New Pedestrian Plaza A Welcome to Burlington

By Cybèle Elaine Werts  
CybeleW@aol.com

Originally published in the Champlain Business Journal, Burlington VT

Motorists driving north on Shelburne Road toward Burlington can take a break before entering the city at a new pedestrian plaza located at the corner of Home Avenue and Shelburne Road at the Price Chopper shopping center. More than just a gateway to the city, this park offers a comfortable respite for walkers as well as a new bus shelter. The owner is Pomerleau Real Estate, and the architect is Anderson Schenker, both of Burlington. Ground was broken in mid-May for this approximately 1000 square foot park. It is part of a renovation of the entire shopping center, where Price Chopper is moving to a larger space at the other end of the plaza. The bus stop is also integrated into the site, which includes a steel and glass canopy.

The project is the result of a design competition initiated in the summer of 1998, when twenty designs competed for the new park design and sculpture. While some designs were entered by teams of architects and sculptors, this winning design was put together by architects Anderson Schenker and sculptor Leslie Fry who developed designs independently, but came to work together after winning the competition. Of the three finalists, the winners were notified in November by a committee of fifteen, including members of the community, City Arts board members, architects, landscape architects, and Pomerleau Real Estate.

Total cost for the project is estimated at $50,000 with completion expected in early July. The sculptures by Leslie Fay include a ring of nine, ten-foot tall columns topped with larger realistic sphinx’s, as well as smaller sphinx’s posted along a twenty-inch high concrete circular sitting wall. "The idea was to create a walled garden for people to sit in," says Steven Schenker. "It’s also the gateway to the city, so it acts as a welcome." Schenker adds that the sphinx was chosen because it is a traditional protective symbol going back to ancient times, and Fry notes that much of the design was inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Fry is currently at work creating the sculptures in clay, which will be molded in cement for the park by Griswold Concrete. "We especially appreciate the dedication of the people at Griswold because they’re doing the work at near cost, as part of their commitment to the City Arts program," says Fry. Concrete is a relatively inexpensive way to create permanent sculptures compared to bronze which is quite expensive. Estimates for the sculptures run about $10,000 which makes for a fairly low cost, considering that there will be some ten sculptures total.

Unlike many architectural firms, Anderson Schenker tries to incorporate all their architectural designs directly with landscape designs to achieve harmony in design. Other local designs include the Wing building on the waterfront just below Union Station, and the Rubenstein Ecosystem Lab for UVM which will be at the foot of college street and is currently under construction. They are also involved in the early stages of a conference center to be built in Shelburne.

Copyright 2000