Petar Mattioni

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February 23, 2006

insideOUT city

URBAN VOIDS, Grounds for Change
INSIDEOUT city - View entry

CITIES
Cities are largely defined through a composite network of cultural and ecological patterns.

VOIDS
Voids are dense. They are a social construct; spatial segments loaded with traces of ecological and cultural events.

Voids are dependant. Their existence relies on the inherent interaction with immediate environments. This interdependency between the vacant lots and their host zones constitutes a field condition. Discussing the notion of "thick surfaces" Stan Allen writes, "a field condition would be any formal or spatial matrix capable of unifying diverse elements while respecting the identity of each. Field configurations are loosely bounded aggregates characterized by porosity and local interconnectivity." (Stan Allen: Distributions, Combinations, Fields)

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the project is to integrate the patterns of vacancy into programmable urban frameworks.

Based on a spatial and demographic mapping analysis, four areas were selected as pilot studies. The pilot studies examine neighborhoods in North Philadelphia, Mantua, Grays Ferry, Point Breeze, Kensington, Pennsport, and Whitman. Each neighborhood contains various intensities of residential vacancy identified as gap-tooth, contiguous, and block wide. While all of the neighborhoods share similar spatial characteristics and demographic data, each area was chosen for its unique relationship to its adjacent "large-scale" zone: river, transportation, commercial, or industrial corridor.

With emphasis placed on sustainable strategies, the proposal focuses on establishing a symbiotic relationship between residential neighborhoods and adjacent "large-scale" corridors. Vacant segments, integrated into new urban frameworks, can be activated to provide each neighborhood with programmatic and pragmatic amenities: riverfront access, recreational areas and green habitats, decreased impervious coverage and improved storm water management, renewable energy systems, revitalization of brownfield sites, minimization of light pollution – all green design strategies consistent with LEED guidelines.

INSIDEOUT
As the residential areas are branded with a new formal network (defined by patterns of vacancy), the established field condition contests the boundary between the residential and the adjacent "large-scale" zones. By grafting, or stimulating the interaction between different use groups, each community has an opportunity to activate the network of VOIDS to best satisfy the community's needs. This process is referred to as "INSIDEOUT city" as it provides the communities with a voice to impact cultural and ecological patterns of the city. It integrates the residential areas into a programmable urban framework that extends from the public space along the riverfront to the privacy of the back yard.

Posted by pmattioni at February 23, 2006 10:18 PM

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