Ideas
Design Proposals by Kansas State University Landscape Architecture Students.
Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning
College of Architecture, Planning & Design
Kansas State University | Manhattan , Kansas
Spring 2017
LAR 442 | Site Planning and Design Studio | Alpa Nawre, Assistant Professor
Tapestry of Manhattan
Manhattan’s downtown is a rapidly growing and modernizing district. It is also the heart of the city and a historical and impactful space. Many Manhattan residents and visitors are unaware of the rich historical narrative that exists in the downtown and riverfront area, especially due to the limited emotional and physical connection with the riverfront. I see this project as an opportunity to overcome existing barriers that keep people from the riverfront while also revealing intriguing historical and environmental information. Tapestry of Manhattan will connect downtown Manhattan to its…
Manhattan Unflooded
The citizens of Manhattan, especially the ones who have lived here for many years, have seen flooding as a problem. I decided to aim my focus at highlighting the positive aspects of floods while also educating the public about this topic. Through education, people can start to see this issue that has been so negative in their lives as a positive asset. In re-mediating the negative aspects of floods, the goals will be taken and implemented in a systems-based approach. This approach will aim to preserve and strengthen ecosystems that act as natural…
Multi-functional Infrastructure
National, state, and municipal governments spend millions to billions of dollars on infrastructure. Nearly all of the infrastructure along the Manhattan riverfront is single use. The site aims to reconnect downtown Manhattan to the Kansas River while also providing: valuable public space, re-thinking ineffiecient and divisive road networks, preserving and highlighting Manhattan’s heritage and providing a number of…
Riverfront Connection
This design aims to use our city’s existing amenities and connect them together with a riverfront park. Fairmont Park, Blue Earth Plaza, and KS Hill are the existing amenities near the Kansas River. In addition to these spaces, I am proposing an urban extension of 3rd Street in the current Midwest Concrete Materials site. The riverfront park will be centrally located between these amenities and provide safe and direct pedestrian…
Community Gathering
Manhattan lacks public gathering spaces. This site gives the perfect opportunity to create a community gathering destination. This design will focus on creating a pedestrian oriented urban center in the MCM property. Additionally it will build better connections by revitalizing the green spaces in the off ramps. It will give people access to the river through a riverfront park. By focusing on the arts, history, and ecology of Manhattan, the site can enhance Manhattan’s cultural identity.…
Making Space for Diversity
This design offers a diverse range of activities that every visitor can be involved with. These activities showcase the unique personality that every human has. Activities for users include family and group picnic areas, play mounds, group seating and individual seating, as well as hammocks. Another aspect of the design is the introduction of different eco-zones to promote biodiversity on the site. Visitors are able to connect to the site by a pedestrian bridge that travels over Ft. Riley…
Wake the Wild
This design aims to raise awareness of local ecosystems by re-connecting humans to the wild. Early inspiration for this design came from the desire to preserve native wildlife and provide extreme recreational activities. This site has been designed to allow for continuous education and research, preserve native ecosystems, and surround visitors with nature. Through the raised pedestrian bridge, residents and visitors to Manhattan have the opportunity to safely travel from the Manhattan Train…
Thermal Rejuvenation
This concept acknowledges veterans’, active duty military members’, and the greater Manhattan community’s needs. This will be accomplished through a therapeutic bath center that utilizes a series of interior and exterior hot springs and other alternative forms of therapy to create a place of healing and rejuvenation. Next to the therapeutic center is the Memorial plaza and Café. Currently Manhattan hosts nineteen active military memorials honoring each of the branches of military…
Vantage Points of Water
Julie Moir Messervy observed that children experience seven diff erent vantage points throughout their development: sea, cave, harbor, promontory, island, mountain, and sky. This design focuses on applying these different vantage experiences to the site in order to highlight key issues and aspects of water. The aspects that are highlighted in this design include: water quality, erosion, flooding, and the cultural, religious and…
Place Through Play
Place Through Play aims to use play and learning as means to connect children to the Kansas River. Using different play areas that reflect natural environments along the river, children will enjoy learning about the systems in the river corridor as well as gaining a sense of place in this dynamic system. The central play area is designed with the intent of reflecting the prairie, sandbars, log jams, and tree canopies using natural materials to create a fun and exciting nature playground. The outdoor education…
Network
The idea for this network is a trail system that connects to the river and the surrounding areas. The connection of places will include Fairmont Park, Linear Trail, and the connection into downtown Manhattan. The connection across the river will be made from an ADA accessible pedestrian bridge, which is an extension of the existing passage way. The network will create a riverwalk destination, a place for people to view the river and engage in activities that occur along the trail…
People, Nature, & the River
Life is better when people get in touch with nature and the river, bringing them back to their roots. The aim of this design is to connect people to the natural environments of the Kansas River. The areas of focus are the riverfront, the mixed-use building, and the connection of the two. First, the riverfront engages people with the river, bringing them to the water’s edge. Seating, fire pits, trails, and an amphitheater are a few of the amenities proposed here. A few areas at…
Gateway to Manhattan
The Gateway proposal is driven by the opportunity to enhance the visual threshold of our community as visitors and residents travel across the Kansas River, thinking about what is going to be greeting them as they make their approach. Through the visual interest of the proposed pedestrian bridge, the entrance to Manhattan is improved. The forms incorporated throughout the design are meant to serve as an additive to the newer development of the city (Discovery Center, Blue Earth…
Riverfront as an Economic Engine
People tend to have a natural affinity to water -- thus, riverfronts can be enormous economic assets to any city with access to them. The Kansas River welcomes visitors to Manhattan at the gateway to the city and is yet to realize its potential for the economic boost for the city. This project identifies the types of development that are required for the city of Manhattan and the types that are most profitable for a riverfront: residential, commercial, industrial, and tourism-based. These have…