Grand Rapids Riverfront — Stoss
A landscape precedent for activating an urban riverfront through expansive timber boardwalks, terraced aggregate beaches, and integration with whitewater recreation.
- What we like about this project
- A stepped aggregate beach pocket directly abutting the timber deck allows users to get right to the water's edge.
Materials
- timber
- concrete
- stone
- gravel
Visual identifiers
- timber-boardwalk
- riverfront-promenade
- whitewater-rapids
- concrete-pavilion
- aggregate-beach
Style tags
- contemporary
- landscape-urbanism
- contextual
Visual tags
- waterfront
- public-realm
- landscape-urbanism
- boardwalk
- recreational
- active-edge
- Geometry
- Wide linear timber boardwalk running parallel to a rushing river, stepped down to an aggregate beach area with a monolithic concrete structure in the midground.
- Structural guess
- Timber deck on substructure framing with poured-in-place concrete pavilion walls.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale public park and riverfront promenade scaled for crowds, pedestrians, and kayakers.
- Lighting
- Bright daylight with dappled tree canopy shadows cast across the boardwalk and foreground lawn.
- Atmosphere
- Vibrant, active, and sunlit public space blending recreation with natural waterfront elements.
- Environmental context
- Urban riverfront park with dense mature trees, manicured lawns, riprap river edges, and distant bridges.
- Spatial experience
- A dynamic public waterfront experience moving from shaded grassy banks onto an expansive active boardwalk overlooking whitewater rapids.
- Composition rhythm
- Strong diagonal perspective lines created by the timber planking and tree trunks drawing the eye toward the river bend.
- Style reading
- Contemporary ecological urbanism
- Program
- Public waterfront park and whitewater recreation center
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- landscape
- Materials
- timber, concrete, stone, gravel
- Visual identifiers
- timber-boardwalk, riverfront-promenade, whitewater-rapids, concrete-pavilion, aggregate-beach
- Style tags
- contemporary, landscape-urbanism, contextual
- Visual tags
- waterfront, public-realm, landscape-urbanism, boardwalk, recreational, active-edge
- Geometry
- Wide linear timber boardwalk running parallel to a rushing river, stepped down to an aggregate beach area with a monolithic concrete structure in the midground.
- Structural guess
- Timber deck on substructure framing with poured-in-place concrete pavilion walls.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale public park and riverfront promenade scaled for crowds, pedestrians, and kayakers.
- Lighting
- Bright daylight with dappled tree canopy shadows cast across the boardwalk and foreground lawn.
- Atmosphere
- Vibrant, active, and sunlit public space blending recreation with natural waterfront elements.
- Environmental context
- Urban riverfront park with dense mature trees, manicured lawns, riprap river edges, and distant bridges.
- Spatial experience
- A dynamic public waterfront experience moving from shaded grassy banks onto an expansive active boardwalk overlooking whitewater rapids.
- Composition rhythm
- Strong diagonal perspective lines created by the timber planking and tree trunks drawing the eye toward the river bend.
- Style reading
- Contemporary ecological urbanism
- Program
- Public waterfront park and whitewater recreation center
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- landscape