UncoveringPotential AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIMENSIONS OF THE CITY by Vladimir Krstic

Uncovering Potential AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIMENSIONS OF THE CITY

Kansas City Design Center Urban Studio 2009-2010 The University of Kansas Kansas State University

preface by VLADIMIR KRSTIC

defining the city WHAT IS KANSAS CITY? by RACHEL DUNCAN 12

SOLID/VOID/VACANCY by KARINA LEUNG & BENJAMIN BUSCH

seeing the city

morphological dissections

spatial perception

manifestations of the temporal

envisioning the city

contents

This book was written and designed by Karina Leung, Benjamin Busch, and Allison Gould with direction from Vladimir Krstic, Kansas State University professor in architecture. On behalf of all the students in the 20092010 Kansas City Design Center (KCDC) Urban Studio, we would like to thank the community partners that make the Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence in downtown Kansas City possible through their charitable contributions and professional support.

approaching architecture by RACHEL DUNCAN

restructuring the grid

Walnut Corridor Urban Infill: Reactivating the Crossroads Arts District by Amy Kinderknecht Crossroads Infill

connecting places

Urban Node: Washington Square Park Urban Deck: Parking Garage/School/Bridge Downtown Aquatics Center Driving By: The Design and Experience of Triangle Park by Shannon Williams Urban Folly: Triangle Park

Adaptive Urban Space Crossroads Infill Housing School of One Digital Media Center

Redefining Public

City Interface Public/Parking

conclusion

credits

programming change

106

122

137 138 5

preface VLADIMIR KRSTIC

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highway history

COLUMBUS PARK

RIVER MARKET City Market

Central Public Library

WEST BOTTOMS

Federal Courthouse

DOWNTOWN LOOP

PASEO WEST City Hall

Convention Center

Power and Light District

Sprint Center

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Kemper Arena

WEST SIDE

1956 I-70 built I-29 built

1970 I-35 built

1990 I-670 built I-35 re-routed

18TH & VINE

CROSSROADS ARTS DISTRICT

2001 US-71 built American Royal

Freight House

HOSPITAL HILL Union Station

The River Market, Downtown loop, Crossroads Arts District, and Crown Center comprise the core of Kansas City. The character of each district is distinct, but the primary public buildings in Kansas City are situated along the north-south corridor of Main Street, Walnut Street, and Grand Boulevard.

CROWN CENTER Liberty Memorial

LONGFELLOW

Despite the tangibility of a city—its physical presence and its delineation in space—the term “city” connotes a much more comprehensive and qualitative idea based upon individual constructions of experience and prior knowledge. Each city is a unique amalgamation of its history, people, infrastructure, and architecture. From these elements, a collective conscious emerges, defining the city.

defining THE CITY

Architecture of the City especially compelling. I am able to grasp Rossi’s theories about the city and and see examples of his ideas in the organism evolving around me, Kansas City. Rossi understands the issues an American

what is kansas city? RACHEL DUNCAN

city faces and he allows for a framework by which one can understand a city beyond the simple encounters one has with it, regardless of if they occur over only one day, a few weeks, or a lifetime. What can be particularly helpful in the endeavor of defining the American city, and in this case, Kansas City, is the recognized necessity to remember the past. Understanding that “with time, the city grows upon itself; it acquires a consciousness and memory”1 does not specifically require a personal experiential understanding to realize the effects historical ideals

Does Kansas City belong to Kansas or Missouri? Is it

have on what the city currently is. Regardless of what used to be, all that

the location, the geographical realities that make up this—or any—city?

currently exists are signs of collective will which endured the destruction,

Does its broad relation to the rest of the world or universe have anything

demolition, and change of use that occur over time in a city.

to do with one’s perception of it? Or should one simply take into account

These permanent characteristics are evident in the

those few events and places which one encounters? (i.e. Those in which

artifacts that contribute to the image of the city. “The urban

one lives, dines, or holds conversations.) It seems that anything beyond

image, its architecture, pervades…and invests all of man’s

that which is directly experienced is hearsay, and therefore a pseudo-reality

inhabited realm with value. It arises inevitably becasue it is

requiring research or the trust in some form of media or peers. However,

so deeply rooted in the human condition.”2 We must take into

it is virtually impossible to experience an entire city, every part of it and

account its physical form, but also its ability to contain and

all of its possibilities and opportunities. One is left with only an individual

remind inhabitants of its ancient qualities. The “city is in its

interpretation, be it made from one day’s experience or fifty years.

history,”4 a history that is alive and present. Therefore, there

This is the beauty of the city—it is so alive, dense, and complex that it fuels the lives of millions of people at once. It participates on tremendously different scales of involvement and significance, and therefore exists as layers of multiple current, yet ever-changing realities.

D EFIN IN G T H E CI TY

is “meaning to give permanences: they are a past we are still

Residue of the past in a party wall adjacent to newly laid sod on a now empty lot

experiencing.”5 Especially in a city as young as Kansas City, people need something to understand about the past, something

So in attempt to define a city—a decidedly complex and dynamic

that makes them feel grounded. There is something about

organism—where does one start? I find Aldo Rossi’s writings in The

moving into a newly constructed house, in a brand new

neighborhood, between two empty houses still looking for owners, versus

contrast of colors has made me lose my train of thought mid-sentence. Had

moving into, or back into, the house built by the hands of your great-

these small details not called for my attention, in effect they would not exist

grandparents. Here, possessing some respect for the history makes you

at all. Some other element (perhaps more obvious or mediated) could have

feel every nail and imagine the stories told on the front porch. To me, this is

formed or limited my personal image of the district and the city, yet the

what a city is like—it has depth. As one can see the mark of a demolished

market is flooded with detail, variety, and acceptance of other cultures and

building along the side of one still standing, the depth grows deeper. But as

lifestyles. This multiplicity is the critical foundation of the ideal American

stated before, one does not need to have seen the previous building there,

city. Therefore, it is a significantly defining artifact of Kansas City, one that

or watched their great-grandfather hammer the nail in, to feel the value of

undoubtedly exists beyond my layer of interaction, and one that would be

history, thought, or of some purpose for why it was there.

noticeably void if taken away.

With this realized framework for sensing permanent, lasting realities of a

Granted, I realize the necessity to also envision the makeup of the city

place, I can begin to define one layer of the city as it exists

beyond historical ideals and attractive areas full of character. For instance,

to me. One of the most experientially-rich and defining

following Steven Holl’s example of defining the physical reality of the

areas of Kansas City is the River Market district, because

American city through “the spatial field between buildings…The individual

it is there that I sense the memory of a diverse, expansive

building [or artifact] does not monopolize one’s thoughts. Concentration is

city. While I do not possess a personal memory of such

on the relationships between buildings: the terrain, the sky, light, axes of

a time when trading was actually taking place along the

movement.” While this is important, especially to an architect, I believe the

river, I can certainly recognize its remainder in the market,

emotions and suggestions that these created spatial relationships provide

along the streets, amidst the traces of change and

should be related to the historical emotions and suggestions that continue

consistency. I value this entire district as an urban artifact

to prevail throughout the various artifacts of the city.

because of its ability to imply “not only a physical thing in the city, but all of its history, geography, structure, and Produce stand at the City Market in Kansas City’s River Market district

connection with general life of the city.”6 It is a physical location, yet it holds a personality of coming together, sharing, and experiencing differences. Remarkably not overtaken by chain venders and gas stations, the district remains personal and individual.

1. Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1982), 21. 2. Ibid., 27. 3. 4. Ibid., 34. 5. Ibid., 59. 6. 7.

There are few places I have ventured through this city in which a simple building tie or an inadvertent

D EFIN IN G T H E CI TY

w hat is kans as city?

limits the sort of building or activity that will occupy any particular segment of the city; the spaces it designates are free to develop in a variety of ways. The grid merely coordinates spaces and thus provides one space with access

solid/void/ vacancy KARINA LEUNG & BENJAMIN BUSCH

to all the others.” Two opposites, solid and void, are commonly used to define the physical incarnation of the city but are semantically deceptive: solid implies consistent mass but means finite space and its enclosure; void implies fluid emptiness but means defined yet infinite space. If the traditional European city is defined by spaces carved into its inhabitable poché and the Modern city is

borne of idealism, The American city, with its gridded

understood as a relationship between the architectural

streets and architectural mélange, was and conceived as a rational “other”

object and its collectively owned natural space , then Kansas

to the chaotic cities of Europe. The order of the grid defines an equalizing

City exists somewhere in between. Composed as a system

matrix impossible to realize in established cities. The pursuit of democracy

of traffic ways and parking lots littered with buildings, the

and tabula rasa of the American landscape provided the nascent discipline

American city is read as objects-in-field. Streets, instead of

of urban planning the opportunity to apply Enlightenment principles to the

becoming spaces defined by the typological uniformity of

development of new urban settlements.

street walls, read as voids that suture separated blocks . This

The Land Ordinance of 1785 parsed the infinite extension of the United

condition is problematic because “when figure is unsupported

States. into digestible one-mile blocks via the inscription of the Jeffersonian

by any recognizable frame of reference, it can only become

grid. The mile was the new unit of measure for space, commodifying the

enfeebled and self-destructive.” Such objects-in-void stand

country’s most abundant natural resource—land.

aloof as wholly self-referring eccentricities rather than being

Implicit in every man’s opportunity to own land, was his right to do as

D EFIN IN G T H E CI TY

Barcelona

an element of the urban fabric.

he wished with his land, for “After life and liberty, ‘the third absolute right…is

Quintessentially American, Kansas City is expressed

that of property.’” Property rights, with the guarantee of individual freedom

by a figure-ground image that more closely resembles a

became the dominant force in shaping American cities.

chessboard than one of a Renaissance or Modernist city; it

As these rights were exercised, buildings became objects of definition

will never offer the continuously defined space of a European

against the homogeneity of the street grid. “The grid neither legislates nor

city nor the complete openness of a Modernist city. The

Kansas City

irregularity of development within the American city results in serendipitous spaces and exceptional frames of reference. It is in section where the American city finds form, and urban space emerges from “vertical groupings, terrestrial shifts, elongated slots of light, bridges and vertical penetrations of a fixed horizontal” . These conditions transform static monoliths into ethereal backdrops as one proceeds through the city. The dynamic quality of the city is not just an illusion; the city must be understood as a process under constant change as it reflects the forces that have influenced it. Aldo Rossi states: “With time, the city grows upon itself; it acquires a consciousness and memory.” Just as the shape of the city is in a constant state of transformation, so is its function; however the changes do not necessarily correlate. Because the constructed urban environment contains within itself the definition of its past and present inhabitants, as well as inviting imagination the future, certain urban artifacts may persist as a means of retaining continuity of identity, while allowing for the natural evolution of a city to occur. Certain urban artifacts maintain permanence and become monuments, regardless of the multiple functions that may reside within a particular building. Union Station has maintained a prominent presence as a monument that houses the ritual of arriving in Kansas City. In the past, the building was a regional train station and the first impression for visitors to the city; now, the building is used for exhibition, operating as a tourist destination. With Kansas City’s Union Station is an entrance to the city

its stately architecture, Union Station has preserved the notion of the grand introduction to a city, even as its function has changed. Union Station’s transition may be attributed to the abandonment of local rail travel in favor of personal automobiles during the post-war economic boom. The simultaneous suburban sprawl, which relocated

D EFIN IN G T H E CI TY

s olid/void/vacancy

much of the population from the urban core to surrounding areas in cities

reverse the deterioration of the urban core. There are myriad potential futures

across the United States, marked a turning point in many Midwestern cities.

for the city. Current design challenges warrant unconventional strategies

These cities didn’t have the strength to attract enough new residents and

that relate to their physical and cultural context. Through an investigation of

businesses and steadily deteriorated.

Kansas City, its potential will be uncovered.

The empty lots and skeletal remains of what existed prior created a condition of vacancy. Whereas void is the absence of form, vacancy is the absence of presence. The lack of occupation denoted by vacancy has farreaching implications on a city. Private land ownership confers the right of disallowing public use of vacant lots, but does not oblige an owner to act in the best interest of the public. The effects of vacancy on the space of the city are detrimental, acting as spatial vacuums. The idea of deterritorialization, as put forth by James Corner, provides a model for completely reevaluating strategies for urban renewal: “Rather than ‘fixing’ the city through architecture, or ‘architecturalizing’ the city in order to discipline its spaces, both perspectives of power, the work of deterritorialization simply establishes the conditions for the processes of urbanism to perform and unfold in more dynamic ways.” By temporarily

1. Cuff, Dana. “Community Property: Enter the Architect or, the Politics of Form.” Slow Space. 121 2. Copjec, 14 3. Colin Rowe, Fred Koetter, “Collage City,” Vol. 27 of Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur, Cambridge, MIT, 1984, p. 79. 4. The public plaza is replaced by “Main Street”. Mario Gandelsonas, X-Urbanism: Architecture and the American City, New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 1999, p. 45. 5. Rowe, Colin. Collage City. 64 6. Steven Holl, Guest editor, “Within the City: Phenomena of Relations,” Design Quarterly No. 139, Minneapolis, 1988, p. 7. (quoting Paul Valéry) 7. Rossi, Aldo. The Architecture of the City. 21 8. “Monuments, signs of the collective will as expressed through the principles of architecture, offer themselves as primary elements, fixed points in the urban dynamic” (22). Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City, Cambridge, MIT, 1984, p. 29. 9. Corner, James. “Landscraping.” Stalking Detroit. Actar, 2002. 123.

reclaiming vacant lots for public use, vacancy no longer has to be a scourge of the city. The collective ownership of the land can actually initiate renewal, as these space provide a site for the impromptu events of public life to occur. With urban renewal efforts underway in many Midwestern cities, it must be noted that the space of the city should be at the forefront of consideration; it is this space by which the city is defined, both as a formal object and by public life. Quantity cannot be confused with quality in goals for revitalizing cities. Recognition of the reality of void in the Midwestern city requires strategic intervention. Kansas City mirrors other Midwestern cities in the efforts being made to

D EFIN IN G T H E CI TY

s olid/void/vacancy

We used Kansas City as a case study for our investigation of the Midwestern city. An objective examination required devising methodologies for inquiry. Our analysis revealed layers of Kansas City obscured by familiarity and a cultural prejudice about the idea of the Midwestern city.

seeing THE CITY

Composite north-south section of Kansas City

morphological dissections We derive meaning from the physical

Where the ground rises, development follows

form of the city that is fundamental to our

suit—the downtown loop and crown center house

understanding of it. By withdrawing our vantage point

the city’s skyscrapers, while the lower lying river

from within the city to a position looking at it, the city

market and crossroads arts district are less densely

becomes an object for study. its morphology may be

built and contain much smaller buildings.

reduced to unbiased images of solid and void.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

the ensuing viewsheds from topographical

By systematically dismantling the city into

variance are a defining characteristic of Kansas City.

pieces and then assembling these parts into new

standing in the loggia of the Bartle hall Ballroom

compositions, a new image of the city emerges in

one is confronted with the image of the distant

which the built mass of Kansas city and its topography

crown center compressed into a single plane as the

are inextricably tied. the grid’s indifference to

Crossroads Arts District lies at his or her feet. To find

geography, which results in “an erasure of all such

oneself looking upon the city while being within it

features” (copjec, 13) does not apply in section.

creates a precarious relation to space.

Sections along every street in downtown Kansas City document its changing form. A comprehensive image is formed as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;x-rayâ&#x20AC;? of the city, relating its density and distribution of mass.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

mor phological dis s ections

Horizontal sections follow the emergence of the topography and morphology of Kansas City from the reference level of the Missouri River bank. Buildings and the ground are graphically treated the same, resulting in figure-ground drawing from discrete positions in space, acknowledging the role of the ground in forming the space of the city.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

mor phological dis s ections

spatial perception space in the gridded city is often a Byproductâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the counterpart of buildings, the absence of mass. as opposed to the deliberate constructions of space manifested as public plazas of the renaissance city, space in the american city is indiscrete. public space is much more a product of perception. movement, light, texture, and mass all factor into individual constructs of space. spatial perception results in multiplicity of representation which complements the absolute, physical form of the city. these multiple realities result in part from the means by which one engages the city. the city that is seen and felt by someone crossing through alleys and parking lots en route to his destination is wholly different from the city he experiences driving down the street at thirty-five miles-per-hour. the portrayal of space is as varied as its personal perceptions. Whether defining its boundaries or depicting its phenomenological qualities, these studies impart substance on a part of the city that, by its very definition, lacks all substance which might be quantified.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

SpAtIAl pERCEptIoN ANd dEvElopMENt IN AN uRBAN SEttING REquIRE A tHREE-dIMENSIoNAl, SECtIoNAl AppRoACH tHAt GIvES pRIMARy IMpoRtANCE to tHE vIEwS of pERAMBulAtING RESIdENtS wHo tRAvERSE SHIftING GRouNd plANES, ExpERIENCING tHE CIty fRoM MultIplE fRAMES of REfERENCE.

—Steven Holl

MAIN ST

In this evaluation, several spaces along Main Street were recognized as being distinct from the rest of the street. Multiple perspectives of each space were combined to create a three-dimensional representations of these spaces.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

s patial per ception

Kansas City is full of interstitial spaces wholly unlike one another. Elevated vantage points, formal anomalies, vast parking lots, and extended sightlines create spaces out of incidental voids in the city.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

s patial per ception

1” = 50’

View South from Pensylvania

1” = 50’

View from Southwest Boulvard Looking NE

1” = 50’

View on 23rd Facing East

the site of triangle park extends far beyond its property line. the diminuitve site is part of a much larger space with much potential for the creation of a significant urban public space.

Triangle Park Site Space view boundary view extension main site supplemental site

View from Southwest Boulvard Looking SW

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

s patial per ception

1 2

E o n 23rd S t

triangle park: views from the car

5 3

Exiting from Interstate 35 to Southwest Boulevard; driving north on Southwest Boulevard; driving south on Southwest Boulevard; driving from 23rd Street to Southwest Boulevard

from Top

9 10 6

0 8

S o n SW B l vd

H i e ra rc hy o f T i m e V i ewe d 9

S from OďŹ&#x20AC;ramp

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5

N o n SW B l vd

4 3 2 1 0

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

s patial per ception

summer solstice june 21

1:00

2:00

3:00

winter

solstice dec 21

1:00

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Triangle Park is dwarfed by a freeway overpass to the west and a billboard atop the building on the southern edge of the site. The shadows created by these structures continually modulate the boundary and experience of the site.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

s patial per ception

manifestations temporal

of the

Time is a critical dimension in which the city must be examined. Within this dimension, the physical decay is measured, as well as the indelible marks left on the city by its inhabitants. But as a function of time, the city m At the end of the 20th century, the Crossroads Arts District began a dramatic transition from a declining light-manufacturing district to a center for creative businesses and pursuits. Its dynamism explicates the transitive quality of functional change within the equalizing grid of the Midwestern city. No longer a bustling industrial, the district has become primarily an event space activated by monthly First Fridays gatherings. However, everyday life is characterized by empty streets, underutilized parking lots, vacant storefronts, and warehouses renovated into premium lofts lacking tenants. A comparison of Kansas Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population (blue) with its built mass (gray).

The formal order of the city is a physical layer that impacts and is a resultant of the fluctuating layer of human life. The city is a living record of history: the life of the city and the patterns that characterize it are integral to our understanding of it. From data and observation, we made alternate,

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

A map of peak hour traffic loads from an average weekday depicts Kansas City as a function of its people. Each line represents represents fifty vehicles.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

manif es tations of the tempor al

W. 28th SW

W. 26th surface lots and all garage levels

total parking area W. 23rd SW

W. 28th

. VD BL

I-35

27th

TROOST

CHERRY

OAK

McGEE

GRAND

WALNUT

MAIN

BALTIMORE

WYANDOTTE

CENTRAL

BROADWAY

CHARLOTTE

HOLMES

JEFFERSON

LOCUST

20th

22nd

25th

W. 26th

manif es tations of the tempor al

TROOST

W. 25th

SUMMIT

LIBERTY

18th

CAMPBELL

GENESSEE

LYDIA

SANTA FE

HICKORY

FOREST

12th

HARRISON

W. PERSHING

WYOMING

670

MADISON

WOODLAND

PASEO

12th

3rd

CHARLOTTE

TRACY

FOREST

I-35

25th

18th

CAMPBELL

14th

HIGHLAND

CHARLOTTE

HOLMES

OAK

McGEE

GRAND

WALNUT

MAIN

BALTIMORE

WYANDOTTE

CENTRAL

BROADWAY

SANTA FE

HICKORY

ADMIRAL

AIN

27th

TROOST

CHERRY

LOCUST

JEFFERSON

SUMMIT

MADISON

LIBERTY

WYOMING

GENESSEE

12th

BL VD .

22nd

TROOST

HARRISON

W. 23rd . VD BL

CHARLOTTE

surface lots and garages

AIN

parking footprint

BL VD .

46 9th

BELL

I-35

WOODSWETHER CAMP

20th

5th ARE DELW

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

BELL

12th

CAMP

W. 25th

ARE DELW

WOODSWETHER

3rd 5th

I-35

ADMIRAL

9th

12th

14th

670

W. PERSHING

A revised figure-ground drawing of the Crossroads Arts District depicts vacant building in gray, giving a more accurate depiction of the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scattered nature.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

manif es tations of the tempor al

FACADE INVENTORY active store front inactive store front other business parking/vacant lot parking garage bare wall green/public space residential

GRAND BOULEVARD

FACADE INVENTORY

WALNUT STREET

MAIN STREET

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

active store front inactive store front other business parking/vacant lot parking garage bare wall green/public space residential

The ground level storefronts along Kanas Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary north-south corridor are divided into categories denoting different levels and types of engagement with the public. Each street may be described M barcode, a unique marker by its W G with information. embedded

manif es tations of the tempor al

MORNING

630-7

AFTERNOON

630-7

715-745 715-745

1230-100 1230-100

115-145

8-830

200-230

845-915 845-915

245-315

930-1000 930-1000

330-400

1015-10451015-1045

415-445

1100-11301100-1130

500-530

1145-12151145-1215

545-600

8-830

The activity at the corner of 14th Street and Wyandotte Street in the Dowtown Loop was recordered during regular intervals over the course of a weekday. These images provide a record of the living city.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

manif es tations of the tempor al

Visitor Flucuation

KANSAS CITY ENTERTAINMENT VENUES 1

City Market

4 events/month

583,000 annual visitors

Folly Theater

4 events/month

1078 seat capacity

Bartle Hall Convention Center

250 events/year

600,000 annual visitors

Power and Light District

Open every day

8 million annual visitors

Sprint Center

78 events/year

19,000 seat capacity

Kauffman Performing Arts Center *Under const.

3,400 seat capacity

Kemper Arena

47 events/year

18,000 seat capacity

Crossroads District

2 events/month

6,500+ indoor capacity

18th and vine Jazz District

15 events/month

300,000 annual visitors

Union Station

Open excl. Mon.

490,000 annual visitors

Crown Center

Open every day

5 million annual visitors

Liberty Memorial

Open excl. Mon.

165,000 annual visitors

Event Frequency

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

Visitor Attendance

Event Frequency x Visitor Attendance

manif es tations of the tempor al

The surfaces of the city speak of its history and personality. This texture map follows Main Street from the River Market through the Crossroads Arts District. Abstractions were used to create a physical model with the terrain determined by tonal value.

S E E IN G T H E CI TY

manif es tations of the tempor al

The conditions of the contemporary Midwestern city informed our project proposals in which design would stimulate a more habitable urban environment. The means for doing so ranged from large-scale urban design strategies that sought to reorder the city to designs for specific buildings that radically re-imagined the role of architecture in the city.

envisioning THE CITY

and form, and are all attached in an impromptu manner. [25] They do not conform to any preconceived overall arrangement, just as the American city lacks a determined concept for development.

approaching architecture RACHEL DUNCAN

At the scale of each building, Shinohara treats each part as a fragmented spatial element; the total image of the building is assembled from the sum of the various relationships established among these elements. The building is in effect an envelope for these relationships. Space is then considered genuine if it comes about without intention. The American city has developed in the same way, each part as an independent element, resulting in a chaotic condition of the city. Furthermore, the significance of architectural form begins to fade as the

Most would argue that successful architecture must

permanence of architecture loses importance. The city is the

be aesthetically pleasing. But what if it wasn’t? Is it preposterous to think that

greater representation of our lives’ perpetuating change. We

something “ugly” could offer a positive experience, or should it be labeled as

must fit architecture to this condition: it must be pliable; willing

visual pollution and void of the possibility of being considered architectural?

to change with us. It is obvious we must reconsider either

Perhaps it would be more useful to focus on the accompanying experience

our goals or processes of design to suit the instantaneous

rather than any tangible form and consider whether or not this is beautiful

state of our world. There is possibility for a new archetype of

or provocative. For one could very well argue that architecture itself is not

expression to arise.

real, but rather is an instrument to facilitate an experience; it is the resulting experience that is considered real. Especially in the American city, the form of architecture is the result of what it does, how it functions; space comes as residue of necessary structure. In such case, architecture is consequently meaningless. It is built, and then opened for possibilities, much like the city on a different scale.

–R. Buckminster Fuller

In Shinohara’s “machine” theory of design, the overall architectural form does not matter - there is no plan or intention behind it. Its role is to set up

“When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

1. ***citation**

processes by which spaces form and life happens. We have no power to control that which occurs beyond this. All parts are independent in function

E N V IS IO N ING TH E CI TY

project proposal map N

URBAN FOLLY TRIANGLE PARK

WALNUT CORRIDOR CITY INTERFACE PUBLIC/PARKING

CROSSROADS INFILL ADAPTIVE URBAN SPACE DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER SCHOOL OF ONE CROSSROADS INFILL HOUSING

URBAN NODE AT WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK URBAN DECK DOWNTOWN AQUATICS CENTER

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restructuring the grid The

utilitarianism

the

Jeffersonian

grid

and

absoluteness of property rights leaves little room for physical urban design in the Midwestern city. Zoning regulations masquerade as urban planning in a setting that is regulated by historically equalizing infrastructure. For Kansas City to operate as a coherent and functional whole, we require a vision for the city that considers both its form and its practical use. While the urban grid was intended to provide a democratic basis for construction, it results in chaos. Through proposals regarding the city from the perspective of its inhabitantâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the groundâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;we project a reordering of the grid that intends to dramatically affect the way we perceive and use Kansas City. Through the introduction of new ordering systems, we bring hierarchical organization to the city in regard to its program and legibility of space. Our organization is based on movement through the city, activity in the city, and the current placement and division of necessary functions. We address notions of vacancy and void and their effects in order to imbue the city with forward-looking orders.

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walnut corridor Considering Walnut Street from the scale of the city, we propose a sequence of four episodic places that provide visual and programmatic connection to critical points along the corridor. Each place brings attention to a unique physical-contextual condition and incorporates urban space as a continuation of the diverse and unfiltered public realm. Additionally walkways were designated in the Crossroads district to maintain the intrablock visual and physical connection to adjacent streets. These walkways contained rain gardens for water collection from Walnut. Am doleniam, qui er suscidunt et, consequisl irit veliquat. Ed endrer sim dunt luptat. Pat, core vent nis aci ea feummy num atissent veraesto corem il dolobor summodi amcommo dipisl utpate doluptat nonsenit aut praestrud tat adit velit nonsequam diam, quismolortie ent la aut incin er ing eriustie tionulpute verate consecte do dolut iriusto dolobore duissi.

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r es tr uctur ing the gr id

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r es tr uctur ing the gr id

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r es tr uctur ing the gr id

urban infill : reactivating the crossroads arts district AMY KINDERKNECHT

Crossroads Arts District

Urban infill is most often thought of as the addition

systems whose relationships with one another create combinations of

of structures to an area in an effort to bring about density. Simply providing

experiences not previously present in the site.

more rentable square footage is expected to attract people to live and work

A series of red folies placed along a grid that is separate from the grid

in the city. But Bernard Tschumi offers an alternate approach to infill with his

of the city sets the stage for multiple imaginative programs. A new winding

design for Parc de la Villette in Paris: “When confronted with an urbanistic

pathway creates a cinegramatic experience that is neither complete nor

program an architect may…search for an intermediary—an abstract system

incomplete at any one spot along the path. These two orders exist among

to mediate between the site (as well as all given constraints) and some other

open space which is left available to any number of activities. Tschumi’s

concept beyond city or program.”

Parc is not an “expression of a pre-existing context,”2 rather it brings an

The Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City presents the opportunity for exercising such design mediation as Tschumi proposed. Where vacancy

unfamiliar order to the site, introducing conceptual experience grounded in the potential of its location.

and abandonment exists, a lively urban environment is possible, but most probable through a reinterpretation of urban infill.

The Crossroads in Context The “new attitudes and perspectives”3 about urban design may be translated

E N V IS IO N ING THE CITY

An Urban Park in Paris

to infilling the Crossroads Arts District, which is known for its eclectic mix of

In 1988, Bernard Tschumi revealed his design for a new urban park in Paris,

artistry and culture. It is the location of various architecture firms, advertising

France that challenged the typical interpretation of the infill typology. His

agencies, design studios, and unique retail and restaurants. The Crossroads

design for the Parc de la Villette integrates a number of different ordering

is also has one of the highest concentration of art galleries in the U.S.4

r es tr uctur ing the gr id

However, the area reamins one of the most fragmented sections of the city with many historic buildings standing (empty) as single entities

With the abundance of empty lots, a strategy of traditional urban infill could

separated by surface parking lots (also often empty). The Crossroads is

not even begin to make a significant enough impact in the Crossroads for

a patchwork of activity occurring at limited times of the day, week, and

it to become a thriving urban district. What this area needs most is regular

month; though teeming with life during the typical work week, its streets are

activity and movement; the area needs to be hospitable for the people who

deserted most nights and weekends. During the monthly First Fridays art

will instill life in the area.

exhibition, galleries and studios open their doors to the

This can be done with a strategic approach of design as a mediation,

public, and the culture contained within spills onto the

which will reunite urban life with the physical realm of the city. A new ordering

sidewalks and streets.

system that builds on the character of the Crossroads will reactivate the

The condition of discontinuity is a greater affliction

district. Maintaining the “incompleteness”of the Crossroads, a spatial network

of the American city, which has become “a landscape

will preserve selected open spaces, and infill structures will be designed to

of independent islands of activity.”5 What was formerly

support these spaces. The wealth of emptiness and the connections created

exclusive to the domain of the city—industry, fine dining

by this new ordering system will allow people to traverse the area by means

and retail, and social ammenities—were displaced

other than the traditional street grid.

as residents fled to the suburbs and new zoning laws

top A

rare unpaved lot located in the Crossroads is fenced off, unavailable for public use

Vacant buildings and the dilapidated parking lots surrounding them result in what Sze Tsung Leong terms a “no-man’s land”12 bottom

Realizing potential in Kansas City

It is within this network of voids already in existence that a new

compartmentalized the city, breaking down the mixed-use

experiential quality of the Crossroads offers the possibility of

concept of urban living. This has resulted in (and from) “a

reactivation in the area, where what was once a desolate hole

society which has become more and more debased,”10 a

in the urban fabric becomes a vital green space for people

society that possesses the means of being anywhere and

inhabiting new residential structures. These instances beg for

everywhere else at will.

the urban dweller to step out and experience the Crossroads

The shift in the nature of urban life that has resulted

at any time of day, week, or month. With a little attention they

in these spaces has created a city that is no longer

can give the residents of this area a reason to truly inhabit the

situated in the physical location of interaction.This lack

city in which they live.

1. (Tschumi ##, Introduction) 2. (Tschumi ##, Non-Sense/No Meaning) 3. (Tschumi ##, An Urban Park for the 21st century) 4. (Crossroads) 5. (Leong ##) 6. (Virilio ##) 7. (Leong ##) 8. (Virilio ##). 9. (Leong ##) 10. (Virilio ##) 12. (Leong )

of the need for place of urban life, this condition of the American city, begs the question as to if, and how, new urban design can work towards grounding society in its physical nature again.

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crossroads infill: sPaTial neTWork The proposal for revitalizing the Crossroads Arts District is comprised of implementing a network of four different types of open spaces from existing unbuilt spaces. Designed for a nine-block area, the network is intended to be expanded to the entire Crossroads district, cementing the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique identity within Kansas City. By not aligning to the street grid, these open spaces reinforce each other and form a coherent whole.

Kinetic spaces occur mid-block and encourage the movement from one point to another along a route that is not part of the street grid.

Buffer spaces are adjacent to sidewalks and create a dialoge between interior activities and the exterior. Outdoor dining is one possible use for buffer spaces.

Static spaces, which may be large or small, are open spaces in which community members can gather.

The destination space utilizes a wide alley along which railroad tracks formerly ran. This space could be utilized for small street festivals without disrupting street traffic.

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crossroads infill: inFill sTrUCTUres The open space network is supported by infill structures that formally define the open spaces. These structures fulfill the programming requirements needed for a thriving neighborhood, by complementing the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many offices, premium housing, dining, and cultural establishments with much needed housing and retail diversity, as well as educational and higher capacity parking facilities.

RESIDENTIAL PARKING RETAIL SCHOOL OTHER ART DINING

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connecting places Downtown

Kansas

City

faced

with

widespread

fragmentation and polarization. Natural terrestrial modulation between the low-lying River Market and Crossroads Arts District and the elevated Downtown Loop and Crown Center districts was originally accepted as an inherent quality of the city. District divisions were exacerbated by the introduction of transportation routes that cemented formerly implied boundaries. When broken down into districts, general activity is further diminished as a result of accepted centers of economically viable development. The city is not only disjointed by transportation infrastructure that inhibits pedestrian movement; it is further isolated by competing interests tied to specific districts. The re-routing of Intestate-35 along the western edge of the Downtown Loop was particularly contentious because it severed West Side neighborhood from the adjacent Crossroads Arts District without regard to collectively accepted boundaries. Our proposals address the need to connect new concentrations of activity as well as the necessity to reconnect disjointed places.

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urban node:

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK Downtown Crossing is a 17-acre park that

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extends washington square park north across the

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railroad tracks, dissolving a barrier and connecting

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the city. The new park benefits from renaming, to

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reinforce the park’s position as a center within the

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urban core of Kansas City. native landscaping,

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a “natural playground,” and an outdoor reading

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room provide the opportunity to engage with the

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park and relate to it as a specific space within the city. Uguercip et ullam alis essit laorer sustisim zzriusci euis endre dolore ex ectet, cor inim velent

700 residential lofts and condominiums

5regional attractions 2 hotels 1,460

2 transit stops 1 regional amtrak station

3 museums

rooms 40% of downtown’s total

business headquarters

companies with over 1,000 employees

sq ft of exhibition and convention space

an intersection, critical point, connector, distributor, focus, point of intense activity

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mixed use development, that serves the surrounding area as a critical point for jobs, housing, entertainment, and civic and cultural activities; with access to mass transit and connection to other parts of the city

city node

174,553

connecting places

R5 URD

C3A2

Public

Semi Private

Broadway

Private

10th

River Market

12th

Heritage Trail Oak

Grand

Main

Walnut

14th

Bartle Hall

16th

site views

protected site views

Under Utilized Surface Lots

Under Utilized Buildings

to performing arts center

18th

20th

Vacant Lots

to liberty memorial the the downtown loop Olorpero odo dit vullaore molorer cipisim quis nismodo lumsan et veliscil eu faccum vullaoreet, con hent venim ipsusci bla faccum iliscil in ulputem zzriurem incil euis 1ad tismodo lessi.

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downtown crossing at washington square park

Trolley Car

The Power and Light District

Sprint Center

Proposed Heritage Trail

MAX Line LightRail

The Crossroads Art District

Union Station Liberty Memorial

Crown Center

Washington Square Park Penn Valley Park

Regional Rail

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urban deck

SCHOOL/PARKING GARAGE/BRIDGE east of Main street, the railroad tracks that border the Crossroads on the south cut into the ground plane of Kansas City, leaving Crown Center and hospital hill much higher than the Crossroads. to alleviate the disconnect caused by the railroad, a parking deck and magnet high school for education in film, art, computer science and engineering, was proposed to bridge the districts. The prevalence of these fields in the Crossroads arts District will provide the opportunity for students to engage with professionals in the surrounding area during their studies. this structure will provide a physical and programmatic link for the rest of downtown Kansas City to washington square park and the surrounding area.

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downtown aquatics center As part of a plan to revitalize the Washington Square Park area, the Downtown Aquatic Center was proposed as a complement to the Crossroads Creative School. With three pools, the aquatic center accommodates pools

recreational swimmers as well as therapeutic and competitive aquatics. The center would be the only venue for professional athletics in downtown Kansas City. The ground level contains a transport connection point for transferring between bus and rail. These public functions will extend pedestrian traffic south along Main Street, reconnecting Crown Center with downtown.

floors

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El doloborem niamcon ullutet nonse faci te

connecting places

Furthermore, the past conception of public streets as a place where real life and activity takes place is now lost; streets are the domain of traffic and cars exclusively. Streets represented on maps are now only funnels for traffic (although they are still “sold” in new developments with perspectives

driving by: the design and experience of triangle park SHANNON WILLIAMS

filled with people and activity, pedestrians and bikers, interest and life). Streets in many cases are now no longer places for “real” activity and we can only make them seem as such through another unreality—the Disneyland-esque temporary introduction of life and events. In this case, First Fridays is a nearby event that does just that. But as First Fridays creates a vibrant street life and opportunity for interaction, it also makes

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The shape and existence of Triangle Park is fundamentally

clear to use the lack of population and activity on any other

tied to traffic. The park lies at the intersection of three streets and is just

given day. Like Disneyland, most First Fridays participants

one of a series of triangular residual spaces created by a diagonal street

must drive from elsewhere and park to take place in the event,

interrupting the standard street grid. Any design created for the park must

and will exit again at the termination of the event, leaving the

address the phenomenon of traffic that first created the space.

Crossroads once more a largely underutilized place.

The Experience of Traffic and Streets

Changes in Traffic in the Present Day

In The Precession of Simulacra, Jean Baudrillard investigates the

It is clear that traffic, in some form, has always existed

current prominence and power of simulacra, the dominance of images over

in the city. Historical maps can show us the pattern of traffic

reality in today’s society. The contrast between viewing and experiencing

around Triangle Park has existed for over one hundred years.

can be extended to the triangle park site as a function of traffic. Traffic, or

But is the current experience of traffic different or more

traveling in a car, creates an unreality in regards to experiencing the city

divisive of people from the city? Jean Baudrillard argues

or a specific site that one views or passes. The experience in traffic is an

in The Ecstasy of Communication that automobiles are no

unreality in which you are sheltered and protected from interaction inside

longer seen as objects, but as their functions, merely to be

your vehicle; you are in control, your very attention is vied for by the outside,

used and optimized through the power of technology: “The

but you view the street from a passive perspective, much like the experience

vehicle now becomes a kind of capsule, its dashboard the

of television watching.

brain, the surrounding landscape unfolding like a televised

Drive-by experience like watching television

connecting places

screen (instead of a live-in projective as it was before)” (Baudrillard, 1987).

Case Studies: Interactions with Traffic

Not only is the experience of passing through the city muted, but so too is

By addressing the constant flow of traffic and the typical inattention of

the experience of traveling by vehicle, until a person could be existing in any

drivers to their surroundings, we can create an atypical space resulting in

space, surrounding by a view and by technology.

a unique experience. In the case of the intersection of 8th Street and John

Similarly, in The Overexposed City, Paul Virilio contends that traffic or

Street in Seattle, Washington, a proposed design solution sought to create a

new modes of transportation such as the automobile did not fundamentally

beneficial interaction between drivers and pedestrians through the creation

change our experience of the city—“architectural surfaces still formed

of a woonerf (Nelson and O’Byrne, 2007). Woonerfs are popular in the

boundaries, cities still comprised clusters of locals, and space was still

Netherlands, where they create a shared public space in which pedestrians

managed perspectivally”—but that technology—constant communication,

take precedence but cars can still be utilized. By populating the street right-

the destruction of city boundaries, permanent transit—has transformed our

of-way with parking, vegetation, children’s play places, seating, and other

experience of the city from one of spaces to one of time and light. If we are

amenities while narrowing lanes, drivers are obligated to reduce speeds while

all now “interlocutors in permanent transit,” our designs must address this

traveling in the woonerf, simultaneously increasing safety and enhancing

existence: an appeal or challenge that no longer simply relates to a physical

their own experience with the outside world. The concept of a woonerf could

or visual interaction, but to a technological way of life.

be adapted to serve the Triangle Park site. In lieu of closing either 23rd Street or Pennsylvania, narrowing these streets where they abut the

implications to Triangle Park

triangle site, removing curbs, and replacing street pavement

Images—simulacrum—are continuously used to enhance our desire for

with a visually distinct material would signal to drivers that

improved highways, improved streets. The rush hour traffic jam is commonly

they are in a unique space. Unifying the street and the triangle

portrayed in television, movies, and the nightly news as a destructive

“park” itself would allow for activities to flow throughout the

phenomenon that can only be solved by more construction, more roads, and

entire space and signal the precedence of pedestrians.

faster travel times. Triangle Park is one opportunity to create a new image and interaction with traffic that tells a different story. By focusing a design

Case Studies: Awareness through Art

solution that reacts to traffic—whether combating, harnessing, or simply

In the aforementioned woonerf study, amenities were

interacting with it—awareness can be created in the minds of the constant

included to support the local population of children and

commuter. Technology can be utilized as an underlying support for design

families through play areas. Bringing children and parents to

goals as we accept is permeation and importance in our current society;

the park area is desired in order to enliven the space and

however technology need not be the focus of the design.

encourage use by “desirable” populations, creating a feeling

8th Avenue and John Street Woonerf, Seattle, Washington (Nelson and O’Byrne, 2007)

of safety and ownership. Without a target group to occupy

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connecting places

the park, the space may become the habitat of “undesirable” persons that

forthcoming technologies to highlight the movement and traffic inherent

generate a feeling of uneasiness to other users, resulting in underutilized

around the park site. Jason Bruges Studio and Light Projects Ltd. provides

and avoided space. In order to customize our design

numerous examples of adapting technology and lighting to create interactive

program for the local population, different groups may

experiences at the pedestrian and auto scale.

need to be addressed. The immediate area is home to a

These projects primarily seek to develop interest and interaction

variety of businesses, including restaurants, architecture

through technology applied to otherwise typical spaces. Such a project

and design firms, and artists. An ideal candidate to

could prove beneficial to attracting users to the triangle park space and

occupy and enliven the space could be a live artist. In

highlighting traffic patterns around the site, although other comfort, safety,

thriving neighborhoods such as Manhattan and Brooklyn,

and environmental needs should not be forgotten in any lighting scheme.

New York, live art is continually created and displayed in public places.

Conclusion

Offering the environment and infrastructure needed

By examining the effect of traffic upon our site and creating solutions

to create and display artwork could be the first step to

such as allowing pedestrians to interact positively with cars in a shared

harnessing the creativity of the area and changing the

space (woonerf), mitigating the effects of traffic with increased pedestrian

current dead zone into a live space. Such an environment

activity (engaging artists), or even highlighting traffic through technology and

might include display spaces, seating, a comfortable

lighting, our design proposal can provide a strong response to this major

level of sun and shade, and possible hook-up to

impact on the triangle park site and its surroundings.

electrical power. It will be important to address the safety of automobiles traveling along Southwest Boulevard in regards to attention-attracting displays in the park space; such displays may be better suited farther from this main Lights installed on the Thames Bridge in London react to pedestrians’ movements. Jason Bruges Studio, 2008

trafficway, serving as a mere glimpse to these drivers.

Large “litmus strips” react to environmental stimuli and display information to drivers in London. Jason

Case Studies: Traffic, Movement, and Light

Bruges Studio, 2005

to adapt a space. In this case, lighting can be utilized

Lighting under the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, Scotland responds to changes in the river tide and traffic. Light Projects Ltd., 2005

E N V IS IO N ING TH E CI TY

Lighting is a popular and aesthetically pleasing way both as an extension of the triangle park space into the surrounding neighborhoods and as a way to utilize

connecting places

The divide that I-35 imposes on the Westside and Crossroads neighborhoods has blurred the original boundary lines of the two neighborhoods, causing controversy. The site lies at an intersection between two different types of neighborhoods, with the Westside remaining largely residential in nature and Crossroads transitioning from industrial to a business/arts area. This is notable because it allows for access from different types of users and different levels of surrounding activity. However, the area still suffers from a lack the density and a number of empty

triangle park The site, Triangle Park, was entrusted to the Department of Park and Recreation Department to be protected as community space, shared by all. Any design for the site must mind the original communal intentions for the park. A city cannot be a city without the people. The people are what animate, grow, and bring the city to life. Colin Rowe argues that we are a pluralistic society. He states “a city is a combination of complex networks that are only successful when all live for the collective whole.” (24) In the past, open discussions were made when people met in town squares, plaza, and piazzas. This type of interaction allowed for the free sharing of ideas and created a sense communal vitality. Being able to share and meet in community allows for us to be up to date with the world and environment in which we live. Public space is what helps us to form our own perception of that world. Public space is the window or mirror of society. It is where we stay, meet, observe, undertake with or without others, relax and become familiar with or become part of our living environment. “A city is only as good as the sum of its parts.” (23) The public spaces of the community allow for

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these parts to come together. Triangle Park possesses great possibility for a design solution of public space. The park is located within the overlap of two different communities. The public space has the potential of being shared by both communities and create a stronger connection between the two in the process. The location is also in the cross section of several major streets and highways of Kansas City. The submersion of the park relative to the highway system gives potential to mend a gap between the vehicles passing by and the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pedestrian occupants. A balance between the technology of the car and the interaction of public spaces is desired to create sustained human connections. A project run in the Netherlands titled Shared Spaces has removed all barriers between the cars and the pedestrians, such as curbs, signs and lines, to create an open dialog between the

Westside

C ros s roads

vehicles and the pedestrians. What they have found is that streets are actually safer because of the added awareness and responsibility on both sides. Working to create a safe yet shared environment for cars, pedestrians, workers and dwellers is a focus for the design. If this can happen the original communal goal of achieving a community space at Triangle Park shall be achieved. The design proposition is to make something of this visual clutter. Not to merely dress up and beautify the area in attempt to mask its curb un-appeal, but to implement a

Nei ghborhoods

View South on Pennsylvania View SW on SW Blvd View East on 23rd St

opposite Model of proposal for Triangle Park; I-35 is running long the top above View from within site looking southeast right Walking north on Soutwest Boulevard under I-35 overpass

smart, minimal intervention to enhance oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of/ through/with the site. An experience that will dissolve the barriers (and clutter) therein, and will encourage an adaptable, relevant design solution to other struggling residual spaces

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opposite Model of proposal for Triangle Park; I-35 is running long the top above View from within site looking southeast right Walking north on Soutwest Boulevard under I-35 overpass

100

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101 connecting places

opposite Site

plan of Triangle Park c

below left Section

of the walkway along Southwest Boulevard (top left). The sidewalk folds up along the roadway to in order to provide a path for stormwater collected from the roadway to reach the rain garden on the site, as well as providing pedestrians with protection from traffic.

d’

below right Section of canopy underneath I-35 overpass bottom Elevation

of Triangle Park along Southwest Boulevard

section b 1/2” = 1’0”

section e 1/2” = 1’0”

1/8” = 1’0” c’

southwest boulevard elevation 1/4” = 1’0”

102

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103 connecting places

triange park Lighting is applied from below the canopy to wash the underside and is also implemented along the front of the site reinforcing connection.

i. The shape and existence of the project site, Triangle Park, is fundamentally tied to traffic. The park lies at the intersection of three streets and is just one of a series of triangular residual spaces created by a diagonal street interrupting the standard street grid. Southwest Boulevard has a diagonal route because it was the former trolley car line connecting the suburbs to downtown. Any design created for the park must address the phenomenon of traffic and the transgression of the street grid that first created the space. ii. Southwest Boulevard has created trianglular anomalies in the typical American street grid along itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s length that result in excessive residual space. The triangular traffic median located at the intersection of Southwest Blvd, 23rd street and I-35 is a complex site impacted by significant extension of space, strong presence of the overpass, and sensitive relationships between local communities.

104

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programming change The use of the city and its constituent parts is locked in a state of metamorphosis. Program as well as the buildings, structures, and spaces that facilitate it must be designed in anticipation of flux. Further, essential program must be injected into the city in a way that encourages higher quality of life for the urban dweller. The role of urban programming must be reinterpreted to allow for the integration of unconventional programming that facilitates the vision of a 24-hour city. Our Crossroads Infill proposal reconsiders public space in the Crossroads Arts District. The proposal recognizes the ultimate potential of infill as well as the restrictions that led to the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current fragmentation. Several categories of open space have been set aside for intermediate use, and the added structures play a supporting role. The open and enclosed spaces set forth by the proposal accommodate the appropriate volumes of their respective programs and compliment the existing contextâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both physically and programmatically. Open space is multifunctional, housing units are adaptable and share communal spaces, and civic and academic functions blend together.â&#x20AC;&#x192;

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adaptive urban space perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit acip et et verit ut lor augiamconsed ming esequi essisim duissit nonsenibh eum zzriliquatem eu facipit cIrculatION rculatION

dolortie ming eu feugue velit alit, sequi euguerostrud tat. putpat, vel ulla feuisse commy nit landre faccum iril ulluptat ea am, si blandigna ad er sequis etue mincil iurerci ectem nonsecte con eugiam ilisi. na facipit, conum do duipis ea facing elenibh esse te con henim vent wisit, se veliqua mconull uptatummod dignim iriureetue commodip el dolese te con henibh

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baNquEt

pErfOrmaNcE

markEt

parkING

Eraessit lum verate commod modigna feugiam dolore facidunt praesequat autpat am dolor iliquis erci blan ullum ad molorpe rciniatem zzrit lor incipsu scipit velessecte magna feugait, quismolortio od dui blaorem dolorperos erit nim incing ex eu faccum ver augiamet utpat, sed magna feu faciduis acipit velit, consequis alit inibh ercillu ptatumsan

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crossroads infill housing perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit pit augiametum velessecte vel eraestion henit loboree tumsan ectem nibh er iureet inci tatum irit accum eummolor ipsumsandre digniate eumsan ute facipisl er sis nos euisisit nit, consequ amcommolore molore corpera esendiamet at ilit, suscin venis amet, quis Eraessit lum verate commod modigna feugiam dolore facidunt praesequat autpat am dolor iliquis erci blan ullum ad molorpe rciniatem zzrit lor incipsu scipit velessecte magna

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Eraessit lum verate commod modigna feugiam dolore facidunt praesequat autpat am dolor iliquis erci blan ullum ad molorpe rciniatem zzrit lor incipsu t, con velessequis el eros et luptat. ut niscidunt lore consecte tatisit, quis adiam veliquisim dolent luptat augait alit wismod et num zzril elis non

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elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh

Walnut Street

perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis

Main Street

school of one E 18th Street

exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit acip et et verit ut lor augiamconsed ming esequi essisim duissit

E 19th Street

nonsenibh eum zzriliquatem eu facipit dolortie ming eu feugue velit alit, sequi euguerostrud tat.

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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

LEVEL 9-11

1) FLEXIBLE APARMENTUNITS WITH (MOVABLE) GREEN WALL PARTITIONS ITERATION-1 2) FLEXIBLE APARTMENT UNITS FACING NORTH ITERATION-2

1) FLEXIBLE APARMENTUNITS WITH (MOVABLE) GREEN WALL PARTITIONS ITERATION-1 2) FLEXIBLE APARTMENT UNITS FACING NORTH ITERATION-2 3) GREEN HOUSE FOR SUBSITANCE GARDENING FOR ALL APARMENT UNITS

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

digital media center 2

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

LEVELS 5-8

perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure

1 veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl

dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem 1”=8’

OPEN TO SPACE BELOW

veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit acip et et verit ut lor

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

augiamconsed ming esequi essisim duissit nonsenibh eum zzriliquatem eu facipit dolortie ming eu feugue velit alit, sequi euguerostrud tat.

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

1) LOBBY 2) GALLERY 3) AUDITORIUM/THEATER 4) PUBLIC REST ROOMS 5) APARTMENT LOBBY WITH POST BOX STATION FIRE STAIRS APARTMENT ELEVATORS

1) 2) 3) 4)

FILM/PHOTOGRAPHY LIBRARY EQUIPMENT STORAGE EDITING STUDIO FILM/PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO

2 4

1 1”=8’

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redefining public Public space in Kansas City exists primarily on the street, however it is possible to blend the space of the street into the space of the enclosed built environment. Public space, albeit a filtered version of it, extends into the public areas of private businesses (e.g. retail, restaurants, etc.), particularly at night when fenestrated facades reveal glowing spaces beyond. Though much enclosed public space is privately owned, we question the true ownership and authority of space made available to the public. If street space is to be regarded as public space, then we may regard the highway and other forms of regional traffic to be extensions of it, where movement is its singular function. By accommodating the functions of the street within the configuration of a building, a new form of enclosed public space that turns back on itself? emerges. The challenge becomes the articulation of its enclosure, and most importantly, defining its use. As we redefine public, we must also redefine its opposite: private. One of the most accessible and underutilized forms of privately held public space within the city is the urban parking lot. A physical continuation of the street, the private parking lot cannot disconnect itself from the city. We propose that unused and underused land should be appropriated for public use, if

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city interface Perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit acip et et verit ut lor augiamconsed ming esequi essisim duissit nonsenibh eum zzriliquatem eu facipit dolortie ming eu feugue velit alit, sequi euguerostrud tat.lissis endreet uercil do consecte mod magna

WALNU T

STREET

MAIN S TREET

EAST 6TH STREET

EAST 7TH STREET

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pr ogr amming change

consed tat, cor suscilit wisit luptate tat. Feuis duisim ent nos dolorpero ero conum ipit ilisis alit incipsu scipit ea cor sustrud magnim il iusciduipit lorper iuscidunt vulla con hent velisl dolor alit prat, secte te delent luptatummod tie dunt wissit ver iriusci tie eraestissit wisim vel esto odo od tet nit utem alis ecte essequatue magnisl esequisi. Or si tem ver se do cons nostie min ea aut at ut num vent vulput acilisl et velenis nit vullam dolore eumsandre dipit at. Lan ut aut lan hendit ut lorperit il utat

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pr ogr amming change

public/parking Perat lor sent nibh ea aliqui bla facing et wisciliquis elit, vel iriliquat num eu faccum iniatum sandipit nibh exeril et ulput am ipsummodip enit lum vullaoreet, velit iriure veniscing erostions adiatum quamconse faccum quisl dunt veliquisisci tet ipit veliscillam, volorem vulputatem veliquat lorerat etum zzrilit acip et et verit ut lor augiamconsed ming esequi essisim duissit nonsenibh eum zzriliquatem eu facipit dolortie ming eu feugue velit alit, sequi euguerostrud tat. Os ex ex etum quat. Ulputpat praese conum iril utem vullan henim aliquis issequisi. Ostie feu facin velismodit in ullumsan euisl inci tie dolore modo dolute magna faccum duiscil in hendreet adignibh etum quam inci bla feu feum vulpute dit veriurero duisiscip elit nonulla feumsandre mincin eugiam non

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adaptive [re]use mobile units

trellis garden and site lighting

office of mobile design's

MOBILE ECO-LAB mobile classroom for K-12 students 8' x 35' cargo trailer LA county

seating and rain garden storycorps®

MOBILE BOOTHS traveling recording studio 26' Airstream trailer across the U.S.

pv panel

electricity module

site infrastructure 1:250

lot-ek’s

UNIQLO CONTAINER STORES

C 12x25 C 8x13.75

temporary retail store 8' x 20' ISO shipping containers New York City

C 6x10.5

L 6x4x½

electric vehicle

conduit

L 3x2x¼

CONCESSION TRAILERS AND TRUCKS

1:10

food vendors 6' x 10' and larger everywhere

canopy connection detail

1:50

concession trailer storycorps mobile booth

electricity needs

potential layout 1:250

24 kWh 34 kWh 6-17 kWh 8 kWh

L 6x4x½

site

site lighting

¼ in. steel plate

C 6x10.5 conduit

ev charging station 1:4

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regular vehicle

water pump

Orer sed te vulputat dolortie facidunt el ilis adipsum acinibh euipissim doleniat laortie facil dipit laorero et, veliquip et, vel ut luptat ilit in vulput aut atue tio odolore do od ecte tisl eu faccum volor seniamet, quisisl dui tions enim in exerit iriustin eu feumsan dreet, quat wisit velit luptatue te do elis nulput essim eummy num il ute vel incidui enibh exer ing ea alit ilis augiam zzrit iuscil el

required pvs

pop-up shops (2) ev charging (6) mobile eco-lab

uniqlo container store potential layout 1:250

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erection process

typical electricity module

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pr ogr amming change

conclusion consectem irilisit irilis alisisim vel inci bla facin veliquip exeratuerate feum dolor iusci eugiam, coreet adio euisi et, qui tis dipsummolore vel init eum nos dolor aute do dolore velit at loreetuero commy nonsenim veliquisim zzriusci eu faccum venit am verat, volorer acincil iquatum velit, volore ming ea feuis nim dolorem ipismod min hendigna facillaore magnit, sustrud mod ea am, quam dipit dit dignisis adio od magnim adipit lut praesti onsequat. Ute dolortio cons el doloreet auguer ing euissequis accummo dionulput wisl duiscillan ulla augait dunt prat, con henibh el ectem irit praessecte enim qui blam ea consequamet lore ming el dolore core magnissim eniamconulla feugiamet lummodit venit ilisi. Ed tat dion hent lorero elit veliquissi.

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Studio members Erica Besler Urban Planning, Kansas State University

Jake Brewer Architecture, University of Kansas

Benjamin Busch Architecture, University of Kansas

Kansas City Design Center PRESIDENT John C. Gaunt, FAIA Dean, University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design and Planning

VICE PRESIDENT

Katie Darter Architecture, University of Kansas

Rachel Duncan Architecture, Kansas State University

Paul Folger Architecture, Kansas State University

Allison Gould Interior Architecture, Kansas State University

Sean Handley Architecture, University of Kansas

credits

Janelle Heideman Interior Architecture, Kansas State University

Thank you Populous for genrously donating studio time and materials to add on to the KC model, Doug Stockman of el Dorado, inc. for being a liason in the Triangle Park project...

Steven Holt Landscape Architecture, Kansas State University

Cindy Frewen, FAIA Principal, Frewen Architects, Inc.

BOARD MEMBERS Tim de Noble, AIA Dean, Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design Jonathan M. Kemper Chairman, Commerce Bank David Warm Director, Mid-America Regional Council

DIRECTOR/CEO

Amy Kinderknecht Architecture, Kansas State University Architecture, University of Kansas

Daniel Serda, Ph.D. University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Brent Simmons

STUDIO INSTRUCTOR

Karina Leung

Architecture, University of Kansas

Scott Stickane Architecture, University of Kansas

Brandon Uloho

Prof. Vladimir Krstic Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design

Architecture, University of Kansas

Shannon Williams Urban Planning, Kansas State University

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requisite stuff