Well, after sketching these out quickly several issues became rather apparent. Number one, I need to spend a lot more time studying my design in section. Number two, the floor to floor height of my buildings is a problem. I have always known that it was going to be an issue, but I kept hoping that it would just go away and surprise!!! it didn't. Once I placed scaled people in my section the massing of the building seems gigantic and overwhelming for the pedestrians and retail clientel. I currently have only two levels in my project. The first, from street to plaza level is 16'8" in height and the second, from plaza level to the green roofs is 25'6" in height. I like the way that the massing of the building sits in the existing space, however, I do not like how it feels from a pedestrian point of view on the interior and on the plaza level.
Where to go from here
I am going to focus on scaling down some spaces that are adjacent to the walkway on the plaza level for a more welcoming pedestrian feel. I am also going to look at adding a mezzanine level inside the upper level restaurant for dining and inside the apple music cafe for viewing live performances. Wow, do I have a lot of work to do!
3 comments:
Kate-
Your plans are really coming together. Do you have a pattern in mind for your "swiss cheese"? That might be something to help direct people around the spaces.
In regards to your sections...if you like the massings I would possibly keep them as they are. From the interior introducing mezzanines will help with the interior volume. Adding stairs with multiple platforms could help with the pedestrian vantage points. I know this introduces some of Chris' project but it seems that a lot of us are going in that direction.
Kate,
I'm with Frances: don't get cute here and scale down. Add 2 mezzanine leves just for the heck of it and you want to bump up your scale.
I see your concern, because you want a dense and active feel for your project and not empty overscaled spaces. Play around with adding levels to engange even the public space from different levels.
Maybe you roof is not all flat, but has sculptural skylights or other features to energize the otherwise very relaxed horizontal quality of the facade on the long volume.
Next week look at the elevations and show what you envision for the facades.
I hope it's not just work for you, but also fun!
Enno
Kate,
I agree with the gallery here. Be careful not to fully scale down your massing. Keep in mind of how the building sits on the site, in the shadow of a high-rise building. Scaling the massing down will adversely affect your project. It is a valid concern about the pedestrian scale, however. The idea of double height spaces will help to solve this issue.
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