VIBRANT CITY - Virginia TechVIBRANT CITY: Mixed -use and Transit-oriented Development at Virginia Square by Rick Harlan Schneider Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic

V I B R A N T C I T Y

MIXED-USE AND TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AT VIRGINIA SQUARE

Masters Thesis, May 1998Rick Harlan Schneider

VIBRANT CITY:Mixed -use and Transit-oriented Development at Virginia Squareby Rick Harlan Schneider

Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univer-sity in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture.College of Architecture and Urban Studies - Washington Alexandria ArchitectureConsortium, May 1998.

APPROVED:

Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Commitee chair

Jaan Holt, Commitee

Marco Frascari, Commitee

SITE SECTIONSSITE PLANFLOOR PLANSFIRST FLOOR PLAN/METRO SECTIONSECOND FLOOR PLAN/APARTMENT SECTIONTHIRD FLOOR PLAN/PASSAGE SECTIONROOF PLAN/STAIR SECTIONENLARGED ELEVATIONSWEST WALL SECTIONEAST AND WEST ELEVATIONS

C O N T E N T S

2 PHILOSOPHY

3 PRECEDENT

4 SITE

6 ANALYSIS

8 CONCEPT

1 0 COMMERCIAL

1 2 DWELLING

1 4 RESIDENTIAL

1 6 PLUG-INS

1 8 UNITS

1 9 CONCLUSION

2 0

DRAWINGS2 2

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This enormously greatervariety is an index of thegreat structural complexity asemi-lattice can have whencompared with the simplicityof a tree. It is this lack ofstructural complexity,characteristic of trees, whichis crippling our conceptionsof the city.- Alexander, p. 70

MODELSExisting high density versions of the TOD model can be seen at stops along the MTR outside downtown Hong Kong. Public housing estates typically surround a very activeautos, taxis and light rail all interconnect. Washington, DC is another model. The downtown and Federal Triangle are the peak of a density that steps down as one travelsresidential concentrated along a major thoroughfare, tapering to mid-rise and attached/detached in the adjacent neighborhoods. Concentrations of mixed-use can be seenthe Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor plan for development by Arlington County along the Orange Line metro has a tapered concentration reflected in zoning along Fairfax Dr. andBallston, municipal at Courthouse, and residential at the Virginia Square metro area.3

INTERTWININGThis project has its basis in a philosophy of intertwining and balance as a point of reference for determining successful development. In his essay “A City Is Not ATree,”1 Christopher Alexander explores the natural success of historic cities in contrast to the apparent lifeless quality of the planned, modern city. He offers adiagrammatic explanation with mathematical language that expresses the difference in the complexity of the organic development and the oversimplification of theovernight city. The diagram of the “tree” shows a branching system that separates things in truly modernist fashion. It speaks of segregation and lack of overlap offunctions. It is tidy, but ultimately does not promote vitality in the human city. The “semi-lattice,” on the other hand, is a glorious mess. Just by allowing for overlapwith its additional possible combinations of elements, myriad opportunities are opened up. In the everyday city, the semi-lattice is apparent in the overlapping ofdevices of implementation, of components that make up a city.

By striking a balance between rational thought or planning and allowance for the organic nature of growth we promote healthy development and change. There isa democratic quality to the semi-lattice: it is a lateral structure with some hierarchy, embodying the interconnectedness of things and their inherent contradictions.The semi-lattice is apparent in the precedents studied for this project and applied with tools of implementation. This project applies the tools of mixed use develop-ment, open building and Transit-oriented Development to provide a vibrant place to live. By promoting community cohesion and by being responsive to certainideals of sustainable development, fertile ground can be cultivated at the Virginia Square neighborhood.

3 Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, “General Land Use Plan,” 1996

1 Christohper Alexander, “A City is not a Tree,” John Thackara, Design After Modernism (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1988), pp. 67-84

Ours is a brand new worldof all-at-oneness. ‘Time’has ceased, ’space’ has

vanished. We now live in aglobal village... a

simultaneous happening.- Marshall Mcluhen

P H I L O S O P H Y

Lok Fu town center, outlying TOD of Hong Kong

Interconnected and a bit messy:Diagram of a Semi-lattice

Tidy and segregated:Diagram of a Tree

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town center that stacks housing, offices and civic services over wet and dry goods markets adjacent to the transit station. The station itself is a crossroads where buses,away from the center and then up again toward focused development at transit nodes and corridors. The Connecticut Avenue corridor in cross-section shows high-riseat metro stations such as Woodley Park, Cleveland Park and Van Ness in a form of transit village, not unlike the model for transit-oriented development. In similar fashion,Wilson Blvd. There are concentrations of mixed-use again at metro stations, with a different character at each station. The plan provides for commercial development at

HOUSING BARMixed use development takes on an interestingshape in Tynesdale, England. The Byker Wall is ahousing project designed by Ralph Erskine, with di-rect input from the community, in the early 1970’sthat winds its way through the existing town. It pro-vides a focus, albeit linear, which has drawn devel-opment up to it in the form of shops, open spacesand other community services. Instead of being adivider as the name implies, it has served as a mag-net and connector, stitching together disparate partsof the locality. In similar fashion Steven Holl’s SpiroidSectors propose to stitch together suburban hous-ing developments and open land outside of Dallas/Fort Worth.

This form of residential “bar” has its precedent in theGerman Siedlung, a long narrow worker housing of-ten surrounding a factory, typified by the housing atSiemenstadt, Germany. The Siemenstadt Siedlungby Scharoun, Gropius and others(1929-31) is a se-ries of long four- and five-story blocks near a U-bahn(mass transit) station. Because they provide a cer-tain density of development and access to transpor-tation other than the auto, this type of developmentoffers alternatives to suburban sprawl with its nowrecognized inherent negative impact on the environ-ment and society. The Siedlung is easily and oftencombined with the concept of “Open Building,” a strat-egy of design which provides for the base buildingwithout determining the layout of residential units.When opened up to include uses other than resi-dential, the level of possibility for different configura-tions is high, characteristic of the semi-lattice.

TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTPeter Calthorpe in his study of the American metropo-lis addresses the issue of suburbia very succinctlywhen he states that “the alternative to sprawl issimple and timely: neighborhoods of housing, parksand schools placed within walking distance of shops,civic services, jobs and transit…”2 The model he hasproposed, the TOD or Transit-oriented Development,builds on many traditions and theories from the CityBeautiful movement to the work of Duany and Plater-Zybeck to provide a focused development at trans-portation nodes in outlying metropolitan areas. Whilethere is segregation of use in the concepts reminis-cent of the tree diagram, the simple idea of proximityapproaches the philosophy of intertwining underly-ing this project. Other characteristics of Calthorpe’smodel, particularly the ‘Urban TOD’, which have rel-evance to this project are the ‘Core Commercial’ lo-cated at the transit stop, ‘Mix of Uses,’ and the prior-ity given to pedestrians and bicyclists. The results ofthis type of focused development are: potential forcommunity identity and definition, with greater abil-ity for orientation, and the financial benefit of traffic.

Providing focus and stitching together disparate parts: Spiroid Sectors, a study for Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas by Steven Holl

2 Peter Calthorpe, The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American DreamNew York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1993), p. 16

P R E C E D E N T

Defining development and community involvement:Byker Wall, Tynesdale, England

Focused planning and proximity to alternative transportation: Calthorpe’s Transit-oriented Development

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COUNTY PLANThe site is a strip of blocks in the heart of Arlington County,Virginia, bounded by Monroe and Nelson Streets on the eastand west. Because it is a prototype for mixed use housing,the design allows for possible expansion linearly, here to thenorth and south. For this project, however, the site was re-stricted to commonly zoned blocks between Washington Bou-levard on the north and Wilson Boulevard on the south. Inbetween these major thoroughfares runs Fairfax Drive withthe metro orange line below. The site centers on the VirginiaSquare metro station, amid a jumble of existing low rise hous-ing and surface parking lots that are quickly being replacedby high rise office towers and housing blocks.

Up until the latter part of this century, this land was part of alarge farm with nearby orchards owned by the Ball family.The area, now called Ballston, is struggling into its most re-cent incarnation after changing from rolling hills to a subur-ban bedroom community. The county has in the past threedecades recognized the growth potential in this location andmade plans to promote a metamorphosis to a tighter, moreurban fabric. The Arlington County Planning Program pro-vides a general plan for the whole county which may besummed up by the following three points. First, promote de-velopment of mixed use, higher density along the two metrolines, the Rosslyn-Ballston and Jefferson Davis corridors.Second, retain the existing suburban residential characterelsewhere. Third, each metro station is to have a differentcharacter of development.

STATION PLANThe Virginia Square/GMU Planning Program, which becamethe basis for analysis of the project site, cites the followingplan features with an “emphasis on residential developmentand cultural, educational and recreational activities”:- Predominately residential station area- GMU metro campus and Law School Library- Central Library- Special walkways system to connect community facilitiesincluding Maury Arts Center, Central Library and Quincy Park- Development densities and heights focused on Fairfax Driveand Metro site- Fairfax Drive as a gateway into Rosslyn-Ballston corridor- Neighborhood service facilities

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ISSUESWhile the plan focuses on these positive aspects of the neigh-borhood, there are other features that give this site a certainpeculiarity. An alternate list of features with which to reckonincludes:- A metro station with no visible presence- Large new office buildings, which exhibit contrast in scale- An above ground VEPCO power station, which exhibits con-trasting interest and use in a residential area- Intertwining travel routes which can confuse visitors to theRosslyn-Ballston corridor- High volume roads that disconnect the neighborhood anddiscourage pedestrians

These interesting contrasts offer a challenging site: an idealplace to further develop the philosophy of intertwining andbalance. However, this place also runs the risk of becominga jumble of disparate elements in a bleak landscape, the em-bodiment of the tree diagram. This project proposes to weavethe pieces together and further the creation of a thriving neigh-borhood, a model of the semi-lattice. It takes the form of aresidential mixed-use “Housing Bar” with special use “Plug-ins”.

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Whenever we have a treestructure, it means that withinthis structure no piece of anyunit is ever connected to the

other units, except through themedium of that unit as a whole.

- Alexander, p. 75

Ideal site for development with a philosophy of intertwining:Virginia Square/GMU metro station area

Interesting contrast in scale and use: Quincy ballfield and nearby office buildings, 10th and Nelson Streets.

Conflict of interest in a residential neighborhood?: VEPCO transformer yard on Monroe Street.

High density and pedestrian walkways at the GMU campus: FDIC office complex at the corner of Fairfax Drive and Monroe Street.

Residential character, but where is the metro?: Garden apartments on Nelson Street at Wilson Boulevard.

Neighborhood service facilities and low residential scale: St. George Episcopal Church, Nelson Street and Fairfax Drive.

Neighborhood service on a large scale:Giant Food supermarket and parking lot on Monroe Street.

PROXIMITYNeighborhood services of VirginiaSquare are shown in their adjacencyto the development site. The area plancalls for support of and access tothese and other services to promotethe growth of a healthy community.

DENSITY/ZONINGCommon zoning of the site blocks in-cludes residential and mixed use.Density is focused on Fairfax Driveand tapers down into the more dis-persed residential areas to the northand south of the corridor.

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A N A L Y S I S

SYSTEMThe “Housing Bar” and “Plug-in” con-cept can be modified and applied inother developing areas to aid in stitch-ing together a more urban fabric. Asan open system, it can easily be ex-panded.

TRANSPORTATIONThree major roads cut through thesite. Virginia Square metro lies in thecenter, on Fairfax Drive. Bike pathsand a planned pedestrian walkwayconverge at this point on the pro-posed “Housing Bar”.

CONNECTIONDevelopment of the “Housing Bar”forms a spine through the middle ofthe neighborhood. Along this axis pe-destrians are given priority of acces-sibility in an effort to balance the strongforce of vehicular traffic.

GATEWAYDevelopment of the “Housing Bar” in-cludes incidents of higher density andbuilding height. These are focused atthe intersection of forms of transpor-tation and signify entry to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

Transportation requirements will beconsidered in terms of their impacton overall energy consumption.Pedestrians and bicyclists shouldhave priority. Mass transit should beefficient and available, and privateautomobiles should be discouraged.- McDonough, p.9

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CONCEPT

INCIDENCE AND CONTINUITYDevelopment along this site takes on a figure/ground quality. Points of interest (incidents) actin contrast to the base line (continuity) andserve to give identity to particular locations, aswell as facilitating orientation. One can say, “myapartment is located next to the concrete vol-cano,” or “I’m across from the tower.” Here, theHousing bar - with its regular neighborhood ser-vices - is the constant. Larger functions areincidents of program along that continuumwhich differ from site to site. They are the Plug-ins.

The housing bar has two faces, each of whichresponds to different neighborhood character.The east side along Monroe Street faces ahotel, office complex and future residential highrises. The scale here is big. The housing bar ispushed back away from the large buildings toprovide proportional open space, similar to setbacks that govern heights across the river inthe District. Here the earth slopes up to coverparking and give walk-out access to the sec-ond floor units. This Residential side is whereshared patios are shaded by the apple orchardwhich extends the length of the site. Paths pro-vide bikers and pedestrians with a main circu-lation spine that connects major neighborhoodfeatures as planned by the county.

The Commercial side along Nelson Streetfaces west southwest. Along this street andaround the corners at each cross road shopsfront the sidewalk. They form a tighter scalewith existing low-rise buildings such as thechurch and nearby garden apartments. Herea neighborhood main street mixes stores, of-fices, and walk-up entries. Above the street,set back from the two-story commercial spacesare six floors of Dwelling space. Choosing tolive here offers the opportunities of open build-ing and the convenience of alternative formsof transportation. The lifestyle is one wheredriving is relegated to those necessities otherthan the daily living routine and commute be-cause the metro is central and foot travel isgiven precedence. Efforts toward sustainabilitycombine with those of building community tocreate a place of vitality.

“If we examine some of thesocial systems which exist forthe people in such aneighborhood, do the physicalunits defined by these varioussocial systems all define thesame spatial neighborhood?”- Alexander, p. 76

C O N C E P T

Progression of spaces from public to private:Longitudinal movement along the housing bar

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LAYERS OF SPACEThe overlap of uses resulting from adjacency and layers of public and private space provide the kind of livingconditions people need. On the Residential side the progression from public to private takes place over half ablock and gentle slope. On the Commercial side it is characteristically more condensed, taking place vertically inshorter distance. Zones that overlap here yield hybrid spaces and in-between places. For example, the publicrealm of the street is overlapped with the private realm of the dwelling creating a zone made up of semi-publicwalk-up entries and semi-private interior walkways. Further overlapping of dwelling and semi-private walkwayscreates the front entry vestibule, which marks out a territory that belongs to the tenant and at the same time isbuilding common space. Overlapping vertically helps the building meet the sky. Housing blocks give way to roofyards that create semi-private space above and outside.

Points of overlap in te transition between zones:Latitudinal movement across the housing bar

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STOREFRONTAlong the Commercial side of the bar devel-opment are spaces for many necessary ser-vices on the neighborhood scale: cafe, deli,dry cleaner, post office, hardware, grocer,computer supply, bookstore, newstand, li-quor store, bar, etc. The sidewalk is a prom-enade beneath the shade trees, wide enoughfor people to pass, meet, or sit at an outdoortable. Alongside the storefronts are sharedentries for walkup units and offices on theupper floors. This is a place with activity.

VERTICAL CIRCULATIONBecause of its linear character, the bar de-velopment has stairs and elevators spacedalong its length at regular intervals as op-posed to centrally located clusters. Tenantsand visitors can enter and exit the buildingfrom the street at points every 80 feet. Metalstairs with wood rails and treads are en-closed in glass towers between housingblocks, affording views of the Residential sideof the bar. They alternate with elevators thathave windows at each floor for a similar view,and allow access to the roof.

HORIZONTAL CIRCULATIONWalkways are stacked along the west sideof the ber development above the commer-cial spaces. They form a permeable mem-brane through which tenants and visitorspass from public space (the street) to privatespace (residential units). These walkwaysare cantilvered off the concrete base struc-ture and supported with the help of metal-clad fins. They support a curtain wall systemthat includes integral sunscreens and re-sponds to different conditions along thelength. Typically, the space is enclosed withglass, but opens up to reveal plug-in ele-ments. Across from the ballfields the curtainwall is open - a perfect vantage point forspectators. The curtain wall becomes a sun-screen and arbor on the roof to shade theoutdoor walkway there. During the day,glazed portions exhibit a sparkling opacity.At night, this translucent zone glows and dis-plays the comings and goings in the com-munity.

The tendency is toward relatedcommunities in the city - communitieswhose activities are confined withincertain areas whose traffic does notneed to travel distant streets to collectsupplies and orders.- Raymond Hood, New York City planner

Places of activity in Hong Kong and Arlington County:Ground floor commercial spaces below offices and apartments

Celebration of the transition between above and below:Details and metal and wood stairs for America Online by Ai architects

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