Design Thinking

Armature of Utility

INSTRUCTOR: DEREK HOEFERLIN TEACHING ASSISTANT: ASHLEY HOOLIHAN DESIGN THINKING SPRING 2014 SAM FOX SCHOOL OF DESIGN + VISUAL ARTS GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & URBAN DESIGN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

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Contents

Concept Mapping

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Concept Development Premise Criteria of Scaffolding At the convergence of utility Scales of Armature

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Site development Scenarios of Armature

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Program Extinct Life Feasibility Study Ergonomics Spatial Implications

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Sources

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Premise

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Armature: A skeletal framework built as a support on which objects can be attached to or given shape by. “Armature� is a metaphor for defining typologies of making and construction. Similar to a literal armature, which is not the object itself but rather supports or houses the object(s); this project proposes a method of making which can adapt to any site in order house varying and needed utilities. This will be achieved in three ways: First, providing a rubric for understanding what happens at the convergence of contrasting utilities.. Second, locating potential regions which would benefit from varying utility. Finally, to envision armature in a way that can change our understanding of multi-utility facilities and how they can effectively co-exist.

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Concept Development

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Armature

Mapping Armature

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Criteria of Armature

Concept Development Utility: The ability of utility to change and adapt over time depending on the needs of both the building and the site.

Utility can be turned on or off as needed.

Scales of Armature

Building: Armature as a building inverts the traditional mehtodology of how it is used.

It becomes the building which supports needed utility City: Over time ‘Mega-cities’ are becoming ‘Hyper-Cities.

Cities must be able to adapt and change to diverse utility and groups of people.

Site

Program

Alive: ‘Armature’ can attach to active buildings supplementing their current program.

Existing

Parasite: ‘Armature’ can attach to abandoned buildings changing their original program.

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Additive: The abililty to create new space over vacant land.

Scenarios of Armature

New

Subtractive: The ability to remove parts of the armature and leave new construction

MacArthur Bridge

An engine assembly plant would stretch the length of the bridge. As parts and raw materials arrive by train at the begining of the bridge, they are assembled over the length of the bridge in different stations.

Throughout this process, the public is experiencing and interacting with this program

Criteria of Scaffolding Alive Where there is pre-existing program in an active site, the Scaffolding may interact with the site, altering or supplementing it positively and only slightly but not change it completely.

Physically, the Scaffolding cannot completely change the form of the site in anyway that effects the original 9 program

The primary purpose of a scaffold is its ability to adapt, adjust, and particular site or context. While the typology of sites is discussed l of criteria governing how “Scaffolding” may behave and/or interac site.

Parasitical Similar to the “Alive” criteria, Parasitical Scaffolding can only effect pre-existing sites. The difference between the two is Parasitical Scaffolding produces negative effects for the existing site. For example, completely changing or altering the original program, thus creating a completely different site.

d change to conform to a later, this section provides a set ct depending on its particular Additive Additive Scaffolding must create program in a site that did not previously exist. This criteria recommends empty lots or undeveloped land.

Subtractive Over time, the Scaffolding, either in part or in whole is removed from a site, revealing a new construction.

The new construction may contain completely new program or one related to the original program of the site. The site may be alive or dead(abandoned).

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At the Convergence of Utility

When several different utilities come together in close proximity to one another via Armature, interesting and potentially unforeseen relationships are created, which in turn affect each other and the surrounding space. Utilitarian diversity is created and the space is therefore enriched. The following section qualifies the potential dynamics of these relationships.

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Parasitism

Commensalism

One utility benefits while the other is harmed

One utility benefits without affecting the other

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These relationship typologies occur naturally between programs

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Mutualism

Amensalism

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Both utilities benefit from each other

One utility is harmed without affecting the other

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Scales of Armature

16 Utility

The ability of utility to change and adapt over time depending on the needs of both the building and the site. Utility can be turned on or off as needed.

Building

City

Armature as a building inverts the traditional methodology of how it is used. It becomes the building which supports needed utility

Over time ‘Mega-cities’ are becoming ‘HyperCities. Cities must be able to adapt and change to diverse utility and groups of people.

Scaffold as Utility

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Utility dictates the shape of a building. Over time, the utilitarian needs of the building may change.

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If the shape of the building is unable to adapt proportionally with the utility, disorder is created.

Armature as Building

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Desired program can be inserted and built around

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Scaffold as City

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Currently, cities are built laterally. If more space is needed, it is taken from the surrounding landscape.

While only recently has man begun to build vertically, new ways of constructing cities is still an a new frontier.

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24 Does lateral physical growth equate to economic strength? Is it necessary? Today, we believe it is, but how can we be more efficent and use the scaffold to create new space?

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Scenarios of Armature

Existing Alive

Parasite (Dead)

Additive

New

There are three different ‘scenarios’ or conditions in which Armature can occur within the region of the downtown area.

Subtractive

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Regions of Interest

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These regions represent an area in St. Louis which provide the best breeding ground for the various scenarios of Armature.

Defining features of this area which constitute this concept are physical density, verticality, diverse programs, and its potential as a site. Specifically, this area has the most potential to positively impact the rest of the city. If successful, these regions could be used as a rubric for informing how ‘Armature’ can be used to reorganize other parts of the city.

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Subtractive

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Until 1981, the Douglas MacArthur Bridge was being used by vehicles above and trains below. The bridge was closed to vehicles due to road deterioration. Since then, the bridge has only been in use by the railroad companies. The disused road remains above the rail for the time being. Since 2013, efforts have began to remove the vehicle portion of the bridge, leaving the railroads in place.2

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The Scope of the Rail

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Railroad

Missouri is home to 19 railroads operating on nearly 4,400 miles of track, and about 7,000 public and private crossings. Kansas city and St. Louis are ranked as the second and third largest rail hubs in the U.S, respectively, with Kansas City carrying over 300 daily freight arrivals and departures. Over $7.2 billion in Missouri commodities are shipped by rail.

The rail industry generates and estimated $2.7 billion annually in GDP, $1.5 billion in personal income, and $82 million in revenues. Its economic impact in Missouri cannot be overstated.3

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Industrial

Commercial

The bridge itself is abandoned; an engineered element that no longer exists to serve it’s original utility. In this sense, it is a framework that can be used to house new utility and bring new life to this area. Over time with the bridge living on as a scaffold, new utility can be changed out and inserted in to adapt to new or unforeseen needs

Pine Street + North 11th St

Disused Vehicle Road

Active Railroad 42

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Alive

Pine Street + North 11th St

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The ‘Alive’ strategy represents one particular method of expressing the Armature condition under the ‘Existing’ scenario. In this case, the AT&T towers are an already active building with existing utility. The attaching scaffolding then would offer new utility which would then supplement the existing utility

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These tower are owned by the AT&T Bellsouth Company. With the bottom few floors given to the public, the top floors are offices, and the last tower is a data center.

Pine Street + North 11th St

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Parking Garage

Offices

Offices

Offices

Lobby

Lobby

Lobby

Additive

Pine Street + Locust Street + St. Charles Street

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Parking Lots Downtown

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Hardscape Parking In-Building Parking

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During the 1950’s St. Louis created large amounts of parking to keep pace with the production of the automobile and the freedom it granted. They created so much parking in fact, that the city would demolish buildings to make room for more parking.

However, this created an ironic problem: The more the city demolished, the less there was for people to experience. Today, there is an over-abundance of parking lots; many of which go unused throughout the week. Therefore, the various types of parking lots represent a viable option for Armature insertion.4

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Sectionally, it is important to understand the boundaries of differing utilities within the surrounding context and how Scaffolding can intersect it.

Pine Street + Locust Street + St. Charles Street

Commercial Civic Residential Parking

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Program

Over the course of the last century, St. Louis has become increasingly industrialized. In the early 20th century, a vibrant river front district existed where there was a close relationship between the public, the river, and growing industrial market. Over time, the barge and rail industry grew in importance and the channelization of the river became necessary. However, channelization increased the occurrence of large and devastating floods and our need to protect those industries became priority. Installing flood walls protected the river front industries but also shut out the public. Today, relationship between the public and the river is all but disappeared. An engine assembly plant on the MacArthur Bridge addresses the public/industry tension through scaffolding. By allowing the public to engage the bridge again and witness an engine being made along the bridge, they feel like contributors in the process of something St. Louis made.

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The Extinct Life of the Bridge Once finished on January 20th 1917, the MacArthur Bridge (Municipal Bridge) opened to thousands of people eager to not just drive, but also walk across it. While referred to as the ‘Free Bridge’ it was certainly not free. Frought with financial strife from the beginning of the project, the bridge was almost not completed. Once finished, the bridge was fairly busy with traffic throughout the day. There was a more clear explicit 60 relationship between industry and the public. the bridge represented more than just the rail industry. People could not only see the trains but also view the barges below on the river.

Over time, this relationship diverged more and more. With the closing of the vehicle portion of the bridge in 1981, the public could no longer view or really have a clear understanding of two of the largest industries in St. Louis. If successful, this project will begin to reconcile this relationship and bring the public back into an understanding of industry in St. Louis.2

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Circa 1917

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Circa 2014

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Top Missouri Commodities Shipped by Rail Value vs. Volume by Weight

Vehicles

2,821

Grains\Soy

7,961

Gravel

1,956

65 763

323 1,098

($ Millions) Vs. Thousands of Tons Annually 3

Foodstuffs

1,429

552

Tobacco Products

763 283

Non-Metallic Minerals

1,025 112 While the demand for motor vehicles and parts is high, the supply is not. With the exception of vehicles, there exists a negative relationship between supply and demand for every other major industry.

This is a missed opportunity and would be advantageous to St. Louis in two major ways: 1: Boost economic activity in a struggling sector 2: Begin to repair the relationship between industry and the public

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Feasibility Study

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Fenton

The Chrysler Assembly Plant in Fenton was closed in 2009. It housed close to 5 million sq. ft of production area. It represented the last assembly plant close to St. Louis city.

The only other plants in Missouri are located in Wentzville and Claycomo.5

The Chrysler plant proper sits on 279 acres of land with a an additional 14 acres of supplementary program. At a total site area of just under 300 acres and over 5 million sq. feet of production space, it had the resources to produce up to 900 automobiles per day during peak production periods.

However, the engine assembly plant was only 700,00 sq. feet. Snaking around the different stations, the various parts would eventually become a single engine. Once the engine had finished assembly, it was taken and put into the various automobiles, where finally the vehicle would be driven off the lot.5

Parts Delivered

Cars Drive Away

This project is taking this “snaking� assembly process and stretching out over the length of the bridge.

The Benchmark Understanding the Market

Number of Assembly Plants in the US

Number of Vehicles Produced Per Year in the US

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12,441 Vehicles Produced per Plant per Year 365 Days per Year

4,540,985

To really understand the program of an automobile assembly plant it is important to understand the scope of the current market. Looking at the relationship between the number of assembly plants versus the 71 number of cars produced per day creates a benchmark for the average American assembly plant. Ultimately, if an assembly plant is going to be worth building, it must create a minimum competitive amount of product.

The average size of an assembly plant in the U.S. requires approximately 4 million sq. ft. to accommodate for various equipment, machines, rooms, and thousands of employees. With this amount of square footage these plants can produce many cars per day. The bridge may not allow for this scale of production.6

Approx. 276 Cars Produced per Day

112,00 sq. ft 112,00 sq. ft 112,00 sq. ft 112,00 sq. ft 6’

44’

72 56’

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6’

112,00 sq. ft per floor

2000’

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Currently, the bridge is only 56’ wide and 2,000’ long. If this project doesn’t change the current boundaries, the bridge allows a total of 112,000 sq. ft. of building space per level.

Each level could allow for different program for an overall total of 560,000 sq. ft. for the entire project.2 Total Potential sq. ft.

560,000 sq. ft.

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Ergonomics

Another aspect of the feasability study is understanding the scale of spaces required by the machinery required to produce an engine. It is important to establish a catalogue of that the visiting public can experience this space safely.

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Ergonomics

The Spatial Relationship Between the Public and Industry

The Public

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12’

4’

Technicians

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6’

3’

Ergonomics

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The Forge

110 f

400 f 79

900 f

Progammatic Strategy

Views of the River

Recieving

Unloading 4 Bays 11,000 sq. ft.

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Forge 4 Bays 22,500 sq. ft.

Input

High Tide Low Tide Top Soil

Bed Rock

Production 1st Stage Chemical Bath 4 Bays 11,000 sq. ft.

Machine Shop 5 Bays 40,000 sq. ft.

Assembly Pre-Assembly 2nd Stage Chemical Bath 4 Bays 4 Bays 22,500 sq. ft.

11,000 sq. ft.

Final Assembly 5 Bays 40,000 sq. ft.

Dynamometer Testing 3 Bays 8,500 sq. ft.

Packaging 4 Bays 15,000 sq. ft.

Output

Waste Water Pumped Back to Land

Scrap Metal Loaded onto Train for Re-sale

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Progammatic Strategy Off-Gas

Unloading/Sorting Excess Scrap

Train Delivery

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Forge

Off-Gas

1st Stage Chemical bath

Produc Machine Shop

Pre-Assembly

Excess Scrap

Aluminum Ingots Various Parts

Engine Blocks Scrap

Waste Water/Oils

Recieving

Heat from Forge Creates Steam for Bath

Waste Water/Oils

Production

ction

Off-Gas

2nd Stage Chemical bath

Off-Gas

Final Assembly

Dyno Testing

Packaging

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Load onto train for transport

Assembly

Recieving Span

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Train

4 Bays

Unload Parts from Train Organize Parts Prepare Parts

4 Bays

Smelt Aluminum Reload Slag onto Train

Off-Gas Off-Gas

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Train Waste Water Pumped Back to Land 4 Bays

Wash Parts Prepare for Assembly

Production Span

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Train

5 Bays

Machine Shop, Lathe, Milling Load Scrap onto Train

Off-Gas

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Train Waste Water Pumped Back to Land 4 Bays

Prepare Machined Parts Pre-Assembly

4 Bays

Final Wash Chemical Bath

Assembly Span

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Train

5 Bays

Final Assembly, Final Fabrication, Fitting, Load Scrap onto Train

Off-Gas

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Train

3 Bays

Dyno Testing

4 Bays

Packaging for Transport, Storage of Parts Loading Engines onto Train

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Equally important as creating a space for the public to interact with industry is creating a space that allows the public views of the river.

The project allows gaps to separate the spans, providing a view of the river which as been all but taken away by industry. This “silence� in program is an important facet in reconciling the relationship between the public and industry.

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Sources

Non-Print

Printed

1.

“Animal Partnerships.” Fact Monster: Online Almanac, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and Homework Help. http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0776202.html (accessed ).

2.

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Historical and Technical Society. 2005. The St. Louis Municipal Bridge Railway. St. Louis, Mo: Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Historical and Technical Society.

3.

Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. 2008. Missouri freight transportation, economy on the move rail freight. [Jefferson City, Mo.]: Missouri Department of Economic Development. http://cdmresolver.worldcat.org/oclc/823652281/viewonline/.

4.

The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis and Downtown Community Improvement District.

“Downtown Parking Guide.” . http://www.vfw.org/uploadedFiles/VFW.org/News_and_ Events/Events/DowntownParkingGuide.pdf (accessed ).

5.

AECOM. “Impact of Chrysler Closure.” U.S. Department of Commerce: Economic Development Administration. http://www.stlpartnership.com/cmss_files/attachmentlibrary/ AECOM%20Chrysler%20Impact%20-%20sm.pdf (accessed ).

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6.

7.

“National Transportation Statistics | Bureau of Transportation Statistics.” National Transportation Statistics | Bureau of Transportation Statistics. http://www.rita.dot.gov/ bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/index.html (accessed ).

Construction Drawings of MacArthur Bridge provided by Board of Public Service at St. Louis City Hall

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