ISLANDS Oliver Leech Unit 16 Berglund + Mias Bartlett School of Architecture
PATTERN RECOGNITION An analytical dissection and re-understanding of London to uncover a ‘second London’ - a new layer of the city existing within/above/below/around the existing city. The physical and non-physical collide to form a new way of understanding London.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
LONDON ARCHIPELAGO An average of 28 million individual passengers travel on the Underground network in London each year. Considering that the population of Greater London is only 14 million it is not only the residents of London but also tourists who use the tube as their main way of accessing the city.
Islands London as archipelago In the same way that Venice is a series of small islands surrounded by water, London becomes a series of small islands surounded by the void of ‘missing information’.
Due to the sub-terranean nature of the network people have a diconnected relationship with the city, and as a result London becomes a series of detached islands centered around tube stations. The destination has no physical and visible connection with the departure point. Underground travel means that it becomes a challenge to orientate one’s self within the city. The location of the tube stations alters the mental geography of the city with memories and experiences clustering around these transport nodes. In the same way that Venice is an archipelago of small islands, London becomes a series of detached urban islands - floating on a sea of unknown spaces, spaces that have not yet been experienced and so do not exist in the personal memory of the city.
B l o o m s b u r y
B a r b i c a n
I s l e o f S o h o
Venice A city of islands.
F u l h a m
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MAPPING LONDON The experience of London is always personal. London exists both as an object in space but also as a memory within the mind of each person who has experienced a part of London. And as memories are forged, lost, or halfforgotten, the city changes. As a result the London that exists in reality is very different from the London that we think exists.
Islands Mapping London Mapping my journeys through London over the course of a month. The areas I have experienced have been overlaid over a geographically accurate map. But this is not how the city exists in my memory. The underground lines connect these islands of London but offer no way of orientating the islands within the greater London archipelago.
I have mapped my personal experience of my London over the duration of a month, so that my second London - the one that exists in my memory - can be formed. The Situationists were a revolutionary group based in Europe during the 50s and 60s. They developed ways of mapping spatial surroundings based on Pschyogeography which Guy Debord defined as, “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.” In much the same way as my project, they were fascinated with how the pedestrian and the flaneur experience of the city, creating maps which revealed a new way of understanding their cities.
Situationist International clockwise from below: ‘Spectacle of the Society’ by Guy Debord the seminal Situationist book; Constant Nieuwenhuys ‘New Babylon Paris’; Guy Debord ‘The Naked City’.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
THE MENTAL CITY
Islands
The same journeys can be mapped, but from the memory of the city rather than from the accurate data of the city provided by existing maps. The result is that the islands become distorted and there is no way of understanding the dimensional qualities of the voids the unknown spaces between the islands. The islands cluster together to form a strange archipelago of distant islands. These physical journeys around the city are contrasted with the virtual connections made everyday with other objects, and other islands. Phone calls and messages can provide particular or vague data of their geographic location and these become part of the memory of the city - stretching and distorting it. Tall buildings and towers become lighthouses in the sea of unknown, directing and orientating oneself within the known city.
Mental London A new London begins to form. Dark lines represent physical connections within the city and light lines represent the virtual connections within and beyond the city. The BT Tower, St. Paul’s and The Shard are lighthouses - directing the pedestrian.
Describing New cities (left) Peter Gould and Rodney White, ‘Mental Maps’; (right) Italo Calvino, ‘Invisible Cities’.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
DISTORTED CITY
Islands
The tube network creates a distortion of the city, and this is increased by the visual representation of the network. The real London is lost in the manipulation of the city. Every time the London underground network is represented - certain rules apply. The original tube map distorts the centre of London to make is more legible and connections more clear. Time-based rules can also be applies to the map. It becomes even more unrecognisable when the true geography of the city is applied. When 3 these rules have gone, one can 4 5 6 only rely on the personal London that 8 7 6 5 exists in the memory for reference. This creates a new distorted representation of the city, but perhaps 4 more familiar and personal.
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Special fares apply
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Bushey
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North Harrow
West Harrow
Northwick Park
Queensbury
Preston Road
Kingsbury
Brent Cross Golders Green
North Wembley
Neasden
Wembley Park
Wembley Central
Finchley Road & Frognal
Willesden Green
Harlesden
Queen’s Park
Kilburn High Road
Swiss Cottage
South Hampstead
Kilburn Park Maida Vale Warwick Avenue
St. John’s Wood
Edgware Marylebone Road
Paddington
Ladbroke Grove
North Acton
Acton Central
Shepherd’s Bush
Shepherd’s Bush Market
Edgware
South Acton
Goldhawk Road
Acton Town
Queensway
Holland Park
2
Wood Lane
High Street Kensington
1
Turnham Stamford Ravenscourt Brook Park Green Canons Park
Gunnersbury
West Kensington
West Finchley
Victoria
3
Kew Gardens Harrow &
Wealdstone Richmond
4
Westminster
Putney Bridge
Golders Green
Neasden
Wimbledon Park
Hampstead
Willesden Green
Clapham Junction
Wimbledon
Turnpike Lane
Finchley Road
Willesden Junction
Kilburn Park
Queen’s Park
Holloway Road
Royal Oak
Westbourne Park
South Wimbledon
Edgware Road
Paddington
Morden
Latimer Road
2
Ladbroke Grove
3
Park Royal
Queensway
North Acton
Holland Park
Shepherd’s Bush
Edgware Road
Notting Hill Gate
Lancaster Gate
West Acton Hammersmith
Regent’s Park
High Street Kensington
Hyde Park Corner
Knightsbridge
Chiswick Park
Temple
Sloan Square
Earls Court South Kensington
Bank Monument
Cannon Street Mansion House
Westminister
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Waterloo & City DLR London Overground
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Emirates Air·Line Under construction
High Street Kensington Goodge Street
Transport for London Plaistow
Earls Court
Russell Square
Upton Park
Whitechapel
London Bridge
Tower Hill
Shadwell
Canning Town
Wapping Borough Bermondsey
Pimlico
Elephant & Castle
West Brompton Gunnersbury
Rotherhithe Canary Wharf Canada Water
Fulham Broadway
North Greenwich
Kennington Fulham Broadway
Finsbury Park
Stratford
Bow Road
West Ham
Lambeth North
St. James’s Park
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This diagram is an evolution Upney of the original design conceived in 1931 by Harry Beck Correct at time of going to print, December 2011
Shoreditch
Aldgate
Vauxhall Surrey Quays Oval
West Brompton
Gloucester Road
Parsons Green Kew Gardens
Brixton
New Cross Gate
Oxford Circus Green Park
Parsons Green
Stockwell Putney Bridge
Clapham North
Manor House
Aldgate East
Southwark Waterloo
Victoria
Northern
Becontree
8
Bromley-by-bow
Caledonian Road
Warren Street
East Ham
Mile End
Stepney Green
Liverpool Street
Blackfriars
Embankment
Turnham Green
Wanstead
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Bethnal Green
Moorgate
Chancery Lane
St. Paul’s
Stamford Brook
West Kensington
Farringdon Barbican
Holborn
Charing Cross
Gloucester Road
Edgware Road
Old Street
Covent Garden
King’s Cross
Regent’s Park
Hammersmith & City Metropolitan
Barking
Tottenham Court Road
Green Park
District District open weekends, public holidays and some Olympia events
Victoria Dagenham Heathway
Newbury Park
Leytonstone
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Circle
Jubilee Elm Park
Barkingside Gants Gill
Snaresbrook
Russel Square
Picadilly Circus
Ravenscourt Park
Fairlop
South Woodford
Norwood Junction
Camden Town
Notting Hill Gate
Piccadilly
West Croydon
Angel
5
Warren Street
Hainault
Dagenham East
Redbridge
Crystal Palace
Finsbury Park
4
Grange Hill
Walthamstow Central
Leyton
Leicester Square
Barons Court
Blackhorse
RoadWest Penge
Kings Cross
Goodge Street
Oxford Circus
Ealing Acton Town
Euston
Great Portland Street
Bond Street
Marble Arch
Upminister Bridge
Woodford
Tottenham Hale
Higbury & Islington
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Baker Street Euston Square
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Bayswater Shepherd’s Bush
White City
East Acton
Marleybone
Chigwell
Lewisham
Arsenal
Caledonian Road
Mornington Crescent St. John’s Wood
Warwick
Colliers Avenue Wood
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Hornchurch
Elverson Road
Anerley
3
Tooting Broadway
Key to lines
Upminister
Woolwich Arsenal
Deptford Bridge
Sydenham Seven Sisters
Manor House
Camden Town
Maida Vale
Beckton
3
Roding Valley
Brixton
Balham
Tooting Bec Swiss Cottage
Kensal Green
Gallions Reach
Bakerloo
Greenwich
Honor Oak Park
Kentish Town
Chalk Farm Clapham South
Harlesden
New Cross
Forest Hill
West Hampstead
Stonebridge Park
Pontoon Dock
Distorted London A London based on personal experiecnes and not confined by conventional ‘rules’ of map-making. It becomes naturally instinctive and personal.
Central
Brockley
Kennington
Clapham Common
udbury Hill
Beckton Park
Waterloo & City line open 0621-2148 Mondays to Fridays and 0802-1837 Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Public Holidays -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Blackfriars For reopening date see Planned Closures posters at stations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Camden Town Sunday 1300-1730 open for interchange and exit only -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Canary Wharf Step-free interchange between Underground, Canary Wharf DLR and Heron Quays DLR stations at street level -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cannon Street Open until 2100 Mondays to Fridays. Closed Saturdays and Sundays -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emirates Fare zone to be confirmed Greenwich Peninsula -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emirates Fare zone to be confirmed Royal Docks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heron Quays Step-free interchange between Heron Quays and Canary Wharf Underground station at street level -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hounslow West Step-free access for wheelchair users only -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shadwell DLR due to become step-free in January 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Turnham Green Served by Piccadilly line trains early mornings and late evenings only -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Waterloo Waterloo & City line open 0615-2141 Mondays to Fridays and 0800-1831 Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Public Holidays -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------West India Quay Not served by DLR trains from Bank towards Lewisham before 1900 on Mondays to Fridays
Buckhurst Hill
Tufnell Park
North Wembley
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Royal Albert
King George V
Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich
New Cross Gate
Prince Regent
London City Airport
Loughton
Bounds Green
Elephant & CastleWood Green
Emirates Royal Docks
2
Mudchute
Archway
4 Custom House for ExCeL
West Silvertown
Emirates Greenwich Peninsula
Island Gardens
Stockwell
Belsize Park
for The O2
Debden Crossharbour
Borough
Lambeth North
Oval
Clapham North
North Greenwich
Heron Quays
Southwark
2
Vauxhall Dollis Hill
Kilburn
bury Town
Canada Water
Arnos Grove
Highgate
Southfields Wembley Park
South Kenton
Wembley Central
Bermondsey
3
Cyprus
South Quay
1
East Putney
Preston Road
London Bridge
East Finchley
Kenton
Harrow-on-the-hill
Embankment
Southgate
East India
Royal Victoria
Canary Wharf Theydon Bois
Waterloo
Pimlico
Imperial WharfBent Cross
West India Quay
River Thames
Rotherhithe
Star Lane Canning Town
Blackwall
Epping
Wapping
West Ham
All Saints
Poplar
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Upton Park
Langdon Park
Limehouse Tower Gateway
Fenchurch Street
Blackfriars
Barking
Plaistow
Bromleyby-Bow
2
Becontree Upney
East Ham
Abbey Road
Devons Road
Westferry
Shadwell
Tower Hill
Monument
Mansion House
Whitechapel
Aldgate
Elm Park
Dagenham Heathway
Woodgrange Park
Pudding Mill Lane
Stepney Green
Aldgate East
Dagenham East
Wanstead Park
Mile End
B
Hornchurch
Stratford
Shoreditch High Street
Surrey Quays
Parsons Green
Northwick Park
Oakwood
Temple
Hendon Central
Fulham Broadway Kingsbury
Mill Hill East
Sloane Square
South Kensington
Cannon Street
Charing Cross
St. James’s Park
Finchley Central
2
Queensbury
North Harrow
st Harrow
Earl’s Court
Colindale
West Brompton
Pinner
Bank
Upminster Upminster Bridge
Leyton
Stratford International
Bow Church
1
St. Paul’s
Holborn
3
Gants Hill
Leytonstone High Road
Bow Road
Moorgate
Leicester Square
Piccadilly Circus
Knightsbridge
Stanmore
Chiswick Park
Cockfosters
Green Park
Gloucester Road
Barons Court Burnt Oak
Barbican Chancery Lane
Wanstead Leytonstone
Stratford High Street
Bethnal Green Liverpool Street
Covent Garden
Hyde Park Corner Woodside Park
Hoxton
Farringdon
Russell Square
Tottenham Court Road
Marble Arch
2
Fairlop Barkingside Newbury Park
Leyton Midland Road
Hackney Wick
Homerton
Haggerston
Old Street
Goodge Street
Oxford Circus
Hackney Central
Canonbury Dalston Junction
Angel
Totteridge & Whetstone
Kensington (Olympia)
Hammersmith
Bond Street
Walthamstow Central
Dalston Kingsland
King’s Cross St. Pancras
Euston Square
High Barnet
Lancaster Gate
Notting Hill Gate
Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
Euston
Regent’s Park
Bayswater
Latimer Road
Mornington Crescent
Warren Street
Edgware Road
Camden Road
A
Redbridge
Walthamstow Queen’s Road
Highbury & Islington
Caledonian Road
Camden Town
Great Portland Street
Baker Street
Royal Oak Westbourne Park
White City
2
Finchley Road
Tottenham Hale
Finsbury Park
Arsenal
Snaresbrook
Blackhorse Road
Holloway Road
Chalk Farm
West Hampstead
Brondesbury
Kensal Green
Seven Sisters
Upper Holloway
Kentish Town
4
South Woodford South Tottenham
Manor House
Tufnell Park
Kentish Town West
Belsize Park
Kilburn
Brondesbury Park
Kensal Rise
Willesden Junction
Hampstead Heath
Harringay Green Lanes
Crouch Hill
Archway Gospel Oak
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5
Grange Hill
Bank
Chigwell Hainault
Woodford
Wood Green
Turnpike Lane
Highgate
Hampstead
Dollis Hill
Stonebridge Park
West Acton
3
Hendon Central
South Kenton
East Acton
Arnos Grove
East Finchley
Colindale
Roding Valley
Bounds Green
Finchley Central
Burnt Oak
Canons Park
Kenton
Harrowon-the-Hill
West Finchley
Stanmore
Harrow & Wealdstone
Loughton Buckhurst Hill
Southgate
Edgware
Headstone Lane
Pinner
e
Mill Hill East
Debden
Oakwood
Woodside Park
Hatch End
rthwood Northwood Hills
Cockfosters
Totteridge & Whetstone
Carpenders Park
rk
Check before you travel
Theydon Bois
High Barnet
co U ns n tr de uc r tio
Watford High Street
9
Epping
Watford Junction
n
2
New Cross
Clapham Common
East Putney
Holborn
Richmond
Clapham South
Southfields
Balham
Victoria
Tooting Bec Wimbledon Park
Tooting Broadway
Colliers Wood
Moorgate
Sloane Square
Wimbledon
South Wimbledon
Morden
Bond Street
Bank
Imperial Wharf
Leicester Square
Copyright © 2004 by Oskar Karlin
Piccadilly Circus
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SPACE-TIME MAPS
Islands
A new London based on memories is a London based on time. Memories are time based as they can relate to events not just spaces. So London now becomes a series of events. And the more these events take place, the more they grow within the memory which can affect the understanding of the spatial geometries of the city. Since the new London is based on a series of events, the new city will be affected by the conditions at the time of these events. One memory island may only every exist at night, while some have only ever existed once, and others many times, always at day but only ever briefly encountered. These conditions not only affect the memories of the place, but they distort the spatial, and dimensional qualites. We understand our surrounding geography through time and memories, not through distances - using minutes rather than kilometres to describe distance.
Testing the idea Each place is connected to an experience of that place. Still based on the accurate geography of London, this map draws from the conditions of each events with colours representing the personal experience of the time, space, weather, architecture, noise, smell and mood. This was a test image that was later developed to draw on my experiences for the whole of London.
FULHAM BROADWAY
WEST BROMPTON
EARLS COURT
GLOUCESTER ROAD
SOUTH KENSINGTON
Time map by Vincent Meertens Mapping the Netherlands with time rather than distance.
PARSONS GREEN
London twitter map Mapping twitter activity (or events) in London to reveal the hidden city
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
CONNECTED LONDON
Islands
REGENT’S PARK
WARREN STREET
NOTTING HILL GATE
CALEDONIAN ROAD
RUSSELL SQUARE
HIGH STREET KENSINGTON
FULHAM BROADWAY
PARSONS GREEN
BOND STREET
MOORGATE
LEICESTER SQUARE
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON - MODEL #1
Islands
Sir Niklaus Pevnsner once wrote: “The city is a device that choreographs the movement of a subject.� This new London attempts to reverse that opinion. Instead it is the movement of a person that choreographs the city, or the person which choreographs the movement of the city. The models explore the concept of time within a city and how this can alter the memory and geography of the city. The more time spent in a place the taller the model. This distorts the sense of hierarchy within the city, giving more significance to the places where more time is spent rather than the type of place.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON - MODEL #1
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
RATIONALISING THE CITY
Islands
Places and geographies do not exist in our mind in the same way that they exist in real life. Our brains are not capable of containing all the information like a map does. Instead we rank objects and events into a perceived order of importance. And we rationalise the city, to make it more accessible more legible and more understandable. For instance, the Thames bends north at Fulham yet, due to the nature of the road networks and the alignment of the houses, we rationalise the city, and in our pschyo-geographical map the Thames becomes straightened, running west to east.
A Rational London Using the ‘island of Fulham’ as a prototype, the city is manipulated and rationalised the make it more legible, to recreate the London that exists in the personalised memory.
Geographically accurate map
Oliver Leech
Define moves
Shift|Align|Rotate|Shrink|Enlarge
Psycho-geographical map
Unit 16
SECOND LONDON
Islands
Camden Town
Notting Hill Gate King’s Cross Regent’s Park Caledonian Road Edgware Road
Warren Street
Manor House
Finsbury Park High Street Kensington
Goodge Street
Earls Court
Russell Square
West Brompton
Gloucester Road
Fulham Broadway Parsons Green
Oxford Circus
Green Park
Holborn
Victoria
Sloane Square
Moorgate
Bond Street
Leicester Square
Imperial Wharf
Bank
Piccadilly Circus
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON
Islands
Once the two-dimensional London has been re-rationalised and created, the other key variable can create a threedimensional new London - time. The time spent on each island and in each building was measured more accurately. The scale is logarithmic scale as this represents the way that memories are stored more accurately. The more time spent in one place creates a more significant memory but new places and new experiences also create significant memories and so are given more weight on the scale. The underground connections are visible underneath the second London and reveal the hidden city beneath the architecture.
200+ hours
150 hours
100 hours
50 hours
30 hours
15 hours
10 hours
5 hours
2 hours
1 hour
30 mins
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MENTAL LONDON - FILM
Islands
The limitation that the model as a standalone object posed was the aspect of time - and the changing aspect of time. It only reveals a static city from only one point in time. The film reveals the changing city as a process. As events happen, memories are created and the islands of London grow. But as history disappears from memory, the islands start to disappear back into the unknown.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SECOND LONDON - FILM
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rose and crown
the lamb and flag
bond s treet
the sands end
sloane square
112 townmead road
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
TERRA INCOGNITA “In the archipelago, the islands don’t define the milieu but the space in between: the routes, the streams, the currents and counter currents, whirpools and calms. This is the space of countless lines of lights intersecting, converging, creating temporary assemblages. This is the multitude. “We are not islands, but the surrounding ocean. Islands are homogenic, stratified and sedimented, the sea heterogenic, smooth and in constant change. The islands are chartered, but the ocean is only modelled or approached according to the law of averages or pattern recognition.” Foucault’s Sleep, Models for a Proposal.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
LOCATING DOWNTOWN
Islands Locating Downtown The commerical centre of the city, seperated from Bayfront Park by an eight-lane highway
Locating Miami Miami is located on the tip of the Florida peninsular, a short distance from the Bahamas.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
THE BISCAYNE BLUNDER
Islands
The proposal aims to inhabit the space between the towering structures of Miami’s Downtown financial buildings and the sprawling but underused Bayfront Park and waterfront. Biscayne Boulevard has eight lanes of traffic - four in each direction - with public car parks in the space left over between them. This becomes a huge obstacle for pedestrians who would want to use the park and waterfront facilities. The avenue of vehicles effectively splits Downtown into two at ground level and the Biscayne Wall creates a visual barrier to the city. The proposal attempts to solve this problem to create a single Downtown that can be enjoyed by people at every level of the city by reconnecting the horizontal strata that exists within the city - connecting the skyscrapers, the mid-levels and ground level.
Opportunity Area The car parks along Biscayne Boulevard disconnect the tall skyscrapers from Bayfront Park creating an auto-centric town centre.
Miami’s ‘two cities’ The Biscayne Wall provides the backdrop to the Miami that is seen on postcards but the glittering financial district only masks the reality of Downtown.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
HORIZONTAL LAYERS OF THE CITY
Islands
Miami is a city made up of three distinct layers. The skyscrapers dominate the skyline and becoming islands separated from the rest of the city. The groundlevel is dominated by cars with limited opportunity for pedestrians. The layer between these two - the mid-levels - is a city of roofscapes and the metromover. There is little vertical interaction between these three layers. The city becomes stratified and the proposal will reverse that to integrate all the levels to create a better experience for the pedestrian.
Three layers of the city Skyscrapers, mid-levels & ground level
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
DOWNTOWN - A SHORT FILM
Islands
A short film exploring the relationship between the different layers of the city and the relationship between the pedestrian and the car throughtout the day in Downtown Miami.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
BAYFRONT PARK
Islands
The site straddles the gap between the enormous skyscrapers of Biscayne Boulevard and the sprawling and underused Bayfront Park.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
BAYFRONT HISTORY
Islands
The Bayfront Area to the east of Biscayne Boulevard has a short but interesting history. In the 1960s the mayor of Miami led the redevelopment of the area, expanding the park outwards and increasing the traffic flow along Biscayne Boulevard. The Doxiadis Plan for the Bayfront was never realised but attempted to link the buildings and the park with a series of pedestrian walkways.
Bayfront Park Historic Photos
Doxiadis Plan 1966 Doxiadis Plan for the Bayfront area with extensive pedestrianisation.
Bayfront Park 1983
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SITE DIAGRAMS
Islands
Miami’s Tall Buildings 1. The Loft Downtown | 2006 | 23/F | 84m 2. Everglade on the Bay North Tower | 2008 | 49/F | 164m 3. Everglade on the Bay South Tower | 2008 | 49/F | 164m 4. The Loft 2 | 2007 | 35/F | 132m 5. Congress Building | 1922 | 19/F | 68.6m 6. New World Tower | 1965 | 30/F | 109m 7. 50 Biscayne | 2007 | 55/F | 168.9m 8. Sun Trust International | 1973 | 31/F | 114.0m 9. One Biscayne Tower | 1972 | 40/F | 150m 10. Wachovia Financial Centre | 1984 | 55/F | 232.8m 11. Miami Centre | 1983 | 34/F | 147.5m 12. Hotel Intercontinental Miami | 1982 | 34/F | 102.4m 13. One Miami East Tower | 2005 | 44/F | 140.2m 14. One Miami West Tower | 2005 | 45/F | 136.9m 15. Met 1 | 2007 | 40/F | 134.1m 16. Met 2 | 2010 | 31/F | 111.9m 17. Met 2 Office | 2010 | 46/F | 197.2m 18. Epic Residences & Hotel | 2009 | 54/F | 152.4m
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Potential Masterplan Site
Oliver Leech
Metromover and stations
Primary and Secondary Vehicular Routes
Biscayne Boulevard Pedestrian Crossings
Public Car Parking
Tall Buildings
Unit 16
THE CITY WITHOUT MEMORY Taken from ideas developed London, memory is an important of experiencing, rationalising understanding the city.
Islands
in way and
Over half the skyscrapers in Downtown were built after 2000 resulting in a city which is very modern and has very little history. There is very little industry in the city - people came not to make their fortunes but to spend their fortunes and a large proportion of the population are immigrants who have settled in Florida during the last 30 years. The result is a city without a memory.
Massing Studies The series of buildings will connect the three horizontal layers of the city and so it is important the the proposal creates a vertical relationship with all three layers but must also be sympathetic to the existing heights of Downtown
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
LIFEGUARD OUTPOSTS
Islands
The lifeguard outposts of Miami stretch eight miles from South Beach to Bal Harbour and represents a Miamian ‘style’the antithesis of Downtown which is a generic international financial centre. This very particlar Miami vernacular can be transported from the beaches to Downtown to create a new Miamian identity. The outposts also represent a temporal architecture. Every year during the hurricane season, the huts destroyed, damaged, rebuilt and repainted. And during the day they change and adapt to the conditions - opening and closing their skins for the wind, rain, and sun. They contrast to the permanence of Downtown Miami.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SOUVENIR
Islands
“A souvenir... is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world. But a souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveller. The object itself has no real significance other than the psychological connection the possessor has with the object as a symbol of past experience. Without the owner’s input, the object’s meaning is invisible and cannot be articulated.” Wikipedia The souvenir is a found object from Downtown - a piece of metal from a car which had been discarded on the pedestrian sidewalk representing the complete dominance of the vehicle in Downtown. The concrete plinth represents both literally the concrete jungle of Downtown and the horizontal strata of the city but also contrasts with the ephemeral nature of memories. The lightweight structure (or memory architecture) hurdles the car and represents the potential new hierarchy where pedestrians become more important.
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SOUVENIR
Islands
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MATERIALITY
Islands
Model in progress exploring ideas of materiality. The foam sections will be cast in concrete and embedded with wire supporting a lightweight, transparent structure.
Model in-progress
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SITE SECTION
Islands
Site section across Biscayne Boulevard looking east Exploring the height relationships with the existing buildings [dotted skyscraper under construction] NE 4th Street
NE 3rd Street
NE 2nd Street
NE 1st Street
Flagler Street
SE 1st Street
SE 2nd Street
SE 3rd Street
Biscayne Boulevard Way
Biscayne Boulevard
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
SITE PLAN
Islands
Pedestrian access to American Airlines Arena 1. Shops Restaurants Bars Audio outposts Car parking 2. Shops Restaurants Bars Outdoor public space Car parking Orientation towers 3. Shops Projections Audio outposts Car parking
4. Medium screening rooms (3-5 people) Large screening rooms (10 people) Orientation towers Audio booths Outdoor projections
6. Auditorium (80 people) Public screening spaces Small screening booths (1&2 people) Orientation towers Short-term memory projections (twitter wall)
6. Main entrance/reception for memory centre Office for memory centre Gallery spaces Archive rooms Connections to tall buildings Car parking
Miamarina
Bayside Marketplace shops and restaurants
Bayfront Park amphitheatre
Miami memory archive
Flagler Street (main pedestrian route)
Bayfront Park Station 7. New Bayfront Park metro station Projection screens Connections to tall buildings Offices
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
PROPOSING AN ARCHITECTURE
Islands
Applying architecture to the film sequence Using the souvenir model to suggest a potential new architecture for the site
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MIAMI MEMORY ARCHIVE
Islands
Memory is a key driving force behind the programming of the site. The proposal aims to create a place where memory could be deposited, archived, viewed and discussed - a public building which allows people to understand the personal histories and memories of the Miamians. Memories of the same event could be viewed simultaneously to give new interpretations of history.
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
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3 4
Restaurants Gallery Audio booths Large screening room (10 people) Public facilites Parking Small screening rooms (2-5 people)
5 6
Miami Memory Archive [DR]
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8
10
8. Archive 9. Small screening rooms (1 person) 10. Bars 11. Outdoor projections 12. Auditorium (80 people)
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12
13 14 15
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13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
Memory archive offices Archive Main entrance to memory archive Archive public facilities Gallery Spaces Parking Outdoor public film screening
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Oliver Leech
Unit 16
TIME The three main themes: horizontal layers of the city, pedestrian vs. cars and memory all converge to a central theme: time. Time is engrained is one’s experience of a city, it affects the way we percieve and understand it. Pevnsner’s quote,‘the city is a device that choreographs the movement of a subject.’ can be reversed to read ‘the subject is a device that choreographs the city’. And this can also be applied to architecture - time defines the way that the buildings will be experienced, by cars, pedestrians, over days and over years.
Islands
pedestrians 0500hr
vehicles 00mins
2050
opening hours
01mins
8hr-15hr
0800hr
2040 10hr-18hr
02mins
1200hr
11hr-16hr
2030
03mins
12h-10hr
1600hr
2020 10h-5h
19h-24h 2000hr
04mins
23h-05h
05h-24h
0400hr
05mins 2015
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
entrance
parking
MIAMI MEMORY ARCHIVE
Islands
seating
gallery
offices
bayfront station
auditorium audio booths
library
public facilites
bars
bayfront park
public space metromover
bayfront station
entrance parking
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
MIAMI MEMORY ARCHIVE
Islands
DR project mixed use towers 10 storeys
projection screen
nightclub
orientation towers
data servers data servers bayfront station
bars auditorium
parking
entrance
seating
Oliver Leech
Unit 16
offices
gallery