Discovering urban crossings : the marriage of a public market and a transit station

Abstract

Often spaces that are simply left open, un-built or essentially residual are termed "public space." An alternative attitude toward public territory might be that it is actually generated and does not simply exist. It is generated by an aggregation of different semi public and private uses and the zone that is common or shared can be recognized as public space. A sense of "publicness" is earned by the interaction and intersection of the inhabitants and users from the surrounding functions. Rather than being empty or an undefined space, it is the crossroads for a wide variety of citizens. The functions or uses that define this territory should range from very public to private--public transit nodes, to retail, to office, to housing, it is precisely the resulting zone of exchange that enables and encourages community and city identity to develop. A large cross-section of the cities population can see, hear, meet-- know about one another and ultimately the choice to interact, or not, is provided. These qualities are essential to the health and livelihood of city and its inhabitants. The project used to explore building public space is a public transit node or transfer station, which insures a constant and active population. The station has additional programmatic elements of a public market facility, restaurants, "single room occupancy" hotel, and office space. The juxtaposition of these components situated in a densely urban setting will attempt to generate public territory, community growth and the bubbling up of new life in a disenfranchised part of the urban fabric.