Cole Murphy-Usher

SPRING GARDEN HOSTEL: Transportation & Accomodation Along The Greenway

Cole Murphy-Usher Rachel Schade

Research: Existing Conditions After looking at several sites around the city I decided to design my project along 9th Street between Spring Garden & Green Street. Initially I was interested in incorporating the SEPTA regional line and Rail Park into my design, but after some investigation I learned the Greenway National Bike Trail Would pass by along Spring Garden. Because of this discovery, I decided that the main program of the site would be a hostel for any cyclists passing through along the Greenway.

SITE AXON: Axon view of existing site conditions at 9th And Spring Garden

Research: Program Abstract As I was building on an IRMC coded site, A hostel and light commercial use wouldn’t be any kind of problem and in fact, the local zoning created a vibrant entertainment distirct which still lacked any sort of transit hub. Indeed, the main issue I encountered was the demolition of the 9th and Spring Garden viaduct station just days before I was set to begin. As such, my design was focused into several parts: The new Rail Park ramp, the 9th street pedestrian street, the hostel itself, and the SEPTA station and market.

9TH STREET VIADUCT STATION: Shortly before demolition

REGIONAL MAP: Various attraction located with ten minutes of the site by various means of transportation

Research: Case Studies The most important case study to me was a proposal by Frank Furness for a Reading Railroad station on the site which was originally going to be built instead of Reading Terminal Station.

Secondly was the Highline in NYC. Based on how much my site would interact with Phillies own iteration of the Highline, I wanted to study how it interacted with the surrounding urban landscape.

Lastly, the Alton Station Hostel and other hostels like it helped to show me how to develop the interior and exterior of my hostel.

Research: Transportation Driving most of my design was the context of the three previously mentioned transportation types present at the site; The Viaduct walking park, the regional SEPTA rail line, and the national Greenway Bike trail.

How these conditions pass through the site at different levels and address different scales of movement would be key to my continued design development.

RAIL PARK: Local walking path connecting the site to nearby neighborhoods

GREENWAY: National bike trail connecting the site to states all along the east coast

SEPTA: Regional rail line connecting the site to outlying Philly suburbs

Preliminary Design Review By the end of the first quarter, I had begun to finalize the sites programing a nd layout, although there would be significant changes. What hadn’t yet been determined was the buildings mass or interior layout, by December I still wasn’t even sure whether the building would attach to the Rail Park.

One of the jurors primary concerns at this stage was the massing, as both they and I agreed that it was much too close to Spring Garden, and that the mass would have to be drawn back in order to move forward with the design. It was after this review that I began to consider 9th street as being a fully pedestrian street, with cyclist traveling to it instead of through it.

FALL SITE PLAN: The original site plan had much of the layout which would be carried into later designs. Unlike the final design however, 9th street was a cyclist street instead of a pedestrian street, as I was still working under the vision of the merely expanded pedestrian areas created by the covid-19 pandemic.

One of the most important things I had to consider at this stage was which street my project would address most heavily, 9th Street or Spring Garden. In order to study this, I studied a short trip along both streets which would see further iteration up until finals.

SEPTA STATION: A view from Spring Garden into the SEPTA station

THE HOSTEL: A view of the hostel from the Greenway as visitors pass under the Rail Park

9TH STREET: A view of 9th street as visitors bike through it

THE RAIL PARK: A view of the site from the ramp leading up to the Rail Park

Process Drawings Approaching the technical review, two of the most important changes I made were to the mass of the hostel building and deciding how it would address the street. At this stage I added the main atrium, although initially it stretched through the entirety of the building. Through several iterations i also decided to have the hostel address 9th Street while the retail spaces faced Spring Garden. This is also where the building gained a tiered appearance as I responded to the Rail Park and tried to give my atrium a view of the city beyond.

ATRIUM ITERATION 1

ATRIUM ITERATION 2

STRUCTURE: A steel base with wood above

PROPOSED DESIGN: February interior proposal

Technical Review For the technical review, I had a far more fleshed out hostel design, focused on the floor plans and structure / detailing. However at this stage, the only change which had occurred around 9th Street was the creation of the social stairs. The structure however was still underdeveloped, with my only plans for the green roof and the trees planted on it was 3 feet of soil across the whole roof. Ultimately, this and the continued lack of focus on 9th street were what was critiqued most by the jurors and what would need to be focused on over the next few months.

The floor plans were developed around the central glass atrium designed over the winter quarter with three fire escapes and hallways as open as possible in order to reduce the empty hotel corridor feeling. The service spaces on the ground floor were designed around the fact that the building would be serviced from Green Street to the north, and were connected to every part of the buildings ground floor.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

The structure of the hostel at this point was a steel pedestal with additional steel extending up through the atrium. Everything above the first floor would be timber framing, based on a standard wood bay as shown below.

At this stage, the room plans and furniture were well underway. There wasn’t a consistent aesthetic between them however, something which was brought up in passing during the technical review.

STRUCTURE AXON: Steel & light timber axon

E/W SECTION CUT: Cut through hostel & 9th Street

10 PERSON ROOM FLOORPLAN

Process Drawings As part of design development, I also began work on steel details, as I moved towards a more traditional aesthetic for my building. This involved the creation of railings and steel joint details which would be repeated throughout the project, above the septa station in particular.

STEEL STRUCTURE: Steel detail over a 30 ft span

RAILING DETAILING: Hostel railing design

Final Review The final design of the 9th Street Hostel is focused on the hostel itself at the center of the site, with each floor laid out to create and curate different experiences. Connecting to it, in addition to the SEPTA station and market, is the 9th street pedestrian walkway, allowing travel along the entire site and access to retail along its length, as well as the hostel and the Rail Park. Lastly, the Rail Park ramp starts in the center of the site and wraps through a set of social stairs, as it enters a structure reminiscent of the previous viaduct station which leads up to the Viaduct Rail Park.

Floor Plans

FIRST FLOOR PLAN: The first floor is mainly devoted to retail space and hostel service space; the eastern part of the building also holds the SEPTA station and market space

SECOND FLOOR PLAN: The second floor is dominated by the main atrium & the 9th street porch; It also contains the public event space and many rooms for the hostel

THIRD FLOOR PLAN: The third floor is mainly hostel rooms with small green roofs and an atrium which is open to the floors below and above

FOURTH FLOOR PLAN: The fourth floor is mostly made up of 1-4 person rooms, but the main attraction is the camping green roof which covers the front half of the building

FIFTH FLOOR PLAN: The fifth floor only contains the 20 person room, which is designed to host large visiting groups which need to or want to be somewhat separated from the rest of the hostel

In most of the hotel rooms, the interior has been designed to resemble the interior of a sleeper train car. To that end I designed a bunk bed to be set into the wall with windows looking out onto the site and lockers at the head.

BUNK AXON

10 PERSON ROOM AXON

Building Structure

The main structure of the building is a steel frame with brick exterior walls. The green roof is build up with extruded polystyrene to allow trees to be planted on the roof. On the main porch, the wood slats are raised above a slight decline so that water can drain into the gutters while letting the porch dry quickly, despite its large size.

STEEL STRUCTURE: With stairs & elevators

9th Street Plans 9TH STREET RENDER

RAIL PARK STREET RENDER

9TH STREET FLOOR PLAN: 9th Street has been redesigned to feature a bike storage space, as well as a resting area/stage along the social stair and retail spaces in the back

Feedback & Reflections Overall, the project developed quite a bit from its original goal and vision, though it maintained its devotion to sustainable transportation and walkable urban landscapes throughout. After the jurors reviewed my project, they praised the comprehensive design of all aspects of the hostel and the way that the pedestrian 9th street tied the whole project together. However, they did have concerns regarding: 1. A clash between the modern interior spaces and the traditional exterior aesthetics 2. The appropriateness of the green roof considering the rest of the buildings design 3. A recommendation to employ more post-processing techniques to improve the effects of drawings Reflecting on these critiques I thoroughly agree that, had I more time, I would have rendered my final views differently to better reflect some of my intentions. Design wise however, I feel that most of the criticism came down to my attempts to tie modern and traditional styles together not fully succeeding.

After some consideration, I am inclined to agree, and feel that more thoroughly meshing the interior and exterior spaces could have lead to a more cohesive design; Even so, I am pleased with the overall design and the many lessons I learned during its creation.

FINAL RENDERED VIEWS Views from the public spaces within the residential floors.

The apartments which resulted from these changes and development needs were centralized around a single multi story shared space which was meant to encourage community for those passing through in high stress medical situations. This was further emphasized by the placement of the kitchen space in the shared space as opposed to in individual units. while there are accommodations for food within the apartments, the central layout of our units and spaces homes to encourage a more communal living situation.