West Bottoms Reborn: A Vision Study for a System of Public Spaces (Pt. 2)

Image by Mike Sinclair

P2.2 113 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard

System of Public SpacesConnection Typologies

These twelve sites are best not viewed as individual entities but rather as parts of a larger network of public spaces that compliment each other and work possibilities together to improve the public they are As a part of the analytical framework investigating within the realm. threeWhen selected as related the public experience becomes enriched: sites, namely, 12th Street Alley, Liberty understood Courtyard and spaces, Central Avenue Viaduct, the site one space can provide experiences and amenities that another does for Liberty Courtyard sits in between 12th Street Alley to the East and Central Avenue not.

Viaduct to the West of the established system of public spaces in the West Bottoms.

The accessibility and contextual typologies of alleys and courtyards define the location: site’s The twelves sites have been categorized based on their Contextual, Hidden, Destination.

These spatial construct. The site’s boundaries, coupled withand the plethora of Connection activitiesTypologies that it acknowledge that a set of public spaces will not relate to each other hosts, contrast its spatial quality from the other two sites.

ALLEYS

LINEAR SPACES DEFINED BY FLANKING STRUCTURES

ALLEYS

HIDDEN

EMPTY PARCELS WITHIN AN OTHERWISE

FULL BLOCK Alley

MISSING TEETH

LINEAR SPACES DEFINED BY FLANKING STRUCTURES

or to the existing conditions of the West Bottoms in the same way, meaning that design interventions must be deeply conscious of their outer context.

DESTINATION

MISSING TEETH

CONTEXTUAL COURTYARDS

EMPTY PARCELS WITHIN AN OTHERWISE FULL BLOCK

Courtyard UNDER OVERPASSES

SPACES DEFINED BY A PERIMETER OF COURTYARDS STRUCTURES

SPACES DEFINED BY ELEVATED UNDER OVERPASSES TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

SPACES DEFINED BY A PERIMETER OF STRUCTURES

SPACES DEFINED BY ELEVATED TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

Contextual

P2.2

Destination Sites are spaces Hidden Sites are similar to that one would most likely Contextual sites in that they intentionally travel to, because .49 MI tend to occur as the interstitial unlike Contextual and Hidden {1050 spaces between existing STEPS } Sites, they do not have many buildings; however Hidden nearby uses. One would not Sites are more difficult to nd. be likely to stumble upon These sites may have a few a Destination site without restricted access points or may waynding or some adventure. be located off of the beaten Connections to Destination path. A Hidden public space Sites are usually made via can be more intimate and the trails system, where secretive, however to be wellautomobiles cannot travel. used it may require waynding Destination public spaces must and safety improvements. more carefully consider how its users will travel to and from the site.

Contextual Sites are those that have a well-dened context and many neighbors that inuence and are inuenced by this space. Contextual Sites tend to occur in the Historic Core district, due to its relatively tight urban fabric.

ISLANDS ISLANDS Many Contextual Sites are the .35between MI interstitial spaces SPACES WITH WITH ONE ACCESS ACCESS POINT POINT SPACES existing ONE buildings{762 or STEPS} other infrastructure. A public space of this typology must carefully consider all of its context.

Chapter 3: Site Selection

OPEN OPEN AREAS AREAS

SPACES FORMED FORMED WITH WITH MORE MORE THAN THAN SPACES ONE ACCESS ACCESS POINT POINT ONE

91

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 116

P2.2 117 Placekeeping Investigations

Site Taking its name from the avenue that used to run through it, Liberty Courtyard stands as a reminder of the history of the site as well as the impact that it still has today.

Raised loading docks line the base of the brick warehouses that form the courtyard, providing evidence of the past industrial activities that occurred as the nearby warehouses relied on the railroads to transport their goods.

Liberty Courtyard boasts a rich material palette that embodies the industrial history of the West Bottoms. There are eroding sett stones and abandoned rail lines underneath the gravel and asphalt. Due to the orientation around the train, its turning radii, and the convergence of different angled street grids, the brick facades rise in unconventional angles that give the courtyard a sense of funneling through the space.

P2.2

The Hobbs Building on the Courtyard’s northern edge hosts many artist studios. The Abernathy Building is destined to be re-purposed into small apartments with a few commercial uses at the ground floor. At the base of the Abernathy Building is a series of graffiti murals known as Art Alley. These murals are popular backdrops for amateur and professional photographers alike. Recently, just outside of the courtyard, a sculpture assembled of rail line ties, de-constructed shipping containers, and a deconstructed water tower was installed by artist Ben Wolf in collaboration with BNIM.

Liberty Courtyard 118

P2.2 119 Placekeeping Investigations

COURTYARD MORPHOLOGY

WEST BOTTOM

History The configuration of the Liberty Courtyard originates in the railroad use of space. The Missouri Pacific Freight Depot (now a major distribution facility), and the Missouri Pacific railhead bisected the West Bottoms; joining an angled street grid formation along St. Louis with the North-South grid of the KCMO area. A spur from the railhead connected north to meat-packers on the Missouri River bringing some of the earliest buildings to the area. The Riley Wilson Grocers & Co., Trumball Seed Co. (Now RadCo), the Hobbs, and parts of the Abernathy Furniture Co. were some of the earliest constructions around the turn of the 20th century. As automobile infrastructure took over, the rails were removed, though the memory of the trains’ passage remains.

1895

1903 FLOOD

1909

1951 FLOOD

2010

TODAY

Liberty Courtyard 120

P2.2

1965

P2.2

Texture study sections 121 Placekeeping Investigations

Texture The texture in Liberty Courtyard is a tangible/visceral medium to experience the history of the site. The geometric changes of the normal grid speak about the necessity for the rail to intercede in the area, as well as the impact that the railroad had on the construction of the spatial identity of Liberty Courtyard. The ever-changing texture of the ground articulates the past uses of the site and how each area of Liberty Courtyard was once its own entity with separate uses. The facades of each building have become a collective memory of the historical changes that Liberty Courtyard and how abandonment has led to the current state of the decaying structures. The graffiti and murals articulate the shifting status of the area. The murals showcase the prominent artistic community in the area while the graffiti shows the lack of occupation, of which neither murals nor graffiti could be accomplished without

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 122

KANSAS

I-70 Viaduct

Dow

P2.2

ntow

n Ka nsas

City

West Bottoms Flats Proposal

MISSOURI

Cro

ssro

ads Dis tr

ict

I-670 and Liberty Street Green Space

Map of active green infrastructure around West Bottoms 123 Placekeeping Investigations

S

Hydrology The current paving conditions in the liberty courtyard allow for large puddles to accumulate making the space particularly unpleasant after large rains. The paving is a mix of gravel, bricks, and concrete and creates a unique texture on the ground. However, the difference in the mix of paving does not help in any delineation of space based on the changing of materials. The puddles accumulate primarily in the center of the service alley and can be seen staying there for days. The accumulation of water can make the space unpassable and unoccupiable for pedestrians. The large trucks that utilize the alley during the day to reach the loading docks to the south continue to use it during periods of heavy rains. However, by utilizing the courtyard at those times (specifically by vehicular traffic) it deteriorates the existing paving even more.

HICKORY ST

9th ST 9th ST

P2.2

MISSOURI

With the water seeping into the ground the pavement materials are more susceptible to deterioration. The brick paving slowly breaks away into sedimentary pieces which combines with the gravel and dirt to turn the ground into a slew of mud after heavy rains. The water runoff comes from buildings surrounding the site the and the paving in Liberty Courtyard is not designed in a way for water to dissipate from the space.

9th ST

9th ST 9th ST

FORRESTER RD

LIB ER

WYOMING ST

TY ST

VE IS A

ST

U LO

RT

E LIB

HICKORY ST

T

YS

LIBERTY ST

U LO

WYOMING ST

VE IS A

ST

ST LOUIS AVE

UNION AVE

S

IS OU TL

E AV Liberty Courtyard 124

LIBER

P2.2

Service activity diagram 125 Placekeeping Investigations

Service and Activity The services and activities presently taking place in Liberty Courtyard revolve around the focus of the service alley cutting through the middle of the courtyard. The service alley that runs through the courtyard is mainly utilized by semi-trucks coming and going to the expansive loading area to the south of the alley. Along with the semi-trucks, there are garbage trucks as well as smaller service vehicles catering to businesses in the area. An activity that seems to dominate the occupiable space is the parking of personal vehicles along the docks of the courtyard. The docks along the buildings surrounding courtyard seem to find themselves the perfect location for people parking and leaving their cars stationary for substantial lengths of time. Due to the extent of which people park their cars in the docks as well as the vehicular traffic through the service alley the courtyard has seem to become more of a parking lot and therefore less inhabitable and welcoming to pedestrians.

P2.2

The parking in front of the docks was found to be something that highly deters pedestrian occupation. Since the loading docks are in the public right of way, it was established that the parking of personal vehicles in the space could no longer occur to create a public space in the area. Research was done, and an understanding of how important some of the vehicular attributes of the courtyard are to the surrounding community was found. It became apparent after public engagement that the courtyard could be completely shut down to vehicular traffic during special events, however the service alley should remain open to traffic for the remainder of the time. Since the service alley needed to remain the design focus became intently focused on the intention for vehicular traffic to co-exist in the same space as pedestrian occupiable space.

Liberty Courtyard 126

SPATIAL UNDERSTANDING

SPATIAL UNDERSTANDING

1951 FLOOD

SPATIAL UNDERSTANDING

WEST BOTTOMS

PHYSICAL SITE BOUNDARIES

WEST BOTTOMS

APPROACH

PHYSICAL SITE BOUNDARIES

WEST BOTTOMS

APPROACH

GROUND DOCK

GROUND PHYSICAL SITE BOUNDARIES FACADE DOCK GROUND FACADE DOCK FACADE

Boundaries

SERVICE AND PARCEL BOUNDARIES

Approach and Entry

SPATIAL IN

SERVICE LANES SERVICE AND PARCEL BOUNDARIES PARCELS

SERVICE LANES BOUNDARIES SERVICE AND PARCEL

P2.2

PARKING PARCELS SERVICE LANES PARKING PARCELS PARKING

VIEWSHED / PARALAX BOUNDARIES Private and Public R.O.W.

VIEWSHED / PARALAX BOUNDARIES VIEWSHED / PARALAX BOUNDARIES

APPROACH AND ENTRY APPROACH AND ENTRY Viewshed 127 Placekeeping Investigations

APPROACH AND ENTRY

SPATIAL IN

Spatial Overlap

Spatial Understanding The design exploration of Liberty Courtyard began with geometrical studies of the complex relationships resulting from a mix of street grid, industrial activities, and the railroad-oriented history that is prevalent in the West Bottoms to this day. The three overlapping zones in Liberty Courtyard form a multiplicity of spatial experiences. The three distinct zones became the initial basis for the design. The boundary of liberty SPATIAL INTERSECTIONS courtyard is created by the brick facades of the diagonal buildings that sit off the street grid. The approach and entry into the space is designated by the railroad that ran through the courtyard on this original street grid. Private and public ROW (right of way) had to be clearly defined from the beginning, as the qualitative experience relied on the co-existence of the two realms. The viewsheds gave a clarity to the three zones and allowed for unique spatial experiences to occur within the courtyard that provided a foundation for further investigations into the qualities of each space.

P2.2

3 ZONES Three Zones Liberty Courtyard 128

Form and Order The initial explorations of forces (both artificial and natural) revealed a strong need for protection from the natural elements. There was an established understanding that for both vehicular and pedestrian space to co-exist within the courtyard a delineation and separation of each zone needed to be clearly established. The courtyard was also found to have a significant amount of wind running through it as well as an expansive amount of sun which left the space at times uninhabitable for pedestrians. The need to address the issues of protection from the elements was something that became the driving force of design intention and the creation of the form as a protective element. The beginning study of the organizational understanding of Liberty Courtyard was highly derived from the delineation of public vs private sectors. The necessity for the service alley to remain limited what could be utilized as a continuously occupied public space. The public space ended up being established as something that could expand during special events. The large rectangular space in the center of the courtyard became the permanent public space, while an extension of the space could be had specific times when the street could be closed on a temporary basis.

SITEduring CONDITIONS

SITE SITE

WEST BOTTOMS WEST BOTTOMS

SITE CONDITIONS

P2.2 PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY

PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY

Public Right of Way

PRIMARY WINTER WINDS

Primary Winter Winds PRIMARY WINTER WINDS

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

129 Placekeeping Investigations

SERVICE

Service

SERVICE

SECONDARY WINTER WINDS

Secondary Winter Winds SECONDARY WINTER WINDS

DAYLIGHT IN WINTER

DAYLIGHT IN WINTER

Daylight in Winter

PRIMARY SUMMER WINDS

Primary Summer Winds PRIMARY SUMMER WINDS

SHADE IN SUMMER

SHADE IN SUMMER

Shade in Summer

SECONDARY SUMMER WINDS

Secondary Summer Winds SECONDARY SUMMER WINDS

Secondary Summer Winds

PUBLIC SPACE

EXTENDED PUBLIC SPACE

EXTENDED PUBLIC SPACE Public Space

COURTYARD SPACE EXTENDED PUBLIC SPACE

P2.2

COURTYARD SPACE Public Space - Extended

COURTYARD SPACE

EXTENDED SPACE COURTYARD SPACE Courtyard Space

EXTENDED SPACE

EXTENDED SPACE

Extended Views

Spatial Volume and Viewshed Liberty Courtyard 130

EXTENDED SPACE

P2.2 131 Placekeeping Investigations

Liberty Courtyard Design

Liberty Courtyard 132

P2.2

The design for Liberty Courtyard focuses on the creation of a public realm from which the courtyard previously had none. The delineation of the service alley and separation of the public space became an organizing element, while the protection from the elements was a key aspect to the creation of the greenwall. The drain along the service alley that runs through the middle of the courtyard becomes the separating element between pedestrian and vehicular ROW (right of way). The design for the pavement is to have distinct paving demarcating separation in public and private realms. The paving is graded to collect the runoff water from the entirety of the site and feed it into a drywell underneath the green wall. Before reaching the drywell, the water supplies nutrients to the vegetation, utilizing the pre-existing problem of water management as an asset.

The greenwall firstly behaves as a space defining element that begins by creating a continuation of the facades to the south. The continuation of the façade eliminates what was a missing tooth in the street grid. On the interior side of liberty courtyard, the greenwall acts as the primary focus and clearly defines the primary public space.

The paving directly to the north of the greenwall provides a large area for activities to occur where those in the space can view large scale events or simply escape from the elements. Attached to the structure of the greenwall is a canopy which during harsh climatic conditions provide both protection from the wind and shade from the sun. The canopy provides an escape from the elements, while underneath the canopy the greenwall becomes a framing element of which to view specific views of the West Bottoms; further establishing a sense of place.

Across from the “main� public area in liberty courtyard is where the staging of the designed dock units has been implemented. The dock units serve a multitude for purposes within the space and provide the expansion of the public realm to occupy more square footage during larger events when the entirety of Liberty Courtyard is closed to vehicular traffic. The initial reasoning for the dock units was to make the dock occupiable and meet codes. The dock units serve as steps from the dock as well as stadium style seating from which one can easily view events in the larger public space. The units themselves bring life back into the dock and allow pedestrians walking along the sidewalk in front to occupy the area along the service alley.

P2.2 133 Placekeeping Investigations

Original Form

Apertures Frame Views

Enclosed Courtyard

Enclosed Pedestrian Zone

Carve for Service Circulation

Pull Surface for Max Shading

Street Creek Defines Road

Activate Dock in Public ROW P2.2

Form Morphology

Design Elements Liberty Courtyard 134

P2.2 135 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 136

B

A

A B

P2.2 137 Placekeeping Investigations

WEST BOTTOMS

P2.2

SECTION A - A

SECTION B - B Liberty Courtyard 138

Daylight

WEST BOTTOMS

The daylighting currently inhabiting the site is quite harsh at certain times of the day/ year. For the courtyard to be pleasantly inhabited, the users must be protected from the sun and the wind. During certain times of inhabiting the courtyard the water runoff that feeds the vegetation of the greenwall will act as a cooling element providing a degree of relief from the heat. The greenwall acts a protecting element, allowing you to be underneath the canopy and still be able to experience the space in a comfortable manner.

Through solar studies, the hottest parts of the day/year were established. The canopy stretches along the frame which was specifically designed to address the times when the sun is hottest and unwanted.

JUNE 2pm JUNE 10am

JUNE 11am

JUNE 12pm

DEC 1pm

DEC 2pm DEC 10am

DEC 11am

DEC 12pm

P2.2

JUNE 1pm

Summer Shadow 139 Placekeeping Investigations

JUNE 11am

Winter Shadow

JUNE 1

maa87 hhtt1122 EENNU UJJ m

ma76 hhtt1122 EENNUUJJ

ma6

mmaa88 hhtt1122 EENNUUJJ

mmaa77 hhtt1122 EENNUUJJ

mmaa66

June 21st 9A.M.

June 21st 7A.M.

maa87 hhtt1122 EEN NU UJJ m

ma76

ma091hht0t022cceeDD

ma903h:t802htc0e2DceD

ma0

P2.2

ma98 ht12 ENUJ

December 20th 10A.M.

mmaa0011 hhtt0022 cceeDD

ma1011 hhtt0022 cceeDD ECITSLOS REMMUS

mmaa99 hhtt0022 cceeDD

mmaa003

ma091hht0t022cceeDD

ma90

-DRAYTRUOC YTREBIL-DRAY

-DRAY J C YTREBIL-DRA mpY 1 -DRAmpY31 hTt1R2 EUNUO ECITSLOS REMMUS

June 21st 4P.M. ECITSLOS RETNIW

mp43 ht12 ENUJ

December 20th 9A.M.

June 21st 1P.M. ECITSLOS RETNIW

Liberty Courtyard 140

Framing Views The viewshed from within the courtyard gives those who occupy the space a strong sense of place through the views into the surrounding West Bottoms context. The prominent views from the main public space exist directly to the south as well as along the street. The green wall behaves as a framing device for the views to emphasize the sense of place. The green wall has two cutouts from the structure, where the views out into the West Bottoms can be seen. However, the cutouts serve a dual purpose. The cutouts of the greenwall serve as a frame from which pedestrians can view out into the surrounding context as well as allowing a view into the public realm where activities can be occurring. The framing of both the West Bottoms and the public space provide an important statement about the relationship between the context and the public space.

P2.2 141 Placekeeping Investigations

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW VIEW DOWN DOWN ST. ST. LOUIS LOUIS STREET STREET

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW STREET View 3 TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS View 3 VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW VIEW POSITION POSITION 23

VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW POSITION 3 VIEW POSITION 1

P2.2

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW View 2 TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW TO STOW BUILDING ViewTOWER 2

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

ADJUSTED FORM

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER

VIEW POSITION 1

VIEW POSITION 1 View 1

View to Stow Building Tower

ADJUSTED FORM

ADJUSTED FORM

ADJUSTED FORM

ADJUSTED FORM

ADJUSTED FORM

ADJUSTED FORM

View 1

VIEW POSITION 3

View Down St. Louis Street

Liberty Courtyard 142

VIEW TO STOW BUILDING TOWER ADJUSTED FORM

DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET UIS STREET

VIEW TION 1 POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 1

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 1

DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET UIS STREET

VIEW TION 2 POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 2

DOWN ST. LOUIS STREET UIS STREET

VIEW TION 3 POSITION 3 P2.2

VIEW POSITION 3 VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW POSITION 3 VIEW POSITION 3

TO STOW BUILDING TOWER LDING TOWER

VIEW TION 1 POSITION 1 ADJUSTED FORM ADJUSTED FORM

VIEW POSITION 1

VIEW POSITION 1

VIEW POSITION 1 VIEW POSITION 1

TO STOW BUILDING TOWER LDING TOWER

VIEW TION 2 POSITION 2 ADJUSTED FORM ADJUSTED FORM

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 2

VIEW POSITION 2 VIEW POSITION 2

TO STOW BUILDING TOWER LDING TOWER

VIEW TION 3 POSITION 3 ADJUSTED FORM ADJUSTED FORM

VIEW POSITION 3

VIEW POSITION 3

143 Placekeeping Investigations

VIEW POSITION 3 VIEW POSITION 3

WEST BOTTOMS

VIEW POSITION 1

VIEW POSITION 2

SECTION B ADJUSTED FORM

SECTION B ADJUSTED FORM

SECTION B

Views from various positions ADJUSTED FORM

Liberty Courtyard 144

P2.2

VIEW POSITION 3

P2.2 145 Placekeeping Investigations

Lighting Design

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 146

P2.2 147 Placekeeping Investigations

Lighting The lighting concept of the design was to illuminate the elements that create and define space within the courtyard. The elements of lighting on the ground fully illuminate the main part of the public realm as to create an understanding of the occupiable space.

During the evening and the night, the space currently becomes uninhabitable as there is a significant lack of illumination and creates a safety concern. The illumination of the boundaries also allows the space to be inhabitable during the night and provide a degree of safety of which the space does not currently have.

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 148

P2.2 149 Placekeeping Investigations

Green Infrastructure To resolve water management issues in Liberty Courtyard a trench is carved down the length of the site intersecting the three zones. This trench is intended to channel stormwater into cisterns with the first flush going into a bioretention, infiltration area on the site’s southern end where sunlight is most ample. This feature is exposed with a green wall which is intended to provide spatial definition at the mouth of the courtyard, serve as a shading and wind blocking device, support a vertical habitat through the use of cisterns and pumps powered by solar panels on the wall as well as rearticulate the relationships beyond the site through the use of aperatures which frame certain relationships in the found environment.

DRAINAGE SYSTEM

WATER CIRCULATION SYSTEMS VOL. (gal.)

WATER RUNOFF

Cistern VOL (gal.)

22,631

24,000

PHOTOVOLTAIC

STANDARD SIZE

TOTAL AMOUNT

(@7) 3.5’ x 5.5’

134 sf 70 ft

152 W

(@22) 5m

364 ft (110m)

792 W

DRIP IRRIGATION PUMP LED-STRIP LIGHTS

ENERGY INPUT

ENERGY OUTPUT

1,995 W

P2.2

WATER CIRCULATION SYSTEMS PHOTOVOLTAIC

STANDARD SIZE

TOTAL AMOUNT

(@7) 3.5’ x 5.5’

134 sf 70 ft

152 W

(@22) 5m

364 ft (110m)

792 W

DRIP IRRIGATION PUMP LED-STRIP LIGHTS

ENERGY INPUT

ENERGY OUTPUT

1,995 W

Liberty Courtyard 150

P2.2 151 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.2

Water Management Detail

Green Wall Section

Liberty Courtyard 152

GREEN WALL DETAILS

WEST BOTTOMS

GREEN WALL SECTION

CORNICE DETAIL 1/2” = 1’

P2.2 PLANTER DETAIL 1/2” = 1’

APERTURE DETAIL 1/2” = 1’

SCALE: 1/4” = 1’

GREEN WALL AXON

153 Placekeeping Investigations

CONNECTION DETAIL 1/2” = 1’

P2.2

The zero emissions green wall collects rain water, stores it, then uses the stored water to feed the grasses and vines that climb the greenwall. A pump pushes the water up to the planters in the greenwall and the photovaultaic panels collect energy to run both the pump and the lights that attach to the greenwall.

Excess energy is stored in batteries.

Liberty Courtyard 154

P2.2 155 Placekeeping Investigations

Docking Units

Liberty Courtyard 156

P2.2

The docking units are prototype for the entirety of the West Bottoms to address typical conditions that occur because of the multitude of docks that are not utilized.

The docking units were tested in Liberty Courtyard where pavement changes and public seating, supplemented by urban furniture, is intended to multiply the relationships between the buildings, docks, and zones by amplifying pedestrian circulation patterns and providing a place to experience the powerful moments the courtyard has to offer. A system of three dock units has been designed to engage the docks in public right of way as well as resolve outstanding code issues with them. The docks along with the other design elements, re articulate the found conditions while transforming Liberty Courtyard from a service-oriented ambiguity to a greener and more pedestrian oriented atmosphere that still preserves vital infrastructural functions.

P2.2 157 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.2

The docking units being used as “bleachers�. A point to observe activity or a show that can be put on inside Liberty Courtyard.

Liberty Courtyard 158

P2.2

The docking units aim to activate the exiting docks, which have lost their industrial function and purpose in recent years. This solution allows more people to sit on the exterior of space and socialize and enjoy a point to observe the qualities of the West Bottoms.

159 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 160

P2.2 161 Placekeeping Investigations

Conclusion The design for Liberty Courtyard created a new paradigm for public space. The idea of public space where service, green infrastructure, and public use work in tandem to create a more meaningful concept. The lighting scheme is integral in the ‘working infrastructure’ of the green wall – it is powered by it and in return it illuminates it and gives it a different dimensional presence at night – the fall expresses itself in its multiple incarnations of its operational program. It serves as a space defining element – it marks its south boundary and creates an enclosure that completes the space. The green wall not only marks the boundary but creates relationships by framing the views and being strategically porous – it emplaces the people in the space not only by enclosing but by relating to visual reference points beyond the space it connects, and it does so through the dynamic operation of parallax. By moving through the space. one is repositioned and reconnected to the visual context which is controlled by the walls framing operation.

P2.2

Liberty Courtyard 162

Image by Mike Sinclair

P2.3

P2.3

Limit

P2.3

Form study of Central Viaduct

167 Placekeeping Investigations

Introduction When I applied for the artist position with the West Bottoms Reborn Project, I was motivated by two things: my interest in infrastructure, and the ability to study the West Bottoms for an extended period. In part, my studio practice seeks to understand the balance urban growth finds between aesthetics and function. This interest is influenced by my upbringing in New Orleans, Louisiana, where infrastructure is developed to overcome water and is an undeniable force within the city. I grew up with canal systems, flash flooding, and daily trips across the twenty-four-mile bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain. The West Bottoms, also a floodplain, is a wealth of both infrastructure and beauty waiting to be documented.

Limit 168

P2.3

During the three phases of the West Bottoms Reborn project, I experienced times of great clarity, and those of estrangement, as my personal studio practice ebbed and flowed. In seasons of disassociation, I embraced photography and the core idea of image making to connect my studio work and that of The Kansas City Design Center (KCDC). I chose to use the camera lens and the printed image as tools to interpret the chosen sites as a foundation for the work I designed throughout the project. I perceived the maps and charts designed by KCDC as whole images, ready to be cut and dissected into a language I understood: lines. Through this, I established a visual definition of what public space is, and my experience with creative placemaking. The series I created of drawings, collages, and models then informed my Phase III implementation: Limit. This essay will shed light on my creative process, thoughts, and exhibit my documentation of Limit.

P2.3

Collage study of Central Viaduct 169 Placekeeping Investigations

Image and String: Cause and Effect

Occurring over a year ago, this exercise provided a pivotal moment as I struggled to find my place within the project. I was not a leader, teacher, nor a student at KCDC, but someone who communicates best through what I build. String Theory led me to a tangible method of drawing and mapping that I could process at my own pace. I continued to explore tangents of String Theory for the remainder of the project.

Limit 170

P2.3

The West Bottoms Reborn Project consisted of three phases. In the first phase, our team selected (from the plethora of places existing within public right of way or adopted over a time of neglect) three sites for intervention. As a team, we established a value system for the project’s vision and hosted meetings for the public to provide feedback on our progress. Still, I felt the sites were dots on a map, flattened and branded to suit shallow assumptions about the project’s needs. To interrupt this, I introduced a strategy of site selection later titled String Theory. This strategy used a combination of photography and analytics to create a flurry of information that represented the West Bottoms as a whole, rather than as a series of individual sites. KCDC captured dozens of images triggered by sensory experiences and conducted analytical studies such as sun and shade charts as well as elevations. Together, we hung the data on the wall and began to physically connect the images with various colors of string. The intent of String Theory was to draw out associations between places not easily recognized from the screen or when on site while overwhelming sensations are present. This exercise quieted the train horns and constant gusts of wind to distill inarguable and objective common experiences of the West Bottoms from a variety of perspectives and informational avenues. String Theory also presented the opportunity to move our bodies connecting images of train tracks to that of a view-shed further down the wall. It was during this exercise that I had an epiphany; there is a practicality in using the image as a common language between artists and architects. By trade, artists and architects: produce, observe and curate images into experiences. Through our collaboration, String Theory consolidated the sites to speak to the wildness and unpredictability of the West Bottoms rather than the curated feeds of idealized moments presented before. String Theory digested hours of research and began to produce a narrative. The West Bottoms became more than just another reviving Stockyards district, it became something uniquely ours to interpret. String Theory was also my effort to find beauty within the banality of architecture and to appropriate KCDC’s architectural language as I needed, to serve my studio practice as a sculptor. It is ultimately because of the confirmations developed by String Theory that I directed my energy towards Liberty Courtyard for the final two phases of the project. This decision was later re-confirmed through my photography and drawing studies which proves Liberty Courtyard to be a microcosm of the West Bottoms.

P2.3 171 Placekeeping Investigations

Collage featuring maps of Forrester Viaduct and Site Network established in Phase I.

History, Reflection, and Movement I understand the world around me through the language of lines. Within my personal studio practice, my process begins with a line, either drawn or taken from an image.

In Phase I of the West Bottoms Reborn Project, I used a physical line of string and images to create a strategy for site selection. Weekly, I would visit the West Bottoms and walk with my camera. I captured all that I could, attempting to understand the West Bottoms. As my image library expanded, I began to draw lines over the photographs.

These lines then became the cut marks of collages. The collages were then traced and redrawn. The lines I drew became influenced by memories of the three chosen sites: Central Viaduct, Liberty Courtyard, and 12th Street Alley. Once the line drawings were complete, they underwent a process of dissection where I separated them from the context of the site. I analyzed the drawings based on aesthetics and where I could fill in compositional voids. I used this opportunity to perfect the shapes and to improve them based on my own experiences. Each drawing was understood as a plan view for an imaginary object to establish order within the process. The final drawings were then extruded into form, built to scale with interior spaces, dependent on the intersections of the plan. These models spoke to the uniformity of the West Bottoms, a common experience of one moving through space filled with similar textures and scenery. My models challenged the programmatic and typological approaches KCDC had standardized for site design. The plan drawings and models were theoretical maps of how I envisioned place and site specificity.

I rigorously documented the chalk drawings during my walks through the West Bottoms. When I printed and studied the chalk line images alongside the drawings and collage maps I created, three existing themes within the West Bottoms appeared to me: History, Reflection and Movement. As follows is my photo essay interpreting those themes as a definition of creative placemaking (altered to placekeeping), as well as process images leading to the final composition of my Phase III implementation.

Limit 172

P2.3

In Phase II and III, the drawings underwent another layer of abstraction as I placed them in real space on site. I traded string for lines of chalk. In collaboration with the Liberty Courtyard team, we drew shapes from their site design, known as the three zones of activity on the ground of the courtyard with a sports field marker. The physical act of tracing a pathway and imaginary lines found through a series of investigations confirmed the tactile environments we were designing. Through this investigation, it was my hope to use lines derived from the site, drawn on the ground plane, to heighten the awareness of the public to the place around them. The lines formed a playful interaction between artist, architect, and viewer, as they were apt to change in color and move locations as they washed away with the rain and constant vehicular traffic.

P2.3

Above: Form study of Liberty Courtyard Below: Sun and shade study of 12th Street Alley 173 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 174

P2.3 175 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 176

P2.3 177 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 178

P2.3 179 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 180

P2.3 181 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 182

P2.3 183 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 184

P2.3

Memory drawing of Central Viaduct

185 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Reductive collage of Central Viaduct made from memory drawings and photographs. Laser cut shape.

Limit 186

P2.3

Memory drawing of 12th Street Alley

187 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Reductive collage of 12th Street Alley made from memory drawings and photographs. Laser cut shape.

Limit 188

P2.3

Memory drawing of Liberty Courtyard

189 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Reductive collage of Liberty Courtyard made from memory drawings and photographs. Laser cut shape.

Limit 190

P2.3

Model derived from a plan drawing made of collaged images of Liberty Courtyard, Central Viaduct and 12th Street Alley.

191 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Model derived from a plan drawing made of collaged images of Liberty Courtyard, Central Viaduct and 12th Street Alley.

Limit 192

LIMIT On May 12th, 2017 at 5:03PM the sun began to set over the West Bottoms and cast a shadow of the Grocer’s Building and the Abernathy Building along St. Louis Ave. The alley between the two buildings slowly flooded with light from the sinking sun. The stark contrast between warm light and shadow creeped to meet the teal painted edge of Limit, a large steel sculpture mounted with colored acrylic panels. At 5:15PM, on this day, the first glimmer of color appeared on the ground as the sun passed through the orange acrylic mounted to the sculpture’s steel frame. The orange acrylic was cut out into a shape that filled exactly one negative space within the steel frame. Where the orange acrylic ends, a blue piece of acrylic began, connecting diagonal lines across the vertical teal frame. Soon, the sun moved to chase away the remaining shadows covering the sculpture. The building’s shadows dissolved into the stark geometric lines of Limit. The orange, blue, and green acrylic panels moved and overlapped, slowly shifting as the sun settled. At 5:26PM, water-like reflections stretched across the ground. By 5:35PM, the corridor of light passed leaving only a sliver of sun adjacent to the Grocer’s Building before completely disappearing.

P2.3

Throughout the West Bottoms Reborn Project, I created an image library for Liberty Courtyard consisting of photographs and drawings of the site from life and memory.

I collaged many of the photographs of other sites with that of Liberty Courtyard. I layered these with drawings from memory where I flattened space and focused on the building forms and shadows. I scanned and vectorized many of the drawings, perfecting the right angles and straightening my hand drawn lines. Each drawing would eventually adhere to a grid, a universal system adaptable for any condition. Eventually, I discovered a way to fold the plan drawings into self-reliant compositions where the lines became capable of playing with perspective, flattening and expanding in the round. The sun and shade conditions of Liberty Courtyard presented a unique opportunity to install one of the folded forms which responded to the undulating elevations within the courtyard.

Unlike my other works of art where I encode the name with a cipher, I let the word Limit remain. Limit became a metaphor for a method to uncover how I see the world in a way that I cannot control, at the pace of the setting sun. The time-based shadows and reflections in the acrylic became a still life for viewers to photograph and reframe, creating new compositions as they understood them. Limit became about self-awareness as the work is bound by the constraints of its geometric shape-- a reflection of the surrounding architecture. Limit became about finding my own restrictions within the West Bottoms Reborn Project, challenging them, and finding the light despite it all.

193 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 194

P2.3 195 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 196

P2.3 197 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 198

P2.3 199 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 200

P2.3 201 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.3

Limit 202

P2.3 203 Placekeeping Investigations

Conclusion The end of the West Bottoms Reborn Project leaves me simultaneously proud and apprehensive. The intriguing and complex nature of the project involved times of successful collaboration and frustrating communication. Regardless, the project fostered a rich dialogue and emotional responses from everyone. Through this, I learned to listen and adapt my studio practice into a stronger tool for future projects. James Woodfill added a layer of complexity by introducing the concept of adjacency. This permitted each member of the team to fulfill their desires for the project at different times and scales. I half ignored this proposal because in Phase One I strived to find a collaborative platform through String Theory. That platform permitted the Liberty Courtyard team and I to co-produce the chalk drawings to inform the locations of our design implementations. Our collaboration forged an unexpected path to create work at a new scale within my practice. Although my original interests did not profoundly change during the project, my envisioned outcome, always a moving target, finally landed on Limit: a photo essay and a temporary sculpture for Liberty Courtyard.

The concept of maintenance is a rational outcome for the West Bottoms Reborn Project’s. From the project’s beginning, the language surrounding the West Bottoms’ future was imminent and aggressive. I thought the West Bottoms I knew and loved two years ago, would be extinct today. As of July 2018, I still feel the nostalgia of coming home as I drive down James Street and turn towards Liberty Courtyard. My perception of change within West Bottoms is slow because I experience the place everyday. I reorient my perspective when I reflect on images I made in the beginning of the project that no longer exist. As time goes on, continuing to document and advise the changes of the West Bottoms is the true nature of Placekeeping. Our implementations during the project impacted each site enough. Historically, water and rapid industrial growth were the ultimate catalysts of change within the West Bottoms. The West Bottoms Reborn Project occurred as a harbinger of a new wave of development. We must allow the natural process of things to continue with the blueprints our implementations left behind and trust in the resilience of the West Bottoms. I am incredibly honored to have been a part of the past and to have paid homage to the light that exists within Liberty Courtyard. I anticipate being a part of the West Bottom’s future at every possible opportunity to document, to draw, and to fold.

P2.3

Since the project exhibition, each site has returned to its previous existence. Cars fill Liberty Courtyard as a makeshift parking lot. Patrons browse motorcycle merchandise in Blip unaware of the new seating behind in 12th Street Alley. The object beneath Central Viaduct is now a solemn monument to the quality and quantity of research gathered about the hidden place. This is not a critique of the project, but an attempt to understand the resilience of the community I studied and designed for since February 2016. Our implementations make it apparent that the West Bottoms needs a cultural shift before any project can make a lasting impact. However, I learned from the inclusion of Roberto Bedoya and Karen McCoy in the Honoring History and Place public engagement series, to not expect one project to achieve radical change, but many will eventually shape the West Bottoms’ future. Our project became a part of the process of change when we identified a typological formula to create public space within the West Bottoms. The site interventions at Central Viaduct, Liberty Courtyard, and 12th Street Alley fundamentally maintained and celebrated the sense of discovery particular to the West Bottoms.

Image by Mike Sinclair

P2.4 207 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct

as parts of a larger network of public spaces that compliment each other and work together to improve the public realm. When they are ALLEYS MISSING TEETH understood as related spaces, the public experience becomes enriched: LINEAR SPACES DEFINED BY FLANKING EMPTY PARCELS WITHIN AN OTHERWISE one space can provide experiences and that another does STRUCTURES FULL amenities BLOCK not.

Connection Typologies

A System of Public Spaces

Theastwelves sites havebut been categorized based on their location: These twelve sites are best not viewed individual entities rather Contextual, Hidden, and Destination.

These Connection Typologies as parts of a larger network of public spaces that compliment each that aWhen set ofthey public other and work together to improveacknowledge the public realm. arespaces will not relate to each other or to the existing conditions of the West Bottoms in the same way, As a part of the framework of analysis investigating possibilities within the three chosen understood as related spaces, the public experience becomes enriched: meaning that design interventions one space can provide experiences and amenities that another does sites of 12th Street Alley, Liberty Courtyard and Central Avenue Viaduct, Central Ave must be deeply conscious of their outer context. not.

provides a unique perspective into the elements that continue to define the West BotCOURTYARDS toms. The site provides an ability to create necessity based on siteDESTINATION specific characterDEFINED A PERIMETER OF The twelves sites have been categorizedSPACES based onBY their location: STRUCTURES istics. The public space on the Central Ave site needed to Destination. be something that could act Contextual, Hidden, and These Connection Typologies acknowledge that a to set meet of publicspecific spaces will site not relate to each other as both a permanent and temporary element in order conditions.

UNDER OVERPASSES

HIDDEN SPACES DEFINED BY ELEVATED

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

or to the existing conditions of the West Bottoms in the same way, meaning that design interventions must be deeply conscious of their outer context.

DESTINATION

HIDDEN

Destination Sites are spaces that one would most likely intentionally travel to, because unlike Contextual and Hidden Sites, they do not have many nearbyISLANDS uses. One would not be likely SPACESto WITHstumble ONE ACCESSupon POINT a Destination site without waynding or some adventure.

Connections to Destination Sites are usually made via the where Destination Sites are spaces Hiddentrails Sites system, are similar to automobiles cannot that one would most likely Contextual sites in thattravel. they Destination public spaces must intentionally travel to, because tend to occur as the interstitial more consider how unlike Contextual and Hidden .49 MI spacescarefully between existing its users will however travel to and from Sites, they do not have many {1050 STEPS} buildings; Hidden the nearby uses. One would not Sitessite. are more difficult to nd. be likely to stumble upon These sites may have a few a Destination site without restricted access points or may waynding or some adventure. be located off of the beaten Connections to Destination path. A Hidden public space Sites are usually made via can be more intimate and the trails system, where secretive, however to be wellautomobiles cannot travel. used it may require waynding Destination public spaces must and safety improvements. more carefully consider how its users will travel to and from the site.

Under Overpass CONTEXTUAL

CONTEXTUAL

Hidden Sites are similar to Contextual sites in that they tend to occur as the interstitial spaces between existing buildings; however Hidden OPENare AREAS Sites more difficult to nd.

These sites may haveTHAN a few SPACES FORMED WITH MORE restricted access points or may ONE located ACCESS POINT be off of the beaten path. A Hidden public space can be more intimate and secretive, be wellContextualhowever Sites aretothose that used requirened way nding have itamay well-de context and and safety manyimprovements. neighbors that inuence and are inuenced by this space. Contextual Sites tend to occur in the Historic Core district, due to its relatively tight urban fabric.

Many Contextual Sites are the interstitial spaces .35 between MI existing buildings or other infrastructure. A {762 publicSTEPS} space of this typology must carefully consider all of its context.

Hidden Contextual Sites are those that have a well-dened context and many neighbors that inuence and are inuenced by this space. Contextual Sites tend to occur in the Historic Core district, due to its relatively tight urban fabric.

Many Contextual Sites are the interstitial spaces between existing buildings or other infrastructure. A public space of this typology must carefully consider all of its context.

Contextual

Chapter 3: Site Selection

Chapter 3: Site Selection

91

P2.4

CENTRAL AVENUE VIADUCT

LIBERTY COURTYARD

12TH ST ALLEY

91

WEST BOTTOMS WEST BOTTOMS REB

P2.4

Central Avenue Viadcuct 210

P2.4 211 Placekeeping Investigations

Site and Project Introduction

Central Avenue Viaduct 212

P2.4

The Central Ave site is currently surrounded by industries with an abandoned chemical waste company to the West, a cement factory to the South and the Central Avenue Viaduct shaping the site to the North and East. Hickory Union Moto (the newest member to the area) is close in proximity to the site and provides certain amenities on First Fridays which allows for those who would not normally experience the site to be introduced to it. The activities that were uncovered to take place around the site currently are clandestine and occur in the location because of its lack of visibility to the street and the small amount of traffic in the vicinity. The activities that currently occur on the site range from drag racing to urban exploration of abandoned buildings. The type of crowd that currently utilizes the site are there specifically for the abandoned industrial atmosphere of the area.

The site currently has two very distinct and contrasting sections, each with their own spatial characteristics. The section of the site underneath the viaduct is strongly characterized by it’s more intimate and enclosed feeling. From underneath the viaduct the spatial characteristics change due to the rising of the viaduct over the space. The site slowly changes from what is a more reclusive space to becoming taller; yet remaining quite hidden from the surrounding area. The site underneath the viaduct allows users to view the surrounding industrial context while still feeling protected from the urban jungle. The views from underneath the viaduct towards Downtown KCMO and Strawberry Hill create a sense of looking through a window and enhance the spatial quality of the site.

The other section of the site is the lot to the south and is a large open lot that contrasts the intimacy of the space underneath the viaduct. The lot is very well hidden and is visible through the spacing between the columns of the viaduct. From the east it seems as if the site is an urban oasis and creates a certain sense of mysteriousness and intrigue for onlookers. The only access to the lot is through a service road that is used only by trucks loading and unloading products from the industries to the south. The service road is a dead-end and to access the road you must travel underneath the viaduct. The passing underneath the viaduct stimulates a sense of passing through a gate into the unknown. The lot stretches across the side of the viaduct and is directly across from an abandoned building called the “lab” which gives the lot it’s most intriguing view.

SITE CONDITIONS SPATIAL ENCOLSURE

SPATIAL STRUCTURE

SPATIAL SEPARATION

SPATIAL VOLUME P2.4

OLUME

213 Placekeeping Investigations

CURRENT SITE CONDITIONS: VEGETATION

Location/ Pragmatics

P2.4

The site is predominantly understood through the distinction of the two unique aspects of the space underneath the viaduct and the open space to the south.

The site underneath the viaduct contains unique elements that make up the characteristics of the space underneath. The viaduct sits on large columns which then make up the main grid system of which the space is divided spatially. The columns are important in understanding the space from underneath the viaduct as the shear mass of them becomes even greater from within such an intimate space. The main girders then sit on rows of concrete archways which then further subdivide the space into larger sections. The ground is relatively flat and thus allows the space to increase in height and give way to larger spaces underneath as the viaduct slowly rises. The smaller spaces closer to Hickory Union Moto and the beginning of the viaduct are more intimate and provide users with a more enclosed feeling.

The larger open space on the south side of the site is defined by the viaduct’s foundation to the east and the service street directly to the west. The open space is defined by the complete seclusion of the area encased by the viaduct. The passing underneath the viaduct allows you to enter the site by vehicle and thus provides a more secluded area. The contrasting seclusion and openness of the site makes it feel like an abandoned urban oasis.

P2.4 215 Placekeeping Investigations

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct 216

History Central Avenue Viaduct connects James Street – one of the main arteries of the West Bottoms – to Kansas City, Kansas. This area was once an intersection of the streetcar and the freight lines. The streetcar was one of the major lines to and from KCK while the freight lines facilitated the transportation of goods to various industries in the area. The area inside the bend of the Central Avenue Viaduct was once home to railcar storage that serviced meatpacking, agricultural, and other related industries.

P2.4 217 Placekeeping Investigations

Parallel to the length of the yard is 1st Street which services milling and concrete facilities to the southwest. During the day, concrete trucks pass back and forth in front of a vacant building which is now a canvas for graffiti artists and an attraction for urban explorers who have named it “The Lab� due to its previous function as a waste management facility. On the backside of this building is a lot for the storage of shipping containers, as well as other light industrial uses to the south and north.

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct 218

Connection The site is directly existing underneath the Central Ave viaduct and as such has a direct connection to the bridge. The geometrical elements of the viaduct create a sense of unity between the site underneath the site and the spaces that occur underneath the viaduct. With these connections it creates a sense of spatial unity which allows the site to feel as if it extends farther than in reality.

CENTRAL VIADUCT - EXPLORATION

P2.4

VISUAL VEHICLE PEDESTRIAN LAWLESS

The geometric patterns created by the viaduct also makes the site feel as if it is part of a larger unit of spaces underneath the viaduct. This sense of unity creates an opportunity for creating a template for beginning a dialogue between all the other vacant spaces underneath the viaduct. The existing elements pertinent in the spatial qualities of the site are reoccurring in the surrounding spaces and as such create a strong relationship to the landscape of the West Bottoms.

P2.4

Central Avenue Viadcuct 220

EXPERIENCE OF LIGHT

SUMMER SOLSTICE

SUMMER SOLSTICE P2.4

WINTER SOLSTICE SUMMER SOLSTICE

WINTER SOLSTICE

Sun and Shadow The purpose of the sun and shadow studies was to understand the way that light effected the spatial qualities of the space. The sun and shadow studies done created an understanding of which section underneath the viaduct was receiving adequate sun throughout the year. The information gathered from the studies allowed for a further investigation into the spatial qualities of the site underneath the viaduct. The sun and shadow studies helped categorize different sections underneath the viaduct as well as provided an understanding of possible uses for each section of the site depending on the solar conditions at the time.

ER SUMMER SOLSTICE SOLSTICE

P2.4

Summer Solstice

Winter Solstice Central Avenue Viaduct 222

P2.4 223 Placekeeping Investigations

Overlay of solar map for cold months

P2.4

Overlay of solar map for hot months

Central Avenue Viaduct 224

MMER

GG

SPRING

CENTRAL AVE VIADUCT- SPATIAL VOLUME OPEN SPACE

WEST BOTTOMS

COMPRESSED SPACE

P2.4 225 Placekeeping Investigations

CURRENT SITE CONDITIONS SPATIAL ENCOLSURE

Water Drainage on site

SPRING

Currently the site has a water management problem due to the downspouts from the viaduct releasing directly onto the site underneath the viaduct. With the pavement underneath the viaduct being predominantly loose dirt with sparse vegetation, the water finds places to sit and puddle. The places underneath the viaduct where water sits become ponds that house mosquitoes and make the site uninhabitable. Another place where such puddles occur is in the paved lot section of the site. The paved lost is occasionally used to park trailers, however, when it rains the puddles that are created due to lack of proper grading large enough to deter activities.

SPRING

Hydrology

CURRENT SITE CONDITIONS: WATER

P2.4

SPRING

SUMMER

SUMMER

SPRING Central Avenue Viaduct 226

HROM DIRECTION WIND EACHFROM DIRECTION EACH DIRECTION

P2.4 227 Placekeeping Investigations

Wind The study of the wind was part of a trifecta of analyses that formulated the final form of the design. As opposed to the idea that a desolate abandoned site has no amount of nature, the study of each element created an understanding that the “nature� of the site is the natural elements of wind, sun, and sound and is just as prominent here as in any site. The studies of the wind and other natural elements alongside the geometrical studies of space informed the formal and spatial of the design. The study of solid/void open/closed, boundaries, view sheds, and approach created an understanding of the ability of the design to alter the current wind patterns.

The study of the wind was a way of understanding how to capitalize on the existing conditions and either choose for the natural elements to define the design or have it modulate it.

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct 228

SOUND EVELS LEVELS

P2.4

Left: Sound map at day Right: Sound map at night 229 Placekeeping Investigations

DAYTIME

NIGHTTIME NIGHTTIME

Sound The sound on the site predominantly comes from the north side of the site where Hickory Union Moto has their parking lot. The street traffic on this side is the most prominent and thus has a large impact on the site’s sound. The sound from above the viaduct also is significant as when vehicles cross over the viaduct the sound regurgitates underneath. The street to the south has vehicular traffic, particularly vehicles loading and unloading at the docks of the surrounding industrial businesses. However, the lot on the south does provide some spatial cushioning and since it is not usually occupied does allow for a visual connection to the objects of the noise and the hearing of it.

The study of the environmental/natural elements in its final incarnations focused on understanding and defining where one would be either more exposed or more sheltered from these elements. The study of sound and the other elements helped understand different configurations where sunlight, wind, or sound can be either amplified or canceled altogether. The study of each of these elements created a further investigation of how to define space through setting boundaries and illuminating view sheds in response to each of the elements that create a comfortable space to inhabit.

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct 230

P2.4 231 Placekeeping Investigations

Overlay The overlay of the study of existing environmental elements as well as the unknown element of the parking lot ownership created a new sense of public space that relied on something temporary rather than permanent. The overlaying of different environmental studies illuminated the best areas for viewsheds, sunlight, and wind. The conclusion that was drawn from the overlay of the studies was the necessity for the design to be a site tuning element. Because the design of public space was needed to be temporary it needed to be able to adapt to all sorts of changing conditions in the natural environment. The need for public space to be understood as a temporary entity was the primary design intention that pushed the studies of environmental elements further to comprehensively understand the ever-changing interaction between the site and pre-existing natural elements.

P2.4

Central Avenue Viaduct 232