Design & Fabricate
By suggesting an alternate mindset for how pedestrians might observe their surroundings, the intervention acts as a mediator between the existing North Philadelphia pace, punctuating the patinated beauty of a resilient North Broad Street.
Encouraging occupants freshly released from the subway to slow down allows their senses to synchronize with their mental to-do lists and creates a new pace for the one-track train line: Hold Philadelphia.
Analyze & Allocate
North Broad Street is defined by Septa's Broad Street Line, a subway that rips through Philadelphia’s underground streets at lightning speed from central City Hall to the far-reaches of North Philadelphia. In between, Philadelphia is neglected, worn down, and in need of revitalization. This intervention, inspired by the goals of parasitic architecture, clings to its hosts and enlivens its surroundings. It is a celebration of North Philadelphia’s existing buildings that reinvigorates the everyday passersby with a multi-sensory and multi-dimensional built environment.
Moments for interventions are determined by each subway exit because that is where pedestrians are dropped off along North Broad Street. These stops also happen to be located by significant landmarks that are underappreciated by visitors to Philadelphia, but not necessarily by the locals. Either way, it is important to make these landmarks unanimously all-important.
The interventions are addressed as attention-grabbing parasitic beacons, differing from the existing buildings but still relying upon them. The beacons allude to the existing landmarks, which are the true beacons of North Broad Street.
Green blocks allocate moments for intervention, near Septa stops and landmarks along North Broad Street between Spring Garden and Girard.
Views looking down North Broad Street, as well as diagonal views of the left and right sides of the street, highlighting the flatness of the facades and lack of a sense of "arriving" at North Broad.
North Broad Street diagram overlay with protective rib cage; a reminder that North Broad Street is a place that needs nurturing and care as much as the rest of Philadelphia
Views looking down North Broad Street, as well as diagonal views of the left and right sides of the street, highlighting the flatness of the facades and lack of a sense of "arriving" at North Broad.
'Hold Philadelphia'
Revitalization through Parasitic Beacons
Emily Dodson
Following the layout of the North Broad Street analysis, but with every bit of context removed excluding the street lines of North Broad Street and Ridge Avenue, allowing the interventions to be seen by themselves
Overlay of the interventions with the context of existing buildings and flat facades of North Broad Street, highlighting the punctuation along the street the interventions provide. This creates dynamic interest for the pedestrians.
Following the layout of the North Broad Street analysis, but with every bit of context removed excluding the street lines of North Broad Street and Ridge Avenue, allowing the interventions to be seen by themselves
Molded with chipboard, the fabric of these forms is dictated by plaster cloth, a perforated material that shapes to any mold. The perforations disappear when more layers of the plaster cloth are added. The goal was to create a sturdy form without compromising the perforated fabric, which creates a dreamlike aura in the space, allowing the occupants to look around them and notice their surroundings.
This mold is an attempt to synchronize the form with that of the computer rendered designs.
Molded with chipboard, the fabric of these forms is dictated by plaster cloth, a perforated material that shapes to any mold. The perforations disappear when more layers of the plaster cloth are added. The goal was to create a sturdy form without compromising the perforated fabric, which creates a dreamlike aura in the space, allowing the occupants to look around them and notice their surroundings.
Hold Philadelphia
North Broad Street Definitions
North Broad Street Definitions: Revisited
Patina Gradual Hidden Context
A light box made from transparent acrylic panels explores the length of North Broad Street and the parasitic beacons as the occupant processes down the street, celebrating the occupation of pedestrians at this grand street.
A light box made from transparent acrylic panels explores the length of North Broad Street and the parasitic beacons as the occupant processes down the street, celebrating the occupation of pedestrians at this grand street.
Existing Conditions of North Broad Street, Spring Garden to Girard Ave
Patina Gradual Hidden Context
Providing a view of the labeling and patinating of the selected intervention, as posters, foliage, and graffiti coat its walls
Providing a view of the labeling and patinating of the selected intervention, as posters, foliage, and graffiti coat its walls
Parasitic Beacon Interaction
Exploration of how pedestrians might attract to a new stimulus
A Place For Parasitic Architecture
Targeting communities at their tipping point, the parasitic intervention has the chance to be the primary catalyst for a successful revitalization Charles McDaniel, "Strategic Intervention: Parasitic Architecture", 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212011864
Targeting communities at their tipping point, the parasitic intervention has the chance to be the primary catalyst for a successful revitalization Charles McDaniel, "Strategic Intervention: Parasitic Architecture", 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212011864