(13-18)
(19-24)
(1-6) VERDANT MIDTOWN
(7-12) KAMO RIVER PROMENADE
HITCHING POST SQUARE
LOWNSDALE SQUARE
VERDANT MIDTOWN
Connecting a growing downtown with nature
ver the past few years, Springfield has implemented a plan to revitalize the downtown area. Auto repair shops, car dealerships, and strip clubs are being phased out to create a heart for the city.
The studio site we received was just south of Springfield’s downtown, named Booth Kelly, a heavy industrial site that once produced large quantities of lumber. This site required a strong imagination to get past the rugged and dilapidated buildings, which are no longer meeting city code requirements and will need removal.
Our group, saw potential in connecting the downtown to Booth Kelly, creating a transition from dense urban space to a natural landscape surrounding Booth Kelly. The design has three connected districts each with a unique focus to its surrounding context.
The park district looks to connect with the downtown and provide public open space fronted by a new library. The open space will run through all three districts and spill out into the mill-race creek, a recent habitat restored for salmon vitality.
The station district an area I focused on for the term, looks to implement dense, mixed use housing and create connections to important transportation like: pedestrian, bicycle, bus and train networks. This district will contain a train station which connects with a nationwide plan to create a high-speed rail through the northwest corridor, connecting Vancouver BC to Los Angeles CA.
The campus district looks to transform the most characteristic building on the site, with its corrugated metal
and sawtooth roof structure, into an industrial garden. This ancient relic of the lumber industry will display the remaining industrial machinery for visitors to see, helping preserve the historic roots of Booth Kelly. This district has an opportunity to house new light industry, become a corporate campus, for several small businesses looking to expand their product. Continuing off the park blocks will be a land bridge extending over the east/west rail lines. This will allow vehicles to pass over when trains are blocking street level traffic.
Left Diagrams of the Train, bus and bicycle networks surrounding the site.
Far Left Plan showing locations of the three districts and orientation to the downtown.
Top Right Diagram showing the Land use of the buildings.
Right Detail Plan of the Station district.
Eugene
Springfield
Rail Road
I-5 Willamette River
Booth Kelly
Bus Network
Bike Network
High Speed Rail Vancouver Seattle Portland Springfield San Fransisco San Jose
Los Angeles
Rail Road
I-5 Willamette River Key
1 South A Street
2 Residential roof garden
3 5th Street
4 Train Station
5 Rail Road
6 Land Bridge
KAMO RIVER PROMENADE
Tying a lush urban space to the Kamo river, Kyoto’s most popular public space.
Andrew Halpin, Connor Falk, Joe Ariente, and Ryan Kiesler
Kyoto, Japan
The Kamo River is Kyoto’s most popular urban space.
The river runs through the heart of the city’s downtown while providing a linear park along both sides of the river. The meandering body of water provides scenic views of Kyoto’s intricate urban network while the visual backdrops of the soaring mountains envelop the city’s urbanity.
Our group saw it necessary to connect to the river, city and the mountains. The architecture of this project looks to borrow the verticality and lushness of the mountains by creating a green terraced structure which steps down towards the river, creating strong visual connections to it from anywhere on the site.
At the heart of the site is a centralized plaza with an interactive fountain which acts as a cool and shady oasis to escape the heat of the city in the summer months.
This site connects with the city’s subway and bus system providing stops on site. These stops were located so when passengers first get off, they arrive at the center of the plaza. At this point they will be surrounded by the cascading vegetation of the structure, still allowing direct views toward the river. The building itself can provide retail, public and commercial use on the lower floors. Moving towards the top of the structure, it can transition to residential housing giving residents some of the best views the city has to offer.
Left
Plan view of the site with its surrounding context.
Top Perspective standing on one of the roofs of the structure, looking towards the Kamo River.
Right
Axon showing a detailed look at the residential gardens and public parks that are throughout the rooftops of the structure.
Residential gardens
Public park
Top Left Perspective while crossing the Ohashicho Bridge, giving a view to the whole site
Bottom Section Highlighting the transportation network that crosses though the site.
Kawabata Dori
Kamo River path
Kamo River Sanjo train stop
Plaza
Stepped Lawn
Boardwalk
Park Block pavers
