Following the site analysis portion, we moved onto contextual mapping. This involved carefully examining three or more site forces which strongly impacted the site and using them to generate a series of lines running through the site. One of the most striking characteristics of Braddock is the pervasiveness of empty lots. Much of the main commercial corridor of Braddock has been demolished, leaving huge holes in the urban fabric. For my first two site forces, I sought to document these holes based on how they would be experienced by a vehicle driving through the neighborhood and based on how they would be experienced by a pedestrian. For the third site force, I sought to document extent of views at each street intersection, since intersections manifest themselves as natural pauses when moving through a neighborhood.
After generating a consolidated contextual map of the neighborhood consisting of all the lines from the three previously examined site forces gathered together, the portion of these lines which was contained by the site boundaries was separated as its own entity. The areas bounded by these lines were then given various levels of shading according to specific pre-defined rules in order to generate the above "artwork."
For strategic programming, I chose the strategy of community empowerment. In pursuing this strategy, I sought to bring the urban fabric up onto the building, elevating the neighborhood itself to a position of power. I sought to use such strategies as spatial simultaneity to help break down the boundaries between the surrounding area and the building itself, and designed the building to facilitate intermixing of government employees with community members.
Pictured here is the programming model, demonstrating my use of a sweeping green roof to bring public space upward and throughout the site and detailing the circulation between various programmatic elements of the building
The next step of the design process was to create the architecture itself. We used the contextual mapping artwork as the basis for our folding procedures, folding only along the lines which had been created by the site forces in order to generate the building.
Through iteration, the folded paper designs were fleshed out into a final design. All features of the building were taken from the contextual mapping artwork, including the windows, green spaces, room divisions, and landscaping features. Pictured here is the sketch model indicating the final design of the building.
The building plans and sections were drawn entirely in Autocad. Pictured here are the first and one-and-a-half floor plans, juxtaposed with photoshopped renderings of the building in use.
The second floor and roof plan of the building, juxtaposed with photoshopped renderings of the building in use.
Sections of the building, juxtaposed with photoshopped renderings of the building in use.
Pictured here is the final model, revealing its setting within the neighborhood.
A street level view of the building from the front detailing the public access to the green roof.
An aerial view of the building from the front
A street level view of the main entrance to the building as well as its overhang over Braddock Avenue.
A view from the back of the building looking down the sloping walkable roof toward Braddock Avenue.
Aerial view of the front of the building from Braddock Ave
A view from the back of the building showing the outdoor amphitheater under the rising arm of the building.
An aerial view of the intermediate outdoor roof plaza at the rear of the building
A top-down view of the roof of the building
A view of the building within its neighborhood context as seen while driving or walking down Braddock Ave.