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Five principles for design and programming
Programming the public realm
Design parameters
Harbor gardens - A concept
A visual thesaurus

Harbor gardens - A concept

• Harbor Gardens
• 5 new parks
• 3 destinations

Harbor Gardens

The scheme illustrated here is a test of program fit within the defined area of the Wharf District. The graphic illustration is deliberately 'design neutral' in order to demonstrate the potential for latitude in final design interpretation of the proposed program. A design assumption behind the concept of Harbor Gardens is that there are five distinct 'fields' within the existing fabric generated by the natural pattern of the radial streets as they cross the artery corridor between the city and the waterfront. These fields, defined and enlarged, become the canvas for the development of an open space, each with a different purpose and character, each one of a manageable size, each one with a recognizable identity as a place.

5 new parks

Marketplace Gardens:
Situated on Parcel 14 this space is conceived as a threshold space between the urban activity of Quincy Market and the openness of Christopher Columbus Park, the wharves and the Harbor itself. The park is primarily oriented to the great volume of tourists who regularly pass between the attractions of Central Wharf and the historic core of the city around Faneuil Hall. Marketplace gardens will be a place for visitors to pause and reorient themselves as they pass from one area of the city to another. A grove or 'bosque' of shade trees to sit under, an orienting device such as a tall mast with a weather vane, a compass-like paving pattern would all contribute to the spirit of the place. On the southern end of the parcel, closest to Long and Central Wharves, there would be support services for the visitor, including restrooms and food kiosks under an expansive canopy providing shade and shelter without being enclosed.

Harbor Park:
Straddling Parcels 15 and 16 is Harbor Park, the jewel in the crown of Harbor Gardens and in the historic center of the old Boston Harbor. North of State Street the park would be developed on a water theme making a visual link with the water's edge. A paddling pool and fountains for the summer would transform into an ice rink and steam jets in the winter. The main pedestrian link between Square and the Aquarium would pass through this part of the park, parallel with State Street.

South of State Street, Harbor Park becomes an open lawn, unprogrammed, flanked by trees, allowing a multiplicity of activities: sunbathing; sitting; strolling; meeting; taking lunch. It is also a gathering place for occasional larger groups. A water feature at the northern end will act both as a link to the other side of Milk Street and as a focus for the sight line from Franklin Street. On the southern end of the park is an open sculpture park leading to a gallery flanking India Street defining the southern edge of the Park.

India Gardens:
India Gardens - an extension of India Street - is conceived as a green open space whose formal function is to act as the terminus to the allée of trees connecting Harbor Gardens with Harbor Towers. This high rise residential development has, in terms of urban form, been disconnected from the city since its inception. India Gardens. The redevelopment of the line of trees allows a stronger visual connection to be established. The triangular shape of the park leads into the network of streets flanked by Broad Street and India Street. India Gardens functions as a visual link; as a pedestrian link; and as a place to sit.

Fort Point Plaza:
Fort Point is the original colonial name for the promontory on which International Place now stands. Fort Point Plaza is the link between the landmark arch of Rowes Wharf and the waterfront and the network of streets - High Street and Broad Street - leading into the heart of the Financial District. It is primarily a commuter route between the ferries and the city and more generally a critical pedestrian link leading to and from the waterfront, primarily for city workers and residents. The plaza is paved and planted with water features introduced to enhance the sightlines set up by the arch and Broad Street.

Channel Gardens:
Channel Gardens is a 'knuckle' on one of the important 'Fingers to the Sea'. As Oliver Street crosses the artery corridor leading to the Moakley Bridge and the Old Northern Avenue Bridge it is also the turning point for both vehicles and pedestrians for the harborfront routes which link the south Boston waterfront, the Wharf District, the North End and Charlestown in one continuous route.

This space is crossed by north and south bound lanes, by Oliver Street and by the north and south access and exit ramps to the highway. Functionally the design aim must be to tame the environment sufficiently to make it safe for pedestrians to pass through comfortably. Formally, the design must strive to unify a space divided by busy roadways. A strongly defined central space is framed by tall trees and the proposed Mass. Horticultural Society structures to the south and the Parcel 18 structure to the north. The ground plane should be paved, extending to the perimeter of the visual field to unify what would otherwise be an archipelago of unrelated surfaces. The edges of buildings, trees, and lights should highlight the pedestrian routes and underplay the vehicular routes. The adjoining space leading to the Old Northern Avenue Bridge should be designed as a pedestrian only area, a resting place in an otherwise traffic dominated environment.

3 destinations

Three 'clusters of cultural and civic activity' are proposed in the Harbor Gardens concept, each in support of the five open spaces to create an integrated recreational and cultural program for Harbor Gardens.

Parcels 14 and 15: Harbor Orientation and Visitors' Services:
This cluster of structures centers around the State Street crossing. On Parcel 14, there are bathrooms - enclosed in a building - and food services located under a free form canopy providing shelter and shade but otherwise open to the environment. These functions are integral to the concept for Marketplace Gardens described above.

On Parcel 15 a Harbor Visitors' Center provides information and education on the ocean environment (complementing some of what the Aquarium provides) and on the history and ecology of the Harbor and the Harbor Islands. The building will also accommodate a cafe / restaurant directly connected to and overlooking the water park on southern half of the parcel.

Parcels 16 and 17 North and South: Visual and Performing Arts Complex:
From the south end of Parcel 16 to the north end of Parcel 18 - including the major part of Parcels 17 north and south - the highway tunnel box is sufficiently far below grade to permit the construction of programmed space under the park. The total area with more than 14 feet headroom is approximately 50,000 square feet.

The idea is to develop an arts complex within this space with access to the underground complex through buildings located in Harbor Park, India Gardens and Fort Point Plaza. The program for the complex comprises performing arts space, exhibition space and galleries and some ancillary cafe and restaurant space. The complex would perform a civic function and have a similar profile to the Boston Public Library acting as a venue for arts from the neighborhoods, community groups and schools as well as being the focus for exhibitions and shows of national significance. Local and school groups would also ensure that the schedule of activity would continue through days, evenings and weekends, in all seasons, as a stimulus to populating the open space at all times.

Parcel 18: Museum Complex:
Parcel 18, located between the north and southbound access and exit ramps of the interstate highway, is developed as a five or six story structure built around and over the ramps with planted and terraced roofs and balconies overlooking the open space to north and south. In addition a high point at the south end of the building would overlook the Fort Point Channel and the opening to the Harbor.

The program is envisioned as curatorial, a museum either of Boston's and New England's history and material culture or as a museum showcase for the high technology and biotechnology of the region. The complex would be complementary to the Aquarium and Children's Museum in the same neighborhood. The structure includes gallery space, exhibition space, research facilities and cafes and restaurants overlooking the open spaces to north and south.

Information for this section was provided by the Artery Business Committee.