Anam, New City, Nigeria: Greenway and Parks Concept Reflection

The Anam, New City, project has been an interesting one for me in that we are developing a concept from a concept. As such, the process has been quite evolutionary, and in truth, still is as each iteration and rendition reveals more and more possibilities. The concept presented here is based on the proposed Greenway and Park Corridor that will run east-west across the southern half of the proposed city site. The design concept itself celebrates the river and the water that runs in it, its importance to the city, the value and potential of Bamboo as an integral part of the environment and culture, and the concept of time from the youth of a young stream to the delta of a mature river.
The concept itself began with the idea of a river and an evaluation of the greenway site. In addition to traditional site analyses that look at climate, vegetation, geographical location, etc., an evaluation of the AutoCAD design plans revealed a series of “Block Types and Linkages”, and these were particularly scrutinized along the greenway corridor to determine how they might be reshaped so that they could best accommodate the flowing concept of a river. Proposed “use” of the surrounding area (i.e., proposed zoning for residential, commercial, etc. in the developed areas to the north and south of the Greenway) was also investigated and diagrams like the one shown below indicate commercial and business use will be the primary role of the central corridor, and that residential housing will be primarily located in the east and west outside corridors. Views along the road and laneways were also considered along with the proposed terrain slope, and how this section of the greenway and the parks would fit into the entire greenway itself.

After a number of iterations (see Concept 1, Concept 2, Concept 3, and Concept 4 here) the final concept incorporated ideas that involved the sequestering of space in each development corridor for the creation of parks, a market place, the drawing of the greenway into the built environment space, and to enhance the concept of a meandering river. Ponds will also be added to both east and west ends of this Greenway section to act as both visual endpoints, and as turning points for individuals moving along the greenway. The initial design proposal investigated the idea of having a water-course that flowed from one side of the site to the other. This appeared to be very difficult to implement without creating some considerable engineering and technological dependencies. As such, the concept was revised to have the water flow naturally from the center of the site to both east and west sides separately, while still maintaining the concept of the river by having each side of the water-course joined in the center. Subsequent iterations of the design and concept introduced the Marketplace to the central corridor park space, with a young children’s playground located in the eastern corridor park, and an older children’s playground located in the western corridor park. The success of the central market place could also be enhanced by closing down the cross street that the greenway runs along during the lunch time period (i.e., 11am until 2pm) so that the road itself can become a pedestrian mall.
The final rendering to date is shown here although I already have second thoughts about the seating wall along the road. I initially thought this would make a nice “low divide” for the playgrounds from the road but in hindsight, they appear to be more of wall and obstruction to the flow of movement through the edge. In this case, I have reverted back to a previous iteration and used half seating facing inward to the park so that there is space for movement between the trees (This can be seen in the most recent AutoCAD version of the design here). Some final thoughts include the use of a cobbled paving in the street sections in the greenway to provide drivers with feedback regarding their approach to the park area. Bamboo will be the primary building material for all the structures in the park and will also be used to help slow and clean the water around the park and market islands. A permeable gravel/river stone will be used for the pathways through the park and market areas and large flat stones will be used for pedestrian crossings, and as a mechanism for slowing the flow of water.

Play ground equipment for the young child playground in the east corridor will be developmentally appropriate in terms of size, and will focus on gross motor and perceptual skill attributes like balance, agility and spatial awareness. Equipment here will include spaces devoted to mazes and concealment, tunnels, and balance beams.

The west corridor park playground will also be developmentally appropriate in terms of sizing, and will focus on physical attributes like strength, balance and coordination. This playground will utilize a series of tree house like structures and include rope ladders, staircases, slides, and other assorted climbing apparatus.

Pete Ellery, Ball State University