Transit Oriented Development
Transit Oriented District Sacramento, California
Student Project- Master of Architecture Program UC Berkeley.
Led by Dan Solomon and Peter Calthorpe.
A group project to design a mixed use development using guidelines for a Transit Oriented district created by Peter Calthorpe. These guidelines encourage the development of a pedestrian focused downtown revolving around a light-rail station that connects residents quickly to other nodes and cities and other transit modes. While it was pedestrian focused, it also engaged a busy automotive arterial on one side
My contribution was to design the following:
downtown shopping district
light rail station
supermarket
All perspective drawings for group were drawn by me.
Poetic
The light rail station is designed to serve many purposes. As the front door to the district it has to quickly communicate the quality of the overall experience of being in the district (so, in part, it is human in scale). It also serves to anchor one end of the central main street axis of the development so defines one boundary of the development and sets up a hierarchy of structures there.
Clarity
It all begins with an idea. Here we wanted to create a plan that was understandable from any point in the development as well as increase density the closer housing was to the central core (Mainstreet and the light rail station).
Community
My goal with the design of the commercial district was to integrate housing so that it was an easy district to walk to and shop in. I also wanted to reinforce the human scale and create an aesthetic that was enticing to explore.
Street Life
The street design offered businesses many ways to engage with the street.
Redesigning an old Typology
Along where the development met the busy arterial I designed a supermarket. The market included a large parking lot alongside the arterial with a standard style of entrance facing it. But on the side that faced into the development I opened up the traditional super market deli to the pedestrian street and created a cafe. This allowed the supermarket to attract customers who drove along the arterial as well as people walking along the main street.
For the development, the cafe offered a way to support the need to be around people, be seen and be out and about in the world. It would be an essential element of the community.