Keeping Up Appearances At Fairfield Hills—

Preliminary Design Guide Establishes Suggestions For FFH

By Kendra Bobowick

With the words “preliminary” and “draft” stamped in large red letters across the front page is a document containing landscape design guidelines for the Fairfield Hills campus. The draft, which addresses topics from signs to sidewalks to the types of trees suggested for planting, landed on the table before the Fairfield Hills Authority Planning Subcommittee at the end of January.

Authority and subcommittee member Amy Dent explained the document saying, “We’re trying to set uniform standards so things are coordinated and [the campus] doesn’t have a hodge-podge feel.” As plans for the former state hospital’s redevelopment and reuse progress, both the town and outside occupants are slated to move into and rejuvenate the crumbling brick buildings and grounds.

Already in motion are blueprints to revise Bridgeport Hall to accommodate municipal and Board of Education offices. Planners are also preparing documents designed to attract developers interested in retail and office space, for instance.

The guidelines help steer newcomers in the same direction to keep the parklike/Georgian brick feel to the campus, Ms Dent said. One portion of the design guidelines states, “For Fairfield Hills, the large size and beauty of the existing architecture combined with the common use of brick greatly identifies the character of this campus.” Landscape elements were selected to reflect or enhance the area’s existing character, the guide asserts.

“We are looking for uniformity so this doesn’t look cut-and-paste,” Ms Dent said.

The opening pages of the design guidelines prepared by Vollmer Associates LLP explain intentions for the Fairfield Hills campus’s potential future appearance. An overview states, “These standards and guidelines shall be used when preparing preliminary landscape plans in association with all commercial, institutional, residential and planned development projects for the Fairfield Hills Redevelopment.

A paragraph labeled “purpose” notes, “The purpose…is to establish minimum design standards without dictating specific styles, themes, or planting arrangements. Subcommittee members and consultants agree that trees are an important feature at Fairfield Hills.”

Tom Hammerberg of Vollmer Associates said the tall canopy of trees is part of the campus’s appeal. “We need to underplant older trees so if some die others replace them.”

Suggestions for shrubs, trees, and groundcover, for example, have all been outlined in the guide.

Underfoot are options for concrete or brick pavers in some areas to “create crosswalks, sidewalks, and patios,” as stated in another section of the guide. Walkways can be treated with various lighting options. Existing lighting already stands in some places. Tall green posts are nestled on concrete blocks and cast-iron base and topped with frosted glass globes. The posts are approximately 12 feet tall. The guide offers a variety of lighting options including wall brackets outside doorways, and four-foot-high lighted bollards to illuminate walkways, borders, and drives.

Fencing leaves planners with another set of decisions about another aspect of Fairfield Hills campus’s appearance. Pages in the guide show photographs of post and rail fences, iron grates between brick pillars, a short brick wall topped with iron railing, and more. Varieties of signs also filled the guide. Entrances, wall banners, directories, and pole-mounted signs all faced the subcommittee.

Subcommittee member John Reed said, “Signage is something we want to think through. Anyone coming in here from a commercial point of view will want a sign.”

Where will guests sit and rest after a stroll, to take a time out from shopping, or to visit with a friend? They may nestle into a World’s Fair model bench made of cast-iron and wood, or a Plaza Bench that provides just a seat but no backrest. Committee members discussed other possibilities including granite, which Moira Rodgers noted was beautiful, but costly.

Considerations from comfort to function to finances finished the conversation. Mr Reed said that residents might enjoy the view from the high meadow, or employees might want a place to rest for a few minutes. Ms Dent said, “Once the campus is opened up again I see people coming in to sit and read, so it’s an important consideration that more than one type of bench is appropriate.”

Also sitting in on the meeting was Parks and Recreation Chairman Edward Marks, who also thinks that different styles of benches are a good idea.

Mr Hammerberg explained that wood is “warm” for all four seasons. “Stone or aluminum are not quite as useful throughout the year,” he said.

Committee members considered trash receptacles, bike racks, and plant materials.

Mr Marks suggested, “You may consider if you want to have public participation in purchasing the ornamental trees,” he said.

Subcommittee members closed their nearly three-hour meeting with a few open-ended thoughts about communal expenses for maintenance similar to condominium complexes, holding a Fairfield Hills logo contest, and future discussions about the design guidelines.

“Until we’re ready to move forward we don’t have to stamp anything as final,” Ms Dent said.