Master's Project

dRív

Renate Paris’

RiverWalk dRív

downtown (miami) River

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River Walk “ WHAT IF ARCHITECTURE IS AS MUCH ABOUT MOVEMENT AS IT IS ABOUT SPACE?” - TSCHUMI

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dRív

Layers of Insertions creating a Dérive

“ARCHITECTURE IS A LOADED WORD; CAN BE A SPACE, A SEQUENCE OF SPACES, AN EVENT, A MOVEMENT...” -TSCHUMI

The word “insertion” triggers the ideas of overlaps, or overlays. The idea of a series of things layered upon each other. A city is a series of layers, all working together in order to make the citizens live well. A city is built with the combination of commerce, ideas, and culture. A city grows with the insertion of design, law, and policy. And a city is alive, because of the organisms living in it. All of this makes for a city well on its way to greatness. If you remove one, the city might not survive. But when you have them all, and need a way to still improve the city, some things need to be reconfigured and refilled. We must begin thinking of “architecture as a form of urban surgery.”

Looking at other cities, it seems the insertion of public spaces creates this feel of a dérive. Having experienced a couple walkable cities, I believe the idea of the many layers creates this sense of a rapid passage through varied ambiances. Miami needs to have an insertion of public spaces and public transportation in order to improve the pedestrian life of its citizens. Miami can look to several cities in order to do so. Chicago, for one, is a great example of insertions, with new architecture connected to old architecture, rail systems above streets, streets below streets, the new and the old coexisting and the insertion of public spaces/parks. Another city worth mentioning is Bogota, with its insertion of chains of public parks and pedestrian plazas, and its rapid bus system, all of which might be helpful in a city such as Miami. The Grand Paris Project is another idea Miami could look to in order to improve in order to connect pedestrians from different clusters within the city.

Throughout the years, Miami’s population has been growing, and in a city such as Miami that also means the number of cars has been increasing. Miami is definitely a city that will be developed through the years by architects from different generations; it is an opened or unfinished architecture. Bernard Tschumi stresses that each situation requires a different reaction, one needs to look at the context, the surroundings, and the vectors influencing the site before making an insertion.

In the future this might be different, but today I believe the insertions needed are to make Miami dynamic. There are several studies that found that walkable neighborhoods tend to make citizens happier and more trusting. In the United States, the lack of social networks in a city makes people unhappy, according to a study by Italian economist Stefano Bartolini. A Swedish study found that people who live in walkable neighborhoods where housing is mixed with shops, services, and places to work are more trusting. Again the idea of the swift change through diverse settings recalls the dérive.

The insertions may be as simple as leveling the sidewalks and the street and painting it pink in order to create a continuous public space with no barriers. This project by Jose Adriao Arquitectos in Lisbon, Portugal, created a dynamic public space, inclusive, opened and multifunctional which enabled access to information. It created a space where people could produce, share, and consume culture. Insertions such as these promote outdoor spaces and walking. Miami needs this kind of space in order to become a better city. RiverWalk dRív attempts to create a series of atmospheres through layers of programs and spaces.

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Opportunities & Solutions River Walk

Miami

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Opportunities & Solutions Looking at Miami, each student had to identify three areas where they saw a problem or an opportunity. After finding each area, we were to propose a solution to the existing problem or an improvement to the opportunity. I looked for areas that had the potential for the kind of insertions I spoke about earlier. All three chosen areas have different systems already coexisting and the insertion of public spaces would only improve the way of life in each area.

NW 36 ST & NW 12 AVE The main idea here is to connect the Allapatah Metro Station & the Moore Park through a pedestrian friendly boulevard that is both safe and entertaining.

NW 11 ST & NW 12 AVE The goal here is to create a park that would be inviting to the patients and visitors of the medical area just north of the 836. Being close to the MetroRail route, a new Metro Station would be created to facilitate access.

S. River Dr & Jose Marti Park This is the area chosen for the semester long analysis. The vision for South River Drive and Jose Marti Park will be further explained in the following pages

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dRĂ­v

Miami

Opportunities & Solutions River Walk

East Little Havana

Miami 21 Zoning helps visualize what type of building is in the area

Overlap | Underlap Advantages - close to metro route - potential for additional metro station - proximity to highway and river - proximity to Brickell & Downtown - potential to create easily accessible public spaces

Disadvantages - mostly all residential - narrow sidewalks

Bike Trails - where there are bike paths and where more should exist

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Traffic Analysis - where the intensity of traffic is located

Opportunities & Solutions Allapattah

Miami 21 Zoning helps visualize what type

dRĂ­v

of building is in the area.

Overlap | Underlap II Advantages - close to metro route - potential for additional metro station - proximity to highway, river, & canal - proximity to medical district - proximity to airport - potential to create easily accessible public spaces

Disadvantages - proximity to industrial areas - narrow sidewalks

Bike Trails - where there are bike paths and where more should exist

Traffic Analysis - where the intensity of traffic is located

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Opportunities & Solutions River Walk

Allapattah

Miami 21 Zoning helps visualize what type of building is in the area.

Bike Trails - where there are bike paths and where more should exist

NW 36 ST & NW 12 AVE

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NW 36 ST - looking toward NW 12 AVE

Opportunities & Solutions

dRĂ­v

Allapattah

Moore Park DĂŠrive Advantages - proximity to metro station - proximity to highway - proximity to existing Moore Park - proximity to Wynwood - potential to create easily accessible public spaces

Disadvantages - mostly all industrial

Traffic Analysis - where the intensity of traffic is located

NW 36 ST

NW 36 ST

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Opportunities & Solutions Allapattah

River Walk

ElLEVATION_BEFORE

ELEVATION_AFTER

POSTCARD_NEW MOORE PARK METRO STATION

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Opportunities & Solutions Allapattah

dRív

ELEVATION_BEFORE

ELEVATION_AFTER

POSTCARD_MOORE PARK

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Live-Work Precedent River Walk

LiveWork | Athens, GA

SUZANNE STEELMAN AND ERIC LAINE | LIVEWORK Residents have the opportunity to run a small business, lease the space to a retailer, or let the Homeowners Association be the landlord. The retail space could be a market, gallery or even a bike shop. The profit of the retail space directly benefits those who occupy the housing units above. This is a marketable solution for the urban environment of Athens, Ga. that will encourage a sustainable means of living. Those who inhabit this live/work space will be economically, socially, and environmentally responsible 24 hours a day. This new sustainable model is greatly marketable for urban environments, affordable for an average family, and respectful to the surrounding environment.

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Live-Work Precedent

dRĂ­v

LiveWork | Athens, GA

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Site Analysis River Walk

downtown (miami) River

“There are 72,000 miles of bridges & highways in US cities�

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Site Analysis

dRĂ­v

downtown (miami) River

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Site Analysis River Walk

downtown (miami) River

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Site Analysis

Miami 21 Zoning T4R - 3 Story Residential

This needs to become T4-O in order to allow for commercial areas on ground floor.

T5L - 5 Story Residential with Ground as Commercial.

CS - Civic Space T6-8 - 8 Story Residential T6-24 - 24 Story Residential SW 4th Avenue is currently a 2 way - 2 lane street with parallel parking on either side. The street is approximately 40 feet wide. This proposal suggests the street becomes a one way street with only one traffic lane. Street parking will only be on the west side of the street. On the east side of the street, a bicycle lane will be added. Between the traffic lane and the bicycle lane, a buffer will be placed. Sidewalks on both sides of the street will become wider. These changes will make for a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Currently most buildings along the street are residential, either single-family homes, or apartment buildings; with the exception of a daycare, Jose Marti Park., and the Miami River Inn. This proposal suggests that apartment buildings be transformed into livework type buildings with the ground floor as commercial and upper floors as residential. Single-family homes are to rent out their garden spaces that face the street to the occasional “pop-up” street vendors such as food trucks, farmer’s markets, etc. Adding more greenery and closer access to the river will revitalize Jose Marti Park.

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dRív

downtown (miami) River

Site Analysis River Walk

downtown (miami) River Employed vs Self-Employed

Employed

Self-Employed Incorporated

Self-Employed not Incorporated

Means of Transportation to Work

59%

18%

drove a car alone

took a bus

11%

carpooled

7%

walked

1%

biked

# of Vehicles in Household

13%

have no car

63%

have one car

16%

have two cars

6%

have three cars

Commute to Work

43%

20 to 29 mns 18

25%

30 to 39 mns

23%

40 to 59 mns

9%

60 mns or more

Site Analysis

75 % of residents in the area work at private companies, which means that the idea of creating live-work spaces would be beneficial because they would have the opportunity to own their own companies. This would also create a significant amount of jobs in the neighborhood, which would decrease the current poverty level of the area; 37.4 % of residents in the area have an income below the poverty level.

The mixed-use neighborhood would be ideal because residents of the area would not need to drive to work, being as currently 59 % of residents in the area drive to work alone and 57 % of residents in the area commute 30 minutes or more to work.

The new neighborhood would promote cycling, walking, and public transportation, therefore reducing the amount of cars in households in the neighborhood. Presently, 85 % of households in the area have one or more cars.

About half of the buildings in the area have been built between the year 2000 & now, which means half of these buldings will probably need renovations soon and would be getting it through the revitalization program that would be implemented in the neighborhood.

Walkable urban places have higher rents, higher retail revenue and higher property values.

This means the neighborhood’s value would increase significantly and again decrease the poverty level of the area.

“The Urban has been replaced by the Social.”

The walkable neighborhood would promote social life and surveys show that people with strong social networks are 50 % less likely to die earlier than those without.

67 % of people would like to know their neighbors better and RiverWalk dRiv would definitely encourage that idea. This neighborhood would promote walking and cycling, neighbors would get a better chance to get to know each other, which would create a strong community life.

“Recent Consumer Research by Jonathan Levine of the University of Michigan and Lawrence Frank of the University of British Columbia suggests that roughly one in three homeowners would prefer to live in these types of places [walkable neighborhoods]” “Downtowns can be revitalized and the next generation of consumers will live & work closer to the city center” - Burke, CEO Louis Vuitton Worldwide This is exactly what I foresaw by picking this location. I wanted to create a walkable mixed-use neighborhood closer to the Downtown Miami area.

www.activelivingresearch.org http://inhabitat.com/infographic-how-to-create-community-through-quality-public-spaces/ http://www.city-data.com/zips/33130.html http://www.sjsu.edu/people/samuel.liccardo/courses/localpolitics103/s28/Leinberger%20on%20Suburbia%20 --The%20Next%20Slum.pdf http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/policies/mixed-use-development Urban Affairs Review-2013-Gough-851-87 mos-architects.net

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dRív

downtown (miami) River

Site Analysis River Walk

downtown (miami) River Public Transportation “Walking for transportation increases with variety in land use�

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Site Analysis

downtown (miami) River

NeoLofts - Built in 2003

Miami River Inn Built in 1910

Jose Marti Park Inaugurated in 1984

Centro Mater Founded in 1968

Publix Super MarketBuilt in 2003

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dRĂ­v

In the Area

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Before

After

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRĂ­v

Before

After

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Elevation Before

After

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

“People who live in walkable neighborhoods are 2 times as likely to get enough physical activity as those who don’t”

After

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dRív

Elevation

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Section_Sketch Before

After

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

Before

“People living more than 1 mile from a park are 27% more likely to be obese”

After

“People who live in neighborhoods with wider sidewalks are 47 % more likely to be active at least 30 mns a day”

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dRív

Section_Sketch

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Section A Before

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

Before

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dRĂ­v

Section A

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Section A After

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

After

“After the installation of a new bike lane in New Orleans, the number of cyclists increased by 225 %“

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dRív

Section A

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Section B Before

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

Before

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dRĂ­v

Section B

PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Section B After

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

After

“The public vs private dialectic, which is so often delineated in design, felt more meaningless than ever. There are no hard edges to public or private - they’re part of the same topographic networks. We’re trying to collapse the distance in between” -mos architects

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dRív

Section B

PROPOSAL

Master Plan _ Existing

miami river

I-95 N

I-95 S

River Walk

downtown (miami) River

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“35,000,000 people live within 100 meters of four lane highways in the United States�

PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRív miami

I-95 N

river

I-95 S

“Public open space increases land values over time”

Master Plan _ Vision

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River Master Plan _ Closer View

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRív

CROSSWALK 8’ WIDE

SIDEWALK 16’ WIDE

RENOVATED GROUND FLOOR COMMERCIAL AREA

PARALLEL STREET PARKING 8’ WIDE

ONE-WAY TRAFFIC LANE 10’ WIDE

BICYCLE LANE BUFFER 3’ WIDE

BICYCLE LANE 6’ WIDE

SIDEWALK 30’ WIDE 39

EXISTING River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 4th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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EXISTING

downtown (miami) River

dRĂ­v

SW 4th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 4th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

“People are being drawn to the convenience & culture of walkable urban neighborhoods across the country — even when those neighborhoods are small.”

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dRív

SW 4th Street & SW 4th Avenue

EXISTING River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 6th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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EXISTING

downtown (miami) River

dRĂ­v

SW 6th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 6th Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

“People walk and ride bicycles more often in mixed-use development areas”

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dRív

SW 6th Street & SW 4th Avenue

EXISTING River Walk

downtown (miami) River José Martí Park

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EXISTING

downtown (miami) River

dRív

José Martí Park

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River José Martí Park

More than 60 % of children prefer spending time outdoors 50

PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRív

José Martí Park

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EXISTING River Walk

downtown (miami) River José Martí Park RiverWalk

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EXISTING

downtown (miami) River

dRív

José Martí Park RiverWalk

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River José Martí Park RiverWalk

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRív

José Martí Park RiverWalk

“PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT EXIST, IT IS A CAUSE & EFFECT SPACE; IT IS A SERIES OF INTERPRETATIONS. ” -bernard TSCHUMI 55

EXISTING River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 3rd Street & SW 4th Avenue

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EXISTING

downtown (miami) River

dRĂ­v

SW 3rd Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL River Walk

downtown (miami) River SW 3rd Street & SW 4th Avenue

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PROPOSAL

downtown (miami) River

dRív

SW 3rd Street & SW 4th Avenue

“Trying to enliven the streets with more residents & visitors who in turn will promote commercial activity & inspire new restaurants and cafes”

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