer,1940, (For the 106th Anniversary of the RF & P Railroad)
2. “Old Trestle on James is Yielding to Progress”, Richmond News Leader, August 18, 1970
3.  “Then-and-Now“, Richmond News Leader, December 22, 1934,  photos by G. F. Benson and Dementi Studios, Valentine History Center
4. Engineering Legends: Great American Civil Engineers, Weingardt, Richard, publisher… 2000
5.  “John Edwin Grenier”, Quisenberry, Erika, Port Deposit Online Maryland Village, Port Deposit, MD, 2004
6.  “Making of the Modern World”, online source, The Science Museum, funded by the ISB fund of the Treasury and Cabinet Office, 2004