Reclaiming Outlook Tower, in Alexandria, VA

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CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 2

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 3 8.4 Tower Definition


Introduction|1.1 Elaboration Of Themes

CITY CENTRICITY – THE OUTLOOK TOWER The Outlook Tower is a planetary institution that does not yet exist. Maybe think of it as a crossbetween a memory theatre and a tower of babel. Both figure as objects in a narrative ofglobalisation. The rectangular box is the internet. Design an Outlook Tower for the congested digital present. In order to do that you have toknow what the OT was intended to be. Think of it as a hybrid institution comprisingan internet café and a community debating chamber. It must have a strong public street presence. The internet café will link it to online resources and archives and to other OTs around the world. The OT was proposed by Geddes to be a new civic institution. Every settlement was supposed to have one. With digital telecommunications, it is possible to internetwork them around the world, to create a planetary community. The community debating chamber will need to include space for meetings, public lectures, and exhibitions. The OT is a local community archive of knowledge that can allow communities to enter public debate at a local, national, and planetary level. The OT is the central figure in what Geddes called ‘the associated life’ the life of the individual associated with others.

"THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL."

The OT can be thought of as the centralising figure for communities based on placebased knowledge. It should be understood as the figure for a civic function and should not automatically be interpreted as a tall pointy form. Here are two different ways to diagram the brief:

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--- Patrick Geddes, attributed

(Studio EF Brief)

Diagram1 - Utilitarian

Diagram2 - Utopian

Studio EF Brief

Studio EF Brief

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Introduction|1.1 Elaboration Of Themes

Two different ways to diagram the global network of OTs using Dundee and its 4 Twins as a worked example. (Studio EF Brief)

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Diagram1 - The Expanding Territories of Place-Based Knowledge

Diagram2 - The Internetwork of Places and their Towers

Studio EF Brief

Studio EF Brief

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Introduction|1.1 Elaboration Of Themes

OUTLOOK TOWER NOTES In 1892, the polymathic botanist-planner Patrick Geddes took possession of a museum building in Edinburgh and re-named it the Outlook Tower. Geddes insisted that the city was first and foremost a noetic environment; recognition of this fact called for new forms of civic institution whose purpose was to make place-based knowledge visible to individuals. This institution, the Outlook Tower, would sit alongside the city hall, courthouse, museum, and the like. Despite the fact that Geddes insisted it was a precondition for local participatory democracy and global society, no such institution has been developed, and there has been little exploration of how it would change our concepts of civic life, society, governance, and the world. Geddes said the city plan was a ‘hieroglyphs in which man has written the history of civilisation’, if we could but read it. He argued that the built environment had embedded in it the entire history of its inhabitants, and their social economic and political relations. The environment was a landscape for self-knowledge. He argued further that you could not responsibly vote if you did not know about the place you lived and its relation to its region and its region to the world. The function of the Outlook Tower, with its regional organization of knowledge, beginning with the prospect of the neighbourhood at the top and expanding outwards as it descends the section, was to display this place-based knowledge. But the Outlook Tower was not a local museum; it was a social organisation. Geddes proposed that the citizens of a place would supply the exhibition by an ongoing program of surveys, and that the exhibition would be continually updated. Information would be extracted from the environment and formatted into narratives by these citizen scientists. Every settlement around the world would have one. The Outlook Tower would have been a cross between memory theatre and tower of babel. Today, the information extraction and display and the network would be supported by digital telecommunications. There are practical and theoretical problems with rebooting the Outlook Tower for today. The Outlook Tower is a new building type, a hybrid between a high street internet café for accessing online archives and other Outlook Towers, and a community exhibition space and debating chamber that supports communities by giving them a source of knowledge and a local platform for entering public debate. Note that the diagram shows public urban screens so that communities can directly enter discourse in the public realm, in addition to discourses with other Outlook Towers. There are practical problems about how architectural space and digital space would relate to each other as alternative forms of gathering space, how they would be staffed, how they would figure in local authority consultation, how they would relate to neighbourhoods, and the like. When fully implemented, it would have the potential to become a new model for ground-up governance that replaces local and national government.

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From Vision to Knowledge: Patrick Geddes’ Outlook Tower (1892)

In order to address these practical questions, key theoretical concerns have also to be addressed, some of which I will sketch here. The Outlook Tower forces us to reconsider a cluster of ideas in political discourse which we stake out by pointing to Arendt’s concept of the polis as the space of appearance, Lefebvre’s concept of urban society (the city is where we articulate our subjectivity), Virno’s concept of the multitude constituted by an urban grammar.3 The Outlook Tower also poses the question of how the spatial scaffold of architecture intersects with mental life, which no one has been able to answer, let alone frame in intelligible ways. (Freud said Psyche is extended, knows nothing of it). In particular the Outlook Tower poses the question of the digital locale. It instantiates what Lacan in 1970 called, in his only foray into media ecology, the alethosphere, which was his way to understand how our technology frames the way truth appears to us. A research project would explore forms of implementation of the Outlook Tower for the congested digital present, would address key questions about the direction our cities and societies are moving in; it will provide models for forms of globally interlinked local ground up governance in an age when political action and governance are moving on-line. It raises problems that are partly architectural because they have to do with how we sustain our social institutions and invent new ones. It would need researchers across the social sciences and humanities, in planning, politics, education, media ecology, digital technologies, law, sociology; it would need participation from local government and other public bodies. From Lorens Holm, ‘Designing out of crisis – an ethics for architecture in the age of environmental destruction’, Tuesday 02 November 2021

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Introduction|1.2 Studio Fields

STUDIO FIELDS The online studios are to work collaboratively and explore four locations that may seem disconnected, but are in fact inherently linked to each other and Dundee itself through the ‘twinning’ relationship. A ‘Twin Town’ is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as ‘a town or city that shares planned activities and visits with a similar town in another country’. Dundee is twinned with four cities; - Alexandria, Virginia, USA - Nablus, Palestine - Orleans, France - Wurzburg, Germany (Studio EF Brief)

UN SITE = UN USED UN LOVED UN DUSTRIAL UN KNOWN

Aerial Views of Alexandria, Nablus, Orleans and Wurzburg (Clockwise Top-Left) from an altitude of 2km, compiled by the authors, [online] Google Earth, 2021. Available at: http://earth.google.com/

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"TOWN PLANS ARE THUS NO MERE DIAGRAMS, THEY ARE A SYSTEM OF HIEROGLYPHICS IN WHICH MAN HAS WRITTEN THE HISTORY OF CIVILISATION, AND THE MORE TANGLED THEIR APPARENT CONFUSION, THE MORE WE MAY BE REWARDED IN DECIPHERING IT." --- Patrick Geddes, Cities in Evolution(1915) 11


CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 12

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 13 8.4 Tower Definition


Alexandria Overview|2.1 City Location

CITY LOCATION Selected as one of the twin cities, Alexandria, a city belongs to Virginia continent, locates in the southeastern part of the whole country. The Potomac Canal flows through the east side of the city, which also connects to the Washington DC. The Airport and other important transportation system also have close relationship to the Canal.

Alexandria Geographical Location

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Alexandria Overview|2.2 1-50000 city map

CITY OVERVIEW Alexandria, Virginia is a small town with a history of more than 200 years. Some people call it one of the most beautiful towns in the United States. Alexandria is only 9.5 kilometers away from Washington, with convenient transportation. Many of the residents living here work in Washington, and many are employees or officials of the Department of defense. There are also many federal government agencies and national scientific research institutions in the town, as well as enterprises engaged in brewing, chemical industry and wood processing. Although it is a small town, it still shows a prosperous modern atmosphere.

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Alexandria 1-50000 City Map

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Alexandria Overview|2.2 1-50000 city map

CITY OVERVIEW Like the rest of Northern Virginia, as well as Central Maryland, modern Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U.S. capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, in the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U.S. Department of Defense. Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria, and in 2017, so did the headquarters of the National Science Foundation.

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Alexandria 1-50000 City Map

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Alexandria Overview|2.3 1-10000 city map

CITY OVERVIEW Alexandria is especially influenced by Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the United States, forming a colorful architectural feature. Americans also pay great attention to the protection of historical relics, so when building new houses, they will consider integrating the artistry of house construction with the natural scenery. Up to now, the town still retains various types of buildings in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Alexandria 1-10000 City Map

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Alexandria Overview|2.3 1-10000 city map

CITY OVERVIEW The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for all who live in Alexandria as well for visitors. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable. It is the 7th largest and highest-income independent city in Virginia. --- From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginia)

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Alexandria 1-10000 City Map

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Alexandria Overview|2.3 1-10000 city map

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CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 26

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 27 8.4 Tower Definition


Alexandria Brief|3.1 City Summary

City Canal

City Harbor

City Flooding

Fig 1. Front Looking Down at outdoor gondola ride

Fig 2. The Potomac River

Fig 3. 1972 - Hurricane Agnes

CITY SUMMARY The city topography change tends to be central on the northwestern parts. The city is famous for the characteristics on city grid and harbour. Also, the city has experienced repeated and increasingly frequent flooding events attributable to old infrastructure, inconsistent design criteria, and perhaps climate change.

City Topography Axonometric Analysis 28

City Diagram 29


Alexandria Brief|3.2 City Feature

City As Good Yards/ Rail Yards

GOOD YARDS The city could be described as the "good yards" or the "rail yards". There is a completed railway system of the city, which has been changed a lot from decades. The rail tracks all come together and contain a lot of space on the ground, which makes this area look like a yard. The trains and people travel by, and provide sufficient goods. The labors take the duty of transforming the goods. Therefore, the city is described as yards of rail or goods.

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Alexandria Brief|3.3 City History

Alexandria History Timeline 32

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Alexandria Brief|3.3 City History

Railway Location And History CITY HISTORY

Alexandria Expansion Process

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Part of Alexandria - most of what is now called "old town" and now northeast of King Street - and all of today's Arlington County have the following characteristics: Virginia was ceded to the United States government in 1791 to help form the New District of Columbia. Over time, a movement to separate Alexandria from the District of Columbia gradually emerged. With the intensification of competition, the ports Georgetown and Chesapeake and the Ohio Canal promoted the development of the North Bank of the Potomac River, and the urban economy stagnated; At the same time, the residents lost any representation and voting rights in Congress and were disappointed with the insignificant economic benefits of being part of the national capital (on the Alexander side). Alexandria still has an important port and market in the slave trade. With more and more discussions on the abolition of slavery in the capital, some people worry that if this step is taken, Alexandria's economy will suffer huge losses. After the referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return part of the District of Columbia South of the Potomac River (Alexandria county) to Virginia. On July 9, 1846, Congress returned Alexander County to Virginia the city of Alexandria was rechartered in 1852 and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The rest of Alexandria county was renamed Arlington County in 1920.

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Alexandria Brief|3.3 City History

CIVIL WAR DEFENSES The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War). The sites of some of these fortifications are within a collection of National Park Service (NPS) properties that the National Register of Historic Places identifies as the Fort Circle. The sites of other such fortifications in the area have become parts of state, county or city parks or are located on privately owned properties. A trail connecting the sites is part of the Potomac Heritage Trail. Parts of the earthworks of some such fortifications still exist. Other such fortifications have been completely demolished.On forested hills surrounding the nation's capital are the remnants of a complex system of Civil War fortifications. These strategic buttresses transformed the young capital into one of the world's most fortified cities. By 1865, 68 forts and 93 batteries armed with over 800 cannons encircled Washington, DC. Today, you can visit 17 of the original sites now managed by the National Park Service. --- From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War_Defenses_of_Washington)

Civil War Defenses Signs

Civil War Defenses Locations 36

Fig 4. 1915 electric railroad routes near the later routes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway

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Alexandria Brief|3.4 City Weather

Fig 5. Model of Weather Information

Fig 7. Wind Rose

WEATHER CONDITION The wind rose for Alexandria shows how many hours per year the wind blows from the indicated direction. Wind is blowing from South-West to North-East.The southernmost land point of south has a characteristic strong west-wind, which makes crossings difficlt, especially for sailing boats. Fig 6. Seasonal Climate Forecast for Alexandria

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Alexandria Brief|3.4 City Weather

WEATHER CONDITION The day per month, during which the wind reaches a certain speed. One example is the Tibetan Plateau, where the monsoon creates steady strong winds From Dec. to April, and calm winds from June to Oct. The precipitation diagram shows how many days per month, certain precipitation amounts are reached. In tropical and moonsoon climates, the amounts may be understimated. The maximum temperature diagram displays how many days per month reach certain temperatures. The last graph shows the monthly number of sunny, partly cloudy, overcast and precipitation days. Days with less than 20% cloud cover are considered as sunny, with20%-80% cloud cover as partly cloudy and with more than 80% as overcast.

The top panel shows the forecast for the Common Air Quality Index (CAQI) used in Europe since 2006. The second panel shows the forecast of particles (PM and desert dust) for Alexandria. Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. Fig 8. Climate Information

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Forecasts of concentrations of air pollution gases are presented in the third panel.

Fig 9. Climate Change Alexandria

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CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 42

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 43 8.4 Tower Definition


Alexandria Current Situation|4.1 City Flooding

THERMAL ANALYSIS City Flooding Zones

The service requests of the city that is related to the flood are marked on the city map. There are a huge amount of need in the east part of the city.

FLOOD SITUATION As the diagram shows, the areas in blue are the zones that suffering from flooding in extreme weather. More than ten zones near the river or the Potomac Canal are affected.

Heat Map Showing Flood-related Requests For Service

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.2 City Population

Age Group With Disability Percentage Fig 10. Disability

DISABILITY DISTRIBUTION The disabilities are mainly above 65 years old, most of which are having difficulty in ambulatory. Independent living and hearing problems rank the second. Many old disabilities distribute alongside of the whole city.

Median Age Distribution

POPULATION CURRENT SITUATION As present, the population tends to be more stable but at least reach 140,000. Most of the citizens are young age groups. A large quantity of the old people live in the middle or east part of the city.

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Age Distribution In 2000 And 2014

Population Growth Trend

Fig 11. Age Distribution

Fig 12. Demographic Statistics

Residents With Disabilities Share Condition

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.3 City House Hold Information

Household Structure Bar Chart Fig 13. Household Structure

HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS A family household is a household that includes at least one other person related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption. Single-Person household occupy the highest percentage in the city Alexandria.

Alexandria Residents Share Condition

SHARE OF RESIDENTS RELATED TO RACE Viewing the two maps, it is easy to find out that, the areas that have high diversity in race are tend to also contain high percentage of residential sharing space. Those areas attibute along the boundaries.

Race Distribution

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.3 City House Hold Information

Zoning Situation

Nolli Plan

Average Household Size

Elevation Analysis In North Area HOUSEHOLD SIZE ANALYSIS

Elevation Analysis In South Area 50

As the data shows, the deeper in color, the higher density the area contains. Usually, it is normal to see the color change in a gradual way, however, the areas picked out that are locating next to each other have big contrast. Analyze the building type, it comes to that the area below contains high builidings in low density. The area above contains more villas that supply for families.

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.4 City Space Property

COMMERCIAL AREA DISTRIBUTION Residential Zoning

The commercial areas are related with the river and the railway. Most areas contribute around the seaside and export to the surrounding cities.

SPACE USAGE As the diagram shows, the middle part of the city are places that are in lower density, the property of surrounding areas are more abundant, especially the old town.

Commercial Distribution Situation

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.4 City Space Property

POCKET PARK The pocket parks distribute in the city in different ways. In the old town, they tend to be in small scales, however, in other main parts, they tend to be in middle or large scales.

Potential Archaeological Sites Distribution

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES The red points represent the possible sites that is related to archaeology. Most of them distributes in the old town, which is corresponded with the history.

Pockect Park Distribution Situation

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.4 City Space Property

INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITION The diagram shows that, most part of the city, except for the northern part are potential construction areas.

Trail Network Situation

TRAIL NETWORK There are mainly six kinds of trails in the city, which are highly related with the history of civil war.

Infrastructure Situation

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.5 City Density

City Map With Area Annotation

GRID TYPE ON MAP Nolli Map

Transportation System

Viewing the map, it is noticeable that the areas in the old town have strict grids, however, in the middle part, it tends to be more flowing and free. The main reasons are for historical and geographical. The old town is built in the earliest stage, which shows the great management of the government. The middle part locates on the land that contains mountain, so the buildings tend to be built follow the shape of topology.

Elevation Analysis In West Area

BUILDING TYPE In both areas, the building type is similair, and most of them are for living or educating.

Elevation Analysis In East Area 58

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Alexandria Current Situation|4.6 Old Town

Old Town Building Collage

THE OLD TOWN Nine districts inside of the old town are selected. The northest street is the King Street, which is famous for types of architecture and long history. The blocks that are picked out are similair in centrality features. From the outside, they might seemed like solid and in regular, however, the inner world of each block is quite different from each other, and looks like very flexible. The buildings around are in different styles, some of them could be regarded as landmarks that represent the old town, or even the city.

Building Typology In Old Town 60

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CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 62

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 63 8.4 Tower Definition


Case Study|5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm

Mark Auge , "Non-Place Urban Realm" "Non-Place" refers to the necessary facilities (expressways, interchanges, railway stations, airports) and vehicles themselves (cars, trains or aircraft) to speed up the transportation of people or objects. It also includes large hotels and supermarkets with a stream of customers, and even relay stations that allow global refugees and exiles to live for a short time. "Non-Place" is the antonym of Utopia: It exists, but it does not serve as a shelter for any organic society. " In a society different from modernity, once individuals gather, they organize society and plan places;

Fig 14. Passage des princes

'Arcades" Benjamin's interrelated views on the uniqueness of individual buildings, blocks and cities and the essence of originality or "aura" also provide a lot of unique insights for people to analyze cities and urban culture. In Benjamin's view, the specificity of place is the crystallization of the relationship between a specific building or city and the history, culture and social practice rooted in the place. For example, although the architectural style of Paris arcades was copied / adopted by other cities, Benjamin still believes that these arcades have not been really copied. They are still deeply rooted in their place and time, and integrate the collective history and memory of the uniqueness of the city of Paris (and its arcades and people). In this regard, Benjamin's works are closely related to the discussion of urban symbol system. Roofed arcades may be symbols of progress, bourgeois consumption and power, but they are inextricably linked to a particular field. In other words, the reproduction of a certain architectural style will not lead to the reproduction of any tradition, practice or charm of the original city or space. These replicas are also different from anywhere else - they are also rooted in a specific place and time. 64

"Non-Placel" is space that fulls of super modernity, only deal with passengers, customers, users and readers They only need to confirm their identity, socialization and positioning at the entrance. Non-Place users establish a symbolic contractual relationship through their train tickets and air tickets, credit cards presented at toll stations, and even carts coming and going in the corridors of large shopping malls; People gain anonymity by showing their identity in non local places: passports, credit cards, checks or any other permits that can obtain passage. Anthropologists have noticed that people can pass by at the crossroads, but the communication road does not allow any meeting. Travelers will wander around during the journey, or take shortcuts and get lost. Passengers taking high-speed rail or plane have a clear destination. The symbol of identity and historical location have changed with today's surface spatial fabric.

CONCLUSION 1.Unsite belongs to transition space. 2.Unsite is highly related to non-place. 3.In an unsite, people will not have sense of belonging, it is a place that people would pass by but wouldn't stay for a long time. 4.The unsite exists in our daily life, eg: A station that people are hurrying to and from, the meaning of existence has been demolished or disappeared after the regular usage day by day. 5.Site could be the destination, it is a remarkable place, but the un-site could be an unimpressive place that approaching site. 6.We need to give it a meaning by designing tower into the un-site, and change it into site.

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Case Study|5.2 PI MYTH

The Urban Renewal Of The America As the country that reached 73.7% in terms of urbanization rate in the 1980s, one of the most important aims is the overall improvement of city image. The process contains several stages: Reconstruction of old districts in the 1970s; Mainly substance renewal in the 1980s that take into account the needs of the community; Sustainable, multi-objective (economic, social, physical environment) comprehensive urban renewal in the 1990s. The content of the renewal is about froming old city renewal to community development, cleaning up urban slums and massive reconstruction, business revival, taking the community as the update unit, through the redevelopment of some abandoned industrial areas, tapping the potential of regional development, guiding regional embedding in the way of cluster development, coordinating and promoting the implantation of regional culture and style interpretation, and striving to promote the flexible and deep integration of the development of innovation zones and social innovation, and highlight regional characteristics.

GENTRIFICATION One probelm is that, how to balance the economic and social development of the new and old urban areas. The phenomenon of "gentrification" occurs in the city center. The definition is about an urban phenomena including housing renewal, housing ownership from renting to private ownership, rising housing prices, and the replacement of the working class by the ‘new middle class’. Capital re-enters the city center, the intrusion of high-income class brings about the promotion of social class, the change of urban landscape, and the direct or indirect substitution of low-income class. The typical process in which the poor stay away from the city center and the rich occupy the central area. The "gentrification movement" has had a major impact on the psychological problems caused by the aborigines, such as housing demolition, insufficient compensation, urban marginalization of resettlement housing, and the rupture of neighbourhood relations caused by the indigenous people. 66

Fig 15. Pruitt Igoe Housing Project in 1956

''The Pruitt Igoe Myth" As the collapse of the Pruitt Igoe, the era belongs to Modernism comes to an end and the Public Housing Movement comes to a failure. Pruitt Igoe was designed by Yamasaki, the designer of the US World Trade Center. It was completed in 1954. It is a large-scale social residential area consisting of 33 11-story undifferentiated slab buildings. Deeply influenced by modernist architecture and urban design principles, Yamasaki's design provides residents with plenty of green space and activity space. And in each residential building, the elevator is set up as a three-story stop, which is converted by stairs, connecting the upper and lower floors between the three floors. In addition, as the main public area, in addition to the residential units, the elevator landing also includes a corridor with a width of about 4 meters and small compartments for functions such as laundry and storage. With these shared public spaces, the architect hope to enhance the sense of community among residents.The buildings carried the mission of giving poor people real homes and successfully made them feel warm and find inner happiness at that time. However, the residential communities that originally seemed very livable eventually became hotbeds for criminals. In the context of the suburbanization of American cities after the war, the migration of white families, and the decline of inner cities, the continuous expansion of contradictions between residents of different races and the tight public budget made Pruitt Igoe gradually lack of maintenance and made the entire building complex. The reputation of the company has declined sharply.Due to lack of management, residents wantonly destroy buildings and various facilities. After less than ten years of use, they have been dilapidated and become "vertical slums." The Pruitt Igoe burdened much dissatisfaction and depression, someone described it as: "Poor architectural design, lack of understanding of human behavior, makes people feel depressed, indifferent, and alienated." From its heyday in 1957, the vacancy rate in the Pruitt Igoe community was only 9%. Later, the vacancy rate reached 65%. Only 18 years after the completion of the construction, the Pruitt Igoe house was demolished by explosion and ended in failure. The failure cannot be blamed entirely on architectural design. It was the out-of-date design, coupled with deep-rooted racial thinking, and a chaotic housing policy that finally "achieved" 20-year chaos. 67


Case Study|5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image Fig 17. The Image of the City - Paths

PATHS The first feature of the city is paths. They could be streets, trails, railroads, canals or other channels in which people travel and pass through. In fact, they work as connections that arrange and make movement between the spaces.

Fig 18. The Image of the City - Edges

EDGES

The edges are explained as boundaries that can be real or perceived. They could be walls, architecture, curbstones, streets or even overpasses. In the city Alexandria, They could be the history lines of the city expansion process, and boundries divide the city from the other lands.

Fig 19. The Image of the City - Districts Fig 16. The Image of the City

Kevin Lynch, ''The Image Of The City " In the literature "The Image Of The City" written by Kevin Lynch, there are investigation and analysis among the city: Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles.The urban image theory believes that people's understanding of the city and the image that formed by their city knowledge are realized by observing the city's environmental form. The various signs of the urban form are the symbols that supply opportunities for people to recognize the city, and people form feelings through observing these symbols, thereby gradually understanding the nature of this city. The clearer the symbols and structure of the urban environment, the more people can recognize the city, thus bringing psychological stability of themselves. There are 5 features of the city itself. They are paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. The summary shows the deep relationship between urban environment and human subjective feelings, and translate the relationship into simple charactristics. 68

DISTRICTS

The districts are described into two-dimentional objets.They could be in medium or large scales that contain individual entrances. It is easy to recognize them since they have common identifying features, such as the Old Town or the Potomac Yard in Alexandria.

Fig 20. The Image of the City - Nodes

NODES

The nodes are understood as more than the traffic nodes. They are large areas for the citizens to enter into. Once in that node, the person could get multiple perspectives of other elements. The most successful nodes are those who could intensify some surrounding characterisctics.

Fig 21. The Image of the City - Landmarks

LANDMARKS

The landmarks could be buildings, signs, stores, mountains or even public art. They are unique of history of its external style. Landmarks stand for the city, and they become the first thing that people travel for. In Alexandria, they could be Washington Masonic Memorial, King Street, Civil War defenses and churches. 69


CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 70

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 71 8.4 Tower Definition


Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

Unsite Definition I

"UNSITE IS OPPOSITE OR PARALLEL TO SITE. TO DEFINE WHAT IS AN UNSITE, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS A SITE AT FIRST."

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Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

Potential Site Location EXPLORATION OF SITE As a site, the most significant feature is that, it must be obvious seen on the map. Therefore, the area in red block is picked to be the research object. It locates near the old town, and covers the railway, which is an imoirtant constitution of the city. The King Street, which is a famous tourist place also pass through the red area. Therefore, it is proper to find out more about this place and vertify the necessity of choosing it as a site.

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Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

SITE ANALYSIS A Site should not only be obvious on the map, but also have many potential significance. Therefore, the development process of the city and the zoning information are added to explore maor about the possibility of the site. Overlapping the analysis, it is easy to be seen that, the site contains complex context and location meaning, which provide the typicality of the site in red lines.

City Macroscopical Analysis

Aeriel View Around The Site

Building Type

SITE CONDITION The site is a parking lot at present, and it covers the railway inside. Also, the building type is abundant. There is a tower which has historical meaning, and schools which have brick elevation.

Site Analysis Overlapping Information

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Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

PROPERTY ANALYSIS Taking part of the properties, the site is located on the intersection of land division in history records, which provide that it have potential and significant meaning. Connecting transportation system and the site, the result turns to be that the site is also at the intersection of railway system.

Territory

Transportation System

PROPERTY ANALYSIS Observing the zoning condition, there is a wide range of functions around the site. Living space ranks the first, which indicates that, the site would have regular and sufficient population.

Zoning

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Nolli Plan

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Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

Site - School / Living Place

Site - Historical / Archaeological

Site - Leisure Green Land

TYPES OF SITE There are mainly three types of site. The first one is about places that have historical are archaeological meanings. It is shown from the diagram that, the old town contains most part of archaeological sites, and the trail related to the civil war , which locates in the middle part of the whole city. Churches and gateways contribute mainly in the northeastern part. The second type is green lands. They are called as site because that people always go there with aims, such as appreciating nature sceneries or doing exercises. The last type is about living places and schools. People often have regular aim and activities in those places. 80

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Unsite Definition|6.1 Definition I

Potential Sites

Potential Unsites

FROM SITE TO UNSITE Overlap all the aspects of sites together, the conclusion is that the site is about historical/ archaeological/leisure green land/ school/ living place. As has been illustrated that, there is no intersection between the site and the unsite. Therefore, the method to find out proper areas of the unsite is to observe the map that shows most of the sites, then choose places that is lowly related with the sites. In that case, two areas are selected to be proper unsites. The two unsites are inside the boundry of the city and becomes the start point and the end point of the railway system. 82

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Unsite Definition|6.2 Definition II

Unsite Definition II

"USING GEOMETRY RELATIONSHIP TO DEFINE THE UNSITE. OVERLAPPING THE INVISIBLE GRID WILL COME TO THE FINAL ANSWER."

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Unsite Definition|6.2 Definition II

Grids Overlapping On Map 86

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Unsite Definition|6.2 Definition II

GRID SYSTEM The lines on the map are the potential grid system of the plan. This kind of grid forms two triangle openings of the city, which is hatched in blue. For the unsite I, another triangle formed by the connection of three most significant transportation location is hatched in red. These two triangles are overlapping in some areas. Therefore, cshose this overlap area as the unsite. As for the unsite II, the location is surrounded by two railway tracks, which looks like an island on the land. Pick the overlap area of blue triangle and the island as the second unsite.

Selected Grid System 88

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Unsite Definition|6.3 Definition III

Unsite Definition III

"UNSITE BELONGS TO TRANSITION SPACE. IT COULD BE AN UNIMPRESSIVE PLACE THAT APPROACHING THE SITE."

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Unsite Definition|6.3 Definition III

Weekday Ridership Times Routine Analysis TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS Connect the weekly ridership diagram and the metrorail lines system together, the circulation doesn't concentrate on the center of the whole city, but the sides of the city and the areas that locate near the old town. The transportation system is complicated and there are many branches cut through two main metrorails. In that case, it would also be complex to the citizens who need to go to further places. As a result, finding proper connections to make network with thw whole existing system would be a suitable method.

Metrorail Line System 92

Fig 22. Existing Midday Network

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Unsite Definition|6.3 Definition III

Commuting By Public Transportation Fig 23. Commuting by Public Transportation

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS As the data above shows,the areas in deeper green are the places where people would pass by continually. It is easy to pick out three areas that rank top 3 among all the city, which locates southwest corner, central part near the railway and the northeast corner respectively. Each of them is highly related with the current transportation system. The red point of the central railway is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, which is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason. The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt. Construction began in 1922, the building was dedicated in 1932, and the interior finally completed in 1970. Therefore, it contributes to a significant meaning. Connecting the three points forms a triangle that covers the main part of the city.

Unsite Relationship Analysis 94

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Unsite Definition|6.3 Definition III

Transition Space Analysis ANALYTICAL METHOD These two unsites are transition space in the city of which the particularity of the place disappear because of the frequent passing of people. Starting from different modes of transportation, The railway produces bifurcation at both ends of the city, which naturally becomes a space with strong transition. Starting from bicycles, there are obvious circulation overlaps in the southwest and northeast sides. In terms of walking routes, residential areas and public spaces near the two intersections are analysed, equating residential areas with a central red dot. Then connect them with various public areas, and finding the intersection of streamline can figure out the possible unsites. 96

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CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 98

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 99 8.4 Tower Definition


Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I

Unsite1 Location

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Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I There are two city plans in different periods. The left one is in 1951. We can see that the unsite 1 location used to be a rail yard in 1951, which contained rail tracks in high density on the ground. But now, it has been changed and become a residential community. Therefore, It would be a highly potential place to become an unsite in Alexandria city.

City Map In 1951

City Map In 2021 102

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Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I

Ariel Images From 1949 - 2010 Fig 25. Aeriel View, Google Map

RELATIONSHIP TO GOOD YARDS The unsite1 that locates in the Potomac Yard indicates how this place turned from a truly good yards to a mixed use area now. Historic and current aerial photographs show the extent of track realignment over the years.The 1988 aerial on e illustrates the impact of the Four Mile Run flood control project on railroad track alignments.1949 and 1988 images courtesy of USGS. The one in 2010 shows the concept courtesy of Thunderbird Archeology. --- From City of Alexandria, "image courtesy of Google Maps" (https://www.alexandriava. gov/uploadedFiles/historic/info/archaeology/TrailSignPotomacYardsTransition.pdf)

Rail Yards / Good Yards Fig 24. Chicago Train Yard

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Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I

GREEN LAND TYPE ANALYSIS Zoning Condition

There are mainly five types of green land around the unsite1. The seaside area could be considered as open space that is enhanced for travelling value. Small green connections are the general type, which distribute almost everywhere bewteen districts.

ZONING ANALYSIS The unsite1 is located inside of the Potomac Yard, near the old town.Most of the surrounding areas are for residential usage. Most of the commercial resource distribute along the city streets. The building type along the seaside is more abundant.

Green Land Distribution

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Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I

BUILDING HEIGHT ANALYSIS Transportation System Type

The building height type inside of the unsite1 is similar. Most of them are buildings whose height are between 1-5 storeys. In the middle and two sides of this area, there are higher buildings, however, all of them are below 10 storeys height.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ANALYSIS The transportation system of the unsite1 is typical for two main axises that are almost parallel with each other. They have an intersection in the south corner. There are several secondary axises inside of this area, which form several districts in different scales.

Building Height Distribution

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Unsite Analysis|7.1 Unsite I

UNSITE I SCENIC VIEW From south to north, there are four suitable blank spaces for analyzing sceneries around the unsite. There is a railway locates in the east, which supplying convinient transportation condition. The eastern side is the patomac river, and other sides are for factory use or residential use. Most of the buildings are of high storeys.

Street View Diagram 110

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

Unsite2 Location

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

Zoning Analysis

Building Type

Circulation

Traffic Density

Transition Analysis

Surround Building Height

SURROUNDING ANALYSIS In wider range of the context, the unsite is surrounded most by residential areas in pink, and nature lands in the southern part. If choose the center of the residential and nature blocks, then connect them to form a network, the approximate range of the unsite will come out. The circulation of people indicates that the unsite is a transition place which has great amount of population.

Location Annotation 114

The sectional relationship of buildings shows that, from west to the east, buildings tend to be taller and contain more storeys for activities. 115


Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

Building Elevation Material Typology --- From Google Map

SURROUNDING ANALYSIS Viewing the sectional drawings, most of the areas are of public properties, which contains factories, place for entertainment and doing sports, school for eduction. In the unsite, there is an area containing living spaces, which provides fixed clients for the future building. The marerial of the surrounding buildings covers a wide range. Brick and stones occupy most. The residential buildings usually make usage of panels and control the mass in a small scale. There are families living together in the villa.

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Unsite Sectional Analysis

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

GREEN LAND TYPE ANALYSIS Zoning Condition

There are mainly six types of green land around the unsite2. Parks and mix of park/ plaze space contribute most in the surrounding environment. the landscape buffer is in the smallest scale.

ZONING ANALYSIS The unsite1 is located inside of the Eisenhower West. Areas that locate near the unsite2 are rich in building types. To the contrast, Further areas are buildings that have sole function, such as residential and educating.

Green Land Distribution

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

BUILDING HEIGHT ANALYSIS

Transportation System Type

The building height type inside of the unsite2 is totally diffenrent from that of unsite1. Higher buildings occur in the south part of the area, which are over 15 storeys height. The altitude variation is more complex there.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ANALYSIS The transportation system of the unsite1 is typical for one main axis that goes across the horizontal direction of the whole area, which connects to the river and green land in the east directly. There are two other axis connect the other district and another country in the south part.

Building Height Distribution

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

UNSITE II SCENIC VIEW Four suitable blank spaces are chosen to be the places that having sceneries around the unsite. The railway provides space and gap between this unsite and the opposite districts, therefore, the sightseeing is fairly broad. There are less high buildings but more parking lots around the unsite.

Street View Diagram 122

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Unsite Analysis|7.2 Unsite II

ASSUMPTION The approximate range of the unsite II covers a quantity of buildings. Also, it situates between two railways, which guaranteeing the convenience of transportation. One possible strategy of the unsite is to build stilts in blank space and develop towers over the remaining buildings.

Assumption Model 124

Assumption Diagram 125


CONTENT INTRODUCTION

1.1 Elaboration Of Themes 1.2 Studio Fields

ALEXANDRIA OVERVIEW 2.1 City Location 2.2 1-50000 city map 2.3 1-10000 city map

ALEXANDRIA BRIEF 3.1 City Summary 3.2 City Feature 3.3 City History 3.4 City Weather

ALEXANDRIA CURRENT SITUATION 4.1 City Flooding 4.2 City Population 4.3City House Hold Information 4.4 City Space Property 4.5 City Density 4.6 Old Town

CASE STUDY 5.1 Arcades+Non-Place Urban Realm 5.2 PI MYTH 5.3 Urban Imagination, Lynch, City Image

UNSITE DEFINITION 6.1 Definition I 6.2 Definition II 6.3 Definition III

UNSITE ANALYSIS 7.1 Unsite I 7.2 Unsite II

OUTLOOK TOWER 126

8.1 Location Strategy 8.2 Tower Effect 8.3 City Model 127 8.4 Tower Definition


Outlook Tower|8.1 Location Strategy

Original District Of Columbia Boundary Stone Markers STONE MARKERS INFORMATION The green square was the oringinal boundary of Washington DC duiring 1791-1846, which means that Alexandria was divided into two parts in 1791. One part of land belonged to the local government and the other part belonged to the nation's government, which was given back to local government again in 1846. The green dots on the map are the stone markers of the original boundary of Columbia which have been preserved until now.

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Stone Markers Images Fig 26. Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia

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Outlook Tower|8.1 Location Strategy

1-50000 Region Plan

1-10000 City Plan

STONE MARKER BOUNDARY OVERVIEW The boundary markers of the original District of Columbia are the 40 milestones that marked the four lines forming the boundaries between the states of Maryland and Virginia and the square of 100 square miles (259 km2) of federal territory that became the District of Columbia in 1801 (see: Founding of the District of Columbia). Working under the supervision of three commissioners that President George Washington had appointed in 1790 in accordance with the federal Residence Act, a surveying team that Major Andrew Ellicott led placed these markers in 1791 and 1792. Among Ellicott's assistants were his brothers Joseph and Benjamin Ellicott, Isaac Roberdeau, George Fenwick, Isaac Briggs and an African American astronomer, Benjamin Banneker. Today, 36 of the original marker stones survive as the oldest federally placed monuments in the United States. Thirteen of these markers are now within Virginia due to the return of the portion of the District south and west of the Potomac River to Virginia in 1846 (see: District of Columbia retrocession).

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Outlook Tower|8.1 Location Strategy

TOWER LOCATION STRATEGY Then it is about the location strategy of the twin towers. Starting with the first stone column, build a grid of 10 kilometers in the city, and determine the corresponding relationship between the towers and the stone columns according to the 45 degree stone column lines, which diverge to each side at right angles.

Location With Math Method Diagram Based On Map

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Outlook Tower|8.1 Location Strategy

TOWER LOCATION STRATEGY The location strategy is shown more clearly in the axonometric diagram. The red dash line that divide the city is the boundary of stone markers. Using the 10 kilometer as a module, the black arrows represent the distance of each markers. Then develop the module vertically and horizontally in blue and pink arrows, the location of the twin towers are determined finally.

Location With Math Method Diagram In Axonometric 134

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Outlook Tower|8.2 Tower Effect

TOWER FUNCTION

Fig 27. Map of Alexandria

At the intersection of the railway lines are our twin towers. At the same time, since the two sides of the pillars had been in different regions, their development was very different. Therefore, the tower-to-city strategy was established: to make the city develop in a balanced way. Frequent exchange of information between the twin towers, substance exchange can also undertake rapid distribution by rail, even break the restriction of traffic tools in the future. After receiving information, the twin towers scatter it to the surrounding areas to realize the rapid allocation of resources from point to surface. So that the proximity of the Northeast region to Washington, D.C., could lead to the development of technology and production in the Southwest, eliminating differentiation.

Tower Effects On Whole City Fig 27. Map of Alexandria

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Outlook Tower|8.3 City Model

MODEL OVERVIEW The city models show the locations of two towers. By the way, It can be seen from the model that there is a huge gap between the density and architecture form between east and west, which is caused by historical and economic factors. For historical factors, in terms of site planning, it is obvious that the eastern part of Alexandria is wellplanned, while the western part is more loose.

3D Model Images

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Outlook Tower|8.4 Tower Definition

DEFINITION STAGE 1 The control tower is mainly constituted by steel frame structure, and the tower represents the era that the Potomac Yard was one of the busiest rail yards in the country. The renewal of the steel frame structure would remind the citizen of the history in this place and make the unsite into a site again.

Northbound Control And Retarder Tower

Simplified Structural Model

Fig 28. The Northbound Control and Restarder Tower for Hump

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES The first hump yards at Potomac Yard were operated manually by car-cutters who uncoupled the cars when they reached the top of the hump. Switch tenders lined the switches and brakemen rode the cars down the hill and slowed their descent using handoperated brakes. In the 1930s and 1940s, remotely-operated switches and car retarders were installed and controlled from two towers on each hump. In the late 1950s, the hump yards were once again updated when the VELAC system was installed at the southbound hump. VELAC, an automated classification yard system, replaced remote switches with electronic switches controlled from a fourstory concrete tower. Touted as an "electronic brain," VELAC made car classification even more efficient and required fewer employees. --- From Trail Sign Potomac Yards Rail Hump (https://www.alexandriava.gov/ uploadedFiles/historic/info/archaeology/TrailSignPotomacYardsRailHump.pdf)

Steel Frame Structure Collage 140

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Outlook Tower|8.4 Tower Definition

DEFINITION STAGE 2 The lighthouse which made in stone is a symbol of the sea, the image could be extracted to be part of the outlook tower. As the image of the stone marker shows, the marker was shutted into a steel cage till now. Imagining the stone as the member that has a historical symbol and long history like an old building, it shouldn't been inside of the steel, it should be remarkable and become outstanding. Therefore, the idea as envolving the stone elevation into the steel frame occured.

Lighthouse Image

Lighthouse Model

Fig 29. Cooper & Co Lighthouse Framed Canvas Black & White

Elevation Forming Process 142

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Outlook Tower|8.4 Tower Definition

DEFINITION STAGE 3 Since both unsites could be the gateway of the city, the outlook tower is supposed to strengthen the character as the "crossroads" while containing many eye-catching factors. The answer comes to the gothic church, which is a symbol of strong directionality also the impact of carving and decoration. In addition, more enclosed colonnade leads to an open urban landscape at the end, with exaggerated arrows leading to a deeper exploration.

Sectional Diagram

Gothic Church Images Fig 30. Gothic Church

144

Fig 31. Le altissime volte del Duomo

Outlook Tower Imagination 145


Outlook Tower|8.4 Tower Definition

CONCEPT PROCESS The process and logic of the outlook tower is shown by the diagram below. At first, building steel structures and make them into a system, then, the stone elevation as well as the stone lighthouse are constructed around the steel frame. Finally, adding part of the gothic church on the top to make the whole tower remarkable. The rendering image shows the perspective of the whole tower.

Outlook Tower Process Diagram

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Outlook Tower Rendering Image

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Outlook Tower|8.4 Tower Definition

Street View Collage Imagination Near Del Ray

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Bibliography Mark Auge, "Non-Place Urban Realm" Andy Stoane, "PI MYTH" Lorens Holem, "Urban imagination, Lynch, City Image", 30 Nov 2021 Kevin Lynch, " The Image of the City" Lorens Holm, "Notes on the Outlook Tower" Geddes Patrick, "Cities in Evolution" ,Williams & Norgate, London,1905 Dan Malouff, For DASH bus ," Will Alexandrians choose more frequency or more coverage?", 2018 (https://ggwash.org/view/69476/for-dash-bus-will-alexandrians-choose-frequency-or-coverage) Wikipedia, "Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_markers_of_the_original_District_of_Columbia) Shuster, Ernest A."The Original Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia," National Geographic, pp. 356-359 (Apr. 1909). (https://boundarystones.org/read.php?page=ng_1909/359) Kift.W "District of Columbia and part of Maryland and Virginia". 1980. (https://www.loc.gov/item/80695242/) Author Unlisted ,"The history of Washington DC". (https://www.mapsland.com/north-america/usa/washington-dc) Author Unlisted ,"Out of the Attic: Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire",September 9, 2010 (https://alextimes.com/2010/09/alexandria-loudoun-and-hampshire-railro/) Vernon Miles, "How Alexandria Got Its Shape" , August 29, 2017(http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2017/aug/29/how-alexandria-got-its-shape/) Author Unlisted,"Alexandria",(http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/24alexan.html) City of Alexandria, "Historic Alexandria Maps", Jul 4, 2018 (https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=51690) Author Unlisted, "Timeline of Alexandria History", Nov 25, 2020, (https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=113962) Benjamin Skolnik and Francine Bromberg, "Archaeological probability model map for Alexandria, Virginia." 1989 (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Archaeological-probability-model-map-for-AlexandriaVirginia-Version-created-in-1989_fig1_299346429) Adam Froehlig ,"Alexandria gets the mapping magic", May 5, 2011 (https://ggwash.org/view/9225/alexandria-gets-the-mapping-magic) City of Alexandria, Department of Planning and Zoning ,"Alexandria 2010 Census Data Profile",April, 2012 (https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/planning/info/StatisticsDemographics/20120424CC169 Alexandria2010CensusProfilesplitanimations.pdf)

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Images Cited Fig 1. Great Trip of The Venetian Resort, "Photo: Front Looking Down at outdoor gondola ride" (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g45963-d97704-i62503084-The_ Venetian_Resort-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html) Fig 2. Wikipedia, "The Potomac River", (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potomac_River) Fig 3. Washington Post/Getty Images, "1972 - Hurricane Agnes", (https://www.msn.com/en-us/ weather/photos/the-most-devastating-hurricane-the-year-you-were-born/ss-AAgRa6h?fullscreen =true#image=26) Fig 4. Wordisc, "Northern Virginia trolleys", (https://worddisk.com/wiki/Northern_Virginia_trolleys/) Fig 5. Meteoblue, (https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/maps/legacy/alexandria_unitedstates_4744091?variable=temperature&level=surface&lines=none&mapcenter=38.7734N76.9922&zoom=9) Fig 6. Meteoblue, "Seasonal Climate Forecast for Alexandria", (https://www.meteoblue.com/en/ weather/forecast/seasonaloutlook/alexandria_united-states_4744091)

Fig 22. City of Alexandria, "Existing Midday Network", (https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/default. aspx?id=104193) Fig 24. Lance Nishihira, "Chicago Train Yard", (https://www.flickr.com/photos/lantzilla/5883306/) Fig 25. City of Alexandria, "image courtesy of Google Maps" (https://www.alexandriava.gov/ uploadedFiles/historic/info/archaeology/TrailSignPotomacYardsTransition.pdf) Fig 26. Wikipedia, "Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia", (https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Boundary_markers_of_the_original_District_of_Columbia) Fig 27. Ghosts of DC, "1940s High-Altitude Photo of D.C. and Arlington", (https://ghostsofdc. org/2014/01/17/1940s-high-altitude-photo-d-c-arlington/?utm_source=pinterest-recycle-daily&utm_ medium=social&utm_campaign=1940s+High-Altitude+Photo+of+D.C.+and+Arlington) Fig 28. City of Alexandria, "The Rail Yard Hump", (https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/ historic/info/archaeology/TrailSignPotomacYardsRailHump.pdf)

Fig 7-8. Meteoblue, "Simulated historical climate & weather data for Alexandria"(https://www. meteoblue.com/en/weather/historyclimate/climatemodelled/alexandria_united-states_4744091)

Fig 29. Spotlight, "Cooper & Co Lighthouse Framed Canvas Black & White", (https://www. spotlightstores.com/nz/home/wall-art/framed-prints/cooper-co-lighthouse-framed-canvas/ BP80501256-black-white)

Fig 9. Meteoblue, "Climate Change Alexandria", (https://www.meteoblue.com/en/climate-change/ alexandria_united-states_4744091)

Fig 30. Author Unlisted, "How to Appreciate a Gothic Church", (https://www.sohu.com/ a/230510915_664390)

Fig 10,13,23. City of Alexandria, Department of Planning and Zoning, "Alexandria 2010 Census Data Profile", (https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/planning/info/StatisticsDemographics/ Alex2010DataProfileWeb.pdf)

Fig 31. Chiara Mandich, "Storia e Segreti del Monumento Simbolo della Città", (https://allemandich. it/duomo-di-milano/)

Fig 11,12. Karl Moritz, "Planning & Zoning", (https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/ communications/cityacademy/CAFall2020-Class4-PandZpdf.pdf) Fig 14. Shutterstock, "Passage des princes", (https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/search/ passage+des+princes) Fig 15. Bettmann/Corbis, "Pruitt Igoe", (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/feb/26/ pruitt-igoe-myth-film-review) Fig 16-21. Kevin Lynch, " The Image of the City"

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