NTT Shinjuku Headquarters Building

1995 - TOYKO, JAPAN

NTT SHINJUKU HEADQUARTERS BUILDING

TOYKO, JAPAN

CLIENT Nippon Telephone, Telegraph Headquarters / STATUS Completed 1995 / SIZE 78,899 SF / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

This design of this project is all about the relationship between nature and artifice. This is sought through the use of different materials. The plaza, bisected by a fence, is completely public except for a few occasional private fairs hosted on a monthly basis when the fence is closed off. The fence dividing the plaza begins as a wooden structure; gradually stainless steel members are added, mingling with the wood, increasing in number until the fence is entirely of stainless steel, moving from natural to more artificial materials.

The fountain rill, powered by a windmill, moves water over a patterned bed of concrete on one side to stainless steel on the other based on hydrological patterns from riverbeds. Two bridges are added to the design, one of steel, and one of wood. Stone-tile paths with planted and gravel surfaces let the rain seep in to ground water or to collection points for cleaning and reuse.

Farmington Canal Greenway

2011 - NEW HAVEN, CT, USA

Farmington Canal Greenway Master Plan and Yale Section 

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA

CLIENT Yale University Office of Facilities / SIZE 2.1 miles / STATUS Master Plan Completed 1995 / Engineering School Section Completed 2011 / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates / Pelli Clark Pelli

The Farmington Canal, a 2-mile-long section of railroad in eastern Connecticut, has been abandoned since 1982. A canal that ran three miles through the city of New Haven and six miles through Hamden, a New Haven suburb, preceded the railroad. The masterplan for the Farmington canal reuse was initiated as part of the federal Rails-to-Trails rehabilitation program. Developed by Balmori Associates it sought, through substantial research, to reactivate the canal and transform it into a recreational corridor that connects disparate parts of the city with its center. By modest moves, the canal corridor can eventually affect projects that occur along it, becoming a spine on which to hang other built development. 

The two mile long Yale owned section sits by the new Engineering Research Building of Yale University, located at the corner of Prospect Street and Trumbull Street. Working together with its design architects, civil and environmental engineers, Balmori Associates explored numerous sustainable design ideas. The porous paving used as part of a larger storm water management strategy reduces runoff's volume and velocity.

The section of abandoned railway is envisioned not simply as a trail but a new prototype of public open space, a linear park made up of discrete green segments that respond individually to their respective urban or suburban contexts.

Loring Park

1995 - Minneapolis, MN, USA

Loring Park

Minneapolis, MN, USA

CLIENT Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board / SIZE 25 acres / STATUS Completed 1995 / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates, Brauer & Associates

In 2005, analysis of this centrally located historic park designed in 1896 by Horace Cleveland revealed that the urban and infrastructure growth of the past century had damaged its historic fabric. The changing character of the park's context required a new type of urban design.

By connecting the park back to the city, the subsequent redesign funded by the Minneapolis Parks Department became a catalyst for redevelopment of downtown businesses, residential areas, and civic institutions.

Athletic and recreational facilities added to the park over the years are now incorporated as treed areas. Pathways open the edges with new entrances reaching across the highway to a pedestrian bridge designed by Siah Armajani. The park's historical character is carefully restored while new modern amenities, such as a theatre performance area and a redesigned horseshoe court are inserted and treated as gardens. The park is re-centered on a Garden for Four Seasons on the site where the park's large greenhouses once sat, serving as the park's axis.

A major highway built along the edge of the park presented a challenge during design because of the noise it created. We proposed treatment of this section of highway with a material used for paving airport landing strips, which diminishes the level of noise by a significant percentage. In addition, the construction of an earthen berm significantly reduced highway noise.