Menon_Portfolio

selected

portfolio

nakshatra menon

works 2022 - 2025

I became interested in urban design with the Steel Plaza Report. I got the chance to study the design of public spaces and their impacts on human behavior, seeing how small changes can make people feel more comfortable and welcome. Strong urban design is crucial to building relationships between people and bringing a sense of community to an area.

Contents What if? highway redevelopment project

Wa l k a n d R o l l uli competition

Streets and Homes small scale interventions

Steel Plaza Report public space analysis

Hypothesis Through Data gis maps and story maps

What if?

2023 Partner Project

This project is a redevelopment project where a highway was theoretically taken down in Pittsburgh, PA. The highway divided two neighborhoods, and it perpetuated redlining.

Neighborhood

LRT Connection

City and Local

Bike Lanes

Tourism

Pedestrian Walkw

way

Natural Greenary and Historical Streams

Commerical Zone

Bringing in the water

Gradient: Natural and Commercial

Criss-crossing parks and roads

Opening up to the water front

nts

efro tor

Ca n

al

S

Residential Section

Community Section

Commercial Section

Isla n d

ks

c Do

Stor

mw at

e

Cro

ssw al k

gement a na rM

ta De

ils

Walk and Roll ULI Competition 2025 Team Project The competition was an Urban redevelopment project on a site in Cleveland, Ohio. The competition lasted two weeks and the teams had to propose a design and make sure the proforma matched.

Site Analysis & Context 15 min

10 min

5 min

The Prosperity Grid

Downtown

Downtown

The Prosperity Grid

Holistic Connectivity

Strategic Nodes

1 mile radius

1 mile radius

CHEERS Project

The Prosperity Grid

­

The Prosperity Grid

Sustainable Growth

Collaboration & Equity

Vision & Design Principles Grid Connectivity Framework

Mobilit

Vehicular axis The Buckeye Boulevard

Vehicular The Buckeye B

Diagonal grids extending from neighborhoods.

Diagonal grids extending from neighborhoods.

Pedestrian axis The Connector

Continuing the neighborhood grids

Pede The

Have both pedestrian an

Diverse Urban Fabric

ty Axes

Residential Commercial Green Spaces / Plaza

Residential Commercial

Healthcare

Green Spaces / Plaza

Residential

Vinyl Plaza

nd vehicular connectivity

Green Spaces

Plaza / Community gathering space

Parking Parking Retail

Mixed use buildings that help promote walkability

Master Plan

Vinyl Plaza

Pedestri

ian Plaza

250 Feet

Commercial Plaza

es

&

o cal sepa r a t i rti e v

ns

pp in g

m as s

Illustration

St

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Br

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e ey ck u B Sea

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up

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Grocery Store

Commercial Center

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ivation lm Act a e lic R b Pu l Residentia

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Vinyl Plaza

Streets and Homes 2024 Partner Project The project was to redevelop on a street scale to bring back community focused initiatives and resident led change. .

Community Land Trust

Street Cleaning

Community Kitchen

Flea Market

The plaza is next to U.S Steel Tower, which is 841 feet tall and a part of the Pittburgh skyline

Why? How? 2022 Team Project The project was to analyze a public plaza and observe how people interacted within the space as well as how they behaved. While doing field research, we looked into how the layout and space influenced the occupants.

The plaza is located in an area that has easy access to various transportation.

Intersection of Fifth and Grant Street

It is in downtown Pittsburgh and has subway stations underground

Flow of people in and out of plaza is greatly impacted

Sm

ith fie ld

Str ee t

by office operations.

Plaza is most busy during lunch hours. Workers come in and out of the office to grab a quick snack/lunch.

Location of nearby food sources become critical in determining which entrances are most frequented.

Although not accurate to the occupants’ travel pathways, conceptually, the majority of occupants utilize Entrance A. Plaza is utilized to support office workers with an outdoor dining area given furniture arrangement.

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Av

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Oli

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Pe nn

Pla

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Mellon Square

en ue

Sev

en

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ue

tS

tre

et

th

Gr an

Entrance B

Str aw

be

rry

Wa y

Steel Plaza

Big

Starbucks

elo w

Sq

ua re

U.S. Steel Tower

Main Sitting/Eating Area (most furnished)

Food Trucks

th A ven

ue

Steel Plaza Station

Entrance A

et

Gr an tS tre

et

Six

G

Bus Stop: Grant St + Strawberry Way

Str aw

be

rry

Wa y Bus Stop: Grant St + Us Steel Stop A

Steel Plaza

Big

elo w

Sq

ua re

U.S. Steel Tower

Six

th A ven

ue

Bus Stop: Sixth Ave + Bigelow Blvd Parking for Cars

Steel Plaza Station

SP Parking Train Station

Local Environment

There are three bus stops, near the plaza. Busses 19L, P17, P69, P7, P76, and P78 all stop at Grant St + Strawberry Way. Busses P1, P2, P68, and P71 all stop at Grant St + Us Steel Stop A. Busses 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 71A, 71B, 71C, and 71D all stop at Sixth Ave + Bigelow Blvd. All three rail lines stop at the Steel Plaza Station, which collects people from Pittsburgh as well as the surrounding suburbs. Then the SP Parking Garage is available for people to park their cars.

Bike Rack

Incorrect Use of Space

Stairs

t Str ee Gr an t

Str aw

be

rry

Wa y

Location of slope and implementation of walls bound the plaza. The height of the “fence” stops the public street to diectly interact with the plaza.

Steel Plaza

Big

elo w

Sq

ua re

Direct Interactvity

U.S. Steel Tower

South of plaza faces high traffic, next to the major highway. Not many people leisurely take this road.

Trees additionally block public’s sight of view from the SE. Here, there is less visual interaction.

Six

th A ven

Movement

Gr an

tS

tre

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ue

The fountain is avoided due to unseatable height

Edge conditions of vegetation, traffic, and walls become obstacles in interacting with the public.

Limiting the line of sight and accessibility of the plaza’s longest faces, the plaza becomes more of a private function.

Majority of the plaza’s occupants come from the office building directly NE, making its demographics reliant on office workers and schedules. As the plaza space gets closer to the building, the space becomes more private.

Ta

rmanent -Pe mi

Ta bl

Tables with Umbrellas Semi-Permanent

Tables - Per

m ent an

Se

Lounge Chair Mobile

ic cn

ent

brella -

m s - Se i-Perm ble

an

/ Um w es

Plastic Chair Mobile

Tables Semi-Permanent

Pi

Benches Permanent

Picnic Tables Permanent

Pl

- Perma hes ne c en

nt

B

le bi

Chairs - M tic o s a

e Chair -

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Lo

ng

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Zone A: Employees/ Office Workers

Zone B: General Public/ Passer- byers

Types of seating within the plaza that determine types of people, size of gathering, and duration of stay.

Division of zones

Plaza is separated into 2 zones based on main circulation pathway and furniture.

With flexible furniture (that includes tables for eating) in the blue area, its ideal for group lunches and larger interactions that target office workers.

seating garbage cans food truck entrances

Seating Arrangement

Fixed furniture (wavy bench) in the red area follows a difficult linearity that invites passerbys rather than office workers. Here, occupants use area for quick and long activity performed in solitude (waiting, reading, phone calls) instead of socializing activities.

The plaza’s geometric floor pattern determine gathering spots.

Seating and dining areas are arranged to follow the large square patterns in the plaza. The squares act as boundaries for where gatherings take place.

CONVEX

CO

N

CA VE

seating garbage cans food truck entrances

As the squares take up a majority of the plaza’s floor design, they suggest as placesfor people to interact even in vacantspaces near the front entrance.

Although not the most effective method,the visual change in redorange (brick) to gray (stone tile) suggest pathways in circulating the plaza.

Placed in between the arches benches near the north edges of the plaza. These break up the benches into 3 zones.

Key

reen Space dG -P e dg

nent ma er

ile

A few lining the edge of the permanent green space.

Creates shade and privacy.

Lowe rE

Ta

ed ge - M

ob

Small Po

ll H

ent an

Shrub - Pe ith rm w t

Large Elevated green spaces have ledges which are too small to sit, but trees provide shade and small amount of sun blockage.

Large Pot with Tree

Large Pot with Flower Bed Small Pot with Tall Shrub Standing People Seated People Umbrellas Tall Hedges Bench Tables Outdoor Lounge Chair Sun Path

High

La rg e Larg e

Flower s-

High Edge Green Space Large Pot with Flowers Permanent Mobile

These are placed near entrance, and are moved away to allow food trucks to enter Plaza, then moved back in place.

le obi

Tall Hedge Mobile

with

M

Consists of bushes and large trees. Blocks wind from North side and sound from traffic.

t Po

ith Tree- Per tw ma o P

nt ne

nent rma Pe

E

Wind Path

reen Spac eeG g d

Placed randomly around plaza.

Creating divisions in Plaza and limits accessibility.

Low Edge Green Space Large Pot with Tree Permanent Permanent

Small Pot with Shrub Permanent

The variance in permanency and scale of the green space changes the accessibility of areas in the plaza.

Key Large Pot with Tree Large Pot with Flower Bed Small Pot with Tall Shrub Standing People Seated People Umbrellas Tall Hedges Bench Tables Outdoor Lounge Chair Sun Path Wind Path

Site Greenery The variance in permanency and scale of each type of green space changes the accessibility of specific areas in the plaza.

The larger green spaces filled with trees and bushes create a sense of protection and separation. The canopies of the large trees block the wind, sun, and sound from busy streets.

Permanent pots are placed randomly, most of them concentrated near the entrance of the office around the tables. The few places near the entrance of the plaza create a division between left and right.

Leading most pedestrians to walk in the middle of the plaza, between the pots and the fountain.

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Hypothesis Through Data 2024 Individual Projects

These sets of maps use GIS to analyze various places with data and draw conclusions that highlight problems and potential causes. Along with the static maps, there are links to storymaps as well.

Nature

Transport

Machinery

Humans

Silence

Points Hearing

Point Hearing

SENSORY MAP Sound source Faint Moderate Loud Very Loud Painful

Along with sight,another sense that influences emotions is sound. The second and third map shows the intensity of sound and the causes of the sound. Both the intensity of sound and the source of sound help shape the character of a space, which again results in subconscious perspectives of the space. Sound and sight are the two senses that have strong influences on how a person feels. So by considering these two senses when looking at people’s emotions, we can have a better understanding of how the built environment shapes our perception of space. This, along with analysis on what triggered the emotions, can provide a useful insight for city planners and help make improvements to public spaces. Even though Braddock Avenue is supposed to act as a main street there is very little street life. It feels deserted and unsafe to walk in since the buildings on that street don’t invite people in and some buildings are even boarded up. Additionally, the fact that most of the noises on that street come from machines or transportation adds to pedestrians feeling less inclined to walk on that street.

Arcgis Story Map Links

Pittsburgh Last Mile Connectivity Link

The Built Environment’s Impact on Crime Link