ASTRIT ALIKAJ

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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Project Introduction

(Woodward Corridor "Detroit's Spine")
This project is an urban infill development, with the focus on Urban

Agriculture. It includes Woodward Avenue and it is located at the

center of cluster four. The site is connected to the Central Business

District in the south side, stopping at Fisher Freeway, and Highland

Park in the North stopping at Webb Street.

Goals

Rebuild Neighborhood with an Urban Agriculture focus.

- Focus on high traffic intersections and promote sustainable forms

of movement.

- Create necessary recreation centers and plazas for community

gatherings.
Promote the Social-Economic benefits of Urban Agriculture

- Advertise and promote a healthy life style (LTU, 2006) through

billboards and by placing gardens along major streets.
Developing Ideas

- The Urban Agriculture communities are located between these

highly dense centers. Market and community center are typically

located on Woodward Ave. with the Urban Gardens and farms

located on the back, to respond to the density issue of transit

oriented design.

- Connect open parks, community gardens and recreation centers

by footpaths and green corridor techniques along Woodward Avenue.

- Develop a sustainable transit (light rail) system to limit the

dependence on the automobile.

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Reflections on Architecture

While completing my undergraduate studies at Lawrence Technological University, a few years ago, as my educational level progressed, I formulated my own perspective of architecture. In other words, I created my opinion of what I thought was right at the time, about looking at architecture and its existence. My conclusion was that architecture could be looked at in two different ways. First, you could look at it as means of creating a functional space without communicating its meaning. Second, you could look at it as an art that emphasizes the aesthetic qualities, rather than the functional ones. Naively, I had surrendered my thoughts and reduced architecture to simply a building or a sculpture.

Although it sounded right at the time, it took deeper research and experience into architecture and urban design to be finally able and understand the pessimistic and immature premise that my initial perception of architecture held. To give it a more optimistic view, true architecture does exist. Furthermore, architecture does not consist of just a few elements. Therefore, it is important that we are aware of the problems we are facing today and what architecture might be in the future. As the new architect and urban designer, it is our duty to free ourselves from this obsession with imagery and consumerism that the world is experiencing today. We must use architecture as a prosthetics device and shape human’s life and behavior in a positive way. True architecture can exist through the integration between sculpture and building, with that extra thing that is added on. True architecture does more than its basic function. It is self referential and communicates its meaning. Just as Bernard Tschumi advocated through his writing and architecture, there is a moment where the experience of space (the pleasure of access) and the recognition (the concept) meet. This moment is Architecture.

Reflections on Urbanism

We are still fresh into the 21st century and our world population has surpassed the six billion people. Although our environmental footprint and our numbers are increasing at an exponential rate, our amount of habitable land is still the same. Our activities are constantly endangering the earth’s fragile ecosystem and besides our growing destructive behavior, we still continue to waste our resources, we still continue to cut our forests and build over farmland and we still continue to pollute the environment. Although issues of urban sprawl, global warming and other social problems are on the rise, still, little is being done to address these problems. As ULI (2007) indicates, we are taxing our ecosystem at an ever-increasing rate and our actions are seriously threatening the earth’s carrying capacity. (P. VI)

Because of the problems that we are facing today, urban planning will be subject to a closer examination. The time restrictions that we have are raising concerns of selecting the projects that can be implemented with the highest and quickest success rates. Therefore, we need to be highly innovative and make sure that sustainability and the different design elements are well addressed through the whole design-implementation process. We must be able to properly address all the social, economical, environmental and political problems that we are presented with. We must learn from the past, deal with the present and design for the future. As the new urban designers, we must be ready for a new approach towards architecture and urbanism. We are the first ones that need to understand and advocate the importance of meaningful places and the creation of livable communities.

ASTRIT ALIKAJ

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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