jean nouvelle - vtechworks.lib.vt.edu · “a street is a street,” wrote maurice culot and leon...

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“It is dangerous for man to hide, to flee, to plunge back into nostalgia for bygone days. In the same way that super highways cross mountains or that utility poles march across the great plains, a new poetry is born out of unavoidable meeting of technology and nature. A poetry of reality” JeanNouvelle

THE PROGRAM

CameronStationasanurbancenterthatwillcomplementOldTownAlexandriaandofferwhatOldTowndoesn’thave.

Comments from Alexandria official:• WestAlexandriaisunanchored,noplacetogather,needsinstitutionalcomponents,libraries,schools,governmentagencies…• Nocomfortablesurrounding,nopedestrianorientedretail.• Backlick Run is highly unattractive, purely utilitarian, Just a concrete flume.• Citygovernmentwouldconsiderlocatingtherecreationaldepartmentiftheenvironmentofthedevelopmentisright.• Lackofmulti-purposedestinationforlocalaswellasregionalvisitors.• 40%ofthepopulationofAlexandriaisasinglepersonhousehold.Thereforearesidentialcomponentwithadiversedwellingunittypeisverydesirable.

ThefollowingprogramisdevelopedtoparallelaproposeddensityonthesitebyalocaldeveloperaswellasdesiredmajorcomponentsofthecityofAlexandria.

• DiverseResidentialcommunities Mid-riseapartmenthousing–800-1200unit Townhomehousing-800units Singlefamilyhousing–100units Transitionalhousingfacility–100units

• Commercial&retailcenter.• Publiclibrary–100,000SF• Iceskatingfacility–30,000SFwithoutdooroption–20,000SF• Civicbuilding(DepartmentofParksandRecreations)–40-50,000SF• ArtsandCulturalCenter100,000SF• Entertainment&performingArtCenter100,000SF• Publicelementaryschool• RecreationalPassiveandactive• Sportsfacilities

This program is developed in support of reversing the process of suburban sprawl. It proposes a model for suburban transformation or urban infill asanalternativetotheendlessandseeminglyinexhaustiblegrowingsuburbs.Itadvocatestheprocessofreducingdistanceandincreasingdensity.

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DESIGN TOOLS

ParticularelementsandcomponentswereutilizedtodeviseasystemtointegratethesiteintotheCity.Someofthepresentedorganizationaltoolswereproposedduetotheirgeneralandprovenhistoricalsucce-ss. They represent a continuation of organizational influences on American cities. Some of these are:• The Grid,fromtheRomanmilitarycamp• The Boulevard,fromNapoleonicFrance• The Parkways,G.W.Parkway(suburbansetting),BostonCommon(urbanSetting)Allofthesemodelswereusedbecausetheyarecapableofsupportinganexpandableorder.Other tools represent more specific mechanism to the site, and played a prominent roles as events responsible for the second overlay of organization.

• The Street - Unifier -Event recurring in cities.Streetsandactivebuildingedgesaselementsofcontinuityareorganizationalsystemthatadjustandrespondtoitssurrounding.

• The Plaza–organizer–Eventmagnifyingandcelebratingaplace.GreenandOpenspacenetwork.Openspacesarealsoconnectionsbetweenblocks.Onebigspaceinthemiddleofaneighborhoodlinkedtoothersmallerspacesthatleapintootherneighborhoods.

• The Threshold–Connector-Eventintegratingothereventsandwithedges

“Threshold is a sacred thing” Phorephorus–aGreekphilosopher

Thresholdsaretheeventswheretransitionsandmovementsbetweenandthroughspacesandbetweenandthroughinsideandoutside.Theyarealsothelimitsandboundariesofthings.Thresholdsontheplan-ning,urbandesignandarchitecturallevelsareemphasizedandcelebrated.Thresholdistheareaofoverlapbetweenthethreerelateddisciplines.Thisthesisfocusesonwhathappenedinthethresholdwhetherasafunctionalplanningdiagram,anurbanplaza,agatewaytoabuildingoradoorwaytoaprivatespace.Itusesthemovementsandtransitionsfromandinbetweenthepublic,thesemipublic,thesemiprivateandtheprivatetoexploreswaysofusingthethresholdasanorganizerandadriverofdesignsolutions

The proposed block size, while varies, is comparable the block size in Old town Alexandria which is: 246x353centerofrightofway 40’ofpayvment 8’sidewalk

The proposed typical town house block configuration is the invert of the standard layout and is designed tocontrastthatofOldTownAlexandria.

Compendiumstreetsweredevelopedandmodeledafterthemethodsadoptedbythebook“GreatStreets”byAlanJacob.

Asecondarynetworkofstreetsandopenspacesareintroducedformaximumconnectivity,integrationandflexibility in the choice of the mode of transportation.

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Public Realm

“In the past, the street was the place where social classes and social uses mixed. It was the stage of solemn ceremony and improvised spectacle, of people watching, of commerce and recreation. In its changing architecture, its slow shifts and adjustments, in its sometimes wholesale reincarnation, the street was also the our communal register – the safeguard of those continuities of culture and place that made us as street users vastly and substantially older than our age and infinitely wiser than our natural gifts…In all this the container mattered, of course, but it was not what mattered most. If a street design took certain turns, it is because that is how we wanted to live. “A street is a street,” wrote Maurice Culot and Leon krier, and one lives there in a certain way not because architects have imagined streets in certain ways.” That is why I cannot see the point of reviving the container without a solemn commit-ment to reinvest it with true urban vigor, with urbanity.” SpiroKostof–TheCityAssembled

Thisprojectassumesthatfundamentaltothelifeofacityistheexistenceofurban PUBLIC REALM,aplacewherepeoplewhodon’tknoweachothercanbe,congregate,interact,shareexperiences…Inthisprojectthepublicrealmconsistsofstreets,squares,plazasandparks.

Inanerawhenpublicrealmisreducedtofragmentedaspectofitself(publicspacesareeitherhighlyrestrictedorprivatelyowned,parks,libraries,malls,sportsarenas,churches,conventioncenters,theatres…)Activepublicstreetsaretheonlyremainingtruepublicrealmandarethebackboneofastrivingurbancenter.Theybelongtonooneandtoeveryonesimultaneously.Theyarethecontainerwherepubliclife,publicgatheringandpublicdebatetakeplace.Theyaretheplacewherehumanexchangestakeplace,notjustactiveexchangeasinthecaseforcommerce,butalsopassiveexchangeforsponta-neityandleisure.TheyarethestepsoftheMetropolitanMuseuminNewYork,PiazzaFontanainRome,thecaféinParisandtheBazaarinDamascus.

To sustain active Public Street, two things have to happen:

1. Continuity of experience–thisisachievedbyminimizinginterruptionofstreetwallsandsidewalks,andbymakingtheopenspacesintheretaildistrictanextensionofthestreet.

2. Continuity of use over time – This issue is addressed conceptually & programmatically. It explores ways of introducing a design with a level of flexibility which allows for a variety of mixes and uses;spacesthatareeasilyconvertiblefromoneusetoanother.Forexample,theschoolisextendedintotheparkinorderpromoteitsfunctionasacommunitycenter.

inwardquality,disconnectionandisolationcommonopenspacedualsystemforcarsandpedestrianscompleteseparationoftheautomobilefromsemiprivateopenspace.

interiorcourts,exteriorplazasnaturalfeatureurbanelementsvarietyofhousingwithaccessibilityforcarsandpedestriansvarietyofexperiencesurban\ruralexterior(public)andinterior(private)solutionshighdensity,mixuse,integrityofbuildingfacadecreatingaboundaryforthestreetconnectiontotransportation

grid-iron plan avoids a theme like artificiality of aselfcontainedentitymainstreetcomm\osstheeastside,housingonthewestsidecontinualvistaofpedestriannetworkgivesasenseofagra-riansettingparkingasabuffer

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partialmasterplantownhousesandsectionalhousingblocks

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partialmasterplansinglefamilyhousedistrict&recreationalsportcenter

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partialmasterplanmixed-usepowercenter

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partialmasterplandukestreetgreenwithhighriseresidential

duke street

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3. Performing Art Center2. Art Galleries1. Public Library

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partialmasterplanculturalcenter

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sectional parksectional housing

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sectional parksectional housing

London,England

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duke street

duke street edgemulti-family residential

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modeled afterPrinceStreet,Alexandria,VA

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PStreet,Georgetownmodeled after

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plaza and waterfront

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the plaza

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the vender street &vender wall

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Typicalmixed-usedowntownstreetmodeled after

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Typicalmixed-usedowntownstreetmodeled after

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artgalleriesthe cultural center

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typical single family neighborhood street

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public/privatespacetypical rowhouse block green

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community center

residential:multi-family &single family

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modeled after

Baltimorecityrailsystem

PStreet,Georgetown.WashingtonDC

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modeled afterCommonwealthAve-Alexandria,VAMonumentAve-Richmond,VA

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Multimodaltransportationpedestrian+biketrial+railroad

circulationdiagram

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industrialrecreationalmix

civicresidentialcommercial

land-usediagram

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openspacesincontextdiagram

openspacesdiagram

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urbanplangrid

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cameronstation,alexandriavirginia

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examplesfor flume beautificationopenspaces&parksdiagram