Proposals for Parks

North Town Center

Prepared for
The Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force

By:

Guy L. Rando
Urban Designer
Landscape Architect
&
Kathy Kaplan

With
Residence, Urban Design and Livability Work Group
Reston 2020 Committee
Reston Citizens Association

June 2, 2010

Residence, Urban Design and Livability Work Group

Dick Rogers, Co-Chair
Kathy Kaplan, Co-Chair
Guy Rando, Author
Jennifer Byl
John Carter
Mike Corrigan
Fred Costello
Paul Darmory
Bill Dingell
Dave Edwards
Joe Leighton
Terry Maynard
Stephanie Mirabello
Bryan Moll
Richard Newlon
Bill Penniman
Tammi Petrine
Terri Phillips
Holli Ploog
Wendye Quaye
Rob Whitfield
 North Town Center Proposals
Plan A and Plan B

Guy L. Rando
Urban Designer
Landscape Architect

Proposed is a walkable galleria/atrium of varying heights and widths along the

north-south axis of Town Center. The galleria will provide a climate-controlled
space. It will be composed of residential units, hotels, offices, and retail.
Residential units at the upper levels will have open balconies overlooking the
galleria below.

The distance between Baron Cameron and Reston Parkway Station is about a
mile. People will not walk that distance unprotected from the elements. An
enclosed galleria will promote pedestrian connectivity between North Town Center
and the station. People will come to the galleria for exercise and to walk the safe
and clean mile-long space back and forth all year, 24 hours a day.

The new residents of Town Center will need open space and parkland. Both
Rando Plans A and B provide open space and parkland and increased property
values for the community.

The following are a few examples: the gallerias in Milan and Naples, Prudential
Center in Boston (Boston Properties), and the public atrium at James R.
Thompson Government Center in Chicago, and the atrium at the Bank of China in
Beijing with a stone water garden designed by I. M. Pei. Please see photographs
below.

In Town Center new school buildings will be attached to the gallerias/atriums and
the adjacent parks will provide outdoor recreation for the students.

Fountain Drive is too wide for successful synergy for a retail street and increasing
the traffic along Fountain Drive will further defeat a retail purpose, therefore
Fountain Drive should be narrowed.

2
Cascades Park (Plan A)

Cascades Park will be composed of an expanded Reston Town Green and an

additional parcel of equivalent size west of Library Street stretching to Town
Center Parkway.

A watercourse will “cascade” downhill utilizing the existing topography with

waterfalls over rocks down through the park providing peaceful sitting areas
among the rocks for people to enjoy the sight and sounds of the water.

Existing tree cover will be preserved where appropriate to the overall design.

A wheelchair-accessible, winding walkway will cross the watercourse in several

locations. Benches and other urban park features such as picnic, game tables,
and play areas will add texture to the park.

The park will host Shakespeare-in-the-park and music concerts with an outdoor
amphitheater. The park will have multiple small specialized gardens dedicated to
horticulture, butterfly gardens, and a bird sanctuary.

At the northeast Fountain Street corner a restaurant will be located to provide

south and west-facing terraces (“Sunset Deck”) with views over the park.

A climate-controlled galleria from Baron Cameron to Market Street and then on to

Metro will be connected to civic uses, commercial, parks, and residences.

Cascades Park will draw people from all over Reston and beyond and those
visitors will then be able to visit local restaurants and retail stores in Town Center
and the galleria.

Please see Rando Plan A, Cascades Park, and the Diagrammatic Section of Plan
A.

3
Lake Inova (Plan B)
The value of the property between Fountain Drive and Town Center Parkway will
be greatly increased by a lake, by a park, and by an integrated, mixed-use
community. Lake front properties are worth twice the value of those which are not
on a lake. The two current property owners could engage in a PPEA agreement
to redevelop this section of Town Center. Both Inova and Fairfax County will reap
great financial benefits, but it is the community itself that will reap the greatest
benefit with the creation of an elegant world-class development in the center of
town.

Lake Inova will be surrounded by a public walkway and parkland open to the
public. High-rise, mixed-use buildings housing condos, restaurants, hotels and
retail will circumvent the lake. The space will include facilities for an elementary
school with the park to be used for outdoor exercise.

The cascading waterfall feature can be inserted between the high-rise buildings
along Fountain Drive, wind down through the park, and empty into Lake Inova.

Ground-level restaurants with outside seating areas and ground-level offices will
be located inside the ring of high-rises.

The architect for the Lake Inova plan must be chosen by international competition
to assure the highest level of design standards.

Please see Rando Plan B, Lake Inova, and the Diagrammatic Section of Plan B.

4
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan, Italy

Galleria Umberto, Naples, Italy

5
Galeria Royales St. Hubert, Brussels, Belgium

6
Bank of China, Beijing. I.M. Pei

Bank of China, Beijing. I.M. Pei