Seamless Mobility:
Pathways to Urban Revival Detroit Riverfront Competition
Brendan Taylor and Zachary Callaway Professor Ronaszegi Graduate Studio VII ARCH 717 Fall 2012
Introduction:
Detroit, Michigan
Downtown Detroit: Macro Circulation
Competition Boundary The site is bordered by the convention center to the left, the GM Renaissance Center to the right, Jefferson Avenue to the North, and the River to the South.
Focus Area To fully create a successful city, a larger are needed to be redesigned. This area involves elements of downtown Detroit as well as the GM Renaissance Center, and the Convention Center. This focus area boarders are defined by 2nd Blvd. to the west, Chrysler Dr. to the east, Lafayette St. to the north and the river front to the south.
Design Phase One Address the immediate issues with Detroit: Streets Circulation Riverfront
What makes a successful city?
Washington, DC - Urban Planning Washington, DC was designed by Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791. The goal was to design to show power and structure. Streets were laid out in a grid platform with diagonal streets acting as major roads or highways.and names after one of the states. Where each state street intersect, an important monument or building is to be placed. This created a monumental spaces allowing people to slow down and enjoy the city. With wide open state streets, people could look from one great monument to the next.
Conclusions What makes Washington, DC a successful city is its pedestrian friendly circulation, an element that will be utilized within the proposed project.
What brings people into a city?
sleep
work
eat
shop
sleep
work
eat
shop
Downtown Detroit has an abundance of office buildings, but do not have enough residences, restaurants, and retail. These elements will need to be incorporated in order to create a successful city.
What makes a city grow?
New Orleans, Louisiana - Public Transportation Much of the population does not own cars and relies on public transportation, particularly the street cars Street cars are single cars that can seat approximately 30 people, with three main lines and one line specifically for tourists The street cars are an iconic part of the city, with tourist traveling from around the world impart to experience the cars.
The median that the street cars run on also provide green space and are commonly used for bike lanes and jogging lanes The New Orleans’ street car system has become an integral part of the city both providing transportation, recreational space, and tourist attraction
Conclusions What New Orleans, Louisiana was able to accomplish was a successful public transportation system that created a cultural icon within the city. The use of street cars not only provide service to the people living within the city, but also help by drawing tourists in.
Proposed Street Renovations
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Jefferson Street
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Woodward Avenue
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East/West Streets
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Access Highways
PROBLEM: quick moving traffic creates a pedestrian barrier between city and the river front SOLUTION: smaller streets create slower traffic. In
addition, the trail car system as well as highway park will both add culture and aesthetic appeal while also providing a better pedestrian experience
trail car system
Highway Park
wide two way traffic
raised cross walk
present
proposal
drop off zones
Jefferson Avenue Proposal
PROBLEM: the main access roadway become too busy creating unused medians and unfriendly crossings SOLUTION: slow down the traffic by creating larger
one lane roads with parallel parking. The existing median will be used to house the north south trail car which will increase interaction within the median and create a better pedestrian experience.
one way travel with parallel parking
trail car
raised cross walk
present
one way travel with parallel parking
side walk vegetation
proposal
Woodward Street Proposal
one way traffic, three lanes, and unused sidewalks
PROBLEM: one way traffic, three lanes, and unused
sidewalks
SOLUTION: traffic will be changed to a two way, one lane road with side vegetation to allow for a better pedestrian experience.
two way travel with parallel parking
sidewalk vegetation
present
proposal
East-West Street Proposals
PROBLEM: large highway creates an unused sidewalks and no visual transition when entering the downtown area. SOLUTION: because these streets will be the main
access highways into the newly designed downtown, the only addition to the existing conditions is to add side walk vegetation to improve the pedestrian experience
sidewalk vegetation
present
proposal
Access Highways Proposals
Building Usage Zoning Street Hierarchy Trail Car System Parking Zoning
The white string represents the trail car system, one system will circumvent the entire downtown region, which along will bring people to and from the proposed island which will be discussed later The blue regions symbolize the amount of parking that will be allowed within the regions, the lightest blue represents the areas with the least amount of vehicular traffic while the darker blue represents the node of parking garages for outside visiting vehicles
The string represents the hierarchy in street design, the lighter blues represent the major focus roads that will receive the most renovations, while the dark blue and white represent the roads that will receive the least amount of change.
The blue regions represent zoning, the lighter the zoning the more populated the region is with tourists
Highway Park Proposal
trail car system wide two way traffic drop off zones
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sit
pedestrian path
raised cross walk
Highway Park
Highway Park materiality and inspirational images
River Front Proposal
Austin, Texas - Public Recreation The Austin, Texas Hike and Bike trail runs approximately 10 miles along the water front of downtown, across two bridges, and across south side Austin. The use of the water front has helped create a tranquil atmosphere even with its close proximity to a heavily populated down town. The trail has also put Austin, Texas as one of the fittest cities in the U.S.
Cesear Chavez (the street running parallel with the down town portion of the trail) is a five lane busy highway. However, the use of trees and topography has created a buffer zone between the highway and the trail, cutting out the majority of noise, creating a park like atmosphere.
Conclusions Austin, Texas was able to successfully design a calming nature experience at the edge of a fast moving, demanding city. The river front proposal for Austin, Texas presents elements that will be incorporated into the future proposal.
Current Conditions PROBLEM: Current Conditions involve no interaction between site and river front.
SOLUTION: The river front proposal is defined
from the existing city grid and evolves based off the surrounding city context of the skyline and building usage
interaction
GM Renaissance Center...
GM Renaissance Center Response
The skyline recedes...
The river front responds to the changing skyline.
As the skyline protrudes up...
The river front protrudes out.
Woodward creates a central corridor...
The river front responds by creating an island.
When the skyline recedes again...
A portion of the riverfront juts in.
The Cobo center houses many sporting events creating an increase in population during parts of the year...
The river front response by creating an dock.
Design Phase One Summary Jefferson Park is replaced by a green belt now known as Highway Park Major traffic has been redirected to the original access highways A new river front was proposed to create a stronger interaction between city and water.
Design Phase Two Propose a site design and concept Iteration #1 celebrate the car through orderless hierarchy
orderless hierarchy
rethinking the interaction between car and pedestrian
Filling the voids
city grid overlay
masses begin to fill the voids throughout Woodward Ave
Masses bordering Highway park allow for mixed use potential
The massing close to the Renaissance Center created potential for a museum
Massing near the Cobo allows for mixed use residential., retail, and restaurant
The island allows for the potential of a iconic amphitheater and park
Due to the elevation changes and massing, a orderless hierarchy is created.
Section Cut 1
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2
Section Cut 2
Orderless hierarchy presented at the pedestrian intersections
Orderless hierarchy presented at the vehicular/pedestrian intersections
Design Phase One Summary The Site begins to give way to testing the elements of pedestrian/vehicular circulation
Design Phase Three Propose a site design and concept Iteration #2 redefine the urban context to incorporate the future
What will cars look like in the future?
Past Present
183” Length
2012 Dodge Dart
159” Length
2012 Chevy Sonic
156” Length
2012 Ford Fiesta
219” Length
1980 Lincoln Town Car
217” Length
1960 Dodge Matador
198” Length
1950 Chevy Bel Air
Near Future Projected Future
70” Length
Peugeot Ozone - Concept
98” Length
Peugeot Capca - Concept
60” Length
GM EN-V Magic
183” Length
Chevy Spark - Concept
183” Length
Dodge Hornet - Concept
183” Length
Ford 012c - Concept
How will buildings adapt?
Future Adaptations Buildings within the future will need to adapt to the use of future cars within the city. But the question that needs to be asked is: Will the adaptations exist only at street level, or will entire buildings need to evolve?
Since the boundaries of where car can and cannot go have vanished, a new archetype will need to be evolved. The following pages represent the first iterations of that new archetype
Concept applied to site
Final Design
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Envision a city that embodies the past, when streets were spacious friendly spaces, open to both pedestrian and vehicle; a city before the rise of suburbia, when cars were not the predominate means of transportation. Envision that same city, years in the future. The car has evolved into small personal transportation units no bigger than a large bike. These vehicles are treated as pedestrians, thus rewriting the rules of circulation that govern cities today. Detroit, Michigan provides a unique opportunity to explore the concept of pedestrian-vehicle interaction by providing a blank slate to experiment new ideas. In a city, whose fame and fortune were derived from the automobile industry, but destroyed by mass highways and poor vehicular circulation, what better place to test new concepts of pedestrian and motorized traffic?
past Past cities, prior to the emergence of suburbia and mass transit, were both welcoming to pedestrian and car. Rules were applied, but movement within the city was free and unrestrictive. Thus, Social interaction was at its peak.
present Suburban living has created a point A to point B travel mentality, highways were constructed to provide the fastest routes in and out of cities. This created segregated streets, constricting pedestrians to the sidewalks, and reduced social interaction to a minimum.
future prediction one Mass transit has fully taken over the city fabric. The car is now the only form of transportation. The point A to point B mentality has fully taken over, and social interaction is non existent.
future prediction two The predominate method of circulation is by way of foot. Vehicular circulation has been nearly eliminated. However, without the use of motorized vehicles, travel is slow; a concept that can prove deficient in a fast pace city such as Detroit.
the proposal To create an archetype that utilizes the benefits of a pedestrian friendly city without sacrificing vehicular circulation entirely. The rules defined by this project will explore the concept of vehicular/pedestrian interaction, creating a new social condition that reflects on the past, with a vision towards future.
redefining mobile circulation
At the turn of the 20th century, the automobile industry was hitting new strides. Vehicles could drive faster and further. This created suburban lifestyle, which drove away from city life. These vehicles, along with the evolution of suburbs, created mass highways which have lead to the destruction of cities such as Detroit.
General Motors EN-V In order to rewrite the rules that govern all past and present cities, mobility needed to be redefined. General Motors and their Electric Networked Vehicles or EN-Vs, became the catalyst for encouraging inter-city travel. The close proximity of GM’s Renaissance Center to the site location will allow the proposed site to be a testing ground for the newly defined archetype, testing the idea that seamless mobility can apply to both street level circulation and the vertical city.
Larger mass transit cars create a barrier between pedestrian and vehicle, allowing for little to no social interaction
Smaller, more versatile and person vehicles allow for a wider, more open street which devolves the barrier created by the large car, this creates a greater potential for social interaction, thus keeping pedestrians within the city.
Within the proposed urban fabric the pedestrian and transportation units become equal, disposing any current hierarchical boundaries.
mobility meets the vertical city
Case 1
Case 2
Currently structures only allow for two cases: Case 1 represents the vehicle adapted buildings (parking garages) with have very little appeal to pedestrian traffic. Case 2 represents common high rise buildings where person can travel vertically but the vehicle can only travel horizontally
Case 3
Case 4
The proposal suggests a possibility that with the incorporation of these new, compact personal transportation units, vehicle and pedestrian can interact on both the horizontal and vertical level (Case 3). Further more these new proposed archetypes will evolve to incorporate more, normally horizontal existing spaces such as charging stations and green space (Case 4)
5’
7’
5’
7’ Since the proposed archetype will exist for both car and pedestrian a proportioning system based off the dimensions of the vehicle and pedestrian is adapted and applied to new rules within building. The following pages represent the process of applying these proportions in three dimensions.
5’
7’
Vertical Circulation ion
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Grow
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Spread
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Grow
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Evolve
Due to its open floor plan based around the vehicle and pedestrian, the programmatic capabilities are endless on both the horizontal plane and vertical plane.
Vertical Circulation o riz Ho
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The spatial qualities of the archetype also allows for it to attach to existing buildings or adapt to existing city grids.
existing site proposal
Existing Conditions
City grid defines new river front conditions
Initial massing proposal
City grid defines new site massing
Secondary and tertiary paths define final massing proposal
Final Design Master Plan
0 ft.
600 ft.
GM products and technology museum
Island amphitheater
River interaction
vertical/horizontal circulation
urban interrupters
P Macro circulation plan
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Parking spaces where non downtown residents can exchange their large vehicles for either rented or owned personal transportation units Mass transit Access Routes Main artery streets for the personal transportation units. New redirected traffic for the inclusion of highway park (large star represents the bridged connection to Canada._
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Expansion Phase One
Expansion Phase Two
Expansion Phase Three
South West Corridor
Main Promenade
North East Corridor
Highway Park
North West Corridor
Central Square
Island Monument