Beginning as a way to preserve the memories of the Reading Railroad as a way to reestablish the heartbeat of Reading, the focus has begun to switch towards a form of survival through, instead of preservation of, memories. The site, formerly one of the busiest areas of the city, has emptied out along with the closing of the Reading Railroad, forming a void in the central part of Reading and dividing the area in two. The populations on either side of this void are heavily disconnected, having only 3 points of physical connection and little visual access across the vast rail yard. The working class has moved on and given way to large, poverty stricken immigrant influx. As a way to preserve, if not improve the current status of the city, program will address the edge conditions of the yard to serve as a catalyst for improvement to push its way in towards the center. Case studies are focusing on large-scale art installations as well as the concealing of familiarities through different methods / artificial skins, as well as the reuse of brownfield sites for introducing new investment and employment opportunities to improve local economy.
Though I am not sure I am prepared for programmatic closure just yet, I have been working towards a large-scale art installation facility as a push towards program.
I. Analysis of edge conditions
1. Community conditions bordering the site
A. Isolation of east from west along site
- Lack of visual and physical connections
2. Edge conditions of the site itself
A. Activities on premises
B. Structures of site
- Built and natural forms
II. Needs of the local community / benefits of intervention
1. Public/open space
2. Identity (cultural and historical)
3. Reestablishment of heartbeat for Reading
4. Employment opportunities
5. Reclaiming of historic / brownfield sites
6. Maintenance of history / site bridging
III. Groups of people / users
1. Local population
A. Large, poverty – level immigrant population
2. Tourists
A. Families
B. Art enthusiasts
C. Students
IV. Design potentials
1. Catalyst / prototype for improvement of site / city / economy
A. Covering / concealing of the site
B. Bridging of the yard
- Visual
- Physical
C. Temporary forms
- Spotlighting elements
1. Continual change in design / appearance
1 comment:
This all sounds so good. Feels like it has a solid foot in reality, while enframing a vision. but the vision is modest and incremental- studying boundaries and perimeters and knowing that, over time, there can be many layers and lines that can continue to push deeper and deeper into that unknown space. Maybe one good case study to look at is the Berline Wall- the boundary condition between two political ideologies that ended up evaporating as the world changed. And look at art- installation art in particular at the very largest outdoor and indoor scale that artists today envision and create. Grounds for Artists is big and is genteel, but you are thinking in a very different universe here...and that can be very exciting. We will talk more.
jp
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