The Braddock Innovation Center Reviving the Rust Belt
Design Book Adria Moyer
Spring 2013 Professor Hajo Neis
“Radical departures from standard practice are often necessary‌the same creative leap allows the sciences to progress, to innovate, and to seemingly make something out of nothing.â€? -Mark Robbins
I. Design Values II. Urban Design
a. Site Location
b. Urban Design
d. Building Mass
III. Building Design
a. Program
b. Design Evolution
c. Site Design
d. Zones
e. Facade Design
f. Final Material
I. Design Values
Collaborative Collaboration is essential in a creative environment, but interdisciplinary collaboration is often more difficult to achieve. Individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives are going to bring very different ideas to the table. A core value of the Braddock Innovation Center is that it foster collaboration and encourage interaction among its users.
Universal The Braddock Innovation Center will be universal. This means that it gives back to the entire community. The workshop and library facility will be accessible to the public. It can be used by everyone from a furniture designer who makes his living off the products he creates, to Braddock resident using the resources for a home improvement project. The event venue and auditorium will be used for occasional functions and lectures, and serve as a movie theater and public space during the majority of the time.
Flexible The Braddock Innovation Center will be a flexible building. The live/ work units will be flexible enough that they can be divided and used in a variety of different ways. This will allow the spaces to still be useful and able to be occupied even if the needs of the community have changed over time.
II. Urban Design
a. Site Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Braddock is located about 7 miles outside of downtown Pittsburgh
Building site in relationship to the city of Braddock
Building site
b. Urban Design Plan
9th Ave
Braddock Ave
9th Ave is currently a very underused street. It will now be turned into a
Currently Braddock Ave is a very wide 2 lane street with scattered spaces for parking. It is the main street through Braddock, and gets a
green street to connect the waterfront park to Braddock Ave. Building heights
moderate amount of traffic during rush hour from people commuting from
already tend to be shorter, around 1-2 stories. There will be parking and a bike
Pittsburgh to the suburbs. There are a few blocks where the initial character
lane in order to slow down traffic, and similar to Braddock Ave, it will be tree
of the street is still evident. It was primarily 3-4 story mixed use buildings. It
lined.
is also the first street that is starting to see growth. The new character of the street will work with the 3-4 story buildings. Parking will be removed, and it its place bike lanes will be added. Since Braddock is re-defining itself as a Gen Y city, encouraging biking will help to promote that message. It will also lessen the overly wide street.
c. Building Mass
Live/work units are arranged along Braddock Ave to activate the street. Workshop is aligned along 9th street to allow views from the exterior into the space.
Community space pulls through the form to have a presence along Braddock Ave
Community space rotated to look out onto the steel mill.
Cut through provide access to urban farm and help break up the mass.
Space pulls through from the courtyard and through to the exterior.
III. Building Design LIVE/ WORK
a. Program
WORK SPACE COMMUNITY
work shop
LIVE/ WORK configurations and changing needs over time.
live/work stor. paint event
The workshop will become the center for collaboration among the users.
live/work
matl stor
live/work
WC office
COMMUNITY SPACE Braddock and draw in visitors from the the Pittsburgh area.
audi- lounge torium WC cafe
live/work
blast
officelibrary
The community space will serve as a gathering space for the residents of
live/work live/work
The live/ work units we be flexible spaces that can adapt to a variety of user
WORKSHOP
live/work
class comp print conf. server
live/work live/work live/work live/work live/work live/work live/work live/work live/work
leasable office offices bike storage kitchen
b. Design Evolution
c. Site Design
d. Zones Work Space
The work space can be broken down into three spaces. The first is the
main workshop space. This large room is visually divided by the columns into more specific workspaces; wood working, metal working, and containment. The containment rooms house functions that have specific needs related to exhaust and dust collection, such as the paint room, the blast room (for sand blasting), and the drying and storage room. On the west side of the workspace, large garage doors open up to allow materials to be unloaded. There are also large garage doors located on the east side, which allows the workshop space to flow into the courtyard.
The second space is the educational space. In the center of this space
is the library, which opens up out into the courtyard. On the southern end is the computer lab, classroom, and print room. The mezzanine above contains the support functions for the Innovation Center. There is a communal conference room, which can be used by members and residents when holding meetings that are too large for their unit. It also contains the Innovation center offices.
The third space is the Lounge. The lounge is central to the Innova-
tion Center. Users have to pass through this space in order to use the facility. Due to all the activity, this space will become the center for interaction for users. This space also serves as a reading and lounge space for the library, and a kitchenette.
STORAGE
BLAST ROOM
PAINT ROOM
WORK FLOWS INTO COURTYARD
VIEWS INTO WORKSHOP
METAL WORKING
WOOD WORKING
ALL WORK SPACES ACCESSIBLE TROUGH LOUNGE
MATERIAL UNLOADING
LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB RELAX
CLASS ROOM
PRINT RM LOUNGE
Community Space
The community portion of the program is comprised of two main spaces. The first being the event venue, and the second being the auditorium. One of the key concepts of the Braddock Innovation Center is that it be flexible enough to meet the needs of the entire community, so while the auditorium may serve to host the occasional lecture and event, it will normally function as an movie theater, providing a much needed entertainment space.
The event venue is a large open space. It steps down, creating large
occupy able terraces, which can be used as seats, and carry from the interior of the building to the exterior. Large glass doors can be opened up to allow spaces from the event venue to flow to the outside of the building. At the same time, the event venue serves as an interior connection from the urban farm into the courtyard of the building.
CA
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TV
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CO TO NN EX ECT TE IO RI N OR
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Live/ Work Housing
A flexhouse is a live work housing type where the living unit is above the working, with a storefront entry to the working. There is then a second
can directly access their housing unit from their studio. It is a good balance of separation and connection.
door which leads from the working unit to the housing unit. This arrangement allows for change in the future, and a variety of different user combinations. In
These live work units are designed to allow for flexibility for
the future, the housing unit can be rented separate from the work unit, or the
arrangements. Likewise, the façade system allows for panels to be arranged
unit above can function as an office, while the ground floor unit is retail.
differently based on the tenant’s needs. The façade pattern is based off the pattern of brick buildings surround the site. There are three different types of
The advantage of a Flexhouse is that it allows a sense of privacy. Clients
façade panels: terra cotta, glass, and a metal screening panel with a pattern
visiting the occupant won’t feel as though they are invading the resident’s
based of the molecular structure of steel. Through these three panel types,
personal space. At the same time, it is connected enough that the resident
users can customize their unit to fit their needs.
CANOPY ABOVE
TWO UNITS COMBINED
FARMER’S MARKET SPACE
e. Facade Design
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
LEATHER GOODS
WOOD FURNITURE
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT SIGNAGE
RESTAURANT
West Elevation
North Elevation
East Elevation
3rd Floor
2nd Floor
Event Venue
Section Perspective
Courtyard
Workshop