Tag Archives: Public realm

Uncategorized

Elements of the Public Realm

For this public realm study, I analyzed what makes a public place to sit desirable. I broke my analysis down into three main focuses: hostile architecture, age friendliness, and place making. When looking at these topics, and the places to sit I found around the city, I found that Kansas City is lacking in effective, desirable places to sit.

For my first board, I included perspective views of the benches and seating options. For This board, I just wanted to have clear images of the seating so the viewer and interpret how they feel about each of the seats. The board is organized so that the best practices are at the top of the board and the worst examples are on the bottom. The best examples I found were from the Troost Lake Shelter, and the Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park in downtown Kansas City. Though these two examples appear very different, they share the organic, natural flow and variety in seating options that I found to make the seating most successful.

I wanted to make my plan diagrams as simple as possible so that the viewer can determine what are the important factors when it comes to public seating. I saw shade and trees as being the most important elements to successful seating. For most people, finding a shady spot to sit is most desirable on a warm day. The trees can also provide a sense of privacy and protection. They help create space around the seating that makes it inviting and pleasant. I felt as though lacking in trees made the seating options less desirable . For the most successful examples, #1 and #2, there is plenty of trees for shade and the trees create a sense of space.

Finally, when creating my theory board I thought of the best ways to diagram why the different seating is successful. The first example of best practice, the Troost Lake Shelter, is in a very interesting location. There aren’t many lakes in Kansas City, this makes the lake shelter more appealing for people to come and make their own. In the circulation diagram you can see that the flow of pedestrians through the space is very organic and there is a lot of variety in how you can approach sitting there. I also included a drawing of the type of seating I liked most from the example, the picnic table. I like this option because there is almost endless possibility in how you can use this seating. It is great for eating, sitting and even laying down. The second example a urban park is very different in its setting, but is still successful for all the same reasons. It is an organic space, with a wide variety of seating types. From movable chairs and tables to walls and park benches there is a great variety. Both of these examples do not use hostile architecture. The benches are welcoming and comfortable and the movable chairs and tables couldn’t be more inviting. The spaces were both accessible for elderly and handicapped individuals and they both really are distinctive in their sense of place.

Elements

Street Furniture/Amenities

Object

Site

User

The Main Street Corridor from 30th to 51st contains several prominent examples of various street furniture and amenities. To create a taxonomy of street furniture types, I sub-categorized the elements into “seating,” “bicycle,” and “various” multi-use types. Further, I organized each ensuing board according to relationships between each element as an “object,” “site,” and “user.”

My chosen seating examples include bench seating with aggressive skateboarding and loitering deterrence (Westport Rd. and Main), a well-designed “outdoor room” (43rd and Walnut), and the gathering space/memorial at  Murray Davis Park (40th and Main).

The bicycle subheading includes the KC BCycle bike share kiosk (31st and Main), the mobius-strip bicycle racks at Capital Federal Bank (43rd and Main), and the meta-sculptural bicycle rack at 43rd and Walnut.

The “various” multi-use subheading includes the trash, recycling, and periodical containers at 39th and Main; the sculpted stone planter at 33rd and Main; and the Main Street MAX transit stop at Armour.

The underlying relationships between each element of street furniture/amenity involve “proxemic” spatial relationships.  The term proxemics, coined by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension, describes the spectrum of distance that defines the functional space of each element.  I define each element on the proxemic spectrum between “intimate,” “”personal,” “social,” and “public.”  From this analytical starting point, the elements are further defined by their attention to accessibility, human interaction, and aesthetic continuity.  Displayed diagrammatically on the “user” board, each element comprises these themes with varying levels of success.  Overall, the elements which emphasize accessibility for differently-abled individuals, “sociopetal” (inward-facing, interactive relationships), and aesthetic continuity contribute most positively to the public realm.

 

 

Analysis, Elements, Uncategorized

Walls, Fences and Bollards

The Public realm is often defined as the space between the buildings. In this space is where people can walk, talk, meet, sit, and stay. There are certain design elements that benefit the Pedestrian experience, and some well intentioned design elements that failed. The issue of Human scale and continuity all contribute to the success or failure of an element.  I choose to study the region of Main Street from 31st to 51st, including the next closest streets, Walnut and Baltimore.

Walls

“Walls are put up in the mistaken notion that they will make a space feel safer. They make it feel isolated and gloomy.” – William Whyte

Most of the walls along Main Street fulfill the Main Street Plan’s requirement for screening a parking lot but they fail to add to the overall experience of the corridor. The purpose of these walls is ideal to help maintain a street edge and create a sense of continuity. However, because of the change in materials and scale, the walls become confusing and inconsistent.

 

Fences

According to the Kansas City Urban Design guidelines and the Historic preservation guidelines, fences should be low and reflect the house style. This should be done to help preserve the original historic material. However most of the fences I came into contact with were overwhelmingly utilitarian and non-compliant with the design standards.

 

Bollards

Bollards are used to help provide a barrier between the Pedestrian realm and the Automobile. They provide a visual and Structural deterrent and range in type and effectiveness.  The sacrificial nature of bollards allows them to stop vehicles and be easily replaced if necessary.  There are many types of bollards, permanent, movable, lighting bollards, in various shapes and sizes.