| Project: Geography 1 Site: Commercial Strip at Needham Street in Newton, MA Elements of Urban Design Studio Harvard University, Professor: Martin Zogran Fall 2007, 4 weeks This project was one of three assignments for the course “Elements of Urban Design,” an advanced core studio exploring ideas, conventions, and technical skills essential to a critical understanding of how design operates at the various scales of urbanity and metropolitan development. The geography investigated is Needham Street in Newton Massachusetts, a suburb on the outskirts of Boston, characterized by car-oriented development, a road of big-box stores supporting patterns of low-density housing. The city is highly valued for its excellent public education system. In order to address the fragmentation of Needham Street and promote densification, the design proposal builds upon the principles of Nan Ellin’s book Integral Urbanism. Ellin identifies five qualities: Hybridity, Connectivity, Porosity, Authenticity, and Vulnerability for urban design and architecture. For the design, porosity is interpreted as not only the physical flow of people through the site but also the visual porosity that characterizes store signage and visual connections between activities. A network of new roads addresses the traffic problems and creates new space for middle-sized retail. An inactive railway right of way is converted to a walking/biking trail connecting open space to the light rail station that serves Boston commuters. Defunct manufacturing buildings are replaced with midrise apartment buildings to create new opportunities for families and individuals seeking affordable options. |
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