Kelly SEMPLE

community and connectivity

Blurring the lines between large corporations and an impoverished community in the city of Camden, New Jersey

kelly semple thesis advisor: tim kearney

THESIS

SITE LOCATION

The city of Camden

once flourished as one of few port cities in the country that built warships for the military. When its resources were no longer needed after World War II, the city’s economy collapsed and it has struggled with poverty and high crime rates. Initiatives to improve the city’s economy have brought larger corporations into Camden, but there is still a large disconnect between these campuses and the neighborhoods around them. The central downtown district is surrounded by large campuses like the Campbell’s Soup Company, Rutgers University, Cooper University Health, and a flourishing waterfront district with thriving attractions. Even with these large entities surrounding it, the highest crime rates occur just outside these campuses in Camden’s downtown district.

blur the lines between these institutions and the community and create a place that both the community and the This thesis will begin to find a way to

AREA OF STUDY

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ

TRANSIT

DOWNTOWN CAMDEN

CAMDEN, NJ

GREEN SPACES KEY

Exis

influx of employees and visitors can enjoy.

By blurring these lines, the city can begin to strengthen as a whole instead of separate pieces to a large puzzle.

Studying the context of Camden’s downtown will help to identify the strongest solution to begin to blur these lines. By focusing on a site in the downtown area that will have the biggest impact on both the residential communities and the major employers within the city, this thesis has found a new way of thinking about what can bring a community together. Creating a transit hub that is interconnected

with a recreation and community center brings the residents and the

commuters into one space, sharing activities and creating a safer environment.

Exis

KEY

NJ Transit Buses NJ Transit River Line PATCO Line Proposed Glassboro- Camden Line Riverlink Ferry Line

Existing Existing BikeBike Lane

Lanes

Existing Green Existing Green Space Space

community and connectivity | camden, nj KELLY SEMPLE | THESIS 2017-18 | ADVISOR: TIM KEARNY

CONNECTIONS RUTGERS STUDENTS

STUDENTS

PUBLIC SPACE

TRANSIT

RESIDENTS

EMPLOYEES

RESIDENTS

WATERFRONT

EMPLOYEES

EXISTING INSTITUTIONS

DOWNTOWN

GATEWAY

COOPER HOSPITAL

REGIONAL CONNECTIONS Institutions and Major Employers 1- Campbell’s Soup Company 2- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University 3- Cooper University Health Care 4- L3 Technologies 5- Rutgers University 6- Camden County College 7- Rowan University 8- Industrial Warehouses Government and Civic Facilities 1- State of NJ Youth and Family Services 2- Camden City Hall 3- Camden County Administration Building 4- Hall of Justice 5- Camden County Police Department 6- U.S. Court House 7- U.S. Post Office 8- Camden County Jail

Cultural Attractions 1- Walt Whitman House 2- Campbell’s Field 3- BB&T Pavillion 4- Adventure Aquarium 5- Battleship New Jersey 6- Camden Children’s Garden 7- Wiggins Marina and Waterfront Park 8- Walt Whitman Arts Center/Johnson Park Schools 1- LEAP Academy Lower School 2- LEAP Academy Upper School 3- Lanning Square School

SITE ISSUES 1

2

4 TD BANK

5

RIVER LINE BROADWAY STATION

CVS PHARMACY

6

McDONALDS

WALTER RAND TRANSIT CENTER PARKING GARAGE

NJ YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

HADDON AVE

RUTGERS RITE AID NURSING Page 2 includes the Program abstract, including planning issues, building PHARMACY AND HEALTH type, primary types of spaces, site amenities, key zoning and other code reSCIENCES DUNKIN BUILDING EMPTY LOT DONUTS OWNED BY THE CITY PARKING LOT BROADWAY

5TH ST

FEDERAL ST

WALTER RAND TRANS. CENTER

7

3

9 MARTIN LURTHER KING BLVD

8

JOINT RUTGERS/ROWAN HEALTH SCIENCES BUILDING (under construction)

1- Federal Street is a one-way road making it difficult for cars and buses to navigate around the site.

2- Surface parking lots waste valuable downtown land.

3- The bank and pharmacy are geared toward vehicular traffic vs. pedestrian traffic.

4- The River Line Station is disconnected from the transit center. The tracks also disect the block diagonally posing a challenge for site design.

5- Pedestrians constantly jaywalk across Broadway to make bus and River Line connections.

RUTGERS/ROWAN BUILDING (planning phase)

6- The park is in a dark pocket surrounded by buildings with no connections to anything around it.

7- The transit center is dark and outdated. Seating is limited and the entrance is dark and uninvited.

8- MLK Boulevard has a high volume of traffic making it a tough intersection to cross. The River Line also crosses this intersection making it a congested area at times.

9-Bus traffic into the garage occurs mid-block and crosses over the River Line tracks.

PRECEDENT STUDIES building form and public space

Salesforce (Transbay) Transit Center, San Francisco, CA Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli Project Size: 1.5 million sq. ft.

Completion year: 2017

Program: Restaurants, retail, train station facilities, bus station facilities, public park

building form and public space

Georgia Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal Proposal, Atlanta, GA Architect: FXFOWLE Project Size: 119 Acres Completion year: Unknown

Program: Restaurants, retail, train station facilities, bus station facilities, public park

building program and organization

TREC Newark Housing Authority, Newark, NJ Architect: ikon.5 architects Project Size: 24,000 sq ft Completion year: 2016

Program: Job training, recreation, education center, community center

Terminal Planning Goals: •Enhancing and Promoting the Bus Experience •Creating Pedestrian-Oriented Streets •Connecting Centennial Park with the South CBD •Connecting Downtown with the Westside •Provide adequate parking to support existing and future needs •Clearly delineate pedestrian/bicycle circulation •Connect to existing and planned pedestrian-oriented streets, bicycle routes, and open space

PUBLIC SPACE BUSES MAIN CONCOURSE TRAINS

PUBLIC SPACE BUSES MAIN CONCOURSE TRAINS

GYM COMMUNITY TRAINING/STUDY EMPLOYEE

CORRIDORS

TRANSIT

SITE LAYOUT A

The bulk of the building sits in the current transit center’s footprint. Buses are on a second floor garage that spans over Broadway.

Buses enter and exit the garage via ramps off Federal Street.

PROS

•Removes buses from intersection of Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

•Broadway becomes the Eds and Meds Corridor.

•Does not have an impact on buildings not directly associated with transit center.

•Opening around Broadway can be viewed as a gateway into the Downtown district.

CONS

•A large portion of Broadway will be covered by building making the area darker.

•Federal is a two-laned one-way road that would struggle to handle the bus traffic.

•The bus parking garage is tight. It may be difficult to fit the required number of bays.

•Not enough room to fit another ramp for cars without impeding on other properties.

•Circulation through the building is difficult with the bus garage layout required to fit.

CORRIDORS

TRANSIT

SITE LAYOUT B

The bulk of the building sits in the current transit center’s footprint. Buses are on a second floor garage that spans over Broadway.

Buses enter and exit the garage via ramps off Federal Street.

PROS

•Removes buses from intersection of Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

•The Eds and Meds Corridor can intersect the building and link to the green space in fron of City Hall to the north of the site.

•The new building would strengthen pedestrian access and the Downtown-Waterfront Corridor.

•Opening around Broadway can be viewed as a gateway into the Downtown district.

CONS

•A portion of Broadway will be covered by building making the area darker.

•Bus traffic will continue along MLK Blvd and will not ease pedestrian crossing.

•Requires a large bus ramp and exit road to Federal Street.

•Requires the demolition of retail spaces along MLK Blvd.

BAR MASSING The first massing created was a straigh bar along MLK Boulevard with retail and restaurants on the ground floor, the buses on the second floor and car parking above on the third floor.

The garage ramping cut into the ground floor making this massing difficult to work with.

GRAND CONCOURSE MASSING The grand concourse was meant to serve as an “indoor park� for the residents and commuters to enjoy with retail and restaurants within the space. Although this massing was a much better layout, the building was still lacking a strong connection to those living in Camden.

BASKE TBAL COURT L S

ESCALA TORS TO BUSES

BUS GA TE COR

RIDOR

RIVERL INE PEDEST AND RIAN C ORRID

BROAD OR

WAY

MASSING DIAGRAM The final massing has elements of the grand concourse massing, but the concourse shifted into a recreation and community center. This program will bring the residents of Camden into the building.

The building massing helps emphasize movement in and around the building. The visual of the movement of people at all times of the day will evoke a sense of safety around the building.

second floor

first floor

TECHNICAL REVIEW STRUCTURAL DIAGRAM The building structure is rolled steel joists. The cantilever on the second floor over the River Line tracks consists of vierendeel trusses. The building has rigid connections to help with lateral forces.

WALL SECTION COMPONENTS •Green roof •Rolled steel girders and beams •Steel and concrete decking •Fiberglass reinforced facade panels •Glass curtainwall •Solid and mesh Corten panels

key

TECHNICAL REVIEW WALL SECTION

BIOSWALES • collects runoff water from sidewalks and roads

GREEN ROOF SYSTEM • collects and retains rain water • provides insulation to building

SOLAR PANELS • can be used to heat water for showers and sinks • can be used to heat indoor pools

BIOSWALE MEDIAN

t i d e GREEN ROOF

GREEN ROOF

GREEN ROOF

SOLAR PANELS

GRAYWATER COLLECTION AND FILTRATION

RAINWATER CISTERN RAIN GARDEN FOR RUNOFF WATER

community and connectivity | camden, nj

RAIN GARDEN FOR RUNOFF COLLECTION

systems

KELLY SEMPLE | THESIS 2017-18 | ADVISOR: TIM KEARNY SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS The building’s large green roof allows for the collection of rainwater. Space for large tanks is available under the bus ramp, which would otherwise be unused. The roof on the community center has space for solar panels which will help cut the longterm building costs. Bioswales have also been proposed for the center island of MLK Boulevard which is currently just trees.

mark et st

federal st

s5 th s t

future development

dr martin lu ther king blv d

broadway

e

s. 5th st

av

west st

on

SITE PLAN

dd

ha

stevens st

WALL SECTION DETAIL This wall section is located along MLK Boulevard. The existing Riverline tracks run along the sidewalk. To keep the building continuously running along the road, I chose to cantilever the second floor over the tracks. To accomplish this while maintaining an open corridor for the buses, vierendeel trusses would be used with rigid connections.

BUILDING SECTION

MAIN BASKETBALL COURT

INDOOR POOLS

FRONT ELEVATION AND BUILDING SECTION

BUS CORRIDOR

MLK BLVD AT RIVER LINE

SUSTAINABILITY

water collecting roof sun shading

public park community garden

solar energy basketball courts

GREEN SPACE RECREATION

green roof community room

nj transit bus station

egress

patco station (below grade)

kids zone

water sisterns convenience store transit escalators

locker rooms

taxi stand transit escalators coffee shop river line station

vertical circulation pool transit escalators

information/security

TRANSIT

CIRCULATION

conference/classrooms

i

PROGRAM DIAGRAM

gymnasium

CONCLUSION The thesis journey this year was a long one, but my advisor, Tim Kearney, was an amazing help keeping me on track with my project. I really love the solution that was developed with his guidance and also the guidance of our jurors. The first crit helped me realize that the focus of my building was not just to create a transit hub that could be used by everyone with retail and restaurants, but to figure out what the community of Camden could really benefit from. By creating a building that has both transit and a recreation center, I have found a way to both connect the people all over Camden and create a safer environment for those commuting to Camden by keeping the building active throughout the day.

Thank you to everyone in the Drexel Architecture Department for helping me get to this point. Drexel’s parttime program has allowed me to intern in an architecture firm, get married and have a baby while keeping on pace with my architecture career goals. I will forever appreciate that to the fullest.