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Re-Portlanding Portland
BurasWorks / TOPAFranklin StreetCommercial StreetCongress StreetCongress SquareIndia Street
Classic Planning and Shared Space
P a r i s o n T h e A n a c o s t i a
F o r e s t H i l l C i v i c C e n t e r
L a s V e g a s C i v i c C e n t e r
B a j a P a c i fi c o
P o p l a r P o i n t M a r i n a
M a V i l l e C o r r e g i d o , H a i t i
A Classic Town with Shared Space
There is no good urbanism without good architecture.
Traditional and classical buildings
make the best streets and spaces.
All urbanism is based on precedents, all of them from the traditional realm.It is unreasonable to propose to people an abstraction of what is a physical experience.
Facts
The Character of Commercial StreetFrom High Street to India Street
2 6
4
1. Anchors2. Fore Street3. Parking
4. Access to water5. New buildings6. India Street
113 5
Distance from High Street to India Street1.04 miles
Balancing Act
1. Keep waterfront industry 2. Increasing tourist loads3. Residential and commercial
real estate pressures
Existing New % Increase
Street Parking for Cars 277 340 23%Commercial Space 40%Street Parking for Trucks 5 12 140%Increased Traffic Capacity / Hour 625 1829 193%Trees 35 330 843%Pavilions (Restaurant / Café / Retail) 0 10 1000%
Defining the Space
Re-Portlanding Portland
Urban Design Goals
• Restore and create the types of places that make Portland unique and center-city resources in keeping with the community’s needs and character.
• Be viable from a Sustainable, Smart Growth, Green point of view.
• Where possible, fund the project from the development itself.
• Not to displace a single citizen (minimize eminent domain).
THE WORKING WATERFRONT OF PORTLAND, MAINE. Dave Cleaveland. HTTP://WWW.MAINEIMAGING.COM/
Classic Planning Principles / Assumptions (i/iii)
I. We take the 100 year perspective (sustainable).
It is a holistic, organic approach that pays for itself
with social, economic and political benefits, builds
memory into the fabric and heals gaping wounds with
common heritage and meaning.
Classic Planning Principles / Assumptions (ii/iii)
II. Portland’s classic plan(s) are its urban DNA.
Portland was formed on the stability of humanistic
values, as a working Yankee city, around ships, trade
and waterfront industry.
Classic Planning Principles / Assumptions (iii/iii)
III. Classic Planning and its subset shared space provide a basis for the continued development of the City.
Everyone on the street are people, whether on foot, in a car,
in a bus, or on a bike. If the street is not going to work for
people, it is not going to work.
India Street Neighborhood
Congress Street
Fore Street
Commercial Street
Cumberland Avenue
Indi
a St
reet
Fran
klin
Str
eet
Marine Use
City Fabric
Waterfront Fabric
Fore Street
Edge of Shared Space
improvements?
???Fabric
I. Use and follow the grid(s)a. Minimize curved streets except to reflect topography. b. Minimize angles in streets as they are perceptually
straightened out to 900.
II. Properly size streets, blocks and plazas following original precedent.
III. Use small blocks and small lots. a. No building larger than ¼ block.
IV. “Use” is ephemeral.a. Conflicting uses are rare but serious
A Classic Plan Code (i/iii)
V. Buildings a. No more than 10% buildings in styles dating after 1927.
b. Cornice lines at four to six stories.
c. Belt courses at one and a half to two stories on important streets.
d. Building heights measured in floors, not feet
e. Authentic Construction (for sustainability, pre 1933 technology).
f. All buildings with operative windows.
g. Use a minimum of steel in construction. Cast iron is allowed for up to 10% of necessarily exposed structure.
A Classic Plan Code (ii/iii)
Building Types
Distribution of Building Types on Commercial Street
Wharfside Landside
1 Story Buildings 9% 0%2 Story Buildings 35% 27%3 Story Buildings 24% 15%Substantial Commercial 21% 42%Larger Commercial - 6 Stories 6% 3%Large Industrial 3% 9%Large Sheds 3% 3%
1 Story Buildings
2 Story Buildings
3 Story Buildings
Substantial Commercial
Larger Commercial - 6 Stories
Large Industrial
Large Sheds
Distribution of Building Types (excluding small single family structures) on Franklin Street (Munjoy Hill?)
Building Type Rough Distribution
Bay 25%Mansard 25%Gable and Gambrel 25%Cornice / Square 20%Porch 5%
Bay
Mansard
Gable and Gambrel
Cornice / Square
PorchYou don’t need a form based “code” if
you are architecturally literate.
Re-Portlanding Congress Street
No definition of space (too big?)
Too much space between buildings
Large lots still vacant
The drive is tedious
Spring Street difficult to
reclaim
One way streets have
to go
Scientific Basis
Mathematics of perception
Neurobiology of
environmental well being
Mathematics of classical
orders
Your brain does not know whether you are looking at a classical building or the African savannah.
The brain scans in fractal patterns, seeks fractals, and when it finds them, is satisfied, and thus releases endorphins
Homo sapiens who came out of Africa 50,000 years ago or more were identical genetically, and
hardwired in the same way for perception and orientation.
“Home” to Homo sapiens is
the African savannah .
Experience of beauty
Perceptual mechanism
Sense of well-being
Congress Square 1907
A Shared Space
Progress in Congress Square
More Progress
By the Way…
Congress Square Aerial
Congress Square Shared Space
A Classic Plan Code (iii/iii)
VI. Design at any scale must be sustainable and withstand the test of time. Designs are judged on:
a. Firmness which is…… longevity and sustainability.
b. Commodity which is…… functional flexibility, easy adaptation, and local / regional appropriateness.
c. Delight which is…… timelessness and beauty.
4
1
2
3
Shared Space increases capacity 10%
For Design Speed 14.45 mph + 9.00% For Design Speed 18.00 mph + 20.69%
Franklin Street
Total traffic in 24 hour period : 35,000Rush Hour is 5 hours per dayAll traffic goes through during Rush Hour
Distance: 0.723 miles Travel Time: 3.00 minutesAverage speed: 14.45 mph
Can cost be $0.00?
• Shared Space improves safety.• No resident is moved. • Community Garden stays. Compare cost to alternatives: • Boulevard $20 to $23 M• Reconfiguring lanes $16 to $20 M• Shared space $10 to
$15 M
The project reclaims thirteen acres of public land. Proceeds from sale can pay for roads and infrastructure.
3-5 stories of mixed used development can be built throughout.
Franklin Market
Gateway Market
The Purpose of Urbanism Is to Design a Legacy of Beautiful Places for People
• When unpenalized, people choose to use beautiful places over others.
Beautiful spaces are functional and economical. • Beautiful spaces elicit statements of “it’s beautiful” regardless of their date
of construction. People often choose to maintain them for generations.
Beautiful spaces are fundamentally sustainable. • People in beautiful places are often on their “best behavior”, generally
seem less prone to aggression and frequently less easy to victimize.
Beautiful spaces are safer, calming, and encourage respect.
Beauty is the Key.
Re-Portlanding Portland
Thank YouBurasWorks / TOPA1080 Wisconsin Ave. NWWashington DC 20007www.burasworks.com202-415-5987
© BurasWorks 2014