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Texas Tech students present final project for Sweetwater |
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Written by Amanda Moreno
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Wednesday, 06 May 2009 |
Texas Tech Architecture Students came back to Sweetwater and made their final presentation at Java Jax, on Monday, May 4.
The title of the presentation was Sweetwater, Texas: Sustainable Model for Small Town Growth.
The presentation was divided into two parts, one was development of the downtown area of Sweetwater and the other was further development along the I-20 intersection.
The students wanted to incorporate the existing parts of Sweetwater and connect them through a parks system.
According to the presentation, they are trying to bring the density factor in and bring people closer together. They would be promoting a pedestrian environment and creating a sense of place and community. Some of their ideas included townhomes, retail centers, studio lofts and a series of garages including housing for businesses.
Part of the parks system would be the living park, which would include community gardens and places for special events to be held. The learning park would be incorporated around the schools and provide extra ways of learning. Play parks would include skate parks, basketball courts, etc. — places to get out and take part in. The last phase would be the work park.
As for the I-20 intersection expansion, it would also include building on the density factor in the community living. They also talked about a trolley system connecting different areas of the community.
Their plan was based on an outlet mall being brought in. Also, building onto the city with the outlet mall would incorporate the outlet mall entrances facing the city and creating wider, landscaped sidewalks to bring in the pedestrian atmosphere.
Another idea that they brought up was using our history to draw people into Sweetwater. According to their research, Sweetwater is one of the better preserved West Texas towns and that could be used to bring attention to the area.
The Mustang watertower serves as a local landmark and can be seen from the interstate. Bringing in more landmarks or using existing ones was also part of their proposal, focusing in on the seasonal city, such as Rattlesnake Round-up and other attractions.
The idea for the project was to slowly build up over time and not necessarily demolish what already exists, but restructure and reinvent what is in place. According to students, the main point is to broaden choices and design for growth.
None of these plans are expected to be used by the city anytime soon, but the proposal was a project that was meant to get the City of Sweetwater thinking of improvements that could be made. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 08 May 2009 )
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