Project Details
- Project Name
- Urban Watershed Framework Plan: A Reconciliation Landscape for Conway, Arkansas
- Project Types
- Planning
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood
“This is a thoughtful, sophisticated, and holistic response to a recurring problem across the country.” —
Jury statement
As millions of Americas learned during and after Hurricane Katrina, poor communities are often in positions of greater danger from water inundation and failing water infrastructure than more affluent ones. In New Orleans, as in waterfront cities nationwide, potential hazards like flooding and downstream pollution abound. But so do opportunities for greater recreational access and a healthier local ecosystem. The new “Urban Watershed Framework Plan” looks to exploit these potential upsides with a sustainable, remarkably simple scheme for the town of Conway, Ark.
Located just north of Little Rock, this so-called “City of Colleges” is home to several institutions of higher education and boasts an impressive portfolio of homegrown technology companies; with the Arkansas River to the west, and the manmade Beaverfork and Conway lakes to the south and north, the city is also effectively bound by water on three sides, and it’s growing fast. To tackle these challenging conditions, the plan from the Community Design Center at the University of Arkansas’ Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design envisions a diverse battery of interventions that can be slowly instituted over time, in line with local resources and economic imperatives.
Concentrating new development in denser pockets, the scheme envisions green zones separating residential settlements from the various bodies of water, which would act as buffers against flooding. Within the zones, and at the center of the new developments themselves, Conwayans would enjoy a network of watery communal parks—fully activated public spaces replete with biking and hiking paths, rain shelters, and amenities of all kinds. These parks would both reinforce positive connections to the city’s waterways, and help protect the community from damage in the ever-more-frequent storms that result from climate change.
Project Credits
Project: Urban Watershed Framework Plan: A Reconciliation Landscape for Conway, Ark., Conway, Ark.
Client: City of Conway, Arkansas
Architect: University of Arkansas Community Design Center, Fayetteville, Ark. . Stephen Luoni, Assoc. AIA (director); Jonathan Martinez, Assoc. AIA (project designer); Kay Curry, (landscape designer); Matthew Petty (research and development associate); Linda Komlos (administrative analyst); Jeffrey Huber, AIA, Francisco Mejias Villatoro, Allison Lee Thurmond Quinlan, AIA, Mathew Hoffman, Assoc. AIA, Cory Amos, AIA, David Jimenez, Chen Lu, Tanzil Shafique, Assoc. AIA, Jessica Hester, AIA, Jay Williams, Assoc. AIA, Robert Quinten McElvain (project team)
Consultant: University of Arkansas Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Office for Sustainability . Marty Matlock (executive director); Eric Cummings, James McCarty (program associates)
Sponsor: Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
Project Description
FROM THE AIA:
In rapidly growing Conway, Ark., the Urban Watershed Framework Plan recalibrates urban infrastructure according to ideals espoused in the concepts of ecosystem services. The plan envisions highly livable green spaces developed through low-tech but high-concept enhancements to investments already servicing Conway’s growth. Employing green infrastructure to deliver ecosystem services, the plan includes a portfolio of retrofits that complement conventional infrastructure that can be transferred to any urban watershed. As ecological problems are often social problems, property owners and low-income residents downstream often suffer the most economic damage. To combat this, the plan bolsters social equity by providing a number of suggested policy revisions and holistic solutions that benefit all interests.
2018 INSTITUTE HONOR AWARDS FOR REGIONAL AND URBAN DESIGN:
Roger Schluntz, FAIA (Chair), School of Architecture and Planning, University of Mexico; Lisa Chronister, AIA, City of Oklahoma City Planning Department; Suzanne DiGeronimo, FAIA, DiGeronimo Architects; Tim Griffin, AIA, Minnesota Design Center; and Gerry Tierney, AIA, Perkins+Will.
AIA JURY COMMENTS:
"This was head to tail very rewarding. A thoughtful, sophisticated and holistic response to a recurring problem across the country."
