Centralizing Community Investigation of Gathering Within a City Joshua Keily | Katie Broh
RESEARCH ELIZABETH, NJ
1.
3.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
2.
5. 4. 8. 6. 7.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: Located in Union County, New Jersey, Elizabeth is close neighbors to New York City and the Newark International Airport. It is a dwarf in comparison, but a lot of it’s industry comes through its seaport, which is one of the largest in the East Coast. COMMERCIAL DISTRICT CITY HALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE
PROJECT SITE
MATTANO PARK
Elizabeth is a through-fare for many residents of New Jersey looking to get to the Newark International Airport or New York City. Major Turnpikes and Highways pass through the city, interrupting the Pedestrian and Urban Fabric. The city grew rapidly around the care and many crossings are unfriendly and unsafe to pedestrians.
RESEARCH PROGRAM:
INDUSTRIAL SPECIAL COMMERCIAL COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL PUBLIC OPEN SPACE PUBLIC BUILDING
A lot of the outdoor activities and programs I want to focus on include civic gatherings and community activities. Music venue, performance spaces, and large flexible spaces are the language I want the exterior of the site to speak. These types of activities and spaces can cradle a civic gathering space. The interior spaces of my program focus more on the relationship between public and rehabilitation spaces. The public spaces serve to reinforce the public exterior spaces, and support gathering and large community use. Gathering is meant to happen where the community can come to gather, and that is within an open market type building.
PROTESTING SPACE
CONCERTS/ OUTDOOR MUSIC
STUDY SPACE
SELF-SUFFICIENCY OFFICES
SEATING SPACE
PERFORMANCE SPACE
EATING/CAFE SPACE
MENTAL HEALTH OFFICES
OUTDOOR MARKET AND SHOPPING
OUTDOOR EATING
RESTAURANT AND RETAIL SPACE
REHABILITATION OFFICES
ORATION/ PRESENTATION SPACE
INTERACTIVE PLAY SPACE
COMMUNITY MEETING ROOMS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION OFFICES
ACCESS TO RIVERWALK
ARTWALL/ SPACE FOR PUBLIC ART
DAY-CARE SPACE
PERFORMANCE SPACE
RESEARCH
PRECEDENTS: My most inspirational precedents involved public parks, gathering spaces, and community oriented open markets. Each of these typologies were able to provide important civic and community spaces for th
RESEARCH CITY HALL
POLICE PLAZA
HOSPITAL
HIGH SCHOOL
ELIZABETH STATION
TES INU 5M
S UTE MIN 10
S UTE MIN 15
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
FRANK J. CICARELL ACADEMY
SITE VISITS & PARTI:
CITY HALL
I had conducted a number of site visits during the project. Each visit allowed me to interrogate different public spaces of the city and observe how people actually used these spaces. This eventually allowed me to choose my site and develop a parti that focuses on centering people into the focal point of my site. THOMAS JEFFERSON ARTS ACADEMY
PROCESS
FRONT STREET EDGE
JEFFERSON
CROSSROADS
AVE.
PINCH POINT
AVE.
BRIDG
E ST.
BROAD ST.
ELIZABETH
S. PEARL ST.
PROCESS Roof Level 30' - 0"
Level 2 15' - 0"
Level 1 0' - 0"
Roof Level 30' - 0"
Roof Level 30' - 0"
Level 2 15' - 0"
Level 2 15' - 0"
Level 1 0' - 0"
Level 1 0' - 0"
DESIGN REVIEW THOUGHTS: JEFFERSON
AVE.
The Design Review served as the main launching point for the project. It allowed me to formalize my master plan and summarize the research I had gathered at that point. Form there I was able to develop partis about connection, as well as find inspiration for the architecture of my building.
AVE.
BRIDG
E ST.
BROAD ST.
ELIZABETH
BRIDG
E ST.
JEFFERSON
AVE.
BROAD ST.
ELIZABETH
AVE.
JEFFERSON
AVE.
S. PEARL ST.
S. PEARL ST.
AVE.
JEFFERSON
AVE.
BRIDG
E ST.
BROAD ST.
ELIZABETH
AVE.
BRIDG
E ST.
BROAD ST.
ELIZABETH
S. PEARL ST.
S. PEARL ST.
DESIGN REVIEW
AMPHITHEATER/STUDENT SPILL OUT
DAY CARE PLAY AREA MAIN FORUM
PEDESTRIAN STREET/SPILL OUT
TECH REVIEW
THOUGHTS:
OPEN MARKET
SOCIAL SERVICE OFFICES
THEATER
EXISTING
STUDY CENTER
COMMUNITY OFFICES DAY-CARE
PROPOSED
The Technical Review forced me to define more of the architecture of my Open Market building, as well as further develop the master plan. I was able to study how roof forms affected daylight and study how a terracotta facade impacted the solar shading. The structural parti was also developed to accentuate the daylight entering the space.
TECH REVIEW
Ground Floor 6/21 - 1PM
Second Floor 6/21 - 1PM
KITCHEN BAY
Ground Floor 12/21 - 1PM
SEATING BAY
Second Floor 12/21 - 1PM
30’ 35’
30’
SEATING BAY
KITCHEN BAY
TECH REVIEW
FINAL REVIEW
THOUGHTS: The Final Review ultimately saw the project to its furthest development. The largest challenges were defining the site design as well as reinterpreting the plans to my main building based on the feedback from the jurors.
FINAL REVIEW
FINAL REVIEW THOUGHTS: My main goal for the final was to define the public spaces and showcase how they operated. Vignettes showcasing each of my design moves were essential.
FINAL REVIEW
GROUND FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
FINAL REVIEW THOUGHTS: Access to the river from the riverwalk was crucial to the design. The river crossing served as the focal point to my project and is a great space for people to gather.
FINAL REVIEW
THOUGHTS:
Another focus of the project was to mediate the pedestrian crossings along Elizabeth Ave. to the North. A redesigned streetscape for the street envisioned a pedestrian road, with plantings and foliage meant to slow down cars and make crossing easier. My Open Market served as a junction that allowed people from the street into my site, allowing people to transition from interior and exterior spaces freely.
FINAL REVIEW THOUGHTS: The interior of the building was envisioned to be a dense and busy building with various market stalls. Daylight is meant to enter the space and guide circulation as people gather and intermingle.
FINAL REVIEW
SUMMARY: For each of my design reviews, the jurors were incredibly helpful, informative, supportive, and insightful. I can not thank each and every one of them enough, as well as my advisor, Katie Broh. Their collective feedback was crucial for many of my design decisions and inspirations. They gave great feedback on the site relationships of my master plan, the exterior make up of my building, and how the interior of the building was designed to empower the space. The process for thesis, as well as this year specifically, were incredibly difficult for me. A lot of new events and experiences were thrown at me in a very close span of time at the beginning of the year, which left little time to process and prepare. I initially struggled with confidence in my decisions and struggled overall with working with the lack of a studio environment. Eventually, I was able to regain my footing and follow the year through. The biggest thing I learned was to consistently try new ideas, even if they seem bad or not worth trying initially. The act of trying forces you to begin iterating and designing.
FINAL THOUGHTS