Communities in suburbs today are defined by cars rather than the people that make up the community; they lack a clear center to be organized around.
It is important for buildings designed in these suburbs to acknowledge the inflluence of the car yet still be designed for the best experience of the individual.
In order to create a center for the community, programmatically a new building must cater to the unique context of the physical site, the history of the place, and the context of the people that surround it.
A library is a good opportunity for a new model of community center that speaks to the specifics of the site and appeals to the user, but through its design can address the issues of the car culture that makes up the suburbs.
Monday, November 2, 2009
1 + 3 + 9 from Book Draft
Oct 19, 2009
1.
In a society where, whether we like it or not, the car is a predominant force in most
people’s lives, how can architecture and the built environment embrace this as a fact and engage people outside of the individual bubble of their cars?
3.
The car is an amazing asset in terms of the increased accessibility and unlimited possibilities that it offers the driver in terms of reaching a desired amenity at any destination; however the advent of the car has encouraged individuality at the expense of developed, strong communities.
Buildings and new developments are constructed with the path of least resistance
in mind - house to car to store to car to house - leaving little time for interactions between people.
The suburbs have emerged from this car culture as repetitive developments that rely
on the cities they surround for a sense of community and identity.
9.
Miami and its suburbs have an additional identity crisis to that which plagues many metropolitan areas due to its unique historical or cultural history – it was designed from day one as a resort town whose goal was to draw seasonal visitors from up north.
Compounding this historical contextual issue today is the fact that just over 50% of
Miami residents are foreign born and thus may not view Miami as truly “home” - even those forced to leave a country due to political exile remember their country as their true “home” with nostalgia.
Where does this leave Miami in terms of having an identity and being home to its residents?
Tourism still brings in much of Miami’s revenue, and others look at it as either a temporary solution or as a direct translation of their Hometown/country (i.e. Little Havana) not as their own home.
The population that does call Miami home still looks to the resort image that TV and
film portray as being their home when in reality their Miami is filled with gated communities and strip malls.
Identity and community are lacking from the developed Miami area right now – this is what is driving my desire to build something in the suburbs of Miami.
In order to create a community it is essential to acknowledge the most defining aspect of communities right now: roads and transportation.
In the new development plan by the City of Miami, Miami 21, which employs new urbanist ideals proposed by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk – all new residential
construction must have the front door closer to the street than the garage – a comment on the need to shift the focus from the car to the human/person.
The intent is not to design a structure with a great parking garage, but rather to explore alternatives to current development practices in terms of approach and experience of the individual to the building and to bridge the gap between the two, and to understand how this can help to create more of a community and identity
1.
In a society where, whether we like it or not, the car is a predominant force in most
people’s lives, how can architecture and the built environment embrace this as a fact and engage people outside of the individual bubble of their cars?
3.
The car is an amazing asset in terms of the increased accessibility and unlimited possibilities that it offers the driver in terms of reaching a desired amenity at any destination; however the advent of the car has encouraged individuality at the expense of developed, strong communities.
Buildings and new developments are constructed with the path of least resistance
in mind - house to car to store to car to house - leaving little time for interactions between people.
The suburbs have emerged from this car culture as repetitive developments that rely
on the cities they surround for a sense of community and identity.
9.
Miami and its suburbs have an additional identity crisis to that which plagues many metropolitan areas due to its unique historical or cultural history – it was designed from day one as a resort town whose goal was to draw seasonal visitors from up north.
Compounding this historical contextual issue today is the fact that just over 50% of
Miami residents are foreign born and thus may not view Miami as truly “home” - even those forced to leave a country due to political exile remember their country as their true “home” with nostalgia.
Where does this leave Miami in terms of having an identity and being home to its residents?
Tourism still brings in much of Miami’s revenue, and others look at it as either a temporary solution or as a direct translation of their Hometown/country (i.e. Little Havana) not as their own home.
The population that does call Miami home still looks to the resort image that TV and
film portray as being their home when in reality their Miami is filled with gated communities and strip malls.
Identity and community are lacking from the developed Miami area right now – this is what is driving my desire to build something in the suburbs of Miami.
In order to create a community it is essential to acknowledge the most defining aspect of communities right now: roads and transportation.
In the new development plan by the City of Miami, Miami 21, which employs new urbanist ideals proposed by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk – all new residential
construction must have the front door closer to the street than the garage – a comment on the need to shift the focus from the car to the human/person.
The intent is not to design a structure with a great parking garage, but rather to explore alternatives to current development practices in terms of approach and experience of the individual to the building and to bridge the gap between the two, and to understand how this can help to create more of a community and identity
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