The New Civic Gateway– Really?

by Gary Juren, Architect

  During one of my recent architectural road trips, I was pleased to hear the local radio announce that the long awaited opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is scheduled for March 2, 2012. Texas Independence Day, how fitting.  Well, I decided to veer off course and see for myself the final touches being added to what civic leaders have billed for over a decade as “the new civic gateway.”

  The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is one of three Santiago Calatrava designed bridges being built over the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas as part of the Trinity River Project. The $93 million cable-stayed bridge is 400 feet high and 1,870 feet in length.  Upon completion it will connect from Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas to Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown.  The second Calatrava IH 30 Signature Bridge has been funded and is currently under design.  It will rise 300 feet above the Trinity River and span 1,100 feet.  Just as the IH 30 Signature Bridge acts as a gateway for East/West regional traffic the third proposed IH 35-E Bridge becomes the gateway for North/South traffic.  The design has not yet begun.  It has recently been reported that Calatrava may not be designing the third bridge.  These bridges designed by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava will continue to make North Texas a great destination location for world class architecture. This is another jewel in the crown for Dallas. Nearby and connected by the Woodall Rodgers Freeway is the 68 acre Dallas Arts District and under construction is the Perot Museum designed by another Pritzker Prize Award winning architect, Morphosis.

  As I approach the bridge I am struck by how this neighborhood, an area in decline for decades, will be transformed.  Singelton Boulevard is lined with used tire shops, scrap yards and vacant buildings.  It seemed odd to be building a “designer” bridge to an area people did not want to drive through.

With the opening of the bridge, private development will quickly transform these declining properties.  With its stunning views of the downtown skyline it is ripe for urban renewal.  Urban building styles, similar to what is being developed in the Uptown area of Dallas, is likely to be coming soon.  There also exists a treed residential community known as La Bajada.  Made up of modest one and two storey homes, this neighborhood must have its character protected.  The gentrification of the former “Little Mexico” neighborhood north of downtown was a mistake and should not be allowed to happen to this viable community.  It will be a challenge for City Planners to balance the desires of the real estate investor and the needs of the residential community.

  The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is a beautifully proportioned bridge designed by a world renowned architect.  When viewed up close the bridge’s powerful white arch and graceful network of tensioned cables are awe inspiring.  As a local neighborhood architectural icon it should be on everyone’s “Do Not Miss” list.  To describe the bridge as “the new civic gateway” – probably not.  Traveling at 60 mph down Stemmons Freeway the new bridge seems to get lost.  It’s just not on the same scale of a Golden Gate Bridge, a Brooklyn Bridge, or even the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.   

These are the elements that define the image of any great city.

  To me, the postcard images of the Dallas Skyline will still be defined by ReunionTower, Fountain Place, and Peagus – The Flying Red Horse.

  What do you think?

Don’t Fear the Fear

by Holly B. Smith

In the classroom, my junior college business speech students had one fear that surpassed all their other fears – The Impromptu Speech.  I even stopped putting this speech on the syllabus because the absences for that day rose by 50%.  Everything about this speech frightened them, and for my first semester in the classroom, I was unable to get them over the fear.  It was a shame, too, because the impromptu is perhaps the most powerful of all the speech forms.  It requires quick thinking, being able to answer on your feet, persuasive techniques, careful word choice, and promotes confidence.  It is a small speech packed with soft skills from which all students will benefit.

During the next semester, I was in my office for a student conference with a “ghost” – a student who disappears after the first month of a semester and reappears at the end of a semester in an effort to scare away a failing grade.  For every reason I gave him for his grade, he matched me with his own counterpoint.  He told me why he deserved a second chance, made his three points, and then restated his plea for leniency.  Had he bothered to show up for class, he would have recognized that he was giving an impromptu speech….without fear.

Our fears of public speaking are definitely valid.  It’s in our biological nature to be uncomfortable when people are staring at us.  It feels threatening, even like an attack sometimes.  We are also rightfully uncomfortable with the idea of failing, of being rejected by our audience, and fearing the unknown.  What was different between my office and the class?  Why was this student giving such a good speech?  He didn’t have the fear.  (Well, in his case, the fear of failing may have overridden his fear of the speech itself.)  I realized I had to find a way to remove the fear from the speech, to separate them so that they were not associated.  The speech was not the enemy, the fear was.

I began slowly introducing my students to the impromptu speech format:  state your position, give three supporting points, and restate your position.  I would take a topic from the textbook, split the class in half, require each side to either submit three pro or three con points, then present to the other group.  I had them give me their three reasons for convincing parents to pay for their college.  The next week, I asked them for three reasons why I should delay the midterm. Then, I moved on to “would you rather” topics…” Would you rather have a noisy neighbor or a nosey neighbor?”  We always used the same format of an impromptu speech.  They enjoyed this so much that they would remind me that it was time for our “would you rather” topic.  Once they stopped associating the creative process with the fear of producing a speech, the result was enthusiasm and confidence.

On Impromptu day, there was the initial wailing and teeth gnashing until I reminded them that they’d been preparing for this speech for weeks.  “All you are stressing about is the fear.  Don’t fear the fear.”  And their confidence went through the room.  So did their grades.
For more information on how to incorporate impromptu speeches in your CTE classroom, try the following links:

• http://www.presentation-pointers.com/showarticle/articleid/121/
• http://www.best-speech-topics.com/good-impromptu-speech-topics.html
• http://homeworktips.about.com/od/speechclass/a/impromptu.htm
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110216062152AAqPQfx *”would you rather” questions