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TRANSCRIPT
NAUCKtown square
TWO SCENARIOS
NAUCK TOWN SQUARE
Nauck, Green Valley, Town Square, Freed
“[The Town Square should be] a place to communicate and get to know each other better – not just for the black people of the community, but other groups also. Because we live next to people and don’t even know their names… So we can all learn to enjoy each other.” – Rev. Oscar Green, Nauck Community Heritage Project, 2012
INTRODUCTION
Located between the Nauck and Arlington tributaries leading to Four‐mile Run, green hillsides with sinuous woodlands are still perceptible among the streets and homes of “Green Valley” (Nauck). The neighborhood’s location and its lush setting are attractive to new residents, leading to an increase in property value and changing density and demographics, as in other parts of Arlington County. The project’s challenge is to envision and design a place that honors the community’s rich history; by validating the patterns and practices of current residents through the design, spaces and places for new community members also emerge.
Nauck Town Square is “Green Valley’s” crossroads! A neighborhood with a rich African American history and heritage that validates the presence of freed blacks who occupied this landscape prior to Emancipation. Men and women of Nauck can trace their heritage back two decades before the Emancipation Proclamation to a parcel just south of the square owned by two African Americans, the post‐Civil War Freedman’s Village (now part of Arlington Cemetery) and to the post‐WWII Dunbar homes.
The Town Square is at the intersection of S. Kenmore Street and Shirlington Rd. between 24th Street South and 24th Road South. Two major institutions, the AME Lomax Church, which traces its origins to the Freedman’s village, and Drew Model Elementary School buttress the town square. Other community assets cluster around the square – the MLK center, the historic Green Valley pharmacy, and local non‐profits.
MASTERPLAN
Drew Elementary School’s hillside at the edge of athletic field and continuous tree canopies foreground the wooded hills far beyond, bringing the flora and fauna down to the town square. Steeped in the history of this community, the square does not belong to Nauck. Rather, it belongs to the “Green Valley”.
Two site scenarios propose a powerful ground plane upon the new square that riff on the formal circulation plans of town squares. They both reinforce the “crossroad” context, juxtaposing two geometries from the city grid onto the site. Both plans consider Green Valley as part of the square’s context and propose future elements and connections to the greater neighborhood.
The following are features of both scenarios :
seating terraces built into the hillside at Drew Elementary that would allow individuals to view the valley.
a trail/walk between Drew Model School and the AME Church through the square. an open lawn area free of permanent elements for weekend picnics or festival tents. trees planted as individual specimens or in bosques/ alleés to create landscape rooms that range
from spacious to intimate. “rain gardens”; diverse planting areas for storm water infiltration and/or retention. Historic Markers derived from the existing display (Faith, Business, Education, Recreation and History)
along new trail and walk.
FREED t rans i t ive verb a : t o c a u s e t o be f r e e b : t o r e l i e v e o r r i d o f wha t r e s t r a i n s , c o n f i n e s , r e s t r i c t s , o r emba r r a s s e s
pre‐amble
A century and a half after the end of the war of emancipation war, and sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, it is time to speak frankly and openly about slavery and its lasting impact. Africans did not come to this country seeking a better life nor did not come of their own volition. And, even when emancipated, they carried (and their descendants carry) the burden of another human having made the decision to liberate them. It is imperative that we start a conversation about the word, freed.
Freed men and women in the US wore badges to identify and authenticate their freedom. Freed men and women lived in settlements designated as freedman villages. Freed men and women have to continually remind a nation that they are free…and that they have rights like other Americans.
Freed men and women in this country do not have monuments and commemorative spaces to reflect and validate their struggle. They do not have sculptures, images or things that create a vocabulary and nomenclature to characterize, articulate, or substantiate the pain and experiences wrought from three hundred years of bondage.
Because of this, there is no opportunity for a sublime and inspiring moment of comprehension of the heroism of people of all races who fought, fight, and will fight for equality. A fear of confronting the past prevents us from moving ever forward.
Today’s struggles occupy the public realm like those before. Now, rather than occupying space in a temporal and fleeting manner, we declare a place of permanence. Here, on the streets, sidewalks, and town squares, issues of racism are most legible and unrestrained. And it is here, on the streets, sidewalks, and town squares, that they must be discussed most openly. Art has the potential to stimulate this conversation, which is so necessary to moving our culture forward. And those of us lucky enough to have a voice must use it to help move ever closer to a society of free and freed people who have a shared background and past that is laden with a heavy burden that can only be eased through reconciliation and acknowledgment.
description
The word “FREED” is profound because of its simultaneous simplicity and complexity. It speaks to both a historic condition and a contemporary one wherein people are not equal. While rooted in race relations, the struggle this word represents is so universal that any individual can relate – one can be freed from bondage, servitude, employment, or a relationship. Freed is a gateway to comprehending what a privilege it is to be free.
The FREED sculpture is constructed of individual stamped bronze metal diamonds and square (4”X4”) plates. “Nauck‐ Green Valley” is engraved on each plate. The names of individuals who have been associated with Nauck and Green Valley in history will be engraved on plates along the lower portion of the sculpture. These names will be collected from archival and community research. Residents today can have their names placed alongside their ancestors and fellow residents.
The Allée Scenario features Freed as a visible and legible word visible at the top of the hill to those who enter the town square from the south. The Bosque Scenario features Freed rotated on its side as a tower.
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - MASTER PLAN
LEGEND
A TRAILB SEATING TERRACEC TOWN SQUARE
A
C
B
A
A
25’ 75’ 175’
GREEN VALLEY PHARMACY
LOMAX AME ZION CHURCH
DREW ELEMENTARYSCHOOL
THE SHELTON
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREBOSQUE - MASTER PLAN
LEGEND
A TRAILB TERRACE SEATINGC TOWN SQUARE
A
C
BA
A
25’ 75’ 175’
GREEN VALLEY PHARMACY
LOMAX AME ZION CHURCH
DREW ELEMENTARYSCHOOL
THE SHELTON
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - TOWN SQUARE
LEGEND
A ALLÈEB BENCH C CUSTOM CURVED BENCHD SCULPTUREE RETENTION F LAWNG CONCRETEH ASPHALT PAVERSI ASPHALTJ LIGHTS
A
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
IJ
10’ 30’ 70’
NAUCK TOWN SQUARE
AB
C
D
E
J
F
G
H
I
LEGEND
A BOSQUEB GAME TABLESC SCULPTURED SWALEE LAWNF CONCRETEG ASPHALT PAVERSH BENCHI LIGHTJ CORE GRAVEL PAVERS
10’ 30’ 70’
BOSQUE - TOWN SQUARE
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - PATHS AND PAVING
CONCRETE
ASPHALT PAVERS
ASPHALT
LEGEND
50’
10’
10’5’
5’
11’
6’
6’
10’ 30’ 70’
GAME TABLES
CUSTOM CURVED BENCH
BENCH
NAUCK TOWN SQUARE
13’
45’
13’
13’
8’
CONCRETE
ASPHALT PAVERS
CORE GRAVEL
BOSQUE - PATHS, PAVING, SEATING
10’ 30’ 70’
LEGEND
GAME TABLE
BENCH
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - TREES
ALLÈE
STREET TREES
EXISTING TREES
10’ 30’ 70’
LEGEND
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREBOSQUE - TREES
BOSQUE TREES
STREET TREES
EXISTING TREES
10’ 30’ 70’
LEGEND
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - RAIN GARDEN
STORMWATERRETENTION
LEGEND
10’ 30’ 70’
LAWN
TENT
LIGHTS
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREBOSQUE - RAIN GARDEN & LANDFORM
STORMWATERSWALE
LANDFORM
LEGEND
10’ 30’ 70’
LAWN
TENT
LIGHTS
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREALLÈE - SCULPTURE
Vertical Sculpture 15’ x 50’ x 5’
10’ 30’ 70’
NAUCK TOWN SQUAREBOSQUE - SCULPTURE
Horizontal Sculpture 50’ x 15’ x 5’
10’ 30’ 70’