Zooming in...

At the advise of my cohort and advisors, I am trying to zoom in and focus the design (similar to everyone else) as we lead up to the intensive (one week!).  I'm looking closely at how the paths will look and feel at the pedestrian level; the path material; elevation changes; how the landscape meets the buildings, etc.  At Denise's suggestion, I am also looking at how some of the wavy, linear forms actually get supported and fastened in place.  I will develop the images below for next week to include on my boards.  The third thing I am working on now is the layout of my presentation boards.  I am treating this as a competition and am looking to capture the essence of "walking the highway" by visually "walking" through the boards, zooming in and out on certain aspects of the site and design.

As mentioned above, I am exploring the materials and method in which the pedestrian paths move througth the moulded landscape forms and connect to the buildings.  Shown here is a design for a raised platform with open metal grates.  This path would rest a few inches above the ground below and in fact would allow meadow grasses to penetrate through the grates, giving the feeling of walking in the meadow while remaining on the path.  The grated path also provides a blended transition between the building and landscape mounds; allowing the landscpae to flow through, yet providing the pedestrian path.

This image is of an idea Denise and I discussed last night and one that I am continuing to develop.  There is an issue with the mounds simply dying into the built forms.  We discussed adding a buffer of sorts; pea gravel or mulch.  What I've shown here could be a path when widened upwards of 5' or it simply can be a material break, 2 to 3 feet.  the key element is the use of steel or metal as a material break / retaining piece. I like the idea of these pieces subtely undulating and cutting through the mounds; creating pedestrian paths or simply helping to define earth mounds and building transitions.  there is something very sculptural and graceful that I think can form a relationship with the vertical forms I have created.

I am also looking at how the "wavy forms" actually connect to structure and don't simply "float".  These images simply show one connection - in reality, there will be thousands of these connections using large threaded bolts to connect the linear forms with the columns.  The columns would be high strength steel - the linear beam forms could be wood or some type of synthetic or composite material - it would depend on where the materials were being used and the amount of stress they could be under (wind, gravity,cantilever, etc.) 

Construction ties would be used as well to anchor the linear forms to the steel columns as well.  in fact it is possible that some of the linear forms would be steel as well; either exposed or wrapped in a material to match. This would add more lateral stability and prevent racking / shear on the system.  I am going to develop a small section to better illustrate how this will work (potentially) for next week.

where's my inspiration?

The arc'ed forms over the highway were not working for me, so i revisited the sketch model i made at the intensive showing the overlapping linear forms.  i used this design as the inspiration for a new design across the site.  The linear-ness and overlapping forms will allow me to extend further up and down the highway while maintaining aesthetic consistency.

The linear forms roll out of the landscape and form the vertical facades of the "buildings."  These same interlapping forms will help to define the roof planes as well as the pedestrian bridges.  i will be working on that this weekend as well as some sections to show the elevation changes.

i am re-working the entire site based on some of the web-ex comments - i am again expanding the scope and size to include more of the site and surrounding context.  This site plan shows a new rest stop area adjacent to the office buildings.  this provides a park area for people driving as well as a place for workers in the office to go.  This space will also be connected across the highway via pedestrian bridge to the northbound reststop, hub, meadow, etc.  i will be showing those conenction in the next post.

The linear forms overlap to create the facade and frame views, hide areas, etc.  There are numerous shapes and variations on the linear forms as well  as scales.  Larger forms make up the garage and smaller beams and forms make up the pedestrian paths and smaller buildings.

Hub Development

Continuing work on the commuter / pedestrian hub...the program is evolving from a single building with intersecting paths to several buildings, oriented together, but not physically connected.  The pedestrian paths cut through these spaces on several levels based on the type of use that is occuring.  The upper path moves pedestrians through the space, connecting the meadow / ampitheater with the tennis center.  You can then move down to a middle path that takes you to the amusement park as well as the movie theater to the north.  There is then a lower platform that serves as the train station.  Within the buildings, there is the transportation depot, a grocery, hotel for park visitors (or commuters) and a visitor's center.  A second building houses stores and shops...the idea is that the built environment could be expanded in the future to include more functions, such as additional hotel space or even condos or apartments..basically eventually becoming it's own centralized community.
I am giving more concrete definition to the forms, but still keeping things loose and sketchy.  I find it helpful to go back and forth between the hard line drawings and "sketchy" drawings.  I will sketch it up, then hardline it, refine and repeat.  I've shown some of the sketches that inspired this model and will show some sections and vignettes to give this a more understandable scale.

Random Inspiration...

This morning I was staning next to our color copier making copies for work when I picked up an old architectural record magazine from 2005 that was laying in a stack.  The cover had Eisenmen's Holocaust Memorial and this project has always interested me so I started to thumb through as the copies came out.  In doing so, I stumbled upon this project below, the Yad Vashem history museum in Jerusalem by Moshe Safdie.  I love the manner in whic hthe building has been incorporated into the landscape and how a series of courtyards, tunnels and bridges connect the pedestrian through the site.  The ability to sink the building into the hill allows the interior spaces to remain dim, yet brilliant slivers of light are allowed in a key points throughtout.
For me, what is most usuful is the manner in which the building seems to grow from the ground.  This is something that i am attempting as I go forward.  Here, the large precast forms seem to simultaneously unnaturally cut the earth while growing from it.

Sketching Ideas

 I've been getting more refined with some of my design lately; working out how the path(s) and "hub" area interact and physically look.  Part of my process involves loosly sketching  my ideas or concepts and then refining them further.  That is how I have refined some of the designs thus far.  I traveled last weekend and spent a good amount of time in the airport people watching and sketching ideas about the pedestrian path and hub design.  These sketches will influence the more developed designs coming later this week / weekend.

With these sketches I am looking at the massing at the hub area area as well as how the pedestrian paths will intersect and and help form the space.  The highway expereince must remain and integral part of the design.  I would like those driving by in their cars on the highway to have a visually stimulating experience, not just those on the path.

I've continued to explore how the path gets defined and what physical forms will define the space.  I want the
forms to be very organic and to grow from the ground, eventualy enveloping the path at important areas of human interaction or intersection.  Ideally, these forms will grow from the ground, starting at human scale and
become the structure and larger gestures that define the built elements.

when I first started sketching this, i thought it was a gateway or entry...but the more i look at it, it appears
like a light fixture.  I am interested in how the different elements within the site can draw from one another and share some similarities in form.  Designing light fixtures, handrails, benches etc. can created a more unified expereince for the user.

continuing to explore path possibilities and the carving up / down of landscape and sky.

Model Progress

I have been working on an overall model of the site and surrounding area.  Looking at the surrounding landscape, buildings etc. will help to reveal new or unrealized possibilities. One of the main comments during the web-ex review was that I need to explore the potential of how large or far - reaching this idea can be.  he notion of the pedestrian experience is centralized in suburbia to consist of the parking lot and building.  Here, looking at a series of isolated spaces, there may be an opportunity to form connections using the spatial concepts outline earlier.

The model basically shows an almost 2 mile stretch along I-71 between two major exits.  My site lies between these two exits.  Within this area is also several gas stations, restaurants, Kings Island Amusement Park, several strip malls, a movie theater, an indoor water park, office buildings and a professional tennis center and golf course.  Likewise, there is a great deal of open space and asphalt parking.  The photos shown here are basically 1/2 of the model - 24x36 size - i will be finishig up the other half this weekend.  Put the two pieces together, I can get a snapshot of the area that other can visualize and understand.  I can then zoom in and create larger snapshot models or drawings and sections of areas, nodes, interesections, etc. that are key.  More to come..

Moving Forward...05.10.11

Going forward, I am looking to follow some of the suggestions brought up during the web-ex review.  There were three main suggestions that I will be following over the next three weeks:

1.       Explore precedents

2.       Truly understand the site and context

3.       Expand the scale and physical reach of the intervention on site

I’ve first started to look at some precedents that are relevant to the idea of a pedestrian experience within the suburban realm.  One of the suggested sites was the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois.  The shopping center was first opened in 1956 and it is unique in that it is an open air shopping center in which the pedestrian paths are oriented towards the interior of the site.  The buildings act as a buffer between the parking lot and circulation spaces.  This is interesting for several reasons.  First, the car is still, and will always be, the primary tool for accessing the site.  Once on the site, we exit the car and then proceed towards the interior spaces.  I am interested in how we transition from the car to the interior.  This process will influence and dictate the continuation of the pedestrian sequence going forward.  Another aspect of the site worth understanding is how the buildings and pedestrian paths work together.  The manner in which paths narrow and expand or how paths continue covered or uncovered offers visual variety to the user.  visual variety alone does not necessarily make a unique space, however it can serve as the foundation.

While looking at Old Orchard, I started thinking about some of the car-building experiences I’ve had in Cincinnati and did a quick study of 3 similar, yet very different pedestrian experiences.  Some parking lots provide defined paths to shelter and move us from one area of the lot to another.  Other lots offer nothing more than some striping on asphalt.  Is one experience any better than the other?  More importantly, I am interested in this first step in accessing the site / building - how does the building reach out and engage us and then lead us on a processional or sequential path?