Talk and Tour - Public Realm Design Essentials: Program, Process, Price

In an effort to help city leaders deliver on the promise of well-designed, well-funded, and beloved public parks and plazas, this presentation will address what the true necessities are to building public space in the 21st century context, and how design professionals can best assist in understanding the value of public space. The presenters will focus on three aspects of public realm place-making that – beyond the conventional considerations of analysis, design, consultation, and construction – are fundamental to successful public realm initiatives. They will argue the need for greater investment and more honest consideration of these three vital needs in the design of the contemporary public realm. Program: Active and passive programming that address community wants and needs, and contribute a vitality and affection for the public realm, Process: An inclusive process of stakeholder collaboration, collaborative establishment of project goals, and long term stewardship that are critical to great public spaces. Price: A more considered and critical evaluation of costs and benefits of public realm projects. Presenters Kelty Miyoshi McKinnon BCSLA, CSLA, MLA, is a Partner and Landscape Architect at PFS Studio. Kelty specializes in public realm projects that are unique, innovative, and culturally and ecologically rich. She has worked both locally and internationally on projects ranging in scale and type from courtyards and gardens to regional parks and public realm masterplans for new communities. She writes on diverse topics associated with landscape from historic conservation to hefted sheep and rhizomatic rooting structures. Joseph Frye BCSLA CSLA ASLA, is principal and owner of Hapa Collaborative. He brings two decades of landscape knowledge, conceptual thinking, and detailed design experience to each project. His past work spans the full breadth of scales from master plans to pocket parks, civic spaces to private residences, and streetscapes to roof gardens. He specializes in interstitial urban spaces, detailed design elements and public consultation, all within the full consideration of the built urban environment. Derek Lee BCSLA, CSLA, LEED A.P., is a Landscape Architect and principal at PWL Partnership with over twenty years of experience in urban design and landscape architecture. A native Vancouverite, Derek’s work is committed to ecologically and socially restorative urbanism that finds meaning in the culture and context of place. Internationally acclaimed projects include the planning and design Southeast False Creek, the revitalization of Granville Street and Westminster Pier Park.