Patten Square in downtown Chattanooga, TN has long been recognized as an historic landmark in the city, and was indeed added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The city’s first farmer’s market was housed there, a thriving hotel and a World War II memorial.

Several years back the city began exploring good urban design by focusing on six key sites around the downtown area, with Patten Square being one of those areas. The concept for restoration included the actual parkway, pedestrian traffic, parking, and a space for events.

The plan included widening sidewalks, limiting car traffic, creating new residential complexes, and providing space for retailers and grocers. Landscape architect WMWA and Asa Engineering & Consulting, Inc. collaborated to reimagine the transformation of the historic square into a vibrant urban plaza. Elements were developed to help direct the flow of vehicles without the appearance of typical traffic control devices, such as rough stone benches, metal sculptures and rough stone bollards. In addition, large oak trees were placed in a grid to mimic the columns and canopy of the original market buildings. The designers were looking for a cost-effective plan that would allow the the trees to grow to full maturity, and to have a canopy that touches and create a cathedral or roof. In essence, to create an urban forest.

GreenBlue Urban was consulted to make the vision for the trees a reality.

Providing the optimal soil volume for the trees to grow to maturity was a concern for the project. The following GreenBlue Urban products were utilized to achieve the client’s vision:

• • RootSpace® Soil Cell System
  • ReRoot™ Ribbed Root Management
  • RootStop™ Root and Moisture Barrier
  • Pavingstone Tree Grates

The end result is a spacious, enticing downtown area that encourages pedestrian traffic, allows for easy parking, and provides a fresh, urban streetscape.

“This was a great project, and we’re looking forward to the trees taking off this year now that they have settled in, and they have a large soil volume available. The soils cells from GreenBlue Urban worked well; the contractor had a good experience with them, and the support during install was great.“
~ WMWA’s Matt Whitaker