On Thursday, I will have a chance to share what I've got so far with my thesis research and early design development. There have been several developments since sharing my work with you a few weeks back; so, this will be a long post! To get my head in the game and on a level that will allow me to complete this project by June, I have re-focused my research efforts to:
Urban Wetlands
Community Gardens
Habitable Green Roofs
Comfortable Work Spaces (i.e. temperature, daylighting)
Architecture for Women
As my research begins to appear in design applications, I continue to investigate my proposed site. I am working in the 1300 block of Ridge Avenue in Center City Philadelphia. This site has been popular in Philadelphia news over the last few weeks, since the recent acquisition of the historic Divine Lorraine by investor, Eric Blumenfeld. Since his purchase, he has released a master plan for the redevelopment of the surrounding blocks of North Broad Street. The ideas for the area, as depicted by CDA&I, include:
Urban Wetlands
Community Gardens
Habitable Green Roofs
Comfortable Work Spaces (i.e. temperature, daylighting)
Architecture for Women
As my research begins to appear in design applications, I continue to investigate my proposed site. I am working in the 1300 block of Ridge Avenue in Center City Philadelphia. This site has been popular in Philadelphia news over the last few weeks, since the recent acquisition of the historic Divine Lorraine by investor, Eric Blumenfeld. Since his purchase, he has released a master plan for the redevelopment of the surrounding blocks of North Broad Street. The ideas for the area, as depicted by CDA&I, include:
- hospitality school building
- several school complexes
- transit centers
- professional basketball training center
- technology center
- arts facilities
- parking centers
- auxiliary sports fields
The plan has brought attention to the neighborhood, but most specifically to the neighbors whose homes and businesses were eliminated in the proposal images. I eliminated one of the neighboring buildings, Cerulean Arts, highlighted in an engaging News Works posting, in many of my site planning schemes. But since reading the owners' story, I have tried to find ways to incorporate the existing building in my site design. It is unclear if this design decision will be practical as the Girl Scout campus develops, but for now I have to react to residents' comments like:
"When you think there's a designer or an architect or an architect's assistant sitting somewhere pointing out plans for your block on his or her CAD system and then hovering the cursor over your building and then hitting click and then — poof — your building doesn't exist anymore — and you had no idea," said [a North Broad neighborhood resident]. "You know you're just a dismissible detail on somebody's plan. It's just weird."
"When you think there's a designer or an architect or an architect's assistant sitting somewhere pointing out plans for your block on his or her CAD system and then hovering the cursor over your building and then hitting click and then — poof — your building doesn't exist anymore — and you had no idea," said [a North Broad neighborhood resident]. "You know you're just a dismissible detail on somebody's plan. It's just weird."
And "weird" is right. Imagine visiting a blog or reading the paper and finding that there are plans to replace your home or personal business with new spaces -- with efforts to make the neighborhood better -- as if your spaces don't support the neighborhood enough. This is exactly what I seek to avoid -- bringing unnecessary or improper development to struggling neighborhoods. Displacement does not have to be the answer, so as I continue to develop the campus, I will consider minimal building removal and responsible reintroductions of any removed spaces.
In the master plan that I propose at this time, I include many of the same facilities as the Blumenfeld scheme. However, the plan also includes the existing Cerulean Arts Building. It also contrasts the Blumenfeld site by engaging its edges as opposed to focusing on inward courtyards.
The blocks are zoned for residential, commercial, and mixed-use facilities. A major goal of the project is to diversify the housing types. The Divine Lorraine development will bring a high rise housing type that is foreign to the area at this time. The blocks just east of the site have townhomes lining the streets. I seek to bring mid-rise, multi-family units that overlook park spaces and interact with the newly developed civic buildings in the master plan. This will also help pedestrians to interact with the scale of the buildings comfortably. Moving from west to east on the site, building heights and traffic decrease. Similarly, the site slopes downward from west to east. The placement of wetlands to manage stormwater are central to the site to minimize harmful contaminants from reaching the community garden spaces at the most southern region of the blocks.
To help me to think about the use of the site, I developed a cast of characters. I use each character to walk or drive through the site and come up with their experiences. The end goal is to develop a design that will make all of these use cases successful.
To help me to think about the use of the site, I developed a cast of characters. I use each character to walk or drive through the site and come up with their experiences. The end goal is to develop a design that will make all of these use cases successful.
So that's where I am at! And putting all of that work together has left little time for testing out new recipes. Believe it or not, some nights in our household there are no desserts made from scratch or twenty-five step recipe entrees. Some nights we chow down on some of our classic favorites. We like to make meals that will provide us with leftovers for lunches or dinners to follow.
This week, we enjoyed a great taco night on Sunday. Tacos are simple, but they should be colorful. We add a can of cream-style sweet corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes to our ground beef and taco seasoning for flavorful bites.
This week, we enjoyed a great taco night on Sunday. Tacos are simple, but they should be colorful. We add a can of cream-style sweet corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes to our ground beef and taco seasoning for flavorful bites.
Tonight, Tuesday night, we whipped up some mashed potatoes, porkchops, and chopped broccoli. Add some candlelight and fall ambiance and you have yourself a wonderful meal.
Things are only going to intensify from here on out, but I plan to spend some time away from my project to craft and cook [to keep my sanity] and will update you along the way. In the meantime, let me know if you have any thoughts about what's happening with the Divine Lorraine and its surrounding blocks.
