MArch Thesis Document

URBAN VOIDS 1

The Post-Industrial Urban Void | Rethink, Reconnect, Revive.

Philip Anthony Hall

Hillsdale College, 2002 Bachelor of Science

University of CincinnatiCollege of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning School of Architecture and Interior Design Master of Architecture Candidate Rebecca Williamson, PhD, AIA, Assistant ProfessorMenelaos Triantafillou, AICP, ASLA, Associate Professor

August 18, 2010

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Abstract

The beginning of the 21st century marks a new milestone; over half of the planet’s 6.1 billion inhabitants reside in urban areas. This global trend of urbanization reveals a paradox that exists among cities worldwide. While some cities are experiencing unprecedented growth, others are losing vast quantities of urban residents and businesses. A complex mix of social, economic, political, and cultural factors has caused the depopulation of major central cities worldwide. The effect of the shrinking urban population is manifested within the physical composition of the urban landscape. As the number of people and the amount of financial resources available to maintain a city decreases, buildings and infrastructure fall into disrepair. Wild and unruly vegetation infiltrates the city, perpetuates decay, and tests the limits of what is considered urban. Neglected, forgotten, and unoccupied spaces are rendered unusable and unsafe. The strange and overgrown identity of these spaces disconnect them from the remainder of the city.

This investigation addresses the urban void through the contributions of three designers: Eduard Bru, Sze Tsung Leong, and Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio. Each designer provides a deep and passionate understanding of empty space in the urban environment. The multidimensional nature of the urban void reveals the eerie presence of the past, present, and future that lies embedded within the empty and abandoned spaces of the city. The historic past, combined with the vacant condition of the present, help to shape future aspirations of freedom and change within the void. This thesis uncovers the urban void in relation to the historic context, location, and current condition of the post-industrial depopulating city. It aims to break free from the formal context of urban society in order to rethink marginalized spaces and reconnect them to vital urban activity. This regeneration of space challenges the conventional form, function, exploitation, and manipulation of urban land. Design intervention pushes the limits of urbanity and encourages a non-violent transformation that allows local residents, workers, and visitors to define and become part of public space.

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I would like to thank my parents, Carl and Barb Hall, and my brother and sister, Nathan and Alissa, for their support and encouragement throughout the completion of my graduate studies.

I would like to thank Professor Rebecca Williamson and Professor Menelaos Triantafillou for their willingness to share their time and knowledge, and also for their patience and guidance throughout the thesis process.

Acknowledgements

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Abstract2

Thesis Essay6 Introduce7 Define9 Uncover16 Intervene20 Select23 Conclude25

Precedent Analysis27

Site Analysis41

Design Project Summary68

Bibliography93

Table of Contents

*all illustrations, diagrams, and photographs by author unless noted

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Thesis Essay

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The diversity of cities throughout the United States and the world is remarkable. Beginning in 2007, for the first time in the history of human civilization, over half of the world’s population lives in cities. Sixty years ago, the largest city in the world was New York. Its population at that time was roughly twelve million people. Today, the largest cities on earth have surpassed population totals of twenty million residents and are projected to reach nearly thirty million by the year 2020.1 This seemingly global trend of increasing urbanization highlights a paradox that exists among cities worldwide: The paradox of the depopulating city.

Despite the shift of residents from rural to urban environments and the accumulation of record sized urban populations, many cities are experiencing a reverse of this demographic change. Over the last sixty years more than 350 large cities worldwide have lost a significant number of inhabitants and businesses. Most depopulating cities are located in Western industrial countries. The loss of residents in once major industrial areas, such as the rust belt in the United States, has been enormous: Saint Louis, -59%; Youngstown, -51%; Pittsburgh, -50%; Buffalo, -49%; Detroit, -49%.2 Today, one in every six cities with a population over 100,000 residents is experiencing population decline.3 The effect of the depopulating city is widespread and greatly alters a city’s image, urban landscape, and economy. A complex mix of social, economic, political, and cultural factors has caused the depopulation of major central cities worldwide.

The changing face of industry has contributed to the decline of urban populations. Advancements in personal transportation and communication technologies have diminished the traditional dominance of the urban core as a center for financial, commercial, and manufacturing activity. Racial prejudice and segregation have also been a driving force behind urban disinvestment and population shifts out of the city. Additionally, American post-war federal policies encouraged the decentralization of the urban environment in order to diminish fears of nuclear attacks, facilitate the American dream, and stimulate widespread economic growth. As many central cities decline in population, adjacent suburban areas simultaneously expand. The result is a hollowing-out of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the rise of conflicting goals, images, and power relations.

1 Richard Marshall, “The Elusiveness of Urban Design,” Harvard Design Magazine 24 (Spring/Summer 2006): 21-32.

2 Tim Rieniets, “Global Shrinkage,” in International Research, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, ed. Philipp Oswalt (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 20.

3 Philipp Oswalt and Tim Rieniets, Atlas of Shrinking Cities (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Er-schienen, 2006).

Indroduce | Introducing the Urban Void

Depopulating cities in eastern United States;Image courtesy of Shrinking Cities, Vol. 1, 24

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The effects of population decline on the city go much deeper then the obvious reduced tax base and related fiscal difficulties. A shrinking urban population is mirrored by changes in the physical makeup of the city. Even after the loss of residents and the decrease of density in a city, the size of the infrastructure and the physical area of a city remain the same. Ultimately, fewer people and fewer financial resources remain to maintain a city designed for a larger population.4 The result is large quantities of buildings, infrastructure, and space that are no longer needed or used by the current population. Vacant buildings quickly decay. Empty lots surface as buildings collapse, burn, and are demolished. Unoccupied spaces, whether buildings, lots, streets, or entire neighborhoods, become disconnected from the city. Devoid of activity and perceived as unsafe, these ambiguous spaces, with an overgrown and wild character, collect garbage, succumb to vandalism, attract illegal activity, and become a growing blemish within the urban fabric.

The urban void fascinates and evokes curiosity in the eyes of many urban theorists. Architect Eduard Bru proclaims that the urban void is now an “essential element in any debate about the new city.”5 Designer Sze Tsung Leong views the urban void as a deformation of the city that results from the manipulation and exploitation of space.6 The late architect Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio uses the French phrase, terrain vague,7 to define the complex nature of the urban void. Central to this thesis is Sola-Morales Rubio’s idea that these spaces, while perceived as empty and unoccupied, are also free, available, and unengaged. His perspective evokes an aura of awesome potential for these otherwise desolate and empty spaces. The theoretical framework articulated by these three designers promotes a new way of addressing the urban void within the context of the post-industrial depopulating city. The application of their method will be presented in detail by applying it at a select site within the city of Detroit.

4 Witold Rybczynski, “How to Save Our Shrinking Cities,” Public Interest 135 (Spring 1999): 30-31.

5 Eduard Bru, Coming from the South (Barcelona: ACTAR, 2001), 31.

6 Sze Tsung Leong, “Control Space,” in Mutations, eds. Rem Koolhaas, et al (Barcelona: ACTAR, 2000), 185-195.

7 Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio, “Terrain Vague,” in Anyplace, ed. Cynthia Davidson (Cam-bridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1995): 118-123.

Indroduce | Introducing the Urban Void

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Defining the urban void is a formidable task. Perhaps in its simplest form, urban is defined as “relating to the city” and void is defined as “a completely empty space.”8 Even in its most basic state, however, the definition exudes ambiguity and begs countless questions. For example: How does it relate to the city? Why is the space empty? What was lost from the space? Who can use the space? When will the space no longer be empty? The obscurity that is provoked by the concept of the urban void has led the architect, planner, author, and theorist to invent and call it by a variety of names. The urban void has been referred to, among other things, as untitled space, marginalized space, interstitial space, residue, gaps, and terrain vague. Although the broad range of terminology refers to the same general concept, each term, by design, evokes slightly different thoughts, emotions, and ideas.

In an effort to begin to better understand the urban void within the context of this investigation, three types of overarching voids will be considered: the phenomenological void, the functional void, and the geographical void.9 This classification of urban voids is discussed by Andrea Rojas, an independent practicing Chilean architect and educator at the University of Diego Portales, Chile. Each type of urban void represents its own spatial and psychological break in the fabric of the city.

Phenomenological Void

The phenomenological void appears in response to an individual event that has occurred within a city or region. It is defined as “a place that has been characterized by context and history that is now outside the realm of urban functionality, growth, and transformation.”10 These voids include historic transformations and clearings of urban form due to events such as wars and natural disasters. In the aftermath of change, the phenomenological void embodies strong memory and emotion. Contemporary examples within the United States include the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

8 Oxford American Dictionary, http://www.askoxford.com (accessed September 1, 2009).

9 Rojas, Andrea. “Urban Voids in Medium Size Chilean Cities.” Vague Terrain: Digital Art / Culture / Tech-nology, entry posted March 1, 2009, http://www.vagueterrain.net/journal13/andrea-rojas/01 (accessed July 27, 2009).

10 Ibid.

Define | Defining the Urban Void

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Functional Void

The functional void occurs on a variety of different scales: local, regional, national, and global. The emergence of this void type represents a change in the pattern of use within the urban environment.11 Even though this change may be global in nature, local history and geography often play an important role in determining to what extent the void is revealed. Functional voids have surfaced in many cities that are traditionally organized around a single, central core. As the importance of the urban core diminishes in the face of industrial and social changes, the decrease in urban population and density acts as a catalyst to urban decay and the rise of functional voids. As the function of urban land changes and as urban populations decline, the result is the growth and spread of urban voids.

Geographical Void

The geographical void is represented by a break in urban form due to natural topographical features such as rivers, valleys, hills, and other unusual terrain.12 These voids contrast the urban environment because of their ability to consistently sustain dense vegetation and other forms of wildlife. The city of Phoenix, for example, has numerous concentrations of rough terrain and small mountains where roads, structures, and other typical city infrastructure are difficult to construct. This void, unlike the other two, represents a break in the urban conditions that is typically not considered a nuisance or “eyesore” to city dwellers. Instead, these areas are often viewed as an “escape” from the traditional city grid and are utilized in numerous respects for their natural, aesthetic and recreational values. Though lacking of urban characteristics, the geographical void is typically not free of human activity.

Even though all three void types represent a distinct absence of the urban condition, a finer lens may reveal that in more recent times the boundaries distinguishing each type have become blurred. For example, phenomenological and functional voids that have been neglected and ignored for long periods of time begin to experience a break-through of vegetation and other components of nature reminiscent of geographical void characteristics. Conversely, as the recreational use of geographical voids increase, urban characteristics such as paved walkways and parking lots are frequently imposed upon them. Finally, as the natural quality of geographical voids decreases and as the functional patters of use in the city continues to change, these void types attract strong memory and emotional characteristics that are typically associated with the phenomenological void.

This investigation focuses on the functional void of the post-industrial depopulating city. This void has characteristics that connect it with the memory and natural condition associated with the phenomenological and geographical void, respectively. Unlike phenomenological and geographic voids, however, the expanding functional void present in today’s urban fabric is a relatively new occurrence for contemporary cities that formed since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Its recent abundant accumulation in post-industrial depopulating cities has made it an accepted landscape within the urban environment of many communities.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid.


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Even when focusing on functional voids within the post-industrial depopulating city, there is still a broad range of urban void conditions and characteristics that exist. Empty and abandoned spaces come in many different shapes, sizes, and forms. Each void has its own unique charac-ter that is a reflection on the history, location, and surrounding context of the space. In post-industrial depopulating cities, urban voids have no limits and know no boundaries. Unoccupied and untended spaces surface in all areas of the city: residential neighborhoods, industrial areas, commercial and business districts, etc. The increasing presence of unused and unclaimed spaces throughout the city’s landscape is visible in the accumulation of empty lots, demolition sites, sur-face parking, vacant buildings, underutilized corridors, oversized infrastructure, and neglected transitional spaces. Over time, a single empty lot that lays in-between buildings may grow to consume an entire city bock or even a neighborhood.

There is no one project that can solve vacancy. The complex nature of functional voids in the post-industrial depopulating city and the diverse set of conditions that define them make in-tervention into the urban void difficult. Therefore, this thesis investigation will extract relevant concepts from contemporary discussions on empty space in the urban environment and apply them to a single location.

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Urban Void Theory

In order to further define the urban void, the work of three architects and urban designers that have made significant contributions to theoretical discussions on voids will be reviewed. The following is an overview of the urban void as defined by Eduard Bru, Tze Tsung Leong, and Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio:

Eduard Bru

Eduard Bru is a Spanish architect and educator in Barcelona, Spain, whose focus is on contemporary urban and geographical phenomena. Bru’s work addresses contemporary urban issues related to geography, ecology, and the environment. He is skeptical of quick-fix solutions related to urban sustainability and green architecture. He also warns of the dangers associated with “forever building new things.”13 Instead, Bru emphasizes the relationship between ecology and urbanism and proposes that architecture and city planning is based on the “metamorphosis and recycling of materials, forms, and uses.”14

In his book, Coming from the South, Bru discusses what he considers to be the three new factors for city planning. These include size, distance, and emptiness. Bru suggests that all three factors are closely related, and that in order to establish appropriate size and distance, one must understand the city in terms of both voids and solids. Eduard Bru states that empty urban space is a “specific kind of matter for the planning of our cities.”15 He claims to be the first person to have discussed the urban void as a problem of the contemporary city and defines it as “a hollow in the midst of unresolved elements that have rendered its occupation impossible.”16

According to Bru, the void is a contemporary problem that did not exist during the formation of the early city. Traditional growth of the city created empty space, in part, as a consequence of varying densities and geometric guidelines. These voids, traditionally, were public spaces. They made up the streets, squares, and parks. Today, however, excessive voids within the traditional urban form have created a fractured and dislocated city. Bru suggests that the urban void is essential to any debate about the new city. He argues that most planned public spaces, over the course of history, resulted from voids that experienced specific problems or obsolete activities. Today, Eduard Bru believes that planning the void is an activity that is both novel and urgent.

13 Earth Economics, “Eduard Bru, Arquitectos,” http://www.archilab.org/public/2002/en/fcar04.htm# (accessed July 1, 2009).

14 Ibid.

15 Eduard Bru, Coming from the South, 31.

16 Ibid., 274.


“A hollow in the midst of unresolved elements that have rendered its occu-pation impossible”- Eduard Bru

Urban Void:

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Sze Tsung Leong

As part of the Harvard Project on the City and in close collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, Sze Tsung Leong discusses the city and its voids in terms of control space, residue, and gaps. According to Sze Tsung Leong, urban voids result from a deformation of the city that is caused by control space. Control space is defined in terms of information and the market, rather then in terms of space. For example, space is now “computed, calibrated, assessed, predicted, and optimized”17 in order to effectively respond to the vicissitudes and irrationalities of the market. All people participate in control space. Retailers strive to “understand, quantify, record, regulate, manipulate, and coerce”18 the factors that determine sales. Similarly, the consumer seeks space that is convenient, efficient, accessible, secure, energetic, and offers a variety of choices.

It is control space that deforms what used to be considered urban. Sze Tsung Leong compares the residue that is generated by control space to the effluents that are discarded by industrial production. In his own words, he says that:

As space is increasingly treated as a resource to be exploited, processed, and manipulated, and as the forces of measurement become increasingly accelerated, non-geometric, and non-locale based, so must space be discarded, abandoned, expended. In spatial terms, much of the city is generated by default rather than intent, creating a new cartography – a mutant form of figure/ground – comprised of control and residual spaces.19

Control space and its resulting residue and gaps are inseparable. The nature of control space, which is engineered to rapidly minimize expense and maximize profits, constantly recycles the urban environment. Its desire to find and exploit the next realm of opportunity produces gaps and contradictions alongside and within control space.

Under a more traditional lens, urban voids appear attenuated, dissolute, entropic, and amorphous. These spaces test the traditional boundaries between that which is public and private, inside and outside, and near and far. Despite the traditional criteria for this unfamiliar urban landscape, Sze Tsung Leong understands these spaces as representing moments of freedom against the grips of control space and traditional urban form.

17 Sze Tsung Leong, Mutations, 187.

18 Ibid., 189.

19 Ibid., 193.


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Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio

The late Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio was a Spanish architect, architectural critic, theorist, and former professor at the Barcelona Technical College of Architecture (ETSAB). At a time when few other designers recognized the value and potential of the urban empty and abandoned space, Sola-Morales Rubio discussed its fascination in his essay entitled, Terrain Vague.20 The French expression is a seemingly simple, yet complex phrase, which surfaced in 1970s filmmaking. It is the basis for his theory on the design of empty and abandoned urban land. The complexity of the expression, terrain vague, comes from the literary depth and multiple meanings of its individual parts. Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio notes that it is not possible to capture the meaning of terrain vague in a single English word or phrase.

The first French word, terrain, roughly translates into the English word land. While the word land typically assumes a more agricultural or geological meaning, the French term terrain embodies an urban quality. Terrain is more then just a single parcel of urban land within the city. It represents the ground that is fit and has the potential for the built environment.

The second French word, vague, has both Latin and German origins. Its German origin comes from the word woge, which refers to the movement, oscillations, instability, and fluctuation of a sea swell. From a Latin context, the two root words vacuus and vagus are joined together to create this multi-dimensional French word. Vaccus roughly translates to mean both “empty and unoccupied,” and also “free, available, and unengaged.”21 Vagus essentially translates into “indeterminate, imprecise, blurred, and uncertain.”22

Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio’s concept of terrain vague thrives on the contradicting nature of the definitions of its individual parts. In his own words, he says that:

The relationship between the absence of use, of activity, and the sense of freedom, of expectancy, is fundamental to understanding the evocative potential of the city’s terrains vagues. Void, absence, yet also promise, the space of the possible, or expectation.23

It is in this anomaly, where contradicting values of “fluctuation,” “emptiness,” “freedom” and “uncertainty” are superimposed onto one another, that Sola-Morales Rubio best understands the uneasy potential associated with the urban void. The paradox of these uncertain and indefinite spaces is that they are not purely negative, but engage expectations of freedom and liberty that are associated with the unknown. Therefore, blending the term terrain with the triple-significant term vague, truly adds numerous dimensions to the understanding and characterization of the urban void.

20 Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio, “Terrain Vague,” 118-123.

21 Ibid., 119.

22 Ibid., 120.

23 Ibid., 120.


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Sola-Morales Rubio argues that terrains vagues are the reverse image of the city. Even though theses spaces exist within the physical makeup of the city, they are external to everyday use. The weary fascination that embodies the abandoned and empty space is reminiscent of occurrences that have previously taken place within them. Terrains vagues are forgotten and strange places where “the memory of the past predominates over the present.”24 Despite the romantic and enthusiastic imaginations that are fed by distant memories, Sola-Morales Rubio notes that spaces not dominated by architecture are foreign to the urban system. He suggests that the urban void nurtures insecurities and fear within people. In return, people condemn the space as uninhabitable, unproductive, and unsafe. Terrains vagues are often found within unsafe residential neighborhoods, railway stations and ports, industrial and contaminated areas, unincorporated margins, and other locations that are oversights and voids of activity within the city.

Together the three designers 1) communicate the importance of addressing the urban void within the contemporary city, 2) reveal a condition where the manipulation and exploitation of urban land results in the spatial residue of control space that is the urban void, and 3) capture, in a single phrase, the multifaceted nature of the urban void: empty and unoccupied, yet, free and full of promise. While the three discussions on the urban void are largely in agreement and complement one another, each designer raises a unique set of concerns that help to infer strategies for design intervention. Before contemplating design intervention strategies, it is important to uncover the factors and conditions under which the urban void surfaces in the city. The following traces the rise and fall of the American industrial city and highlights specific factors that have contributed to the emergence of empty space in the urban environment.

24 Ibid., 120.


“The memory of the past predominates

over the present”- Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio

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Uncover | Uncovering the Urban Void

The late 19th and early 20th century in the United States is defined by unprecedented population growth and the formation of large, concentrated urban centers. H. G. Wells refers to these densely populated centers as “whirlpool cities,” where rail and water transportation networks collided to create vortices that drew residents from around the nation. 25 The great social transformation that ensued, in conjunction with technological advancements, population growth, and urbanization, is referred to as the Industrial Revolution. As fossil fuels replaced wind, wood, and water as the primary source of energy, and as machinery supplemented traditional manual labor, production capacity increased across a wide range of industries. Increased availability of nearly all-basic human needs allowed for, and encouraged, the creation and densification of urban areas.26 The con-centration of factories and housing that followed created a modern working class that had its own distinctive social, economic, political, and cultural life.27

The mid-20th century represents a shift from centralizing to decentralizing urbanism. As noted by Lewis Mumford, decentralizing networks of personal transportation and electronic communication allowed for urbanization to occur at any given point in a region. 28 The diminishing advantages of the core over the periphery encouraged residents, businesses, and industry to abandoned congested and polluted city centers in pursuit of cheaper land and open space located at the fringes of urban society. The decentralization of the city core is most often referred to as suburbanization or, under a more negative connotation, sprawl.29

Walter Prigge, from the Shrinking Cities project, defines suburbanization as “the exodus of residents, industry and services, and culture from the big city centers into the outlying regions.”30 Population changes associated with suburbanization represent a regional restructuring rather than region-wide shrinkage. For example, by 1970, the suburban population in the United States reached 74 million residents, surpassing the urban population for the first time in history. 31 As growth shifted from the city center to the periphery, the core of many regions became plagued with abandonment, neglect, and poverty. The causes of the extensive suburbanization and subsequent emergence of the urban void experienced by post-industrial American cities are not fully understood, but they certainly include the following factors:

25 Robert Fishman, “Suburbanization: USA,” in International Research, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, ed. Philipp Oswalt (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 66-67.

26 Ecology Global Network, “Industrial Revolution,” http://www.ecology.com/features/industrial_revolution/ (accessed July 1, 2009).

27 Ronaldo Munck, “Deindustrialization: Britain,” in International Research, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, ed. Philipp Oswalt (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 49.

28 Miller, Donald L., ed. The Lewis Mumford Reader, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1986).

29 Robert Fishman, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, 69.

30 Walter Prigge, “On the Origins of Shrinkage,” in International Research, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, ed. Philipp Oswalt (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 43.

31 Tim Rieniets, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, 31.

1916

1950

1960

1994

Downtown Detroit figure ground comparison, emergence of empty space highlighted in red by author; Image courtesy of Stalking Detroit, 23

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1.) Deindustrialization: Deindustrialization is defined as “a new distribution of industry and services with respect to the global division of labor, whereby certain cities and regions have gained or lost significance.”32 In addition to the diminishing presence of industrial jobs within the United States, the crisis of the core was exacerbated by the decentralization of the industrial facilities that remained. In the early stages of industrial development, four- to five-story loft buildings housed factories that clustered near railroad lines and the urban core. Working class families settled dense neighborhoods nearby. In order to increase the efficiency of production, however, large one-story structures soon replaced centrally located multi-story lofts. These expansive facilities required cheap land found only at the edge of urbanization. New industrial complexes now depended on truck and highway transportation rather than the traditional concentration of rail lines. 33 These changes to both the factory location and layout represent alterations made to the city fabric and population dispersion. Instead of vertical growth, the physical city stretched-out horizontally at an increasing distance from the city center. The movement of industrial facilities from the urban core and its subsequent effect on city residents and businesses ultimately changed the urban composition of post-industrial cities. Cities accumulated industrial brown fields, abandoned buildings, and empty space as residents and businesses shadowed industrial trends.

2.) Personal transportation advancements: Ironically, a product that originated in the American rust belt and that facilitated rapid growth in many industrial cities is also largely responsible for the demise of the central core. The availability and affordability of the automobile to all working class Americans changed the urban landscape forever. People were no longer limited by location restraints and forced to live within close proximity of work and the streetcar. Enhanced mobility allowed for residents to both visit and live at the city’s perimeter and beyond. Both the urban and suburban landscape rapidly changed to accommodate the needs and desires associated with the automobile. The extensive street networks and parking that soon dominated the landscape of cities provided an escape for residents who could afford to leave the dense and later depopulating urban core. Streets quickly widened and extensive highway systems soon ripped through the city in pursuit of a more distant place. America’s dependence on the automobile changed the nature of pedestrian activity in the city and diminished the demand for mass public transportation.

32 Walter Prigge, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, 43.

33 Robert Fishman, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, 68-69.


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3.) Racial tension: A great influx of African Americans into the urban north occurred at the same time that Midwestern and Northeastern cities were experiencing a steady loss of industrial jobs. Between 1940 and 1970, over six million blacks from the American South migrated into northern cities following the collapse of the cotton economy. 34 According to Thomas Sugrue, “for a large number of African Americans, the promise of steady, secure, and relatively well-paid employment in the North proved illusory.”35 Instead, African Americans met conditions of complete racial segregation, hardening ghettoization, overcrowded and intolerable housing, poverty, police abuse, economic inequality, black militancy, and racial stereotyping. The racial tension and conflicts that ensued perpetuated white flight to panic proportions and further accelerated the exodus of white residents, businesses, and industries from the central city. Houses and businesses that could not be sold were abandoned. Between 1970 and 1990, the city of Baltimore alone accumulated over 35,000 abandoned housing units. Stripped, burned, vandalized, and partially demolished homes soon became an evocative symbol of the post-industrial depopulating city.

4.) Anti-urban federal policy: Numerous federal policies and programs contributed to the depopulating and degrading urban landscape across the United States. Some Federal actions provided direct means for the mass exodus of urban residents into the suburbs. Other movements simply perpetuated the fears and dreams of residents, resulting in additional migration out of urban centers. Perhaps the two largest Federal stimulants of suburbanization, which forever altered the American urban landscape, were the 1956 Interstate Highway Act and the 1954 Housing Act. Both acts surfaced in the aftermath of the Second World War and helped to alleviate rising public fears of nuclear attack, fulfill strong aspirations for the American dream home, and expand economic growth outside of the traditional city boundary.

The 1956 Interstate Highway Act allowed for the construction of a 41,000-mile highway system that was called “the biggest public works program since the Pyramids.”36 In addition to providing the infrastructural means for residents to vacate the core and live outside of the city, the implementation of the highway system also drastically altered the urban landscape for those residents who remained. In Detroit, over 20,400 homes were destroyed to accommodate the placement of the highway.37 Many vibrant city neighborhoods were divided or destroyed. The stigma of the freeway, created by unpleasant noise, views, and congestion decreased adjacent residential property values. Interstitial land between


35 Thomas J. Sugrue, “Racism and Urban Decline,” in International Research, Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities, ed. Philipp Oswalt (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 232.


37 Arthur M. Woodford, This Is Detroit 1701-2001 (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2001), 164.


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the highway and neighborhoods, containing insufficient buffers, became fallow and neglected. As more and more residents utilized the highway system for transportation, traditional transportation routes and once thriving urban streetscapes throughout post-industrial cities became neglected and fell into disrepair. The changing character of the cityscape further perpetuated the outward movement of residents resulting in the expansion of the urban void.

In a similar fashion, the 1954 Housing Act is also largely responsible for restructuring the American urban landscape and, consequently, the degradation of the urban environment. The Act created a nation of homeowners by implementing a new system of mortgages guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. Unfortunately, the new mortgages encouraged suburban home building and typically excluded the purchase of homes within the central city. It is not surprising then, that as white middle and working class Americans purchased homes in the surrounding suburbs, the urban housing stock became vacant and fell into a state of disrepair.


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Intervene | Intervening the Urban Void

The necessity of intervention into the urban void is made clear when viewing the current physical, social, and economic ills of the post industrial depopulating city. Perhaps the need for intervention is most apparent when considering the tendency of voids to spread and grow. For example, over the last fifty years Detroit has accumulated over 66,000 vacant lots.38 Negative urban trends reinforce one another and factors such as rising crime, decreasing property values, and increasing outward population migrations work together to create a downward spiral of physical urban decline. Many theorists agree that “vacant lots and empty buildings are more than just symptoms of blight, they are also causes of it.”39

A common response to city depopulation is demolition. In many cities “unbuilding surpasses building as the city’s primary architectural activity.”40 The Modernist approach to urban redevel-opment focuses on the creation of tabula rasa. According to Rem Koolhaas, this idea of “starting from scratch” was “one of the twentieth century’s most important devices.”41 Modern architects such as Le Corbusier believed that without it, nothing was possible. Over time, the concept has erased some of the most vital and colorful neighborhoods of the post-industrial city.

The focus of Postmodern urban renewal policy is on reinventing the city center by creating core areas of events and consumerism that cater towards globally oriented service providers and en-trepreneurs of the information economy. The result is a surge of massive new cultural centers, sporting venues, casinos, shopping malls, hotels, convention centers, and other entertainment destinations that are subsidized by the public, yet, for-profit and privately owned. This new form of “luxury urbanism” has essentially “committed the city to a future as a destination entertain-ment theme park for its wealthy suburban ex-patriots.”42 It has done little to directly help lower-middle class urban residents on the outskirts of these centers that face reduced social standards and long-term mass unemployment.

38 American Forests, “Urban Ecosystem Analysis SE Michigan and City of Detroit,” www.ameri-canforests.org (accessed April 1, 2008).

39 Witold Rybcznski, “Downsizing Cities: To Make Cities Work Better, Make them Smaller,” The Atlantic Monthly (October 2005): 36-47.

40 Charles Waldheim, “Detroit: Motor City,” in Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design, eds. Edward Robbins and Rodolphe El-Khoury (New York: Routledge, 2004), 84.

41 Rem Koolhaas, et al, Mutations (Barcelona: ACTAR, 2000), 309.

42 Charles Waldheim, “Detroit: Motor City,” 92.

“Vacant lots and empty

buildings are more than

just symptoms of blight,

they are causes of it.”- Witold Rybczynski

URBAN VOIDS 21


Intervention Theory

In addition to helping define the urban void, Eduard Bru and Ignasi Sola-Morales Rubio also provide insight on intervention strategies into urban empty space. Both designers propose tactics that are unique to standard urban re/development techniques. The following reviews their intervention strategies, which will be used to infer design that addresses urban voids with application to the post-industrial depopulating city.

Eduard Bru’s Intervention Strategy

The quality and nature of the urban void, according to Bru, needs to be well defined. He suggests that it is the empty space within an urban area that contributes most to the form of a city. In his own words, Bru states, “Deciding its form means establishing – along with opting for different sizes and distances – the form of the inhabited environment.”43 His call for better defining the urban void, however, does not necessarily assume an extensive intervention or built environment. Eduard Bru discusses the intervention of empty space in this way:

The contemporary city doesn’t necessarily have to proceed along the same lines as those laid down by the classical city… Different things are happening today, new phenomena that call for new solutions and new spaces. The open space of the city has to respond to two relatively recent ideas: one is that of freedom – a greater degree of freedom than the one the street or square can provide, - and the other, that of a diversification in the range of uses.”44

Eduard Bru encourages designers and planners not to use typical textbook creations in these difficult and conflicting spaces. Instead, he encourages the development of new amenities, properly organized within the desired space. Given the unusual and disconnected nature of their surroundings, this may require the invention of new urban places and uses. He points out that, “contemporary urban man is continually endorsing a set of customs that no longer pertain to him; and he practices these in an almost shameful way.”45

Bru suggests that there is no one method for “making a city,” and that filling the void should not aspire to conform to a certain “look” that will give prestige to the intervention. Instead, he argues that the architect and planner should “attempt to respond to its specific location and to emphasize its particular nature – its scale, size, siting, - and to convert this into something that is user-friendly.”46 Bru believes that by placing new materials and new uses within the context of the urban fabric, a new urban specimen can be created.


44 Ibid., 271.

45 Ibid., 272.

46 Ibid., 273.

“Different things are happening today, new phenomena that call for new solutions and new spaces.”- Eduard Bru

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Ignasi Sola-Morales Rubio’s Intervention Strategy

Following his exploration of both terminology and empty space, Sola-Morales Rubio addresses the topic of design intervention for the terrain vague. He asks, “What is to be done with these enormous voids, with their imprecise limits and vague definition?”47 In his response, he fears for the loss of identity in these strange places. It is an identity that represents an “uncontaminated magic of the obsolete.”48 It is an identity that is specific to the terrain vague, but unique to the remainder of the city. Sola-Morales Rubio warns of the problematic nature of the architect and other designers who intervene into these strangely unique spaces. In his own words:

Architecture’s destiny has always been colonization, the imposing of limits, order, and form, the introduction into strange space of the elements of identity necessary to make it recognizable, identical, universal. In essence, architecture acts as an instrument of organization, of rationalization, and of productive efficiency capable of transforming the uncivilized into the cultivated, the fallow into the productive, the void into the built.”49

In his recommendation for the design of terrains vagues, Sola-Morales Rubio argues against violent transformations. He suggests that architecture not become an aggressive instrument of power, but instead, that the designer preserves the unique nature of these strange and alternative spaces. By challenging the “modern movement’s efficient model of the enlightened tradition,”50 Sola-Morales Rubio encourages architects and other designers to avoid the creation of typified and planned continuity. Instead, he inspires the designer to amplify “the flows, the energies, the rhythms established by the passing of time and the loss of limits.”51

The words of Sola-Morales Rubio challenge the designer to better understand the historic elements and current conditions of the urban void. Respecting the historic changes and the present condition of the urban void allows the designer to create a space that reflects both numerous periods and the passing of time. By preserving the strange identity of the urban void and highlighting its loss of limits over time, the designer creates a space with a depth that no single period can equal. The introduction of new elements and the preservation of existing elements produce a heterogeneous space that challenges conventional urban form, function, and thought.

47 Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio, “Terrain Vague,” 122.

48 Ibid., 123.

49 Ibid., 122.

50 Ibid., 123.

51 Ibid., 123.

“the flows, the energies, the

rhythms established by the pass-

ing of time and the loss of limits.” - Sola-Morales Rubio

Amplify:

URBAN VOIDS 23

As previously discussed, over 350 large cities worldwide lost a significant number of residents during the second half of the 20th century. The United States, with fifty-nine, contained more depopulating cities than any other country. Following nearly a half-century of shrinkage, a few cities in the United States are now regaining jobs and residents in inner-city neighborhoods. Cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston have recently rediscovered the benefits of traditional pedestrian street life and density and have entered into a phase of “reurbanism.” 52 In other regions, however, the migration of residents from the central city to the periphery continues. The city of Detroit remains the extreme example of American regional restructuring due to its still-ruinous downtown, general lack of central employment, and unyielding population loss. It is for this reason that Detroit was selected as the location for design intervention.

The city of Detroit has reached a near ninety-five year population low. In the year 1920, with the rapid rise of the automobile industry, the city boasted a population of nearly one million residents. Thirty years later the population peaked at 1,849,568 residents.53 Over the course of the next fifty years Detroit lost nearly 50% of its population, 165,000 industrial jobs, and 147,000 housing units. Today, only 5% of the region’s jobs are located within three miles of downtown Detroit. The city is now left with 38,700 vacant housing units, 66,000 vacant lots, and an average annual income that is half that of its surrounding counties. 54 In the midst of urban decay, arson, and massive demolition efforts, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Detroit, in 2005, as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.55 The depopulation that the city has experienced over the last sixty years has created an abundance of unoccupied, neglected, and forgotten spaces.

The project site is located directly adjacent to downtown Detroit in the city’s oldest surviving neighborhood. Situated at the northern most edge of Corktown, the parameters of the site include the Fisher Freeway (I-75) to the north and east, the Lodge Freeway (M-10) to the west, and historic Michigan Avenue to the south. This specific location was chosen for the following four reasons:


53 United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov (accessed April 1, 2008).

54 Philipp Oswalt, International Research Vol. 1 of Shrinking Cities (Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006), 225-230.

55 Amanda Kolson-Hurley, “Portraits of Deccline,” Preservation 57, no. 5 (2005): 34-37.

Select | Selecting an Urban Void

URBAN VOIDS 24

1.) Strong urban context: Unlike distant residential neighborhoods, the site is distinctly urban and offers a diverse mix of inhabitants, land uses, city monuments, and views of the city skyline. Existing land uses include a variety of commercial, residential, office, industrial, and vacant spaces. Its urban landscape is given shape by the intense network of highways and streets that converge onto the city’s structural urban core. The nearby dense conglomeration of high-rise structures and massive entertainment venues visually define the adjacent Central Business District. Downtown Detroit is the largest concentration of employment within the city. It is a regional center of employment and attracts business and visitors both nationally and internationally.

2.) Accessible to a diverse population: The location represents an intermediate location between the downtown Central Business District and urban residential neighborhoods. Its unique positioning allows the site to serve a variety of urban residents, workers, and visitors. The site is also easily accessible. It has direct access to Interstate-75 and is located on one of the five historic avenues radiating from the center of downtown to the distant suburbs. It is also situated on major bus lines and is in walking and biking distance of downtown, surrounding residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and a major public university.

3.) Well-known location: The site’s unique historic and urban characteristics are well-known both locally and regionally. Neighborhood landmarks such as the former Tiger Stadium (recently demolished), Corktown Neighborhood Business District, and Michigan Central Depot have all played important roles in the history and development of Detroit. The site, once vibrant with activity and a regional destination, now contains decaying ruins and urban empty spaces that provoke both memory and emotion, and interest and controversy, among urban and suburban residents.

4.) Wide range of post-industrial characteristics: The urban environment of the project site is typical of many post-industrial depopulating cities. The site contains vacant housing units, industrial facilities and store fronts, decaying and vandalized buildings, demolition sites, overgrown vegetation, and an oversized and under maintained network of city infrastructure. Additionally, streets and highways with eroded edges divide the inhumanely scaled and automobile dominated landscape. Its current condition evokes memories of deindustrialization, transportation changes, racial tension, and the subsequent suburbanization of Metro Detroit.

Select | Selecting an Urban Void

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Conclude | Conclusions on the Urban Void

In once major industrial centers of the United States, as in cities around the world, the emergence of empty space is viewed with great angst. The problem surfaces in the face of negative urban trends, associated with deindustrialization, automobile domina-tion, and racial strife, that continue to promote suburbanization and the abandonment of the central core. Absent of activity and purpose, voids are foreign to the urban environment. They are perceived as uninhabitable, unsafe, and unproductive, and also lower the quality of urban life. The negative impact that voids have on adjacent areas facilitates their expansion, creating a disconnected and disjointed urban environment.

Today, in post-industrial cities, hundreds of thousands of tabula rasa remain vacant and await the right time and the right price for redevelopment. Central cities address the problem with large-scale intervention strategies, intending to re-establish the order and form of the classic American city. A standard city-response to depopulation is the construction of massive cultural, entertainment, retail, and high-end residential projects. Transforming the void into the built, these attempts to re/attract residents and visitors to the central city require significant public funds, additional demolition, an expansion of already oversized infrastructure, and a vast increase in parking surfaces. They create recognizable, identical, and universal spaces that mask the true character of space and time and offer little or no benefit to the average urban resident.

An alternative approach to addressing urban voids, inspired by the work of Eduard Bru, Sze Tsung Leong, and Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio, views the accumulation of empty space as a great opportunity. In doing so, negative perceptions must evolve into positive realities and barriers into amenities. The emphasis, then, is on rethinking, not rebuilding, the urban landscape. By responding to the specific nature, location, and history of the void, the urban condition of the post-industrial city can be reinvented. The extensive spread and unique characteristics of post-industrial voids encourage new solutions and new spaces not typically found within the urban environment. Given that there is more than one way to make a city, the rise of empty space in the central city provides the opportunity for the creation of what Eduard Bru calls, a “new urban specimen.” 56

The focus of intervention shifts from aggressive transformation strategies that are designed for a narrow subset of the population to engaging a broad range of residents, workers, and visitors by recognizing the “vital” in what is already there.57 Projects are no longer seen as a means to an end, but instead, as catalysts that recycle materials, forms, and functions that currently exist within the city. New program and design becomes a conduit for public imagination, reconnecting communities and inspiring residents to create their own social and public spaces.

Ironically, many of the same characteristics and factors responsible for the creation of voids are now re-imagined in a way that recon-nect and revive disparate and disjointed portions of the urban landscape. In this anomaly, where negatives become positives, the void becomes a catalyst of growth rather than a portrait of decline. Empty space, itself, now becomes the amenity that stops the spread of voids and increases the quality of urban life in the post-industrial depopulating city.

Four brief examples help to illustrate how barriers associated with the post-industrial urban void can be re-imagined as urban ameni-ties that will help regenerate the urban environment:


57 Peter Lang, “Over My Dead City,” in Urban Ecology: Detroit and Beyond, ed. Kyong Park (Hong Kong: Map Book Publishers, 2005), 12.

URBAN VOIDS 26

Conclude | Conclusions on the Urban Void

1.) Overgrown vegetation: Wild, unruly, and overgrown spaces in the city are perceived as anti-urban and consequently absent of vital urban activity. The barrier becomes an amenity by establishing connections between the vegetative and built environments that do not typically exist in densely populated cities. Urban voids become a patchwork of forests, farms, community gardens, watersheds, parks, pathways, and other valuable green spaces. A network of green connections and corridors form; balancing development with ecology and providing valuable ecological habitats and recreational spaces that connect neighborhoods and heal previously de-veloped land over time.

2.) Automobile domination: Neglected and eroded highway edges provide space for increasing the urban tree canopy. This will create shade and evaporative cooling, process storm-water, produce oxygen, and buffer unpleasant traffic noise and views from adjacent neighbor-hoods.

Wide and oversized streets that discourage pedestrian activity provide the opportunity to diver-sify modes of transportation and also reformat urban details to the human scale. Inserting wid-er sidewalks, benches, bike lanes, pavement changes, traffic calming devices, rescaled lighting, shade trees, bio-filtration swales, and green corridors increases pedestrian use. The function of the street transitions from traffic trajectory back to interpersonal exchange.

3.) Racial segregation: Racial borders and divides provide the space and opportunity to create a vital mix of races, cultures, classes, and small-scale informal economies that attract and serve both urban and suburban residents.

4.) Deindustrialization: Vacant industrial and commercial buildings provide flexible and multi-use spaces that accommodate new and expanding businesses, community gatherings, residences, etc. The existing architecture acts as scaffolding that supports both permanent and temporary functions. Over time, program and function can be formalized and layered as new structures and additions densify the area.

In conclusion, the primary goal of the investigation is to regenerate the urban void and reconnect it to vital city life in a way that is respectful and reminiscent of the past, yet serves the contemporary needs of current residents, workers, and visitors. In doing so, marginalized space must be reinvented and break loose from conventional ideas and conceptions about space in the urban environment. The urban void has the unique potential to accommodate new functions and uses not typically found within the urban landscape. By pushing the limits of urbanity and questioning the conventional form, structure, and function of the urban environment, the investigation aims to stop the spread of the urban void and also change its view as a dangerous and unsafe space. It rejects aggressive intervention strategies and strives to free urban land of its conventional perception as a resource to be processed, exploited, and discarded.

URBAN VOIDS 27

Precedent Analysis

URBAN VOIDS 28

Precedent Analysis

Numerous precedents inform the Investigation. The precedents that are analyzed here include Allegheny Riverfront Park, However Unspectacu-lar: The New Suburbanism, Viet Village Urban Farm, Atlanta BeltLine, and High Line. In addition to having a related site-context and intervention strategy, these five projects were selected for three main reasons. First, the projects represent a mix of physical and conceptual projects. Al-legheny Riverfront Park, Atlanta BeltLine, and High Line are physically complete or under construction. However Unspectacular: The New Subur-banism and Viet Village Urban Farm are conceptual proposals or in an intermediate planning stage, respectively. Second, the selected projects inform the investigation at a variety of scales. These range from broad inspirations and general concepts to site-specific design details. Finally, the thesis author has firsthand knowledge and experience with four of the precedents. Precedent site visits were conducted at Allegheny River-front Park, Atlanta BeltLine, and High Line. Additionally, the author of the thesis met directly with designers of the Atlanta BeltLine and authors of However Unspectacular: The New Suburbanism. This relationship with the selected precedents gives the author an intimate understanding of site design, location, and context that standard textbook analyses cannot provide.

It is important to note that only However Unspectacular: The New Suburbanism relates directly to the depressed conditions of the post-industrial depopulating city. New Orleans, the location of the Viet Village Urban Farm, is experiencing depopulation due to a natural disaster. The cities of Atlanta and New York are not depopulating. Furthermore, the projects located in Pittsburg, Atlanta, and New York are funded by city tax dollars and public/private partnerships. These three projects carry large price tags that may be impossible to finance in some post-industrial cities. Therefore, all precedents do not specifically relate to the depressed and depopulating condition found in many post-industrial cities. The thesis investigation located few projects that intervene the urban void of the depressed, post-industrial, and depopulating city. Consequently, the investigation selects precedent projects that deal specifically with urban voids, but may not address issues specific to the depopulating city.

URBAN VOIDS 29

Precedent Analysis

Allegheny Riverfront Park | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The city of Pittsburgh and the non-profit Pittsburgh Cultural Trust initiated and funded the construction of the Allegheny Riverfront Park. The lead designers on the project were landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA). Local artists Ann Hamilton and Michael Mercil worked closely with MVVA on the project. At a cost of eleven million dollars, the initial phases of the project were designed and built between the years 1994 and 2001. In 2002, the project earned the EDRA/Places Place-Making Award and the ASLA Design Merit Award.

Project Summary

The goal of the project was to reconnect downtown Pittsburgh with its riverfront and create an active public space by reclaiming the narrow concrete embankment trapped between the highway and the Allegheny River. Unlike today, the Allegheny River was not always regarded as a natural amenity. For over a century, the river served the needs of thriving Pittsburgh industries and was ignored by city residents. Since the mid-twentieth century, a split-level transportation corridor separates downtown Pittsburgh from its riverfront. In addition to a street level arterial boulevard with a four-lane highway below, the remaining space between the city and its riverfront was used for parking. David Moffat from Places journal notes, “the water’s edge was paved over and forgotten.”1

In the recent past, many cities have torn down, moved and/or sunken their waterfront highways. The city of Pittsburgh and its design team, however, made an early decision to “accept the site for what it was.”2 Consequently, the design team faced many unique environmental, engineering and design challenges. Among these challenges was a long and narrow split-level site that came into direct contact with busy streets, noisy highways and a flood-prone river.

The design solution is a two-level park connected by two 350-foot-long ADA compliant ramps that descend down from either side of the Seventh Street suspension bridge. The ramps transverse the 25-foot grade change and act as a buffer between the highway and riverfront pedestrian traffic. Steel framing and wire mesh below the ramps support vines and other vegetation that help to shield the visual and audio effects of adjacent highway traffic.

The lower park is “deliberately wild”3 and largely characterized by its native plantings. Boulders secure the base of native trees that were specifically selected to withstand turbulent flood conditions. Flood-proof concrete benches line a fifteen foot walking and biking path that is imprinted with wetland grasses. In contrast, the upper park represents a refined urban edge to the city. The existing boulevard and median were reconfigured to create space for this semi-formal promenade that overlooks both the riverfront and the city’s edge. The space is paved with local stone and separated from traffic by a two-step monolithic curved stone seat wall. According to MVVA, “the new cross section of the upper level tips the site up, orienting the experience toward the river and away from the adjacent street.”4

1 David Moffat, “Allegheny Riverfront Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” Places 15, no. 1 (2002): 10.

2 Ibid., 10.

3 Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, “Allegheny Riverfront Park,” http://www.MVVAinc.com (accessed September 1, 2009).

4 Ibid.

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Precedent Analysis

Significance

The Allegheny Riverfront Park was chosen as a design precedent for a number of reasons. First, the city of Pittsburgh and the designers chose to “accept the site for what it was.”5 The project is not a typical large-scale waterfront revitalization project that is common among post-industrial cities struggling to redefine their image. Instead, the project maintains the unique character of the

space by using a small-scale intervention strategy that remains within the margins of society. The design responds to the historic site context and location, yet, serves the contemporary needs of city residents, workers, and visitors. The project is respectful of financial resources, material waste, and the need to accommodate automobile transportation.

Second, the project represents a joint or a transition between urban and ecological systems. Through the use of material and design, the park creates a refined urban edge on the upper level and transitions to a “willfully wild”6 space below at the water’s edge. The lower park pushes the limits of urbanity by allowing and designing for rough floodwaters and ice flows. The rustic native plantings, large boulders, wetland grass imprints, and vegetative highway screen are created out of both utility and the desire for a unique urban experience at the fringe of society.

Finally, the project utilizes a strange and narrow space that is disconnected from the rest of the city to, ironically, reconnect the city with its riverfront. In the words of the designer, the project signals the “transformed relationships among the city, its cultural district, and its river.”7 In addition to mediating a twenty-five foot grade change in order to reconnect the city and the water’s edge, future phases of the project plan to link the convention center to the east with Point State Park to the west. These additions will help to further reconnect the space to vital city activities.

5 David Moffat, “Allegheny Riverfront Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” 10.

6 Ibid., 12.

7 Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, “Allegheny Riverfront Park.”

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Precedent Analysis

However Unspectacular: The New Suburbanism | Interboro Partners, Brooklyn, New York

The project, However Unspectacular: The New Suburbanism, was developed by Interboro Partners for the Archplus competition, “Shrinking Cities: Reinventing Urbanism.” Interboro Partners is a small, yet inventive, design firm out of Brooklyn, New York. The firm is composed of Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca, Georgeen Theodore and Christine Williams. Excerpts from the 2004/2005 project were published in Shrinking Cities, Volume 2: Interventions. The author of the thesis was first introduced to the work of Interboro Partners through the Shrinking Cities traveling exhibition in Detroit, Michigan. The author later met directly with members of the firm at the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP).

Project Summary

The project aims to create a “new attitude towards urban redevelopment”8 by focusing on small-scale individual efforts and natural processes that are already under way. Interboro Partners argue that Detroit will never “return to nature” as hypothesized by many romantic theorists. Instead, the firm contends that the ravenous and opportunistic forces of suburbanization will devour the city. If the process of the suburbanization in Detroit follows the predominate national trend, the result will be “a low-density white city, rich in services and opportunities and surrounded by an impoverished ring of black suburbs.”9 At risk is the historically urban culture of Detroit and the needs, desires and efforts of the current residents. The proposal offers a small-scale and immediate intervention strategy for a New Suburbanism that highlights Education, Home Improvement, Replatting, Parkway and Risk Management Initiatives.10 The project proposes numerous mechanisms that supplement suburban development and design in order to create a more evenly distributed environment of wealth and opportunity.

In one scenario of the replatting initiative, Interboro Partners utilizes an existing piece of Detroit legislation called the Emergency Cleanup Initiative. The initiative, enacted by previous Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, gives priority to demolition efforts that lie within 750 feet of a Detroit public school. At the time of the project proposal, 1,181 abandoned buildings were located within a one-block radius of a public school. Interboro Partners envisioned the removal of select abandoned structures to facilitate the expansion of school facilities, like recreational fields and educational farming, into the neighborhood.11 Essentially, the vacant lots of Detroit become a valuable asset to neighborhoods and schools rather than a stigma of decay and poverty.

8 Interboro Partners, Vol. 2 of Shrinking Cities, 328.

9 Ibid., 324.

10 Interboro Partners, “However Unspectacular: A New Suburbanism,” http://www.interboropartners.net/2008/however-unspectacular/ (accessed April 1, 2007).

11 Ibid.

Images courtesy of Shrinking Cities, Vol. 1 & 2, Cover

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Precedent Analysis

The Parkway Initiative is in response to the alarming number of once thriving commercial avenues in Detroit that now lack active storefronts, pedestrians, and even cars. Interboro Partners suggest that a great expanse of empty parcels in the suburbs would be a developer’s dream. The lack of private development in Detroit has left the population largely underserved by “convenient and cheap chain stores taken for granted by suburbanites.”12 In response to the lack of development and the needs of the local residents, Interboro Partners propose a bottom-up approach that builds upon “what’s already there.”13 The initiative aims to attract private development and services by “improving road conditions and signage, planting roadside buffers, and making it easier for developers to acquire contiguous parcels.”14

Significance

The project and its initiatives proposed by Interboro Partners are an excellent example of small-scale program and design interventions that are soberly based on the existing needs, desires and efforts of the local community. The idea to “build upon what’s already there” is essential to the thesis. Interboro Partners provide solutions to the vacancy of Detroit that are unique, yet, grounded in affordability and reality. A constructive critique of the project suggests that the proposal expand its design intervention strategy and focus on the joint between suburban-style developments and the urban environment.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

Images courtesy of Shrinking Cities, Vol. 2, 324

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Precedent Analysis

Viet Village Urban Farm | New Orleans, Louisiana

The Viet Village Urban Farm is a strategic plan and design proposal for an urban farm and market center in New Orleans East. The Viet Village District, which was hit hard by hurricane Katrina, is home to a once thriving Vietnamese-American community. Before hurricane Katrina, the community was historically known for its informal community gardens. The gardens were scattered widely throughout the district and made use of any available open space that provided a decent source of soil, light, and water. Following the widespread destruction of the hurricane, the community is now exploring the idea of creating a single central urban farm as a cultural centerpiece to help revive and reunite the community. The client for the project is the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation. Leading the project design is the professional design firm of Mossip + Michaels and the university driven Tulane City Center and Urban Landscape Lab LSU. In 2008, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) selected the project as a Professional Award winner.15

Project Summary

The primary goal of the project is to reestablish the local tradition of urban farming within the Viet Village community following the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina. The 2005 hurricane left the community in disrepair and with an abundance of abandoned homes and vacant lots. The project site is located at the center of the community on 28-acres of urban land that was largely cleared by the storm. The design project proposes four main areas of program on the farm. These include:

A) Small-plot gardens for individual and family consumption

B) Market for local farm/restaurant sales, community gatherings, and festivals

C) Larger commercial plots to supply local grocery stores and restaurants

D) Livestock farm for chickens and goats

15 American Society of Landscape Architects, “Analysis and Planning award of Excellence: Viet Village Urban Farm,” http://www.asla.org/awards/2008/08winners/411.html (accessed May 16, 2009).

Image courtesy of ASLA

URBAN VOIDS 34

Precedent Analysis

The project also aims to create a model for low-tech and low-cost sustainable site development. In this respect, the proposal addresses issues such as water conservation and runoff and alternative energy sources. Perhaps most notable, in the face of significant water and soil problems, is the project’s extensive network of bio-filtration swales, reservoirs, rain gardens, water towers, water access points and site irrigation. The project also accommodates the use of wind turbines and passive/active solar power.16

In addition to addressing agricultural and economic issues, such as establishing certified organic farming practices and creating relationships with local grocery stores and restaurants, the project also seeks to address cultural concerns of the community. One such concern, highlighted by the community, is the existing gap between generations. In an effort to bring together a variety of generations, the project treats the urban farm as a cultural and community center. As a result, the design team incorporated space for sports and playgrounds into the design scheme.17

Significance

The Viet Village Urban Farm is significant for a number of reasons. First, the project addresses the revival of a community that has been ravaged by the destructive path of hurricane Katrina. The hurricane created an urban environment not unlike that of Detroit. Hurricane Katrina altered neighborhoods, homes, and city infrastructure. The result was the large-scale abandonment of property and an expanding urban void. The Viet Village Urban Farm turns vacant land into a community asset and an urban centerpiece. Second, the extensive program of the development serves both local residents and city visitors. Local residents benefit from the community interaction, local sales, and nutritious food. On a broader scale, city and regional residents engage with the urban farm through grocery stores, restaurants, and farm visits. Third, the urban farm pushes the limits of urbanity by introducing a formal space for agriculture within the urban environment. Finally, the project provides numerous design details and program considerations for implementing urban farming into the context of an urban residential neighborhood. The materials, site configuration, and technical innovations have largely informed this investigation.

16 Ibid.

17 Ibid.

Images courtesy of ASLA

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Precedent Analysis

Atlanta BeltLine | Atlanta, Georgia

The Atlanta BeltLine project is a multifaceted planning and design effort that began with slow-moving grass-roots support and is now heavily supported and administered by the city of Atlanta. The project focuses on the combination of green space, trails, transit, and new development along a largely abandoned 22-mile stretch of railway corridor. The initial idea for the project grew out of a student master degree thesis at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The project slowly gained the support of the community, city council, and mayor. Today, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) is responsible for planning, implementing, and building the BeltLine. This quasi-governmental organization works closely with the Atlanta Development Agency (ADA), the City of Atlanta (COA), community and neighborhood organizations, and numerous other stakeholders and private consultants. The project’s lead designer is Fred Yolaris, previous director of design for the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts.

Project Summary

The city of Atlanta is a leading economic and cultural center of the Southeast. Like many cities worldwide, Atlanta has experienced extensive suburbanization. Atlanta is an extreme case of suburbanization that has extended its Metropolitan Statistical Area over forty-five miles from the city center. The expansion of Atlanta’s Metropolitan Statistical Area has led to population decline and disinvestment in the city center for many years. The trend has recently begun to reverse. The influx of new urban residents creates new pressures on and exposes existing inadequacies of the city’s existing infrastructure and urban form. For example, the city of Atlanta has “less public green space per capita than any other American city its size.”18 Additionally, extensive highway and rail networks, conflicting land use designations, abandoned industrial property, and uneven economic development largely impede connectivity between city neighborhoods. The previously neglected conditions of the city coupled with its new growth allows Atlanta to take advantage of its vacant and under utilized space in order to provide positive changes to the urban environment.

The city of Atlanta emerged as a railroad town. While many cities are strategically located on harbors or riverfronts, Atlanta’s growth and prosperity centers on the intersection of numerous railroad lines. Historic sections of the railroad corridor, which still encircle downtown Atlanta today, date back to the early 1800s and were traditionally referred to as the BeltLine. The decline and decentralization of industry and the rise of the highway trucking industry left Atlanta’s historic network of railroads largely abandoned and unused.

18 Nancy Egan, “Atlanta’s New Green Space,” Urban Land (October 2006): 81.

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Precedent Analysis

The premise of the Atlanta BeltLine project is to transform the abandoned railroad right-of-way and other adjacent vacant properties into a network of green space, parks, trails, transit, and related economic development. The corridor width varies from 75- to 200-feet and connects forty-six neighborhoods over a course of twenty-two miles. The historic rail segment circles the urban core at a radius of roughly three to four miles from the Central Business District. According to a BeltLine design consultant at the EDAW design firm, “The BeltLine affects the entire city.”19 Though large in overall scale, each neighborhood interacts with the BeltLine in its own unique way. The project design and program largely depends on community involvement. The goals of the BeltLine project are to improve quality of life, promote in-town redevelopment, foster complete communities, invest in infrastructure, and connect Atlanta.20

The project will connect and improve existing parks and also add up to 1,300 acres of new park and green space to the city. It will also add a twenty-two mile loop of public mass transit and thirty-three miles of walking and biking trails. The director of Georgia’s Trust for

Public Land (TPL) boasts that the project provides an “entirely new model for parks in Atlanta that is built on the concept of connected green space around the city.”21 Alex Garvin, a public realm strategist and professor at Yale University, views the Atlanta BeltLine project as having the potential to create the “first great park system of the 21st century.”22 In his own words, Garvin also discusses the projects importance in relation to the local needs of Atlanta’s disadvantaged urban residents:

The BeltLine is the biggest addition to an urban park system in the country, and it will reach into Atlanta’s most economically starved area, west and south of downtown, dramatically enhancing the lives of people who have been excluded from recreation facilities.23

The expansive network of green space, parks, trails, transit and economic development has the potential to benefit all residents regardless of class. The project will also serve and attract suburban residents and regional visitors.

19 Ibid., 83.

20 Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., “Resource Library,” http://www.beltline.org/ResourceLibrary/Ar-chives/tabid/1818/Default.aspx (accessed August 1, 2008).

21 Nancy Egan, “Atlanta’s New Green Space,” 83.

22 Ibid., 84.

23 Robert Ivy and Andrea Oppenheimer Dean, “Is There Life After LMDC?,” Architectural Record (July 2006): 80.

Image courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.

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Precedent Analysis

Significance

The Atlanta BeltLine project was selected as a precedent for a number of reasons. First, the project reinvents marginalized, vacant and abandoned space. Unlike the urban streetscape, the railroad has always represented space outside the context of mainstream urban society. The Atlanta BeltLine project transforms the underutilized fringes of society into a dynamic public space that connects an abundance of neighborhoods through a variety of transportation means. The elongated park, trails, and transit remain within the margins of society; yet, weave through the existing urban landscape providing new connectivity and activity for urban residents.

Second, the Atlanta BeltLine largely considers the historic context of the corridor, individual neighborhoods, and sites. Through historic preservation efforts and design guidelines, the project aims to preserve and enhance the historic characteristics of the neighborhoods and the unique identity of the vacant and overgrown corridor and adjacent vacant spaces.

Third, the project serves both civic and private development functions. It serves the previously neglected needs of the local urban residents, yet also stimulates activity and use by suburban residents and regional visitors. The Atlanta BeltLine is intended to help reintegrate a variety of residents and visitors. According to Alex Garvin, “parks are great levelers of social barriers; Olmsted understood that when he designed Central Park. It can happen in Atlanta today.”24 Like the City of Detroit, Atlanta has a historic past of racial and class segregation.

Finally, Designer Fred Yolaris aims to push the limits of urbanity though his park and public space designs. The project site represents a design joint between what is urban and vegetation, hard and soft, and new and old. Proposed areas of wild vegetation and botanical gardens will help to create an interesting mix of atypical materials and elements within the urban landscape.


“parks are great

levelers of social

barriers”- Alexander Garvin

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Precedent Analysis

High Line | New York, New York

The New York City High Line project transforms an abandoned and forgotten post-industrial ruin on the edge of Manhattan into a long and narrow thriving public space. The project was largely organized and funded by the City of New York and The Friends of the High Line. The Friends of the High Line is a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the historic High Line structure. The High Line design team includes a variety of designers and consultants that specialize in a diverse set of disciplines. Leading the design team is the landscape architecture and urban design firm James Corner Field Operations. The firm, led by principal James Corner, works on the project in close collaboration with the architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The two firms created the winning submission for the 2004 international High Line design competition and were selected to administer all aspects of the project. From concept to construction, the firms are responsible for design, project management and coordination, and construction administration. The first segment of the High Line opened in 2009.25

Project Summary

The High Line is a 1.5-mile long expanse of post-industrial historic railway that is elevated along twenty-two city blocks of Manhattan’s west side. The abandoned elevated railroad spans from the Meatpacking District to the Hudson Rail Yards. The High Line runs through and between numerous buildings. Historically, the structure directly connected the rail network with markets and industrial facilities like the former Nabisco factory. The railroad segment was elevated to relieve congestion of the crowed urban environment of Manhattan below. After the termination of its use, the elevated structure fell into disrepair and succumbed to the forces of nature. Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of the forgotten rust-covered iron structure was the overgrown nature of its elevated platform. Even from below, residents and visitors of the city could view the sprouting trees and vegetation that surpassed its side guards.

The High Line project transforms the historic remnants of its industrial past into a linear public park that engages the pedestrian through numerous passive programmatic elements of leisure. According to firm principal James Corner, the design was “inspired by the melancholic, found beauty of the High Line, where nature has reclaimed the once-vital piece of urban infrastructure.” 26 Through the concept of agri-tecture – part agriculture and part architecture – the design strategy “combines organic and building materials into a blend of changing proportions that accommodates the wild, the cultivated, the intimate, and the hyper-social.”27 The design pushes the limits of urbanity by facilitating pedestrian interactions with an interesting mix of both urban and vegetative components. Based on the organic biodiversity that emerged out of the neglected and overgrown character of the High Line structure, the design incorporates a variety of microclimates specific to the wet, dry, sunny, shady, windy, and sheltered spaces of the urban condition.28

25 Friends of the High Line, “High Line Design,” http://www.thehighline.org/design/high-line-design (accessed October 2, 2009).

26 James Corner Field Operations, “High Line, New York,” http://www.fieldoperations.net (accessed October 2, 2009).

27 Ibid.

28 Driller Scofidio + Renfro, “High Line,” http://www.dillerscofidio.com (accessed October 2, 2009).

Images courtesy of Friends of the High Line

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Precedent Analysis

The design of the High Line achieves its heterogeneous mix of urban and organic elements through the use of a new modular pre-cast concrete plank paving and planting system. Individual pre-cast planks have open joints and tapered ends that encourage the emergence of wild and planted vegetation. The long and gradual tapering of the planks penetrate into the planting beds and form a “richly integrated combed carpet rather than segregated pathways and planting areas.”29 The striated pre-cast system allows for the smooth transition from 100 % paving to 100% vegetation. The designers use this textural gradient to create both primary and splinter pathways that facilitate unscripted and meandering pedestrian movement.

A number of other design elements of the High Line continue to blur the distinction between hard and soft and paved and planted. For example, curved monolithic benches peal up and rise organically from walkway planks. Similarly, the High Line Lawn at 23rd Street slowly peals back to reveal large concrete pavers. The lawn terminates at stepped wood seating that adds additional layers of use and materiality to the project. Other details that mix urban and organic components include concrete walking surfaces textured with organic material, LED lighting that glows within vegetation and highlights the nighttime sky, water features that seep through pre-cast joints and skim over walkways and elevated transparent walkways that provide views of the shaded and mossy ground below.30

The historic character of the post-industrial ruins also largely informs the High Line design. According to Diller Scofidio + Renfro, “the new park interprets its inheritance.”31 For example, the original railroad tracks of the structure were surveyed, tagged, refurbished, and returned to their original location as part of planting beds. Today, grasses and plants grow in and around the tracks as they did before renovations. Additionally, the plant communities are based on the historic self-sown landscape of the High Line. New species were introduced to the project to ensure that the vegetation represents a mix of “wild, native, resilient, and low-maintenance landscapes with great diversity and seasonal changes.”32 Other elements of the design reveal and preserve the historic iron structure of the High Line. At 30th Street the original concrete decking is pealed back to expose the grid work of girters and beams. At other locations the surviving iconic art deco steel railings were preserved, reassembled, sandblasted, and painted.

In the words of James Corner, the project transforms “this industrial conveyance into a post-industrial instrument of leisure.”33 The High Line provides its users with ample passive programmatic elements and connections to the urban activity below. The project represents an intimate network of pathways, sun decks, lawns, thickets, squares, gardens, art exhibits, viewing overlooks, sitting areas, etc. The design also provides numerous opportunities for the user to interact visually and physically with the streetscape below. The 10th Avenue Square boasts a large picture window that is directly over the street. Here, High Line visitors can interact with passing automobiles and vice versa. A series of strategically located slow rise stairs and elevators also provide important connections to the vital street activity below.

29 Friends of the High Line, “High Line Design.”

30 Ibid.

31 Driller Scofidio + Renfro, “High Line.”

32 Friends of the High Line, “High Line Design.”

33 James Corner Field Operations, “High Line, New York.”

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Precedent Analysis

Significance

The High Line is a project that is unique to the post-industrial urban environment. It provides the investigation with both valuable design details and broad concepts. The project is significant to the investigation for a number of reasons.

First, the High Line represents a post-industrial functional void that has successfully been reintegrated and reconnected into the context of vital urban activity without compromising the site’s strange character on the fringes of society.

Second, the High Line preserves and builds on many historic components of the site. Design details, such as the reuse of the original railroad tracks and the documentation and use of plant species that once grew spontaneously on the platform, help to connect pedestrian users to the spaces historic past.

Third, the High Line evokes the imagination of the user by redefining the boundary between what is soft and hard, urban and rural, and manmade and organic. The agri-texture intervention strategy emphasizes the unruly and wild beauty of the past and recreates it through the use of design innovations and details like the modular pre-cast plank system.

Fourth, even though the vision for the space is grand, the design intervention and program of the space is at a scale that is respectful of site context, history, and location. The passive and leisurely program of the space and the non-violent design intervention preserves the solemn and quiet nature of the abandoned post-industrial site.

Finally, the site maintains, yet overcomes the obstacle of the intense grade change. Even though the site is elevated far above the street level, the High Line is well connected to, but separate from the activity of the street below. The physical, visual, and symbolic connection to the vital urban activity below is achieved though the specific design details.

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Site Analysis

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Site Analysis

The method of site analysis involves a combination of site visits and local historic research. First-hand photography, sketching, mapping, diagramming, and note taking were used to document the condition of the project site and surrounding neighborhoods. Documentation of site condi-tions focused on general characteristics, building and parcel vacancies, building story heights, land uses, building tenants, and circulation. Google Earth aerial photography was used offsite to digitize site maps and also to estimate the total site area, building square footages, and street front percentages. Local historic research was obtained from local textbook publications, news-papers, the United States Census Bureau, local non-profit organizations, the City of Detroit Plan-ning Department, and additional World Wide Web resources.

Efforts were made to obtain current AutoCAD and Geographic Information System (GIS) data for the city of Detroit. This data would provide useful information such as parcel vacancies, parcel boundaries, parcel ownership, building footprints, street widths, etc. Help from local officials indicated that the existing data were still in development and were not useful in respect to this investigation.

Facade grid analysis

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Site Analysis

Detroit

The city of Detroit is located within the rust belt of the United States. The rust belt runs through portions of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Upper Midwest United States and is largely characterized by the regional disinvestment of the previously dominant heavy manufacturing industry. The rusting of abandoned machinery, vacant facilities, and iron gates that secured the obsolete properties grew to symbolize the massive factory closures of the mid- to late-20th century.

Detroit is in the Upper Midwest and is situated on the banks of the Detroit River in Southeastern Michigan. The city sits directly north of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and has geographical coordinates of 42.20 north latitude and 83.03 west longitude. Detroit has a total land area of 139 square miles and an average population density of roughly 6,500 people per square mile. The city as a whole is over 80% African American and has an average annual per capita income less than $15,000 dollars. Despite an extensive population loss over the previous half-century, Detroit still ranks as the 11th most populated city in the United States with roughly 900,000 residents. The Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has an estimated population of nearly 4.5 million residents and the nine-county Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) is estimated at 5.35 million residents.1

The boundary of Detroit has not changed since the year 1926. For over a century after the 1802 incorporation of the city, its boundary was elastic and changed shape to accommodate new growth. Today, fifteen municipalities and the Detroit River bound Detroit. Unlike the fastest growing cities in the United States, Detroit has not aggressively annexed surrounding towns and cities. The spatial layout of Detroit is largely defined by four independent, yet overlapping, systems of land divisions and street networks that were implemented gradually over time. These include the original French ribbon farm template, the 1806 hub and spoke Woodward Plan, the true north-south grid used to survey the Northwest Territory, and the federal highway system. The topography of Detroit is largely devoid of any marked elevations or depressions with the lowest points being along the Detroit River

1 United States Census Bureau.

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Site Analysis

Corktown

The city of Detroit contains 106 historic neighborhoods.2 The project site is located in the neighborhood of Corktown. Settled in 1834, Corktown is the oldest extant neighborhood in the city. The neighborhood is adjacent to and directly west of the downtown Central Business District. Interstate-75 to the north, the Detroit River to the south, 16th Street to the west, and the Lodge Freeway to the east mark the boundaries of the neighborhood. Neighboring residential communities include Jeffries to the north, Lower Woodward to the northeast, Hubbard Richard to the west and Condon to the northwest.

As an historic working class neighborhood, Corktown represents a mixture of land uses that are typical of walkable urban development in the mid-19th century. Its conglomeration of residential, commercial, office, and industrial properties still largely defines the neighborhood today. The residential architecture is reminiscent of working class housing from the second half of the 19th century. At the peak of neighborhood vitality, residential areas of Corktown were much larger then what remains today. The historic neighborhood boundary extended north of Michigan Avenue by over twelve blocks. The mid-20th century construction of Interstate-75 bisected the neighborhood, eventually leading to the demise of the disconnected northern portion. The introduction of the Lodge Freeway and office and light industrial urban renewal projects of the 1960s reduced residential areas south of Interstate-75.3 Today, the surviving residential fragments of Corktown are both designated as a City of Detroit Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roughly 300 residential structures remain in three small housing clusters that are interspersed with and separated from one another by vacant lots and conflicting land uses.4

The neighborhood also contains the once thriving Corktown Neighborhood Business District and two iconic landmarks that are largely recognized throughout Metropolitan Detroit and beyond. The Corktown NBD, Michigan Central Depot, and former Tiger Stadium are all located on or in close proximity to Michigan Avenue. The NBD runs the entire length of Michigan Avenue within the Neighborhood boundary. The Michigan Central Depot is located just south of Michigan Avenue and the former Tiger Stadium demolition site is located at the northwest corner of Michigan and Trumble Avenue.

The corner of Trumble and Michigan Avenue has been a place of baseball for 113 years. Over this time, it also served as the location for football, boxing, concerts, and numerous other events and gatherings for the Detroit community. The first baseball field on this site, Bennett Park, opened on April 28, 1896. Subsequent stadiums include Navin Field (1912), Briggs Stadium (1935) and Tiger Stadium (1961). The last Major League Baseball game was played at Tiger Stadium in 1999.5 Over the latter half of the 20th century an increasing number of neighborhood structures were cleared to accommodate parking within close proximity to Tiger Stadium. Following its closure, demolition continued in the area as baseball related businesses closed and vacancies rose. The recreational facility was recently demolished with no permanent plans for future site development.

2 Cityscape Detroit, “Historic Detroit Neighborhoods,” http://www.cityscapedetroit.org/Detroit_neighborhoods.html (accessed April 1, 2008).

3 Greater Corktown Development Corporation, “History,” http://www.corktowndetroit.org/history.htm (accessed October 9, 2009).

4 Cityscape Detroit, “Historic Detroit Neighborhoods.”

5 Major League Baseball, “Tigers Ballparks,” http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/ballparks.jsp (accessed October 9, 2009).

Detroit boundary

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Site Analysis

Project Site

The project site is located at the northern most end of the Corktown neighborhood. Numerous layers of the Detroit street infrastructure physically define the size and shape of the site. Interstate-75 curves around the project site and forms its north and west edge. The Lodge Freeway marks the site’s eastern boundary and also divides it from the downtown Central Business District. The southern limit of the project site is Michigan Avenue. Michigan Avenue is one of the five grand avenues, specified by the Woodward Plan, which radiates out of a central plaza at the heart of downtown. The 120-foot wide avenues extend past the city boundary and penetrate far into the surrounding suburbs.

The segment of Michigan Avenue that runs between the Lodge Freeway and Interstate-75 is roughly one mile in length and is home to the Corktown Neighborhood Business District. The total area of the project site covers roughly seventy-five acres. The site is well served by automobile and bus transportation networks. In addition to offering direct access to Interstate-75, the city’s extensive network of highways and radiating avenues all converge nearby at the downtown Central Business District. The project site is also within a short walking and/or biking distance from surrounding residential neighborhoods, the downtown Central Business District and Wayne State University’s Main Campus.

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Site Analysis

Detroit River

Downtown Detroit

Corktown neighborhood

Project site

Interstate-75

Lodge Freeway

Michigan Avenue

Windsor, Canada

Project site transect

1

1

2

2

Post-industrial voids

During the process of site analysis, two-types of site-divisions repeatedly surfaced through sketches, diagramming, and photography. The first type divides the site into four quarter segments from east to west. The quarters run parallel to Michigan Avenue and are each roughly a quarter-mile in length. The dividing lines of the quarters occur at Trumble Avenue, Rosa Parks Boulevard, and 14th Street. The three streets are the only transportation routes that transect both the entire site and Interstate-75. This connection to neighborhoods north of Ineterstate-75 is vital to area circulation paths. The three streets run perpendicular to the Detroit River and are reminiscent of the original French ribbon farm template. The remaining street infrastructure within the project site is largely unused.

The second natural division that surfaced repeatedly throughout the analysis is the layered physical composition of the site that transitions from north to south. The federal interstate and its adjacent network of interstitial space and access roads mark the northern most edge of the site. The central portion of the site is largely defined by massive demolition efforts that have left the majority of the site vacant and empty. The exception to this general layer is found in the eastern most quarter that still houses a mix of residential, industrial, and commercial activities. The discontinuous Corktown Neighborhood Business District that runs parallel to the northern edge of Michigan Avenue forms the next layer. The southern edge of the project site contains the largely vacant pedestrian sidewalks of the Neighborhood Business District and an automobile-dominated 9-lane Michigan Avenue.

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Site Analysis

The built environment of the project site incorporates a mixture of commercial, residential, industrial, and office land uses. The existing structures range from dense historic storefronts along Michigan Avenue to warehouses, converted residential lofts, commercial garages, and even a White Castle fast food restaurant. The site is also home to the former Tiger Stadium. Recently demolished, the expansive parcel represents over 100-years of community gathering and recreation. The site houses roughly seventy-five buildings with a combined footprint of nearly 300,000 square feet. Even though building story heights range from one to six stories, nearly 98% of the structures rise between one and three stories in height. Many upper stories contain or provide potential for office and residential space. Nearly all structures are constructed from load bearing brick and/or concrete materials. A small number of building facades have been re-faced with vinyl siding or stucco.

Similar to Detroit and Corktown as a whole, vacant parcels and abandoned buildings heavily characterize the project site. Most parcels north of the Corktown Neighborhood Business District street front are vacant. Additionally, the northern edge of the Michigan Avenue contains 61% vacant parcels (previously developed) and 32% unoccupied storefronts. Despite a variety of viable businesses that inhabit the space, the project site is largely recognized by its characteristics of overgrown vegetation, broken sidewalks, demolition, expansive clearings, and other forms of urban decay.

The project site currently houses an estimated thirty-five businesses and organizations. While some businesses post and abide by regular scheduled hours of operation, other businesses were not open during site visits and provide no hours of operation. Twelve of the businesses are food and drink related. These include an assortment of restaurants, bars, and wholesale food providers. Just east of former Tiger Stadium is a large hardware and lumber company. Other businesses range from art supplies and services to multi-media providers to automotive repairs. Also notable, are a number of on-site tenants that focus on improving the neighborhood and surrounding communities. These include New Life Rescue Mission, Maltese American Benevolent Society, Greater Corktown Development Corporation, and Greening of Detroit.

The following pages will graphically display the physical site conditions and existing businesses through a collection of maps, diagrams, and photographs:

Identification of local scale amenities and barriers

Amenities:1 Proximity to downtown2 Proximity to riverfront3 Area landmarks / recognition4 Historic neighborhood housing5 Neighborhood business district6 Highway / bus / main street access7 Historic buildings

Barriers:a Oversized, automobile-scaled streetsb Highway views, noise, and edgesc Vacant buildings and parcelsd Overgrown vegetatione Large clearingsf Corktown lacks convenience shopping g Poor sidewalk conditionsh Small tree canopy / cover

12

3

3 4

4

4

5

7

7

7

66

a

b

b

c

c

c

d

d

ee

f

g

h

4

4

b

d

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Site Analysis

Context 1. Downtown Central Business District

2. Corktown Neighborhood Residential Clusters

3. Former Tiger Stadium Ballpark location

4. Jeffries Neighborhood

5. Michigan Central Depot

6. Condon Neighborhood

7. Hubbard Richard Neighborhood

Project Site

Project Site Building

The project site is located at a dynamic location that is de-fined heavily by surrounding streets and highways and its close proximity to Detroit’s downtown Central Business District and other local landmarks. Situated at the north-ern edge of Corktown, the project site is within walking and biking distance distance of the Neighborhood’s three remaining residential “pockets,” the downtown CBD, and other surrounding neighborhoods. The site marks the lo-cation of the former Tiger Stadium demolition site and is adjacent to the historic 18-story Michigan Central Depot.

North

1

222

3

4

5

6

7

I-75 Lodge FwyI-94

Michigan Avenue

Trumble Avenue

14th Street

Rosa Parks Blvd.

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Site Analysis

Circulation

The location of the project site accomodates numerous modes of transportation. Its close proximity to the down-town CBD and surrounding neighborhoods and universities makes it an attractive destination for walkers and bicyclists. Interstate-75 provides direct highway access to the project site at Rosa Parks Blvd. Michigan Avenue is a primary arteri-al roadway in Detroit that radiates out from the heart of the downtown CBD. Three collector streets (Trumble Avenue, Rosa Parks Blvd., and 14th Street) transect both the entire site and Interstate-75. These streets provide an important connection to northern neighborhoods. The site is also lo-cated on major bus routes and is only a few blocks west of the SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transport) downtown hub.

Pedestrian Movement

Arterial Street

Collector Street

Project Site

Highway / Interstate


Railway

North

* Highway Access

*

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Site Analysis

Quarters

Throughout the study, the project site was continu-ously divided into four quarters. The divisions oc-curred naturally through site sketches, mapping, and photography. The breaks appear at the three connec-tor streets that transect I-75 and the project site from north to south. Even though each site quarter does not contain the same land area, each quarter is rough-ly 1/4 mile in length from east to west. Quarter 4 is most notable for its built environment north of the Michigan Avenue street front. It is the thickest quar-ter. Quarters 2 and 3 are most notable for their com-plete absence of structures north of the the Michigan Avenue street front. Quarter 1 is most notable for its linear shape that results from the convergence and in-tersection of Interstate-75 and Michigan Avenue.

Quarter 4 (East)

Quarter 3

Quarter 2

Quarter 1 (West)

North

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Site Analysis

Vacant ParcelsThe project site covers roughly 75-acres of urban land. It is defined by its extensive vacant space. The vacant land breaks into the Michigan Avenue street front and dominates the north central portion of the project site. Quarters 2 and 3 of the project site are most notabe for the complete clearance of all parcels north of the Michigan Avenue street front. The most recent addition to the expansive vacant space is at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumble. This is the site of the former Tiger Stadium that is currently under de-molition.

Vacant Parcels

Project Site


North

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Site Analysis

Building Vacancies

The project site contains roughly 75 sructures. Function-ally, its buildings represent a mix of commercial, industri-al, office, and residential land uses. The structure-types range from traditional dense NBD storefronts to ware-houses, factories, and garages. While some structures still serve their original purpose, others have been retro-fitted to meet the needs of local businesses and residetns. Roughly 69% of the structures are occupied by 35 busi-nesses and organizations and additional residential units and artist workshops. Roughly 31% of the total 75 struc-tures are vacant.

Occupied

Vacant

Project Site

North

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Site Analysis

Street Frontage

The Corktown Neighborhood Business District (NBD) spans along Michigan Avenue between the Lodge Free-way and Interstate-75. The northern edge of Michi-gan Avenue contains roughly 4,225 feet of street front property. Existing buildings directly on the street front account for 34% (1,425 feet) of the total street frontage. Existing buildings that are setback from the street account for roughly 5% (210 feet) of the total street frontage. Vacant parcels account for the remain-ing 61% (2,590 feet) of the northern Michigan Avenue street front. Note that street frontage estimates are post-demolition of former Tiger Stadium.

Street Front Building

Setback Building

Vacant Street Front Parcel

Project Site


North

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Site Analysis

Story Height

Building story heights within the project site range be-tween 1 and 6-stories. This is roughly between 12 and 72 feet tall. The average building height for the entire project site is 28 feet. The project site is overwhelming composed of 2-story buildings (57%). Roughly 22% of the structures are 1-story and 19% of the structures are 3-story. Only two structures are taller then 3-stories. This includes a 6-story building near the western end of the project site and a 4-story building at the eastern end of the project site. Previously, the tallest structure on the project site was the former Tiger Stadium at roughly 90 feet. The tallest building in the neighbor-hood of Corktown is the 18-story tower of the Michigan Central Depot.

1-Story

2-Story

3-Story

Project Site

4 to 6-Story

North

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Site Analysis

Land Use

Unlike urban residential neighborhoods, the project site cannot be defined by a single land use. The diversity of ex-isting land uses adds to the urban quality of the site. The two largest land uses are commercial (35%) and vacant (31%). Additional land uses include: light industrial (16%), office (9%), institutional (5%), and residential (4%). It is important to note that the percentage of each land use reflects ground floor occupancy only and does not take into account square footages or additional stories. In a small number of cases, residential and office space exists on subsequent floors.

Office

Residential

Institutional

Project Site

North

Vacant

Commercial

Light Industrial

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Site Analysis

Site Conditions

Overgrown Vegetation:Many areas throughout Detroit, Corktown, and the project site have succumb to the fources of nature. As vegetation breaks into the urban fabric of the city, un-cared for spaces are characterized as wild and unruly.

Expansive Clearings:The accumulation and spread of abandonment and demolition leads to large expanses of vacant parcels. The surface cover of these spaces is composed of a variety of materials, such as, dirt, concrete, grass, and wild vegetation.

Highway Edges and Underpasses:Interstitial space along and inbetween streets and highways inadequately buffers automobile traffic from other uban activities. The neglected spaces are bare and collect garbage and other undesirables.

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Site Analysis

Vacant & Boarded-Up Structures: Abandoned and neglected structures attract crime and other undesirables. As structures endure trespassers, arson, and vandalism, they are boarded-up and further disconnected from society.

Failing Neighborhood Business District (NBD): Many local businesses have followed the population exodus to the suburbs. Neighborhood residents now lack both essential and convenient amenities that are taken for granted in other communities.

Old Sporting Venues: Currently under demolition, former Tiger Stadium has largely impacted the urban environment of Corktown. Parking requirements cleared adjacent parcels. Its abandonment and demolition altered the functionality of the neighborhood and inspired further disinvest-ment.

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Site Analysis

Vacant Industrial Facilities: A large percentage of Corktown is zoned for industrial use. Today, many industrial sites sit abandoned and unused. Their massive structures, large parcels, and environmental contamination characterize the site.

Unused Streets and Infrastructure: A smaller population means fewer people and funds to maintain city infrastructure. Many streets and alleys are unused, neglected, and sit in disrepair.

Historic Neighborhood Housing: Corktown is the oldest surviving neighborhood of Detroit. The housing stock is old and in need of repair. The historic significance of the homes is clouded by low property values and structural decay.

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Site Analysis

Nine-Lane Bridge: Michigan Avenue enters and exits Corktown via two 9-lane bridges that span highways on either end of the neighborhood. The auto-dominated structures are difficult to cross, have expansive empty space, and provide no buffer between pedestrians and automobiles.

Discontinuous Street Front: The urban edge of the NBD is fractured and discon-nected. Vacant parcels are overgrown and col-lect trash and other undesirables. Breaks in the streetscape discourage pedestrian and consumer activity.

Highways and Interstates: Corktown and the project site are surrounded on three sides by highways and interstates. The intru-sive infrastructure represents a historic neighbor-hood divide, low property values, and a visual and audial nuisance.

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Site Analysis

Exposed Residential Neighborhoods: The boundaries between the NBD and residential homes have been altered due to demolition. Indis-tinguishable public and private spaces have resulted in neglected property and a decrease in residential privacy.

Auto-Dominated Streetscape: The project site sits on Michigan Avenue, one of five grand avenues that radiate out of the heart of down-town. Michigan Avenue is 9-lanes. Its width and scale is unfriendly to pedestrians and difficult to cross on foot.

Street Front Parking Lots: The thinning NBD has resulted in street edge gaps. Many now serve as parking lots. The lots are not buffered from the streetscape and contain few, if any, shade trees.

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Site Analysis

Wide Pedestrian Crosswalks: Michigan Avenue largely accomodates automobile travel and parking at the expense of the pedestrian. Pedestrians crossing Michigan Avenue must travel over 9-lanes of traffic.

Decaying Ruins: City monuments and historic buildings have fallen into disuse and decay. For many, the structures are cherished symbols of the city. Others consider the structures a nuisance and eyesore. The abandoned Michigan Central Depot is an example in Corktown.

The Homeless Wanderer: Homeless men and women of Detroit find refuge in temporary and illegal shelters within the margins of society. The wanderer utilizes tents, boxes, vacant buildings, and scavenged materials.

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Site Analysis

The End of the Sidewalk: Despite wide walkways and new streetlights, the rugged sidewalks of the NBD are void of pedestrian activity. The streetscape lacks trees and does not buffer pedestrians from automobile traffic. Pedes-trian activity comes second to the automobile in Detroit. Many other neighborhood sidewalks are crumbling and broken.

Forging New Paths: As activity along traditional streets and sidewalks decreases, the urban wanderer creates new paths within the margins of society.

Graffiti and Vandalism: Vacant structures become a canvas for the expres-sion of vandals and graffiti artists. Graphics and text reveal both the distress and aspirations of freedom within urban residents.

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Site Analysis

Patios, Parking, Etc.: Some businesses and homes have taken advantage of adjacent vacant lots by reusing them as space for patios, parking, building additions, and so on.

Urban Gardens: A number of local and community gardens have emerged in Corktown and at the project site. The gardens provide nutritious food for residents and also encourage neighborhood activity and interactions.

Demolition: Many uncared for structures in Corktown are still at risk of being demolished. Despite protests by members of the community, Tiger Stadium is the most recent struc-ture to succumb to the wrecking ball. Michigan Central Depot, another neighborhood icon, may be next.

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Site Analysis

Businesses Quarter One: Building Tenants and Businesses

1. New Life Rescue Mission2. Izzy’s Artist Market3. Izyy’s Artist Market3. The Invisible Photography (Above)3. Qualia Media Group (Above)4. Blanco Canvas: Textile Products & Fabrics5. Vacant6. Vacant7. Xavier’s Furniture: Antiques & Used8. Xavier’s Furniture: Antiques & Used9. Willis Garage10. Phil Thomas Produce & Wholesale Foods11. Phil Thomas Produce & Wholesale Foods12. Vacant13. Vacant14. Bi-Rite Transmission Parts15. Vacant

16. Vacant

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Site Analysis

Quarter Two: Building Tenants and Businesses

17. Slows Bar and BBQ18. Slows Bar and BBQ19. O’Connor Real Estate Development20. Unknown Tenant21. Vacant22. Vacant23. LJ’s Lounge24. LJ’s Lounge25. Vacant26. Vacant27. Vacant28. The Gaeltic League: American-Irish Club29. The Gaeltic League: American-Irish Club30. Vacant31. Vacant32. White Castle33. Vacant

17-27 28-29 30-31 32 33

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Site Analysis

N

Quarter Three: Building Tenants and Businesses

34. The Works Club and Grill35. Maltese American Benevolent Society, Inc.36. Casey’s Irish Pub Corktown37. O’Blivions Corktown Cafe 38. Detroit Athletic Company39. Detroit Athletic Company40. Corktown Tavern41. Vacant42. Tiger Stadium (Recently Demolished)

34-37 38-39 40-41 42

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Site Analysis

N

Quarter Four: Building Tenants and Businesses

43. Hoots on the Avenue Bar and Grill44. Vacant45. Vacant46. Greater Corktown Development Corp.47. OMI Integrated Media Technologies48. X-Calibur Salon49. Greening of Detroit50. Greening of Detroit51. Greening of Detroit52. Team Screen Printing53. Team Screen Printing54. Pawnbroker55. Nemo’s Bar and Grill56. Nemo’s Bar and Grill57. Blue Water Electric Motor Repair58. Blue Water Electric Motor Repair59. Blue Water Electric Motor Repair

43-54 55-56 57-59 60 61-62 63

60. Brooklyn Street Cafe61. Vacant62. Lager House Bar63. Vacant64. Grinnell Place Lofts65. Artist workspace / lofts66. G’s Storage Units, Ltd.67. Vacant68. Checker Cab Service69. Ace Hardware70. Brooks Lumber71. Brooks Lumber72. Brooks Lumber73. Vacant74. Vacant75. Brooklyn Lofts76. Vacant

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Design Project Summary

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The design project was conceived in response to two distinct bodies of research that were gathered as part of this thesis investigation. The first body of research includes the physical characteristics, causes, and city-responses associated with the extensive suburbanization and subsequent emergence of urban voids experienced by post-industrial American cities. The sec-ond body of research explores relevant discussions on urban voids from three contemporary architectural theorists. Five design intervention principles were extracted from the theoretical discussions on the urban void. They promote a new way of addressing urban voids within the context of the post-industrial depopulating city. These five overarching principles offer a general framework for design intervention that can be applied to a broad range of urban void types and conditions. It is important to remember that no single design project can solve the problem of vacancy. All empty and abandoned spaces in the urban landscape have their own unique history and characteristics. Therefore, the design project uses these two bodies of information to guide intervention at a single location within the city of Detroit. The five design intervention principles are as follows:

1) View the emergence of urban empty space as a great opportunity that is full of promise, possibility, and expectation. Transform barriers into amenities and empha-size the benefits and availability of urban open space.

2) Preserve the unique identity and characteristics of the urban void by amplifying the loss of limits and passing of time that have surfaced in the urban landscape. Discourage violent transformations that create recognizable, identical, and universal spaces, masking the true character of space and time and offering little or no benefit to the average urban resident.

3) Respond to the specific location and emphasize the particular nature of the urban void. Address the factors related to the emergence of empty space.

4) Challenge the perception of space as a resource to be processed, manipulated, exploited, and discarded.

5) Respond to this contemporary problem with new solutions. Challenge conven-tional urban form, function, and thought by creating new urban places that recycle old and insert new materials, forms, and uses into the urban environment. Encour-age new program and activities that serve the needs of a wide population.

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The design project explores the redevelopment of an inner-city neighborhood through the re-imagination and regeneration of vacant and abandoned space in the urban landscape. The vacant, oversized, and decaying remnants of Detroit’s booming industrial past are transformed into a community centerpiece that catalyzes neighborhood growth and activity. Inspired by the melancholic and found beauty of post-industrial urban voids, the design preserves the unique characteristics of the site by amplifying changes to urban form and context that have surfaced over time. By blurring the distinction between hard and soft, urban and rural, and indoor and outdoor elements of the project site, design initiatives emphasize the “break-through” of open space and wild vegetation into the urban landscape.

In response to conditions of physical, social, and economic decay in Detroit, the design project creates a neighborhood catalyst through the synthesis of an urban farm and an inner-city neighborhood business district. The proposed urban farm, The Farm at Corktown, cultivates the large central clearing of the project site and inspires new and related functionality around its periphery. The farmland breaks into the southern urban edge of the site, creating the centerpiece of the design project. The street front of the Corktown Neighborhood Business District becomes a physical expression of the urban farm. It is now an organic weave of historic ruins, farming plots, wildlife, boardwalks, parks, plazas, patios, trails, and new architectural additions. The heterogeneous streetscape provides places for the urban dweller and visitor to gather, shop, learn, relax, eat, work, converse, and meditate. Joints that represent the transition between the hard urban street edge and the soft vegetative nature of the agricultural center are key to the design. Over time, select street front farming plots and wild zones transition to accommodate new and expanding businesses.

Agriculture is chosen for its fluid and flexible form that delicately occupies and loosely defines space. As discussed by Bru, empty space in the urban environment needs to be defined. It does not, however, need to adhere to the traditional principles of the classical city. The insertion of agriculture into the heart of the urban project site creates activities and exchanges, both social and economic, not provided by city streets and squares.

Agriculture has the potential to provide numerous social, cultural, health, and economic benefits to a wide population. This can be accomplished without aggressive additions or subtractions to the built environment. Sola-Morales Rubio fears for the loss of identity of the urban void. In Detroit, these spaces are overgrown with wild vegetation and marked by decay and demolition. The addition of farming plots to the project site helps to define and preserve the identity of the urban void as a quiet, solemn, and overgrown space on the fringe of society. The initiative highlights the particular nature of the site and blends new amenities, materials, and uses into the urban environment. The residue and gaps of control space now grow vital nutrients for economically depressed urban residents and support important community activities.

Farm photo courtesy of tropicalisland.de

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Site Plan | The Farm at Corktown

1 Large commercial plots2 Small community plots3 Livestock farm operations / composting4 Greenhouses5 Central reservoir6 Community market pavillion7 Central boardwalk8 Central bio-filtration canal9 Farm permeable parking surfaces10 Farm service drive11 Resevoir wetland park12 Wildlife and highway buffer area13 Michigan Avenue and Corktown Neighborhood Business District

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Program

The ambitious program of the design project envisions an urban farm that engages both urban and suburban residents, representing a complex mix of income level, educational background, and racial composition. Small plot gardening provides food for family consumption. Larger commercial farming plots provide food to regional, local, and on-site markets, grocers, and restaurants. Over time, additional local services and businesses inspired and/or supported by the farming efforts supplement the existing businesses on Michigan Avenue. The urban farming initiative aids a neighborhood that is devoid of vital services and conveniences typically taken for granted in suburban communities. Prospective businesses may include, but are not limited to, organic foods, health and nutrition, farm and garden supplies, florists and nurseries, markets and grocers, cafes, delis, and restaurants. The design project accommodates both active and passive community spaces. Outdoor community spaces include individual gardening plots, informal market spaces, boardwalks, sidewalks, plazas, and trails. Indoor street front community activities are housed in a series of flexible-use spaces along Michigan Avenue. These spaces provide a forum for community markets and educational opportunities related to nutrition, cooking, gardening, fitness, and the arts. The primary social goal of the community space is to motivate community interaction, involvement, awareness, education, and pride. Community spaces are largely created and defined by the activity of the user.

The program aims to interact with a diverse set of users in a variety of different ways. For example, low-income urban residents benefit most from the addition of jobs, availability of affordable nutritious foods, enhanced community interaction, and educational opportunities. Middle to upper-income suburban residents and visitors interact with the farm through local and regional grocers and restaurants. They also help to support on-site farming operations and businesses through their patronage. The on-site program offers suburban residents and visitors a unique urban experience with dining, shopping, self-pick fruits and vegetables, and classroom opportunities.

The program addresses many of the historic factors that provoked the depopulation of Detroit and the subsequent rise of the urban void. For example, the project challenges the highly segregated condition of Detroit by creating a space that encourages interaction between all races, classes, ages, and education levels. In the words of Alex Garvin, parks and public spaces are “great levelers of social barriers.”1 The project counters industrial decentralization by reusing post-industrial fallow land to recreate jobs and support neighborhood vitality. Ironically, the introduction of farmland to the urban environment is reminiscent of farmland lost to the developing periphery. Finally, the program contests the auto-dominated nature of the urban environment by providing passive programmatic elements that encourage safe and leisurely pedestrian activity and walkable communities.


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Design

Architecture and urban design establishes connections between the city streets and the farm, rooting development in both elements of nature and the surrounding urban context. All elements of design reinforce this idea of interconnectedness. The synthesis of time (past, present, and future), character (urban and rural), diversity (race, class, and education), and uses (hard pavement and soft agriculture) adds to the dynamic nature of this “new urban specimen.” 2 Here, the role of architecture becomes part of a larger process of neighborhood re/development. The process discourages “forever building new things”3 and uses architectural elements to supplement the reuse of existing structures and facilitate contemporary changes in program and functionality. Architecture no longer defines space, but instead, mediates between the use and function of contrasting elements within the urban environment. Architecture acts as scaffolding that supports a mix of temporary and permanent functions. Over time, its flexible form is formalized and layered to continuously meet the needs of the urban population.

The site design addresses four physical layers of the project site that proceed from north to south. The four layers include: the joint between the highway and the project site, the large central clearing, the discontinuous street front of the Corktown NBD, and the sidewalks and roadway of Michigan Avenue. These four conditions of the urban void represent important transitional areas in use and function. Design solutions, from north to south, are as follows:

1) The introduction of a wildlife buffer that screens unpleasant highway views and noise from the project site and increases the neighborhood tree canopy

2) The introduction of a public boardwalk that penetrates deep into the central clearing and facilitates interaction between pedestrians and agricultural plots

3) The introduction of flexible-use structures along the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Business District that maintain the street front as a series of voids and solids and also act as a transitional space between the soft edge of the farm and the hard edge of the street.

4) The introduction of vegetative elements into the streets and sidewalks of the Corktown NBD that provide traffic buffers, manage water runoff, and reformat urban details to the human/pedestrian scale.


3 Earth Economics, “Eduard Bru, Arquitectos.”

Project Transect

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Highway Edge

The extensive highway network within the city of Detroit is well known for its adverse effects on city neighborhoods and street connectivity. The bare and neglected edges of the highway, coupled with unpleasant noise and views from passing traffic, lowers adjacent property values and facilitates the spread of the urban void. Many homes and businesses directly adjacent to the highway have been abandoned and demolished overtime. Consequently, unused streets and service drives along the highway have fallen into disrepair. The forward-thinking design project plants the beginning of a wildlife buffer along the highway edges and adjacent land vacancies. An assortment of native trees and plantings are supplemented over time with self-sown vegetation and wildlife. The wild character of the buffer highlights the overgrown and unruly nature of many urban voids in Detroit. The dense vegetative plantings shield highway views and noise from the farm and also create a pleasant vegetative edge at the northern boundary of the project site. Over time, increasing the urban tree canopy creates shade and evaporative cooling, processes stormwater, and produces oxygen. The vegetative buffer also enhances the highway driving experience and highlights the farm’s urban location and access point along Interstate-75. The reuse of eroded highway edges to create a continuous urban tree canopy throughout the city is applicable in Detroit and many other urban centers.

Downtown Detroit All Lanes

Farm service drive & parking FarmBuffer

Highway Buffer Section | The Farm at Corktown

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Clearing

The Farm Boardwalk introduces pedestrian activity into the project site’s expansive clearing and into the heart of the agricultural farm. The materiality of the boardwalk transitions from the hard concrete edges of the project site into the soft green nature of the farming environment. The Farm Boardwalk is constructed from reclaimed wood that is obtained from salvage programs that collect and sell demolition “waste” material to new industries. The walking surface is constructed from a variety of wood-types and an assortment of plank-widths. The use of reclaimed material provides the economic efficiency required by many inner city neighborhoods. The wood plank boardwalk symbolizes the city’s historic past of demolition and abandonment. The path is a break from the fast pace urban environment and accommodates leisure farm activities. It travels through large farming plots that remain vacant of built structures and other impositions of urban form. The space penetrated by the boardwalk maintains its identity as a vast clearing that is surrounded by thinning streetscapes and over-grown vegetation.

Central bio-swale and paths Boardwalk Community plotsCommercial plotsIrrigation tower

Farming Plots Section | The Farm at Corktown

Market Pavilion (Behind)

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Frost Depth 42”

Aluminum Fence Post

12” Diameter Timber Post

2” x 12” Beam (2)

2” x 12” Joist

Joist Hanger

2” x 6” Decking2” x 12” Curb

1/2” Gap

12’ On Center

4’14”

2’

Notch post to create ledger for beam members

Grade

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2” x 12” Joist

2” x 6” Decking

1/2” Spacer

2” x 12” Curb

Joist Hanger

2” x 12” Beam (2)Aluminum Fence Post

12” Diameter Posts 16’ On Center

Grade

Frost Depth 42”

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Discontinuous Street Front

Historically, the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Business District served the retail and convenience shopping needs of Corktown and other surrounding neighborhoods. Traditional 2-3 story street front buildings lined the avenue with retail units below and residential units above. Today, 61% of Michigan Avenue’s total street frontage within the project site has been reduced to vacant land. Additionally, 31% of the remaining storefronts within the project site are vacant. The Neighborhood Business District is currently a series of solid and void spaces that inadequately serve the contemporary needs of local residents, workers, and visitors. The question becomes: How can the designer intervene into these spaces? What is appropriate? How can growth come out of decay?

The discontinuous Michigan Avenue street front is re-imagined as the “face” of the urban farm. Community farming activities, markets, cafés, gardening supplies, and other farm-related retail and services recycle and reuse vacant lots and buildings. Over time, the construction of new flexible-use structures supplement the needs of existing and expanding street front activities. The Neighborhood Business District becomes a transitional space that mediates between mineral and vegetative elements of the project site. The design project maintains the street’s historic function as a Neighborhood Business District, yet, inserts new urban forms, functions, materials, and uses into the surrounding voids. The design project does not intend to seamlessly mend the torn urban fabric of the Michigan Avenue street front. Instead, the project aims to preserve this unique condition that is reminiscent of the post-industrial depopulating city.

The architectural intervention along Michigan Avenue occurs at physical breaks within the urban streetscape. The street front void represents an urban condition that is unique to traditional urban form. In order to preserve the street front as a series of solids and voids, the streetscape design reinterprets existing conditions of decay. The design project highlights four major characteristics that define the street front void. These include:

1) Overgrown vegetation

2) Exposed exterior bearing walls

3) Unobstructed views into, out of, and through the space

4) Ambiguous/unclear use of the space

Each of these four characteristics influence design, such as, street and building form, material and construction, and layout and program.

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Street and Building Form

The once continuous urban street front of Michigan Avenue deteriorates over time as buildings are abandoned and demolished. This process of urban decay reveals the loss of limits that has occurred within the urban environment. As buildings are removed, historic patterns of growth are altered and previously hidden structural elements are exposed. For example, large, exposed, exterior bearing walls now line the edges of many vacant and overgrown parcels. Traditional urban force lines that once ran parallel to the street now intersect at breaks in the streetscape. These changing historic patterns of street form direct future intervention. Growth returns to the broken street front using elements of decay. Over time, series of bearing walls are inserted into street front gaps. The design project tests streetscape patterns that both maintain historic urban form and placement and also manipulate wall spacing, angles, and depths.

Historic Force Lines

Existing Force Lines

Bearing Wall Patterns

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Structure

Structure

ForceLines

ForceLines

UrbanForm

UrbanForm

1900 NBD Analysis: Plan Elevation 3D

2010 NBD Analysis

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Building forms inserted into the street front maintain connections between farm and street activities by preserving street front voids. Voids become flexible-use indoor and/or outdoor spaces that allow farming activities to spillover into the streetscape and vice versa. In order to accomplish this, six building typologies are proposed. Each typology creates a physical, visual, and/or symbolic connection between the street and the farm. The six building typologies are as follows:

1) Small additions: Small additions to existing buildings provide an economically efficient means for both new and old businesses to expand and meet the changing needs of the urban population. Unlike larger development projects, small additions encourage the preservation of existing structures and maintain adjacent outdoor spaces for physical connections between street and farm activities.

2) Thin/glass street fronts: This typology provides visual connections between the street and the farm via unobstructed views through the entire structure. Users within the structure experience both street and farm activities.

3) Elevated structures/breezeways: These structures provide a physical connection between the street and the farm. Acting as covered plazas, this typology has the opportunity to support informal farmer markets and other community activities.

4) Setbacks: This typology provides space in between buildings and sidewalks for the insertion of small agricultural plots, wildlife, outdoor café seating, and community activities. This break from conventional urban form creates a symbolic connection between the street front and farm activities behind.

5) Balconies/roof decks: These exterior spaces create visual connections between farm and street activities through the experience of the user. Elevated spaces that provide the user with views of both activities create an experience unique to the urban environment.

6) Unbuilt/breaks: Maintaining breaks in the built environment provides an opportunity for rural farming plots and wild zones to bleed into the hard edge of the urban streetscape. These spaces provide physical connections between the street and farm activities.

FARM

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Material and Construction

Material and construction types for the proposed intervention were chosen to fit the economic limitations of the neighborhood and also to signify a transition from a mineral to vegetative setting. Building materials include premium ground concrete block, pre-cast concrete planks, reclaimed wood, and glass. Single and double CMU constructed bearing walls are the primary structural component of the design project. Bearing walls support floors, roofs, and roof decks that are composed from pre-cast concrete planks. Double concrete block bearing walls are used in some instances to provide desired wall thicknesses and insulation space. The front and rear facades of community spaces are composed of large bi-fold glass panels that open fully to the street and farm.

Each concrete bearing wall is stained a different color that is inspired by the vibrancy of the fruits and vegetables grown at the farm. The colorfully stained concrete signifies a departure from the city’s industrial past and also provides visual vitality to the neighborhood. Additionally, indoor wooden floor and ceiling surfaces of the structure extend outdoors, beyond the bi-fold glass panel doors, to emphasize continuity between indoor and outdoor activities. When necessary, pretreated reclaimed wood louvers shade southern glass facades. Wooden louvers rise above the roof and transition into roof deck railings. The use of wood and concrete materials emphasizes the contrast between what is mineral and what is vegetative. Water runoff from the roofs of new and existing structures is collected, filtered, and stored for landscaping and farming purposes.

Building Layout and Program

A flexible building layout and program is created to accommodate the uncertain needs of the depopulating city and the changing seasonal needs of urban farming activities. The building concept emphasizes the structure as a series of solid and void spaces. Solid spaces contain permanent aspects of the program, such as, vertical circulation, utilities, bathrooms, kitchens, office space, and storage. These are spaces that are private or semi-private in nature and need to be spatially well defined. Void spaces are conceived as large, open, flexible-use areas that maintain visual and physical connections between the street and farming activities. These spaces accommodate a variety of programs, such as, farmers markets, café/dining, fitness activities, art galleries, educational classes, and community rental space.

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Standard Condition

End Condition

HVAC Condition

Roof

Roof Deck

Basement

2nd Floor

Double CMUTypical Wall Plans

Double CMU Wall Section

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Project Site Photo Elevation

Project Site Roof Plan

3 Design Projects

The design project incorporates a combination of bearing wall patterns and building typologies at three different points along the Michigan Avenue street front. All three points are centrally located and situated directly south of community and commercial farming plots.


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Form Plan

Project Site 1

The first design is a small, single-story addition to an existing building rehab that is directly adjacent to the former Tiger Stadium demolition site. The site consists of two parcels and has a dimension of 40 ft. X 100 ft. The addition uses two single CMU bearing walls spaced evenly according to historic parcel patterns. It has an open floor plan that uses bi-fold glass panels that open completely to both the street and the farm. The addition is set back from the street in order to accommodate a small vegetable garden at the street front. The adjacent parcel remains unbuilt and provides space for native vegetation plantings, patio seating, and a pedestrian walkway constructed from reclaimed wood decking. A roof deck provides elevated street/farm views and additional outdoor seating.


Elevation

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Side Elevation

Longitudinal Section

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Project Site 2

The second design occurs just west of the small addition on a span of five continuous parcels that are flanked by existing buildings. The dimension of the site is roughly 110 ft. X 100 ft. The mixed-use structure provides residential units above and flexible retail/community spaces below. Unlike Project 1, this project uses double CMU bearing walls that are spaced in contrast to historic urban patterns. The overall shape of the building is derived from five spatially defined rectangles that are extrusions of the vacant parcels. The rectangular shapes represent the historic urban form of the Neighborhood Business District where thin, deep storefronts once lined the avenue. The lengths, widths, and heights of the five rectangular shapes are manipulated in order to create the necessary configuration of void and solid spaces. The building height, two and three-stories, is based on neighborhood averages and building code egress requirements. The front and rear glass façades of the community spaces are composed of bi-fold glass panels. The building form maintains connections between the urban street and the rural farm through the use of a thin glass street front, an indoor/outdoor breezeway, a small setback, and balcony and roof deck building typologies.


Form Ground Floor Plan

Elevation

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2nd Story Floor Plan Longitudinal Section B

Longitudinal Section A

B A

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Project Site 3

The third design occurs just west of Project site 1 and 2 on a span of five continuous parcels. The site is a street corner condition that requires angled bearing walls. The dimension of the site is roughly 100 ft. X 100 ft. Two angled double CMU bearing walls flank the project site. Internal bearing walls are perpendicular to Michigan Avenue. The spacing of the bearing walls is based on the historic parcel layout. Two community flexible-use spaces are created at both ends of the structure. These two spaces have glass front and rear facades that open completely to the outdoors. The angled bearing walls of these two community spaces create a focus on either the street or the farm. The space focused on the farm is a double height space intended for markets. The street-focused space is a single story with a roof deck. This space is intended to house café/restaurant activities. The two central spaces have front and rear facades composed of CMU and glass. The building maintains connections between the urban street and the rural farm through the use of indoor/outdoor breezeways, glass street fronts, and a roof deck.

Form Ground Floor Plan

Elevation

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2nd Story Floor Plan

Longitudinal Section A

Transverse Section B

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Street and Sidewalk

The street and sidewalk project adjusts the automobile-dominated nature of Michigan Avenue and the Corktown Neighborhood Business District. As previously discussed, the avenue is nine-traffic-lanes-wide and largely devoid of pedestrian activity. Two sets of fifteen-foot-wide sidewalks straddle the avenue. The sidewalks are broken, crumbling, and absent of trees and other pedestrian amenities. The broad streets are impersonally scaled and difficult to cross on foot. Avenue traffic patterns decreased and road conditions deteriorated following the introduction of the federal highway system.

The design project re-scales the street and sidewalks by creating discrete spaces for pedestrian and automobile traffic that are separated by vegetative buffers. A central twenty-foot-wide buffer strip divides oncoming lanes of traffic. Two fifteen-foot-wide side buffer strips separate pedestrian activity from automobile traffic and on-street parking. A reduction in the number and width of traffic lanes slows traffic and creates a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly environment. Curb bump-outs decrease the distance that pedestrians must travel to cross the street. Wide strips of vegetative buffers screen unpleasant traffic views and noise from storefront activity. The vegetative buffers, with curb cuts, also serve as an organic alternative to traditional urban drainage infrastructure. The broad vegetative strips act as bio-filtration swales and collect, cleanse, and transfer water runoff to onsite reservoirs. Collected water is reused for farm irrigation. Wood decking is used to bridge continuous side buffer strips and provide necessary circulation paths.

The introduction of tall grasses, trees, and other native plants is reminiscent of the overgrown condition of the post-industrial urban void. The design pushes the limits of traditional urban structure by providing wide strips of vegetation that supplement city drainage infrastructure. The functional nature of the design is fused with urban farming efforts through the collection and reuse of water runoff for irrigation. The scale of the new streetscape accommodates the pedestrian over the automobile in an increasingly vegetative urban environment. Ultimately, the design reinvents the function of the historic avenue and transforms an automobile dominated urban void into a multi-functioning mix of amenities that accommodate pedestrians, bicycles, automobiles, etc.

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Michigan Avenue Street Sections | The Farm at Corktown

Side Bio-Swale Central Bio-Swale Side Bio-Swale2-Lanes + Parking2-Lanes + Parking

Existing

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7-Lanes + 2 Parking

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Bibliography

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Bibliography

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