LTU - Integrated Design Studio 3 - "Design as a Connector"

          The idea behind this studio was to create a connection between my campus at Lawrence Technological University and the Southfield Town Centre.  The main problem to overcome was the 6 lane highway that split the two sides.  What I designed was a deck above the highway that held university buildings as well as restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and apartments.  The idea was to create a new downtown over the highway for both students at LTU and workers from the Town Centre to go during the day and interact.  Right now there is so much seperation between the two that there is no interaction at all.  The rendering below shows a view from the new main street of the deck over the highway.  The towers from the Town Centre create a great backdrop for this new area.

***Public Realm Perspective Created in Revit***

          The image below is a Hybrid Site Plan showing the first floor of every building in the context of the site.  My design was broken into to areas.  A "city" area with large buildings and a main street to give the downtown feel.  If you cross the street you find a nice water fountain, amphitheater, and a large park for students and workers who may have a break during the day and just want to sit outside.  This also covers paved surfaces with grass which will be better for rainfall and drainage.

***Hybrid Site Plan Created in Revit and Photoshop***

          One of the main aspects of the design was to be able to create atleast 20 new residential units.  Rather than spread all of the units out I decided to create a landmark building that would house all of the residential units.  This 30 story building has 3 apartment units per floor with a shard balcony on every other floor.  Before we started this project we went to the 30th floor of a near building and the view was amazing so that was something I wanted to take advantage of. 

***Residential Tower Perspective Created in Revit***