Redefining the Downtown Edge

The ULI/Hines design competition is an annual interdisciplinary competition for graduate students primarily in architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, as well as business.  The competition from winter of 2012 was set in Houston, TX along the edge of downtown, isolated by the Buffalo Bayou and two major highways.  Site program had minimal requirements to increase low income housing, revitalize the existing land, and to be an overall well designed area.

I participated in this particular competition with an architecture student and a city and regional planning student.  Our design was based on the overarching idea to create a defined boundary to the downtown and a gateway to the residential communities just beyond the site.  The primary objectives for the site were to enhance the natural environment and processes within the city, to create new points of access to the site from across the bayou for vehicles and pedestrians, increase urban living opportunities, and to provide an atmosphere conducive for socializing and entertaining.

My specific tasks were: board layout, diagrams, wetland design, and the site section.  The architecture student and myself worked out the overall site design while she focused on producing the master plan and renderings.  Project pro forma was completed by the city and regional planning student.

Final board layout

Districts in relation to pedestrian, vehicular, and light rail connections

Existing and proposed roadways

On site circulation

Site section

Wetland Section

Wetland plan

Enhance - Emphasize - Energize

This project addresses the toxic algal blooms that have flourished in Grand Lake St. Marys and how to creatively slow the progression of these blooms through landscape architecture.  Grand Lake St. Marys is a man made lake built for the Miami/Erie canal system in the early 1800's and has since transformed into a recreational destination.The primary causes of the toxic algae are due to the shallow depth of the lake, lack of movement in the water, and the large agricultural community increasing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous entering the lake through runoff.

My specific visionary plan focuses on emphasizing the culture of the surrounding area, dredging and enhancing infrastructures, as well as energy production through water flow.  Culture is emphasized through creating more trails and pathways connecting regional sites, as well as updating the lighthouses around the lake to provide for additional recreational activities.  Dredging will allow for the proper depth to support healthy ecosystems, decreasing the algal blooms as well as provide material for improving shoreline conditions.  Energy will be collected at the existing spillway by adding turbines and generators to provide lighting for the promenade.