{"id":792,"date":"2016-12-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T15:27:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T20:27:12","slug":"truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018Truly Engaging Civic Commons\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
\nA new grant is helping the City connect residents to historic and modern water infrastructure investments while making the Philadelphia City Hall Courtyard a \u201ctrue civic commons.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n

As a work of spectacular architecture and artistry, a National Historic Landmark and holder of several world records, Philadelphia\u2019s ornate and iconic City Hall is a place that dominates the center of our city\u2014spiritually, culturally, and, yes, geographically.<\/p>\n

And while the most astute students of Philly lore might be able to cite William Penn statue stats (37 feet tall, 27 tons of bronze, biggest atop any building in the world) far fewer know about the site\u2019s remarkable geological status or its pre-City Hall history as it relates to science, infrastructure and water.<\/p>\n

A new project seeks to honor that distinction by breathing fresh life into the building\u2019s expansive courtyard, and the Mayor\u2019s Fund for Philadelphia\u00a0is calling on<\/a>\u00a0\u201cexperienced local artisans, architects, designers, and makers\u201d to design and build an outdoor feature that, among other things, will serve as a platform for programming and activities.<\/p>\n

Those interested must submit the requested information\u00a0by 5 p.m. on January 13<\/strong>.\u00a0More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As detailed in\u00a0an announcement<\/a>\u00a0posted to the Mayor\u2019s Fund website, the goal is to create an installation that supports a creative \u201cplacemaking<\/a>\u201d project currently being organized by the\u00a0Philadelphia Water Department<\/a>\u00a0(PWD), the\u00a0Philadelphia City Planning Commission<\/a>, the\u00a0Department of Public Property\u00a0<\/a>and the\u00a0Mayor\u2019s Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Largely funded through a Southwest Airlines\u00a0Heart of the Community<\/em>\u00a0grant<\/a>, the City Hall Courtyard revamp involves a series of short-term improvements designed to make the space\u00a0\u201cmore inviting, dynamic, and people-friendly in 2017.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The project will also highlight the site\u2019s standing as the\u00a0exact\u00a0<\/em>spot where the Schuylkill and Delaware River watersheds split\u2014meaning that rain falling on the east side of City Hall flows into the Delaware River, and rain falling on the west side flows into the Schuylkill River.<\/p>\n

Early Philadelphia planners, attracted to the idea of having fresh drinking water pumped from the center of the city outward, chose the site when building the\u00a0Centre Square Water Works in 1799<\/a>. As Philadelphia\u2019s first major attempt at providing clean water for residents, the Centre Square project represented an important model that helped create a more effective Fairmount Water Works in the following years.<\/p>\n

\"The
\nThe Centre Square Water Works, on the grounds of today\u2019s City Hall, in 1800. Image courtesy of the Independence Hall Association at\u00a0UShistory.org<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n

A 1957 article exploring the history of Philadelphia water infrastructure<\/a>\u00a0notes that Centre Square Water Works engineer Benjamin Latrobe designed the building in a way that respected the space\u2019s status as central meeting place for the community:<\/p>\n

Keeping in mind that Latrobe was a successful architect as well as an eminent engineer, it is easy to understand why the building was beautifully designed, in harmony with the best architecture of the time. White marble was used for the exterior, and in its setting in the center of the public square or park surrounded by attractive shrubbery and trees, it had the appearance of a memorial edifice. This Centre Square, from which the station takes its name,\u00a0was the gathering place of the people\u00a0<\/strong>for public, municipal, social, and patriotic functions, and adorned by the building it became a place of beauty as well as one of usefulness.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to highlighting those historical ties to Philadelphia\u2019s water infrastructure, the\u00a0Heart of the Community<\/em>\u00a0placemaking project<\/a>\u00a0will invite courtyard visitors to explore a modern day innovation in infrastructure: the City\u2019s 25-year\u00a0Green City, Clean Waters<\/a><\/em>\u00a0program.<\/p>\n

Launched by PWD in 2011, the groundbreaking program represents a new way of protecting local waterways from stormwater runoff pollution and overflows that can result when sewers are overwhelmed during rain and snowstorms.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing solely on expanding sewers and building massive subterranean tunnels to hold excess stormwater,\u00a0the City is creating new green spaces\u00a0<\/strong>and surfaces that soak up water to reduce runoff and overflows.<\/p>\n

This approach results in infrastructure that is a far more visible and impactful part of Philadelphia neighborhoods: businesses are transforming unused asphalt lots\u00a0into landscaped rain gardens<\/a>; once un-shaded streets\u00a0are being lined with trees<\/a>\u00a0that soak up stormwater; Parks and Recreation facilities\u00a0are getting much-needed upgrades<\/a>\u00a0that include rain-absorbing surfaces and plant-filled green tools.<\/p>\n

With the City Hall Courtyard project, the team driving the process hopes to convey the scope of\u00a0Green City, Clean Waters<\/a><\/em>\u00a0investments in the program\u2019s first five years\u2014hundreds of public and private green tools\u00a0<\/strong>around the city now work to keep an estimated\u00a01.5 billion gallons of polluted water out of our rivers and creeks\u00a0<\/strong>annually\u2014and to paint a picture of what Philadelphia could look like as this green infrastructure network\u00a0grows tenfold\u00a0<\/strong>over the next two decades.<\/p>\n

The current\u00a0Request for Qualifications<\/a>\u00a0(RFQ) released by the Mayor\u2019s Fund relates to a part of the project calling for \u201cthe design and fabrication of a modular, multi-purpose outdoor furniture element to be used in City Hall Courtyard, beginning in June 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0RFQ<\/a>, the feature being created for the courtyard should also be \u201cdesigned for outdoor use to support current and new programs and activities, last for a minimum of two years, and call attention to the historic relationship the site of City Hall has to water in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n

More from the Mayor\u2019s Fund\u00a0announcement<\/a>:<\/p>\n

This RFQ is the first of a two-phase process to select a team to design and fabricate the platform. The second phase will be a request for proposals (RFP) from a small number of teams (three to five) selected from the pool of those who submitted qualifications. The RFP phase will immediately follow the RFQ phase, and will include a nominal stipend for the teams asked to submit proposals.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The goal of all this? To elevate the City Hall Courtyard as a \u201ctruly engaging civic commons\u00a0<\/strong>that celebrates the City\u2019s\u00a0rich history\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0sustainable future<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you think you have what it takes\u2014or know someone who does\u2014to help make that happen, head over to the Mayor\u2019s Fund site and\u00a0check out the full RFQ<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the project moves forward, we\u2019ll post important dates as well as they are finalized here on the Watersheds Blog and share any announcements about more opportunities to get involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a work of spectacular architecture and artistry, a National Historic Landmark and holder of several world records, Philadelphia\u2019s ornate and iconic City Hall is a place that dominates the center of our city\u2014spiritually, culturally, and, yes, geographically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8,497,35,42,43],"class_list":["post-792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-announcement","tag-city-hall","tag-event","tag-grants","tag-green-city-clean-waters","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A \u2018Truly Engaging Civic Commons\u2019","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/truly-engaging-civic-commons-makers-wanted\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Community","author":[],"creator":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["announcement","city hall","event","grants","green city\u201a clean waters"],"dateCreated":"2016-12-30T05:00:00Z","datePublished":"2016-12-30T05:00:00Z","dateModified":"2022-12-07T20:27:12Z"},"rendered":"