Latency Liberated

Latency

VatsalThesis

Fall-SpringArch

An Attempt

the Latent Qualities of

and Integrate Suburban Lifestyles

L i b e r a t e d

D e s a iB o o k l e t2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 05 7 3 - 5 7 4

t o L i b e r a t e

S u s t a i n a b i l i t y

i n t o U r b a n i t y

L i b e r a t e dD e s a i

Latency Vatsal

2

Contents

What is Latent?Thesis Topic

Goals and ObjectivesThesis QuestionsThesis Research

Precedent ResearchOn SustainabilityThesis Program

Site SelectionClimate Analysis

Site AnalysisProject Development

Site PhotosPreliminary SketchesExisting Master plan

New Master planDesign AnalysisDesign Phase 2Design Phase 3Design Phase 4Design Phase 5

Bibliography

34456 - 89 - 1 92 0 - 2 12 2 - 2 32 4 - 3 93 4 - 3 53 6 - 3 73 8 - 3 94 0 - 4 14 2 - 4 54 6 - 4 74 8 - 4 95 0 - 5 55 6 - 6 36 4 - 7 17 2 - 8 18 2 - 1 2 11 2 2 - 1 2 3

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Thesis PreparationFall

Arch

W h a t i s l a t e n t ?Te c h n o l o g y a n d i n n o v a t i o n r e q u i r e y e a r s o f r e s e a r c h , g o v e r n m e n t f u n d i n g , a n d a l o t o f i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r i m p l e m e n -t a t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r p r o d u c t .

S u s t a i n a b i l i t y , a s a n i d e a , a f a d , a t r e n d i n t e r m s o f p r o d -u c t d e v e l o p m e n t a n d s a l e s , w i t h i n a r a n g e o f s c a l e s h a s s t o r m e d t h r o u g h m a i n - s t r e a m m e d i a . I t i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m p r e -v i o u s t r e n d s b e c a u s e t h i s n e w w a y o f l i v i n g h a s a d r a m a t i c e f f e c t o n o u r e n v i r o n m e n t .

H o w e v e r , i t i s t h e s a m e a s a n y o t h e r i n n o v a t i o n o r p r o d -u c t , b e c a u s e i t r e q u i r e s y e a r s o f r e s e a r c h , f u n d i n g , a n d i n f r a -s t r u c t u r e f o r i t s e f f e c t s t o b e n o t i c e d .

T h e e f f e c t s o f s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a r e l a t e n t . A l t h o u g h m a r k e t -i n g a n d p r o d u c t s h a v e b e g u n t o s c r a t c h t h e s u r f a c e , t h e r e a r e a l o t o f i s s u e s r e g a r d i n g t h e s t a t u s o f o u r e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e f a c t i s t h a t w e c o n t i n u e t o c o n s u m e a t a m u c h f a s t e r r a t e t h a n w h a t i s a v a i l a b l e . A l t h o u g h s o m e r e s o u r c e s m a y b e a v a i l a b l e , p e r h a p s t h e q u e s t i o n a t l a r g e i s d o w e r e -a l l y n e e d a l l t h a t w e c o n s u m e ?

H o w c a n w e b e g i n t o c o n -d e n s e , c o n s e r v e , c o l l e c t , a n d c o l l a b o r a t e a s a c o m m u n i t y t o h e l p i m p r o v e o u r e n v i r o n m e n t ?


Latency Vatsal

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Thesis Topic

This project is the redevelopment of an urban infrastructure

incorporating suburban and

sustainable lifestyles. In essence, re-meshing

suburbia into urban environments to make

living in dense cities more appealing.

G o a l s a n d O b j e c t i v e s

W h y i s i t i m p o r t a n t ?

S u b u r b a n s p r a w l l e a d s t o h i g h e r l e v e l s o f C O 2 e m i s s i o n s d u e t o w o r k e r s f o r c e d t o d r i v e t o w o r k . S u b u r b a n s p r a w l a l s o e n c r o a c h e s o n w i l d l i f e p o p u l a t i o n s , d e f o r e s t a t i o n , a n d o c c u p a t i o n o f v a l u a b l e f a r m l a n d , a n d u s e s m i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s f o r u n n e e d e d a d d i t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . Tr a c k h o u s e s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t s a r e c o n s t r u c t e d w i t h o u t u s i n g s u s t a i n a b l e p r i n c i p l e s a n d e f f i c i e n t d e s i g n . S u b u r -b a n s p r a w l r e s u l t s i n s e p a r a t i n g c o m m u n i t i e s a n d d i s s o l v e s t h e r i c h f a b r i c o f o u r d i v e r s e c u l t u r e s .

H o w d o I p l a n o n r e s o l v i n g i t ?

D e n s e l i v i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s t o d a y a r e n o t a p p e a l i n g t o t h e m a s s e s . T h e s e u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t s p r o v i d e t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , w i t h o u t a d d i t i o n a l c o s t s , t o d e v e l o p s u s t a i n a b l e h o u s i n g . C u r r e n t z o n i n g t r e n d s d e p i c t a m o r e o u t w a r d s p r a w l i n g a p p r o a c h , h o w -e v e r , i f t h i s z o n i n g w e r e t o b e c o m e s t r a t i f i e d , i t w o u l d p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t i e r e d d e v e l o p m e n t a n d u t i l i z a t i o n o f a i r r i g h t s o f l o w - r i s e b u i l d i n g s . W i t h t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f m a s s t r a n s i t , b e t -t e r s t r e e t s c a p e s , u t i l i z a t i o n o f a l l e y s , r o o f s , a n d o t h e r n e g a t i v e s p a c e s , a n d s m a r t , s u s t a i n a b l e p r i n c i p l e s , t h e u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t c a n b e g i n t o a p p e a l t o l a r g e r p o p u l a t i o n s . O n e i n d i v i d u a l c h o o s -i n g t o m o v e t o a d e n s e u r b a n c i t y i s n o t g o i n g t o p r o d u c e a d r a -m a t i c c h a n g e i n t h e l e v e l s o f c o 2 g a s s e s , n o r i s 2 5 % o f p e o p l e . T h i s i s m o s t l y b e c a u s e , a l t h o u g h i n d i v i d u a l s m a y b e d r i v i n g l e s s t o w o r k , t h e i r h o m e e n v i r o n m e n t s t i l l i s n t s u s t a i n a b l e . H o w e v e r , w h e n 2 5 % o f p e o p l e m o v e t o a d e n s e c i t y t h a t h a s b e e n d e s i g n e d w i t h s u s t a i n a b l e p r i n c i p l e s , t h e e f f e c t s b e c o m e a d d i t i v e o r m a y b e e v e n e x p o n e n t i a l . A n d b y m a k i n g t h e u r b a n l i v i n g e n v i r o n m e n t w i t h s u b u r b a n c o n t e x t u a l e l e m e n t s , m o r e p e o p l e w i l l b e w i l l i n g t o m a k e t h a t m o v e .

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T h e s i s Q u e s t i o n s

W h a t w i l l I l e a r n t h r o u g h t h i s p r o j e c t ?

I w a n t t o d i s c o v e r t h e m e a n s a n d m e t h o d s t o z o n i n g , u r -b a n p l a n n i n g , s u s t a i n a b l e p r i n c i p l e s , b u i l d i n g r e - u s e , l a t e n t s p a c e r e - u s e , a n d p r o v i s i o n o f o t h e r i n f r a s t r u c -t u r e n e e d e d t o a t t r a c t a p o t e n t i a l s u b u r b a n u s e r t o a n u r b a n e n v i r o n -m e n t . M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , I w a n t t o b e a b l e t o d i s c o v e r t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d i n t e -g r a l m a n n e r i n w h i c h a l l o f t h e s e e l e m e n t s b e g i n t o s i m u l t a n e o u s l y c o e x i s t w i t h i n a n e w u r b a n m a s t e r p l a n .

Thesis Questions (cont.)

Are there potential alternatives and issues to be addressed?

As suburban sprawl invades valuable farmland, the population increases, and the amount of available resources continues to deplete, the solution to the

problem seems to be sustainable urban environments. However, what occurs to the existing expanses of suburban real estate? This project deals with inject-

ing suburban lifestyles back into the urban environment. Is there a possibility of implementing this new proposed system of a sustainable city back into the

suburban lifestyle? What will the differences be? If people choose to move from suburbia back into the city, what

happens to the vacant properties? Do they become scenes for crime and poverty? How do you address this potential outcome? What do you foresee as

a potential solution that addresses new urban cities, as well

as suburban developments?

This diagram shows the relationship between rural and urban environments and the need for a more integrated way of living. Perhaps there does not need to be a distinction between the two, and rather they exist as one larger environment.


Latency Vatsal

6Thesis Research

It is estimated that sixty percent of the popula-

tion in the United States is overweight, and 30

percent of the population is obese.

The list below shows how density and obesity

problems are related:

Lack of neighborhood side-walks and safe places for rec-

reation. Not having area parks, trails, sidewalks, and affordable gyms makes it hard for people

to be physically active.

Work schedules. People often say that they dont have time to

be physically active given the long hours at work and the time

spent commuting back and forth to work.

People living in counties marked by sprawling develop-

ment are likely to walk less and weigh more than people living

in less sprawling counties.

People in the most sprawl-ing areas are likely to weigh 6

pounds more than people living in the most compact counties.

The result of the study

provides us a basis point for investigation. A walking city under these

conditions is a goal of this project.

Thesis Research (cont.)

Human Inactivity Related to Sprawl

The lack of integrated cities, providing necessary living amenities, the great distances between living and working environments, as well as the lack of viable pubic transportation are causes for individuals to rely on cars. However, dense urban environments also have an increasing number of individuals who are overweight and or obese. The reason behind this is not the sprawl, although it is a factor for a lot of individuals, but that even in urban environments, the lack of a truly rich fabric of walk able streets does not exist. Individuals are more likely to walk in environments such as parks and river walks because they offer elements that dirty and dingy street sidewalks dont. The chart to the left shows how obesity has increased dramatically in US states, and that the US has the worst walk able cities in the world.

C a s e 1 :H u m a n S c a l e :

K e y E l e m e n t s : M a x i m i z e P r o x i m i t y M i n i m i z e D r i v i n g C r e a t e W a l k i n g C i t y

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Thesis Research (cont.)

Inefficiencies of Private Transportation

As the charts and statistics to the below depict, the inefficiencies of private transportation versus public transportation greatly out weigh their value to an

individual. The fact is that for every 1000 Americans, 765 of them have cars (Source: Green Car Congress). With the existence of suburbs, the separation from work, live, and play necessitate the existence for automobile ownership. It is also visible that the emissions from public transportation are significantly

less than automobiles, however current public transportation is still producing emissions. More sustainable solutions for public transportation need to be ad-

dressed through this project.

Thesis Research

Street congestion within a city is one of the leading causes to high percentage of CO2 levels.

The list below are facts from a study conducted by LTL Architects, published in Opportunistic Architecture.

25% of Urban traffic congestion is caused by people searching for parking. US Drivers spend 8+ billion hours per year stuck in traffic.

A lack of parking might be the issue, however its estimated that 1 meter of big box retail requires 1 meter of parking space. At current growth rates, Ikea, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and Kmart will cover the area of Switzerland in 40 years.

80% of crime at shopping malls and office parks occurs in the parking lot. A parked car is the second most popular site to conceive a child.

For 96 hours, over 100,000 people tailgate in the parking lot of the Florida-Georgia Football Game. The game runs about 3.5 hours with less than 75,000 Fans.

The result of the study provides us a basis point for investigation. Should cars be eliminated altogether?


Latency Vatsal

8Thesis Research

Suburban Sprawl is ex-pansive, inefficient, and

unsustainable.

Suburbs developed from an abundance of cheap oil and cheap land pric-es. All of our post WW2

wealth was invested in the infrastructure for

suburban lifestyles.

However, due to ris-ing gas prices, and the housing crisis which is

at its lowest point in the business cycle the sub-urbs have already begun

their decline.

The fact remains that the need for resources will never be subsided, and the continual rapid

consumption of avail-able resources will mean

increase in prices.

Larger Urban Cities will see a surge of develop-

ment within the business districts as well as water-front locations, however, the smaller more dense

cities, with access to local food production will be the ones who survive

this inevitable crisis.

The suburbs become the next stage of investiga-

tion.

T h e s i s R e s e a r c h ( c o n t . )

H u m a n I n a c t i v i t y R e l a t e d t o S p r a w l

L e v i t t o w n , N Y w a s t h e p r o t o t y p i c a l s u b u r b a n n e i g h b o r h o o d w h e r e c i t y d w e l l e r s f l o c k e d t o e n j o y a m e n i t i e s o f a l a r g e h o m e w i t h g r e e n l a w n . T h i s w a s t h e n e w d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e A m e r i c a n D r e a m . T h e l a n d w a s r a z e d o f t r e e s , a n d h o u s e s w e r e b u i l t i n r a p i d s u c -c e s s i o n , c r e a t i n g h i g h l y c o s t e f f e c t i v e h o u s i n g . H o w e v e r , a t t h i s t i m e , t h e s u b u r b a n f a d w a s a l u x u r y . N o w , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s u b u r b s r e s u l t s f r o m a n i n c r e a s i n g d i v e r s e p o p u l a t i o n , n e e d f o r h o u s i n g , a n d t h e v a r i e t y o f j o b s . T h e n e w s u b u r b a n n e i g h b o r -h o o d s a r e d e v e l o p e r d r i v e n , a n d a r e b u i l t w i t h o u t t h o u g h t t o s u s -t a i n a b i l i t y , e c o n o m y, o r e n e r g y c o n c e r n s . T h e g r a p h b e l o w s h o w s w h i c h o f t h e m a j o r s t a t e s a r e s t i l l s e e i n g r a p i d g r o w t h w i t h i n t h e s u b u r b a n l i f e s t y l e s .T h i s i n e f f i c i e n t p r o d u c t i o n o f h o u s e s h a s n o t s t o p p e d , a n d d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o b e s l o w i n g d o w n . W i t h t h e c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c c r i s i s , d e v e l o p e r s a r e s e e k i n g o u t b a n k s w h o w i l l f u n d n e w c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o j e c t s , m o s t o f w h i c h a r e i n A r i z o n a , a n d C a l i f o r n i a , w h i c h c o r -r e l a t e s t o t h e g r o w t h c h a r t b e l o w .

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P r e c e d e n t R e s e a r c h

T h i s p r o j e c t w i l l e x p l o r e p r e c e d e n t s i n t h r e e d i f f e r e n t f i e l d s . T h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e r e s e a r c h d o n e f o c u s e s o n s p e c i f i c e l e m e n t s w i t h i n a c i t y o r c i t i e s t h a t w i l l e v e n -t u a l l y i n f l u e n c e t h e o u t -c o m e s o f t h e m a s t e r p l a n , a n d p r o t o t y p e d e s i g n .

A d d i t i o n a l r e s e a r c h i n c l u d e s s u s t a i n a b l e t e c h n o l o g i e s , u r b a n - p l a n n i n g s t r a t e g i e s , a n d b u i l d i n g s c a l e p r o j e c t s .

I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t t h e s p e c i f i c c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n s o m e o f t h e d a t a p r o v i d e d a n d t h e e f f e c t i t h a s o n o u r l i v i n g e n v i r o n -m e n t h a v e b e e n d r a m a t i c a l l y m a g n i f i e d o v e r t h e l a s t f e w d e c a d e s . T h e s u s t a i n a b l e p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h o u r a n c e s -t o r s d e v e l o p e d h a v e n o t c h a n g e d , b u t s o m e h o w o u r a b i l i t y t o e f f i c i e n t l y i m p l e -m e n t i m p r o v e m e n t s t r a t e g i e s h a s n o t k e p t u p .

T h r o u g h t h i s r e s e a r c h , t h e p r e c e d e n t s f o u n d b e g i n t o l a y a f o u n d a t i o n t o w h e r e t h e p r o j e c t w i l l a t t e m p t t o s t e e r i t s c o u r s e .

Statement Of Intent

Downtown Champaign

As the thesis research conducted to this point indicates, there needs to be a shift from suburban living lifestyles to urban environments. This shift

is a progressive and time consuming process, so as designers in the 21st century, how can we mitigate the latencies that exist in our urban environ-

ments to effectively make this shift easier to achieve. One such smaller metropolis is the city of Champaign, IL. More specifical-ly, the central business district which is bounded by Washington St. to the North, Randolph St. to the West, Logan St. to the South, and the railroad tracks to the East, has the potential to become a well designed, walkable,

sustainable, and habitable environment.Through a series of design phases, I plan on initially developing an Urban

Master plan for the central business district that focuses on a livable com-munity, density, and versatility in terms of zoning. These initial plans will be

the basis of investigation on a much smaller scale that will deal with the incorporation of suburban living lifestyles and mitigation of latencies which

exist in Urban environments.The Precedents to follow will be an exploration of different scales that will

help to inform the project of the successes of projects past. These proj-ects and precedent research will be a continuation throughout the project.

A more in-depth analysis of the Downtown Champaign central business district will follow the precedent chapter.


Latency Vatsal

10

Precedent Case 1:City Scale:

Portland, Oregon

Key Elements: Most Sustainable

US City Transportation

System Sustainable

Planning

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P r e c e d e n t R e s e a r c h ( c o n t . )

P o r t l a n d , O r e g o n

T h e C e n t r a l P o r t l a n d P l a n i s a s e r i e s o f U r b a n p l a n n i n g e f f o r t s s c h e d u l e d t o t a k e e f -f e c t o v e r t h e n e x t c o u p l e o f d e c a d e s . T h e p l a n w a s i n i t i -a t e d w i t h v a r i o u s m e t h o d s o f o u t r e a c h w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n m o r e t h a n 3 , 3 0 0 p e o p l e w h o p r o v i d e d t h e i r i d e a s o n w h a t w a s n e e d e d . T h e m a i n i s -s u e s d i s c u s s e d t h a t n e e d e d t o b e a d d r e s s e d , d e a l t w i t h t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , h o u s i n g , a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e r e w e r e a d d i t i o n a l p a r a m e t e r s w h i c h n e e d t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d i n o r d e r t o c h a n g e g r o w t h p a t -t e r n s w i t h i n t h e c i t y . A f f o r d -a b i l i t y , s u s t a i n a b i l i t y , c o m -m u n i t y - b u i l d i n g , a n d p l a c e m a k i n g w e r e a l l k e y e l e m e n t s w h i c h w o u l d t r i g g e r m o r e s u s t a i n a b l e g r o w t h .P o r t l a n d i s u n i q u e b e c a u s e t h e y h a v e e f f e c t i v e l y i m p l e -m e n t e d t h e s t r a t e g i e s d i s -c u s s e d a b o v e . T h e y h a v e m a i n t a i n e d a h i g h l e v e l o f s u c c e s s f u l u r b a n g r o w t h , a n d h a v e l i m i t e d s u b u r b a n s p r a w l . R e v i t a l i z a t i o n o f t h e i r C e n t r a l B u s i n e s s D i s -t r i c t , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e i r m a s s t r a n s i t s y s t e m , a n d b e a u t i f i c a t i o n p r o j e c t s h a v e l e d t h e m t o t h e t o p o f t h e m o s t s u s t a i n a b l e c i t i e s l i s t p u b l i s h e d b y S u s t a i n L a n e s 2 0 0 8 l i s t . A t i t l e t h e y h a v e h e l d f o r f o u r c o n s e c u t i v e y e a r s .


Latency Vatsal

12

Precedent Case 2:Suburban Scale:

Key Elements: Increase Den-

sity Create

Suburban Lifestyle Reduce

Consumption of Re-sources

LT L A r c h i t e c t s

P a r k To w e r.

I n c o r p o r a t e s u s e r

n e e d f o r c a r s w i t h i n a

d e n s e u r b a n s t r u c t u r e

t o c r e a t e i n t e g r a t e d

l i v e , w o r k , p l a y e n v i -

r o n m e n t

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Arch


P a r k To w e r, LT L A r c h i t e c t s

P a r k To w e r a t t e m p t s t o i n -c o r p o r a t e p a r k i n g , l i v i n g , s h o p p i n g , w o r k i n g , a n d h o s -p i t a t i l i t y t e n d e n c i e s w i t h i n a d e n s e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . I t e v e n a t t e m p t s t o c u t c o n -s u m p t i o n c o s t s w i t h a l a r g e p h o t o v o l t a i c s c r e e n w a l l o n t h e s o u t h s i d e . T h i s p r o j e c t s i n t e g r a t i o n o f p r o g r a m a n d p a r k i n g i s a w a y o f i n c o r -p o r a t i n g t h e s u b u r b a n c h a r -a c t e r i s t i c s w i t h i n a d e n s e u r b a n c i t y b u i l d i n g . T h e s u c -c e s s o f t h i s p r o j e c t c o m e s f r o m t h e f u l l i n t e g r a t i o n , n o t p l u g a n d c h u g o f f o r m u l a s .


Latency Vatsal

14

Precedent Case 3:City Block Scale:

Key Elements: Building Reuse Fully Sustain-

able Architecture Effectively Pro-

vide for User Needs

E C O C I T Y, H a r b u r g

H a r b o u r , H a m b u r g , G e r -

m a n y. T h i s c i t y w i t h i n

a c i t y p r o v i d e s t h e

h i g h e s t s t a n d a r d s f o r

a n e f f i c i e n t , s a t i s f y i n g

l e i s u r e a n d w o r k p l a c e .

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

15


Arch

T H E E N E R G Y C O N C E P T

E C O C I T Y s o r g a n i c e n e r g y c o n c e p t a i m s f o r s e l f - s u f f i -c i e n c y, c r e a t i n g t h e s m a l l e s t p o s s i b l e e c o l o g i c a l f o o t -p r i n t . I t i s a s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g p l a c e t h a t d o e s n o t e x p l o i t , o r p o l l u t e t h e e n v i r o n m e n t b u t a i m s t o c o - e x i s t s i n h a r -m o n y w i t h i t s s u r r o u n d i n g s . T h i s i s g u a r a n t e e d b y t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f 2 1 s t c e n -t u r y t e c h n o l o g i e s s u c h a s :W I N D T U R B I N E SI c o n i c w i n d t u r b i n e s t o w e r o v e r t h e s i t e , g e n e r a t i n g t h e b u l k o f E C O C I T Y s e l e c t r i c -i t y . S m a l l e r v e r t i c a l w i n d t u r -b i n e s a r e d i s t r i b u t e d a c r o s s t h e s i t e , f u r t h e r p r o v i d i n g e m i s s i o n f r e e r e n e w a b l e e n -e r g y.

S O L A R E N E R G YS o l a r w a t e r h e a t i n g w i l l b e u s e d t o o f f s e t t h e u s e o f n a t u r a l g a s . S i t e l i g h t i n g w i l l b e p o w e r e d b y s o l a r t e c h n o l -o g y.

G R E E N R O O F ST h e m a j o r i t y o f a l l v i s -i b l e r o o f s w i l l b e g r e e n a n d p l a n t e d w i t h a m p l e t r e e s a n d f l o w e r b e d s , p r o v i d i n g a r -e a s f o r w a l k i n g , r e l a x a t i o n , c a f e s p a c e s e t c . T h e y w i l l h e l p s l o w d o w n t h e r u n o f f o f s t o r m w a t e r f r o m t h e s i t e a n d w i l l a v o i d o v e r b u r d e n i n g t h e m u n i c i p a l s t o r m w a t e r s y s t e m a s w e l l a s s i g n i f i -c a n t l y r e d u c e t h e h e a t i s l a n d e f f e c t o f E C O C I T Y.

M AT E R I A L ST h e p r o j e c t w i l l u t i l i z e e n v i -r o n m e n t a l l y f r i e n d l y m a t e r i -a l s w h i c h w i l l h e l p p r o m o t e a h e a l t h y i n d o o r b u i l d i n g a t m o s p h e r e . P a s s i v e d e s i g n t e c h n i q u e s a n d e f f i c i e n t f a -c a d e a n d b u i l d i n g d e s i g n w i l l r e d u c e e n e r g y c o n s u m p t i o n b y 3 0 % .

I

I

Treide

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I

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I

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nstra

e

IV

I

I

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I

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P

I

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I

I

II

III

I

I

I

I

I

I

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I

I

I

I

II

II

II

I

5292

4326

2243 2260

2259

896

1015

2332

4344

3255

881

4836

893

956

955

4345

957

958

897

894

3252

3246

3247

892

895

2439

959

4830

2245

2333

2

3

3

3

1

4

4

4

7

6

2

4

5

5

2

3

3

4

14

5

3

10

13

2

9

8

11

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12

3

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903

B04

B03

NeubauHotel- / Broturm

B11B12

B13

B07B08

B10

B09

B01

B02

B05

B06

Neubau Logistikflchen

B11 und B12 - Bestand Hallen + Broanteil

Neubau Bro

NeubauParkhaus

Neubau Heidelberger(fertig gestellt)

Neub

au B

ro

(bea

ntrag

t)

Neubau Bro

Abriss Bestandsgebude Neubau nach historischem Vorbild.

Strassenfassade Bestand,dahinter Neubau Parkhaus.

Strassenfassade Bestand,dahinter, mit Abstand Hotel-/Broturm.

Maue

r Bes

tand,

mit D

urchfa

hrt!

NeubauParkhaus

Neubau Bro,nach hist. Vorbild

Bro (EG + OG)875 qm

Bro

(EG

+ O

G)

627

qm

Halle 770 qm

Halle 1.100 qm

Gebudetrennung

B14B15

Logistikhof

Gebudetrennung

Gebudetrennung

Bro

(EG

+ O

G)

320

qm Bro (EG + O

G)

600 qm

Halle 588 qm

Halle 522 qm

Halle 683 qm

Bro OG optional170 qm

GebudetrennungGebude-trennung

Gebude B13, B14, B15 auch als zwei Einheiten

oder als eine groe Einheit mglich!

Neubau Broturm/darunter Bestand Halle N

Bestand Gebude L

Bestand Kammfabrik

Flchenschema Masterplanmit Erhalt der Strassenfassadezur Neulnder Strasse

M 1 :1000Ecocity Hamburg Harburg07.05.2009


Latency Vatsal

16

Precedent Case 4:Future Scale:

Key Elements: Community

Integrated Fully Sustain-

able Architecture Ultimate in

Net-Zero, Net- Positive Energy Design

M a s d a r C i t y i n A b u D h a -

b i , b y F o s t e r + P a r t n e r s ,

i s t h e f i r s t p l a n n e d c i t y

t h a t w i l l r e l y e n t i r e l y o n

s o l a r e n e r g y a n d o t h e r

r e n e w a b l e e n e r g y s o u r c -

e s , w i t h a s u s t a i n a b l e ,

z e r o - c a r b o n , z e r o - w a s t e

e c o l o g y

T h e c i t y i s p l a n n e d t o b e t h e n e x u s

b e t w e e n t h r e e s u r r o u n d i n g m a j o r

m e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a s . I t w i l l h o u s e t h e

s u s t a i n a b i l i t y i n s t i t u t e , a n d p r o -

v i d e s p a c e s f o r l i v i n g , w o r k i n g , a n d

r e s e a r c h i n g . I t w i l l f u l l y u t i l i z e a c t i v e

a n d p a s s i v e s u s t a i n a b l e s t r a t e g i e s t o

m a x i m i z e r e s o u r c e c o n s e r v a t i o n . T h e

c i t y w i l l i n c o r p o r a t e a f u l l y w a l k a b l e

l o w e r p l a z a , w i t h p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a -

t i o n a c c e s s i b l e f r o m w i t h i n t h e c i t y

a n d o u t s i d e o f t h e c i t y .

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

17


Arch


A s t h e f i r s t m a j o r h y d r o c a r b o n -p r o d u c i n g e c o n o m y t o t a k e s u c h a s t e p , A b u D h a b i h a s e s t a b l i s h e d i t s l e a d e r s h i p p o s i -t i o n b y l a u n c h i n g t h e M a s d a r I n i t i a t i v e . T h e M a s d a r I n i t i a t i v e d r i v e n b y t h e A b u D h a b i F u t u r e E n e r g y C o m p a n y ( M a s d a r ) , a w h o l l y o w n e d s u b s i d i a r y o f t h e M u b a d a l a D e v e l o p m e n t C o m -p a n y ( M u b a d a l a ) i s a g l o b a l c o o p e r a t i v e p l a t f o r m f o r t h e o p e n e n g a g e m e n t i n t h e s e a r c h f o r s o l u t i o n s t o s o m e o f m a n -k i n d s m o s t p r e s s i n g i s s u e s : e n e r g y s e c u r i t y , c l i m a t e c h a n g e a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f h u m a n e x p e r t i s e i n s u s t a i n a b i l i t y .

A b u D h a b i i s l e v e r a g i n g i t s s u b s t a n t i a l r e s o u r c e s a n d e x -p e r i e n c e i n g l o b a l e n e r g y m a r -k e t s i n t o t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s o f t h e f u t u r e . O n e k e y o b j e c t i v e o f M a s d a r i s t o p o s i t i o n A b u D h a b i a s a w o r l d - c l a s s r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t h u b f o r n e w e n e r g y t e c h n o l o g i e s , e f f e c t i v e l y b a l -a n c i n g i t s s t r o n g p o s i t i o n i n a n e v o l v i n g w o r l d e n e r g y m a r k e t .

A r e l a t e d o b j e c t i v e i s t o d r i v e t h e c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n a n d a d o p t i o n o f t h e s e a n d o t h e r t e c h n o l o g i e s i n s u s t a i n a b l e e n -e r g y, c a r b o n m a n a g e m e n t a n d w a t e r c o n s e r v a t i o n . I n d o i n g s o , M a s d a r w i l l p l a y a d e c i s i v e r o l e i n A b u D h a b i s t r a n s i t i o n f r o m t e c h n o l o g y c o n s u m e r t o t e c h -n o l o g y p r o d u c e r .

T h e g o a l i s t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a n e n t i r e l y n e w e c o n o m i c s e c -t o r i n A b u D h a b i a r o u n d t h e s e n e w i n d u s t r i e s , w h i c h w i l l a s s i s t e c o n o m i c d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f k n o w l e d g e -b a s e d i n d u s t r i e s , w h i l e e n h a n c -i n g A b u D h a b i s e x i s t i n g r e c o r d o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t e w a r d s h i p a n d i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e g l o b -a l c o m m u n i t y .


Latency Vatsal

18

Precedent Case 5:Pedestrian/Reuse Scale:

Key Elements: Community

Integrated Fully Sustain-

able Architecture Ultimate in cre-

ating a walkable, urban park

H i g h l i n e , M a n h a t t a n , N e w

Yo r k , J a m e s C o r n e r , F i e l d

O p e r a t i o n s , w i t h a r c h i t e c t s

D i l l e r S c o f i d i o + R e n f r o

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

19


Arch


H i g h l i n e , F i e l d O p e r a t i o n s , D S + R

T h e H i g h L i n e w a s b u i l t i n t h e 1 9 3 0 s , a s p a r t o f a m a s -s i v e p u b l i c - p r i v a t e i n f r a -s t r u c t u r e p r o j e c t c a l l e d t h e W e s t S i d e I m p r o v e m e n t . I t l i f t e d f r e i g h t t r a f f i c 3 0 f e e t i n t h e a i r , r e m o v i n g d a n g e r -o u s t r a i n s f r o m t h e s t r e e t s o f M a n h a t t a n s l a r g e s t i n -d u s t r i a l d i s t r i c t . N o t r a i n s h a v e r u n o n t h e H i g h L i n e s i n c e 1 9 8 0 . F r i e n d s o f t h e H i g h L i n e , a c o m m u n i t y -b a s e d n o n - p r o f i t g r o u p , f o r m e d i n 1 9 9 9 w h e n t h e h i s t o r i c s t r u c t u r e w a s u n d e r t h r e a t o f d e m o l i t i o n . F r i e n d s o f t h e H i g h L i n e w o r k s i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e C i t y o f N e w Yo r k t o p r e s e r v e a n d m a i n t a i n t h e s t r u c t u r e a s a n e l e v a t e d p u b l i c p a r k .

T h e p r o j e c t g a i n e d t h e C i t y s s u p p o r t i n 2 0 0 2 . T h e H i g h L i n e s o u t h o f 3 0 t h S t r e e t w a s d o n a t e d t o t h e C i t y b y C S X Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n I n c . i n 2 0 0 5 . T h e d e s i g n t e a m o f l a n d s c a p e a r c h i t e c t s J a m e s C o r n e r F i e l d O p e r a t i o n s , w i t h a r c h i t e c t s D i l l e r S c o -f i d i o + R e n f r o , c r e a t e d t h e H i g h L i n e s p u b l i c l a n d s c a p e w i t h g u i d a n c e f r o m a d i v e r s e c o m m u n i t y o f H i g h L i n e s u p -p o r t e r s . C o n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e p a r k b e g a n i n 2 0 0 6 . T h e f i r s t s e c t i o n , f r o m G a n s e v o o r t S t r e e t t o 2 0 t h S t r e e t , i s p r o -j e c t e d t o o p e n i n J u n e 2 0 0 9 .

T h e p r o j e c t i n f o r m s t h e t h e -s i s b e c a u s e i t b e g i n s t o m e r g e t h e g a p b e t w e e n c r e -a t i n g s u b u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t s w i t h n d e n s e u r b a n c i t i e s w i t h t h e u s e o f s u s t a i n a b l e p r a c t i c e s a n d u s i n g l a t e n t s p a c e s a s t h e m e d i u m . T h i s w i l l b e t h e e m p h a s i s o f t h i s t h e s i s .


Latency Vatsal

20

S u s t a i n a b l e D e s i g n G u i d e l i n e sS c a l e : C i t y , B u i l d i n g , U n i t

K e y E l e m e n t s : E n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o r s S o c i a l f a c t o r s E c o n o m i c f a c t o r s M a t e r i a l s a n d p r o c e s s e s M e t h o d s o r f a b r i c a t i o n L i f e - c y c l e a n d r e - c y c l e D e n s i t y C r e a t e S u b u r b a n L i f e s t y l e

On Sustainability

Latency Liberated assumes the position of

addressing sustainability from the

standpoint of stopping suburban sprawl,

reestablishing the smaller urban downtown areas as living, working, and

playing environments, as well as creating a new

standard for sustainable living.

Using existing buildings, a new building typology will be discov-

ered, which will focus on creating suburban style

living environments within the individuals home.

Although a denser area within the urban

environment will be created, the quality of life that people tend to enjoy

within the suburban fabric will be the base

point of this study. It will be possible for people to

enjoy a lot of the ele-ments from

suburban lifestyles, however in a

new sustainable, urban context.

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

21


Arch

O n S u s t a i n a b i l i t y ( c o n t . )

S u s t a i n a b i l i t y A n a l y s i s

A n e w m a s s t r a n s i t s y s t e m w i l l b e i n i t i a t e d , r e d u c i n g t h e s t r e e t n o i s e , t r a f f i c c o n g e s t i o n , a n d p o l l u t i o n , a s w e l l a s c r e a t e f r e e r f l o w i n g p e d e s t r i a n s t r e e t -s c a p e s . T h i s u r b a n s t u d y w i l l u t i l i z e t h e l a t e n t s p a c e s a n d c r e a t e n e w g r e e n a n d o u t d o o r s p a c e s f o r r e s i d e n t s t o i n t e r a c t w i t h a n d e n j o y.

P r o x i m i t y , q u a l i t y , a f f o r d a b i l i t y , m o b i l i t y , s u s t a i n a b i l i t y , a n d e f -f i c i e n c y a r e a l l k e y w o r d s t h a t w i l l d r i v e t h e p r o j e c t s g o a l s . T h e s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a f f e c t s w i l l b e t r i - f o l d ; r e d u c i n g s u b u r b a n s p r a w l , r e - u t i l i z i n g u r b a n e n v i -r o n m e n t s , a n d c r e a t i n g s u s t a i n -a b l e l i v i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s w i t h i n d e n s e u r b a n f a b r i c s .

T h i s p r o j e c t w i l l d e a l w i t h i n c o r -p o r a t i n g s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a t m u l -t i p l e s c a l e s . F r o m t h e i n d i v i d u a l l i v i n g u n i t s , t o t h e a c t u a l b u i l d -i n g w h i c h w i l l h o u s e t h e m , t o t h e c i t y t h a t w i l l b e t h e h o s t t o t h e b u i l d i n g . E a c h e l e m e n t w i l l a t t e m p t t o c o n s e r v e r e s o u r c e s , i n c r e a s e e f f i c i e n c y, a n d p r o m o t e t h e w e l l b e i n g o f t h e u s e r a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . S u s t a i n a b l e i n n o v a t i o n s w i l l b e r e s e a r c h e d a n d i n c o r p o r a t e d , h o w e v e r , t h e m a i n e m p h a s i s w i l l b e o n s m a r t d e s i g n , r a t h e r t h a n e x p e n s i v e , n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s .

A p p e a l o f t h e l i v i n g e n v i r o n -m e n t s m u s t b e a f f o r d a b l e t o t h e m a s s e s , o r e l s e t h e y w i l l b e l e f t v a c a n t . N e w t e c h n o l o g i e s , a n d l i v i n g s t y l e s m u s t a l s o b e a p p e a l i n g t o i n d i v i d u a l s , a n d t h e o n l y w a y t h e t r u e e f f e c t o f t h e s e s u s t a i n a b l e c i t i e s w i l l b e r e a l i z e d i s i f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s p r a c t i c e t h e s t r a t e g i e s t h e m -s e l v e s .


Latency Vatsal

22

On Program

What is missing? Missing within cit-ies in general are integrated

green spaces, a lack of parking spaces, conges-

tion on the streets, and affordable lifestyles. Also,

there is an under utiliza-tion of negative spaces,

more specifically, alleyways and rooftops. There is also

a lack of indoor-outdoor freedom of movement, i.e.,

balconies. Suburban life-styles include backyards,

and separation of houses, which maybe a reason

why individuals choose to not occupy urban envi-

ronments. However, the appeal of good design, ac-cessible environments, and

a richer, greener lifestyle will trump the need to have

large, inefficient track-houses.

What is necessary? Sustainable and

smart design principles within the living environ-ments are of the utmost

importance. These ideals should also transcend to

office and retail zoning environments to maintain

a cleaner lifestyle. The streetscapes and negative spaces should be utilized

to their maximum potential, to minimize waste.

What would be beneficial? By providing a

trolley system, or some sort of light rail system,

the effectiveness of dense urban environments will be noticed. Cutting the

need for hardtop parking surfaces, congestion in the streets, and maximizing the

flow of streetscapes, the urban environment will gain

freedom and liveliness.

P r o g r a m m i n g G u i d e l i n e sL i v i n g :T h r e e s c a l e s o f h o u s i n g : A p a r t m e n t s , C o n d o s , a n d H o t e l s / H o s t e l sT h r e e s c a l e s o f A p a r t m e n t s : O n e B e d r o o m , Tw o B e d r o o m , a n d T h r e e B e d r o o mT h r e e s c a l e s o f C o n d o s : O n e B e d r o o m , Tw o B e d -r o o m , a n d T h r e e B e d r o o m

W o r k i n g :O f f i c e s p a c e s t o b e c o n n e c t e d t o L i v i n g s p a c e sS m a l l O f f i c e s f o r 2 0 - 3 5 p e o p l eM e d i u m O f f i c e s f o r 3 5 - 5 0 p e o p l eL a r g e O f f i c e s f o r 5 0 - 6 5 P e o p l eX L O f f i c e s f o r 6 5 + P e o p l e

P l a y i n g :B a r s , R e s t a u r a n t s , C l u b s , A r t G a l l e r i e s , M u s e u m s , a n d T h e a t e r s , e t c

S h o p p i n g :R e t a i l , H a r d w a r e , P h a r m a c e u t i c a l , G r o c e r y , F l o r a l , e t c

I n f r a s t r u c t u r e :P o l i c e , F i r e , H o s p i t a l , C i t y B u i l d i n g , R a d i o S t a t i o n , M e c h a n i c , W a -t e r / S e w a g e Tr e a t m e n t P l a n t , e t c

T r a n s i t :B u s s e s , Tr o l l e y s , W a l k i n g , B i k i n g , e t c

R e c r e a t i o n :P a r k s , G a r d e n s , Te r r a c e s , R o o f t o p s , E x t e n s i v e L a n d s c a p i n g , e t c

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

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O n P r o g r a m m i n g ( c o n t . )

P r o g r a m m i n g N o t e s

A d d i t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s w i l l b e a d d e d a s n e e d e d t o p r o v i d e m a x i m u m l e v e l o f i n f r a s t r u c -t u r e w i t h i n p r o x i m i t y t o t h e l i v i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s . A s t h e p r o g r a m b e c o m e s m o r e r e -f i n e d , a n d t h e s i t e c o n t e x t d e t e r m i n e s w h a t i s m i s s i n g /n e e d e d , t h e p r o g r a m w i l l a l s o s t a r t t o p r o v i d e i t s e l f a s a p r o t o t y p e f o r n e w d e v e l o p -i n g d o w n t o w n u r b a n a r e a s .

L a r g e m e t r o p o l i s e s i n g e n -e r a l h a v e m u l t i p l e s e t s o f c o m p e t i n g m a r k e t s t o p r o -m o t e c o m p e t i t i v e p r i c i n g . W i t h a s m a l l e r s c a l e c i t y , t h i s m a y b e a n i s s u e o f o n e t y p e o f r e t a i l e r b e c o m e s a s o l i t a r y p r o v i d e r o f a p a r t i c -u l a r p r o d u c t . A n a n a l y s i s w i l l b e c o n d u c t e d t o p r o v i d e t h e n e c e s s a r y m a r k e t s t o e n s u r e t h a t a n a f f o r d a b l e u r b a n l i f e -s t y l e c a n b e m a i n t a i n e d .


Latency Vatsal

24

Site Selection

Downtown Champaign, IL

Why this location?

The existing infrastruc-ture, the on-going efforts

to revitalize the central

business district, and the existence of a

campus-town nearby, providing a constant flow of new tenants,

Downtown Champaign provides a reasonable vehicle for this study.

The current zoning laws represented by the city

are effectively promoting sprawl, which

provides a good example of how restructuring the

zoning into a stratified arrangement can in-

crease the potential for Downtown Champaign.

It also is at a scale which allows a prototype to

be developed that can be either scaled up or

down to meet other cities needs.

S i t e A n a l y s i s :

N a t u r a l F a c t o r s :

G e o l o g y

To p o g r a p h y

H y d r o l o g y, s u r f a c e a n d g r o u n d w a t e r

S o i l s

V e g e t a t i o n , p l a n t e c o l o g y

W i l d l i f e , h a b i t a t s

C l i m a t e , s o l a r o r i e n t a t i o n , w i n d , p r e c i p i t a t i o n , h u m i d i t y

C u l t u r a l F a c t o r s :

E x i s t i n g l a n d u s e

Tr a f f i c a n d t r a n s i t , v e h i c u l a r a n d p e d e s t r i a n o n a n d n e a r s i t e

D e n s i t y a n d z o n i n g

S o c i o e c o n o m i c f a c t o r s

U t i l i t i e s , s a n i t a r y a n d s t o r m w a t e r s y s t e m s , w a t e r , g a s , s t e a m , e l e c t r i c i t y , a n d

t e l e p h o n e

E x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s

H i s t o r i c f a c t o r s , h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g s , l a n d m a r k s , a n d a r c h a e o l o g y

A e s t h e t i c F a c t o r s :

N a t u r a l f e a t u r e s

S p a t i a l p a t t e r n , v i e w s , s p a c e s , a n d s e q u e n c e s

P s y c h o l o g i c a l / e x p e r i e n t i a l f a c t o r s

S c a l e a n d p r o p o r t i o n

M a t e r i a l s a n d e x p r e s s i o n

P a r k s , G a r d e n s , Te r r a c e s , R o o f t o p s , E x t e n s i v e L a n d s c a p i n g , e t c

Legislative

MayorCity Council Member at LargeCity Council Member at LargeCity Council Member at LargeCity Council Member District No. 1City Council Member District No. 2City Council Member District No. 3City Council Member District No. 4City Council Member District No. 5

Administrative

City ManagerAssistant City ManagerDeputy City Manager for DevelopmentFinance DirectorCity AttorneyDirector of Public WorksPlanning DirectorNeighborhood Services DirectorDirector of Human ResourcesPolice ChiefFire ChiefLibrary Director

Gerald SchweighartThomas Bruno

Deborah FeinenKaren Foster

Gina JacksonMichael LaDue

Vic McIntoshMarci Dodds

Ken Pirok

Steven CarterDorothy David

Craig RostRichard SchnuerFrederick Stavins

Dennis SchmidtBruce Knight

Kevin JacksonM. Chris Bezruki

R.T. FinneyDavid Penicook

Marsha Grove

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On Site Selection (cont.)

Current zoning indicates a dramatic need for change in order to prevent the continuation of sprawl and the effects of an unsustainable life-style. The downtown area is specifically zoned for retail and the commercial sectors, thus indicating a negligence for residential within this central business district. The incorporation of residential zoning within the existing down-town would merge for a more sustainable, live-work-play attitude.


Latency Vatsal

26Site Selection


History of Site

Downtown Champaign began with the comple-tion of the Illinois Central

Railroad in the early 1850s. Following the

completion of that line, a small railroad town

began to emerge 2 miles west of Urbana. This

new town named West Urbana quickly began

to grow from a mere railroad station to a thriv-ing city center. By 1860,

the new town decided to incorporate as the City of

Champaign. By the turn of the century Downtown

had a metropolitan feel. Wood frame buildings

were replaced by stone and brick structures and

the boarded sidewalks became limestone.


G e n e a l o g y :

S a n d b o r n M a p o f C h a m p a i g n , I L

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

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History

The automobile industry was quick to shift from war production and to dust off its 1942 models for the 1946 production year. The long decline in local bus service began as people wanted to drive instead of ride. Vintage buildings began to come down as individual businesses attempted to accom-modate the increased need for parking. A pioneer in this movement was Robesons Department Store. The City instal led parking meters to encourage turnover and prevent employees from monopolizing scarce places on city streets. But the proliferation of auto-mobiles opened a new threat to the down-town. People could drive further to do their shopping. Developers were quick to seize the opportunity and in 1959, Country Fair Shopping Center opened at the intersec-tion of Springfield and Mattis Avenues . In the downtown, owners of many of the older buildings constructed sleek metal facade treatments to modernize their businesses and thus make them appear more fashion-able to customers. But the knockout blow to downtown retai l was the development of Marketplace, a shopping mall located just north of 1-74 on Neil Street extended. Delighted to have the retai l expansion, yet at the same time desperate to appease and preserve the downtown interests, the City embarked upon a study of the aging area. The consultants recommended a plan which would have roofed over much of the central downtown area. The scale and costs of the proposal were staggering, far exceeding what could reasonably be built and sus-tained. The compromise was the pedestrian mall blocking off Neil Street from the corner of Main and Neil south a block and a half south to Chester Street. The idea, largely promoted by Downtown business interests, was to make the downtown more pedestrian friendly. Another part of the improvements was to take out the flatiron block in front of the Sears store and virtually the entire area to the rear of the store and in back of J.C. Penneys to create huge parking lots, al l in an effort to keep the two large chain stores downtown. It was all to no avail. Within two years, both Sears and J.C. Penneys had fled to Marketplace Mall. The pedestrian mall on Neil Street, the perceived trendy, miracle cure for downtown i l ls, made a downtown already diff icult to navigate because of its contorted street patterns, next to impos-sible. Sti l l larger parking lots were built, this t ime south of Main Street. That fai led to ar-rest the closing of the traditional downtown department stores-Lewis and Robesons - with Jos. Kuhn hanging on only by a sl iver. For a decade and a half, from 1975 unti l 1990, what had once been a vibrant down-town became virtually an 8:00 am to 5:00 PM operation. Even the major movie theaters - The Rialto, The Orpheum and finally The Virginia began to shut down, victims of the multiplex operations located elsewhere.


Latency Vatsal

28


T r a n s p o r t a t i o n :

T r o l l e y , a n d B u s s e s

Tr o l l e y f r o m 1 9 2 7

N o r t h e r n A e r i a l o f D o w n t o w n

Site Selection


Status of Transportation

Buses first appeared on the streets of Champaign-

Urbana for a very short time in 1901. The Illinois Motor

Transit Company introduced service which only lasted

from February to December of that year.

In 1925, buses were used in conjunction with street cars.

This saved the Illinois Light and Power Company, the

owner of the trolley system, the expense of laying rails

and paving streets in some parts of the Twin Cities.

Best of all, it allowed transit to go where ever streets

were located.

Operations in the new Tran-sit District began August 2,

1971. Fare was 30 and transfers were (and still are)

free.

The MTD has had a close working relationship with

the University of Illinois since its creation. In 1973 two

Campus routes were cre-ated, the Illi and the Orchard

Downs. The Illi provided service nearly identical to

the present day Quad route. The Orchard Downs remain virtually unchanged from its

inception. U of I students paid 10 a ride or they

could purchase a semester pass for $20.

Today the MTD carries more than 10 million passengers per year. The Illinois Termi-nal was completed in 1999 and provides the MTD with

an enclosed transfer station and an extra form of income through the leasing of office

space.

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

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History

The first horse drawn trolley trip con-nected Main and Market Streets (now Broadway) in Urbana with the Depot, which was the famous Doane House in Champaign. The Depot was located at Main Street and the I.C. tracks. Records state that A German named Fritz guided the horse and mule that pulled the coach and when he said Giddyap it was a momentous occasion. The trolley usually made seven trips a day and although the company hired the conductor, the driver provided the horsepower.

In 1890 William B. McKinley, founder of the Illinois Power Company, directed the creation of an electrified trolley system in Champaign. It is worth noting that over 100 years ago Champaign was already on the cutting edge of transportation technology. The electrified trolley system was built just 2 years after Frank Sprague had perfected the electric railroad in Rich-mond, Virginia.

One of Champaigns last trolleys at its peak, the trolley system provided service all over Champaign and Urbana. There were as many as 20 routes operating, including Owl Service which linked the cities through the night. There was also a trolley that carried passengers to what was then known as West End Park (now Eisner Park).

The last street car to operate in C-U made its final trip on November 10, 1936. Dr. Taylor was also passenger on that day. The National City Lines had pur-chased the system from Illinois Power and Light Company for $53,000 the previous October.


History

It wasnt long before Champaign began to out pace its sister to the east and quickly established itself as the commercial center of the region.

By the turn of the century Champaign was booming. Streetcars soared down its streets and shoppers flocked to its department stores.

Downtown Champaign experienced its greatest growth and prosperity right after the turn of the 20th century. By the 1920s Downtown had a fully devel-

oped streetcar system, brick streets, limestone sidewalks and a dense network of fine architecture. By this time Champaign had started to outpace Urbana as

the commercial center of the County.

T h e C h a m p a i g n S t r e e t c a r

s y s t e m e f f e c t i v e l y

m a n a g e d a l l p u b l i c t r a n s -

p o r t a t i o n w i t h i n t h e d o w n -

t o w n a n d s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a s .

T h e l a c k o f c a r s w i t h i n t h e

d o w n t o w n a r e a p r o v i d e d a

s t r o n g e r , w a l k a b l e c o m m u -

n i t y . R e s i d e n t s a n d v i s i t o r s

a l i k e r e l i e d o n t h e s t r e e t -

c a r s t o g e t f r o m o n e p l a c e

t o t h e n e x t

e f f i c i e n t l y


Latency Vatsal

30S i t e A n a l y s i s :

P a r k i n g :

C u r r e n t s u r f a c e p a r k i n g i n v o l v e s s t r e e t p a r k i n g , p a r k i n g l o t s , a s w e l l a s o n e p a r k -

i n g s t r u c t u r e . S t r e e t p a r k i n g i s r u n t h r o u g h t h e c i t y a n d i s m e t e r e d . C a s h k e y s o f -

f e r a d v a n t a g e s t o c o m m u t e r s a n d r e s i d e n t s a l i k e , h o w e v e r t h e y a r e s t i l l e x p e n s i v e .

P a r k i n g l o t s a r e e i t h e r r u n t h r o u g h t h e c i t y o r a r e p r i v a t e l y o w n e d b y d e v e l o p e r s

o r r e t a i l o w n e r s . T h e p a r k i n g s t r u c t u r e o n H i l l S t r e e t i s t h e b e s t p a r k i n g s o l u t i o n

t o d a t e , b u t t h e s t r u c t u r e i t s e l f i s n o t s u s t a i n a b l e .

6ai`fai`5ZS_bS[Y` 3h[TdS`fYdai[`YU[fkUW`fWd

5aâdUaVWV_WfWd^STWê_S]W[fWSekfaX[YgdWagfiZWdWfabSd] @cc_Zcfh\YWc`cfYXgh]W_Yfgh\UhaYYhmcifXckbhckbbYYXg.

N FYX1'$a]bihYgcf`Ygghc[fUV ìbW\cfWcZZYYhc[c

N 6ìY1&\cifaUl]aiaZcf ìbW\cfgcaY`][\hg\cdd]b[

N CfUb[Y1'cf(\cifaUl]aia ZcfUacj]YcfaigYiaj]g]h

N ;fYYb1%$\cifaUl]aiaZcfU XUm!`cb[aYYh]b[cfcih]b[Xckbhckb

H[e[fadâfeSdWWSekfaX[`VS`VWSekfageW :cifWYbhfU``m`cWUhYXj]g]hcfdUf_]b[`cWUh]cbgk\YfYdUf_]b[]gU``ckYX]bX]ZZYfYbhh]aY]bWfYaYbhgidhc%$\cifaUl]aia.

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7c]b

7fYX]h

7Ug\?Ym

5SeZ=Wke 5``XckbhckbdUf_]b[aYhYfgUWWYdh7Ug\?Ymg":cfacfY]bZcfaUh]cb WU``&%+"($'"+$)$cfj]g]h[YhXckbW\UadU][b"Wca"

BSd][`YSf`[YZf DUf_]b[]gacb]hcfYXAcbXUm:f]XUmibh]`-da"

B o o k l e t2 0 0 95 7 3

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GREEN STREET

SPRINGFIELD AVENUE

JOHN STREET

DANIEL STREET

CHALMERS STREET

HEALEY STREET

UNIVERSITY AVENUE

ARMORY STREET

PARK STREET

CHURCH STREET

HILL STREET

WASHINGTON STREET

FIR

ST S

TREE

T

SEC

ON

D S

TREE

T

THIR

D S

TREE

T

FOU

RTH

STR

EET

FIFT

H S

TREE

T

SIXT

H S

TREE

T

WR

IGH

T ST

REE

T

GREGORY DRIVE

KIRBY AVENUE

STADIUM DRIVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

PEABODY STREET

MAI

N Q

UAD

SO

UTH

QU

AD

ENG

INEE

RIN

G Q

UAD

WASHINGTON STREET

HILL STREET

CHURCH STREET

FOU

RTH

STR

EET

FIR

ST S

TREE

T

GREGORY STREET (Limited Hours/Buses Only)

SEC

ON

D S

TREE

T

ARB

OR

STR

EET

THIR

D S

TREE

T

EUC

LID

STR

EET

STOUGHTON STREET

WHITE STREET

CLARK STREET

WASHINGTON STREET

PARK STREET

CLARK STREET

WHITE STREET

SPRINGFIELD AVENUE

UNIVERSITY AVENUE

GREEN STREET

JOHN STREET

HEALEY STREET

LOGAN STREET

CHESTER STREET

KIRBY AVENUE

HESSEL BOULAVARD

LOC

UST

STR

EET

OAK

STR

EET

GREGORY STREET RESIDENCE HALLS

ASSEMBLY HALL

MEMORIAL STADIUM

ARMORY

HUFF HALL

LIBRARY

ILLINI UNION

ROSELAND CEMETARY

MOUNT HOPE CEMETARY

IMPE

SCOTT PARK

WEST SIDE PARK

I - 72 WEST I - 57 NORTH I - 57 SOUTH

I - 74 EAST I - 74 WEST I - 57 NORTH I - 57 SOUTH

I - 57 SOUTH

MAIN STREET

WAL

NUT

STRE

ET

CAMPUSTOWN

DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

NEI

L ST

REE

T N

EIL

STR

EET

NEIL

STR

EET

STAT

E ST

REE

T

RAN

DO

LPH

STR

EET

PRAI

RIE

STR

EET

STAT

E ST

REE

T

RAN

DO

LPH

STR

EET

PRAI

RIE

STR

EET

WILLIAM STREET

CHARLES STREET

STANAGE AVENUE

AVONDALE AVENUE

ELLS AVENUE

BIRCH STREET

BUENA VISTA DRIVE

MAT

HEW

S ST

REE

T

FIR

ST S

TREE

T

SEC

ON

D S

TREE

T

THIR

D S

TREE

T

FOU

RTH

STR

EET

FIFT

H S

TREE

T

SIXT

H S

TREE

T

WR

IGH

T ST

REE

T

FOU

RTH

STR

EET

BU

SES

ON

LY


Master Planning Teams Assessments

Current trends include property values are continuing to rise due to ongoing redevelopment. Residential markets in Champaign continue to be strong in the southwest area and generally on the fringe of the city. Surrounding communi-ties use Champaign as an employment and shopping center. Champaign and Urbana are growing steadily. Downtown is becoming more competitive with Campus town and downtown Urbana. The public transportation system in the area will not change drastically. Neighborhood com-mercial centers are growing increasingly competitive with downtown. North Pros-pect and Marketplace mall are maintain-ing their status as the regional shopping destinations in the community and region. Downtown is drawing more visitors from regional locations. Additional commercial centers will be constructed throughout Champaign, increasing competition with downtown. Current renovations are add-ing demand to the downtown parking system.

Major Parking Lots

Major Green Spaces

Major Roads


Latency Vatsal

32Site Selection


Status of City

The city of Champaign has developed a mas-ter plan and are in the

process of implementing numerous strategies for improving the quality of

life within the downtown area. One major element

discussed through the master plan, involves

the beautification of streetscapes as well as

the realization that there are a lot of buildings

within the downtown limits.

Clearview

Boulder Ridge (900 units)

Liberty on the Lake (374 units)

Sawgrass (400 units)

Charter Oak (178 units)

Ashland Park (538 units)

Prairie Creek (466 units)

Shurtz (800 units)

Legends of Champaign (435 units)

Ironwood West (208 units)

Trails at Abbey Fields (119 units)

Trails at Chestnut Grove (148 units)

Trails Edge (104 units)

Will's Trace (115 units)

Cobblefield (288 units)

Twins (240 units)

West Ridge (73 units)

Villas at Ashland Farm (152 units)

The Cove (78 units)

Seasons at Champaign (240 units)

Tuscany Pointe (96 units)

The Reserve at Stamey Farms (208 units)

Wellington Place (56 units)

Crowwood (64 units)

Aspen Gold (48 units)

DEVELOPING SUBDIVISIONS IN CHAMPAIGN GROWTH AREAS

0 0.5 10.25Miles/Planning Department City of Champaign Boundary

Interstate HighwaysStreets

Developing Subdivisions

February 2007

Note: Developments shown in yellow have allbeen approved for development. However,each subdivision is in a different phase ofcompletion. The number of units listedrepresents the approximate total of units oncethe development is completed.

Bradley Ave.

Curtis Rd.

StaleyRd.

Windsor Rd.

Kirby Ave.

Springfield Ave.

RisingRd.

Dun

canRd.

Mattis

Ave

.

Prospec

tAve

.

Neil S

t.(Hwy45)

Marke

tSt.

FirstS

t.

Olympian Dr.

Interstate 72

Old Church Rd.

Cardinal Rd.

Interstate

57

Bloomington Rd.

Interstate 74

Interstate57

Interstate Dr.


C u r r e n t P r o j e c t s :

C u r r e n t d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s a r e f o c u s e d a r o u n d t h e o u t e r c i t y l i m i t s . T h i s i n d i -

c a t e s t h a t z o n i n g w i t h i n t h e d i s t r i c t o f c h a m p a i g n h a s n o t c h a n g e d . A l t h o u g h t h e

m a s t e r p l a n p r e d i c t s t h a t t h e u p p e r f l o o r s o f o l d e r b u i l d i n g s w i l l b e c o n v e r t e d t o

r e s i d e n t i a l , t h i s i s n o t r e f l e c t e d i n t h e z o n i n g p l a n o f 2 0 0 9 .

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Master Planning Teams Assessments

The projects on the boards focus mainly on street work, electrical work, and city sewage management. These projects are typically maintenance projects and deal specifically with routine year to year work. The work that is mentioned in the Cham-paign master plan are not shown on the current projects map below.


Latency Vatsal

34


C l i m a c t i c C o n d i t i o n s :

T h e a v e r a g e t e m p e r a t u r e , p r e c i p i t a t i o n , h u m i d i t y , w i n d s p e e d s , s n o w f a l l , s u n -

s h i n e , a n d c l o u d y d a y s a r e a l l d e p i c t e d i n t h e g r a p h s b e l o w . T h e s e a v e r a g e s a r e

c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e U S a v e r a g e s a s a n i n d i c a t o r f o r t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e n e e d f o r

d i f f e r e n t d e s i g n c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . T h e b e l o w d a t a i s a g r a p h i c a l v i e w o f s o m e o f t h e

p r e l i m i n a r y s i t e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s r e q u i r e d t o p r o p e r l y d e s i g n a b u i l d i n g .

Climate Analysis


Effect of Climate on Design

The climate has a drastic effect on the built

environment and can dramatically improve a

designs outcome if cer-tain climate mitigating

strategies are imple-mented. Solar gain, wind

speed and direction, humidity levels, tem-

perature, precipitation are some of the climac-

tic factors that effect a potential design. These

effects must be either mitigated or used as an

advantage when dealing with preliminary building

design. In terms of sustainable design that is inexpen-

sive, a simple study of a sites climate can inform

decisions of building orientation, facade

construction and foun-dation design without

having to spend thousands of

dollars investing in mechanical systems.

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On Climate Analysis (cont.)

Charts and Graphs

The charts to the left are a psychometric chart and a wind rose. The charts below indicate average annual heating degree days and cooling degree days, as well as annual average precipitation. The psycho-metric chart shows dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, dew point, relative humiditiy, humidity ratio, specific enthalpy, and specific volume. All of the lines on the psychometric chart correspond to one of these variables. The blue line outlining the shape to the left on the chart depicts the most comfortable zones for which to design to in the specific climate of Champaign, IL. The wind rose illustrates the primary wind speeds and directions on average per year in Champaign. The psychometric chart helps to indicate more specifically the indoor conditions at which occupants are most comfortable, which deals specifically with mechanical systems design. The wind rose helps to indicate where potential wind turbines should be located in order to generate wind produced energy. The charts below, which indicate heating and cooling degree days, help to clarify how many days will require heating and cooling, as opposed to not using mechanical conditioning.


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D e m o g r a p h i c C o n d i t i o n s :

T h e D a t a b e l o w i n d i c a t e s a m a j o r i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s a r e y o u n g , n o t w e a l t h y, s i n g l e .

T h e d a t a a l s o i n d i c a t e s a s t e a d y g r o w t h p a t t e r n f o r t h e a r e a .

Site Analysis


Demographics on Design

It is important to understand the present

economic and demographic data in order to facilitate the design process, be-

cause if the design calls for multi-million dollar

condominiums, and the demographic is poor-to-middle class, those

individuals would never be able to lease the condominiums and

therefore the project would fail.This is espe-

cially important when planning a city as the planning process in-

volves indicating shop-ping/retail, housing,

office building typologies within a certain area.

The demographic information relating to

the ages of individuals is important in determining

what types of buildings would be most appeal-

ing. If the individuals are elderly, a walkable city

still may not provide the best alternative.

The data provided will help provide a glimpse into the potential build-

ing types which will need to be incorporated

and designed in order to achieve a successful

project.

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Sustainability Analysis (cont.)

Charts and Graphs

The charts to the left indicate the sustain-able crisis that presents itself in the area of Champaign today. As the previous page indicates, a majority of individuals who are above a certain age own a house in the city, however those below a certain age, are mainly in high density housing. The chart at the top shows that a majority of individuals have a travel time to work between 10-20 minutes, which indicates relatively close proximity. Close proximity is one of the major goals of the project, so the trend supports the goal. However, the fact is that most individuals drove a car to work, which is something that is a cause for congestion within cities and results in inefficient use of land for parking. The chart at the bottom also indicates the ma-jor type of fuel used to heat homes. The trend for heating produced by gas and electricity is a cause for concern within the city, as gas and electricity are expen-sive, and non-renewable. If the electricity was generated by a sustainable source, the use of that energy as a heating source would be championed, however that is not the current case within the city. This data helps to inform the project goals further and supports the design intentions to incorporate sustainable technologies and mitigate latent spaces and create a walkable community.


Latency Vatsal

38Project Development

Latency Liberated

How will the project progress?

The main emphasis of this project is focused

around implement-ing a new prototypical

planning system for smaller scaled cities. The

prototype will include ways of redeveloping a sustainable transporta-

tion system, a completely public street, without the use of cars, as well as a new integrated existing

building-new building typology. The project

will emphasize sustain-ability at every scale, and

will include suburban elements within urban environments to make

their development more appealing.

P r o j e c t D e v e l o p m e n t :R e s e a r c h :U n d e r s t a n d H i s t o r y , P r e c e d e n t s , a n d P r o b l e m s t o d e v e l o p a l i s t o f p r o g r a m m a t i c a p p l i c a t i o n s o f p o t e n t i a l s o l u t i o n s . U n d e r s t a n d i m p l i c a t i o n s o f n e w i d e a s t o p r o j e c t w i t h g o a l s o f s u s t a i n a b i l i t y , a f f o r d a b i l i t y , a n d u r b a n r e n e w a l i n m i n d .

P h a s e 1 :R e c t i f y z o n i n g l a w s t o c o r r e c t t r e n d s o f s p r a w l . A n a l y z e c u r r e n t z o n i n g o f D o w n t o w n C h a m p a i g nD e v e l o p a s t r a t e g y f o r s t r a t i f y i n g z o n i n g t o a c c o m m o d a t e f o r m u l -t i p l e b u i l d i n g t y p e sS t r a t i f i c a t i o n s h o u l d b e d e t e r m i n e d b y b u i l d i n g t y p e , p r o x i m i t y , a n d n e c e s s i t y

P h a s e 2 :A d d r e s s I n f r a s t r u c t u r e I s s u e s P r o v i d e s a f e , e f f i c i e n t , a n d r e l i a b l e p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n M i n i m i z e o n s t r e e t p a r k i n g M a x i m i z e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f p u b l i c w o r k s d e p a r t m e n t s ( h o s p i t a l , p o l i c e , f i r e , e t c . )

P h a s e 3 :U r b a n M a s t e r P l a n E s t a b l i s h d e s i g n c r i t e r i a f o r d e v e l o p i n g n e w , m o r e e f f i c i e n t b u i l d i n g t y p e s C r e a t e h y b r i d c i t y ( u t i l i z i n g o l d a n d n e w c o n s t r u c t i o n ) C r e a t e f r e e f l o w i n g l o w e r s e c t o r t o u t i l i z e d e a d s p a c e s e f f i -c i e n t l y E s t a b l i s h c r i t e r i a f o r l a n d s c a p i n g , a n d v e g e t a t i o n w i t h i n e a c h c i t y b l o c kC r e a t e s u b s i d i a r y p a t h w a y s o n h i g h e r l e v e l s t o c r e a t e e f f i c i e n t t r a n s p o r t a t i o n t o a n d f r o m c i t y b l o c k sD e s i g n n e w s u s t a i n a b l e s t r a t e g i e s f o r c o n s e r v i n g , p r e s e r v i n g , a n d c o l l e c t i n g r e s o u r c e sD e s i g n n e w b u i l d i n g p r o t o t y p e t h a t i n c o r p o r a t e s s u s t a i n a b l e s t r a t -e g i e s w h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g i n t e g r a t e d p r o g r a m t y p e s

P h a s e 4 :A n a l y z e n e w c i t y m a s t e r p l a n a n d c r e a t e c o m p a r a t i v e d a t a t o v i -s u a l i z e e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d d e t e r m i n e s u c c e s s o f h y p o t h e s i sS p e c u l a t e o n n e x t p h a s e o f d e v e l o p m e n t a n d v i s u a l i z e p o t e n t i a l o u t c o m e s 1 0 , 2 5 , a n d 5 0 y e a r s d o w n t h e r o a d .D e v e l o p i m p l e m e n t a t i o n p l a n o f n e w u r b a n c i t y w i t h i n o t h e r c i t i e s

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O n P r o j e c t D e v e l o p m e n t ( c o n t . )

E x t e n t o f S i t e

T h e p r o g r a m a n d p r o j e c t d e f i n i t i o n w i l l b e t h e e x t e n t o f t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f D o w n -t o w n C h a m p a i g n . T h e i n c l u d -e d a r e a i s c u r r e n t l y z o n e d a s c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e i n t e n d e d i d e a w i l l b e t h e r e v i s i n g o f t h i s a r e a a n d t h e r e d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e t y p o l o g y c u r r e n t l y i n p l a c e . T h e e n d p r o d u c t w i l l b e a c o m p l e t e l y i n t e g r a t e d , s u s t a i n a b l e , a n d f r e s h o u t l o o k o n u r b a n - s u b -u r b a n l i v i n g .

New BuildingsOld Buildings

Public BuildingsStreet Parking

Parking GarageLimited Green SpacesLots of Latent SpacesExisting Infrastructure

Incoming Heavy TrafficConnection to Major Highways

Residential Units


Site Features

Existing Structures:

RestaurantsShoppingBarsHospitalEmpty StructuresTrain StationTrain TracksWarehousesParking LotsSenior LivingMixed Use Buildings


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40

Design Phase 1


Existing Buildings

As part of the Site Analysis, photographs of the buildings within

the site limitations were taken.

As seen in the photos to the right make clear,

within American society, even in a small, rela-

tively close knit city, the dependence on cars is clearly an issue to

resolve.

Of 140 site photographs taken, 138 of those

photographs had a car clearly visible some-where in the photo-

graph.

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Site Analysis (cont.)

The presence of cars within the limitations of the site presents an issue in terms of achieving one of the project objectives. Creating a truly walkable city is difficult when the reliance on cars is so dramatic. In order to facilitate a walkable city, the reliance on cars has to decrease. Part of the reason for the abundance of cars is in part the abundance of surface park-ing, which inevitably makes it convenient for individuals to park as close to their desired location as possible. Although this convenience is important, it is more cru-cial for a truly integrated city where prox-imity of necessary amenities and stores becomes the foundation for planning.

If you take the example of a shopping mall, or even a strip center, which in to-days society are quite abundant, patrons come by car-fulls and park in expansive parking lots, only to get out and find themselves in a well designed network of stores and amenities. They dont need to drive from one store to the next because the convenience factor trumps their need to get back into their car and drive to the next location.

In the same manner, if a city is planned well enough, and the necessary amenities are in close proximity to other living/work-ing/play environments, a few well located parking garages will facilitate the same convenience as the large expansive, unsustainable surface parking lots like those that exist in mall lots, as well as the ones that currently exist in the downtown champaign region.

With the cars removed from the streetscape, the opportunities for better programmatic functions can occur.


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S k e t c h A n a l y s i s :

C u r r e n t C o n d i t i o n s :

T h e g r a p h i c s b e l o w d e p i c t l o c a t i o n o f m a i n p a t h w a y s l e a d i n g i n t o t h e c i t y , a s w e l l

a s l o c a t i o n s o f a m e n i t i e s , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n h u b s , a n d s t r e e t o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Design Phase 1


Existing Master plan

Before beginning the design process, it is

important to understand more graphically the con-ditions which plague the city of Champaign. The

existence of the major highways, the presence

of the surrounding, sister cities, as well as the Uni-

versity of Illinois all play into the current situation

within the city.

It is important to analyze the traffic conditions,

the organization of the streets, the location of the different amenities, and the current major public transportation hubs within the city.

Through this analysis, it is clear to see that

the traffic of University Ave., and Neil Street are the two major vehicular pathways into the city. This analysis helps to

gauge where to develop the walkable roads and

where to maintain the vehicular traffic patterns.

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Design Analysis (cont.)

Downtown Champaign, IL New Traffic Patterns

In order to create a walkable community within the immediate downtown environ-ment, the presence of public transporta-tion cannot be discarded in the design process. The public transportation provided by the Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), is a phenomenal system. As the precedent research pro-vided examples of trolley systems, which effectively created a more reliable and faster transportation medium, the MTD service already provides that.

However, the issue currently revolves around the fact that there is not a route which circulates the downtown environ-ment, but rather crosses through it. The routes leave the bus/train station on the South-East corner of the site and facilitate transportation mainly between the univer-sity, the downtown region, and the two shopping districts to the north and south of the downtown.

If there was a specific area within the downtown environment designated purely pedestrian, there would be a need for transportation around this area, as well as from the different parking structures to this area. It is important to maintain a maximum of a two block distance for walking between bus stop to destination in order to create a walkable city. This two block maximum is ideal because in the case of inclement weather or an elderly individual, a distance greater than that is too extreme, thus making the two block distance ideal. Different bus routes will be researched in order to provide the most ideal scenarios.

The notion of nodes is also a focus of implementation within the downtown environment. Currently there isnt a clear destination when referring to the downtown region. There are really no landmarks, or plazas which help to center growth around. These nodes will create a focal point for the city and help to ground it within its limitations.


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O r g a n i z a t i o n a l C o n d i t i o n s :

T h e s k e t c h b e l o w a t t e m p t s t o d e p i c t t h e d i f f e r e n t a v a i l a b l e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i m -

p l e m e n t a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t p r o g r a m m a t i c f u n c t i o n s . T h e m a i n a r e a i n r e d i s a l a r g e

l o t o f v a c a n t i n d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g s w h i c h w o u l d s e r v e a s a p o t e n t i a l s i t e f o r d e v e l -

o p m e n t o f c o n v e r t e d r e s i d e n t i a l l o f t u n i t s .

Design Phase 1


Programmatic Design

Once the initial site observations are com-

pleted, the decision then relies on trying to figure

out where the opportuni-ties for improvements lie.

The series of sketches on this page are a study

of the urban condition as related to those oppor-

tunities. These sketches are process sketches

which ultimately help to advise design decision which inform the new

master plan.

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Design Analysis (cont.)

Downtown Champaign, IL New Street Organization

The strategies in trying to create a walk-able community deal heavily with the issues regarding the presence of cars and roads and spaces for parking. If these streets were devoted purely to pedestrian traffic, the opportunities for implementa-tion of different elements within the streets are quite abundant. The fact is that there are nearly 40-50 feet of space devoted to a 2 lane street within the streets of downtown.

By making the streets void of vehicu-lar traffic, the volumous space created presents a valuable opportunity for the integration of trees, plazas, bike paths, benches, and canopies, which really begin to make the street scape more ap-pealing to pedestrians, and thus drawing them from their dwellings into that street.

Currently, even with street traffic, patrons of restaurants choose to sit outside, and have that connection to the outdoors. The space allotted for tables outdoors on the sidewalks is minimal, and when pedestrians are walking by, those patrons are practically eating dinner with those pedestrians. There is no sense of per-sonal space which is left due to this lack of room on the sidewalk. By stretching the pedestrian path deep into the street, the restaurants can fully occupy this street for a truly outdoor dining experience. European plazas are filled with restaurant patrons sitting outside, enjoying a casual drink, dining with friends and family, truly immersed in the environment. They do not have the worry about street noise, car pollution, disturbing pedestrians, and the likes.

The street then becomes a medium for activity, and begins to liven and engage the community in a way never before experienced. This street which was once plagued by vehicular traffic, now begins to create a walkable community within the immediate downtown environment.


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Design Phase 1


Existing Master plan

A more thorough analysis of the downtown mas-ter plan shows clearly

the lack of focal nodes, an abundance of street

parking, a lack of ameni-ties, and a rather unorga-

nized mix of buildings in terms of creating flow.

A

B

B

B

I

I

J

J

J

J

C

D

EE

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

F

F

F

L

O

O

F

F

FK

F

G

G

G

G

J

G

G

MH

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

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LEGEND

A - Structured ParkingB - Mid-Rise Office BuildingC - HospitalD - City HallE - Restaurant/BarF - Mixed Use Type 1 Housing/RetailG - Mixed Use Type 2 Retail/OfficeH - Mixed Use Type 3 Housing/OfficeI - BankJ - ShoppingK - Elderly HousingL - CondominiumsM - MuseumN - Train StationO - Vacant BuildingP - Surface Parking

Existing Building

Green Space

Vehicular Traffic Allowed

E

E

N

F

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

J

H


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A

B

B

B

B

B

B

CD

E

FW

W

WW

F

G

X

X

G

G

G G

H

HH

H

H

H

H

Y

Y

M

MO

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

Q

QR

U

N

N

I

I I

I

I

J

J

K

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

LL

LL

U

D

A

Design Phase 1


New Master plan

A truly walkable city is developed, full with

amenities for every pa-tron within the city limits.

High density, mixed-multiple use buildings become the typology

within the center hub of the downtown. The central node houses a large public plaza with a possible market that

spills out onto the space. Restaurants and bars

line the plaza to continu-ally bring people into the

environment.

A large outdoor garden and canopy system be-

gins to create a second-ary and tertiary level of

pedestrian scape which begins to activiate the

latent spaces left by the spaces between build-ings and the rooftops. Housing specific sec-tor is developed in the

old, vacant industrial lot to the upper right of the

si

Latency Liberated

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