The City Council recently adopted the Rockland Downtown Revitalization Plan. Rockland was also just named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Designations. Book your tickets today. This is one happening place and the Downtown Plan is filled with new strategies for redevelopment, pedestrian improvements, architecture and parks.
rockland-downtown-plan_22010.pdf
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MRLD in collaboration with TFH Architects lost the East End Beach Design Competition. The proposal, East End Shoal, is a land form rising from Casco Bay, seamlessly blending with the the Eastern Promenade designed by Olmsted. The programmatic elements are placed beneath the landform. We are consoled by the fact that it was the best and most expensive design submitted.
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The Westbrook City Council unanimously adopted MRLD’s Downtown Plan on November 2. The Plan was developed using context sensitive solution transportation and green urbanism strategies leading to designs for “complete” and “green” street systems, the identification of redevelopment parcels and buildings and recommendations for encouraging contemporary architecture and technologies within a historic district.
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Mitchell Rasor, MRLD Principal, spoke at the Urban Forestry conference on the form and function of constructed landscapes in shaping the design of cities.
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Three views of the Congress Street and Franklin Street intersection showing different street types, infill opportunities and Lincoln Park configurations:
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Mitchell Rasor, MRLD Principal, will be the keynote speaker at the Community Forest Workshop on October 16 in Bangor, ME and and October 23 in Bath, ME. The events are sponsored by the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions, the Maine Forest Service and the Community Forest Collaborative (part of the Trust for Public Lands). Mitchell is the author of the article “Civic Nature: Town Forests and the Origins of Public Land in Maine”. The article describes how community forests should be viewed as a part of a town’s formative/process infrastructure system - much like what is referred to as landscape urbanism today - as well as providing an overview of the changing roles of community forests since their inception.
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An international consortium of scientists, designers, politicians and bloggers recently crossed the aisle to save a tree along the Farmington Canal Greenway abutting Highwood Square designed by MRLD, Ben Ledbetter Architect and Graftworks Architects. Robert Stern, Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, played a pivotal role in organizing the efforts to save the tree by holding a cocktail party / fundraiser at his New Haven loft.
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More editorial coverage on the Franklin Street redesign process.
franklin-arterials-future-looks-better-than-its-past.pdf
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Working in collaboration with the Franklin Street Study Committee and Smart Mobility, MRLD developed animations of the proposed Urban Street, Urban Parkway and Multi-Way Boulevard concepts. The three concepts show different road alignments, street typologies, infill redevelopment opportunities, open space options and the potential for reconnecting cross-streets that were severed when Franklin Arterial was constructed. The images and animations MRLD produced to illustrate the concepts are based on hundreds of cross-sections of the existing topography and the alignment of Franklin Arterial as it transects the City from north to south. Each proposed scheme can stand on its own, but the various components can be combined to create different scenarios.
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MRLD codified new development standards for Gardiner and Topsham, Maine encouraging creativity in design when environmental impacts are taken into consideration. In Gardiner, as part of implementing the “creative” Cobbossee Corridor, development of new buildings or redevelopment of existing mill buildings now allow and encourage white roofs to reflect heat. In Topsham, buildings are typically required to have pitched roofs meeting the “New England” design style and stormwater impacts must meet pre and post development standards for quantity and quality. This often requires detention basins reducing the density of site development. The new code allows for flat green roof systems to be utilized for stormwater management as well as reducing the heat island effect and creating more flexibility for site development. Topsham is the first community in Maine to adopt this standard.
by-degrees-white-roofs-catch-on-as-energy-cost-cutters.pdf
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MRLD’s work redesigning Franklin Arterial also creates new opportunities for Lincoln Park.
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MaineBiz sees the work of MRLD in Standish as an exemplary process in the revitalization of Maine communities looking ahead to the year 2024…..
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MRLD prepared a 90-acre master plan for the mixed-use redevelopment of an industrial site in the Portland / Westbrook Gateway Zone. MRLD designed all aspects of the Master Plan including buildings, streetscapes, open spaces and transit connections. As part of the master plan, MRLD also analyzed Main Street Gateway for potential job creation and tax benefits to the city. The project balances the needs of pedestrians and vehicles with well-defined street networks and a series of open spaces. Views of signature buildings and the reclaimed quarry lake are established through street alignments and strategically located parks. Parking is incorporated into mixed-use structures, on-street parking and surface lots placed behind buildings. Existing and proposed transit stops are integrated into the development. Proposed buildings address existing perimeter streets, further integrating Main Street Gateway with the site context
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MRLD in collaboration with Caleb Johnson Architects designed the entrance plaza for a new mixed-use project (housing, restaurant, bar) at the intersection of Congress and Washington Streets in Portland, ME. The plaza is a prominent location at the base of Munjoy Hill, adding to the dynamic and evolving character of the neighborhood.
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Highwood Square designed by Graftworks of New York, Ben Ledbetter of New Haven and MRLD has broken ground. Highwood Square is an 27-unit affordable artist housing community with residential, studio and commercial space devoted to the performing, visual and musical arts. The 2-acre project includes open spaces and performance areas designed by MRLD.
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