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Chinese
Garden by Andrew Toy
Enclosed are pictures and some background about a Chinese Garden
development in Portland, Oregon. This Garden has become a big tourist
attraction and a wonderful respite within downtown Portland, on
the edge of it's Chinatown.
Andrew sent some photos and a link to this Website: http://www.portlandchinesegarden.org
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Central
Stage of the City by Myra Reichel
Could be called the Central Stage of the City – My plan shows
a performance space with parking. The traffic pattern for the parking
shows one way in and multiple ways out on either side of the stage.
This should relieve some congestion upon leaving the space. The
seating/stage area would be fenced in and gated to protect the space
while not in use. The stage would be used for many performance groups
(dance, theatre, puppetry, music, storytellers, etc.) as well as
for lectures on the history of the city, political rallies, - microphones
could be installed to the rear of the sound control area for public
input. Could be used for performances from May through October including
the Fringe Festival performances and graduations. The restrooms
could also remain separately accessible.
My plan shows an open-air stage and seating (it could be enclosed
with a roof and walls at a later date) with seating going up the
hills. There would be restrooms sheltered between the 2 walls of
the existing buildings, a concession stand that could remain open
to 9th Street at all times. The restroom area could contain a film
projecting/light center and the top seats could be handicapped accessible.
In the middle section seating would be a recessed, covered sound
area, the front section of seating would also have handicapped accessible
seating – near both the top and the bottom handicapped seating
would be handicapped parking spaces. The stage would have a loading
dock on the Market Street side with access to dressing and restrooms.
The parking would utilize the sloping hills and could remain accessible
at all times since the seating area could be fenced and gated separately.
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Modular
Micro-Offices by John S. James
jjames@communicationpractices.org
The Market St. hole could provide affordable downtown Philadelphia
office space for thousands of individuals, small businesses, and
organizations, by allowing renters to pay for just what they need
-- from storage only, to a cubbyhole, to a desk in an open room,
to an open or locked cubicle, to a suite of rooms, to light industrial
facilities -- for half an hour, an afternoon or evening, a week,
months, or permanently. Tenants would also pay for special usage
-- from Internet access, to heavy foot traffic, to noise or fume
generation that required special handling, to high-volume or hazardous
waste disposal, to higher security requirements. This flexible,
pay-for-what-you-use system would allow the facility to charge market
rates and yet still be accessible to those who can use space efficiently.
Architecture: The physical architecture would be varied,
including atriums, outdoor areas, and gardens, with retail, restaurants,
and entertainment open to the public, and a 24-hour desk and lobby.
Rental space options would include desks, locked and unlocked industry-style
cubicles, flexible office designs with modular furniture on open
floors, conventional office rooms off corridors, and the kind of
low-ceiling open metal flooring and staircases used in some library
stacks (but with personal workspaces everywhere, not just for the
occasional graduate student or professor who needs a desk in the
stacks). Meeting rooms of various sizes would be available for short-
and long-term rental, with much lower prices at slack times when
the rooms would otherwise be idle.
Example: An art group wanting truly budget space in downtown
Philadelphia might rent a desk in an open area for non-exclusive
use, and rent only one of the desk's four locking drawers. Or they
could pay more for the whole desk. Additional storage could be rented
if needed. They could pay less if they made fewer visits to the
space (foot traffic could be separately priced) -- or cut costs
by teaming up with other organizations to rent the desk together.
Or they might rent just a locker and use public table space. They
might add a voicemail, postal mail, and/or an email address if they
didn't have their own. When they needed more space they could rent
it if available -- and prices would be set to provide availability
most of the time. Tenants could use their own laptop computers with
a minimal charge for high-speed air-card access -- or could rent
time on public computers provided.
Security: Security and billing would all be done through
a single card key issued to each tenant. Tenants could get extra
cards for colleagues, but would be responsible for how they are
used -- and could cancel any one individually. These access cards
would allow foot traffic to be billed separately. If desired, organizations
or communities could manage separate blocks of space and restrict
access to members and their guests, reducing security concerns.
And tenants could decide on different security measures for different
parts of the facility -- such as surveillance cameras in some areas
if theft or other problems made that necessary.
Support: Office, computer, and art supplies would be available
for purchase 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Other necessities like
snacks, coffee, or juice would also be always available, at least
at the main desk or by vending machine if the juice and coffee bars
were closed. Computer technical support could be purchased any time,
perhaps by telephone to someone familiar with the micro-office facility
and its equipment. Other technical support purchasable in business
hours could include expert assistance in meeting government requirements
like building codes and taxes -- or professional editing of written
materials -- or fundraising advice.
There would be many free bulletin boards both on the walls and online,
helping people and organizations connect.
And tenants working late and not wanting to commute home could put
their access card into a reader and reserve a cot to crash on for
the night (maybe $15), or their choice easy chair in a lounge (maybe
$5), or a private room at hotel rates. Tenants could also use their
cards to dispense emergency cash.
Goal: Here is a self-supporting way to make Philadelphia
more attractive to cultural groups and startup businesses alike.
It could nurture the kinds of creativity that only happen in the
small, experimental projects that often get pushed aside in a big-money
culture.
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A
skylighted open arcade by Sean Solomon
This space should be a mixed-use park and commercial corrider.
The commercial corrider would consist of a skylighted open on the
Market Street side where vendors could rent spaces... more
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4
proposals by Hugh
Amazon
Dot Hole
Dual
Mono Programming
Park
and Schtup
Enemy
Combatant Petting Zoo
Click
here to see how Hugh displayed his proposals in clear-plastic
backpacks.
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Money
Pit by R Reed
Nothing built, but the
whole site excavated, deep, really deep...
click
here to see the whole proposal.
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3
proposals by Bob Dix
Giant
Trampoline
Love
Park II
Disney
Pit
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Freedom
park by Lemur
A park to promote bicycle
use in downtown Philadelphia. Freedom Park also brings a green space
to a grey part of Philly where non-commercial community space is
uncommon...
click
here to see the whole proposal.
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Krakatoa
east of City Hall by Rene Torres
A South Sea island paradise
among Philadelphia ruins
click
here to see the whole proposal.
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a
hub for aerially-suspended gondola transit by Erik Moe
Moe and Company • emo@mac.com • 768 S 8 ST, BROTHERLY
LOVE, PENNSYLVANIA 19147
RE: Call for proposals, Great Disneyhole Exposition
August 20, 2002
Dear Sir or Madam:
The redevelopment of the Disneyhole is an exciting opportunity to
reinvent our region. I have personally overseen the development
of the enclosed proposal from start to finish – and am excited
by the vision for a future Philadelphia that it contains. This project
will beautify Philadelphia, expand entertainment options, make additional
french-fried potatoes available in the city, and attract tourists.
It will also bring about a modernization of Philadelphia’s
transportation network with a clean, silent mass-transit option
that is a pleasure to ride, is unencumbered by automobile traffic,
and less expensive than subways.
I am excited to hear your comments on my proposal, and those of
your audiences at the Great Disneyhole Exposition. I am proud of
this vision for reinvigorating the City of Brotherly Love, and hope
that with assistance from the Philadelphia Industrial Redevelopment
Authority construction of the project can begin within the year.
Sincerely,Erik Moe
President and Head Designer Moe & Company
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Proposal to the Philadelphia Industrial Redevelopment Authority
For the construction at 8th and Market streets of a world-class
monument inspired by the Eiffel tower, which shall be integrated
with a hub for aerially-suspended gondola transit, and which shall
be accompanied by an ‘underground’ cultural center, a
series of public benches and gardens, and a french fry vendor
1. Rationale / Overview
The current condition of the site at 8th and Market streets provides
little use to anyone, and is just plain ugly. Moe & Company
proposes to redevelop this important site in the heart of our city’s
commercial/tourism district with a project that will beautify the
city, attract tourism, revitalize the regional transit network,
offer a much needed snack to hungry citizens, and offer formal venues
for underserved cultural activities such as all-ages music shows,
skateboarding, alternative cinema, puppet workshops, etc.
2. Major Elements
2.1 The Tower – The tower design is inspired by the
steel beams of the Eiffel Tower, but with twisted, curving lines
reminiscent of DNA strands or twisted tree trunks. These steel elements
will gain structural strength by winding around each other and intersecting
with platforms, staircases, and an elevator. They will lean over
Market and Eighth Streets and flirt with the existing building at
Ninth and Chestnut. The strands of steel will grow thinner and approach
each other at they climb, but will not meet or converge at the top.
The height of the tower will be equal to the height of the brim
of William Penn’s hat in the sculpture atop City Hall: 546
feet. A viewing platform near the top of the tower will be accessible
to the public for no charge, though there will be a 25¢ charge
per minute for using binoculars mounted near the railing of the
platform. Unlike other monuments, the tower will not carry an obvious
message like “our city was the gateway to the west” or
“these men were so great that we carved a mountain into the
shape of their heads.” Instead, the tower will be an ambiguous
monument to the people – who will in turn develop the meaning
and significance of the monument over time. Eventually, it is hoped
that this tower will replace the permanently damaged “bell
of liberty” as the icon representing our city on children’s
jig-saw puzzle maps of the United States.
2.2 Gondola Transit Hub and Network– Integrated with
the tower will be a gondola transit hub to be operated by the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Escalators, and wheelchair-accessible
elevators will lead up the tower to a north-south platform six stories
above street level and an east-west platform nine stories above
street level. The proposed initial North-South route will have an
endpoint at the Philadelphia International Airport (with dramatic
views of planes taking off and landing under the gondola cables)
and a northern terminus at a point in Northern Philadelphia to be
determined after an expedition is sent to that territory and a report
is written on its general landscape and resources. The proposed
initial East-West route will begin in Camden, New Jersey and end
on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania with stops at the
top of Liberty Place and just below the historic scrolling PECO
energy sign. The gondola system will be designed such that cables
can be attached to existing SEPTA busses – thereby decreasing
costs and allowing for express land/air routes that will bypass
center city traffic.
2.3 Underground Cultural Center – A marquee and a set
of doors leading to an elevator and stairs will be the only surface
evidence of this center for all things ‘underground.’
Beneath the street-level activities of tourists and businesspeople,
young people in scarves and black berets will take part in activities
that have previously not had stable venues and have not enjoyed
support from the city. Because constructing and operating this facility
will be costly and government funding likely to be contentious,
the center will generate revenue by selling naming rights. Examples
of possible names include The AOL/Time Warner Anarchist Cultural
Compound, The Apple Think Different Arts Center, and The PNC Bank
Wack-Ass Place 2 B. Facilities at the cultural center will include:
Four-Screen Cinema – dedicated to the display of
independent and repertory film.
All-Ages Music/Dance Venue – No alcohol will be served.
Standing room will be strictly allocated on the basis of height.
State of the art footlights will be installed to ensure optimum
shoe-gazing. Race and gender of performers will be audited quarterly
to assure that it isn’t all about white boys rocking out.
Skateboard Park – Proposed design is an exact replica
of Love Park circa 1985.
Puppet workshop/multi-purpose space – The puppet workshop
in particular would benefit from the central location of the site:
currently puppet-activists who seek to provoke civic discourse
at City Hall rallies and disrupt Center City traffic during major
events at the Philadelphia Convention Center must move their large
creations across town in the hours before a rally – often
on foot or bicycle. Also, anarchists would sleep here.
2.4 French Fry Vendor – Alongside the base of the tower
will be a single high-volume french fry vendor serving hungry tourists
and commuters with the essential snack food they crave. Design for
this stand will include many small white light bulbs and other illuminated
signage inspired by 1920’s amusement park and boardwalk vendors.
Fries will be of the long, freshly-cut variety and will be cooked
in 100% vegetable oil. Ketchup will be dispensed from stainless
steel pumps into small paper cups or directly on top of the fries
– never in plastic pouches. In addition to providing snacks,
a retro-aesthetic, and an olfactory theme for the site, this french
fry vendor will further strengthen the link between the proposed
tower and the Eiffel Tower, which is in France.
2.5 Landscaping, Benches, Gardens – By developing the
all ages music venue/cinema/skate park/puppet workshop aspect of
the development underground and constructing a high tower with a
minimal surface footprint, precious street-level open space will
be retained and developed as parkland. This new parkland will serve
to partially restore William Penn’s initial vision for a city
in which enjoyable open space is easily accessible to all residents
– a vision that has too often been blighted by buildings and
high-speed roadways. Beneath the curving steel beams of the tower
will grow trees, shrubbery and flowers. In the grass, it will be
common to see young men tossing a base-ball – sport coats thrown
aside. In the pathways, women with short hair and tattoos will walk
dogs. On the wooden benches women in wide-brimmed sunhats will use
the dogs as a good excuse to strike up a conversation and aging
men will read periodicals or sleep as SEPTA busses silently sway
overhead on the gently sagging high-tension cables. Amongst the
shrubbery, squirrels and pigeons will grow plump on discarded french
fries.
3 Budget
3.1 Overall costs – This project will cost more than
a book of matches and less than a trip to the moon.
3.2 Additional costs associated with the project – Claus
Oldenberg must be commissioned to redesign his sculpture Clothespin
to be integrated aerially with the high-tension cable connecting
the gondola stops atop Liberty Place and the PECO Energy Tower.
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Edison
Stadium by ?
In order to remain competitive
and increase profits, Edison Corp along with the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania has decided to build a stadium to increase class size
to 40,000 students per instructor...
click
here to see the whole proposal.
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Bowling
Alley by Gary A. Papouschek R.N.
I have a simple suggestion. Brunswick 30 lanes, with 2 bars, but
in keeping
with the historic nature of our city, the facade along market street
would
be made 3 stories high and made to look like colonial Philadelphia.
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Movie
Theatre by Katherine Hill
Ok, so I don't have a formal proposal. Until five minutes ago I
didn't even know this site existed. However, I believe that the
LACK of deep thought needed to come to this idea validates it.
MOVIE THEATRE
Have you driven down Market Street around 9:30 on a Tuesday night.
It is like a ghost town. EVERYTHING is closed. We have an abundance
of hotels in the 8th & Market area that cater to the Convention
Center. We have people eating out in Chinatown. We have people living
in the immediate vicinity. Yet there is NOTHING "to do".
Why a Movie Theatre?
1. The lot is big enough and that is hard to find in center city.
You can also build up - which you can't do everywhere.
2. Worried about competition? Riverview: You have to drive, take
a cab, walk, or take a bus there. Not everyone in the city (especially
center city) has a car and even if you did, parking down there is
hard to find. A cab is expensive and hard to find one to pick you
up. It is too far away for the people in center city to walk. Unless
you live on the bus route, you have to deal with transfering buses,
etc. And people who take public transportation prefer other modes
over buses (at least those I know).
Ritz: Small theatre. Not mainstream films.
The Bridge: Same public transportation problem as Riverview. Hardly
any parking. This theatre is mostly for the college kids of the
area.
69th Street: Far away.
3. A movie theatre would help get the tourists and the visiting
convention/business people out of their hotel rooms at night. Maybe
it would even encourage businesses to stay open later?? Which would
increase the $$ spent downtown.
A city usually means ACTION? Where is ours? Not down town.
Yes there isn't much parking (unless the theatre was put on top
of a parking garage?), but parking is not needed. The movie theatre
would serve the immediate area residents, people traveling on the
El, people visiting and staying in nearby hotels... Maybe its location
would encourage people to take the PATCO trains from Jersey to spend
a night out on the town? Those dinner-and-a-movie dates could take
place in the city, where we have great restaurants!
We need something that will get people out of their houses/hotel
rooms. Something that will extend their night out to dinner. Something
that is easy to get to. Something that will put a little life in
to our downtown area (maybe pick up the tourists from the Hard Rock
Cafe? maybe something that is a prelude to the bars in town? maybe
something that will keep stores open past 7pm? --- what is the deal
w/ that? We want to spark the city's economy, but I know that by
the time I get home from work, change, take the dogs out, and I'm
ready to go shopping or out on the town, everything is closed? I
mean who wants to go shopping right after work?)
I know that there are a million other reasons why this could work
and maybe if I wasn't typing this instead of going to lunch I would
be a little more focused and a little more convincing, but hopefully
there is someone out there who can see my vision and has the $$
to do something with this.
Oh, and I really like the skate park idea too! But then the cops
wouldn't have anyone to chase and harrass??? Maybe the two could
be incorporated? Through an arcade in there... maybe something that
tailors to adults (like Dave & Busters)? Maybe add a food court?
Bring in some more chain restaurants like Houlihans or Fridays?
I mean we can go up a few floors... We could just create a big building
of excitement in an otherwise dreary part of town!
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West
Nile FunPit by Raymond Ercoli
click
here to see the whole proposal.
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