Since the preliminary design I have refined many more details. This time around I made sure to model the parklet in a way that better reflects how it would actually be manufactured, an important step moving forward. I also put a lot more thought into the awning, and into the spacing between seats and tables to make sure that they are realistic. The use of offset zones and benches that extend the parklet into the sidewalk area have been maintained through the design, as this phase has mostly been about refinement of existing details.

I also created an animation for the walk-around to better convey my concept, giving viewers a 360 degree view, as well as giving them a sense of how it relates to the foodtruck, streets and sidewalks.

Throughout this project I've always been on the lookout for inspiration. Visually and functionally, I would really like the final design to incorporate some interesting textures within the awning to provide different amounts of shade during different times of the year. I would like the shades levels to change in a very passive way as it warms up and gets sunnier, and a great way to accomplish this is through the use of plants, as they independently react to sunlight. The awning is also a great opportunity area to do some interesting aesthetic things that was attract people to and build connections with the parklet. I've gathered what i've found and been inspired by for creating interesting lattices and shadows and material combinations. 

Inspiration board exploring transparency, materials and plants

After many hours of research and concept development surrounding the relationship of foodtrucks with the physical environment of the city I've arrived at a more refined design direction. By combining foodtrucks with parklets, which work to reclaim some of the city streets from cars to create small public spaces, the foodtruck experience is enhanced by providing customers with an outdoor seating area. A symbiotic relationship between the foodtruck and parklet is created, allowing both to thrive in combination with each other while working to enhance the general cityscape. 

By using vegetation a dynamic awning is created that changes with the seasons to provide optimal shade levels transitioning to spring to summer and back to fall again.

Creating a unified aesthetic for the parklet, street benches and waste disposal systems ensures that the parklet is blended into the permanent streetscape, asserting the presence of foodtrucks in the urban setting.  

Now that the main aspects of the design have been outlined, more refinement will occur to detail the final design and it ensure it is as user-friend and safe as possible. 

As part of the Carleton School of Architecture & Urbanism's Forum lecture series, world renowned landscape architect Martha Schwartz gave a great talk about sustainability and a review of some selected projects. She really emphasized sustainability by building emotional attachments to designs, ensuring their use over time by creating bonds between users and designs. Her work is very visually appealing, with prevailing bright colours and rooted in appeasing user needs.

Her work in cities, and ideas about downtown cityscapes was quite useful for my project. Her design for Jacob Javitz Plaza's design intent was defined as a place to eat lunch. The design is focused on providing lunchtime infrastructure staples such as abundant seating (with varying levels of intimacy), garbage cans, water fountains and creating a fluid transition between the park and streets.

Jacob Javitz Plaza, New York City

Minneapolis Courthouse Plaza, Minneapolis, MN, USA 

Fryston Village Green & Master Plan, Castleford, UK 

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Washington, D.C. USA 

Shown above are some sketches from the preliminary concept review. We had a good discussion and after being a bit unsure about how temporary the eating areas should be, my ideas about that have become a bit clearer. Having to set up the space everyday would be too much work for foodtruck workers and would make it harder to them to quickly get on the move. Ideally the spaces will be permanent, remaining a public space without the foodtrucks' presence with some of the seating and tables remaining temporary so the space has two forms- a foodtruck use form and a general use form. 

Exploring Temporary Parklet Base Solutions

Exploring how the sidewalk and extended parklet space interact

Further exploring Foodtruck spaces interacting with existing street design elements

Exploring a parklet space that rest partially on top of the sidewalk, 

and then take up a parking spot in addition. 

As part of their Urban Street Design Guide, NACTO provides a number of design guidelines for parklets. They will be really useful moving on with the foodtruck area design. 

Each number represents a different design aspect.

1. To ensure visibility to moving traffic and parking cars, parklets must be buffered using a wheel stop at a desired distance of 4 feet from the parklet. This buffer may also serve as a space for adjacent property owners to accommodate curbside trash collection. 

2. Parklets should have vertical elements that make them visible to traffic, such as flexible posts or bollards.

3. Parklets have a desired minimum width of 6 feet (or the width of the parking lane). Parklets generally entail the conversion of one or more parallel parking spaces or 3–4 angled parking spaces, but may vary according to the site, context, and desired character of the installation. Where a parklet stretches the length of an entire curb, accessibility and sightlines must be taken into account.

5. Incorporate seating into the parklet. Seating may be integrated into the design itself or made possible with moving tables and chairs.

7. Include an open guardrail to define the space. Railings should be no higher than 3 feet and be capable of withstanding at least 200 feet of horizontal force.

4) Parklets should have a flush transition at the sidewalk and curb to permit easy access and avoid tripping hazards. 

6) Designs for the sub-structure of a parklet vary and depend on the slope of the street and overall design for the structure. The sub-structure must accommodate the crown of the road and provide a level surface for the parklet. “Bison pedestals” spaced under the surface and of different heights are a common application. Another method is to provide steel sub-structure and angled beams

+) The design of any individual parklet may vary according to the wishes of the primary partner or applicant. Designs may include seating, greenery, bicycle racks or other features, but should always strive to become a focal point for the community and a welcoming public gathering place.

Lot's of great information to help guide the design process. 

I was able to find a really helpful design and planning guideline for Ottawa's streets. This is only a draft, but it's very informative and helped me learn more about street design in general. Foodtrucks are mentioned briefly, but there's not actual guidelines to better implement them.

Some of the most interesting design concepts they present are shown in this comparison. The most interesting idea presented to me is the parking area on the “flex space” at sidewalk level accessed by mountable curb. It does a good job visually extending the sidewalk area, but i'd like to see how effective it is in reality. Also, their general focus on widening sidewalks and making downtown Ottawa more pedestrian centred is a good direction to see they're heading in. 

The San Franciso Planning Department came up with the concept of parklets, a smallscale urban intervention in the form of a small public space in a parking space (or two). According to them, a parklet repurposes part of the street into a space for people. They are intended as aesthetic enhancements to the streetscape, providing an economical solution to the need for increased public
open space.

They have created many successful parklets in San Francisco and they have also begun to pop up in other cities, such as vancouver. They're a really great project that has many links to foodtrucks as both are small additions to the city made by reclaiming parking spaces.

The presence of Families in this Parklet is great, the best public spaces bring people from all walks of life together

Great integration of planters

Great use of materials, each park has a lot of unique character

The National Association for City Transportation officials recently published an updated Urban Street Design Guide. Within the report they say that curb sides have the potential to host a wide variety of uses beyond parking. They also note that on weekends or at lunch time, curbsides can host foodtrucks or vendors that activate street life and create a destination within the street. They solely mention foodtrucks and don't provide any design provisions for them within the report. They do however provide some really great ideas for reclaiming streets. 

Bike Sharing Initiatives

Interim Sidewalk widening

Traffic Calming

Parklets, a great idea that could be combined with Foodtrucks as a seating area

There are lots of great ideas that reclaim streets, and many of them could be combined with Foodtrucks to mix-up curbside uses in cities. 

Last weekend I went to the Ottawa Food Truck Rally and had a great afternoon trying all of the delicious food and observing the foodtrucks and their employees interact with all of the attendees. It was interesting to see the trucks in a different setting, and see how their versatility suited them for an event like this. The event was very popular and definitely seemed to give a good glimpse into the foodtruck industry here in Ottawa as well as promoting it for future growth. There were 11 food vendors offering their specially curated rally menus of small and large plates that would give people a taste of what their everyday selection was like. The event was great and its success is insightful into the role of foodtrucks in the city and communities and their power to bring people together. 

Urban Cowboy's mini brisket burger

Some temporary "infrastructure" behind The Grilled Cheeserie

The openness of the Gonfu Cart gave customers a good view of the preparation of their food

Red Roaster

A panoramic glimpse of the rally

Without elevated sidewalks service windows were a bit too high at times

Another panorama showing the rally atmosphere 

A view of the festival from across the street with lot's of people still waiting to get in