Design Forum III
Design forum III was a great success, thanks to the efforts of our architects, landscape architects, and a good turnout from the community. The evening focused on the streetscape experience, and started off with a preferencing exercise that involved community members placing color coded dotes on image boards to highlight shared desires, and of course things that were less palatable, on an aesthetic level.
Next, the group reviewed the streetscape from a more user-oriented perspective, writing down items and treatments that came to mind when they envisioned interacting with the site. These notes (Post Its, actually) were grouped by common themes.
One of the overarching themes that became clear through the exercises was the desire for green, enviting space. Softscapes as opposed to hardscapes. “There is plenty of grey and industrial in Soma,” and there was a strong desire to “see Yerba Buena Garden extend west,” through the use of street trees, vegetation, and potential pocket parks. Security and maintenance, family usability, and of course dog friendliness were other themes.
Thank you to all who attended. Full notes from the evening are available here. We will be incorporating this feedback into our design, and hope to share it with the community in the not too distant future.