There are cities that get by on their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains or oceans, rockbound or with palm trees. And there are cities like Detroit that have to work for a living. - Novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard
Project 01 - Urban Farm: Industrial Gardening
To begin this semester’s investigations in architecture, students will be designing a residence for a family who has decided to re-occupy the abandoned wastelands of central Detroit. The client intends to establish an urban farm from which to begin restoring purpose to the city and build a sense of community. The client also wishes to quickly move on site and start working the land. To accomplish this, the house will need to serve as useful shelter, efficient workspace, and a place that encourages the rebuilding of community. This will be an architectural exercise in self-sufficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. As a foundation for meeting these objectives, the house for this project will be constructed from steel shipping containers.
The site for this project will be a large residential parcel within a section of central Detroit. The specific section of the city to be used in this project will be determined by the Practicum Studio. Specific sites will be assigned randomly in the early stage of the design process. Student's sites must address specific requirements for neighborhood design and take advantage of the climate characteristics typical for Detroit.
The site for this project will be a large residential parcel within a section of central Detroit. The specific section of the city to be used in this project will be determined by the Practicum Studio. Specific sites will be assigned randomly in the early stage of the design process. Student's sites must address specific requirements for neighborhood design and take advantage of the climate characteristics typical for Detroit.
Project 02 - Bridge of Houses: River Community
For this project, students will be developing an urban community in a unique local setting. The City of Dallas is currently experiencing a period of large and sometimes controversial growth at its urban core. To explore the opportunities and possibilities of this growth, the class will develop a remnant site that has been abandoned and re-purposed as a result of the development of new infrastructure. As a starting point for this project, students will be examining and studying a theoretical work by New York Architect Steven Holl entitled “Bridge of Houses”.
The Continental Avenue Bridge is an existing viaduct crossing the Trinity River between Downtown Dallas and West Dallas. Upon completion of Santiago Calatrava’s Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, it was abandoned to vehicular traffic and converted into an urban park. Students will be required to develop a private residential community while maintaining and improving public access and amenity for the site. This process will begin with the design of a site master plan. This master plan concept will be developed in conjunction with the third year Practicum Studio to create a hybrid public/private urban mixed-use project.
The Continental Avenue Bridge is an existing viaduct crossing the Trinity River between Downtown Dallas and West Dallas. Upon completion of Santiago Calatrava’s Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, it was abandoned to vehicular traffic and converted into an urban park. Students will be required to develop a private residential community while maintaining and improving public access and amenity for the site. This process will begin with the design of a site master plan. This master plan concept will be developed in conjunction with the third year Practicum Studio to create a hybrid public/private urban mixed-use project.
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Holl Bridge of Houses from felix. on Vimeo. |