As the title says,
i'm about to work on under bridge spaces, and the impact of new bridges on exisint neighboorhoods and how these under bridge spaces usually reconnect the gap created by the rupture.
Any ideas or links that might help ?
or questions about how to go thru with the research and what specific questions to ask ?
There was this great work on the subject of bridges and the spaces beneath them published a long time ago....i think it featured a troll, maybe some billy-goats???
look up Barrio Logan, a Latino neighborhood in San Diego that resisted a freeway bridge which would eventually be built. The residents 'reclaimed' the bridge-space by painting murals on the pylons and making a park beneath it. They called it "Chicano Park".
Here, I'll even slide you a reference to look it up:
Berelowitz, Jo-Anne. “Border Art Since 1965.” Dear, Michael and Leclerc, Gustavo, Eds. Postborder City: Cultural Spaces of Bajalta California. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Very interesting book, anyway. Good luck, I think it's a great subject to study. Where are you going to school?
There's also a reclaimed under-bridge space (I think in or near Portland) in the form of a huge skateboard park called BURNSIDE. It's even been featured in the Tony Hawk video game series. I think there are others like this, as well.
I can't remember who did it, but in a book somewhere around my house, there's some amazing photos and a little story about one designer who transformed the under-bridge area (that's a little awkward, there's got to be a real name for that) into a gathering place at night, in the form of an outdoor movie theatre. Maybe somebody else here will know what I'm talking about.
the book published to celebrate the mayors institute's design conferences had a piece on a guy who developed public art installation projects under the overpasses in cali (l.a.?).
(sorry i'm not staying at home right now, or i'd tell you exactly who it was about.)
i had checked out this guy for my masters project, part of which involved proposal of buildings to occupy the space in and around the on/off ramps for our interstate.
Also check out the DUMBO region of Brooklyn, which takes its identity from its proximity to the Manhattan Bridge. Local artists have done installations under the bridge.
burnside bridge in portland on the west side of the river functions as a parking lot during the weekdays, a drug house and homeless shelther at night (no, i am not implying one begets the other), occasionally a movie theater at night (i think it's once a month during the summer) and a "saturday" market on saturdays and sundays.
additionally, it is one of the stops for the MAX which is the light rail public transportation system portlanders rely on (and which is free downtown :)
across the river on the east side it functions as a skateboard park and hangout, very popular. i don't think i've ever not seen it used.
note that a new waterfront development plan is in the midst of being followed through on. part of the idea is to clean up the drug activity under the west side of the bridge.
portland has also been successful in creating parks along the waterfront underneath the bridges, they're heavily used and well loved.
pershing square in new york city has a great little restaurant under one of the overpasses that really helps connect the two sides together.
eugene oregon has a park under an overpass that was a "dangerous" place to be but had some great murals and looked to me like the neighborhood had really taken ownership of it. it was a bit difficult to get to b/c of the streets you had to cross but was great!
that's all i can think of for now but if i come up with more i'll let you know.
my thesis was an entertainment center linking the downtown with the waterfront underneath a bridge and between its on/off ramps. was alot of fun!
you might want to read Mutations:Harvard Project on the city by Rem Koolhaas. It has some interesting examples of small businesses/ market spaces developing under bridges and flyovers in Lagos, Nigeria.
mmm i think guy sthat little mr sunshne expressed in a wrong way his subject... he wanted to know ho wto proceed thematically and theoratically on spaces under bridges..as books ..theory stuff like that not only examples around the world...
i guess that since i talked to him this morning.. ..
aphro-al, that doesn't really make sense to me but maybe i'm being a little bit dense
little mr sunshine, i've not heard of anything that talks about how the space under the bridge REconnects anything, only how it DISconnects neighborhoods and destroys them, but i too would be interested to find out if anyone has some knowledge of books that state otherwise, as long as they're not hack
new york city is a perfect example of how bridges ruin the fabric of neighborhoods, as is lair hill in portland, i'm sure there are a thousand other BAD examples
of course bridges are "ruining" the city. actually more like disconnecting them, but as u know since the first man... humans or lets society or people tend to live with these anomalies.. and even use it for their own good. WE architects and urban designers and planners our role not only say that these are disconnecting the city but also to find solutions for this problem. we cannot only state that they are ruining the fabric.. cse its already there.. and it is a part of the 21st century and future cities.. what we need to work on is how we can use these to our needs..
regarding, little mr sunshine dilemna.. is that he wants to describe not only how these bridges are dissecting and ripping the city (we are talking about beirut).. and how people are using these spaces for their needs. so basically as theory and books, in my opinion, he just needs to refer to books that deals with connecting the city - there is alot of books and theories.. starting with Nikos Salingaros to Rem ..etc...
again as i said in my previou sentry is that MLS has posted the forum little bit unclear .....
P.S: the guy is a friend.. :) ... i hope he will be posting hi scomments soon...
Thank you everyone !
in response to chaos ...
a visit to beirut might clarify on how many bridges helped on reconnecting parts of the city and creating public spaces in regions where noone ever imagined ( I refer to Barbir - Cola)
As for Mutations - Rem and all that... thats cliche.. been there done that. I need smthg new.. gimme more.. hehehe
and what aphro-al said is also true. i thank the examples which will be very helpful, but i would also like to have a theoretical background if such a subject was ever the question of an article or a book. etc. !
The bridge in question actually is practically a 2 km long space that was created to connect Beirut to its suburb (quick entrance)
They eliminated a whole row of buildings (like a 2 km row ) to be able to put it in place.
And although it disconnected the whole tissue, the space under the bridge today helps as temporary markets, parking lots - and for those of you who think its very naive to say it helped as parking lot , please visit Bourj Hammoud in beirut so u know what im talking about - and many other functions.
So my research would focuse on the impace of such a bridge on the neighboorhood, how the spaces under it can help revive the context after such a rupture, how people coop with it, or they just drop their places and leave.. etc. etc.
Hope this clarified it !
Thank you all again :-)
if you ever have the chance to visit New Jersey and travel between Newark and Hoboken via 280, check out the NJ Turnpike over passes that criss-cross like strands of pasta. i have always thought there were ways to ignite those spaces below the overpasses...they are quite remarkable.
live? why not? cheap space, instant access to transportation, great views, seclusion, oh i also like the repetitive sounds of cars going over bridge joints - helps me sleep, great photo ops.
seriously, maybe not live, but that space could be activated.
hmm about how bridges affect the city, we have proof for both arguments in istanbul
the bosphorus bridge was built after intense debates against/for it, the cons said it would ruin the bosphorus landscape, which it sort of does, the pros said we had to do it to connect the anatolian side to the european side. now they are trying to build a third one with the same discussion going on. the thing is, every bridge seems to add to the traffic, people seem to use the ferries and public transport less and whenever there is a new bridge, new slums appear around it. there arent spaces for pedestrian use under it, so it doesnt work for your research. there used to be a pedestrian walkway on it but people used that for jumping off and commiting suicide and the path was closed. the word bridge instantly reminds me of suicide because i grew up watching these news almost every night, great eh..
the galata bridge on the other hand is one of the most vital points in the whole city, partially because it is located in the historical core with touristic attraction and partially because of the whole under-the-bridge culture attached to the previous bridge in the golden horn which got burnt down leading to the construction of this new one
im not old enough to have experienced the old one for which songs are written but last summer a design fair was held on what is left of it
this new bridge is what makes the historical core more accesible to residents of the city. the area around it is normally used only by day due to homogenous commercial land use and because most functions are aimed at either tourists or wholesale, except this bridge has restaurants, bars, fishing and pedestrian space on it, creating a reason to be there even if you arent interested in the sightseeing of the historical peninsula. it made the space more accesible, attractive and diverse.
i am from India and i am doing my under graduate dissertation on " Left over spaces under flyovers". this is design thesis i am gonna design spaces under different seven flyovers can share some of example related to concrete flyovers or in indian context or any books on flyover .
and nick sowers can you mail me more drawings and images of your thesis project ?
Urban planning thesis (under bridge spaces)
As the title says,
i'm about to work on under bridge spaces, and the impact of new bridges on exisint neighboorhoods and how these under bridge spaces usually reconnect the gap created by the rupture.
Any ideas or links that might help ?
or questions about how to go thru with the research and what specific questions to ask ?
Thank you
There was this great work on the subject of bridges and the spaces beneath them published a long time ago....i think it featured a troll, maybe some billy-goats???
sorry, couldn't resist
look up Barrio Logan, a Latino neighborhood in San Diego that resisted a freeway bridge which would eventually be built. The residents 'reclaimed' the bridge-space by painting murals on the pylons and making a park beneath it. They called it "Chicano Park".
Here, I'll even slide you a reference to look it up:
Berelowitz, Jo-Anne. “Border Art Since 1965.” Dear, Michael and Leclerc, Gustavo, Eds. Postborder City: Cultural Spaces of Bajalta California. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Very interesting book, anyway. Good luck, I think it's a great subject to study. Where are you going to school?
thank you every1 !
and im in Beirut neat ! :-)
i'm glad people do research on the most important aspects of architectuure/built environment
There's also a reclaimed under-bridge space (I think in or near Portland) in the form of a huge skateboard park called BURNSIDE. It's even been featured in the Tony Hawk video game series. I think there are others like this, as well.
I can't remember who did it, but in a book somewhere around my house, there's some amazing photos and a little story about one designer who transformed the under-bridge area (that's a little awkward, there's got to be a real name for that) into a gathering place at night, in the form of an outdoor movie theatre. Maybe somebody else here will know what I'm talking about.
There's a culture centre located under a bridge in egypt, it had a great effect on the cultural movements of the place.
try it on www.culturewheel.com
the book published to celebrate the mayors institute's design conferences had a piece on a guy who developed public art installation projects under the overpasses in cali (l.a.?).
here: http://www.amazon.com/Mayors-Institute-Excellence-City-Design/dp/1568983778/sr=8-1/qid=1171973083/ref=sr_1_1/105-0342743-9971666?ie=UTF8&s=books
(sorry i'm not staying at home right now, or i'd tell you exactly who it was about.)
i had checked out this guy for my masters project, part of which involved proposal of buildings to occupy the space in and around the on/off ramps for our interstate.
not very good views of the under-ramp stuff, but...
Also check out the DUMBO region of Brooklyn, which takes its identity from its proximity to the Manhattan Bridge. Local artists have done installations under the bridge.
Sounds like a really cool thesis.
burnside bridge in portland on the west side of the river functions as a parking lot during the weekdays, a drug house and homeless shelther at night (no, i am not implying one begets the other), occasionally a movie theater at night (i think it's once a month during the summer) and a "saturday" market on saturdays and sundays.
additionally, it is one of the stops for the MAX which is the light rail public transportation system portlanders rely on (and which is free downtown :)
across the river on the east side it functions as a skateboard park and hangout, very popular. i don't think i've ever not seen it used.
note that a new waterfront development plan is in the midst of being followed through on. part of the idea is to clean up the drug activity under the west side of the bridge.
portland has also been successful in creating parks along the waterfront underneath the bridges, they're heavily used and well loved.
pershing square in new york city has a great little restaurant under one of the overpasses that really helps connect the two sides together.
eugene oregon has a park under an overpass that was a "dangerous" place to be but had some great murals and looked to me like the neighborhood had really taken ownership of it. it was a bit difficult to get to b/c of the streets you had to cross but was great!
that's all i can think of for now but if i come up with more i'll let you know.
my thesis was an entertainment center linking the downtown with the waterfront underneath a bridge and between its on/off ramps. was alot of fun!
you might want to read Mutations:Harvard Project on the city by Rem Koolhaas. It has some interesting examples of small businesses/ market spaces developing under bridges and flyovers in Lagos, Nigeria.
mmm i think guy sthat little mr sunshne expressed in a wrong way his subject... he wanted to know ho wto proceed thematically and theoratically on spaces under bridges..as books ..theory stuff like that not only examples around the world...
i guess that since i talked to him this morning.. ..
aphro-al, that doesn't really make sense to me but maybe i'm being a little bit dense
little mr sunshine, i've not heard of anything that talks about how the space under the bridge REconnects anything, only how it DISconnects neighborhoods and destroys them, but i too would be interested to find out if anyone has some knowledge of books that state otherwise, as long as they're not hack
new york city is a perfect example of how bridges ruin the fabric of neighborhoods, as is lair hill in portland, i'm sure there are a thousand other BAD examples
i wish you luck!
dear chaos...
of course bridges are "ruining" the city. actually more like disconnecting them, but as u know since the first man... humans or lets society or people tend to live with these anomalies.. and even use it for their own good. WE architects and urban designers and planners our role not only say that these are disconnecting the city but also to find solutions for this problem. we cannot only state that they are ruining the fabric.. cse its already there.. and it is a part of the 21st century and future cities.. what we need to work on is how we can use these to our needs..
regarding, little mr sunshine dilemna.. is that he wants to describe not only how these bridges are dissecting and ripping the city (we are talking about beirut).. and how people are using these spaces for their needs. so basically as theory and books, in my opinion, he just needs to refer to books that deals with connecting the city - there is alot of books and theories.. starting with Nikos Salingaros to Rem ..etc...
again as i said in my previou sentry is that MLS has posted the forum little bit unclear .....
P.S: the guy is a friend.. :) ... i hope he will be posting hi scomments soon...
perhaps you read my post as attacking, it was not, there is zero animosity intended in the comments
no not at all chaos.. its a debate.. no attacking ... u talked about a very good point and i clarified .. thats it..
cheers...
example of a bridge..
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=146489930&size=o
in LA someone bought all the airrights to build storage space under the freeways..made lots of $$$
gustavino's in new york - fancy restaurant with catalan vaults under the 59th street bridge
a lot of (temporary) markets are under bridges--there's a famous one in london that's all booksellers - can't remember the name right now.
ponte' vecchio in florence.
Thank you everyone !
in response to chaos ...
a visit to beirut might clarify on how many bridges helped on reconnecting parts of the city and creating public spaces in regions where noone ever imagined ( I refer to Barbir - Cola)
As for Mutations - Rem and all that... thats cliche.. been there done that. I need smthg new.. gimme more.. hehehe
and what aphro-al said is also true. i thank the examples which will be very helpful, but i would also like to have a theoretical background if such a subject was ever the question of an article or a book. etc. !
The bridge in question actually is practically a 2 km long space that was created to connect Beirut to its suburb (quick entrance)
They eliminated a whole row of buildings (like a 2 km row ) to be able to put it in place.
And although it disconnected the whole tissue, the space under the bridge today helps as temporary markets, parking lots - and for those of you who think its very naive to say it helped as parking lot , please visit Bourj Hammoud in beirut so u know what im talking about - and many other functions.
So my research would focuse on the impace of such a bridge on the neighboorhood, how the spaces under it can help revive the context after such a rupture, how people coop with it, or they just drop their places and leave.. etc. etc.
Hope this clarified it !
Thank you all again :-)
if you ever have the chance to visit New Jersey and travel between Newark and Hoboken via 280, check out the NJ Turnpike over passes that criss-cross like strands of pasta. i have always thought there were ways to ignite those spaces below the overpasses...they are quite remarkable.
have been betadine, hopefully next visit :-)
thanks !
beta,
are you going to blow up a freeway?
who the fuck wants to live under an overpass.
vr...once again the voice of reason
live? why not? cheap space, instant access to transportation, great views, seclusion, oh i also like the repetitive sounds of cars going over bridge joints - helps me sleep, great photo ops.
seriously, maybe not live, but that space could be activated.
carbon monoxide is good for the soul
Thanks for posting your project Steven, I thought I might throw up my undergrad thesis project of the Sixth Avenue Viaduct in East LA:
hmm, much better in wide format...
hmm about how bridges affect the city, we have proof for both arguments in istanbul
the bosphorus bridge was built after intense debates against/for it, the cons said it would ruin the bosphorus landscape, which it sort of does, the pros said we had to do it to connect the anatolian side to the european side. now they are trying to build a third one with the same discussion going on. the thing is, every bridge seems to add to the traffic, people seem to use the ferries and public transport less and whenever there is a new bridge, new slums appear around it. there arent spaces for pedestrian use under it, so it doesnt work for your research. there used to be a pedestrian walkway on it but people used that for jumping off and commiting suicide and the path was closed. the word bridge instantly reminds me of suicide because i grew up watching these news almost every night, great eh..
the galata bridge on the other hand is one of the most vital points in the whole city, partially because it is located in the historical core with touristic attraction and partially because of the whole under-the-bridge culture attached to the previous bridge in the golden horn which got burnt down leading to the construction of this new one
im not old enough to have experienced the old one for which songs are written but last summer a design fair was held on what is left of it
this new bridge is what makes the historical core more accesible to residents of the city. the area around it is normally used only by day due to homogenous commercial land use and because most functions are aimed at either tourists or wholesale, except this bridge has restaurants, bars, fishing and pedestrian space on it, creating a reason to be there even if you arent interested in the sightseeing of the historical peninsula. it made the space more accesible, attractive and diverse.
i'd post more info and photos if you need me to
You should check out the Marsupial Bridge in Milwaukee.
It's a new pedestrian bridge and public plaza building underneath and old 19th century bridge.
http://www.riverlifecompetition.org/images/image_bank/large/La_Dallman_Architecture_1.jpg
To clarify, it's a pedestrian bridge hanging underneath an old bridge.
And an urban plaza built under the old bridge on one end of the pedestrian bridge.
And now I learned how to post images
Thank you every1 ,
duygu any pictures or comments are welcome
as for Chase Dammtor, pic n.1 is exactly what i was looking 4 ! thanks a lot !
Hi little mr. sunshine
i am from India and i am doing my under graduate dissertation on " Left over spaces under flyovers". this is design thesis i am gonna design spaces under different seven flyovers can share some of example related to concrete flyovers or in indian context or any books on flyover .
and nick sowers can you mail me more drawings and images of your thesis project ?
mail id- [email protected]
http://www.alexblock.net/blog/?p=3087
Check out "Paris Metro Line 6"... famous project...
Check out the seven year old date on the thread. And the guy trying to copy someone else's work.
students sure are lazy these days...
damn kids, stay off my lawn!
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