Urban Design

Urban Design 
By: Chris Pacanowski 

As I progress through my thesis, I realizes certain things that keep coming up when looking at the project. Urban design is not just designing an area or a building in an urban environment, but it is truly looking at the urban environment and letting that do some of the design or initial steps for you. As I look at my project and keep realizing the great potential for an area in which people can flock to and enjoy, I am realizing it because of a few key elements. The connectivity to the surrounding area, the possibility for access to public transit, the direct connection to the Chicago River, and the locality to downtown Chicago. Look at the surrounding area, when doing any type of urban design its surrounding areas help you/ tell you what needs to go in the site, or what can keep going in the area depending on the success of the initial typology. What I mean by this is that when you notice that an area has a lot of residential buildings, you can take that in two ways. One, well there already is enough residential in the area so let's focus on commercial. Or two, the residential has been so successful and people are wanting to move to the area, so we should build more residential. When looking at my thesis project, residential buildings are going to be a key element of my urban plan, but it won't be the only element. Commercial and retail elements are always a key element when it comes to urban plans. The great thing about cities is that there is everything you need to live all within a close walking distance. Entertainment, restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, access to public transit, community centers, all of these elements are needed in an urban environment, not only are they needed, but they are what make the area successful or a failure. My final comment on urban design is when designing don't just take in the information of the surrounding areas, look at how your design will affect the surrounding area. It is a relationship between the two ideas which cause people to notice a new area.