ATL: City of Corridors
utilizing the mareitta st. to connect new atlanta to the old through our site
Academic: Urban Design Studio
Georgia Institute of Technology: Fall 2023
Team: Mrunmayee Pawar
Guide: Cassie Branum
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Contributions:
Research, concept and design development, 3D diagramming, illustrative productions, post-production, design presentation.
Atlanta is a city of Corridors and one such important corridor is the W Marietta St which connects the New Atlanta to the Old Atlanta through our site, dictating the overall development of the project. The second important aspect about the site is the BeltLine, currently an untapped resource, the project imagines its east edge as an activated waterfront where the main character, water, is the BeltLine. And the third important factor is the Westside Park, the largest park in the city, which inspires a park edge activation, creating a soft green boundary for the site where the existing rail line becomes a connector of the park and our site, rather than a typical divider. The site is significantly affected by both social and physical factors, however, for the development of a design proposal, physical factors are further worked upon extensively. Taking into considerations of all these factors, the three major ‘moves’ are used to develop an urban design framework for the disconnected, unstitched and unprotected site.
Opportunity Analysis
Site and the City
disCONNECTed
Atlanta is a city defined by its corridors, connecting various parts of the city. However, the Greater Atlanta Westside site feels isolated despite being near the city core. The first step is to improve connectivity—Connect.
unSTITCHed
Atlanta's corridors link not just places but eras, bridging Old Atlanta with New Atlanta. These connections offer an opportunity to Stitch older communities with emerging developments.
unPROTECTed
W Marietta Rd serves as a key corridor, linking Old and New Atlanta through our site and intersecting with the BeltLine. As the main transit point for Westside Park, the project’s goal is to Protect and enhance this vital connection.
Site analysis
Study of various social and physical factors affecting the site and derivation of a problem statement
of the site
affecting the site
social factors
physical factors
site: an island
crime rates
gentrification
vacant lands
rent burden
unemployment
underdeveloped
low income neighborhood
poverty
connectivity
westside: largest park
adaptive reuse
head of watershed
upcoming development
beltline: resource
industrial character
Urban Framework developing the master plan
Plan developed with the main goal to connect the site to the city and stitch it with its neighborhood majorly through bike trails
Atlanta is a city of Corridors and one such important corridor is the W Marietta St which connects the New Atlanta to the Old Atlanta through our site, dictating the overall development of the project. The second important aspect about the site is the BeltLine, currently an untapped resource, the project imagines its east edge as an activated waterfront where the main character, water, is the BeltLine. And the third important factor is the Westside Park, the largest park in the city, which inspires a park edge activation, creating a soft green boundary for the site where the existing rail line becomes a connector of the park and our site, rather than a typical divider
W Marietta St being the most important street here, the project utilizes it to make a connection to the city, which connects New Atlanta to Old. A Central Spine is branched from Marietta along with other two edges
the street grid is borrowed from the neighborhood and it stitches the site into its context. A major street connection is created through the Access street which comes from the neighborhood and goes to the park
overlaying the three moves creates a final framework plan which promotes activated park edge to bring in the Westside park into our site and a public edge which untaps the beltline as a major resource of the site
W Marietta St being the most important street here, the project utilizes it to make a connection to the city, which connects New Atlanta to Old. A Central Spine is branched from Marietta along with other two edges
1. Retail + Grocery + Residential
2. Retail + Office
3. Retail + Residential
4. Retail Square
5. Residential: Townhouses
6. Park Edge
7. Public/ Beltline Edge
8. Stormwater Infiltration Park
Design ideas
Determining the two major edges of the site and evaluating multiple test-fits on the established modular framework plan
activating the western edge as an extension to the westside park and east as an activation to the beltline
creating main active street as a connector between the neighborhood and park and slow street; and expanding the western lung
Test fits and numbers for the total development area
activating the western edge as an extension to the westside park and east as an activation to the beltline
Digital workflow + Software used:
Enscape
ArcGIS
Urban Footprint
AutoCAD
Photoshop
Illustrator
InDesign
Rhino 3D
SketchUp
Vray
Lumion
Rendering and post production
Drawing, editing, production, documentation
3D modelling
Analysis and Mapping