VISION STATEMENT
PROCESS
The Boise Bench is a disconnected area with a diverse and growing population. It provides a unique opportunity to enhance and revitalize the communities and connections that are found there. Located to the west and slightly south of Boise Downtown, it is a prime location for people to live outside of the city, yet still be close enough to connect to and access the downtown area. We intend to plant seeds of opportunity throughout the neighborhoods that, over time, will flourish into a unified community. We envision a place that preserves cultural diversity while enabling friendly interaction between neighbors, and creates places where everyone can be happy with their way of life.
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In yellow is the Boise city limits. This is a great opportunity because of the unique geographic features. The Bench its self is an elevated plateau, then it is bordered by the Boise River, and Mountains. The Bench in green also has a close connection to down town Boise in gray.
LEGEND GREEN SPACE RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HARDSCAPE
DENTON ST.
DENTON ST.
CLINTON ST,
CLINTON ST,
The goal for this neighborhood was to urbanize a dead space. This was a very run down area, but with much potential. The Boise Bench was lacking in a variety in their housing types, making it difficult for the needs of the user to be met if they were anything other then average. We implemented a variety of house types and styles while maintaining affordability. Courtyard style housing was used in order to create space for a community to strive. A green corridor was implemented in between the houses. We also tried to break up the block so it has a tighter feel to it.
PHASE 1: Area 3
The bench has several areas that are in need of attention. We narrowed it down to four specific spots which are shown in blue, and the areas that will be affected by the revitalization is shown in yellow.
PRECEDENTS
EXISTING
diversity in housing type. In order to accommodate all users we plan to include a variety of housing types. We will provide a plethora of new and existing single family homes, duplexes/multiplexes, townhouses, condos, lofts, apartments, etc. That will best fit the needs of the area. We have identified four specific areas that our improvements will be focused on.
2. Strengthen connections and nodes between residents and surrounding amenities
Connections and nodes are important to any successful community. The circulation throughout the Boise bench is broken-up and uninviting for residents and visitors. In collaboration with other teams, we will significantly improve the connections between first, second, and third places. Improvements will include issues of pedestrian safety, proximity of residents to amenities, and experience of the user. Locations for first places are carefully selected and oriented for future growth.
3. Rebuild and improve the Boise International Market and enhance its connections with surrounding areas
This area was designed after the case study called The Missing Middle. Its purpose is to establish a buffer of higher density housing around a mixed commercial node. This provides more opportunities for walkability and people to easily access their every day needs outside the home. By creating these opportunities is helps feed the community and promotes interaction between other residents.
GREEN SPACE RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HARDSCAPE EMERALD ST.
EMERALD ST.
ORCHARD ST.
1. Create additional places to live that vary in size and type Although the bench continues to experience growth, it currently has a lack of a
DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS LEGEND
ORCHARD ST.
KEY POINTS
AREA 2: MIXED RESIDENTIAL
The Bench is located just outside of down town Boise. Boise is the largest city in Idaho. It is interesting because once you get outside the greater Boise area it is very spars.
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DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS
CURTIS RD
FOCUSED AREAS
PRECEDENTS
CURTIS RD
WHAT PART OF IDAHO UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY
EXISTING
AREA 1: ISLAND OF HOMES
CONTEXT
PHASING
PHASE 2: Area 4
The missing middle.
Tragically, the Boise International Market burned down earlier this fall. As a part of our plan we are proposing to rebuild, and create a new and improved Market. We plan to place the market towards the north end of the property, and have the entrance face the street. Orienting the market in this way will help to create an exciting and dynamic place for events, farmers market, parties, flea markets, gatherings, restaurants, etc. We also want to improve the physical and visual access, and create a more usable environment.
PHASE 3: Area 1
Steven: 22 year old college student attending BSU. His major is Business communications.
Shani: 34 year old African refugee with 3 children. She owns a small clothing shop in the BIM
Jessica: 28 year old young professional, she has a husband and a child on the way.
we wanted to highlight areas of interest and then make a strong connection between them all.
PARTI 2: CENTRALIZING
PRECEDENTS
DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS
The Boise International Market is something that has been up and running and had many successful aspects. The ideas are to improve on what existed before and implement some new ideas such as an outdoor patio, food truck parking, and increasing the residential opportunities surrounding it. By moving the building more toward the improved street it increases visibility causing more people to be draw in. By increasing the housing around it there is more people to benefit from the new and improved Boise International Market.
LEGEND GREEN SPACE RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HARDSCAPE FRANKLIN
RD.
FRANKLIN
RD.
CURTIS RD.
PARTI 1: WORKING INWARD OUT
EXISTING
CURTIS RD.
PARTI EXPLORATION
AREA 3: INTERNATIONAL MARKET
USERS OF THE BOISE BENCH
PHASE 4: Area 2
Anuja: 56 year old hindi refugee. First generation in america with many grandkids.
Henry & Trish: 65 year old “empty nesters” of 3 children. They have 6 grandchildren that visit once a month.
We wanted the bench to be self sustaining. Having the main area in the middle, and then transitioning outward toward downtown.
DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS LEGEND GREEN SPACE RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HARDSCAPE
FRANKLIN RD.
FRANKLIN RD.
ORCHARD ST.
PARTI 3: CONNECTIVITY
PRECEDENTS
EXISTING
ORCHARD ST.
Chung: 43 year old refugee from china. He has a wife and one child.
We want to have a central focus within the Boise bench, this ideal would be the international market. Pulling all focus and connection toward the market.
AREA 4:MAVERICK GAS STATION
Jenson family: Paul and Sarah have a son nick age 5 and a daughter Kenzie age 11. Paul works as an architect down town.
The Hollywood library, Portland OR.
RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT & BOISE INTERNATIONAL MARKET JILLIAN VIRGI SETH VANCE KENDRICK OSTEGAARD MARK JENSEN BRYANT AVALOS UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
This area was selected because it is already undergoing some construction due to the new Maverick that is being put in. It is intended to be a residential buffer between Orchard street and the proposed park. Our idea was based off of the case study Hollywood Branch Library where they put residential housing above a public library. This is a creating a nice small neighborhood node creating another third place for residents. The Boise Bench is greatly lacking in third place outlets for their residents.
PERSPECTIVES
ILLUSTRATIVES AREA 1
AREA 2
A B
This is what we envision the mixed use area by the new Maverick to look like. A successful park with a high energy community of people to enjoy all that it has to offer.
This is middle street showing all of the green space and the devision of the block. This space is intended to have very low traffic and an active community.
MASTER PLAN
This is a look into the outdoor patio outside of the International Market. There is space for food trucks to pull up and serve people as well as a place for them to sit and enjoy their food. The residential housing in the background really helps to enclose the space and make it comfortable for all.
AREA 3
SECTIONS
A
AREA 4
B
C
C
D
RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT & BOISE INTERNATIONAL MARKET JILLIAN VIRGI SETH VANCE KENDRICK OSTEGAARD MARK JENSEN BRYANT AVALOS UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
D