Posts tagged with "Master Plans":
Reimagine the Canals: Competition
The New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation launched a competition seeking ideas to shape the future of the New York State Canal System, a 524-mile network composed of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and the Champlain Canal. Selected ideas will be awarded a total of $2.5 million toward their implementation. The New York State Canal System is one of the most transformative public works projects in American history. The entire system was listed as a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2017 for its role in shaping the American economy and urban development. Despite its past success, vessel traffic on the Canal System has steadily declined over the last century. Deindustrialization and competition from rail, pipelines, roadways and the St. Lawrence Seaway, put the Canals at a disadvantage in transporting freight. Pleasure boating activity levels have likewise fallen and are today only half what they once were. In contrast to the decreasing maritime activity on the Canal System, recreational uses along it – from hiking and bicycling in spring, summer, and fall to cross-country skiing and ice fishing in winter – have grown in popularity. The 750-mile Empire State Trail, which will run from New York City to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo, is expected to be completed in 2020. It will further enhance opportunities for recreation along portions of the Canal System. To date, however, much of the Canal System's potential to stimulate tourism and economic activity in the communities along its corridor remains untapped. To address the challenges and opportunities facing the Canal System, the Competition seeks visionary ideas for physical infrastructure projects as well as programming initiatives that promote:
the Canal System as a tourist destination and recreational asset
sustainable economic development along the canals and beyond
the heritage and historic values of the Canal System
the long-term financial sustainability of the Canal System
The two-stage Competition is open to individuals, businesses, non-profits and municipalities. Respondents are encouraged to form multidisciplinary teams. These could include, for example, urban designers and architects, planning and community specialists, hydrologists, infrastructure engineers, artists and curators, development economists, real estate developers, local officials and financing partners. Submissions from both domestic and international teams are welcome. Submission deadline is January 5, 2018. More details about the Competition structure, timeline, and submission guidelines can be found on the website.
A new future for Old City: Vision2026 puts Philadelphians, not tourists, first
At first pass, Philadelphia's Elfreth's Alley looks like any other quaint, well-preserved historic street in a typical northeastern U.S. city. Look closer, though, and it'd apparent that the rowhouses are much older than the 19th-century homes found in New York's West Village or Boston's Beacon Hill. That's because Elfreth's Alley welcomed its first residents in 1702: the block-long lane is the oldest continually occupied residential street in the United States. Although the street is afforded protection by its National Historic Landmark status, escalating, ultra-bland development in Philly's historic core means that it, and the surrounding urban fabric, must protect their assets by conceiving of a future that balances site-sensitive private development with public amenities that cater to Philadelphians.
Old City District, a city-sponsored historic preservation group, commissioned planning consultants RBA Group and Philly–based Atkin Olshin Schade Architects to stake out a future for Old City. Vision2026 is intended to complement the City Planning Commission's Philadelphia2035 plan and, in a nod to local heritage, will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
To some, Old City is thought to be bound by the Delaware River to the east, 4th Street to the west, Vine Street to the north, and Walnut Street to the south. The Old City District's definition is narrower, encompassing a 22-block area bounded by Front Street to the east, 6th Street to the west, Florist Street to the north, and Walnut and Dock streets to the south. The genesis of Vision2026 was a community discussion on development goals that began in January 2015. Traffic studies and user surveys evinced a desire for standard-issue urban features: Quality public space, public transportation access, better bike infrastructure, stores that serve the community's needs (especially a grocery store), and a development vision that encourages new investment without overriding the neighborhood's charm. The suggestions take a deep dive into specifics. To reduce car traffic, Vision2026 suggests improving bike infrastructure (addressing a lack of bike lanes and inconsistent linkage to the waterfront, for example) concurrently with initiatives to consolidate commercial package delivery, privilege commercial loading access over private parking, and promote the use of car shares. The population of Old City has grown 16 percent since 2000, and the area needs Complete Streets (streets designed for safe use by pedestrians, cars, and bicycles alike) to enhance the neighborhood's vitality. A proposal for a 2nd Street Station plaza (the 200 block of Market Street) envisions 14-foot sidewalks flanked by an allée-meets-bike lane. The proposal suggests eliminating street lights—a counterintuitive but effective traffic-calming measure—on the 10-foot-wide stretch of road set aside for private cars.
Although the vacancy rate hovers at around ten percent, studies show that, if current trends continue, the area could support an additional 122,000 square feet of retail. More than 1,000 new residential buildings in the district are proposed or currently under construction. Vision2026 echoes Robert Venturi's 1976 master plan for Old City, calling for redevelopment of the area's Victorian commercial and industrial buildings erected between 1840 and 1890. Eight parks, including the Venturi–designed Welcome Park, are highlighted as spaces to improve and capitalize upon. Activating underused areas around the Benjamin Franklin Bridge is a priority: Proposals include an under-the-overpass market (like New York's Queensboro Bridge, but hopefully more successful) with restaurants and vendors, as well as wayfinding improvements, especially at night, to enhance connectivity between neighborhoods rent by the interstate. Next steps include beta-testing the ideas via tactical urbanism, temporary bike lanes, and legislative action, through zoning and permitting amendments, to pave the way for concrete improvements.
Here's how BIG, West 8, and Atelier Ten will reshape Pittsburgh in a new master plan
BIG news for downtown Pittsburgh: New York–based Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), West 8 Landscape Architects, and Atelier Ten were tapped by private developers McCormack Baron Salazar and the Pittsburgh Penguins to create a master plan for 28 acres in Pittsburgh's Lower Hill District. Today, those plans were unveiled. The plan will redevelop public space around the erstwhile Civic Arena, build a new public space across from the Consol Energy Center, and dialogue with the city's vertiginous topography to create bike and pedestrian paths that connect the Hill District with Uptown and Downtown. In all, the New Lower Hill Master Plan calls for 1.2 million square feet of residential construction as well as 1.25 million square feet of retail and commercial space. The project is expected to break ground in 2016 and cost an estimated $500 million. "The master plan for the Lower Hill District is created by supplementing the existing street grid with a new network of parks and paths shaped to optimize the sloping hill side for human accessibility for all generations," Bjarke Ingels, BIG's founding partner, explained in a statement. "The paths are turned and twisted to always find a gentle sloping path leading pedestrians and bicyclists comfortably up and down the hillside. The resulting urban fabric combines a green network of effortless circulation with a quirky character reminiscent of a historical downtown. Topography and accessibility merging to create a unique new part of Pittsburgh." Landscape architects West 8 designed terraced parks and walkways informed by granite outcroppings characteristic of the surrounding Allegheny Mountains. Engineers and environmental design consultants at Atelier Ten developed sustainability guidelines that will encourage district heating and cooling, as well a stormwater retention for on-site irrigation. See the gallery for more master plan images and schematic diagrams.
Grimshaw & Beyer Blinder Belle to oversee 2nd phase of master plan for DC's Union Station
Grimshaw and Beyer Blinder Belle have been tapped by Washington, D.C.'s Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) to spearhead a master plan to spruce up the city's iconic train station. The "Master Development Plan for Union Station's 2nd Century" builds upon the hugely ambitious, $9 billion development plan that Amtrak and developer Akridge unveiled in 2012. As AN wrote at the time: "The 3-million-square-foot project promises to unite the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and NoMa, a former industrial area transformed into a leafy residential neighborhood." Now, Grimshaw and Beyer Blinder Belle are tasked with making that vision (or something like it) a reality. To do so, the firms will be conducting a comprehensive planning process with public engagement and environmental assessment. They will also draw up conceptual designs to improve the passenger experience and overall functionality at the station. "The Master Development Plan for Union Station's 2nd Century will respect and reinforce the station's historic setting, while also integrating it with surrounding neighborhoods, and the construction of Burnham Place, a three-million-square-feet of mixed-use space, parks, and plazas to be developed over the rail yard," said the USRC, Amtrak, and Akridge in a statement. This master plan will actually be the second Union Station master plan that Grimshaw is currently overseeing. Last fall, the firm unveiled a very futuristic vision for Los Angeles' train station of the same name.
Rutgers Campus Cornerstone by TEN Arquitectos
Parallel facade systems in contrasting materials mark the edge of development on a reimagined campus.
The new Rutgers Business School in Piscataway, New Jersey, is more than a collection of classrooms and offices. The building, designed by TEN Arquitectos, is a linchpin of the university's Livingston campus, reconceived as an urban center for graduate studies and continuing education. "It established a frame," said project manager James Carse, whose firm created a vision plan for the campus starting in the late 2000s. "We were interested in really marking the edge of campus to motivate future development to respect the campus boundary, rather than allowing or suggesting that this was a pervasive sprawl. We wanted to make sure this would set a pattern where infill would happen." The Rutgers Business School's tripartite envelope reinforces the distinction between outside and inside. While the sides of the building facing the boundary line are enclosed in folded anodized aluminum panels, the glass curtain walls opposite create a visual dialogue with the rest of campus. In TEN Arquitectos' early designs, the difference between the building's outer and inner surfaces was not so stark. "We initially thought of [the entire envelope] as being more open," said Carse. But budget constraints combined with university requirements regarding glazing in classrooms to suggest that the architects move away from an all-glass enclosure. "There was an ability to deploy the curtain wall over only a certain amount of the building in a responsible way," said Carse. "We let the inside push back against the outside and suggest that this be more solid." At the same time, explained Carse, "we didn't want it to feel unchanging and heavy." Working with Front Inc., TEN Arquitectos designed an anodized aluminum rain screen system, manufactured by Mohawk Metal Manufacturing & Sales, that incorporates an apparently random fold pattern to provide texture. (Thorton Tomasetti provided additional consulting and inspection services during construction.) After making aesthetic modifications in Rhino and 3ds Max, the architects ran their digital model through eQUEST energy analysis software to determine an angle of inclination that would prevent snow from accumulating on the folds. They came up with four standard dimensions that could be combined for a varied effect. "It's a pretty amazing condition that's been created with the variegated folded panels that face Avenue E and preserve and pick up the western sunlight as the sun sets," said Carse. "The building changes throughout the day and picks up texture from its surroundings. The anodized aluminum plays off that nature of change and creates a softer facade than you'd expect from the use of metal itself."
Facade Manufacturer Beijing Jangho Curtain Wall Co., Mohawk Metal Manufacturing & Sales
Architects TEN Arquitectos
Facade Consultant Front Inc., Thornton Tomasetti (consulting and inspection during construction)
Facade Installer Jangho, Metro Glass Inc.
Location Piscataway, NJ
Date of Completion 2013
System folded anodized aluminum rain screen, frit glass curtain wall, transparent glass curtain wall
Products custom folded anodized aluminum panels from Mohawk Metal, frit glass and transparent glass from Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited
The campus-facing sides of the building feature frit glass curtain walls fabricated by Beijing Jangho Curtain Wall Co. (Jangho) with glass from Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited. "We used the fritted glass to meet the solar performance that we were going for without completely exposing them," said Carse, who noted that the walls appear nearly transparent at dusk and later, when the interior lights are on. "That's part of the nature of the building," he said. "The business school itself has classes going from around 8:30 a.m. until about 10 p.m., so the daily life is not just during the day. The building is really alive during those times and we wanted to make that evident." During the day, the frit glass facade's extra-wide mullions maximize the amount of daylight that filters into the offices and classrooms. The third component of the Rutgers Business School envelope is a transparent glass curtain wall introduced between the two primary facade systems. Besides serving as an intermediary between the anodized aluminum and frit glass surfaces, the transparent glass elements mark possible points of connection to future buildings as the campus continues to densify. "It allowed us infill," said Carse. "This project served as a gateway building literally and figuratively," said Carse. Cars entering campus from Route 18 pass directly through the Rutgers Business School building, its upper stories perched on canted columns. Though designed to indicate the campus's outside edge—the end of development—the structure's vital facade simultaneously signals a beginning, a freshly urban approach to campus design within a former suburban stronghold.
Cleveland approves neighborhood plans to bring new life to first ring suburbs
The Cleveland neighborhoods of Kinsman, Duck Island, and West 65th Street could eventually get major updates now that three new plans have won unanimous approval from the city's planning commission. All three neighborhoods were built when Cleveland's industrial heyday propelled a boom of real estate development that has long since given way to depopulation. In Kinsman, on the city's far East Side, the plan proposed creating an arts and entertainment district. The Duck Island plan focused on multi-modal transportation hubs, and the plan focusing on the West 65th Street neighborhood called for a two-mile multi-purpose trail. Funding for most of the work is still undetermined, but the city has committed some money for bike lanes, curb extensions, and other local improvements already called for in the three plans.
Before & After> Baton Rouge Proposes an Ambitious Greenway Overhaul
[beforeafter] [/beforeafter] How the greenway might look as it passes through Expressway Park. As AN reported in our latest Southwest edition, Baton Rouge and New Orleans are gearing up for changes across their respective urban landscapes with two new master plans by landscape architecture firm Spackman Mossop Michaels. The firm has shared these before and after views of the proposed Baton Rouge Greenway, which provides "a vision for a greenway that connects City-Brooks Park near LSU's campus on the south side of the city to the State Capitol grounds to the north, while stitching together adjoining neighborhoods and other smaller landscaped areas along the way" Slide back and forth to see existing conditions and SMM's plans for the area and be sure to learn more about the projects in AN's news article. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] How the greenway could enter the park at the terminus of North 7th Street. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] Design concept street section through North 7th Street in Spanish Town. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] The design option for the street section through North 7th Street. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] The design option for the street section through North Boulevard. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] A wider, straight path going down the median of North Boulevard. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] How the greenway might look on this part of North 7th Street. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] What the greenway would look like going down the median of East Boulevard. [beforeafter] [/beforeafter] A design option for the street section through East Boulevard.
Unveiled> Norman Foster's New Plans for the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach
The Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach, Florida has unveiled a new master plan including galleries and public spaces designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners, under the direction of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster. The new Foster design will upgrade the museums 6.3-acre, art deco–inspired campus and gardens first designed in 1941 by Marion Sims Wyeth. The new plan relocates the main entrance on South Dixie Highway to the west, allowing visitors to once again see through the entire building, capturing views of the Intracoastal Waterway beyond the Norton via a new, transparent grand hall and refurbished glass and iron courtyard doors. The new entrance will be defined by three double-height pavilions, unified with the reworked existing wing by a shared palette of white stone. These pavilions will house a new state-of-the-art auditorium, event space, and a "grand hall"—the social hub of the Museum. Foster's design includes a new museum shop and restaurant with al fresco garden seating which, like the new pavilion spaces, can operate independently of the Museum for events on the Norton's campus throughout the day and at night. A metal roof canopy will float above the pavilions, shading the entrance plaza. The canopy structure will be gently tapered to visually reduce its profile—a technique he previously employed in Marseilles, France—while providing stability to withstand hurricane-strength winds. The canopy's gentle luster will cast diffuse patterns of light in an abstracted reflection of the people and flowing water below. A linear series of pools with fountains and a row of hedges between the pools and Dixie Highway will mask the sound of traffic and create a tranquil setting at the entrance plaza. A curved opening in the roof will accommodate the branches of a mature ficus tree and a light well above the lobby will illuminate and define the new entrance. The master plan will be implemented in several phases, beginning with the reconfiguration and extension of the existing museum and the new public amenities within a lush garden setting. Two new wings for galleries can be added to the east in later phases of the long-term master plan.
Unveiled> A Grimshaw-Designed Garden Vision for Wimbledon
The All England Club has unveiled its Grimshaw-designed Wimbledon Master Plan, which establishes a vision for the future of the site and a structure to direct the ongoing development and improvement of the Club. The Master Plan draws on existing assets and reflects the history of The Championships while resolving certain challenges that the site presents. Three new grass courts will be repositioned to ease overcrowding, No. 1 Court will be reworked and a fresh landscape scheme will enhance and define public areas. Key objectives include reinforcing Wimbledon as a world-class sporting venue of national and international significance, conserving the site's exclusive legacy and guaranteeing that all new building is of first-class quality. To accomplish this, the Master Plan resolves chief operational concerns and develops effective transport solutions. Plans for the site incorporate a reduced-height Indoor Courts Building within an improved landscaped setting. The courts will sit atop basement areas for courtesy car operation, clay courts will be repositioned and a tunnel will ensure discreet access to the new building. A fixed and retractable roof is on the agenda for No. 1 Court, which will allow for continuous play, rain or shine. As for No. 2 and 3 Courts, each will offer more space for unreserved seating and access between the improved grass courts will be widened. Revamped landscaping will bolster the tree-lined boulevard leading to a new entrance plaza. The Master Plan calls for an additional plaza to the south and a press lawn. The southern entrance will also be extended. A new restaurant and public concessions will accompany a sustainable green roof. The plan aims to decrease carbon emissions from the grounds. The Master Plan emphasizes the 'Tennis in an English Garden' theme through a series of unique areas set within a cohesive landscape framework.
Terry Farrell & Partners Comissioned for Master Plan of London's Royal Albert Docks
In the early 1900's the Royal Albert Docks, located to the east of the city of London, served as London's most prominent source of international trade and commerce. Now the 130-year-old docks, which over the years have been closed to commercial traffic and only used for watersports, will be transformed into London's third booming financial district. Terry Farrell & Partners have been commissioned to carry out the complex master plan of the 35-acre site. The project was born as a result of a $1.5 billion deal struck between London Mayor Boris Johnson and a private Chinese Developer, Advanced Business Park (ABP). The investment holds great significance for the British and Chinese economies, as it is the first and largest investment made by a Chinese developer in London's property market. The mixed-use development, which is scheduled for completion by the year 2022, will house over 3.2 million square feet of office, retail, and leisure space and will become the largest financial development in the UK, creating over 20,000 full time jobs, and contributing almost $9 billion to the British economy. This international business district will grow to become a world-leader in high technology, green enterprise and research and will also serve as an international hub for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, as Asian businesses seeking European headquarters have already begun to show interest in setting up their businesses at the new waterfront development. The first 600,000 square foot phase of the project is expected to open in 2017. [Via BD Online.]
Rem Koolhaas To Design an Aerotropolis in Qatar
OMA announced on Friday that it will design a master plan for Airport City, an ambitious 3.9-square-mile project that will link the new Hamad International Airport with Doha, Qatar. Recalling the ideas put forth last year by John D. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay in Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, OMA's enterprising piece of urbanism will incorporate four distinct districts along a green axis of public spaces parallel to the airport's runways to create a functionally differentiated but continuous urban system. Residential, business, aviation, and logistics districts will be tied together in a new type of 21st century transit oriented development. Rem Koolhaas commented in a statement, "We are delighted and honored to participate in the exciting growth of Doha, in a project that is perhaps the first serious effort anywhere in the world to interface between an international airport and the city it serves." While it will take at least 30 years to complete the project, the first phase should be ready for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Smithsonian Taps Bjarke Ingels For DC Campus Master Plan
Since announcing his first North American project in New York and opening an office in the Big Apple, BIG-founder Bjarke Ingels has been moving fast. His meteoric ascent into a Danish-American icon is happening so quickly, that the starchitect has landed himself in the Smithsonian, in a manner of speaking. The venerable institution has just hired Ingels to prepare a master plan for the museum's Washington, D.C. campus, and we're left wondering if that might mean a new mountain range rising off the National Mall. The Washington Business Journal reported today that the Smithsonian signed a $2.4 million contract with BIG to create the first phase of the master plan, a task that is expected to take around 8 to 12 months. The project site is bounded by Jefferson Drive along the National Mall, Seventh Street SW, Independence Avenue SW, and 12th Street SW, as indicated on the map below. The study area includes many iconic Smithsonian buildings including the Smithsonian Castle (above) and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (top). According to the WBJ, the team from BIG will investigate all buildings in the area, studying the architecture, engineering, and programming of the campus in order to recommend a "gateway" that promotes rest, education, and connects with the National Mall to the north. Among the challenges the campus currently presents is a disconnected flow of public space, dark and uninviting interior spaces, and dilapidated quarters.