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Terminus Planning in Wilkes-Barre
One of my absolute favorite design elements in planning and landscape architecture is the terminus — the terminating vista. I’ve always found this to be an excellent way of wayfinding and a super sexy means of utilizing architecture as a fundamental tool of planning.
So what is a terminus?
A terminus is when a road/path/axis is terminated by a natural feature, a building, a piece of art, anything like that. It is a great way of stressing the importance of a building or a work of art and helps to break up the monotony of a city.
A few months ago I was on vacation and visited two incredibly well design, well planned cities. The first, Edinburgh - Edinburgh was designed by architect James Craig during the 1760’s. The second is Paris — largely designed by Geroges-Eugene Haussmann, and both of these cities incorporate the terminating vista absolutely masterfully in their planning.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is an excellent precedent for terminus planning. A friend and I were walking down George Street and as you are walking towards St. Andrews Square (a public square that acts as a terminus for the street) you are called to the space by the 150' tall Melville Monument at the center of the square. At the other end of George Street, it is bookended with another public space — Charlotte Square and…
