Thursday, October 9, 2008

UMKC - Southwest Trafficway charrette - first pin-up


Last night was the first pin-up. Everyone worked really hard and we had some great ideas come out of the first day. The precedent analysis exercises that all the students went through the last couple of weeks were worthwhile and informed many of the design solutions. I also think that the work everyone did with building types and the practice exercises with the rendering standard was good preparation for the charrette. Here's a look at some of the work produced...

It was also one of the first opportunities for the students to get feedback for their design options as they are in progress. I think this is a great opportunity for all of them.

UMKC - Southwest Trafficway charrette opening presentation


Well, we kicked off the charrette last night - we didn't get as big a crowd as we would have liked but I think we'll get more people as the week progresses. I and the students really appreciate all the time the steering committee has given to the project so far.
Here's the flyer:

The students are working on their first design options this morning with the design professionals that we've paired them with - we'll all pin-up tonight.

Back from Panama City Beach

I actually got back Thursday night - a day early.
It was a good trip. We were able to scout out several test sites and talk through many of the issues in order to make sure we are headed in the right direction.
The project was written up here:
http://www.newsherald.com/news/beach_68630___article.html/city_panama.html

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Panama City Beach - Form Based Code

I'm on the road today to Panama City Beach, Florida where we are working on scoping a Form Based Code. I'm giving a series of presentations regarding the design based elements of the code and also to identify areas where these tools will have the most impact. The following web page is a great place to get updates on our progress: http://www.pcb-formbasedcode.com/

Monday, September 29, 2008

UMKC research presentation

Tonight is the last student presentation of research prior to the charrette.
Here is a summary and some of the comments:
Tyler Antwerp - housing condition / architectural style / building type / historic designations
Tyler has put together a nice matrix regarding correlating architectural style and building type. further dialing in dates built may prove interesting. The neighborhoods would like to get all of the research in the form of a power point for their use. Also, looking at and drawing correlations between dates that the housing was built and the dates that the institutions were built could also be interesting.
Mike Goodman - social factors / churches / schools / institutions / crime
Mike gave a great snapshot of the racial character and heritage of the study area. He also spoke to the loss of connection to the neighborhood in regards to many of the major institutions. This is largely due to the fact that most of the children attending the schools and members of the churches come from a very wide geographical area. The same is true for the major institutions, KU Med and St.Luke's students are not necessarily residents in the area. Penn Valley's students area also largely not residents. All of these major institutions move large numbers of people throughout the area on a daily basis and have a large impact on the traffic patterns. Many of those people don't have neighborhood ties. Data is still being gathered on crime. There is likely a correlation between the transient nature of the housing and institutions and the easy access to major arterials.
Zachary Schmitz - current and historical (1951 & 1959) figure ground maps
Zach has illustrated the figure ground maps as a series of progressions which demostrate the impact the buiding and widening of Trafficway has had on the neighborhood fabric. Also the impact of building footprint size has had a dramatic effect on the pattern of development. The nature of the commercial development has changed significantly. Also, the Trafficway is a barrier in a lot of ways to both vehicles and pedestrians due to the design speeds and turning movements.
Ian Masterton - hydrology / topography / natural features / demographics
Ian presented a series of very clear maps that highlight the natural flood prevention features of the study area. Prominent sites that take advantage of the topography were also highlighted. Ian verified that a large portion of the population is transient in nature. I think we'll be able to draw some additional cause and effect conclusions as the research is combined and analyed during the charrette.
Matt Wright - land use / incentive districts / urban renewal and redevelppment areas / property values / regional context
Some additional metrics to review would be an analysis of tax exempt vs taxable parcels and value / s.f.
Aaron Baumgarden - transportation / traffic / accidents / pedestrian facilities / bicycle facilities / parking / transit

Good research and conclusions. Aaron has worked on the graphic clarity of his maps.
Alexandra Cochran - history
Lots of depth has been given to the history of the Trafficway and Alex has also put a lot of time into demonstrating the benefits of the Trafficway to the neighborhoods. The timelines are also very effective and laid out well.

I want to extend my personal gratitude to the students for all of their hard work so far and for the time that the steering committee has devoted from their busy schedules - thanks

180 Urban Design Office is moving!

We're moving!
The electrician was there today and the framers are starting tomorrow on our new space in Westport. we'll be occupying the second floor of the old firehouse at 4012 Washington. Bill and Sara Honan, bought the building last year and moved their coffee roasting company into the ground floor - they also own and operate the Broadway Cafe. I'll post progress pictures and let you know when the new digs party gets scheduled.

UMKC studio update - street sections

I led another SketchUp! training session on Monday. The class and I worked on creating street section templates to be used to document existing conditions along the SW Trafficway corridor. This morning the class turned in their section templates which we'll use during the charrette to propose design recomendations. The charrette is scheduled to start October 9th.