Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ter plan that included public spaces and architecture that were based on tra-
ditional architectural styles and urban forms of Puerto Rico. The public
spaces were not greens or parks, but paved plazas.The architecture was not
bungalow-style, as in much of Florida, but buildings with courtyards.
Although Valle and his partners undertook the Wynwood master plan as
a pro bono project to create a model for the kind of cultural urbanism they
advocate, their plan captured the interest of two companies with roots in
Puerto Rico: the Bacardi Corporation and Goya Foods. Bacardi and Goya
offered to finance construction of the public spaces.
The Wynwood master plan does not call for the existing neighborhood
to be razed and reconstructed; rather, like much of New Urbanism, it relies
on “infill” (construction on existing empty parcels) to transform the area.
The addition of new buildings influenced by Puerto Rican architectural
forms would gradually give Wynwood a cultural identity distinct from the
neighborhoods around it.
Other examples of CVV's cultural urbanism are Bahama Village in Key
West and the neighborhood of Overtown in Miami. Bahama Village is a
community whose population is largely from the Bahamas. CVV brought
in consultants from the islands to create a plan for development and infill
that would celebrate their culture. To define the edges of the community,
CVV introduced a color palette typical of the Bahamas and encouraged res-
idents to use it in painting their homes and shops.They also created a small
workshop where people could learn traditional island crafts, such as carv-
ing, that they could sell from their doorsteps. Similarly, in Overtown, an
African-American community, CVV drew on African architectural styles
and design forms to give the neighborhood a distinct cultural identity.
Valle and his partners draw on extensive experience and research in find-
ing solutions to the challenge of urban design.“You may see us with a hun-
dred topics opened up,” Valle explains, “because we're exploring and
looking at things that we saw at one point or experienced. Or we're look-
ing at photographs for details that really touch us, that we think would
really make a difference. Most of our design comes from either travel or
topics or even reading. . . .We draw from history consistently in everything
we do.”
Other important aspects of the work are understanding the technical and
legal language of zoning laws, knowing how to deal with numbers, and
being able to negotiate with clients and government agencies. Clients are
drawn to Valle because of his ability to work outside prevailing trends.Valle
