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Summary of Dunbarton Mill Design Studies

The site of the old Dunbarton Mill was identified in the first two workshops as a strategic area for redevelopment. Residents identified it as a sacred place, but also as a place that is underutilized, and with the appropriate activities, land use and design, that has the potential to contribute to the sense of community and economic development in the village.

Prof. Cheryl Doble, who was helping to direct the vision planning project, decided that the preparation of site design for the Dunbarton Mill would be an interesting and appropriate project for the students in a graduate level landscape architecture studio who were facilitating the vision planning process. This student design project was not part of the public vision planning but the CCDR and the mayor believed that having preliminary alternative design scenarios could help frame the discussion about possible future uses, identify issues and opportunities, and help flesh out some basic principles and guidelines for redevelopment.

The students were required to incorporate what they had come to understand about the village and its vision for the future. Each student got to know the site through walking the site and the neighborhood, and sketching, noting and photographing their observations. They did research on the historic, natural and cultural factors that might influence redevelopment of the site and prepared analysis. Based on this analysis, each student determined what they thought would be appropriate uses that would support the vision and attract economic development. They developed a program for the site, such as housing, a microbrewery, recreational spaces, a restaurant on the water, or combinations of these; and then designed the site for these uses.

Six of the design studies were reviewed and discussed with the mayor and several community members. Digital versions of all of the design studies are included on the CD. While it is not the intent for any of these designs to actually be constructed, there are a few ways these design alternatives can be useful to the Village of Greenwich. They can be used to view the site and its physical conditions differently from how it has been viewed in the past. The designs help demonstrate the variety of uses that could occur on the site and the capacity the site has for these uses. Looking at the designs can also help in understanding the impacts different types of development would have and if there are other things to consider.

The students and those that reviewed the designs recognized a series of common themes or principles that should guide any redevelopment on the site and that could be used when reviewing a developer’s proposal.

Redevelopment should respond to the character of the village and the scale and massing of the existing neighborhood.
The impact of site redevelopment on the neighborhood should be anticipated and planned for.
The uses on the site should not detract from the business occurring on Main Street, but instead should have a relationship and link to Main Street.
The community wants and needs public access along the river and provision for this should be part of any redevelopment.
Opportunities for remediating pollution using natural systems and processes should be explored.
There should be some level of recognition for the site’s past use, history and relics.
There should be well designed but separate vehicular and pedestrian access to the site.
Green infrastructure should be used in creative ways to deal with stormwater run-off and drainage should be considered.

Graduate Student Conceptual Drawings

Historical Brochure

All conceptual drawings are Adobe PDF file