CREJ - Building Dialogue - June 2017
One of my favorite aspects of being an architect is being asked to generate solutions of what could be rather than what is. There is a long history of architects utilizing drawing and collage to project what the future might look like. In 1923, the architect LeCorbusier was spot on in his sketches of “a city of towers,” comprised of tall buildings and superhighways. Design collectives in the 1960s and ‘70s such as Peter Cook and Ron Herron of Archigram imagined more radical future scenarios. In Cook’s “Plug-In City,” he created drawings representing modular residential units that “plug in” to a central infrastructural megamachine. Superstudio, an Italian architecture firm founded in 1966, proposed a “Continuous Monument,” a prophetic vision of grid systems that served as a way to mediate space. Fast-forward to modern day. Many aspects of these early architectural provocations have been realized. Through evolving, sophisticated technology, software and construction methods, architects continue to move the needle with solutions both imagined and built that demonstrate forward-thinking infrastructure, transportation and building solutions. But where does Denver fall in the spectrum of past, present and future? Recently voted No. 1 city on the U.S. News “Best Places to Live” list and experiencing a five-year building boom with $2.5 billion in development, Denver continues to develop at breakneck pace. Amidst rapid development, it has arguably become difficult to take a step back and to generate long-term solutions that might let the city live up to its full potential. In the spirit of Archigram and Superstudio, here are a few collage thought-starters that incorporate various exemplary models of infrastructure, building and the public realm that might help us reimagine Denver’s fast-approaching city of the future. Image 1: Denver’s Central, Western location has helped the city be the staple trading post of the West. While the city is developing an ambitious airport city meant to drive economic growth and become a strengthened link in a global network, we are still left with untapped potential in regards to high-speed rail. A tested technology that is prolific in Japan and China, not capitalizing on high-speed rail seems a continued missed opportunity that would position Denver as a critical link in a national network that might move people, goods, and ideas. Image 2: On the urban scale, traffic continues to become a byproduct of growth and a continued reliance on the personal vehicle as a means of primary transport. With an active population and an existing bike share program, looking at cities such as Copenhagen and Beijing as precedents, could the city not consider elevated, all-season bike paths that might seamlessly connect major residential areas with our downtown and business districts? And why not utilize blank or windowless building facades as climbing walls? Image 3: To take this idea on step further, one might look at the Dutch company SolaRoad. SolaRoad has developed and tested the first functional road and bike path that doubles as a solar panel. The U.S. currently has 2.65 million miles of paved road. With 300 days of sunshine and the National Renewable Energy Lab located in Golden, how might we think aggressively about taking advantage of our climate as well as developing affordable technologies that might continue to reallocate our city’s use of varied energy resources? Image 4: In terms of the public realm, as the city continues to densify, there often becomes a redistribution of existing public vs. private space. One of the more successful models of carving out public space in privately owned buildings is San Francisco’s POPOS (Privately Owned Public Open Spaces.) Ranging from public lobbies to rooftop gardens, could we imagine a network of vertical public spaces that prioritize urban agriculture, recreation, culture and leisure? Image 5: Similar to providing vertical public spaces, the city of Helsinki employs a “Chief Design Officer” who is championing the traditional idea of “talkoot” (i.e., the idea that if something has to be done, let’s do it together). Helsinki’s CDO has implemented this concept through encouraging design gestures that “humanize cities on any scale.” While there have been many proposals that reimagine Civic Center Park, the space remains a critical node in Denver’s urban fabric that would benefit from strategic, world-class programming. Image 6: The city of Cleveland is currently repurposing abandoned shopping malls as greenhouses. Sunlight-harvesting atriums equipped with hydroponic systems create year-round opportunity for produce that is then sold at a weekly farmer’s market. With Denver’s abundant sunlight and continued shift to ecommerce, this model of suburban farming opens up many possibilities for how we might think about existing infrastructure. Image 7: Amidst densification, affordable housing continues to be a hot-button issue. Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena has proposed “incremental housing” in which governments fund construction of “half a good house,” with residents completing the other portion as resources allow. Aravena has even gone so far to upload Elemental’s most successful housing designs for free to dissuade developers and government agencies from believing that they are “too expensive.” Image 8: Singapore has created an open source database. City-dwellers can download real-time information regarding topics ranging from traffic congestion, electricity usage and education from 70 public agencies. Part of the goal is to provide citizens with information that might enable them to seek solutions that might improve their own lives. Why not empower Denver residents to live in a more open source city that encourages problem solving vis-à-vis the city’s emerging tech and creative economy? Image 9: Much of downtown Denver was developed in the 1970s. Repetitive window modules and bay systems have turned Denver’s vertical city into a series of mundane grids. As building owners begin to “reposition” their assets with new building envelopes as well as brighter, more active remodeled lobby spaces, could building owners use these repositioning projects as an opportunity to create a unique, iconic urban image that transforms the quotidian into the artful?