Project 1107 A regenerative design of the former Clark Regional Hospital
Project 1107
A regenerative design of the former Clark Regional Hospital site
A green solution “to create an iconic space that will establish a legacy of well-being in Clark County.”
Winchester, Kentucky
Regenerative design
Change can happen slowly in a small Kentucky town. When there is a significant opportunity for transformational change, that opportunity cannot be squandered. Project 1107 presented Winchester, Kentucky with the opportunity to regenerate a newly vacant hospital site into a catalytic public space with impact on health, culture, and the community’s sense of self. This project demonstrates the power of non-governmental civic leadership, intentional collaboration, and creative design to build a vision for a new public center for a community. This project hopes to be the catalyst for a regeneration of not only a vacant site, but for the surrounding neighborhoods and the town as a whole. The community of Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky, population 35,000, is acting on a unique opportunity to use communication, visioning, and landscape architecture to transform the well-being of its community. Community leaders sold the town’s 60 year-old community hospital to a private health care provider in 2010, leaving the old facility and 30 acres in the town’s core to be managed by a new foundation with a generous endowment that resulted from the sale. The Greater Clark Foundation (GCF), community participants, and the Design Team, William E. Esarey, Melody Farris Jackson, and Ned Crankshaw (DT) came together to imagine the qualities of the regenerative place. It is the goal of the Greater Clark Foundation “to create an iconic space that will establish a legacy of well-being in Clark County.”
The Public Meeting
The Design Team led a public meeting process that was extraordinarily successful. A group of 75 participants including politicians, business leaders, neighborhood associations, schools, citizens of diverse ages, incomes and ethnicities turned out for an afternoon and evening work session.
Trade Shows – Educating the Public
The DT led participants through a series of “Trade Shows” about Iconic Places, the Site Analysis, and Project for Public Spaces “The Power of 10” concept. Capitalizing on attributes of the existing site, great places around the world, and what makes a place for people, the Trade Shows educated the public prior to starting discussions.
Round Table Discussions
Small group roundtables on eight topics encouraged participants to share their passions and ideas about creating an iconic space. The eight catalytic topics probed for qualities and features that:
Support enhanced economic value
Draw people to the space
Encourage contact with nature
Reflect Winchester’s unique history and culture
Support social interaction
Promote physical and mental wellness
Bring a sense of pride to the community
Encourage cultural, educational, and recreation activities
Once the round table discussions were complete, the small groups summarized their top 10 ideas to share with the full group producing a total of 80 ideas.
Community Consensus
The full group then prioritized the 80 ideas that reflected participants’ passions about creating an iconic space. Those ideas informed the subsequent work by the GCF and DT.
Community Based Advisory Committee
An Advisory Committee, a diverse group of 17 people from the community, formed with the purpose not to design the new public space but rather to hold the DT accountable to the desires of the community.
The Power of 10
Under the leadership of the DT the Advisory Committee picked the top 10 functions out of the 80 ideas staying true to the Project for Public Spaces “Power of 10:” Many of the other ideas become details of the plan.
Water
Art
Event Space
Play Areas
Areas for Music/Weddings/Pavilion
Greenways/Trails
Meditation/Healing/Memorial Garden
I-64 Visibility/Icon
Sculptural Earthwork
Winter Skating.
Context
The DT researched the histories of the community and the old hospital. They additionally researched the regional culture, people, and why the town was founded in its present location. Potential connections to greenspace and walkable routes, along with environmental assessment of the site also informed design concept development.
Thematic Zones
The community’s agrarian beginnings formed the basis for the thematic zones of the site.
The Settlement, The front portion of the site
Upland Fields, The middle portion of the site, and
Natural Kentucky, The back portion of the site which still has native soils and remnant native vegetation.
For deeper detail, the DT also investigated patterns in and around Winchester -- aerial maps, vegetable gardens, barn quilts, stone walls, tobacco fields, and rolled hay bales in the fields. All of these attributes led to shaping the design. The story reveals a rich mosaic of small town life in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky with deep roots in history, culture, recreation, education and commerce.
Environmental Responsibility – Leading by Example
It is the intention of the Public space to be a Green example to the community and the general public that visit. The GCF intends to pursue Sustainable Site Initiative Certification.
Net Zero
The Space is intended to be Net Zero by using solar and mid-level wind generators for power.
Storm Water
Rain water will be captured for use in restrooms and water features. Expansion of an existing wetland, natural filters such as native grasses, bio-swales and rain gardens will be utilized with excess water going back into the ground rather than downstream into a flood prone neighborhood.
Planting
All Plantings will be native woodies, wildflowers, and grasses to the region. Lawns are limited to functional space.
Green Products
Recycled content materials, locally harvested, and locally manufactured materials and products will be given preference.
Local work force
It is intended that local contractors will construct the public green space proving jobs as well as civic pride.
Social and Economic Sustainability
The intent of the design effort was to give life to a concept that was developed by the community, for the community -- to provide a place where neighbors can meet. The concept provides a reason for every member of the community to visit and interact. The new greenspace uses landscape architecture to enhance community identity and civic pride. Building on a desire articulated in the public meeting, the concept revives the idea of a park as something more meaningful than a place to play sports. The greenspace offers great diversity and transition from active/architectonic design at the south to the naturalized area to the north. It is hoped the greenspace will attract tourism, companies, and jobs; create a better place to live; and encourage physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being.
Responsiveness to the Client
The project reflects the vision and desires of a large group of residents. The landscape architects can take credit for the form and organization of the plan. But the functional elements of the plan belong to the community. This isn’t a project that is the vision or desire of one person or small group of people. It is a project that reflects the vision and desires of a large group of Winchester residents. The Design for Project 1107 is 100% what the community said they wanted for 1107 Lexington Avenue.
The impacts on Winchester Clark County are numerous and significant. The original founders of Clark Regional Hospital provided the community with an asset that served the area for decades. Project 1107 will be a new asset that will provide increased property values, jobs, pride, health / wellness, and that will be a community builder for successive generations.
