13 April 2011

LiveBlog: Jim Welsh

Jim Welsh
Thomas Balsley Associates


...We're Halfway There.  Livin' on a Prayer

Starts with a personal history inspired by The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

He encourages us to go back and check out their old award-winning projects too.  And then visit, since many of them are in New York City. 

The first project is the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa next to the Kiley Gardens.  Some elements are not for the reasons they seem, like a dog run which is about ensuring that there is a steady presence of eye on the park from sunrise on.  Custom designed site furnishings are a standard tool in their efforts to make a design experience unique.

Main Street Garden Park was one of the first new parks in downtown Dallas in several years. 

They also recently completed the Zen Garden at the Intercontinental Hotel in NYC.

Balsley partnered with Stantec to work on the Heritage Park at Yankee Stadium.  Partnerships like this are pretty important for making special projects work.

Hunter's Point South will be an extension of the Gantry Park project.

The Master Plan for Binghamton University builds on an existing campus that resembles an upsidedown brain in plan view.  Balsley offered design ideas for turning some of the underutilized spaces on campus into more student-friendly and greener spaces.

Ferry Point Park in the West Bronx is being redesigned to include a Jack Nicklaus golf course and turn a contaminated site into a meaningful green space for local residents.  Turning the waterfront into a quality space and integrating environmental features and native grasses.

And then we got into life lessons, but I'll spare Jim from having them on the Internet.

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