Attachment 13 - Consulting Architect's Report, received October 19, 2017October 19, 2017
Mr. Sean Mullin
Community Develo pment Department
Town of Los Gatos
110 E. Mam Street
Los Gatos, CA 95031
RE: Veterans Memorial
Dear Scan:
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING URBAN DESIGN
I reviewed the drawings and evaluated the site context. My comments and recommendations are 25 follows:
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
The site is located in the southwest cornet of the park fronting Town Hall on East Main Street. Photographs of
the site are shown on the following page.
700 LARKSP UR LAND ING C IRCLE . SUITE 199 LARKS PUR . CA 94939
ATTACHM.;ENT · l 8
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CANNON DESIGN GROUP
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Comments
October 19, 201 7 Page 2
700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRCLE . SUITE 199. LARKSPUR CA. 94939
PRELUDE
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Comme:na
October 19, 2017 Page 3
As a prelude to this review, I would note that in approaching this ewluation my fifteen years of wo.cking with the Town
of Los Gatos staff o n a wide .ra.ngc of projects is supplemented with the experiem:e gained from several yeMs as a com-
missioner on the San Francisco Art Commission. The Art Commissio n was chacged with the responsibility for .reviewing
the proposed locatio n , site development and quality of substance and artistic merit for the many proposals for monu-
ments, pieces of sculpture and murals proposed for the cities many parks and public o pen s paces. I also served o n the
Sausalito Historic Preservation Board when: similat reviews we.re required by that board. Some of the proposed projects
were related to city or priwtc developments, but many urcre proposed by private or quasi-public entities as is the case
with this Veterans Memorial.
Decisions were never easy, but the Art Commission usually applied some version of the following criteria:
• Ate the proposed design and quality of materials such that they are likely to stand the test of time?
• Io the case of memorials or statues, will the design have the gravitas and emotional impact appropriate to the
penon, perso ns, or event that is being memorialized?
• Docs the m onument or smtue have su fficient artistic merit to. wa.ttant its place on public land for decades to
come?
• Will the size and scale of the proposed monument or sculpture be appropriate to the site.
• Will the design and matcriaJs be resistant to potential future vandalism, and who will be responsible for ongoing
maintenance?
• Who will b e r e sponsible for future on-go ing care and maint enance cosu o f the monument or sculpture and
secondary design elements such as pools, fountains and lighting?
All of these criteria were deemed important because once in place in the public realm, a monument or piece of art is
very difficult to remove, and in some cases is protected by law from remov.tl.
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PROPOSED SITE PIAN
CAN N ON DESI G N GRO U P 700 LARKSPUR LAN D ING C IRCLE . SUIT E 199 LAR KSPUR • CA . 94939
PROPOSED PROJECT
ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Comma:its
October 19, 2017 Page 4
The Town Hall complex, including the Library, is remarkable for its simplicity and design restraint. The Town Hall struc-
ture itself was the product of a design competition back in the 1960s, and is characterized by a larger central structure
with a public plaza on top and three smaller simple but taller rectangular building blocks at its edges. The Town Hall and
Library are set well back from East Main Street and buffered by the large green open space containing many large trees -
see top photograph on page 2.
The proposed project, in my judgment, is not very sympathetic to the Town Hall buildings and site context. It seems
overly complex and cramped in its dimensions. A few specific issues include the following:
1. The amount of space between the central fountain/ sculpture is rather small to accommodate pedestrian move-
ments when viewctS are seated on the outer edge bench -see section diagr.un below.
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2. The clearance between the fountain/ sculpture and the tall wall separating the ramp and stairs on the side of the
plaza is much smaller, and would not allow easy movement around all sides of the circular central feature.
3. The central sculptural element would be close to the adjacent building and would extend above its roof height (see
section diagram above) while the walls at the central fountain/ sculptural element would be almost as tall as the
a~jacent building (sec section diagram on the following page).
CANNON DESIGN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRCLE. SUITE 199. LARKSPUR . CA. 94939
Vcu:rans Memorial
DWgn Review Comments
October 19, 2017 Page 5
4 . The mil wall separating the stair and the ramp would make the ramp space feel rather cramped and uncomfom.ble
-see section d iagram below.
Height of adjacent bulldlng
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This Is not a very pleasant entry space
• r-1 Clearance between wall and + •,fountain Is very small
---~
..__Jprovldlng both a ramp and
_·---istalr are probably not needed
S. The limited elevation of the plaza above grade probably doesn't justify the use of both a tamp and a stair.
6. The bench seat orients most of the visitors gaze inward toward the founmin/ sculpture which might be good for
contemplation of the memorial, but the park-loc:Ation of the project and its proximity to the Town Hall suggests
that there would likely be other members of the public who might also enjoy spending some time in this location
with views of the park.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There seems to be a premise in this design that rather tall walls arc needed as a backdrop foil for the founmin/ sculpture.
That may be one way to approach the design, but a lower wall with a more simple and refined form might work better.
Also, there are many similar monuments of similar focal point form t:ha.t havt: been d esigned without that type of wall
foil. A couple of examples are shown below.
CANNON DESI GN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRC LE. SU ITE 199 LARKSPUR. CA . 94939
"ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Vcter211S Memorial
Design Review Comments
October 19, 2017 Page 6
I looked at two conceptual approaches to better integrate the project into the Town Hall park environment.
CUPERTINO MEMORIAL PARK APPROACH
Cupertino has a Memorial Park located near the Stevens Creek Boulevard and Stelling Road intersection. It is a large
park with multiple uses, but there is a smaller memorial area within the latger park that has some inten:sting design cle-
ments that might be of use here. These include:
• A generous pedestrian area through the memorial area allowing easy circulation without disturbing those who
might be. there for more contemplative reasons.
• Low walls surrounded by bermcd lawn landscaping.
• A central focal point sculpture with a base suitable for special occasional flower donations.
• Full design integration into the surrounding park environment.
• A strong landscape setting with minimized walls.
An air photo and photographs of this memorial plaza arc shown below and on the following page .
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CANNON DESIGN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRCLE . SUITE 199 LARKSPUR . CA . 94939
Vri:crans Memorial
Design Review Comments
Ottober 19, 2017 Page 7
CANNON DESIGN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR Lt\NDll'IG CIRCLE SUITE 199 LARKSPUR CA 94939
CURRENT PROJECT REFINEMENT APPROACH
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Comments
October 19, 2017 Page 8
The illustra.tive diagram below shows some ways in which the current design in its currently proposed lo cation might be
changed to address the issues raised earlier in this review letter. They arc conceptual and would need further refinement.
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Major features of this approach include the following:
1. An enlarged plaza area to allow easy pass-through access for pedestrians on foot or walking bikes.
2. Gradual walkway ramps to provide elevation changes more integrated into the overall top ography. Or alternatively,
the plaza level could be lowered as was done in the Cupertino memorial plaza shown on the preceding page.
3. Lawn berming at the ramps and central plaza to better integrate the plaza into the lawn area -if some berming can
he added without hazard to the existing large trees.
4. Mo re seat bench area around the plaza to allow views to the park for those who wish it.
5. A simplified and smoothed out wall separating the plaza from the adjacent parking area.
The best wall height for this element would need study, but my suggestion would be to lower the wall immediately
behind the fountain/ sculptural element to no more than eight feet in height, and to lower the height of the central
sculptural element as well. Study would also be needed for the wall immediately adjacent to the parking lot . My
sugges tion of a place t o start with that study would be a low wall combined with taller landscaping, such as a hedge
or bamboo, in front to screen views o f the parking lot. The plaques proposed for this wall could still be mounted
on the lower wall, as was the case with the Cupertino example, or placed on the taller wall immediately behind the
central fountain/ sculptural clement.
CANNON DESIGN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRCLE. SUITE 199. LARKSPUR. CA . 94939
V-=s Memorial
Design Review Comments
Oaobcr 19, 2017 ~ 9
FOCAL POINT APPROACH
The proposed focal point fountain/ sculpture is shown and described in the illustrll.tion and text below.
Description
The Fllllltt of LJbntJ will be a sculpture of etcmal flame, inspired by the flame of the Statue of Lib-
erty. The sculpture is proposed to be made of thin. steel wire frame with sections within the frame
filled with thick, transparent champa.gne-colorcd antique, gla.ss evoking the style of a lighthouse
lantern or a. stained glass window. A tough, outer layer of clear polycarbonate plastic will protect
the memorial from damage. Nestled within the interior of the Bame will be a second smaller bronze
sculpture of the Soldier} Cron.
The Town's decision-makers will need to decide on the suitll.bility, artistic merit, and long term dumbility of the proposed
sculptu.~. However, I thought it might be helpful to look at some other similar veterans memorial sculptures in evaluat-
ing what approach might be most suitable for this site. The first two below are w.ria.tions on the flame moti£ The others
a.re cent:Cll monument features surrounded by plazas and low walls.
CANNON DESIGN CROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDl~G CIRCLE . SUITE 199 LARKSPUR . CA . 94939
CANNON DESIGN GROUP
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Commenu
October 19, 2017 Page JO
700 LARKSPUR LAN'olNG CIRCLE . SUITE 199. LARKSPUR. CA. 94939
Veterans Memorial
Design Review Commcots
October 19, 2017 Page 11
One other item that should be studied further is the display of the Town's historic fu:e bell. The cuacnt proposal (shown
below) seems a bit too rustle for this setting. !t would be similar to the bell support at the Mission &.m Fnmci~co Solano
in the central plaza area of Sonoma -sec picture bel~
·i . . ' j .
.. ' ••
A few alternative techniques for historic bell display are shown in the photos below and on the following page.
CA NNON DESI GN GROUP 700 LARKSPU R LANDING CIRCLE . SU ITE 199 LARKSPUR CA . 94939
Vett:ram Memorial
Design Review Commcna
October 19, 2017 Page 12
Sean, please let me know if you have any questions, or if there arc other issues that I did not address.
Sinccrdy,
CANNON DESIGN GROUP
Larry L. Cannon
CANNON DESIGN GROUP 700 LARKSPUR LANDING CIRCLE . SU ITE 199. lARKSPUR . CA . 94939