Workers have begun the process of replacing all the bricks on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. This has been a controversial decision in part because of its expense ($5 million), and the question of whether the bricks could have been repaired instead.
The greatest problem has been that the city and the firm hired for the project have not understood the Mall as a historic designed landscape. The Mall was designed in the 1970s by renowned landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, as a way to revive Charlottesville's Main Street, then suffering retail migration to suburban malls. Halprin's office conducted an extensive community process in Charlottesville to generate public support for the pedestrianization of Main Street, and the Mall is one of the few successful walking malls from that era (Ithaca has another).
Part of the recent controversy involved additions that seemed incongruous with the original design, like an extra "Sister City" plaza and fountains. The most press was given to the proportions of the new brick. While it may seem like a fussy detail, the longer length to width ratio of the original brick actually creates a pattern and rhythm on the ground that is distinct from the brick building fronts-- somewhat like cobblestones in a European city (or near Aaron and Amy's house!)
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