Urban Landscapes

Architecture
Nina Brown '67
Landscape Architect,
Brown, Richardson & Rowe, Inc.

If you have recently biked along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, or taken the ferry to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor, or boarded the “T” at the Charles Street/Massachusetts General Hospital station, you already know the sophisticated designs of Brown, Richardson and Rowe (BR&R), Inc. Injecting beauty into the cities and towns of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire, the firm is responsible for creating some of the green space that, as Nina Brown ’67 says, “balances the excitement of city living with access to the great outdoors.”

One of the firm’s two founders, Nina grew up in Milton near several hundred acres of unused farmland; she feared the day the land would be developed. As a college student, Nina visited many of Boston’s public schools and recalls, “I was appalled by the city’s school yards. They were asphalt and nothing else. I wanted to do something to improve [these] public spaces.” Along with partners Clarissa Rowe and Alison Richardson, Nina’s business has been urban landscape architecture and land reclamation for over 25 years.

“I like thinking about how green space contributes to the economic development of a neighborhood and to the rehabilitation and overall health of a city,” Nina says. “The best part of our work is that we get to turn parking lots and dumps into parks.” A recent example is Spectacle Island. The 105-acre island in Boston Harbor was once a horse-rendering plant and a dump. Now part of the 34-island national recreation area, only a 20-minute boat ride from South Boston, the site is a quiet, green refuge from Boston’s lively downtown.

While her firm’s designs for Spectacle Island and Memorial Drive are aesthetic and recreational, sustainability and thoughtful transportation planning are often essential objectives. “Part of the challenge of cities is balancing the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists so that they can coexist peacefully. People want to be able to walk and bike to work.” Harmonizing the travel of all types of commuters is an important challenge in the firm’s upcoming Providence project. BR&R just won a national competition to design eight acres of Providence, Rhode Island’s downtown river park system. The new land along the river became available when the city decided to move Route 195 out of the downtown area.

“Transportation projects are often ways to make big changes in cities, to repair mistakes and to open up space,” Nina explains. “By moving the highway, Providence is gaining many choice plots of developable land and is able to reestablish old streets leading to the river that were discontinued when 195 was built. Now we can improve Providence as a walking city. We looked at the potential for new shaded sidewalks…and the opportunity to create tree-lined parkways for pleasure driving and biking along the river. Rhode Island School of Design is near the park, so there’s a great interest in modernism. There is also a well-loved Beaux Arts architectural tradition in Providence. We’re trying to find the right stylistic balance between old and new.”

A cardinal tenet for the firm’s work is embracing the character of the neighborhood. The community itself is a primary source of inspiration. In meetings with neighbors and activists, Nina shares drawings and gathers feedback. For instance, the 41 acres forming Bremen Street and Memorial Parks—a recently completed buffer between Logan Airport and East Boston neighborhoods—reflect the area’s maritime history. “The father of the clipper ship lived and built his ships in East Boston,” Nina explains, “so in the park there’s now an eight-foot-high head of Donald McKay!” The thematic focus on ocean navigation led to large granite waves framing the park entryways and a button-activated spray pool, which parkgoers can fill for model boat races.

In addition to functional and ornamental details, community members want safety and economic sustainability. A new venture in Roxbury will incorporate a youth and family center, a rain garden, play equipment, retail and housing next to the Jackson Square MBTA Station—all able to be LEED certified. Local teenagers are participating in the design review. “[The adolescents] told us that a 13-year-old girl had been murdered there and they explained where they do and don’t feel safe,” Nina says. “Part of the issue is that there are vacant lots with no lights. At night, no one is around. We’re trying to change the way the area is used so it won’t be dangerous.” One boy told designers that he and his friends didn’t want any major chain stores introduced. “They want small stores that people in their neighborhood could rent for their businesses,” Nina adds.

Beyond her business day, Nina serves on the board of the Trustees of Reservations, which has recently affiliated with the Boston Natural Areas Network in an effort to establish a Boston presence. She also sits on the board of the Arboretum Park Conservancy, with which she has helped to create a pedestrian connection between the city’s Forest Hills “T” station on the Orange Line and the Arnold Arboretum, allowing for mass transit access to the nature preserve.

“This whole urban wild initiative is very exciting—every undeveloped parcel in Boston has been mapped. Many acres of open space in the city are still not protected and are opportunities for the future. Sustainable design and reducing the heat island effect—resulting from parking lots and roads—have become popular topics as of late, increasing interest in the work we do.” Understating her focus and impact in numerous New England cities, Nina adds with a smile, “In some ways, all that means is planting as many shade trees as possible.”

EEH

Nina lives in Brookline Village with her husband, Henry Warren ’68, and her two sons, Joe and Charlie.

 

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