Planner Talk: Terminated Vistas
Asp Avenue and the Michael F. Price College of Business on the University of Oklahoma campus.
terminated vista
compound noun
/ˈtɜrməˌneɪtəd ˈvɪstə/
One of the most powerful tools of the urban designer is the terminated vista.
A terminated vista is a fancy planning term to describe a signature or noteworthy structure seen at the end of a street, such as a civic building like a church or city hall. These buildings feel more important as they stand in the middle of a narrow view framed by the street.
We can become more technical with the definition and use terms like thoroughfares and axis. We can incorporate measurements such as distances seen and degrees of angles placed. We can also add lots of descriptors like emphasizes, important, or appealing. All of these contribute to the definition, but sometimes, a picture can speak a thousand words. Have a look at the following photos and see terminated vistas in action, and how they impact the design of the places they’re in.
University Boulevard and McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, OK.
Palace Green and Governor's Palace, Williamsburg, VA.
Main Street and Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, Sugar Grove, PA.
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Edward Erfurt is the Director of Community Action at Strong Towns. He is a trained architect and passionate urban designer with over 20 years of public- and private-sector experience focused on the management, design, and successful implementation of development and placemaking projects that enrich the tapestry of place. He believes in community-focused processes that are founded on diverse viewpoints, a concern for equity, and guided through time-tested, traditional town-planning principles and development patterns that result in sustainable growth with the community character embraced by the communities which he serves.