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?

A different angle

I've approached the design problem of a commuter hub within the suburbs from a different angle.  Rather than focusing on the site itself, I have been looking at the highway corridor between the site and the downtown Cincinnati core.  Creating a solution that speaks to connection is impossible without exploring factors and influences external to the site.

The urban core of Cincinnati follows a traditional, rigid, geometrical pattern of streets, buildings and neighborhoods.  Major thoroughfares intersect these grids and offer more direct and convenient passage to other areas of the city.  As one moves North, and land begis to open up, the pattern and grid begin to break down and disassemble.  Major roads serve as a trunk for mini-development branches rather than an avenue for travel.  As we move even further North, the grid completely disappears.  Major roads meander in random directions.  Most residential roads also follow a curvilinear path, typically leading to cul-de-sacs or dead end streets.

There are several goals.  First, I must analyze and understand how the grid begins to deconstruct and what the factors are that cause this.  Second, I must prove that this break down of the grid is detrimental to us, the general public.  Ultimately, I hope that in understanding the forms within the structured and unstructured environment, I can begin to make some connections between the downtown commuter hub and the suburban commuter hub.  It should be noted that there are 4 or 5 other highways entering Cincinnati that share the same components as the I-71 corridor shown below.  Thus, the connection made here have the potential to extend east-west as well and create a truly "connected" infrastructure.

This is a map of the I-71 corridor from the site in the suburbs to the downtown area.  (FYI – NORTH IS ALWAYS UP)

I know it's hard to see, on an overall scale, but i have been analyzing pockets along the path that are identified as being key to the grid and its transformation (or elimination).

1. DOWNTOWN

The downtown grid follows a traditional city plan.  Streets are arranged geometrically and larger, more prominent boulevards intersect to temporarily break the pattern.  While we know that within the city neighborhoods change, from this view, we can visualize and understand how districts become connected by paths and nodes.  The repetition of a given pattern is a unifying theme...something to keep in mind as we move further North.  This view encompasses approximately 3 miles and while the topography and highway force the grid to rotate, the general uniformity is maintained.

2. OAKLEY

Moving about 6 miles further North, we come to the Oakley / Norwood neighborhood.  The grid here is still present, however we also see the formalized break down for the first time.  The street grid shown here is over 100 years old and has been a part of the city fabric; thus the grid is maintained.  Ironically, the first break down is caused by the Norwood Lateral to the West.  What is ironic is that the Cincinnati subway was originally intended to run on the right-of-way where the lateral sits.  This intersection of the lateral and 71 also is a hub or rail traffic and manufacturing which has been existent for many years as well as workers lived in the adjacent neighborhoods.  However, the warehouses and factories in this area have struggled and in their place, big box stores such as kmart and home depot have opened up.

3. KENWOOD

Just a few miles North of Norwood/Oakley, we encounter our first golf course and a landscape that can be classified as “suburban.”  The identifiable city grid and pattern is already eliminated, less than 13 miles from the city center.  The mall has become the focal point and for the first time we see the new standard for residential accommodations.  Streets that meander, curve and typically lead to nowhere; one way in, one way out.  The neighborhood has disappeared and only developments remain.  The area in view here is about 50 to 60 years old and expanded in the post WW2 exodus from the city core.  This is the “new” American dream in full display.

4. BLUE ASH

2 miles North, we see the continuation of the suburban design.  What surprised me was the number of dead end streets and street that double back to themselves and typically lead to nowhere.  While the residents here may feel a neighborhood has created, a true community is absent.  There is little to know connection as each space is buffered and separated.  Zoning laws force all interactions to begin and end with the automobile.

5. MASON

5 to 6 miles further we find more of the same.  Any cohesive pattern has long been eliminated and all function has been separated into distinct zones, all accessible solely by automobile.  It should also be noted that the downtown core is flanked on all sides by high bluffs and rolling hills, and of course the Ohio River to the South.  The varied topography gives the grid a natural variation and unexpectedness at times.  However, within the suburban landscape, there is little in the way of topographical variation and thus little for the designer to directly relate to.

6. KINGS MILLS - SITE

Arriving at the site, we are now approximately 27 miles from the Ohio River; not that far when you think about it.

Below is an excerpt from my sketchbook at identifying the current condition and problem, and identifying a solution and a method to achieve that solution.  This is what I will be testing in depth this weekend.

Our daily commute

People in cities such as Boston, New York or Chicago take mass transportation for granted.  These cities have incorporated transportation systems into the city inrastructure for decades and thus, their use has become second nature to residents and commuters.  Their daily expereince is relative based on living in New York, Boston, etc. when compared with say Cincinnati or Nashville, Tn.  What I mean by this is that our current perception of transportation (and life in general) is molded by the geographic region we reside in.  A person in Cincinnati might say, "I can't take the bus because the stop isn't by my house and I would have to drive 10 minutes to get there."  Meanwhile, a person in New York may walk 10 minutes to get to a subway station or bus stop.  It's all relative.  Sure, New York residents might have to walk 5 blocks to get to a subway stop.  Many also do not have car insurance costs, gas costs, maintenance costs, etc.  But then the midewesterner will gladly drive 60 miles round trip every day at $3.40 a gallon because the nearest bus stop is "not convenient."  Is spending $100 dollars a week on gas convenient?  Does the American economy appear prepared to support millions of middle class workers at this rate?  I doubt it.

Public transportation in Cincinnati and Ohio is a joke.  It is not embraced nor endorsed except by those living within the urban city core.  In 2009, Ohio rejected its share of President Obama's $8 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act fund, intended for high-speed rail development.  So here we sit, the typical midwestern city, dependant upon the automobile for survival.  To get suburbanites out of their cars and onto buses (and hopefully someday light rail) we need to promote a cultural change.  We need to provide an experience that not only offers cost savings, but also adds value to the life of the commuter.

In looking at the sequence of approaching, entering and moving through the proposed site, I am looking at what spatial tools can be used to accent the journey.  As stated, the site is wide open and can easily fall into a "big box" mentality.  The site must be broken down into individuals pieces that are expereinces in an ordered path.  When these pieces are linked together, they create an experience for the commuter.  This is important and necessary because to change the culture and mideset of people, we must appeal beyond the cost or time savings aspect.  The aesthetic must be present to create a space orseries of spaces that give the user a feeling of control, togetherness and ultimately community with their fellow commuters.

This series of vignettes looks at the spatial sequence of approaching, entering and moving through the site.  PLEASE NOTE:  These are preliminary forms, suggesting possibilities.  I am more focused on the ideas of space and a connected experience.  The final building forms, trees, benches, etc. will follow once the spatial ideas have been defined and understood.

Aerial of site looking West - Vignette markers listed in red


1.  Approaching from the South

The immediate difficulty of the drosscape site is realzed when viewing the approach.  The danger is creating an object that sinply exists in space as their is little surrounding context to relate to.  However, there are several strategies to be used that can combat this.  First, the bus access and pick-up is on the main road side, open to view to passing traffic.  By making the primary building function visible, we provide the building context within the site.  Likewise, as people drive by, they can see the buses and people waiting, boarding or departing.  This creates a psychological clue that can be understood - similar to the idea of having the streetcar tracks as a permanent fixture within the community.  A sign and a plastic shelter do not inspire faith in a transportation system.  A structure with varied spaces does this.

2. Exiting the car

As mentioned in yesterday's post about site analysis, a key component to creating an experience for the traveler is to define paths of travel.  Drive aisles and parking are for cars and cars alone.  Pedestrian paths are provided on islands between the rows of parking.  There are many possibilities to the aesthetic nature of this path.  However, a key component is the addition of a vertical element to define the space in the "z" direction.  This does not have to be completely covered and it would actually function best if natural light filtered through.  The idea is not to provide actual protection, but the feeling of protection.  Also, the exterior pedestrian corridor is a unique and memorable experience for the user simialr to walking down the steps of a subway.  Lighting, materials, function - all have changed when compared with the asphalt lot.

3. Moving down the pedestrian path

The forms here are simply a suggestion as to the aesthetic possibilties.  The structure could be round, square, more linear, etc.  The key is that a defined path and space have been created.  A space that provides safety and function for the user.  This path should relate to the building as well however.  The difficulty will be in connecting this path with the building form so that they are seen as two interlocking pieces as opposed to seperate experiences.  Another thing I wnt to point out is the view to the bus in the distance.  Within the site, I feel this is a key component to a successful design.  The building beyond has been separated into two interior forms with a central exterior connector between.  The parking path leads to this exterior space and directly to the open air boarding area.  The ability to visualize one's destination is a comfort to commuters.  They may be rushing, late or walking in the rain.  To be able to see the clearly see the destination is a comfort for the commuter.

4. Approaching the terminal

During the past feel weeks I have been looking at how space can dictate flow and use but also provide the user with a choice.  As the commuter exits the pedestrian path and approaches the building, the path and destination is clearly defined, yet there there is a choice.  The building to the left and right will house services for the commuters.  A coffee shop/cafe, newspaper stand, ticket booth, lounge, business area...there are numerous programmatic possibilities.  The commuter has the choice to head directly to he platform or stop and enter the building.  Once inside, there is another sequence of space that occurs (yet to de defined)

5. Moving through the open air space

Similar to the pedestrian path in the parking lot, the open air intermediate space provide the feeling of shelter and allows natural light to filter down.  This space would contain benches, landscape, etc. and also functions as the primary access to the boarding zone.  Functions are mixed and commuters mingle together.  This is the terminal or waiting area - a space where people can see and be seen, grab a coffee, read a book, etc.  There is a community feel in our daily commute and this space is the gathering space for that community.  Remember, the people who currently use this bus stop wait in their cars until the bus enters the lot and then exit their cars to get on.  Here, there is a space which provides a service and brings people with a common goal and interest together.  I truly believe that much of this is related to the psychology of how we treat commuting - just as much as it is important to create function space to serve our clients, we should understand the emotions that are evoked by the space we create.  This terminal is a bookend to the "daily grind".  A space where commuters will arrive early to grab coffee and catch up with a friend.  A place where they may stay and talk in the plaza or perhaps grab a drink in the cafe.  A space that we transition from home life to work life in the morning and back again in the evening.

I'll close this post with a quote from James Howard Kunstler's "The Geography of Nowhere", where the author discusses the dangers of automobile transportation.

"The costs of all this driving in terms of pollution, which includes everything from increased lung disease all the way up to global warming, are beyond calculation.  The cost to society in terms of money spent building and maintaining roads and paying for traffic police, courts, accidents, insurance, is also titanic.  The least understood cost-although probably the most keenly felt-has been the sacrifice of a sense of place: the idea that people and things exist in some sort of continuity, that we belong to the world physically and chronologically, and that we know where we are."