THE NORTHSIDE A Four-Month Urban Design Study on Pittsburgh’s Northside Prepared by the Students of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Urban Laboratory Fall 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS ThE NORThsIDE STORY WEST CENTER EasT Jeremy Forsythe Kelly Hutzell Daniel Rothschild Anne-Marie Lubenau Editor Studio Coordinator Ken Doyno Studio Coordinator Studio Coordinators 2-3 14-19 38-43 56-61 INTRODUCTION NORTHSIDE STRIP FARMS GREEN BUILDING BLOCKS NORTHSIDE STRIP SHOW An overview of the Urban Lab Xian Huay Jeremy Forsythe Dianne Chia Sae-Mi Lee Jesse Gidley Jonathan A. Scelsa Ben Straus Seth Hunter Kevin C. Wei Gary Tsai Deniz Seclimis 4-7 20-25 44-49 62-67 MAPPING AND analysIS LOCOMOTIVE LANDING THE THIRD PLACE SUISMON CORRIDOR Getting to know the Northside Geoff DiBeneditto Jim Chambers Emily Bush First Community Workshop Stephen Mrdjenovich Joan Lee Diane Loviglio Rebecca Rhamlow Hye-Keung Yang Tina Mathews Samantha Triolo Matt Zink 8-11 26-31 50-55 68-73 FRamEWORks and ObjECTIVES ALLEGHENY CORRIDOR PERIPHERAL CATalysT HEInz GARDEns Connections, Pathways and Nodes Elizabeth Beck Flora Bao Ellen Gedopt Second Community Workshop Liz Jordan Stella L Hsu Jon Lindstrom Defining Strategies Matt Piccone Paul Warlop Joanna Perez 12-13 32-37 74-79 CATalyTIC INTERVENTIONS ALLEGHENY SHORE NORThsIDE LOOP Final Community Workshop Student Proposals Will Allured Jenefer Bubnash Post-Gazette Coverage Anne Roy Sarah Steinberg Steve Song Jenenfer Verbeke 2 Every fall semester, the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture conducts an Urban Lab for students in their fifth year of architectural education, a dynamic learning experience that focuses on interaction with community members as the foundation for urban design. Neighborhoods around Pittsburgh Architects are leaders who envision material The studio is organized in three sections that are chosen as areas of study, and the change in order to increase the value of the built each culminate in community oriented weeks with students set out to create an urban environment. The value of a community has presentations and feedback sessions: three components that must be in balance for an design intervention by analyzing and area to thrive: Economic Value, Social Value, and I Analysis: September 21 and 23 mapping their sites, interacting with real Physical Value (E-S-P). Together, these categories II Urban Design Frameworks: October 26 and 28 community members, and designing a are the basis of well-function communities that III Place-Making and Vision Plans: November 30 catalytic intervention based off of their balance individual rights and responsibilities with gained knowledge. For the Fall of the common interests. This balance is reflected by The entire Urban Lab will work together and the conditions, continuity, and character of private collaborate over the course of the semester with Physical model built by students 2005, the chosen neighborhood of focus property, public spaces, and infrastructure – the Phase II and III done in 3-person teams organized From this charge, students embarked on was Pittsburgh’s Northside, the once urban fabric. into three studios: vibrant area of the city that suffered a semester long journey, documented significantly from failed urban renewal Architects have an obligation to explore, study, Studio A: Kelly Hutzell – Is a graduate of Roger in these pages, to discover and learn efforts in the 1960’s, and the terribly envision, and improve the urban fabric through Williams University with a Master of Urban Design about the history and heritage of the the material changes that they design. Valuable from Columbia University and is employed by the invasive construction of Interstate 279 in Northside, document, map the strengths architecture will have a positive impact beyond and architecture and urban design firm of Machado and weakness of each of its’ distinctive the 1980’s. The description of the studio, between the imposed boundaries of property lines. and SiIvetti Associates of Boston, MA. http://www. as listed in the syllabus, reads as follows: Architects can improve these outcomes by showing machado-silvetti.com communities, develop frameworks how good design improves economic performance for studying those communities, then and the social conditions of our communities Studio B: Dan Rothschild and Ken Doyno are generate strategies to form the basis of sustaining a higher quality of life. principals of Rothschild Doyno Architects a a final catalytic intervention to illustrate Pittsburgh based architecture and urban design firm how a small scale urban design and Through the studio experience, students will learn whose sketchbook design process focuses upon leadership and communication skills while they collaboration, exploration, and communication. architectural design can influence the 40 work to articulate their observations, establish http://www.rdarch.com year future of a whole community. Along community goals, and formulate a vision for the way students learned how to interact enhancing corridors, districts, and places in Studio C: Anne Marie Lubenau – is a registered with community members, develop visions Pittsburgh’s Northside. Through this process, architect, graduate of Carnegie Mellon University for the future, and come to understand and Students will Deepen their understanding of how and is Executive Director of the Community Design architecture and urban design are inextricably Center of Pittsburgh, a non-profit organization that respect the Northside and its’ citizens for intertwined. encourages good design of the built environment. all the wonderful assets they contributes Students interact with community members http://www.cdcp.org to Pittsburgh. 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Teams 4Q 4Q %PO$BSUFS 4Q analysis and mapping work, as well as worked on master plans, developed %FTL$SJUT &YFSDJTF"OBMZTJT*/5&3*. &YFSDJTF*TTVFE*EFOUJGZJOH*TTVFT 1*/61X6%" 4FUUJOH0CKFDUJWFT 4Q 4Q ,) 4Q a physical model to show community building typology, and defined detailed 4IBSJOH6OEFSTUBOEJOH4FUUJOH(PBMT &YFSDJTF*TTVFT0CKFDUJWFT members what they believed to be the plans for each intervention. 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This lead into the IBTF &YFSDJTF*TTVFE1MBDFNBLJOH 1MBDFNBLJOH8PSLTIPQ ".- 1BVM0TUFSHBBSE /W /W /W second community meeting, where %FTL$SJUT %FTL$SJUT &YFSDJTF1MBDFNBLJOH*/5&3*. &YFSDJTF*TTVFE3FQSFTFOUBUJPO 1*/61X6%" students presented their frameworks, ,) /W /W /W objectives, and strategies to community &YFSDJTF3FQSFTFOUBUJPO 5IBOLTHJWJOH#SFBL/P$MBTTFT 5IBOLTHJWJOH#SFBL/P$MBTTFT */5&3*.1*/61 members, then lead them in a charrette /W /W /W process, where everyone present was $PNNVOJUZ8FFLo'JOBM1SFTFOUBUJPO$PNNVOJUZ3FDFQUJPO /W /W %D encouraged to draw and sketch on top of 4DIPPMXJEF1FFS$SJUJRVFT 4DIPPMXJEF1FFS$SJUJRVFT 4DIPPMXJEF1FFS$SJUJRVFT the documents the students had created, 1*/61 %D 1*/61 %D 1*/61 %D as a means of trying to solicit input from Students