CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF GREENWAY

When we studied the greenway path, we wanted to integrate it within the site and push it farther from the road in some cases to provide a heightened experience. We also focused on car traffic and brainstormed ideas to connect main axes and propose transverse axes. We looked at the possibility of one and two-way streets as well as strictly pedestrian walking and biking roadways. Another idea we looked at was creating a second path, alternate to the greenway for users who wish for a leisure experience rather than simply using the greenway for immediate travel. This would run through our proposed design idea and would allow for users to get off their bikes and experience our new proposals. We then shifted our focus to public spaces and thought that pavilions, forests and market squares placed throughout our site would be a beneficial element to bring the community and travelers together. These designs would be accessible by someone of any age and ability. We then transitioned into thinking about what services we should provide and what industry should be preserved. Lastly, we discussed how we would ensure that the entire site would be walkable and create a welcoming atmosphere. At this stage we began to brainstorm design ideas for the entirety of the site which was a challenge due to its scale. We had questions on what to do with the current housing that was mostly in horrible condition. empty lots came up. The team decided that we wanted to respect what was being used by residents and come up with solutions to fix the vacancy issue. We also decided that the plot of land located between West Chicago and Grand River would be the best for the community gathering space, with smaller recreation on the north and south of that area. The team also discussed barriers to hide what was needed but also to show what was beneficial to the site. We discussed adding and removing roads from the site or changing their usage from car traffic to foot traffic for example. We then realized that the plot of land that was mentioned above (where we would put the majority of the community elements had a railroad running through it and so we had to brainstorm ideas with what to do with that and research the usage of it and how often. We discussed using intriguing design elements and site features to slow the commuters down. It would be a good idea to bring our site activity and use. Another aspect we discussed was where we were going to implement retail and commercial buildings as we began to plan a proposed zoning structure for the site.

10.05.2022

Zoning And Precedents

After listening to guest speakers, Idres and Michelle we moved onto the master plan designs. Idres advised the group to focus on the greenway and the design of it as well as to research existing infrastructure and the railroad and what precedents could help our design ideas. Michelle advised the group to research neighborhood planning and the difference between single and multi-family housing. She also mentioned creating a unified vision for economic development. After that our class meeting began with discussions about preservation and to make sure that each member of the team knew that our goal was to preserve anything possible so that the site could have a historical identity. We then transitioned into designing the greenway and decided that we wanted to deviate from a flat, linear path and to introduce inclines and elevations as well as a curving aspect to it. Discussion about road usage was sparked again and we decided that we wanted to control the flow of semi-trucks on the site which was a problem due to the close proximity to the I-96 highway. We know there are still many active industrial businesses occurring in and around our site and so we designed for the semi-trucks to be pushed to the border or the site to allow for the least amount of disruption to the pleasant, recreational area we were trying to produce. At this point in the semester, we started to dive deeper into the individual areas and nodes of our site and so we realized that the busiest area was the Oakman, Grand River intersection which we could turn into a downtown area for our site. Lastly, we wanted the site to be very walkable not just on the main greenway path but throughout so smaller paths branching off of the greenway was an idea we would develop further.

10.14.2022

Design Ideas And Focus

The team discussed and came up with a few precedents for the project design which included the Atlanta Beltline, MOMA Waterfront, St. Louis Chouteau, and the Switzerland Novarti Campus. We also focused on pocket parks with paths running through them to connect spaces to the greenway. We also wanted to focus on safety with public transportation as well as walking and biking. With public space we wanted to benefit ecology and improve mental health. When looking at roads that were discontinued due to the industry or other purposes, we wanted to re-connect some of them. We looked into setting a proposed zoning map for the site. Northern area would be focused on residential because that area contained a high amount of vacancy. Mixed use buildings were to be placed on the Grand River downtown area. The Southern area would be used for smaller recreation, due to the size of land available to the design team. We wanted to be mindful of parking and its impact on the site. We agreed that there should be some parking but not a large amount of it because we want our site to be walkable and used without a vehicle. When looking at roads we started brainstorming new service roads to keep vehicle traffic to a minimum in important public/ recreational areas of the site, integrating the into the business districts as well as the industrial areas. We assigned every block of the site to the current Detroit zoning categories and assigned a color to distinguish them from one another.

10.18.2022

UNIFYING THE OVERALL SITE, PHYSICAL MODEL, AND BOOK

Gearing towards the end of the semester we came together once more to discuss finalization of the overall site before we moved onto our individual plots and group/partner designs. We met to discuss the unification of the site and made sure each plot related to one another. This was so that a resident living in the northern area, southern area and everywhere in between could experience our site in a positive manner and to allow residents just outside the site to experience the same qualities. Additionally, during this discussion the team re-evaluated where we wanted the recreational spaces and decided that we should incorporate them throughout the site, rather than just in the center. We also decided to talk about the water throughout the site and tried to implement it in other plots to combat the storm problems in our site. As one of our last concepts we collectively agreed to add a park over I-96 that would allow traffic to flow into our site from the surrounding neighborhoods. This was also a studio work day where we divided and conquered to work on the physical site model. The painting team painted the table with a white finish and painted the vegetation white as well to showcase them as existing context. There was also a team dedicated to cutting, sanding, and painting surrounded homes, due to the large amount of context. Lastly we added finishing touches to the model by making it easy to be moved from one room to another. As for the book portion we finalized color scheme and our layout team for the book looked at precedents to find a layout that would be most ideal for our work.