Module 1

     My interest in urban design and theory comes from experiencing poor urban planning.  Urban planning lacks the finesse and structure of urban design.  Urban design is created in the intimate spaces every person experiences and the fabric that connects the city as a whole not from singular moments of design.  The importance of urban design has been on the rise in recent years as the focus of cities has shifted from the automobile onto pedestrians.  

     

     With the rise of sustainability and eco-friendly lifestyles more and more households are driving less and looking to alternative methods of transportation such as cycling, and mass transit.  This shift in values drastically changes the way cities are designed.  Instead of designing at the car scale things are shifting down to the human scale.  This allows for many of the traditional urban theory values of Jane Jacobs, David Lynch and Jeff Speck to be highlighted. 

     One city that highlights the changing urban landscape is London.  Under the leadership of mayor Boris Johnson London has gone through an environmental evolution.  Johnson's plan for London has included; taking small oddly shaped lots and turning them into pocket parks, encouraging more walking and cycling through the addition of more street trees, bike lanes and bike share systems.

      I have studied London for both Urban Theory and my Thesis Seminar and I view London as a prime example of urban design.  There are several major plazas that act as centers for urban life.  It has a medieval street grid at it's center running along the Thames allowing for easy wayfinding and walkability.  It is amazing to see such a historic city still on the forefront of design.  Their push to become more sustainable also provides a precedent for all other cities in the world.  

My study of London has been used to serve my own thesis project.  My thesis project is based in Pittsburgh, PA and involved the master planning of a lot which has been vacant since the demolition of a civic arena in 2012.

My strategy for the master plan was using the existing street grids surrounding my site and allowing them to overlap and collide on my site.  The site is located on the triangular peninsula of Pittsburgh just East of central Downtown and west of residential neighborhoods.  The plan breaks down the massive site into a grid that is similar to the residential grid.  I placed five nodes throughout the site one of which become a central park.  The competing grids converge around this central node/park.  The remaining four nodes are planned to be either areas in which circulation is slowed to allow for more pedestrian friendly areas, or where there will be a landmark public space.  

It has been extremely informative working at this massive scale before moving to the typical building scale.  It is easy to define architecture at the building scale and assuming that urban planning is a separate field due to its scale alone.  However urban design and architecture should always be thought of together.  Architecture without consideration for its urban fabric is irresponsible. Urban design has to be just that, design.  In my thesis I am hoping to allow the master plan to evolve as my building finds it's form and to allow the master plan to impact my own design.