Hello!
My name is Goutam Vella, I am a landscape architecture graduate student and graduate assistant at OU Institute for Quality Communities. I am from India with a background in architecture, I am always fascinated with buildings and green spaces. Working with IQC has given me a chance to explore cities, learn about cultures and traditions. Vinita was one of them. Working with Vinita helped me meet great people, learn about the historic route 66, and learn new things about culture! I was there for 27 hours but made good memories.
Day 1
November 14th 2017: Around 10:30 in the morning we started from Norman with excitement and aspiration. I was a bit overwhelmed with the time schedule planned for us to meet, observe, discuss, collaborate and design. On the other hand, I get to explore a new town which is on the historic route 66! (also known as the Will Rogers Highway). It was a three-and-a-half-hour-long drive to Vinita, we started brainstorming in van about the potential of the city and what we could offer. This helped us get acquainted with what we planned to do during the visit.
Stroud 12:00PM: We made a quick stop at Rock Café for lunch, also to take a break from sitting in the van. This café is one of a kind! there are doodles all over the walls, pictures of famous people who visited the café, and pictures of characters from Disney movies. 12:10 – lunch was served. Couldn’t ask for more, it was delicious!!
Fun fact: In 2001 research crew from Pixar Animation Studios visited Rock Café, where they developed the character ‘Sally Carrera’ from the movie ‘Cars’.
Vinita 02:15PM: Reached on time! Went into the city hall to meet Jim, Director of Operations, City of Vinita. Met with project partners, introduced ourselves and discussed for a while.
3:15PM: Started for downtown walking tour lead by project partners. This is a great learning opportunity for designers and planners to walk, talk and observe with locals while they share their experiences about the town.
Acquired information:
- Semi-trucks use the main roads creating air and sound pollution
- Unsafe to walk on sidewalks
- Abandoned buildings
- Connected alleys
- Interesting museum
- Safeway building – Potential space for an entertainment complex
06:00PM: Back to city hall, sat down and discussed our findings with project partners, noted down their requirements and expectations. 06:30PM – closed for the day, left for dinner.
Clanton’s café 06:45PM: It’s dinner time!! The menu was new to me, I had no idea on what to order. Jim came to the rescue, he suggested that I should try the chicken fried steak which is Clanton’s most famous dish. I was also introduced to a new item called ‘calf fries’, I had no idea what it was and everyone at the table started laughing! Thanks to Jim, I learned what it is, now I was skeptical to try it. With all my might, I tasted it…. And it was GOOD!!
Dinner was awesome! Good times with good people. What more could one ask for?
Heartsworth house 08:15PM: It’s bed time. But, I need to organize everything we saw today before going to bed.
Day 2
November 15th 7:30AM – Clanton’s café: Regrouped for breakfast, had chicken fried steak for breakfast. (I know! two times within 12 hours. I am not crazy, it was tasty). All the project partners joined, we got into a Vinita Hornets bus and drove off for community assets tour. Clicked some pictures, observed neighborhoods, and listened to stories from locals.
Acquired information:
- Wide streets
- Many trains passing through
- Some houses are abandoned
- Lake Vinita was beautiful
Craig county community center 10:30AM: Time to work. We had an IQC team meeting, brainstormed all the information we collected. We put everything into a presentation to communicate with the locals during lunch.
Craig county community center 12:00PM: People from Vinita assembled for lunch and to discuss ideas they have in mind. It was a successful discussion, we presented our findings and collected more information from them. This was the final meeting of the trip, now we had three hours to communicate our ideas through design recommendations. Yes! Only three hours to make design recommendations, 3D models, informative graphics, and put everything into a presentation.
Craig county community center 01:00PM: Adrenaline pumping! Divided work amongst ourselves, working on all kinds of design platforms to generate design output. There was extreme silence in the room, I could only hear air blowing from the AC vents, and fan noises from our laptops.
I think we did an awesome job! Achieved what we expected. Now it’s time to present.
Craig county community center 04:00PM: Time to present. Locals from Vinita assembled for presentation. This was my first time presenting to a group this big, I was nervous. Well, it is time; grabbed the microphone, introduced myself, explained what we designed and how it makes a difference in their community. Since the main roads are occupied by semi-trucks all the time, we came up with an alternative route to connect downtown to Safeway building through an alley. The alley is pedestrian friendly, connecting public library, museum and Safeway from downtown main road creating an opportunity for pedestrians to enjoy walking, experience art and music featured in the alley
Craig county community center 05:30PM: Finished with the presentation!! Clicked a lot of pictures with the committee and Vinita public. Had a productive session in Vinita, met awesome people, had good food and enjoyed the sunset. Time to leave, bye Vinita. Thanks for the memories!
