uncovering potential: an investigation into dimensions of the city

unco

verin

g

an investigation into dimensions of the city

UncoveringPotential

Kansas City Design Center Urban stUDio 2010the University of Kansas & Kansas state University

an investigationinto dimensions of the city

contentsthis book was written and designed by Karina leung, Benjamin Busch, and allison gould with direction from vladimir Krstic, Kansas State University professor in architecture. on behalf of all the members of the 2009-2010 Kansas city Design center (KcDc) Urban Studio, we would like to thank the community partners that make the centers presence in downtown Kansas city possible through their charitable contributions and professional support.

foreword by VLaDiMir KrstiC 7defining the city WHat iS KanSaS citY? by raCHeL DUnCan 12 SoliD/voiD/vacancY by Karina LeUng & benJaMin bUsCH 16 seeing the city morPHological DiSSectionS 25 SPatial PercePtion 33 manifeStationS of tHe temPoral 49 envisioning the city aPProacHing arcHitectUre by raCHeL DUnCan 66 reStrUctUring tHe griD 70 Urban corridor: Walnut Street reactivating the crossroads by amy Kinderknecht UrbanInfill:CrossroadsDistrict

connecting PlaceS 88 Urban node: Washington Square Park Urban Deck: School/Parking garage/Bridge Urban aquatics center Driving By: the Design and experience of triangle Park by Shannon Williams Urban folly: triangle Park

Programming cHange 116 adaptive Urban Space community Space: mixed-income Housing Public education: civic Space and middle School Urban farmstead

reDefining PUBlic 132 city interface: multi-modal transit Hub Public/Parking: temporary Urban Space

reflections 147 notes 148

foreword

this publication is an attempt to generate a summary perspective of two semesters of study and work in the urban design studio at the Kansas city Design center. the pedagogical premise of the studio was to use Kansas city as a live in urban laboratory for focusing and engaging critical urban design issues and in doing so illuminate contextual understanding of the purpose and the meaning of the subject of design.

the studio brief issued to students was titled Urban Chess: Stratagems for Critical Maneuvers. it opposed the nostalgia of optimum density and built up grid desiresthatsubsideontheofficialmasterplanstothe city as is of vacant building-turned-parking-lots and laissez-faire urban morphology, asking them tofindinthatintersectionaseedofatruecityandwithin it discover a more viable possibilities for design interventions that can make difference. in order to do so studentsfirsthadtodevelopmethodsforpeeringintothe obvious and dissecting it so that they could see that what was hiding in the plain viewthe city as is but this time as an artifact, a physical object par excellence as aldo rossi termed it. Whatever was pulled apart and disassembled we have tried to [re]arrange back together, seeking redeeming possibilities while walking the DmZ grounds of urban design theory looking for critical insights into the epitome of the midwestern city, or for that matter the contemporary city. our quest was greatly helped by many guest critics from the ranks of Kansas city practitioners, communal stakeholders and fellow academics.

in the end the studies and ideas presented here, beyond their own individual design merit, constitute a wealth of possibilities which are yet to be fully explored. in that are their true merit, resonance and the obligation of continuity they pass on to those who taught them.

this publication was in its entirety conceived and put together by students, and all work and writings presented here belong to them. many of them labored much past the completion of their academic obligations to see this record come through. my debt of gratitude goes to allison gould, Benjamin Busch, and above all Karina leung without whose devotion, tenacity, and perseverance our studio book would not have happened. thank you.

VLaDiMir KrstiC

UnCoVering Potential 7

the river market, Downtown loop, crossroads arts District, and crown center comprise the core of Kansas city. the character of each district is distinct, but the primary public buildings in Kansas city are situated along the north-south corridor of main Street, Walnut Street, and grand Boulevard.

1956

development of kansas city

1970 1990 2001i-70 conStrUcteDi-29 conStrUcteD

i-35 conStrUcteD i-670 conStrUcteDi-35 re-roUteD

US-71 conStrUcteD

8 UnCoVering Potential

Kemper Arena

American Royal

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Convention Center

Freight House

Union Station

Liberty Memorial

Sprint Center

Power and Light District

City Market

City Hall

Central Public Library Federal Courthouse

WEST BOTTOMS

WESTSIDE 18TH & VINE

PASEO WEST

HOSPITAL HILL

LONGFELLOW

COLUMBUS PARK

CROWN CENTER

CROSSROADS ARTS DISTRICT

DOWNTOWN LOOP

RIVER MARKETN

Despite the physical presence of a city and its delineation in space, a city is much more than a tangible object. the term city connotes individual experiences and knowledge, which are used to construct a qualitative understanding. each city is a unique amalgamation of its history, people, infrastructure, and architecture. it is from these elements that a collective conscious emerges, defining the city.

THE CITYdefining

Does Kansas City belong to Kansas or Missouri? is it

the location, the geographical realities that make up thisor anycity?

Does its broad relation to the rest of the world or universe have anything to

do with ones perception of it? or should one simply take into account those

few events and places which one encounters? (i.e. those in which one lives,

dines, or holds conversations.) it seems that anything beyond that which

is directly experienced is hearsay, and therefore a pseudo-reality requiring

research or the trust in some form of media or peers. However, it is virtually

impossible to experience an entire cityevery part of it and all its possibilities

and opportunities. one is left with only an individual interpretation, be it from

one days or fifty years experience.

this is the beauty of the city; it is so alive, dense, and complex that it

fuels the lives of millions of people at once. it participates on tremendously

different scales of involvement and significance, and therefore exists as

layers of concurrent, yet ever-changing realities.

So in attempt to define a citya decidedly complex and dynamic

organismwhere does one start? I find Aldo Rossis writings in The

what is kansas city?

raCHeL DUnCan

12 Defining tHe City

Architecture of the City especially compelling. i am able to grasp rossis

theories about the city and and see examples of his ideas in the organism

evolving around me, Kansas City. rossi understands the issues an american

city faces and he allows for a framework by which one can understand a city

beyond the simple encounters one has with it, regardless of if they occur

over only one day, a few weeks, or a lifetime.

What can be particularly helpful in the endeavor of defining the

american city, and in this case, Kansas City, is recognition of the necessity

to remember the past. understanding that with time, the city grows upon

itself; it acquires a consciousness and memory1 does not require a personal

experiential understanding to realize the effects historical ideals have on what

the city currently is. regardless of what used to be, all that currently exists

are signs of collective will which endured the destruction,

demolition, and change of use that occur over time in a city.

these permanent characteristics are evident in the

artifacts that contribute to the image of the city. the urban

image, its architecture, pervadesand invests all of mans

inhabited and constructed realm with value. it arises inevitably

because it is so deeply rooted in the human condition.2 We

must take into account its physical form, but also its ability

to contain and remind inhabitants of its ancient qualities.

the city is in its history,3 a history that is alive and present.

therefore, there is meaning to give permanences: they are a

past that we are still experiencing.4

especially in a city as young as Kansas City, people

need something to understand about the past, something

that makes them feel grounded. there is something about

moving into a newly constructed house, in a brand new

neighborhood, between two empty houses still looking for

Party walls contain a residue of the past; a building that once stood on the site of an empty lot may be reconstructed in the mind.

13

owners, versus moving into, or back into, the house built by the hands of

your great-grandparents. Here, possessing some respect for the history

makes you feel every nail and imagine the stories told on the front porch.

to me, this is what a city is likeit has depth. as one can see the mark of

a demolished building along the side of one still standing, the depth grows

deeper. but as stated before, one does not need to have seen the previous

building there, or watched their great-grandfather hammer the nail in, to feel

the value of history, thought, or of some purpose for why it was there.

With this realized framework for sensing permanent, lasting realities of

a place, I can begin to define one layer of the city as it exists to me. One of the

most experientially-rich and defining areas of Kansas City is the River Market

district, because it is there that i sense the memory of a diverse, expansive

city. While i do not possess a personal memory of such

a time when trading was actually taking place along the

river, i can certainly recognize its remainder in the market,

along the streets, amidst the traces of change and

consistency. i value this entire district as an urban artifact

because of its ability to imply not only a physical thing

in the city, but all of its history, geography, structure, and

connection with general life of the city.5 it is a physical

location, yet it holds a personality of coming together,

sharing, and experiencing differences. remarkably not

overtaken by chain venders and gas stations, the district

remains personal and individual.

there are few places i have ventured through this

city in which a simple building tie or an inadvertent

contrast of colors has made me lose my train of thought

mid-sentence. Had these small details not called for my

attention, in effect they would not exist at all. some other

Kansas citys rich history as a center for trade and agriculture is hinted at in a colorful array of produce at the city market in the historic river market district.


element (perhaps more obvious or mediated) could have formed or limited

my personal image of the district and the city, yet the Market is flooded

with detail, variety, and acceptance of other cultures and lifestyles. this

multiplicity is the critical foundation of the ideal american city. therefore, it

is a significantly defining artifact of Kansas City, one that undoubtedly exists

beyond my layer of interaction, and would be conspicuous in its absence.

granted, i realize the necessity to also envision the makeup of the city

beyond historical ideals and attractive areas full of character. For instance,

following Steven Holls example of defining the physical reality of the

American city through the spatial field between buildingsThe individual

building [or artifact] does not monopolize ones thoughts. Concentration

is on the relationships between buildings: the terrain, the sky, light, axes

of movement.6 While this is important, especially to an architect, i believe

the emotions and suggestions that these created spatial

relationships provide should be related to the historical

emotions and suggestions that continue to prevail throughout

the various artifacts of the city.

1. aldo rossi, The Architecture of the City (cambridge, mass.: mit Press, 1982), 21.

2. ibid., 27.3. ibid., 34.4. ibid., 59.5. ibid., 22.6. Steven Holl, Within the city: Phenomena of

relations, Design Quarterly 139 (1988): 7.

what is kansas c i ty? 15

solid/void/ vacancy

borne oF iDealisM, tHe aMeriCan City Was ConCeiveD as

a rational other to the chaotic cities of europe. the pursuit of democracy

and tabula rasa of the american landscape provided the nascent discipline

of urban planning the opportunity to apply enlightenment principles to the

development of new urban settlements. the street grid became an equalizing

matrix whose egalitarianism was impossible to realize in the established

cities of europe.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 parsed the infinite extension of the United

states into digestible one-mile blocks via the inscription of the Jeffersonian

grid. the mile became the unit of measure for space, commodifying the

countrys most abundant natural resourceland. In this fledgling democracy,

every man now had the opportunity to own land. implicit in this notion of

ownership, was his right to do as he wished with his land, for after life and

liberty, the third absolute rightis that of property.1 thus property rights,

guaranteeing individual freedom, became the dominant force in shaping

american cities. Within the homogeneity of the street grid, these rights

were exercised, resulting in buildings conceived as objects for definition

Karina LeUng & benJaMin bUsCH


against a uniform backdrop. the grid neither legislates nor limits the sort

of building or activity that will occupy any particular segment of the city;

the spaces it designates are free to develop in a variety of ways. the grid

merely coordinates spaces and thus provides one space with access to all

the others.2 While the american city is highly organized in plan, this order is

incomprehensible from the perspective of the street.

soLiD anD VoiD

Two opposites, solid and void, are commonly used to define

the physical incarnation of the city but are semantically

deceptive. Solid implies consistent mass but means finite

space and its enclosure, while void implies fluid emptiness but

means defined yet infinite space. If the traditional European

city is defined by spaces carved into its inhabitable poch and

the Modern city is understood as a relationship between the

architectural object and its collectively owned natural space,3

then Kansas City exists somewhere in between. rather than

spaces defined by the typological uniformity of street walls,

the scattered pattern was always potentially readable4 in

the American city. Composed as a system of trafficways

and parking lots littered with buildings, the american city

is read as objects-in-field. This condition is problematic

because when figure is unsupported by any recognizable

frame of reference, it can only become enfeebled and self-

destructive.5 such objects-in-void stand aloof as wholly

self-referring eccentricities rather than being an element of

the urban fabric.

as a quintessentially Midwestern city, Kansas City

is expressed by a figure-ground image that more closely

figure-ground drawings of Barcelona (top) and Kansas city (bottom) show a marked difference in the role of solid and void in each city.

17

even as its program has changed, Kansas citys Union Station remains an entrance to the city


resembles a chessboard than one of a renaissance or Modernist city.

It will never offer the continuously defined space of a European city nor

the complete openness of a Modernist city. However, the irregularity of

development within the Midwestern city results in serendipitous spaces and

exceptional frames of reference.

DynaMiC sPaCe

It is in section where the American city finds form; urban space emerges

from vertical groupings, terrestrial shifts, elongated slots of light, bridges

and vertical penetrations of a fixed horizontal.6 these conditions transform

static monoliths into ethereal backdrops as one traverses the city. the rapid

succession of novel stimuli, and the dialogue between foreground and

background form the experience of the gridded city.

the dynamic quality of the city extends beyond facades. Just as the

shape of the city is in a constant state of transformation, so is its function;

however the changes do not necessarily correlate. because the constructed

urban environment contains within itself the identities of its past and present

inhabitantsas well as inviting imagination about the futurecertain urban

artifacts persist, retaining continuity of identity while allowing for the natural

evolution of a city to occur.

some of these urban artifacts maintain permanence and become

monuments, regardless of the multiple functions that may reside within a

particular building.7 union station has maintained a prominent presence as

a monument that houses the ritual of arriving in Kansas City. in the past, the

building was a regional train station and the first impression for visitors to

the city; now, the building is used for exhibition and operates primarily as

a tourist destination (in addition to housing offices and a rail terminal). With

its stately architecture, union station has preserved the notion of the grand

introduction to a city, even as its function has changed.

sol id/vo id/vacancy 19

VaCanCy

union stations transition may be attributed to the abandonment of local rail

travel in favor of personal automobiles during the post-war economic boom.

the correlating suburban sprawl, which relocated much of the population

from the urban core to surrounding areas in cities across the united states,

marked a turning point in many Midwestern cities. Without the strength to

attract enough new residents and businesses that larger and more diverse

cities had, Midwestern cities steadily deteriorated.

the empty lots and skeletal remains of what existed prior created a

condition of vacancy. Whereas void is the absence of form, vacancy is the

absence of presence. the lack of occupation denoted by vacancy has far-

reaching implications on a city. Private land ownership confers the right of

disallowing public use of vacant lots, but does not oblige an owner to act in

the best interest of the public. the effects of vacancy on the space of the city

are detrimental, acting as spatial vacuums.

reVitaLiZation

the idea of deterritorialization, as put forth by James Corner, provides a model

for completely reevaluating strategies for urban renewal: Rather than fixing

the city through architecture, or architecturalizing the city in order to discipline

its spaces, both perspectives of power, the work of deterritorialization simply

establishes the conditions for the processes of urbanism to perform and

unfold in more dynamic ways.8 by temporarily reclaiming vacant lots for

public use, vacancy no longer has to be a scourge of the city. the collective

ownership of the land can actually initiate renewal, as these space provide a

site for the impromptu events of public life to occur.

With urban renewal efforts underway in many Midwestern cities,

it must be noted that the space of the city should be at the forefront of

consideration; it is this space by which the city is defined, both as a formal


1. Dana cuff, community Property: enter the architect or, the Politics of form, in Slow Space, ed. michael Bell and Sze tsung leong (new York: monacelli Press, 1998), 121.

2. Joan copjec, the grid and the logic of Democracy, in The Urban Text, ed. mario gandelsonas (cambridge, mass.: mit Press, 1991), 14.

3. colin rowe and fred Koetter, Collage City (cambridge, mass.: mit Press, 1984), 79.

4. mario gandelsonas, the identity of the american city, in X-Urbanism: Architecture and the American City, (new York: Princeton architectural Press, 1999), 45.

5. rowe, Collage City, 64.6. Steven Holl, Within the city: Phenomena of

relations, Design Quarterly 139 (1988): 7. (quoting Paul valry)

7. aldo rossi, The Architecture of the City (cambridge, mass.: mit Press, 1982), 22.

8. James corner, landscraping, in Stalking Detroit, ed. georgia Daskalakis, charles Waldheim, and Jason Young (Barcelona: actar, 2001), 123.

object and by public life. Quantity cannot be confused with quality in goals

for revitalizing cities. recognition of the reality of void in the Midwestern

city requires strategic intervention. in the american city, public space often

arises from explicit program or from the surrounding program of structures

(e.g. a street that becomes a space because of the retail stores and

restaurants located along it). With the movement of capital

and population, space in the city may moves also. today,

it is incumbent upon designers to realize that public space

should not result exclusively from capital; it needs to be able

to drive capital.

Kansas City mirrors other Midwestern cities in the efforts

being made to reverse the deterioration of the urban core.

there are myriad potential futures for the city. Current design

challenges warrant unconventional strategies that relate to

their physical and cultural context. through an investigation

of Kansas City, its potential will be uncovered.

sol id/vo id/vacancy 21

We used Kansas City as a case study for our investigation of the Midwestern city. to reveal the layers of Kansas City obscured by familiarity and cultural prejudice, we had to devise methodologies of inquiry to guide our rigorous examinations of the city. the extracted data were reconstructed to form our readings of the city.

THE CITYseeing

24 Seeing tHe City

in DisseCting an obJeCt, one gains an unDerstanDing

of that objects compositionits structure and constituent elementsthat

a superficial examination cannot reveal. By systematically dismantling the

city into pieces and reassembling these parts into new compositions, a new

image of the city emerges in which the built mass of Kansas City and its

topography are inextricably tied. the grids indifference to geography, which

results in an erasure of all such features1 does not apply to the city in

section.

by withdrawing our vantage point from within the city to a position

looking at it, the city becomes an object for study. its morphology may be

reduced to unbiased images of solid and void in which no distinction is

made between the built form and topography of a city. the meaning we

derive from the physical form of the city is fundamental to our

understanding of it.

composite north-south section of Kansas city

morphological dissections

1. Joan copjec, the grid and the logic of Democracy, in The Urban Text, ed. mario gandelsonas (cambridge, mass.: mit Press, 1991), 13.

25

Sections along every street in downtown Kansas city document its changing form. a comprehensive image is formed as an x-ray of the city, which relates its density and distribution of mass.

the city in section

26 Seeing tHe City

morpholog ica l d issect ions 27

Sections along east-west streets track the morphology of Kansas city from the river market and Downtown loop (this page) through the crossroads arts District to crown center (opposite).

28 Seeing tHe City

30 Seeing tHe City

Horizontal sections follow the emergence of the topography and morphology of Kansas city from the reference level of the missouri river bank. Buildings and the ground are graphically treated the same, resulting in figure-grounddrawingfromdiscretepositionsin space, acknowledging the role of the ground in forming the space of the city.

elevational scans


spatialperception

sPaCe in tHe griDDeD City is oFten a by-ProDuCt; it is

the counterpart of buildings, the absence of mass. as opposed to the

deliberate constructions of space manifested as public plazas of the

renaissance city, space in the american city is not discrete. Public space

is rather a product of perception. Movement, light, texture, and mass all

factor into individual constructs of space.

spatial perception results in multiplicity of representation which

complements the absolute, physical form of the city. these multiple

realities result in part from the means by which one engages the city.

the city that is seen and felt by someone crossing through alleys and

parking lots en route to his destination is wholly different from the city he

experiences driving down the street at thirty-five miles-per-hour.

the portrayal of space is as varied as its personal perceptions.

Whether defining its boundaries or depicting its phenomenological

qualities, these studies attempt to define a vague element of the city.

the perceived space of main Street extends far beyond the street itself, between buildings and down cross-streets. the resulting form is the implied space of main Street.

implied space

MA

IN S

T

N

in this evaluation, several spaces along main Street were recognized as being distinct from the rest of the street. multiple perspectives of each space were combined to create three-dimensional representations of these spaces.

34 Seeing tHe City

SPatial PercePtion anD DeveloPment in an UrBan Setting reqUire a tHree-DimenSional, Sectional aPProacH tHat giveS PrimarY imPortance to tHe

vieWS of PeramBUlating reSiDentS WHo traverSe SHifting groUnD PlaneS, exPeriencing tHe citY from

mUltiPle frameS of reference.

steven Holl

10th & main Street transit plaza

Power & light District parking lot

main Street diversion to Walnut Street

36 Seeing tHe City

spat ia l percept ion 37

Kansas city is full of interstitial spaces wholly unlike one another. elevated vantage points, formal anomalies, vast parking lots, and extended sight lines create spaces out of incidental voids in the city. this series of images depicts void spaces on main Street and grand Boulevard looking in towards Walnut Street (yellow).

1

1, 23

4

5

67

89

1011

12

13

1415

16

14

13

1615

98

7

2 3

1211

10

5

4

6

void spaces


1 =

50

1 =

50

1 =

50

1 =

50

the site of triangle Park extends far beyond its property line. the diminutive site is part of a much larger space with much potential for thecreationofasignificanturbanpublic space.

I-35

Sout

hwes

t Blvd

23rd St

Triangle Park Site Space

view boundary view extension main site supplemental site

Static Space

Pass-by Space

Terminating Space

triangle park spatial categories

42 Seeing tHe City

Hierarchy of T ime Viewed

23 24 25

E on 23rd St

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

12

1

1

10

9

8

7

6

5

S on SW Blvd

9 10 11

1

1

S from Oramp

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

0

11

12

N on SW Blvd

many people will experience the site from an automobile. this study was an attempt to track the amount of time the site would be in view from each direction of approach. this created a hierarchy of the site based on visibility, which would inform design proposals.

duration of site views


trafficvolume1 line = 25 carS

from Top exiting from interstate 35 to Southwest Boulevard; driving north on Southwest Boulevard; driving south on Southwest Boulevard; driving from 23rd Street to Southwest Boulevard

triangle park apertures


1 00 2 00 5 00 6 003 00 4 00 7 00 8 00 11 00 12 009 00 10 00

1 00 2 00 5 00 6 003 00 4 00 7 00 8 00 11 00 12 009 00 10 00

summer solstice june 21

dec 21solsticewinter

triangle Park is dwarfed by a freeway overpass to the west and a billboard atop the building on the southern edge of the site. the shadows created by these structures continually modulate the boundary and experience of the site.

shadow space study

46 Seeing tHe City

13 00 14 00 17 00 18 0015 00 16 00 19 00 20 00 23 00 0 0021 00 22 00

13 00 14 00 17 00 18 0015 00 16 00 19 00 20 00 23 00 0 0021 00 22 00


a comparison of Kansas citys population (blue) with its built mass (gray).

48 Seeing tHe City

tHe HuMan eleMent oF tHe City is oMniPresent, anD yet

impossible to pinpoint. it exists within every physical part of the city. this

human element is perhaps so intangible because of its temporal nature.

though the life of the city cannot be fully captured in any single image,

snapshots of particular aspects supplement physical studies.

in contradiction to the planned nature of the grid, the Midwestern

city is more a result of societal inputs than an active construction. the

development of american industrial cities can more easily be understood as

a temporary, ad hoc arrangement based on the momentary optimization of

industrial production.1 this is especially true of the Crossroads arts District,

which until recently, was a dying industrial area of the city. the district is a an

active example of the changing city.

Formed from data and observation, alternate readings of the city reveal

relationships between people and the physical city. as a

living record of history, the life of the city and the patterns that

characterize it are integral to our understanding of the city.

WitH time, tHe citY groWS UPon itSelf; it acqUireS a

conScioUSneSS anD memorY.

aldo rossi

manifestations of the temporal

1. charles Waldheim and marili Santos-munn, Decamping Detroit, in Stalking Detroit, ed. georgia Daskalakis, charles Waldheim, and Jason Young (Barcelona: actar, 2001), 107.

49

Amapofpeakhourtrafficloadsfroman typical weekday depicts Kansas Cityasafunctionitstraffic,andby extension its people. each line representsfiftyvehicles.

trafficvolume

mani festat ions of the tempora l 51

footPrint of SUrface lotS anD garageS

kansas city by car

52 Seeing tHe City

total area of SUrface lotS anD garageS

Arevisedfigure-grounddrawingofthe crossroads arts District depicts vacant buildings in gray, giving a more accurate depiction of the districts scattered nature.

vacancy map

54 Seeing tHe City

the ground level storefronts along Kansas citys primary north-south corridor are divided into categories denoting different levels and types of engagement with the public. each street may be described by its barcode, a unique marker embedded with information.

facade inventory

56 Seeing tHe City

GRAND BOULEVARD

WALNUT STREET

MAIN STREET

active Storefrontinactive StorefrontotHer BUSineSSParKing/vacant lotParKing garageBare Wallgreen/PUBlic SPacereSiDential


the activity at the corner of 14th Street and Wyandotte Street in the Downtown loop was rerecorded during regular intervals over the course of a weekday. these images provide a record of the living city.

630-7

715-745

8-830

845-915

930-1000

1015-1045

1100-1130

1145-1215

MO G

1230-100

115-145

200-230

245-315

330-400

415-445

500-530

545-600

A RNOO

urban time lapse

58 Seeing tHe City

event city

1 city market 4 events/month 583,000 annual visitors

2 folly theater 4 events/month 1078 seat capacity

3 Bartle Hall convention center 250 events/year 600,000 annual visitors

4 Power and light District O pen every day 8 million annual visitors

5 S print center 78 events/year 19,000 seat capacity

6 Kauffman Performing arts center *Under const. 3,400 seat capacity

7 Kemper arena 47 events/year 18,000 seat capacity

8 crossroads District 2 events/month 6,500+ indoor capacity

9 18th and vine Jazz District 15 events/month 300,000 annual visitors

10 Union Station O pen excl. Mon. 490,000 annual visitors

11 crown center O pen every day 5 million annual visitors

12 liberty memorial O pen excl. Mon. 165,000 annual visitors

Visitor FLUCtUation atKansas City enter tainMent VenUes

event freqUencY

60 Seeing tHe City

viSitor attenDance Per event annUal event attenDance


the surfaces of the city speak of its history and personality. this texture map follows main Street from the river market through the crossroads arts District. abstractions were used to create a physical model with the terrain determined by tonal value.

the tactile city

62 Seeing tHe City

the conditions of the contemporary Midwestern city informed our project proposals for which design would stimulate a more habitable urban environment. the means for doing so ranged from large-scale urban design strategies that sought to reorder the city to designs for specific buildings that radically re-imagined the role of architecture and space in the city.

THE CITYenvisioning

Most WoulD argue tHat suCCessFul arCHiteCture Must

be aesthetically pleasing. but what if its not? is it preposterous to think

that something ugly could offer a positive experience, or should it be

labeled as visual pollution and devoid of the possibility of being considered

architectural? Perhaps it would be more useful to focus on the accompanying

experience of architecture rather than its form, and consider whether or

not said architecture is beautiful or provocative. one could very well argue

that architecture itself is not real, but rather is an instrument to facilitate an

experience; it is the resulting experience that is considered real.

especially in the american city, the form of architecture is the result of

its function; space is the by-product of the necessary structure. as such,

architecture is consequently meaningless. it is built, and then opened for

possibilities, much like the city on a different scale.

in Kazuo shinoharas machine theory of design, the overall architectural

form does not matterthere is no plan or intention behind it. the role of form

is to set up processes by which spaces arise and life occurs. as designers,

we have no power to control anything beyond this.

approaching architecture

raCHeL DUnCan

66 enviSioning tHe City

When im working on a problem, i never think about beauty. i think only how to solve the problem. But when i have finished,ifthesolution is not beautiful, i know it is wrong.

r. bUCKMinster FULLer

the components for function and form are independent, self-arranging

in an impromptu manner. at the scale of a building, shinohara treats each part

as a fragmented spatial element; the total image of the building is assembled

from the sum of the many relationships established among these elements.

thus a building is in effect just an envelope for these relationships.1

this is in fact how the american city has developed. the street grid,

and the individual property rights espoused by a capitalist economy, have

served as the armature on which american cities were built. but this model

as waned as the physical realm is usurped by the virtual. if we consider that

the world is overrun with media, overflowing with simulated

images and perpetual information, we cannot deny the

mutation of the real into the hyperreal.2

Paul virilio portentously wrote in 1984 that our only

architecture today [is] great screens on which are reflected

atoms, particles, molecules in motion.3 the challenge for

designers today lies in incorporating this transparency and

instantaneity into a progressive design solution. With the

city and our lives in a state of continual change, we must fit

architecture to this condition; it must be pliable and willing to

change with us.

1. Kazuo Shinohara, chaos and machine, Japan Architect 373, no. 5 (1988): 25-32.

2. Jean Baudrillard, the Precession of Simulacra in Simulacra and Simulation (ann arbor: University of michigan Press, 1994), 30.

3. Jean Baudrillard, the ecstasy of communication in The Anti-Aesthetic, ed. Hal foster (Port townsend, Wash.: Bay Press, 1983), 130.

67

WALNUT CORRIDOR

CITY INTERFACE

PUBLIC/PARKING

CROSSROADS INFILL

ADAPTIVE URBAN SPACE

URBAN FARMSTEAD

PUBLIC EDUCATION

COMMUNITY SPACE

WASHINGTON SQUARE NODE

URBAN DECK

URBAN AQUATICS CENTER

URBAN FOLLY

TRIANGLE PARK

design interventions

69

restructuring the grid

tHe absoluteness oF ProPerty rigHts CoMbineD WitH tHe

utilitarianism of the Jeffersonian grid leaves little room for urban design in

the Midwestern city. Zoning regulations masquerade as urban planning in a

setting that is regulated by historically equalizing infrastructure. For Kansas

City to operate as a coherent and functional whole, a vision for the city that

considers both its form and its practical use is needed.

While the urban grid was intended to provide a democratic basis

for construction, it has resulted in incomprehensible space. Hierarchical

organization of space and program will address Kansas City at the scale of

the city and the street. the following proposals were derived from studies of

movement and activity in the city, as well as evaluations of current amenities

and spatial quality. More than just formal prescriptions, these plans for

restructuring propose to revitalize the city by fundamentally changing how

we perceive and interact with the city.


the urban corridor operates on two scalesthat of the city and the

human. at the larger scale, the corridor serves as a backbone for the

city; it is a recognizable, continuous element that the rest of the city

may position itself in reference to. at the smaller scale of the street,

the corridor is characterized by continuity of public space. this public

space that exists as a street in the gridded city may expand and

contract, and extend beyond storefronts, but persists as a distinct

space in the city.

a series of four episodic buildings comprising a macro-ordering

system and a system of infrastructural urban space used to develop

continuity through micro-ordering were proposed to transform Walnut

street into a pedestrian corridor in Kansas City. superimposing these

orders onto the street grid will distinguish Walnut street as public

space in the city, and not an anonymous street.

urban corridor WaLnUt street

nEar lEfT located between two main trafficways,MainStreetandGrandBoulevard, Walnut Street is ideally situated as a pedestrian corridor in downtown Kansas city

far lEfT Walnut street is a linear collector of activity from main and grand

opposITE the Walnut corridor proposal institutes additional ordering systems to the established orders of the street grid and building stock of downtown districts

rest ructur ing the gr id 73

Eachinterventionwasplacedatasignificantpoints along the corridor, and serve as place markers for those traveling along Walnut and for the rest of the city. the form and program of each structure responds to the local context. they establish a dialogue with one another through continuity of material and design language. conceived as large geometric pieces of a whole, each point structure along the corridor plugs in to the proceeding structure.

walnut corridor Point strUCtUres

1

3

4

2

1


23

4


walnut corridor inFrastrUCtUraL sPaCe

lEfT Surface parking lots (cyan) and unoccupied buildings (blue) degrade continuity within the Walnut corridor

abovE green walkways in the crossroads maintain intra-block connections that are characteristic of the district while serving the functional purpose of containingraingardenstofilterthestreetrunoff.Likepocketparks,theseconnecting spaces provide small areas of easily accessible open space. a portion of the proposal plan within the crossroads (above right) shows the locationofseveralgreenwalkwaysandtemporaryinfillspaces.Existingbuildingsareshowningrayandinfillbuildingsareinblue.

at the human scale, the corridor is understood by its quality of space. the Walnut corridor combines conventionalinfillwithurbanspacethatis created from infrastructure. Storm water diversion is integrated into a redesigned streetscape for the corridor, culminating in rain gardens located in green walkways. Dedicated areas fortemporaryinfillprovidethespaceand utilities necessary for operating a business or maintaining a residence, converting vacant lots into active space.


Thetemporaryinfillspacesthroughoutthecorridorarebasedonthepremisethat void is inherent in the gridded city. in excess, these voids become problematic. an infrastructure that is based on the division of city blocks into standard lot sizes (left) provides an opportunity to inhabit the city in a way that is in concert with the nomadic nature of our culture. Utility connection points include advertising, hanging gardens, interactive displays that may provide information to users.


inFill is a CoMMon aPProaCH to urban revitaliZation

in the u.s. the rentable square feet created by the addition of structures

is presumed to attract people to live and work in the city, but too often,

these newly built structures remain empty. a lively urban environment is

possible where vacancy and abandonment exist, but requires much more

consideration than simply hiding space behind new facades. With an

abundance of potential in its unused space, Kansas Citys Crossroads arts

District presents an opportunity for alternative infill strategies.

an Urban ParK in Paris

in 1983, bernard tschumi won a design competition for a new urban

park in Paris. His design for Parc de la villette challenged the typical

interpretation of the infill typology, integrating different ordering systems

whose relationships with one another form the experience of the Park. a

series of red folies creating a new grid brought an unfamiliar order to the

site, encouraging unconventional programming of the Park. this move

introduced a conceptual experience grounded in the potential of location.

reactivating the crossroads

aMy KinDerKneCHt


Figure-groundmapoftheCrossroadsArtsDistrictwiththeCrossroadsInfillsiteareahighlightedingray


retail

Dining

art inDUStrial

reSiDential

ServiceS


tHe CrossroaDs in Context

tschumis revolutionary approach to urban design provides a model for the

Crossroads Infill plan. The district, which is known for its eclectic mix of

artistry and culture, is the location of many architecture firms, advertising

agencies, design studios, and unique retail and restaurants. it has one of

the highest concentration of art galleries in the u.s,1 but remains one of the

most fragmented sections of the city. Many historic buildings

stand (empty) as single entities separated by surface parking

lots (often empty).

the Crossroads is a patchwork of activity that occurs at

limited times of the day, week, and month. though teeming

with life during the typical work week, its streets are deserted

most nights and weekends. During the monthly First Fridays

art exhibition, galleries and studios open their doors to the

public, and the culture contained within spills into the public

realm of the sidewalks and streets.

This condition of discontinuity afflicts many other

american cities which become a landscape of independent

islands of activity.2 As residents fled to the suburbs and

new zoning laws compartmentalized the city, the mixed-use

concept of urban living fell apart, resulting in (and from) a

society which has become more and more debased.3

our society now possesses the means of being

anywhere and everywhere else at will. the shift in the nature

of urban life that has resulted in these spaces has created

a city that is no longer situated in the physical location of

interaction. the lack of need for place in urban life begs the

question as to how new urban design can work towards re-

grounding society in its physical nature.

Top a rare unpaved lot located in the crossroads is fenced off, unavailable for public use

boTTom vacant buildings and the dilapidated parking lots surrounding them result in what Sze tsung leong terms a no-mans land4


Program maps depict overlapping, but fractured networks of residential (yellow), dining (green) and services (blue) in the Crossroads Arts District.

82 ENVISIONING THE CITY

REalIzIng poTEnTIal In Kansas CITY

With such an abundance of empty lots, traditional urban infill could not

even begin to make a significant enough impact in the Crossroads for it

to become a thriving urban district. What this area needs most is regular

activity and movement. The area needs to be hospitable for the people who

will instill life in the area.

This can be done with a strategic approach of design as a mediation,

which will reunite urban life with the physical realm of the city. A new

ordering system that builds on the character of the Crossroads will

reactivate the district. Maintaining the incompleteness of the Crossroads,

a spatial network will preserve selected open spaces, and infill structures

will be designed to support these spaces. The wealth of emptiness and

the connections created by this new ordering system will allow people to

traverse the area by means other than the traditional street grid.

It is within this network of voids already in existence that a new

experiential quality of the Crossroads offers the possibility of reactivation in

the area, where what was once a desolate hole in the urban fabric becomes

a vital green space for people inhabiting new residential

structures. These instances beg for the urban dweller to step

out and experience the Crossroads at any time of day, week,

or month. With a little attention they can give the residents of

this area a reason to truly inhabit the city in which they live.

1. Crossroads Community Association, http://www.kccrossroads.org/organizations/500

2. Sze Tsung Leong, Readings of the Attenuated Land, in Slow Space, ed. Michael Bell and Sze Tsung Leong (New York: Monacelli Press, 1998), 194.

3. Paul Virilio, The Overexposed City, in Architecture Theory since 1968, ed. K. Michael Hayes (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998), 545.

4. Leong, Readings of the Attenuated Land, 191.


crossroads infill spaTIal nETWoRK

The proposal for revitalizing the Crossroads Arts District is comprised of implementing a network of four different types of open spaces from existing un-built spaces. Designed for a nine-block area, the network is intended to be expanded to the entire Crossroads district, cementing the areas unique identity within Kansas City. By not aligning to the street grid, these open spaces reinforce each other and form a coherent whole.


Kinetic spaces occur mid-block and encourage the movement from one point to another along a route that is not part of the street grid.

Buffer spaces are adjacent to sidewalks and create a dialoge between interior activities and the exterior. Outdoor dining is one possible use for buffer spaces.

Static spaces, which may be large or small, are open spaces in which community members can gather.

The destination space utilizes a wide alley along which railroad tracks formerly ran. This space could be utilized for small street festivals without disrupting street traffic.


crossroads infill sTRaTEgIC InTERVEnTIons

The open space network is supported by infill structures that formally define the open spaces. These structures fulfill the programming requirements needed for a thriving neighborhood, by complementing the areas many offices, premium housing, dining, and cultural establishments with much needed housing and retail diversity, educational facilities, and concentrated parking.


RESIDENTIALPARKINGRETAILSCHOOLOTHERARTDINING


connecting places

DoWntoWn Kansas City is faCeD With WiDespreaD

fragmentation and polarization. The localized elevational shifts that

characterize the terrain of Kansas City established natural boundaries for

neighborhoods. these political boundaries, subject to refinement with

relative ease, became permanent physical edges with the introduction of

high-speed transportation routes crossing through the city. The disconnect

even extends to activity within districts, where barren blocks separate

thriving pockets of activity.

The city is further isolated by the competing interests of each district.

When Intestate-35 was rerouted along the western edge of the Downtown

Loop it severed the Westside neighborhood from the adjacent Crossroads

Arts District without regard to previously established boundaries. An

attempt to develop public space within the contested area that would

benefit both neighborhoods must respond to the needs of two very different

communities. Our proposals attempt to establish new connections and

mend broken ones in order to form a coherent, united Kansas City.

89

museums

residential lofts and condominiums

sq ft of exhibition and convention space

transit stops

3regional attractions5

7companies with over 1,000 employees6 business headquarters

700

hotels2

2regional amtrak station1

rooms1,460 of downtowns total40%

174,553

Washington square park lies between Main street

and Grand Boulevard, just south of the railroad tracks

that define the southern border of the Crossroads

arts District. Union station, Liberty Memorial, Crown

Center, and hospital hill surround the park, but remain

disconnected from one another. Washington square park

has an unobstructed view of the Downtown Loop, as well

as Liberty Memorial and the new Kauffman Center for the

performing arts as well as many trees and benches, yet

remains hardly used by the patrons and employees of

neighboring businesses.

By redeveloping Washington square park and extending

it across the railroad tracks and the sunken parking lot

north of the park, it has the potential to become a node

for the southern part of downtown Kansas City. this new

node would complement the existing civic buildings,

public spaces, entertainment districts, and sports venues

that draw visitors to Kansas City and provide activities

and civic space for residents. Linking all of the established

amenities at the southern end of downtown Kansas City

and connecting them with the activity nodes north of the

railroad will benefit the entire downtown area.

urban node WasHIngTon squaRE paRK


top Left Prominent landmarks are visible from Washington Square Park: (clockwise from bottom) Liberty Memorial, the Kauffman Center, and the Sprint Center

bottom Left Parking lots (orange), parks (green), and zoning of the area surrounding Washington Square Park

12th

14th

16th

18th

20th

10th

Broadw

ay

Walnu

t

Main

OakGrand

URD

C3A2

R4

R5

M1 M1

PuBLICSEMI-PRIVATEPRIVATE

uNDER-uSED BuILDINGuNDER-uSED PARKING LOTVACANT LOT


Libe ty Memo ial

The Powe and L ght D st ct

The C oss oads A t Dist ct

Sp int Cente

Ba tle Hall

Rive Ma ket

Union Stat onC own Cente

P oposed He itage T ail

Washington Squa e Pa k

Penn Va ley Pa k

He tage T a l

MAX Line

T olley Ca

LightRail

Reg onal Rail

PARKS AND TRAILS

ATTRACTIONS

PuBLIC TRANSIT

connect ing p laces 93

View on upper deck looking north (above); Longitudinal section through school (below)

east of Main street, the railroad tracks that border the

Crossroads on the south cut into the ground plane

of Kansas City, leaving Crown Center and hospital

hill much higher than the Crossroads. to alleviate the

disconnect caused by the railroad, a parking deck

and magnet high school for education in film, art,

computer science and engineering, was proposed to

bridge the districts. the prevalence of these fields in

the Crossroads arts District will provide the opportunity

for students to engage with professionals in the

surrounding area during their studies. This structure

act as a physical and programmatic link for the rest of

downtown Kansas City to Washington square park and

the surrounding area.

urban decksCHool/paRKIng gaRagE/BRIDgE

STRuCTuRAL DECK

STRuCTuRAL COLuMNS

As part of a plan to revitalize the Washington Square

park area, an urban aquatics center was proposed as

a complement to the Urban Deck. With three pools, the

aquatic center accommodates recreational swimmers

as well as therapeutic and competitive aquatics. The

center would be the only venue for professional athletics

in downtown Kansas City. the ground level contains a

transport connection point for transferring between bus

and rail. These public functions will extend pedestrian

traffic south along Main street, reconnecting Crown

Center with downtown. POOLS

fLOORS

STRuCTuRE

urban aquatics center

top Exterior view looking southwest from urban Deck

Near right Inside main lobby with main recreational pool visible

far right Rooftop view looking north


the existenCe of triangLe parK is fUnDaMentaLLy tieD to

traffic. the park is just one of a series of triangular residual spaces created

by Southwest Boulevard, a diagonal street interrupting the standard street

grid in the Crossroads arts District. any design created for the park must

address the phenomenon of traffic that first created the space.

THE ExpERIEnCE of TRaffIC anD sTREETs

The dominance of images over reality in todays society described by

Baudrillard in his idea of simulacra and simulation, form the basis for

understanding triangle park as a function of the vehicle. the contrast

between viewing and experiencing is central to the understanding of the site.

traffic, or traveling in a car, creates an unreality in regards to experiencing

the city or a specific site that one views or passes. the experience in traffic

is a simulation of reality in which you are sheltered and protected from

interaction inside your vehicle; you are in control, your very attention is vied

for by the outside, but you view the street from a passive perspective, much

like the experience of watching television.

driving bythe design and experience of triangle park

sHannon WIllIaMs


furthermore, the past conception of public streets as a place where

real life and activity takes place is now lost. The vehicle has usurped the

pedestrian to make the realm of the streets exclusively for traffic and cars,

rather than a shared space. Streets represented on maps are now only funnels

for traffic (although they are still sold in new developments

with perspectives filled with people and activity, pedestrians

and bikers, interest and life).

In many cases the streets are no longer places for

real activity and we can only make them seem as such

through another unrealitythe Disneyland-esque temporary

introduction of life and events. first fridays does just that in

the Crossroads. But the vibrant street life and opportunity for

interaction that characterize first fridays also accentuates the

lack of population and activity in the Crossroads on any other

given day. Like Disneyland, most first fridays participants

must drive from elsewhere and park to take place in the event,

exiting again at the termination of the event and returning the

Crossroads to its normal state of under-utilization.

CHangEs In TRaffIC In THE pREsEnT DaY

it is clear that the effect of traffic has always been evident in

some way in the city. historical maps show us that triangle

park has existed for over one hundred years as the product

of three intersecting streets. But in these maps, the site of

triangle park is subdivided into lots and contains buildings; its

anomalous shape and size do not render the land useless.

it may be deduced that experience of traffic has

changed to become more divisive today. Baudrillard argues

Driving by Triangle Park is analogous to watching television


that automobiles are no longer seen as objects, but as their functions, merely

to be used and optimized through the power of technology: The vehicle

now becomes a kind of capsule, its dashboard the brain, the surrounding

landscape unfolding like a televised screen (instead of a live-in projective as

it was before).1 Not only is the experience of passing through the city muted,

but so too is the experience of traveling by vehicle now that technology

allows a person to exist in any space at any moment in time.

paul Virilio contends that traffic or new modes of transportation such

as the automobile did not fundamentally change our experience of the city in

which architectural surfaces still formed boundaries, cities still comprised

clusters of locals, and space was still managed perspectivally.2 rather, the

constant communication and destruction of city boundaries resulting from

technology has transformed our experience of the city from one of spaces to

one of time and light. If we are all now interlocutors in permanent transit,

our designs must address this existence: an appeal or

challenge that no longer simply relates to a physical or

visual interaction, but to a technological way of life.

IMplICaTIons foR TRIanglE paRK

Images, or simulacra, are continuously used to enhance our

desire for improved highways and streets. The rush hour

traffic jam is commonly portrayed in television, movies,

and the nightly news as a destructive phenomenon that

can only be solved by more construction, more roads,

and faster travel times.

triangle park is one opportunity to create a new

image of and interaction with traffic that tells a different

story. By focusing a design solution to react to traffic

whether combating, harnessing, or simply interacting

Triangle Park (yellow) in 1896


with itawareness can be created in the minds of the constant commuter.

Technology can be utilized as an underlying support for design goals as

we accept its permeation and importance in our current society, however

technology may not necessarily be the focus of the design.

CasE sTuDIEs: InTERaCTIons WITH TRaffIC

By addressing the constant flow of traffic and the typical inattention of

drivers to their surroundings, we can create an atypical space resulting

in a unique experience. At the intersection of 8th Street and John Street

in Seattle, Washington, a woonerf was built to help create a convivial

interaction between drivers and pedestrians.3 Woonerfs are popular in the

Netherlands, where they create a shared public space in

which pedestrians take precedence over vehicles, but do not

disallow the use of cars. By populating the street right-of-way

with parking, vegetation, childrens play places, seating, and

other amenities while narrowing lanes, drivers are obligated to

reduce speeds while traveling in the woonerf, simultaneously

increasing safety and enhancing their own experience with

the outside world.

The concept of a woonerf could be adapted for the

triangle park site. instead of closing either 23rd Street or

pennsylvania street at triangle park, as has been proposed,

these streets may be narrowed, the curbs removed and the

pavement replaced with a visually distinct material. Like

woonerfs, these moves would signal to drivers that they are

in a unique space. The dissolution of the boundary between

triangle park and the roadway would create an open space

that is much more connected to public space of the street,

and allow pedestrians to take precedence over vehicles.

8th Avenue and John Street Woonerf, Seattle, Washington. Alyse Nelson and Dara O Byrne, 2005


CasE sTuDIEs: aWaREnEss THRougH aRT

The success of woonerfs is due in part to the play areas that were included

to support the local population of families with children. Bringing children

and parents to the park area is desired in order to enliven the space and

encourage use by community members, creating a feeling of safety and

ownership. Without a target group to occupy the park,

the space may become the habitat of undesirable

persons that generate a feeling of uneasiness to other

users, resulting in avoided space.

In order to customize our design program for the local

population, different groups may need to be addressed.

The immediate area is home to a variety of businesses,

including restaurants, architecture and design firms, and

artists. A live artist would be an appropriate anchor for

the site, and help to enliven the space. In many cities,

live art is a common occurrence that helps to create a

common identity for its diverse population.

Offering the environment and infrastructure needed

to create and display artwork would be the first step to

harnessing the creativity of the area and changing the

current dead zone into a live space. Such an environment

might include display spaces, seating, a comfortable

level of sun and shade, and possible access points for

electricity. It will be important to address the safety of

automobiles traveling along Southwest Boulevard in

regards to attention-attracting displays in the park space;

such displays may be better suited farther from this main

traffic way, with only glimpses caught from cars passing

top Lights installed on the Thames Bridge in London react to pedestrians movements. Jason Bruges Studio, 2008

bottom Large litmus strips react to environmental stimuli and display information to drivers in London. Jason Bruges Studio, 2005


by the site.

CasE sTuDIEs: TRaffIC, MoVEMEnT, anD lIgHT

Lighting is a popular and aesthetically pleasing way to adapt a space. At

triangle park, lighting can be utilized both as an extension of the park space

into the surrounding neighborhoods and as a way to utilize new technologies

highlighting the movement and traffic inherent around the park site. Jason

Bruges studio and Light projects Ltd. have created many displays of

interactive lighting for pedestrians and vehicles.

These projects primarily seek to develop interest and interaction

through technology applied to otherwise typical spaces. Such a project

could prove beneficial to attracting users to triangle park and celebrate the

traffic patterns that created the site. as with the design of any other public

space, comfort, safety, and environmental needs should not be forgotten in

any lighting scheme.

DEsIgnIng TRIanglE paRK

By examining the effect of traffic upon our site and creating solutions

such as allowing pedestrians to interact positively with cars in a shared

space (woonerf), mitigating the effects of traffic with increased pedestrian

activity (engaging artists), or even highlighting traffic through

technology and lighting, our design proposal can provide a

strong response to this major impact on triangle park site

and its surroundings.

1. Jean Baudrillard, The Ecstasy of Communication in The Anti-Aesthetic, ed. Hal foster (Port Townsend, Wash.: Bay Press, 1983), 127.

2. K. Michael Hayes, ed., Architecture Theory since 1968 (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998), 540.

3. Alyse Nelson and Dara OByrne, Public Art in Street ROW: Civic Interaction at the Park Entrance in Studio ReportUrban Form in South Lake Union, ed. university of Washington Department of urban Design and Planning (2005)


urban folly TRIanglE paRK

the development proposal for triangle park is guided

by a desire for connectionconnection between two

demographically different communities separated by a

highway overpass, and connection between the fractured

spaces created by a main trafficway running diagonally

to the grid in an already sparsely inhabited area. The

design promotes connection by providing walkability

and stayability. Walkability is addressed by making a

formidable route between the Westside neighborhood

and the Crossroads arts District much more pedestrian-

friendly. Stayability is created with a seating deck, trees

and rain garden that will encourage community members

to utilize the space, reconnecting people with place and

each other.


In 1939, new setback requirements and roadway expansions made the site of Triangle Park unusable for private buildings. Originally subdivided into three lots with two-story buildings, the site has since been entrusted to the Kansas City Parks and Recreation department to be protected as community space. But while Triangle Park is technically part of the public space of the city, and is maintained by a local resident, the space is not utilized. Public space acts as the stage for life in the cityit is where people interact, ideas are shared, and from this we develop our relationship of self to the city. The importance of open space as the site for public forums is an important aspect of the city, which Colin Rowe describes as a combination of complex networks that are only successful when all live for the collective whole.1


The I-35 overpass creates problems beyond just a symbol of division and car-culture; the girders underneath the roadway are home to dozens of pigeons. Community members have tried many methods to clean bird droppings from the bridge and prevent the birds from roosting there, but the problem persists. Walking underneath the bridge through unsanitary conditions is a daunting task, as well as a health safety issue. This drawing maps the bird droppings underneath the bridge, which are most prevalent along the wider-flanged beams and around supporting columns. The design proposal includes a canopy that protects pedestrians and can be easily cleaned with a hose.

CrossroadsWests ide

Neighborhoods

Prior to the construction of I-35, Broadway Boulevard was the boundary between the Westside and Crossroads neighborhoods. (At the time, the Crossroads was an industrial district with warehouses and light manufacturing that made use of the proximity to the railroad.) I-35 was built running through the Westside neighborhood. In addition to the loss of residences and businesses on land seized for the highway, several blocks on the east side were cut off from the rest of the Westside neighborhood. Over time, the land was appropriated by the Crossroads and now the area in which Triangle Park sits is under dispute.

Triangle Parks design incorporates the proposed road diet for Southwest Boulevard, which would narrow the street to one lane in each direction and add on-street parking. The proposal would also close the portion of 23rd Street on the south edge of the site, because the road is not heavily used, and vehicles often travel the wrong the direction on this one-way portion of the street.


southwest bouleva d elevation 1/4 = 1 0

1 8 1 0

c

c

d

d

SITE PLAN


CANOPY

CANOPY SEGMENTS

A Teflon coated fabric canopy protects the entire width of the sidewalk underneath the I-35 overpass from bird droppings. It is tilted towards the south to prevent birds from perching on the canopy, and to direct rain water and towards a drainage grate that runs along the south edge of the sidewalk. The canopy, which is attached to the existing bridge structure is divided into segments for transportation and bridge repair.

The concrete pathway extending from under the canopy rises slightly from the ground to provide a mental and physical distinction between the pedestrian and vehicular areas. This also functions as an inlet for rain water collection. The site sits at a low point in the area, and local drainage is easily overwhelmed, resulting in rainwater collecting at the site. An integrated rain garden and detention area alleviates this problem without inhibiting pedestrian movement.

The tall native grasses and aromatic plants of the rain garden will counter the fowl smells from the birds under the bridge. Vegetation extends to the adjacent building wall on the south side to tie in the strongest pre-defined edge with the rest of the site. While the canopy and the link work to achieve walkability, the rest of the site and deck area focus more on creating a reason for people to stay.

WALKWAY


Community members expressed interest in an easily accessible space that allowed them to get out of the office. An ipe deck near the rear of the site provides a place for visitors to eat lunch, watch people, or just relax outside. It is situated to receive sun year-round, but trees were added along the east edge to provide shade for the summer months. The decks rises from the walkway to define the site and provide elevated seating, and wraps around an existing electrical box.


top Left Walking north on Southwest Boulevard under I-35 overpass

Left Model of proposal for Triangle Park; I-35 is running long the top


uplighting washes the underside of the canopy and is also implemented along Southwest Boulevard to imply safety and connection. The lighting highlights the Parks features to attract users that might have overlooked the site during the day.

for a City to progress, its arChiteCtUre MUst antiCipate

the future, and be designed for change. Unlike the anonymous column-

filled open floor plans of Modernism, which were touted for their flexibility,

designing adaptable space more than providing a rational armature.

Architecture persists when its existence is not tied to program. A park

that can accommodate a range of functions will be a staple of activity in

a community. functional plurality is necessary for the urban environment,

where space is a limited resource.

In addition to being versatile, the programming of buildings needs to

be reconsidered. Technology that did not exist a decade ago has become

integrated into almost every aspect of daily life; our schools and homes

should reflect this. But in looking forward, architecture should not forget

the past. One of the biggest advantages that urban areas provide over

the surrounding suburbs is the prevailing sense of place. Buildings with

unconventional programs can still fit in to an historic context, contributing

to a sense of place.

programming change


CIRCuLATION

this proposal for adaptable open space straddles the definitions

of a park, pavilion, and event space. It articulates a design for

static open space at the southwest corner of 18th Street and

Walnut street put forth in the Crossroads infill urban design

strategy. The space is only static in the sense that it is designed

as a destination point within the greater open space plan for the

Crossroads; the permanent structure provides a framework for

a variety of uses, including parking, concerts, banquets, and

an open-air market. The perimeter arcade is a semi-enclosed

structure housing storage and restroom facilities, and topped by

an elevated park and walkway.

adaptive urban space

top Left People move easily to and from the space with multiple points of access to the courtyard space and rooftop park

Left The peninsular stage can is an ideal spot for musical and theatrical performances, as well as for children to play.

opposite Birds-eye view looking southeast


above Multi-level space creates dynamic gathering spot for the Crossroads community

opposite Examples of flexible programming options


PARKINGMARKET

BANquET PERfORMANCE

programming change 121

Circulation (yellow) connects public spaces (aqua); two cores on either end of the building support a regular structural grid; the building is wrapped in a perforated steel facade to enclose its open spaces and protect the building from direct sunlight.

community space MIxED-InCoME HousIng

This building took the typical urban mixed-use

program and turned it on its head. rather than

placing private (housing) atop public (gallery/

retail), each of these programs became distinct

entities placed next to each other. public space

is also dispersed throughout the housing

block. In doing so, the residents residential

become firmly connected with the life of the

city, the public block was conceived as live/

work studios for temporary artists-in-residence,

but may accommodate any number of uses.

While the building appears anti-urban (set

far back into the lot) and anti-environmental

(running north-south), it defies these initial

assumptions. adjustable vertical fins on the

west side block unwanted afternoon sun in the

summer, and perforated steel facade screens

open-air circulation and public space that

provide a buffer zone between the elements and

residential units.


View from 20th Street looking west. The buildings slab shape developed from the prevalence of billboards in the Crossroads, and in particular, the practice of applying city-scale advertisement directly to building walls. With Community Space, the building itself becomes the message, rather than the vehicle for the message.


above A stairwell located within the perforated steel facade provides direct access to the common spaces dispersed through the building.

Left Efficiency studios, two-bedroom apartments, and premium lofts are the available in the building, with up to eleven units on each floor.

opposite An live-in artists studio and gallery is appended to the apartment building and connected on the fifth floor to allow for the co-mingling of public and private life.


The School of One education model is dynamic and highly

individualized; it requires an built environment that can meet its

needs for flexibility but still provides a safe setting conducive to

learning. this magnet school in the Crossroads provides sixth

through eighth graders with a variety of academic environments

in a transparent block that sits atop a plinth containing the

gymnasium. administrative offices support the academic block

and frame the kinetic open space proposed in the Crossroads

infill plan.

E 19th Street

Wal

nut S

treet

E 18th Street

Mai

n St

reet

public education CIVIC spaCE anD MIDDlE sCHool

above Left Site plan

Left The academic block is accessed through a secure third-story bridge in the administrative area of the school. Lecture classrooms on are located at the north end and flex instruction space is in the middle on most levels in the school. The two-story library and the auditorium are on the south end of the school.


above View looking north on Walnut Street

Left Massing concept

far Left Integration with Crossroads Infill open space plan


The main stairwell and full height windows emphasizes transparency within the school


LEVEL 1

1) LOBBY2) GALLERY3) AUDITORIUM/THEATER4) PUBLIC REST ROOMS5) APARTMENT LOBBY WITH POST BOX STATION FIRE STAIRS APARTMENT ELEVATORS

1

2 3

45

this multi-purpose building fulfills programmatic needs in the

Crossroads arts District with a digital media center, ground-

level plaza, flexible apartments, and a three-story greenhouse.

the digital media center, with an auditorium, classrooms, film

studio, and library would offer digital artists a dedicated space

to exhibit their work in the Crossroads, and would host public

events at the plaza, helping to activate street-level space.

Modular apartments can expand to accommodate growing

families, and the greenhouse provides residents an opportunity

to reap the benefits of urban farming year-round.

2

1 3

OPEN TO SPACE BELOW

urban farmstead

Left Three-story tiered greenhouse provides sustenance for residents

far Left A ground-floor auditorium and gallery allow the public to access student work. Residential units on upper floors allow for expansion auditorium and gallery space allows the public to view student

opposite The public plaza on the ground-floor may be used for visitor overflow as well as separate events.


redefining public

PuBlic is UnDerstooD as the antithesis of PrivAte, BUT

in actuality, the two are not wholly exclusive of each other. a city is defined

in large part by its public space (i.e. the street in the gridded city). But what

defines this public space? the perceived space of the street does not pay

deference to property lines. Conversely, public space does not necessarily

end at the physical boundaries of storefronts.

public space provides the backdrop for which the life of the city takes

place. While allowing for interaction and spectacle, the street was conceived

as utilitarian, allowing movement within a city. So it is not unreasonable to

suggest that other functional space for the publicparking garages and

lotsmay double as public space.

Both land owners and the community benefit from temporary

appropriation of vacant or under-utilized land. With functions ranging from

restaurants to health clinics being packaged into self-contained mobile

units, parking lots can become urban spaces. re-imagining the public

realmwhat it looks like, how it functionswill inject relevance back into

the space of the city.


City interface confronts the thriving car culture of

Kansas City by providing a sustainable point of entry

into downtown. Its building typology is based on

the contemporary train station prototype (e.g. Berlin

hauptbahnhof and Kyto station), which is characterized

by transparency, abundant natural light, multi-level free

public space, views of the city, links to public transit,

shopping, dining, and concealed parking. The program

of City interface incorporates multipurpose public

spaces, workspaces, free Internet access, a bookstore,

local and regional bus transit, bicycle commuter facilities,

and public parking as a pivotal component. The building

city interface MulTI-MoDal TRansIT HuB


mediates the divide between the metropolitan area and

downtown Kansas City: it is a portal with the qualities of

a destination, an integral point in travel to and from the

city.

In regard to its monumentality, the building is

analogous to Union Station, a former point of entry to the

city via train. City interface contributes a powerful new

manifestation of the intermediary space between the

highway and the city: here, the suburban meets the urban

dweller face to face, where both are offered opportunities

to collaborate and to share common experiences. As

much a civic institution as a practical parking garage,

the building responds to its contemporary urban context

and anticipates future function. floor plans are open

and malleable; public spaces are poised to satisfy

diverse events and residual functions; infrastructures are

adaptable to advancing transportation technology (i.e.

electric cars and buses); and its integration of necessary

public amenities ensures longevity.

The building situates itself along the proposed

Walnut Corridor and acts as extension of the public

realm. Its eastern faade, which plays a crucial role in

the buildings circulation, modulates the interstitial space

of the street and provides visual connection between the

Loop and the river Market districts of downtown, which

are separated by a high-speed motorway. The ground

floor maintains a functionally modified version of the

sites inherent sloping topography and is regarded as a

pedestrian continuation of the street. Ample free public

space, a rarity in downtown Kansas City, extends to an

elevated public plaza on the upper deck of the parking

garage. City interface is a contemporary civic institution;

it is a monument to the collective will of the residents of

Kansas City.


Near right Highway access to parking garage (cyan); Walnut Street space extends into building (black)

far right Ground floor plan; the topography carried through the ground floor reinforces the continuation of street space through the building

photograph South elevation (model)

WA

LNU

T S

TREE

T

MA

IN S

TREE

T

EAST 7TH STREET

EAST 6TH STREET

Interior view of ground level public space

TOP fLOOR

MEzzANINE LEVEL


Many areas of the city lack the concentration of public amenities that

draw patrons to activate the street. though the Crossroads district

contains a mix of residents, businesses, and public amenities, it lacks

the critical mass to support a thriving public realm. the Crossroads

has an abundance of surface parking lots that are under-used and

often unmaintained. While preserving the functionality of

such spaces as parking lots, added infrastructure

could support supplemental uses, maximizing

the potential of these spaces.

The primary element of this proposal

is a modular shelter that provides access to

electricity. The module itself is a temporary

structure that may be disassembled and moved

to other sites if a property owner decides to

build on his or her land. electrical charging

stations, and the ability to rent space and time

incrementally will be the impetus for attracting

much needed ame

uncovering potential: an investigation into dimensions of the city

Documents

urban design studio

urban node

urban corridor

urban chess

urban laboratory

city interface

midwestern city

contemporary city