Joshua Funderburk | Activated Greenspace: Exploration into Connections of the Park in Pittsburgh

ACTIVATED GREENSPACE: EXPLORATION INTO CONNECTIONS OF THE PARK IN PITTSBURGH

JOSHUA FUNDERBURK

Abstract The use of greenspace within an urban condition has the possibility to connect the different existing infrastructure elements of a city. This thesis project is exploring the urban conditions of connection applicable through a vibrant active recreational greenspace at the intersection of the Pittsburgh urban core, arena, university district, and desirable residential neighborhoods. Pittsburgh as a city has a historic past of industrialization, but in recent development is pushed towards a more high-tech future. In the city of Pittsburgh, recent redevelopment of the old Mellon Arena site has left it empty to community use.

This location was once a spot of social interaction, starting as an important residential neighborhood.

The displacement of the residents saw the construction of the arena, the next phase of social context applied to the site. The intervention of a large scale public parkscape across this location works to tie the existing residential neighborhood and the urban downtown district through community interaction and the creation of a desirable location. Through analysis of existing park space project, such as the Parc de la Villette submissions by Rem Koolhaas and Bernard Tschumi informs the way programmatic data and movement is engaged throughout a site. This thesis works to address that movement needed to articulate the connection between the different regions of Pittsburgh while activating the park greenspace with community focused programs of leisure, exercise, and engagement. Terracing the existing topography creates the organizing element across the site, and this system’s intersection with a sculpted topography further details the divisions of the site while taking into account the edge conditions. As part of the activation of the landscape, a water management system works to collect, treat, store, and distribute water through the intervention and the important locations around the site.

Through these processes of intervention, the goal is to create a system for community engagement that acknowledges the needs of the Pittsburgh urban condition. The focus on public program augments this idea that the site can be used by anyone and that it becomes an integral part of the city.

HISTORIC IMAGES

HISTORIC IMAGES

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SITE TOPOGRAPHY

130’

STRIATION DIVISIONS

TERRACE ARTICULATION

SITE INTERVENTION

PROGRAMMATIC LOCATION

WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

LANDSCAPE CONDITIONS

LANDSCAPE CONDITIONS

GARDEN STRIATIONS

GARDEN PIXELATION

CENTRAL CORRIDOR

CAFE EXERCIS

SE SPACE LOCKERS