The CityDeck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, is a new connective infrastructure along the city’s downtown riverfront. It was designed as a series of folding wood planes that establish large-scale connections between the river and a newly renovated city fabric. The folded surfaces were rendered as benches, chaise lounges, and sunbathing platforms at the scale of the human body; and as collective gathering spaces, river overlooks, ramps and steps along and over the river.
Phase 1 of the project, which includes major portions of the upland as well as one over-river structure, opened to the public in 2009/2010 and has become a new center of civic activity, with a full schedule of dining and arts events, performances, and parades—as well as new restaurants, the Children’s Museum, and both living and work spaces.
Phase 2 of the project opens in the Fall of 2012, essentially completing the project and establishing the full-on connections down to the river as originally designed. Two new over-water structures perform as informal river amphitheater (with floating stage) and as casual “beach” for hanging out. They also negotiate significant grade changes, folding over existing bulkhead walls and stepping or sloping down to the river’s surface. In addition, a series of linear floating docks allows for temporary recreational boat access to downtown and forms a floating pathway all along the city’s edge. With these additions, the full impact of the project’s folding wood surfaces can be felt, establishing undulating and diverse connections between water and city, and flexibly accommodating people and activities across its charged surfaces.
IMAGE CREDIT | Mike Roemer
Diagrams and Text | Stoss
RELATED PROJECT
CityDeck Phase 1 | Green Bay USA | Stoss
