July art commission presentations are up. It's more substantial than has been the case in past months, with six projects under review (many from the Pittsburgh DPW):
1.
Expansion of Frick Park at the Summerset housing subdivision. The actual park design has been reviewed in the past - this is in particular reviewing a new piece of public art by local artist Tim Kaulen. It looks nice enough - shame it's somewhere that no one outside of the complex will ever see.
2.
The city is demolishing the 1963 Herron Hill recreation building and constructing a new facility at Robert E. Williams Memorial Park. For those who are unaware, this is the park in the heart of Sugar Top that surrounds the reservoir. It also includes a new basketball court and playground. The presentation is quite detailed - and long. Make sure to scroll to the bottom, because for some reason there's an initial set of crude renderings, but later on there are more detailed ones which actually show the building in proper cladding. It will be a nice community amenity for the neighborhood.
3.
Restoration of the Oliver Bath House on the South Side. I honestly do not see why this is being reviewed by the Art Commission. They identify a few locations where there is potential for public art, but there is none yet for review.
4.
A new DPW complex in Knoxville built on the site of a previous facility. This appears to be going to the Art Commission due to plans to provide a pedestrian pathway through the complex, which will allow the potential for public art on the rear of the building.
5.
Plans for further repairs to the shelter house at Olympia Park in Mt. Washington. They appear to be only asking for input regarding things like color choice at this time. The two options for new window dimensions are both big steps up from the current setup, which seems to have patched in smaller windows at some point in the interwar period(and later closed some window openings entirely in the rear of the building).
6.
A review for the replacement for the Highland Park "Super Playground." This is being termed the Super Duper Playground. It's a well-designed setup - certainly better than average for playgrounds, and pays homage to the original with the use of wood and eschewing plastic and metal. That said, something is lost in the new design. Part of the beauty of the existing design is its mazelike element - that children can actually play out of eyesight of parents entirely. The new design has several smaller play areas instead, making seem less cluttered but a little too...safe. That said, my understanding is most of playground design is driven by ADA requirements, meaning you just wouldn't get tons of stairs and the like any longer.
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