Honorable Mention | Urban Design (Concept)
Firm Name: AN.Onymous
Participant Name: Iman Ansari
Team Member: Iman Ansari, Marta Nowak, Ryan Lobello
Country : USA
Great cities are not always measured by how good they are planned, but by how well their plans anticipate and sustain change and growth over time. DE.MARCATION envisions RNK as a future town, and uses the means and methods of measurement and property ownership as a generative system for urban growth and development. The city is organized within an urban structure that not only equally distributes and diversifies the land and lad-use, but also serves as an infrastructural system that could extend the city as it grows.
Step 1: The Mother Grid: In the first step, the existing railroad running through RNK is used as a base line for a grid of 150m by 150m running on both directions. This grid divides the land into parcels of equal size, and with that forms the city’s primary infrastructural grid. We call this system “the mother grid.”
Step 2: The Markers: We mark the intersections of this grid with a series 20m tall structures called “the Markers.” The Markers mark the territory, both in plan defining the corners of every parcel, and also in section as the ground/ landscape shifts over time and the sea level rises. The Markers’ function and role differs in different areas of the town from being a clock tower in the civic center, a slide in the school courtyard, to a lighthouse in the marina.
Step 3: The RNK Blocks: The new streets run in between the Mother grid, and therefore divide the land parcels. Although the divisions of the parcel are not equal, each land parcel at the end contains 4 quarters from different land parcels with potentially different ownership or use, which would in turn foster diversity of building types, use, or occupancy within each block. Each block would also house a Marker sitting at the center of the public space that functions differently depending on the use of that particular block.
Step final: the Mother Grid: Once the land parcels, the streets, and the block, and the building are in place, the Mother grid emerges as a pedestrian network of 8-meter wide paths that cut the buildings and connect the markers. These paths separate the buildings in the blocks, and create a pedestrian network that connects the public spaces within the city. Once new developments are built, these paths could potentially extend that network to the new developments.
The dynamic block and road design allows for a variation of housing types and forms. At the urban core the blocks are courtyards, enabling private outdoor space against the building and open green space for the public at the center. The housing density decreases as it filters towards the outer portion of the master plan, introducing U and L shaped buildings, decreased height, and eventually detached residences at the fringe. At the intersection of the MOTHER GRID and the architecture, the buildings are sliced to create a third condition. The block design is easily suited for the variety of building types and functions required by the community. This vitality embraces and encourages interconnectivity of the residents with the adaptable and diverse functions. The courtyards are raised plazas, providing for centrally located street lined retail and ground level parking at the town’s central area.
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