Exploring Riverside Plaza

LA 201 Eric CarlosLuke Morris

Cesar DelgadoFrancisco Sanchez

Table of ContentsA Brief HistoryLuke Morris

DefineErik Carlos

ExperienceCesar Delgado

SpatializeLuke Morris

SystemizeFrancisco Sanchez

A Brief History The Riverside Plaza was constructed in the 1950’s as the first out door shopping mall of it’s kind in the Inland Empire, drawing crowds from all over Southern California. The decline of the Plaza began when larger indoor shopping malls opened in the area in the early 80’s. The larger malls offered not only more variety, but also protection from the brutal Riverside Summers. In the Early 80’s the plaza encapsulated it’s space with a roof to modernize it, but it was already too late as the Tyler Mall had expanded even more and soon the Plaza became a neglected relic and fell into disrepair.

In the early 2000’s the property was purchased with the plans of revitalizing the Plaza, removing the top and returning it to being an outdoor Plaza. In 2011 the plan came to life with reopening of the Riverside Plaza. It has made it’s way through several iterations and designs but is now once again a flourishing plaza of business and community.

Photos provided via The Press Enterprise

Define: Diagram + PlanEric Carlos

Site Plan The site plan is meant to give more context to the riverside plaza. The surroundings of the plaza are not as significant as the relationships between the current businesses and the people. The plan is meant to communicate where planting is. The plan of the riverside plaza is also meant to aid in the conclusion of population density as well as the relationship between plants and the space. The plan shows canopies of where most of the tree planting is at, thus gives us a better understanding and where there needs to be a change to the landscape or even help us understand where the most amount of people are going to gravitate towards. This plan is simply a way to aid the understanding of where the site might feel busier, or welcoming, or relaxing.

central ave.

Riverside ave

Brockton ave

Merrill ave

Scale: 1”=200’

Diagram The Riverside Plaza, has undergone major reconstruction over the years, from being an outdoor mall area to be an indoor mall and now back to outdoor mall; a true full circle. Even though things are changing what did not change much was the layout. Many of the original stores are now gone but the footprint remains, of course there has been many additions since then but none-the-less the same footprint. The exploded axonometric is meant to show how the plaza has the buildings arranged in clusters and the streets enclose or frame the space where most people will inhibit. Also, the diagram demonstrates that the majority of the establishments are located more towards the outside, also indicating a frame on the plaza. This frame helps to show the visitors of the area that everything is relatively close and accessible within walking distance. A very simple line drawing can be interpreted many ways and it all depends on perspective as well. The separation of street and building helps to identify the site and helps give a quantifiable aspect to populations. The more cluster of buildings there is the more people will tend to gravitate there.

Diagram: Breaking it down.

Retail buildings

Street Scape

Base

Experience: Composite + TopoCesar Delgado

Composite Montage The Riverside Plaza plant usage consist primarily of Pheonix dactylifera, better known as True Date Palm Tree. The palm trees are represented as the columns that support the iconic sign that reads Riverside Plaza. This is due to the important and abundance of date palms in the site that give the plaza an elegant and modern experience which was something that the plaza lacked in the early stages. It is now an ele-gant, modern, and transformed plaza and the trees support the plazas new update. The sign has an ellipse form that blends in with a section of the plan drawing of the site. The plan drawing is demonstrating the main part of the plaza that holds the location of a water fountain and also it is the street that cuts across the plaza. It is along this street that most stores are adjacent too and there has a heavy flow of traffic that gives the plaza movement. The letter “I” on the sign extends to the street Riverside Ave. Which later meets with Central Ave. And it is there where the plaza is located. It is shown through a map that illustrates the main streets that lead to the plaza and also the 91 Freeway that becomes the main route for circulation to and from the plaza. The choice of colors in the montage tells the story that although the plaza has gone though dark and demolished events, it has come a long way and now this elegance of black and white has become the innovative Riverside Plaza.

Topography Topography is an aspect very important in landscape architecture. It is what defines the project design and if it will be sit specific or not. When starting a project the topography needs to be analyzed to make sure that the topog-raphy doesn’t have history of drastic changes. The Riverside Plaza is located in an area that has a very flat topography and therefore makes the building and redesigning much smoother. The surrounding areas however do have topog-raphy change with elevation of more than 1000 feet. Such topography is shown on the section where the mountains are compared. When comparing the plaza to the parks with the mountains the distinction is very noticeable. The plaza area has always been a flat surface and therefore the site is not cite specific in context of topography because it can be placed in flat topography. Merging with the ground has a bigger scale when the topography is of many ele-vation changes and where the landscape architect has to balance a design of what is there and what can actually be done. The foundation of a landscape architecture project is the surface on the Earth were the design will be resting and making an imprint. The Riverside Plaza has made its imprint in the community and to the tangible ground.

Aerial Photo of Riverside Plaza and surrounding topography

Image Provided by The Press Enterprise

Spatialize: Figure Ground + Comparative AnalysisLuke Morris

Comparative Analysis

The Riverside Plaza has gone through many changes through the years, constantly expanding and evolving. It has also changed it’s form by adding a roof to what was a revolutionary open air mall, which was later removed. The story of the plaza is not just one of materials, but also of time. To show a snapshot of the expanding plaza I have made figure ground maps of the buildings defining the plaza through the decades. Plans and photos of this plaza before the renovation were hard to come by, though remembered fondly by many.

Riverside Plaza: Open air design circa 1960’s

Riverside Plaza: Riverside plaza with enclosed roof after redesign circa 1980’s Images sourced via The Press Enterprise

1967

1985

2017

Riverside Plaza: Riverside plaza with enclosed roof after redesign circa 1980’s

Figure Ground

Systemize: Flow + InfrastructureFrancisco Sanchez

Systematizing Site

A system, to a site, includes everything that exists surrounding the it and if it can have an impact on the site. Some examples are precipitation, wind, time, and forces of movement, including people and objects. Infrastructural systems have an impact on the forces of flow. Street layout is an example of an infrastructural system and a street layout and will impact a site. It can dictate how much people will come in contact to the site. The street layout in the Riverside Plaza provides convenience, it is located off an all-around busy freeway, bringing people from all around Southern California to this plaza. Major bus routes and bicycle lanes surround the site and they connect to nearby college campuses, which help college students and/or people without their own transportation to visit the plaza year-round. Being one of the few outdoor malls, it attracts people that love the outdoors. One flaw that I see with the plaza is it does not provide much shelter from natural sources. The trees at the plaza do not provide enough shade or protection from rain due to their size. Adding more trees and replacing the palms would help with this problem. Overall the plaza is great for the city it gives people a place to gather, socialize, shop and grab a bite to eat, and best of all enjoy the openness.

Circulation

Infrastructure

ENV Plaza: Hammock GroveEric Carlos & Cesar Delgado

Site Design

The design for the ENV plaza came about when thinking of what else was needed from the site or its surroundings. Keeping our case study site in mind we also thought of things miss-ing from the plaza. Applying that same concept of having the context of the area inform the design choice we decided that there was a place to sleep missing. Further comparing the case study site, we came upon the idea to create a grove of hammocks to help aid get better sleep.

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