In preparation for the Lakeshore State Park Visitor Center, I did some analysis of a portion of the site: a simulacrum.
The most staggering observation about the site was its relative uniformity of elevation and vegetation. The island varies by only a few feet across its surface and has only short plants – prairie grasses, flowers and plants – no trees or bushes. As we learned, the island soil is very poor and cannot support large plants, and the topographical surface of the site was made relatively flat as to not block the view to the lake from Summerfest.
There are several areas of the site which are hidden enough that you cannot see the city, or the Summerfest park beyond the grass. This is very influential because it gives the impression that there is no city, only park. This would be an aspect which could be exploited.
The site lacks facilities and a purpose. As I see it, it is simply a path along the lake – similar to the other areas by the marina. Unfortunately, it is rather isolated and is a path to travel, not to linger, nor is it a destination in itself.
The island is a man-made edifice, and as such it has undergone a few revisions. Initially the site was created with the rubble extracted from the Deep Tunnel sewer project and dumped, seemingly haphazardly, on the site. Later, using the crushed concrete from the Marquette Interchange project, the island was completed. During this time, some design changes were made including removing a portion of the land closest to Summerfest. Originally a bridge was to be built to link them, but later the bridge was constructed in a different location.
Because of the addition, and the removal, of material for the island, a remnant or mark is likely leftover under the surface of the shallow portion of the water between the island and Summerfest. As a result, the simulacrum represents the 'ghost' image of this former land, as well as the shallow portion leading up to the rainwater retention ponds on the west side of the site. Finally, the simulacrum seeks to represent the distinction between the soft surfaces of the land and the lakebed and contrast to the hard surfaces of the rock rip-rap on either side.
The three transformation strategies I will pursue include: modifying the island side to bring some of the hard surface onto the island, create landing points for the bridge, and finally create an implied extension of the island which seeks to represent the former location of the mass.
The site is so vast, that to incorporate a human scale it should be divided implicitly, topographically, or architecturally to create smaller scales.
The vastness of the site can be remedied by giving the user a destination, rather than an empty horizon. To see a destination will make the journey seem less monotonous. This can be achieved with one, or more, architectural insertions into the site.
The architectural insertion(s) should take advantage of the immediate, local scale of the building and surrounding landscape, the neighborhood scale of the park, and the wide scale of the city and/or lake beyond to give three levels of scale and distinction. This will be achieved by creating landscape distinctions, framing views, and incorporating elements from the park into the building (i.e. bring the landscape inside or on onto the building).
