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Historic Westside Redevelopment Plan

Building Arts Institute

A Sacred Space

Las Vegas Downtown Branch Library

21st Century Bookstore

01.

02.

03.

04.

05.

CONTENTS

Henderson

Las Vegas

North Las Vegas

SITE

UNLV

S

PRIN

GS

PRE

S

ERV

E

ETLANDS

MCC

ARREN

NO

RT

H

PEEDWAY

NELLS AFB

Downtown

Flamingo Rd

Sahara Ave

Cheyenne Ave

Craig Rd

RanchoDr

Rainbow Blvd

Las V

egas

Blvd

Summerlin Pkwy

20min

m n

25m n

20 min.

15 min.

DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS

HISTORIC WESTSIDE

The historically black neighborhood found-ed in 1904 has had a history of segregation and systemic discrimination from the city of Las Vegas. As a diplomatic move in an effort to ease relations between the community and the city, UNLV had the opportunity to go into the neighborhood to meet with residents and draft a neighborhood revitalization plan. The approach was community driven, with a series of workshops that culminated in a plan and im-plementation strategy to encourage and guide future development.

Historic Westside Las VegasNeighborhood Redevelopment Plan Analysis and Engagement

01

5 min15 Min

10 min

Pioneer Trail

NEVADA

INTERSTATE

NEVADA

INTERSTATE

Bicycle Circulation

Vehicular Circulation

Bus RoutesResearch

Pedestrian Circulation

Lynch Diagram

Informal Parking

NEVADAINTERSTATE

NEVADAINTERSTATE

250 500 1000ft7500

HUMAN CULTURE: Lynch Map

E ST

.

MA

RTIN

L K

ING

BLV

D

H S

T.

J ST

.

D S

T.

C S

T.

B ST

.

F ST

.

G S

T.

BONANZA RD

MCWILLIAMS AVE

OWENS AVE

MONROE AVE

JACKSON AVE

VAN BUREN AVE

HARRISON AVE

MADISON AVE

JEFFERSON AVE

ADAMS AVE

WASHINGTON AVE

Downtown

Industrial Zone

Industrial Zone

Historic Neighborhood

Core

Residential District

Edge

H s

t.

Commercial District

Hospital District

Paths

Edges

Districts

Nodes

Landmarks

LandmarkWestside

School

LandmarkMoulin Rouge

Edge

MLK

Blv

d.

Edge Freeways

Owens and H St Intersection

Second Baptistand Victory Missionary Baptist Churches

Historic Westside Sign and School

F Street Underpass

NEVADAINTERSTATE

NEVADAINTERSTATE

Source: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

250 500 1000ft7500

CATEGORY: Title

Street Parking

Parking Lots

Informal Parking

E ST

.

MA

RTIN

L K

ING

BLV

D

H S

T.

J ST

.

D S

T.

C S

T.

B ST

.

F ST

.

G S

T.

BONANZA RD

MCWILLIAMS AVE

OWENS AVE

MONROE AVE

JACKSON AVE

VAN BUREN AVE

HARRISON AVE

MADISON AVE

JEFFERSON AVE

ADAMS AVE

WASHINGTON AVE

Through a phase of technical analysis, the student team gathered some necessary information about landmark features of the Historic Westside Community, including the peculiar condition of housing over 40 churches within a square mile. This produces an influx of thousands people that create a dichotomy between the normally vacant land and the saturated scene during Sundays

Physical Thresholds

Points Of Access

HISTORIC WESTSIDE

DOWNTOWN

HISTORIC WESTSIDE

DOWNTOWN

MA

RTIN

L K

ING

BLV

D.

WASHINGTON AVE.

MONROE AVE.

J ST

.

MADISON AVE.

INTERSTATE 15

OWENS AVE.

H ST.

MONROE AVE.

J ST.

D ST.

JACKSON AVE.

VAN BUREN AVE

JEFFERSON AVE

MADISON AVE.

ADAMS AVE

MORGAN AVE

GERSON AVE

C ST.

B ST.

E ST.

F ST.

G ST.

HARRISON AVE

INTERSTATE 15

OWENS AVE.

H ST.

MONROE AVE.

J ST.

D ST.

JACKSON AVE.

VAN BUREN AVE

JEFFERSON AVE

MADISON AVE

MADISON AVE.

ADAMS AVE

MORGAN AVE

GERSON AVE

C ST.

B ST.

E ST.

F ST.

G ST.

HARRISON AVE

Vacant Land Parcels Churches:

Small clusters of empty lots exist making it hard for development The Historic Westside houses over 20 different churches throughout the entire area.

Urban Characteristics

Weekdays SundayHaving little activity in the Historic Westside outside of congregational gatherings on Sundays, the urban composition of the site is very interesting. Like a switch, a city that can be described as desolate or underused becomes immediately lively and saturated with people. It is unfortunate that the lack of activities in the area makes a potential vibrant district into a single use transient zone where people have no reason to stay once their weekly ritual has concluded.

Process

Getting critical feedback from key community figures

Synthesizing the ideas from the community into a plan

Scrutinizing the proposal to verify if it corresponds to what the community said

In order to consolidate all input into a coherent whole an iterative process took place with the student team testing out ideas against metrics set by the community. Through the workshops, the community was very vocal about their needs and the passion led to a clear implementation plan along the development plan. This included the establishing of a commission to take ownership and supervise development of the Westside. By the end of the process, the communities recep-tion went from cynical to trusting and optimistic about the potential the plan had for change

NEVADA

INTERSTATE

NEVADA

INTERSTATE

Medium Density HousingKeep eyes on the parks

Jackson MemorialPARK & plaza

Density housingStudents and downtown

ResidentsMoulin Rouge casino &

Vocational training center

tenaya creek brewery

And commercial corridor

Community centerComputers and courts for kids

Walker African American

Museum expansion

Medium Density HousingBuffer for commercial and residential

Business in Edmond Town Centerumc quick care clinic

Repair the EdgesMartin Luther King commercial Blvd

Create gatewaysUse public art projects

To create a strong brand

Washington liveLocal entertainment corridor

Bring back JacksonCommunity owned Business.

Madison Lot

Madison 'Spirit'Plaza

Complete The Streets

Westside SchoolRenovation

Green Corridor

Greenway at Owens

1

2

3

4

5

6

16

1415

7

10

12

13

8

9

11

0 - 5 Year planWhat is going on now

5 - 10 Year planBringing back the neighborhood

10 - 15 Year planBold MOVES FOR THE WESTSIDE

historic Westside Concept and Execution Plan

0 500' 750' 1000'

The first phase of the project is about introducing short term strategies for long term change. The city of Las Vegas is in a moment of transition, from tourist to local, from a fabricated reality to a cultural hub. A large portion of its history was bred in the Historic Westside, a segregated community in a state of disrepair. This negligence is no longer acceptable, it is time to begin action and forego speculation. The Historic Westside is s a city of voids that can pop up overnight and celebrate the center of a city like Las Vegas.

Historic Westside Las VegasImplementation Phase I

Ideal intervention site

Most Active ChurchesLess Active Churches

Secondary intervention sites

Currently Used as Church Parking (Sunday Condition)

Combating the Urban Void Through Temporary Interventions

Ideal intervention site

Most Active ChurchesLess Active Churches

Secondary intervention sites

Currently Used as Church Parking (Sunday Condition)

Combating the Urban Void Through Temporary Interventions

4 MinFurthest Church

8 MinFurthest Church

6 MinFurthest Church

Relationships with churches

Distance from furthest church in the area

Intervention Strategies

Urban Void Condition Pop-Up Infill proviides temporary solutions

Empty spaces can become public spaces to engage in activities

Pop-up interventions become a method to engage citizens by creating interest

Temporary interventions can become a catalyst for long term change

Building Arts InstituteIrish Channel Neighborhood, New Orleans

02

The Irish Channel is a neighborhood defined by its history of working class residents that moved to be in proximity to the industrial activities along the river. This merging of industry and residential programs is still a defining factor of the typologies found in the neighborhood, and one that is specifically felt in the site located in Rousseau St. The Building Arts Institute was designed to embody this threshold by mitigating the different scales one encounters in the neighborhood. The gallery, designed as a gesture to the typology of the shotgun home is located at the front of the site facing the residences and acting as a public place for people in the neighborhood to come inside. The scale of the Institute is larger, reacting to the warehouse typologies found towards the back of the site, and is tall enough to overlook the obstructions to reveal a glimpse of the Mississippi.

The gallery sits at the front and generates a courtyard which is also used by the workshops as an outdoor making space. Once inside the Institute, People can navigate through the space and towards the auditorium which faces the neighborhood. The upper floors, which have the greatest views are dedicated towards learning and culminate in the library at the third floor with large balconies on both sides that look towards both the city and the river.

Magazine St.

Tchopitoulas St.

Jackson Ave.

1/4 Mile1/2 Mile

DN

The choice of materials in the gallery are to reinforce the relationship of the gallery with the surrounding houses, using long planks of reclaimed wood found nearby. Once inside, however, the steel building frame is revealed as the actual structure. The Gallery also houses a green roof to point to the potential of buildings to play a role in mitigating the damage to nature that they produce, as well as a homage to some of the green technologies that the building industry will have to become familiar with. The Institute reverses the relation of interior and exterior in the gallery, using an industrially generated perforated metal facade and concrete walls with the shape of the formwork embedded into the finish. The interior is lined with a wooden ceiling counteract the coldness of steel and the concrete floors, reinforcing the nature of the site as a threshold.

A Sacred SpaceViterbo, Italy

DN

DN

DN

DN

DN

DN

DN

Site Plan

0 10 500 10 50

Section Through Classroom

Overall Section Through Valley

An exploration on how to translate a metaphorical ideal into built form, the non-denominational sacred space is the embodiment of the principle of discovering your personal journey as multiple paths lead you to discover what you want to see. Furthermore, the shape itself is derived as an attempt to replicate the fabric of the city into a religious complex with narrow corridors and small pathways which don’t show just what lies around the corner.

03

50

The Process Massing a solution representative of the figural typology of the city

Granular Drainage Fill

4 in Drain Pipe

Masonry Retaining Wall

Compacted Backfill

Stone Masonry Units

Reinforcment Bars

Concrete Foundation

LAS VEGAS HISTORIC DISTRICT LIBRARY

A city unlike any other, designing in Las Vegas means designing for a culture which is yet to define itself. One could argue that it wants to become a true cultural metropolis, yet it stands as a heterogeneous culture without a unified identity. This existential longing has the opportunity to be channeled into creating a promising and mysterious future for the city of sin.

Floor Plan

DN

Reference

Periodicals

Stacks

Reading Room

Audio/Video Stacks

Public Computer Access

Catalogue

Meeting Room

Youth Stacks

Work Area

Youth Reading

Story Time

Head Librarian’s O�ce

Circulation

Break Room/Kitchen

Lobby

Courtyard

Storage

MechanicalElectrical Telecom-munications

Recieving

Retail

0’ 25’ 50’ 75’04

21st Century Bookstore

The problem of the failing bookstore has been defined and needs to be addressed. Through architecture, the future can become promising, and the hope is there. Still reality keeps reminding us that the world is changing unapologetically and faster than we can define. Yet we cling on to the things that made it possible to get here. The evolution of the book leads to the logical conclusion that it is no longer appropriate to be carried when information is so lightweight and compact in the world of today. However there is still a romance in the air about the bookstore. By creating the path, one ascends in the stages of the book to its newest, formless state of pure information.

05