Michael Barakat

Published by

211 South Broad Street, 5th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19102

Copyright © 2011

John MacDuffie Woodburn

Expanding the heart of Philadelphia: Enhancing the Concourse to appeal to the public through the blending of nature and the city.

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Copyright © 2011 by John MacDuffie Woodburn and Michael BarakatIllustrations copyright © 2011 by John MacDuffie Woodburn and Michael Barakat

Photography credits:Page 21 © 2010, Wallace Todd and Roberts, Green Works Plan; Pages 34,39, 144, 145 © 2010, Hajer and Reijndorp, In Search for a New Public Domain; Page 39 © 2010 Beehive, http://www.beeflowers.com/moscowmetro/index.htm; Page 36 © Eric E Johnson; Page 37 © 2010 Sunter, “Protecting Car Parks, Their Vehicles and Customers”, Facilities, Vol. 12 Iss: 9, pp 26; Pages 40, 41 © Property of Google Maps; Pages 42, 43, 45, 46, 47 © 2010 Ed Bacon Foundation, http://www.edbacon.org/bacon/index.htm; Pages 42, 43, 44 © 2010 City of Philadelphia Department of Records; Pages 43,48, 49 Design Philadelphia; Page 80 © Madisonct, http://www.panoramio.com/user/3862859?with_photo_id=51441204 ; Pages 50, 51 © Property of Olin and Kieran Timberlake, http://blog.kierantimberlake.com/2009/06/transforming-dilworth-plaza/; Page 81 © Ozlando, http://www.panoramio.com/user/706978?with_photo_id=3512476; Page 81 © Property of University of the Arts; Pages 126, 128 © http://www.whitecroft.co.uk/productimages/Essentials_Stationery/Fasteners/Col_Rubber_Band_large.jpg.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced–mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying–without written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by John MacDuffie Woodburn and Michael BarakatBook design by John MacDuffie Woodburn and Michael Barakat

Masters of Industrial Design at The University of the Arts212 South Broad Street, 5th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19102

First printing June 2011

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Dedication

To my newborn daughter, Ramona, and Amanda Donnan for having patients.

- John MacDuffie Woodburn (Woody)

I would like to dedicate this book to the people that supported me through the thesis process my friends and family were my backbone. I couldn’t have done it without them. Most of all I want to thank Elizabeth Marklewicz. She helped me to be daring, strong, and to scrutinize my willy-nilly ideas.

-Michael Barakat

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Acknowledgements

A special thanks to all those involved in the shaping of our project. We could not have

learned so much with out you. The “Users” of the South Broad Street Concourse, South Broad Street, People at University of the Arts, or the homeless of downtown Philadelphia. All the people that looked up, stopped working so much, and asked a question. Nancy Goldenberg and Center City District, Mike McGrath, Adan Rezario from ABM, Greg Heller, Adam Carrigan, Broad Street Ministries, Margot Berg from the City of Philadelphia, Tanya Underwood, Nancy Thorne from University of Pennsylvania Architecture Archives, who went above and beyond in the aid and support of the project. To our committee, Slavko Milekic, Jason Austin, Sally Reynolds, Mimi Sheller, and Alison Hastings. Especially our chair Slavko Milekic and Jason Austin whose guidance kept us sane and inspired us to push and fight for our ideas. Thanks for everyone who kept reminding us to have fun with the project.

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AbstractGlossaryHuman Centered Design ProcessIntroduction: A Void of the City Why Interfere

Other Public Spaces

Problems, Failures, Solutions

Assessing other Places

South Broad St Concourse History of Concourse

Past Designs

Stories

Post-it Note Survey

Flow Patterns

Space at UArts Space Problems

UArts Interviews

Comparison Analysis of Campuses

Design Concept Process

Table of Contents

0809101624

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32

38

4042

46

52

56

647274

76

80

82

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Program Synergies

Path

UArts Campus

Brainstorming

Final Concept Underground Commons

Why

How does it Work

Concept Model

Responses and Reflections Students

Commuters

Street Cafe Culture

Market St Concourse

People Friendly Space

Affects on Commuters

Future DirectionsBibliography

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102

114

116

118120

126

128

130

132134

136

138

140

142

144

146

148

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Abstract

Empty public spaces like the Philadelphia South Broad Street Concourse are an important

concern of dense cities because they are a waste of valuable space that Cities need to subsist. The problem with this concourse specifically is that it is not people friendly--and is even perceived as dangerous—which distances it from the life of Center City, when it could be contributing to it. As a result it is, for most of the time an empty place without human activity. The approach for this project was to learn the history of pedestrian transit space in Philadelphia, review ideas from past Concourse redesign competitions, research other underground places from around the world, analyze successful and failed public spaces, and to view these topics from the multiple lenses of architecture, mobility, and sociology/anthropology. A Human Centered Design process was adopted to move the research further, and to ensure that any results and

conclusions were well grounded in the feedback from various levels of society. Users, experts and stakeholders were interviewed to gain empathy, understanding, and accuracy for the final design concept and result. The final design is a system that responds and adapts to the natural progression of any synergies occurring within the area outside the South Broad Street Concourse. There are three results from this design:

Adaptability. The South Broad Street Concourse

will adjust to reflect the natural changes of Philadelphia (economic, organizational, spacial). This ensures that it will always engage its users within their existing rhythms, contexts and interests.

Multi-functionality. An evolving South Broad Street Concourse

with new added uses ensures that there will never be a single linchpin to cause potential failure. This linchpin effect has been seen in the past with places that rely on one requisite

source for revitalization that could later fail. One example is shopping or commerce, which has been known to decline during economic downturns.

Connectedness. Breaking down the barrier created by Broad

Street gives people around the South Broad Street Concourse the option of continuing or performing new community, leisure, and social activities between buildings.

The implication of this naturally progressing system is that the

value of all transit conduits goes far beyond the mobility of goods and people. A relatively simple system can revitalize a single function space by tapping into existing local communities and synergies. Using University of the Arts as an example stakeholder, spaces like the South Broad Street Concourse present the option and potential for moving thoughts, feelings, and a sense of community.

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Glossary

ConditionsThe elements that create a landscape.

Key ConditionsSelected conditions identified as possible entry points for a design concept, based on user feedback from interviews and observations.

LandscapeThe features contributing to an individual’s perception and appeal of a space.

Liminal SpaceIn-between spaces, or transitions between different spheres marked by weak borders. These spaces are dominated by a specific, forceful function, but simultaneously allow or even simulate other interpreta-tions.

Non-place Spaces of such temporary, transient activity that they do not have the significance to be regarded as places. These spaces are often designed to be passed-through or consumed, rather than appropriated, and thus retain little engagement from users.

People Friendly Supportive of positive human activity while also projecting a clear image of benefits to the user.

UndesirablesA person considered to be unpleasant or objectionable.

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green: research

blue: execute

orange: reflect

pink: process

yellow: design

DESIGNCONCEPT

Human

Centered

Design

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green: research

blue: execute

orange: reflect

pink: process

yellow: design

DESIGNCONCEPT

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Design is the realm where human needs are met through

experience, skill, and knowledge concerned with moulding the environment. Oftentimes, design explores the dialogue between products, people, and contexts. Design is essentially a rational, logical and sequential process intended to solve the problems of the modern world. However, design has not always been rational, and often times it has caused complex future issues unforeseen by the designers. Think of the ax. Making a more efficient ax (and later chain saw) meant greater ease in chopping down trees. Less trees for the earth is worse. More trees for man is good. Shouldn’t there be a better way though? Shouldn’t things be designed in a way that troubleshoots problems before they exist? To many, design is literally looking inside oneself for the solution to adequately solve the problem in front of them. Up until the invention of industrial design, design was treated as an art, but in the modern age, one designer is no longer able to solve complex problems alone. To solve complex problems it is necessary to view them from

Why is it necessary?

The HCD process allows designers to “tame” the

complexity that is becoming more prevalent in the 21st century by working in a multi-disciplinary setting.

How do we see Human Centered Design?

How does HCD work? Walk down the street. Look around you.

There will undoubtedly be many things that catch your eye. You will see problems. You will see possible solutions. But, to truly engage the problem you have to feel the pain of the users. This means empathizing with them and the people around them, the clients and stakeholders.

many lenses. It’s not just a question of what is better, because better is often subject to change based on who the user is. A truly “better” result entertains a level of empathy of the users, experts, and stakeholders. Without this the designer cannot anticipate problems before they occur. This is where Human Centered Design HCD comes from.

What is Human Centered Design?

Human Centered Design (HCD) provides a framework for

producing results that can be easily used or interpreted by anyone. Often, HCD requires an interdisciplinary collaboration, iterative process of research and prototyping, and engagement with real people. HCD connects people with ideas in order to solve problems. It often involves understanding what the designer wouldn’t instinctively know them self. During this process the designer discovers what is important to the users, how they currently complete their tasks, what is working for them or not, and finally finding where the disconnects are.

What is Design?

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observe

interview

prototypes

literature

mapping

visualize

METHODS

PROCESS

WEEKS

empathy

analyze

synthasize

researchdesign

executepropose

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR

PROTOTYPE CONCEPT

concept of phases

day with commuters

programmatic synergies

post it notes

penn archives

movement analysis

reaching out to homeless

Timeline

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observe

interview

prototypes

literature

mapping

visualize

METHODS

PROCESS

WEEKS

empathy

analyze

synthasize

researchdesign

executepropose

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR

PROTOTYPE CONCEPT

concept of phases

day with commuters

programmatic synergies

post it notes

penn archives

movement analysis

reaching out to homeless

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Introduction: A Void of the City

Introduction:

A Void In The City

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Rittenhouse Square Park, Center City, Philadelphia

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There are few places near City Hall in Philadelphia where

you can play a game of Frisbee. You could go to Rittenhouse Square, but at seven blocks away (a 15 minute walk), it is not very convenient. The next closest place, Washington Square Park, is nine blocks away. Surely there must be a closer place to go for a lunchtime pickup game? Unfortunately, open spaces in Philadelphia (and other dense urban cities) are far apart, far away or non-existent (See map of public space).

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Washington Square Park, Old City, Philadelphia

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Open space map, Wallace Roberts and Todd

20 Park spaces in

Center City

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Clark Park, West Philadelphia

Increased Property Values

Leisure Activities

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Although few and far between, open spaces are extremely important

to cities. These spaces provide substantial economic, environmental, and public health benefits to the surrounding communities. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) recently published the first report on the economic benefits of open spaces. Open Spaces are not just pretty places but are also places that contribute to the local economies (increasing property values and helping the community save on health care),

and perform valuable ecosystem services to improve the air quality and the water the community drinks. It supports nearly 7,000 jobs and generates $200 million in annual salaries. Property values increase on average by $10,000. It helps open space users avoid $795 million in medical expenses (Open Space Study). Along with all the positive aspects, open spaces provide a place for leisure activities, such as reading a book, eating lunch, and countless other enjoyments.

Improved Air

Quality

Reduce Health Care

Cost

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Why has nothing been done to the South Broad Street

Concourse to improve its usability and image? The primary function of the space is an efficient means traveling from one point to the next. This area does that very well. So well in fact, that 200,000 people travel through the space everyday. So why fix something that is not entirely broken? People have began to use the area for other activities due to a bigger issue that surrounds it, the lack of available open spaces in downtown Philadelphia.

Why Interfere?

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Why interfere if it works so well in performing its intended

function? There are two reasons why it’s necessary to redesign the South Broad Street Concourse. The first reason is that there is a lack of recreational space in dense urban places. Parks, gardens, and playgrounds occupy only a small fraction of the total space in Philadelphia. Dense cities just don’t have the open spaces for recreation that rural areas have. The Second reason why it’s important to interfere with the Concourse is that all spaces should be people friendly. Unfriendly spaces should not be used because they are unsupported of positive human activity and also project an image of endangerment to the users. The result of an unfriendly space is like what happens in the Concourse where use is mostly limited to those who pass through the space.

Philadelphia

Lackof

Space

Reasons

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Brandywine, Pennsylvania

Lotsof

Space

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Other Public Spaces are those spaces not typically thought of as

public. Places like parks and gardens are often the first to come to mind because of their attractive features. Paths and subterranean places are similar because they share some of the same problems: single functionality, liminality, and being a non-place.

Other Public Spaces

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Public Space

Market Street, Philadelphia

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Paths

The most common public spaces are actually the paths. From

roads to sidewalks to trails, they are all around us. Most of these spaces are incredibly limited and, although useful, actually create structural problems for the cities. Roads and sidewalks are often forgotten and even neglected. Although crucial to the inner workings of society, they disrupt the natural operation of cities. They also create barriers between buildings and people. The roads for automobiles take up space in which people might gather, while sidewalks are meant to be a place that is possible to stretch one’s legs, breathe, sniff the air, and take in the people and the city (Hall, 175). This has not always been the case. For most of human history, streets, for instance, comfortably accommodated a full range of human activity: there was space for socializing, children’s play, public meetings, entertainment, demonstrations, and even social change. Halifax, Canada

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Subterranean Areas

Subterranean areas have several profound issues that typically

do not occur in other public spaces like paths. First of all, there is a second-class feeling about basements, which negatively impacts people’s impressions of these areas. Secondly, when users walk into underground spaces they literally lose sight of their area surroundings. As a result, subterranean spaces are disorienting (Whyte, pg 79). Typically, people are confused or lost, in part because these underground systems are laid out symmetrically with nothing askew to give the user a sense of depth and no landmarks to reference (Whyte, pg 84). In order to combat this disorientation, Whyte and Robert Venturi suggest that bland walls should not block off good internal space, the space should be visible from the street and the street visible from the space (Whyte, pg 79, Venturi, pg 124). In the event that visual access is not possible, Venturi expands upon ways to enrich wall space: We treated this, not as a problem in circulation planning, but as a problem in communication. Underground, the usual way of lighting the interiors of civic buildings does not work. Defining whitish walls and architectural details in the low, residual spaces of the underground by flooding them with reflected light promotes neither spaciousness nor - ironically - cheer. But colored lights from visible sources - commercial kiosks and interior-lighted advertisements, set against architectural space with dark

absorbent surfaces - obscure the limits of the space and therefore expand them. Recessed spots in the ceiling, like those in dark, low roadside restaurants, illuminate the people and promote safety. The advertising panels enrich this environment in another dimension. They provide grateful respite from the boredom of waiting. The three communication systems of the subway - for direction, safety, and persuasion - are differentiated as in the “chaotic” commercial Strip by accommodation to the human, selective viewing process

that allows one to pick out B.M.T. from LADIES and BUY SOAP. Dark surfaces in the subway obscure dirt and the changing advertising signs ensure maintenance as well as variety. (Venturi, pg 124).

Venturi’s ideas echo Jane Jacobs’ belief that “almost nobody travels

willingly from sameness to sameness and repetition to repetition, even if the physical effort is trivial (Death and Life of Great American Cities, pg 145).

Montreal, Canada

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Single functionality, liminality, and non-place status can be

combated. Oddly these problems are often there by design. Liminal spaces, for instance, serve a specific, very important function. One example is the safety threshold with metal detector used at many banks. To enter the bank you must enter the threshold, allow the door to close behind you and wait until the light turns green before you can

open the next door to enter. Public spaces that deter from positive user experience often remain unchanged because people fear that alteration would interfere with the space’s primary function. There are real issues that design cannot simply solve: all spaces have an economic cost, safety requirements, presence of undesirables, and general upkeep.

Problems

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Liminal Space

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Solutions

In general, there are very low expectations for non-recreational

public spaces: a receptacle for waste, a place to sit or wait for a bus, or a transportation conduit. These spaces are the most used spaces in urban environments, and offer an opportunity to be so much more. In fact, as Sara Gaventa points out in New Public Spaces (pg 50), that these spaces are where most people interact.

Blurring the Boundaries:

Designers today focus more attention on the design of

transitions, crossings, connections Munich, Germany

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Multi-Functional:

Multiuse is a great way for non-places to become tangible public spaces. Some public transit areas have combined several functionalities into a single space. For example, in the Art Museum Konigsplatz Metro (Munich, Germany), the underground pedestrian walkway was converted into a space to exhibit artwork (see image). In Santiago, Chile, a public library chose an underground pedestrian walkway as a location for one of its kiosks (see image). These types of service are not difficult to implement, and they also offer conveniences to those in transit.

and other in-between space than in the past (In Search for a New Public Domain, 129). Confronting the user with a sense of otherness, a change of perspective, and possibly an exchange invites a variety of new users into spaces. In the past the ideologies of division led to a web of different worlds: public/private, pedestrian/car zones, outer/inner space and landscape of power/marginality (In Search for a New Public Domain, 129).

Authentic:

In order for architecture and planning to work, they cannot be simulacrums that offer short-term enjoyment. The community needs to have a natural experience that ties into their community culturally and socially. The design needs to have an authentic local connection.

MultiFunctional

Space

36

There have been many failed attempts to revitalize space

through synthetic experiences, such as theme parks or corporate developments. Many of these projects take shape because of large corporate investment, but have small or nonexistent ties to local communities and as a result fail to prosper.

As manufactured experiences become trendy to developers new

versions of the theme park can increasingly be seen in public spaces, “privatized pieces of the city, pseudo-public places, are distinguished by consumption, surveillance, control, and endless simulation (Crawford, pg 22).” Synthetic experiences are often substituted for natural ones to create a spectacle and attract tourist populations. When superficial experiences replace historic, social, and cultural experiences, places begin to become non-places because they

no longer tap into the uniqueness of a region.

Celebration, Florida, the town erected by the Disney Development Company is a synthetic environment whose success relies on its ability to be a fake place. Residents are attracted to the hyper real styling, design, and arrangement of its buildings.

Celebration, Florida

Endless Simulation

Past Failures

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Surveillance

Control

West Norfolk, VA

38

a very specific need during that time of year. Although Montreal’s and Minneapolis’s concourses are the most renowned, Japan’s underground networks are quite extensive, with an estimated 76 underground shopping streets totaling over 900,000 square meters of floor space in 1996 (Golany, 1996). Moscow, Russia’s subway stations are ornately decorated and designed to make the commuter feel like they are in a classy, high-society

transportation hub. The stations form an eclectic blend of Baroque, Classicism, Soviet Realism and quasi-religious iconography. They are adorned with motifs of historical characters, sports, industry, agriculture and warfare that portray the past, as well as the bright future ahead. (SHOW IMAGE of MOSCOW subway) Nearly 9 million people per year ride the decorated metro from the outer edges of the Russian capital into downtown Moscow, making it

As a means of getting around quickly and easily from the subway or train, underground concourses have long been useful in cities around the world (Social Life of Small Urban Places, pg 84). The United States has numerous underground concourses, and at least thirteen States have an underground concourse system. These spaces provide a refuge—a place to live, work, shop, and even, in some cases, a place to lay your dead to rest. Places like Minneapolis, MN and Montreal in Canada have concourses that are highly effective in moving consumer goods and offering refuge from the extreme cold. Minneapolis’s concourse walkways work well since they feed into a central place of the city, which links to department stores and offices. Their concourse often carries heavy pedestrian flow that increases dramatically during the winter (Social Life of Small Urban Places, pg 84). Montreal’s Concourse, La Ville Souterraine, is in the center of the city, between the railroad station and the main shopping street. The advantage of the La Ville Souterraine is the “sharp slope of the site, one side is at street level and daylight has been brought in to the complex through four small courtyards (Whyte, pg 84).” Like Minneapolis, the winter climate in Montreal benefits their concourse. Both of these places exist because of

Minneapolis Montreal

Assessing Places

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the second most heavily used metro system in the world after Tokyo’s subway (“Moscow Subway System Second Only to Tokyo in Usage,” Voice of America, March 29 2010).The Lenhachhaus, a museum in Munich Germany, has an exhibition space in the Konigsplatz metro station. Between the street level and the metro platform level, the 100-meter gallery holds temporary exhibitions. The commuters “going into the metro station have a wonderful view of the full length of

the gallery that is always changing (In Search of a New Public Domain, pg 130).” This provides commuters with an enjoyable experience, making it an example of a successful coupling of functional spaces. Another example is in Santiago, Chile, where a “library has been established in a metro station in a similar fashion of the Konigsplatz metro station (In Search of a New Public Domain, pg 130).” These two examples show that by adding more functionality to the typically mundane metro system

allows these spaces to flourish in a new and interesting way.Oftentimes, spaces do not flourish due to an overwhelming sense of boredom or a lack of perceived safety. However, these undeveloped, mono-functional spaces represent an ideal opportunity. The Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam Netherlands “promotes itself as an ‘Airport City’ (In Search for a New Public Domain, pg 130).” This airport publishes brochures stating the managers as the mayor and as the city council. Behind this ‘Airport City’ facade lays the programs of shopping, leisure and as a travel corporation.

Moscow

Santiago

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South Broad Street

Concourse

41

Our Project focus is here

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1680s

1890s

1920s

1950s

History

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1680s

1890s

1920s

1950s 1950s

1990 2010

2009

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History of the Concourse

To really understand the Concourse, one needs to consider the history of infrastructure in Philadelphia. Open space for the public has always been an issue in dense urban areas. This is problematic because quality of life is often correlated with the amount of open space in a given area (Hall, pg 179). Typically, open space is urban areas is often replaced for commercial or residential needs. This dichotomy has made space the subject of debate since Philadelphia’s beginning.William Penn had a vision that his city would be a “Green Country Towne,” where every home had its own small orchard (Weigly, pg 2, 32). Even in his lifetime, powerful merchants of the day disrupted William Penn’s ideal for land usage. Once the city became a leading manufacturing center, commerce and industry continuously appropriated land set aside for Penn’s concept of individual green space.At the turn of the 19th century, Pennsylvania’s then-largest employers, the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad, lobbied political support in and around the city to benefit their agenda, which often interfered with open space, fresh air, ease of transportation and other public needs. For example, an elevated 10-acre train yard nicknamed “The Chinese Wall” arose and became one of the most infamous concepts to compromise public space in Philadelphia history. Although a marvel of efficiency and innovation for moving goods,

it created a great chasm by dividing the Western half of Philadelphia into two pieces. On the ground, the wall was allowing public passage in only a few places. This project left a lasting effect on the image, organization and the future development of the city by isolating the north from center Philadelphia and therefore crippling them socioeconomically. Even today the most prosperous parts of Center City are located South of where the wall once stood.In 1912, when it came time to go beneath the city streets, the railroad companies, again, shaped the urban landscape by restructuring Broad Street into what would become the

South Broad Street Philadelphia Concourse and Subway system. The Concourse was an evolving city planning project of the Reading Railroad for 72 years (from 1912 till 1984). Its construction began as part of the Philadelphia Improvement Plan (PIP) in the 1920s. In 1933, during the Great Depression, funding was lost and all work on the Concourse stopped. For the next fifteen years the tunnel was dormant, the future was ambiguous. In the 1950s the “Chinese Wall” was demolished. This alleviation of space opened up a whole new age for urban projects. Projects ranging from transit, residential, to

The “Chinese Wall”

45

commercial would be developed. The Market-Frankford subway line, 676 highway, the urban malls, and sunken plazas would all appear. City planner Edmund Bacon had a vision of making Philadelphia an attractive destination for the suburbanites. This vision, like that of William Penn’s, was compromised for the sake of commerce. The Bacon Concourse plan was part of the grander plan to build Market East Station and the Gallery shopping mall. He proposed to divide pedestrian, motor vehicles, and trains in the same location, making a mass transit hub and pedestrian friendly shopping district in one place. The intention

was for arrival in the city to be more enjoyable: “At the level below the street, the present concourses of Penn Center will be extended eastward… punctuated by a series of gardens that open to the sky, making the arrival below ground a pleasant one indeed (The Center City Program, Edmund N. Bacon, Realtor Magazine, 1960). Unfortunately, the plan was compromised. The Pennsylvania Railroad contested the open spaces and insisted on more large buildings in the area once known as the “Chinese Wall.” As a result, there would be no sunken gardens; instead there are now sunken concrete plazas. Oddly enough, a couple of

years before Bacon’s plan entered its construction phase, both the Reading and Pennsylvania railroad companies went bankrupt, and their assets were liquidated. South Eastern Public Transportation (SEPTA) would evolve out of the liquidated assets of these two railroad companies. Nearly a decade after the completion of the project did designers, planners, and educators began to realize the possible opportunities in Bacon’s design of the underground Concourse. There were the Kling-Linquist and the Bacon Foundation Design Competitions. Along with the competitions, The Penn School of Design held studio projects based on the Concourse. During the Mayor Street era, there were talks about using the South Broad Street Concourse as a place to hold a flea market. The proposed redesign called Transforming the Dilworth Plaza created by Lauren Olin, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake in 2009 will be the first design intervention of the Concourse to become a reality. The plan focuses on transforming the Plaza and a section of the Concourse into a more enjoyable area. More recently, a temporary intervention with strong impact took place during Design Philadelphia 2010. The Underground, appropriated and redesigned Dilworth Plaza as a media playground of live video installations for a night.

Edmund Bacon’s Concept for sunken Plazas

46

Many people spoken to during this thesis have ideas of what the South Broad Street Concourse can and should be. There have been several Design Competitions (Kling Lindquist and Bacon Foundation) and architectural and industrial design theses focused on the Concourse. In addition, design firms, most notably Wallace Roberts and Todd, have been hired by CCD and the Planning Commission to create proposals for the area, only to see the proposals never materialize. On the outset of the project it seems bizarre that none of these proposals have ever materialized.

Though there were ideas aplenty, all of them lacked financial support. Previous ideas like Market East and Suburban Station had buy-in from the big industries of the time. This lack of financial support emphasizes that to move an urban project forward without big industry requires huge support or buy-in from the local community. Although space is important to both an individual and a for-profit organization, the organization almost always has the means to outbid the individual.

Past Designs

47

1st Prize at Bacon Foundation, University of Pennsylvania

Honorable Mention at Bacon Foundation, UVA

Honorable Mention at Bacon Foundation, UVA

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2010 Underground Film Event, Design Philadelphia

2010 Underground Film Event, Design Philadelphia

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Underground Film Event

2010 Design Philadelphia showed how a small-scale intervention could apply to the Concourse with The Underground Film event. This event did not demand infrastructural changes but, through video projection, brought new life to Dilworth Plaza. All age groups, genders, and social statuses interacted during the event. Little kids scootered around and played with older people, and the homeless talked and danced with the upper-middle class. The Underground expressed effectiveness of small-scale interventions with limited buy-in.

2010 Underground Film Event, Design Philadelphia

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Rendering of new Plaza (Summer), Olin and Kieren Timberlake

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Transforming Dilworth Plaza

In 2009, the design proposal Transforming Dilworth Plaza was slated for construction. As the name suggests, the project aims to transform the sunken plaza. The written proposal details what the plaza affords: multiple levels of transit, literal size (2.8 acres), vicinity to Philadelphia’s art and cultural districts (http://blog.kierantimberlake.com/2009/06/transforming-dilworth-plaza/ and “Transforming Dilworth Plaza,” in Center City Reports. Publication for Center Philadelphia Development Corporation and the Center City District: May 2009), as well as the space’s biggest problem—disorientation due to multiple level changes, vacant arcades, and confusing passageways. The proposed plan suggests implementing a pedestrian-friendly plaza on the street level to unify it with City Hall. Historical aspects of the plaza are renewed in this plan: “water management at the site—Philadelphia’s first public fountain and pumping station was located here—is evoked in contemporary terms by the fountain and through the collection and purification of on-site rainwater to irrigate the landscape (ibid).” The plaza will also become a prominent model for ecological urban landscapes with the 21,000 SF of planting/lawns and over 14,000 SF of permeable paving (ibid). In addition, the concourse section of Dilworth Plaza will have its archways transformed to showcase displays celebrating the history of Dilworth Plaza.

Rendering of new Plaza (Winter), Olin and Kieren Timberlake

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The Concourse is not easily noticed as people move through it.

Commuter Stories

53

Commuters’ Stories

What are the opinions of the people? Do they think the Concourse is dangerous? And if they do perceive it in a negative way, why do they still use it? Area statistics on crime in the South Broad Street Concourse show

less crime inside the concourse than outside of it (www.spotcrime.com). We needed to listen to the users’ stories to begin to understand the current issues of the area. A series of 16 short interviews were collected from users of the Concourse in order for us to begin to answer these questions.

The openness of the space effects people as either friendly or unsettling.

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The first two people interviewed felt unsafe in the Concourse.

Both cited a lack of security presence as a reason. Oddly, the Concourse is well policed. However, of the sixteen users we interviewed, most felt safe. They also generally saw the area of the South Broad Street Concourse as a place to move through as quickly as possible. Most didn’t use it as an underground walkway to make their travels in Center City easier.

However, there were exceptions to this. One woman, a medical student at Jefferson, likes to use the Concourse exclusively to walk from her home to Jefferson hospital. “It’s much faster. That way I don’t have to wait for the traffic signal.” Looking around revealed lots of people in scrubs walking that way. When asked how she felt about the space she returned our question with a puzzled look.

“It’s ok.”

“Safer”

“Does it make you feel safer or more threatened?” “Because, I can see around me. It’s

open enough that if someone was coming toward me I could see them.”

“Really? How does it make you feel safer?”

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Many of the interviewers regarded the large space as

unsettling while others felt that it was safer. Based on how it looks the Concourse needs a makeover. Most were not taken aback by the expansive size of the area. When asked to consider the space they saw the openness as a good thing. In contrast, they didn’t connect the size of the area as a factor in measuring their feeling of safety, neither did they

considered openness as a factor in their experience.

When talking about the space to the interviewers, they frequently

hesitated before responding. They had to ponder what the space was, part of this is because the design of the Concourse promotes nonobservance of the space. Some did joke about the space when they were asked.

“What do you think of the landscape?”

(Looking around), “I think it needs a bit of touching up,” laughed one commuter

“Fuewww... well we could start with a new coat of paint.”

“What would you do with it?”

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The people of Philadelphia enter and exist the public transit

system very quickly. The South Broad Street Concourse is especially problematic. Unlike the sidewalk, people in the South Broad Street Concourse often walk very fast in order to catch the next subway or even to get out of the area. On the street, people are more likely to walk

at different pace. Therefore, trying to conduct a survey the old fashion way was nearly impossible.

In order to evoke the commuters to stop for only 10 seconds to fill out

a survey, the concept had to be eye catching to deter their usual fast pace. Creating a large, bright arrow graphic with the survey information might

attract and inspire the commuters to stop and quickly fill out the survey about their commuter experience. The post it note arrow below is what we came up with. With the post it note arrow, people could have something to ruminate about in the Concourse, and even give a response about what they were seeing and feeling.

Post-it Not Survey

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What factors could we quantify about the commuters feelings

and perception of their commute? We wanted to know what people felt about the space and the duration they spent in this space. This information would allow us to quantify how the commuters felt about the space. We decided to keep the questions straightforward (have a survey that could be done in less then 10 seconds) with only a binary response possible. The survey asked the following questions:

I Commute through the Concourse

times a week. It makes me feel

good / bad (circle one). I’m in this

area minutes long. This

space seems dangerous / safe

(circle one).

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Passively observing various time of the day, we noticed that most

people loved the layout and visibly enjoyed seeing something different. Even the most stoic business people seemed to slow down and ponder the post it notes on the wall. Thirty surveys out of 310 were actually filled out as the post-it note arrow stayed up at the stairway entrance for two days.

30 Responses

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60

Feeling PerceptionMakes me feel bad

Makes me feel good

Neutral

Perceived Safety

Seems Dangerous

Seems Safe

Neutral

Travel Duration

Spend 10+ minutes in area

Spend 5-10 minutes in area

Spend 1-5 minutes in area

Travel through the Concourse (weekly)

Often: 10 + times a week

Occusionally: 5-10 times a week

Rarely: 1-5 times a week

Results

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Makes me feel BAD47%

Makes me feel

GOOD40%

Dangerous79%

Dangerous33%

Safe21%

Safe100%

Safe67%

Neutral13%

Perceived Safety

Seems Dangerous

Seems Safe

Neutral

Feeling Perception{{

Makes me feel bad

Makes me feel good

Neutral

The results from the survey gave as a sense of how the commuters

felt about the space. The first set of data synthesized and visualized was the comparison of the commuters’ perception of the space. There is a direct relationship to how the space makes one feel and the perceived safety of the space. When people

chose safety, the majority chose the space made them feel comfortable. The vice versa is true when people chose dangerous. What was not expected was that nearly half the people, 50.5%, perceived the space to be dangerous while 49.5% perceived the space to be safe.

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Occusionally 27%

Rarely 13%

Often 60%

50%

44%

25%

75%

50%6%

25%

25%

Travel Duration

Spend 10+ minutes in area

Spend 5-10 minutes in area

Spend 1-5 minutes in area

Travel through the Concourse (weekly)

Often: 10 + times a week

Occusionally: 5-10 times a week

Rarely: 1-5 times a week{{

We then compared how often the commuters commute through

the Concourse with the duration. If the commuters were commuting through the Concourse more than 10 times a week, they were more likely to have a longer trip duration through the Concourse. However, when the commuters sated they only commute

through the Concourse 5-9 times a week we noticed their trip duration was often shorter.

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Occusionally 27%

Rarely 13%

Often 60%

61%

49%

25%75%

50%

25%

25%

25%

Often: 10 + times a week

Occusionally: 5-10 times a week

Rarely: 1-5 times a week

Perceived Safety

Seems Dangerous

Seems Safe

Neutral

{{

Travel through the Concourse (weekly)

Finally we looked at the data by comparing the frequency of

the commute with the perception of safety. People that are often commuting through the Concourse feel safer. On the contrary, people who are occasionally commuting through the Concourse feel more threatened (dangerous).

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Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

Female Movement

Male Movement

10 minIntervals

Rush Hour

Flow Analysis

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Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

Female Movement

Male Movement

10 minIntervals

Movement of Commuters

An analysis of the movement flow of the users in the South Broad

Street Concourse (Locust to Spruce Street section) at various times of the day was conducted both within and outside this area. The flow of the users was noted in these studies. As is shown, we noticed the particular movement behavior that is often invisible to the typical user. The paths that the users make are nearly repeatable from one observation to the next (Whyte, pg 84). The environment in the Concourse is one that has molded the users to go from point to point as quickly as possible. As noted in Hall’s work, “people and their environment participate in molding each other (Hall 4).” By assuming the role of a commuter, users of the South Broad Street Concourse treat it as only a walkway. The South Broad Street Concourse will only be a walkway for as long as the users treat it that way.

W

N

E

S

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4 Main Routes

67

68

Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

Female Movement

Male Movement

10 minIntervals

Non-rush Hour

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Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

Female Movement

Male Movement

10 minIntervals

Movement of Commuters

During the non-rush hour movement of the commuters,

we noticed that females behavior is different than males. As can be seen in the analysis, the women rarely venture into this section of the Concourse. The chose the shortest route and head directly to the nearest exist. Is this cause they are afraid of the area? If this is so, the post-it note survey is misleading. The survey did not include gender. Based upon this observation of the movement of women in our area of the Concourse, the survey results may be different due to the difference in the variation of the genders’ movement.

Women Tend to Take Quickest Path

W

N

E

S

70

120 10

15

10

5

123

3

Going in and out of ConcourseIn OutIn Out

In OutIn Out

In Out

Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

10 minIntervals

71

120 10

15

10

5

123

3

Going in and out of ConcourseIn OutIn Out

In OutIn Out

In Out

Num

ber of Days

Morning Rush Hour

10 minIntervals

Where do the Commuters Go?

This commuting behavior is continued as the users enter

the street. The people often do not look around and go directly to their final destination, usually using the shortest route possible. Very rarely do people overshoot their destination. During the day, most of the people coming out of the South Broad Street Concourse at Broad and Locust Street go directly to the Atlantic Building, an office building at 260 South Broad Street.

W

N

E

S

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Space at

University of the Arts

73

74

This is not a bench.

Space Problems

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Space at University of the Arts

Since the University of the Arts Surrounds the Concourse and has an integral role on Broad St, we were curious what some of the students had to say about it. What we found out however was that the University - like much of Philadelphia - has its own problems with space. UArts is in a Dense Urban Setting. Naturally space is a valuable commodity here as well. You can see this everyday around campus. Students sit and socialize wherever they can. They also socialize on their department floors, but often don’t venture away from their department.

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Adam is passionate about walking because it promotes thought.

He takes the Concourse once in a while when it rains. 90% of the time he’s getting around by way of his own two feet. As he walks he likes to ruminate over the things he comes into contact with. There is material in the Concourse to for Adam to ponder, but it’s hard to notice. He describes the Concourse as feeling

Adam Carrigan

like an uncomfortable place you’re not supposed to be - like a warehouse. He likes authenticity and places to reflect. He claims that there aren’t many places like this near where he works. Could the Concourse facilitate the need for reflection and authenticity at UArts? Could it be a commons for people like Adam? In thinking about it Adam said that the Concourse would be too small as a commons. He didn’t realize it but

the Concourse is actually deceptively huge. When asked to estimate its width he guessed at the most 40 feet. It’s actually more than twice that at 100’ wide.

UArts Interviews

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It’s hard to find a place to relax; convenience is important because

they’re not fully comfortable with living in the city. They don’t like dirty places and homeless people. The Concourse promotes the homeless and it’s less comfortable than anyplace above ground. All three are senior graphic design students at the University of the Arts, come from rural places,

and have strong interest in making a good living through design. To relax the students think of warm weather activities. They love the beach, the sun, and the warm weather. Michael likes activities like hiking and beaching because, “they allow you to be in touch and reflect on what you’re feeling at that moment, and then be able to address it.” Marty, “it gives a reprieve from the studio. Just being

Students

in a different place calms me down.” Britney, “I like them because I can clear my mind, it’s the best thing for me.” Is there a common area on campus they can go to relax away from the studio for activities like these? In their view, no.

BritneyMichaelMarty

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Bob Myaing

Bob Myaing from the Graphic Design print shop had many

similar feelings to Adam Carrigan. Bob had previously looked for a commons area around campus before finding out that there is none. He said, “There is no staff lounge to relax or do anything.” And, that it’s one of his only problems with UArts.

“There is no staff lounge to relax or do anything”

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Dan believes that convenience is important. Has no place to go

around campus to relax but his studio. Dan prefers to relax in spaces where there is some peace and quiet, such as public parks. Dan wishes people would be more invested in the areas where he lives and around UArts. He thinks community ties strengthen and improve places for everyone. He enjoys his walks to school which take

around fifteen or twenty minutes to the University of the Arts every day. At school he spends nearly all his time in the book arts studio space. 16 people share the space. This is where he does his work, eats his lunch, relaxes, and socializes. He doesn’t mind sharing the space, but reading a book is sometimes hard to do there because of the nature of having a shared space.

Dan Carrigan

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The college campus is a shared place at the institution that integrates all the parts around it. From its very beginning, at Harvard in the seventeenth century, the American college has largely rejected the European tradition of cloister like structures in favor of separate buildings set in open green space (Turner, pg 4). This ideal is so strong in America that even those schools located in cities, where land is scarce, have often gone to considerable expense or inconvenience to simulate a rural spaciousness (Turner, pg 4). This type of college campus instills an identity and a community that tries to promote social visions of the American imagination (Turner, pg 305). The College Campus has an immediate impact on all the people who experience it for the first time. European visitors have remarked on the distinctive physical character of the American college. Charles Dickens in the 1840s was struck by the appearance of Yale, with its buildings “erected in a kind of park . . . dimly visible among the shadowing trees (pg 3).” Le Corbusier, after traveling

in America in the 1935, observed, “each college or university is an urban unit in itself, a small or large city. But a green city. . . .The American university is a world in itself (Turner, pg 4).” The word campus, more than any other term, sums up the unique physical character of the American college and university (Turner, pg 4). When it was first used to describe the grounds of a college, probably at Princeton in the late eighteenth century, campus had simply its Latin meaning, a field, and described the green expansiveness already distinctive of American schools. The word assumed wider significance, until at

most colleges it came to mean the entire property, including buildings, so that one could speak even of an “urban campus (Turner, pg 4).” Despite growth and change, most campuses have a special individual character that endures over time. This may be associated with a distinctive pattern of buildings—around a quadrangle or along a mall; or with an individual structure— such as a campanile or Old Main; or with a style of architecture—such as the Gothic of Duke University or the “Pueblo” of the University of New Mexico; or a topographical feature or dramatic site (Turner, pg 305). Sometimes it may be a less easily

Yale University

The Campus

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defined quality in the overall form of the campus. These characteristics often originated as expressions of the educational ideals or character of the school, and acquired special significance that endured for successive generations of students and faculty as a physical embodiment of the school’s spirit (Turner, pg 305). Besides the special traits of universities or even the evolution of planning, American universities have typically been open and extroverted, with buildings set in a landscape—in contrast to the inward-turning quadrangles or courts of traditional European institutions (Turner, pg 305).

Americans normally have preferred open and expansive schools that look confidently outward to the world (Turner, pg 305). The result is that uniquely American place, the campus. As a kind of city in microcosm, it has been shaped by the desire to create an ideal community, and has often been a vehicle for expressing the Utopian social visions of the American imagination (Turner, pg 305). The campus reveals the power that a physical environment can possess as the embodiment of an institution’s character. There have been exceptions to this American pattern, as in the case of urban schools with a scarcity of land.

UArts is one of these urban schools that have a shortage of land. As a result, this urban environment becomes the character of UArts. This urban vibe is the school spirit that has endured since the doors opened at UArts. With this urban spirit there is also an inward turning, not with quadrangles, but with individual buildings. The buildings at UArts act as a self-contained quadrangle and thus contain or prevent the knowledge at UArts from being contaminated by the surrounding society. As a result, there is no dialogue or even collaboration among various departments. Universities that have an open campus allow for students and faculty to converse with one another even if they are in different academic departments. The South Broad Street Concourse could be a common area for UArts and therefore allowing an open campus to form. Duke University

UArts Terra Hall

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Concept

Process

83

84

What are the needs of the South Broad Street Concourse? Well

known urban planners such as Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl suggest that to function successful paths need to behave in particular ways: - Adapt to the current users and to the

new users as well.

- Connect to the buildings, not only

their entrances but their activities as

well.

- Multi-Functional to support

different systems and nourish a lively

environment.

Our design concept process was informed from our previous

research on the area: interviews, literature review, past designs, movement analysis, and survey. The process however, led us to mapping the surrounding programmatic synergies in the area, allowing the programs (activities) to bleed into the South Broad Street Concourse to form an evolving path, phasing of various activities, brainstorming ideas, and finally to the final concept. This process vacillated to and from the macro and micro view of the South Broad Street Concourse and the University. The final concept was teased out of this tension between the macro an micro view of the surrounding area.

Program SynergiesIn Urban Design Futures, Jan

Gehl says that, “The life of the city is gradually disappearing. When it gets to a certain point, one will merely walk through the area as fast as possible - until the desire to walk

Adapt

ConnectMulti-Functional

“Rittenhouse Square possesses a diverse rim and diverse neighborhood hinterland…. This mixture of uses of buildings directly produces for the park a

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through completely vanishes (Gehl, pg 150).” How can people be put back in touch with the life of the city? Gehl suggests that if effort is made to invite people to use the space then the life, activities, of the space will increase (ibid). As previously mentioned in the research section, cities have rhythms. These rhythms are “forged through daily encounters and multiple experiences of time and space (Amin and Thrift, pg 9).” Capitalizing on these rhythms is a way of inviting users into new spaces. When public spaces share common rhythms with the surrounding area they tempt users to come to the space. This common rhythm with the surrounding area actually occurs in Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia:“Rittenhouse Square possesses a diverse rim and diverse neighborhood hinterland…. This mixture of uses of buildings directly produces for the park a mixture of users who enter and leave the park at different times… The park thus possesses an intricate sequence of uses and

users (Jacobs, pg 96).”

Using these common rhythms or programmatic synergies will tie

the Concourse in to the Center City Philadelphia system.

mixture of users who enter and leave the park at different times… The park thus possesses an intricate sequence of uses and users.”

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The Synergy maps show the common forces (Entertainment,

Education, Service, Food, Hospitality, Landmark, Shopping) of the areas south of city hall and to the East and West of Broad Street. These forces exist in three dimensions and also over time, which is why there are maps from multiple perspectives. The synergies shaped this project’s trajectory in several ways: choosing categories for phasing of the design interventions, plotting the path where the design interventions would occur, and in understanding how the surrounding area interacts with itself and other spaces.

Program Synergies

87

Synergies

Water Run Off

Landscapes

Street Covering

Street Layer

88

Education

Food

Services

Every building has an effect on its surroundings. To help you

understand what programmatic synergies are all about think of an office building. The one to the right is on top of our section of the Concourse. It has different programs inside like education, services, and food. The people who work in those offices and the people that use those businesses have a bearing on the shape and color of the surrounding neighborhood. Naturally any new design should compliment what already exists.

Understanding Synergies

89

City Hall

Broad St

Spruce St

Broad St

Street Layer

90

Ritz

Hyatt

Hospitality

91

UArts

UArts

Education

92

Landmarks

City Hall

Kimmel Center

93

Bellevue Food Court

City Market

Food

94

Services

CVS

95

Entertainment

Academy of Music

96

Shopping

Macy’s

BananaRepublic

97

Daytime SynergyFrom CCD Reports

98

Nighttime SynergyFrom CCD Reports

99

Terra Hall

(13800 Sq Ft)

Bellevue

(39618 Sq Ft)

Water Run OffFrom PWD

100

Landscapes

Dilworth Plaza

101

Concourse

Street Covering

102

The current path that users take in the Concourse is the path

of least resistance. Those taking the path are typically commuters who are either trying to get to work or go home. The Concourse presents itself as simply another section of the path on the way to their destination (see figure). The current Concourse is designed to move people without any interruption. If the synergies were taken into consideration, how would they affect this path? As the various synergies layer on top of one another

they begin to form a path in the Concourse. The natural development can be seen in the synergy drawings of the Concourse. Each different synergy carries its own weight based on its intensity in the area. This carving out of the space creates a path. Our method for choosing the weight of each synergy came from our observations of the area. The frequency and magnitude of the various users coming in and out of the adjacent buildings provided us with a sense of which synergies carried the most and least weight.

Path Development

103

104

Current Commuters Daily Path

105

Entertainment

106

Food

107

Services

108

Hospitality

109

Education

110

Shopping

111

Landmarks

112

Broad Street Programs

113

UArts Programs

114

University of the Arts Campus UArts plays an integral role

in the life of Broad Street. The students, faculty, and workers walk along Broad Street to go from one building to the next. There is a vibrant community. This community however, lives within the walls of the buildings at University of the Arts. Where is the vibrant campus core? Is it just within the walls of the academic buildings of the school and along the sidewalk of Broad Street? University of the Arts states that they are, “committed to inspiring, educating, and preparing innovative artists and creative leaders for the arts of the 21st century (http://www.uarts.edu/about/index.html).” The concourse is a space that is within the area of the campus of the University of the Arts. Anderson Hall

“Where is the vibrant campus core?”

UArts Campus

115

What if the university decided to use the area? How would this

shape the feature of UArts? Having already interviewed several students and a staff worker we have began to see that space is a needed at UArts. When space is an issue, then the quality of life becomes an issue as well. Where do students, faculty, and administration go to relax outside of the classrooms, offices, and studios? The steps of Hamilton Hall and the sidewalk is this relaxing space when the weather is nice. However, is this really all the commitment the University of the Arts is providing to its population? The Concourse needs more buy-in. Could UArts use sections of the Concourse as their open space?

What programs would need to be included to make this space

actually work without an active agents like or temporary activities like the PIFA fair in May 2011 bring life to the space. Programs needed could be: Temporary structures / Open Field / Student Center / Places for students to express themselves artistically that are open to the public.

PIFA Fair 2011

Steps of Hamilton Hall

South Broad St Concourse

“Could UArts use sections of the Concourse?”

116

Many concepts were brainstormed to imagine more

possibilities for the South Broad Concourse. Ideas ranged from creating artificial hills onto Broad Street (thus allowing for higher ceilings in the Concourse), inverting the Broad Street and the Concourse (having the roads all underground), to ideas of creating the area into an actual cave. Naturally, these concepts were dreamy ideas meant to generate

feedback from our interviewers. Only the ones that were connected to the targeted audience were pushed towards the rendering phase. To connect our concept we chose a group of potential stakeholders that could potentially buy-in to developing the South Broad Concourse. These initial concepts were then visualized in the form of renderings for each stakeholder: Parks Association, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program,

and For-Profit Development Corporation. However, these initial rendered concepts were not solutions to the needs of the City. It wasn’t until later that the problems that we heard from the populace at UArts transformed into our final design concept.

Artificial Hills on Broad Street

Artificial Hills on Broad Street Underground Road for Cars

Concepting

Concepting

117

Parks Association

Mural Arts Program

For Profit Development

118

Underground

C ommons

119

120

121

Our process led us to the conclusion of humanizing

the Concourse by tying it into the flourishing natural community its Center City surroundings. The final idea is the Underground Commons that would be tied with UArts. What makes this different than the typical commons, campuses, and then other universities is that this space is already a public but yet private area that is used for mass transit. Most other universities have an open campus but often these so-called open campuses

or void of anything else but the universities’ needs. They do not mingle with the surrounding community. With the idea of the Underground Commons allows for UArts to have a truly open campus that would allow the surrounding community to feel apart of the community at UArts.

Underground Commons

122

Performance Area - Place for various types of performances to occur. Transparent so people walking by can catch a glimpse of the performance.

Temporary Inflatable rooms - that can be used for classrooms or quiet places.

123

Transparent walls: So commuters, Concourse users, and the UArts population can begin to engage with each other.

Common Areas for Socializing

124

Places to Exhibit art work for students to get chance to display their work public

Moveable benches for users to tailor their experience.

125

Field for activities - soccer, frisbee, yoga, reading, and other leisure activities

A path that allows people to ruminate during their journey.

126

POSSESS

127

vLooking back to the programmatic synergies and surrounding area

needs (Pew State of the City, DVRPC, CCD) we noticed a variety of aspects that needed to be considered: entertainment, walk-ability, student use, and as mentioned earlier - a dearth of natural open space. The success of any future Concourse design hinges on one crucial factor. It must possess a plasticity that allows it to stretch and reform in two directions: from the inside out to the world and the outside into the Concourse. This requires a Concourse that cycles through a changing of seasons or phases of development to adapt to the human needs of center city. The phases (defined by the programmatic synergies and user input) became: Path, Entertainment, Spectacle, and Natural. The path would be the framework that supports the surrounding functions.

The advantage of this system is that it never dies and never fades.

Although it’s a temporary space its temporality is what allows it to stay, change, and grow as the city does. The space also provides a transparency of the activities that go on at UArts. This allows for the surrounding community to become apart of the UArts community. Their ability to tie into the school presents the university with exposure and feedback from the City population.

PLASTICITY

Why this Option?

128

Fully Inflated Membrane

Deflated Membrane

Inflation Equipment

There are three components to the system: a path, temporary objects

and rooms, and permanent objects and rooms. The path holds the system together. The programs, activities, of the buildings on the street, shape it and its shape reflects the magnitude of the synergies. Along the path are permanent and temporary structures that adapt to the changing path. The structures are inflatable bubbles. The bubbles inflate for use as a room, and can then deflate when more area in the Concourse is needed for other activities. The bubbles contain resources for the University of the Arts. Two of them are permanent, and house a Student Union and a Performance area. The other bubbles are temporal areas that collapse when not in use. Around the area are seating units that can be moved for different vantage points. Around the path are open spaces with features that offer users the ability to treat the space like a typical outdoor park. Full Spectrum light, moss columns, and even artificial grass will bring this natural feeling into the Concourse.

Functional

Inflating

Deflated

How Does it Work

129

MossWater RetainingBonding Agent

Weekly Misting

Concrete

vMoss can drastically change the appearance of a space because

it can take the shape of whatever surface it grows on. Thus, it creates a profound texturing.

Moss needs four things for successful growth. Fortunately

the Concourse has most of these things naturally: Moisture, shade,

humidity, and low ph (in the form of concrete). Moss can grow on any hard surface as long as the moss can adhere. This requires a rough surface or bonding agent. One of its best qualities is that it requires very little upkeep. It takes in all its nutrients through its leaves from humidity and moisture. So it only needs a weekly misting.

130

A model of the final concept was made to present to the students

and workers at UArts, and to the commuters. This model allowed people to see how the concept transformed the space and how the concept functions. The model allowed people to interact with the design concept by literally allowing them to move the temporary classrooms, benches, and even locations for the gallery spaces around the space.

Concept Model

131

132

Responses

R eflections

133

134

The model was well received by many students. (We should site

what was on the presentation slide here). But, some of the students cited that going underground for activity as being fundamentally problematic. Smell, the homeless population, and the lack of reason to go there were deterrents we heard from several dance students. The dance students have a social space on the department floors that is unique on the UArts campus. They keep a social commons on their department floors that are in near constant use. To the dance students, they don’t need or even have a desire for any other social space.

“This starts to solve the problems of underground space,” Tim Cheneval, Graphic Design Senior.

“This brings life below ground,” Graphic Design Senior.

Student Opinions

135

“Why go underground? What about the smell, the homeless, safety,” Several Dance students.

136

Commuters had similar reactions to the students. They were

generally relieved. Some even exclaimed that they had been waiting for someone to rehab the Concourse for a long time. Of course the same issues were brought up: Smell and the Homeless population. The Uarts Students and Commuters brought up some important issues. And, they were right those were fundamental problems in the Concourse. That’s why we added features like moss columns for improving air quality and sound dampening. However, there are some other points to be made about these issues.

“This starts to solve the problems of underground space,” Tim Cheneval, Graphic Design Senior.

Commuter Opinions

137

“Why go underground? What about the smell, the homeless, safety,” Several Dance students.

138

The growing popularity of street café culture, even in northern

climates, proves that we are willing to sit on busy, noisy, and smelly streets to watch the world go by, be seen, or enjoy our coffee–even if the air isn’t always fresh (Gaventa, pg 50). At one time underpasses were dank places best avoided or traveled through at great speed; now many are being transformed into brighter, cleaner, and more pleasant thoroughfares (Gaventa, pg 52). As more people walk and bike, the quality of the underpass becomes more important.

What are those people doing?

Street Cafe Culture

139

Cafe Loftus, Philadelphia PA

“What a smelly street!”

140

The dance students brought up an important issue - reason

to go there. Having a connected Concourse means that it ties into the local communities and as a result should be attractive. The Market Street Concourse in fact does this already, and it works. Its culture is connected with the life of center city through farmers markets, cafe tables for people watching, various different types of lighting, and colorful murals from the Mural Arts Program. If it can be done there then there must be more possibilities for the south broad Concourse.

Better Light

Fixtures

Places to Sit

Variations of Wall Covering

Concourse Culture

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Farmers Market

Variations of Wall Covering

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People Friendly

Visibly Connected

People Friendly Space

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vThe presence of people plays a key role on the undesirables in public

spaces. A steady population of users will ensure that undesirables are a small minority. Designing places with distrust by installing countermeasures to deter improper use only contributes to attracting undesirables (Whyte, pg 61). Empty spaces that are conspicuous further attract undesirables. According to Whyte, the best way to handle the undesirables is by making a place attractive to everyone. Bryant Park is courtly to people with its movable chairs and tables (should be quite vulnerable to vandalism) but it hardly has any problems (Whyte, pg 63). Electronics can’t beat a human being and it is characteristic of well-used places to have a “mayor,” this makes people feel safer (Whyte, pg 64).

A public place should also have good visual access. If people

feel cut off from their surroundings they may feel unsafe. Public spaces should be designed and maintained so that they are visibly “connected” to their surroundings. This encourages observation, and the more “eyes on the park” the more comfortable it will feel to users and the safer it will be. Other factors that will help in contributing to greater levels of use are lighting, clear paths, and some official presence.

With this all in mind, the current state of the South Broad Street

Concourse attracts undesirables and promotes this distrust to the public. Our design does not promote distrust. The users of the space are able to adapt the space to their desired need instead of a space that is fixed to one predetermined activity. The benches

and tables are not fixed and the users are able to move them around the space. The transparent walls of the rooms allow for people to actually see what goes on in the rooms. This statement of the transparent walls and the movable furniture begins to say that the community is open and trusts one another. The space will be visibly connected to its surroundings. With the open landscape users will be able to see the various activities as they happen. This is possible through transparent walls. Lastly, this space should become populated with UArts and surrounding community population. There are no places on the UArts campus to display art or participate in leisure activities such as handball, dodge ball, kickball, soccer, or read comfortably. As stated earlier,many university campuses in the United States have bustling campuses full of various activities. This shows that students desire campus spaces, and that the area will become populated through the addition of campus resources for the student population. When the space becomes populated with a variety of users, then the space will be safer and people will gravitate towards the space.Clear

Paths

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Athens Greece

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A bigger question is how will a new design affect the Concourse?

How will it really address the issues of air quality, the homeless population, sound, and the current users commute? Homeless - A newly designed Concourse can help homeless populations become more integrated with the other user groups. Right now the homeless are very easy to identify because they’re a primary user who is in the Concourse more than any other. With larger user populations the homeless are no longer a deterrent because they’re likely to use the space in the same way as any other user. We saw this during the design Philadelphia Underground Film event when the homeless danced and talked with other social groups.

Current Use - In other places like Athens, Greece subways have

been made to be multi functional with no ill side effects. Users can engage with an evolving exhibition. Because of exhibitions like this new users other than the commuters come to engage the space and the people at the art exhibition. And, it still allows the space to efficiently function for commuters. From William Whyte:

Pedestrian flow does not hinder how people linger… …people sit and stand

in the mainstream, “Pedestrians do no typically complain and most will thread their way through the crowd (Whyte, pg 21). Athens Greece

Affect on Current Usability

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Future

D irections

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vThis point, a concept for what the Concourse could be for the

potential needs of the University of the Art’s future. However, in order to enact this project, we realized the importance of having the local community and constituencies to buy in to the project. The logical next steps in garnering this support would be to conduct focus groups, addressing the needs of the constituencies, and then to connect with the appropriate entities in order to gain their support.

Conducting focus groups with UArts will allow us to see

what the students, faculty, and the administration think about the design of the Concourse. We envision the first focus group consisting of only people from UArts. The goal of this focus group will be to gather opinions about the design concept prototype, and also to see what other needs the at-large UArts community has. We will then conduct several other focus groups that will include administration and students from other surrounding universities. Bringing together these different points of view will allow us as designers to be able to determine the appropriate direction in which to take the design concept.

After conducting the focus groups and evolving the design to

incorporate the discussed desires and needs of the users, we will begin to determine the financial capital required for the design. Then, we will then present the idea to key constituencies of the Concourse being SEPTA, CCD, and the City

government in order to obtain buy in with the project. We have addressed the needs the City of Philadelphia with the Green2015 and the Greenworks plan in our initial design concept prototype. The needs of CCD are also addressed with the design concept prototype. However, we also have to address the needs of SEPTA, and investigate how their needs can be incorporated into the design concept.

Having the buy-in from the constituencies and the

surrounding community will need to happen if this project will come to life. Understanding the real dynamic change in Philadelphia along with the focus groups will provide a sound proposal for this project. During the project, we realized that the following Philadelphia groups are at the forefront for the dynamic change that is happening in Philadelphia: Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), Sustainable Department of the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Cities Planning Commission (PCPC), Mural Arts, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The final design concept should integrate what is desirable to both the people of Philadelphia and to these organizations.

Like most undertakings of this nature, economic factors play an

integral role in the life of this project. The following key questions need to be determined: Does this design concept of the Concourse create more jobs? How much will it cost? How will the space be maintained, and what are the maintenance costs? How long will the Underground Commons design last?

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