“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
Jane Jacobs
BIG IDEAS
Taopu Smart City Masterplan with Ennead Architects | Shanghai, China
As the ease of accessing data continues to unlock the complexities of our world, the ever-increasing scale of data and information creates disconnections between comprehension, application and context. Smart cities, smart grids, and smart infrastructure need to strive to reconnect people to the environments where we live, work and play. Equally important is the cognition that these new systems can facilitate in rebalancing the discourse of resource allocation and use. In order for the information age to be a catalyst for change the application of data needs to be understood and carefully applied to the cities where we live. With the continuing evolution of technology to collect data, sort information and measure the performance of cities, we are at the precipice of having the ability to understand the world differently. In order to push beyond the prescribed boundaries of collection and measurement, urban designers need to assume a role and challenge the conventions of technology. With a seat at the table, conventional practices will no longer be accepted and the economics of infrastructure, ground planes and the balance of public and private space will be rethought. Big data should be utilized to drive sustainable decisions about the function of our urban places. These decisions be them economic, social or ecological will drive an agenda beyond the typical sound bites and into a truly implementable vision of how we live in our cities.
Governors Island Tech Campus | New York, NY
Newark Cultural District Masterplan | Newark, NJ
"Ex.0" Entry and Utility Armature | Prototype
"Ex.0" Entry and Utility Armature | Prototype
Unlocking potential with "Ex.0"
Hidden behind the tall warehouses of downtown Newark lies a network of narrow alleyways, gated and forgotten. The team at rePLACE, armed with drones and GIS software, found these alleyways and saw potential. The future of the alleys of Newark won't involve hip, expensive "art walks" -- rather, we see them as a way to achieve affordability in the marketplace. We believe that inexpensive student housing and new kinds of small-scale retail can exist inside this forgotten historic fabric.
HUMAN-DRIVEN DESIGN
To achieve the largest impact the use of data and information cannot be to the exclusion of the inhabitants. “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” ― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Unlike past feelings about technology, a mature goal set for the information age should be to re-strengthen the symbiotic relationship between human and place. This relationship should not be defined by extreme views, the agendas of a few or the criteria of technology capabilities but rather what we all envision for the future of our cities. Aspiration is the foundation from which the unachievable becomes reality. We stand at the beginning of what may be one of the most exciting times in the history of our evolution. If only we choose to be informed by the data and trace that vantage point into our collective behavior shall we transcend the incremental and re-balance our collective future. Researching alternative data sets to uncover new ways of informing our work; reinterpreting relationships between systems data, in order to, influence drivers of behavior and place; and inventing techniques that help to facilitate crowd sourcing as a part of the urban design process, rePlace’s goal in the curating of data is to achieve cross discipline and boundless thinking about our cities economic, social and environmental performance.
Blending natural and man-made systems: Taopu Smart City master plan | Shanghai, China (with Ennead Architects)
Remediating 1000 acres of brownfield: Taopu Smart City masterplan | Shanghai, China (with Ennead Architects)
PARADIGM SHIFT
Vipingo City masterplan for smart growth | Mombassa, Kenya
Regenerative Design is a new way of thinking about the design of cities. Its core concept is that cities shouldn’t strive to do less harm (sustainable design) or no harm (net-zero design), but rather should be positive in their ecological footprint. Meaning that cities should evolve rather than degrade over time – building ecological, social, and economic capacity. For this goal to be achieved man-made systems must be rethought to harmonize with natural systems – to mesh together into a meta-system. We believe the industrial ecology, research, and new emergent technologies are the lenses through which deep-mapping techniques will help to achieve a regenerative profile for our cities in our lifetime.
M2N NETWORKS
To paraphrase the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr – “we are what we build”. This is literally true. All of us in our lifetime will absorb hundreds of potential harmful substances from the built environment. We absorb these substances from breathing, touching, and ingestion. The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals by the Department of Health and Human Services / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in nearly all of the participants in their 2009 report. PBDE is used in polyurethane foams, plastics, and a myriad of other building products and has been linked to lower fertility rates. Another example is from a recent CDC study that found bisphenol A (a component of epoxy resins and polycarbonates that may be a potential reproductive toxin) in more than 90% of representative samples of the U.S. population. In other words, we are making our homes, schools, offices, hospitals, and cities out of potentially harmful substances (i.e. and suspected carcinogens, mutagens, respiratory irritants, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins, and etc.), which migrate into our bodies through daily contact.
rePLACE wants to change this paradigm. On our projects we identify opportunities to improve human and ecological health. We examine health issues from a global perspective down to the molecular level. On a molecular level, we examine the composition of the materials used in the streetscape elements such as benches for their known and suspected health concerns. And, on a global level we examine how the heat island effect will impact a community in the near and far future.
This approach allows us to have a fuller and richer understanding of a location, offers new insights, and leads to unique and creative solutions. For instance, we link what we learn about the health profile of a project to the local real estate economy and identify the marketing groundwork that must be done in order to demonstrate the value of the health decisions made on a project. This allows everybody to understand the direct (health) and indirect (economic and societal) benefits of building a healthy community.
Phasing construction with sisal crop cycle, Vipingo City | Mombassa, Kenya
Creating density and walkable neighborhoods, Vipingo City | Mombassa, Kenya
Vipingo City is located 25 km north of Mombassa along the coast of Kenya. The International Development Bank (IDB) is providing some of the funding for the development of a sustainable city that can promote smart urban growth. It is anticipated that 300,000 residents will eventually live in the 4400-hectare city. The site contains active sisal fields, which have a 23-year crop cycle. This led to a development phasing strategy, allowing active crops to finish their cycle before giving way to urban development. The master plan allows some of the field area to remain as agricultural uses, along with a mix of light industrial, high- and low-density residential, and retail uses.
Two challenges for the project were (1) access to potable water and (2) drainage issues from the inland hills. The design proposal seeks to solve both issues with 7 “eco-corridors” situated every 2 km. These natural zones not only collect rainwater and store it in reservoirs, but also provide active and passive open space for city residents. The eco-corridors essentially divide the city into clearly defined neighborhoods, each with about 25,000 people. A transit corridor connects the neighborhoods with mixed-use programs and serves as the city’s primary boulevard. With a density of 30 to 40 people per acre (or 70 to 100 people per hectare), a light rail system is considered to be a feasible return on investment. The question of how to respond to Kenya’s rising urban population is a critical part of its economic and social discourse. The master plan of Vipingo City aims to harmonize natural and man-made systems to enhance the opportunities of the site.
Natural and Man-made Systems, Vipingo City
Water Systems and Eco-corridors, Vipingo City
Open Space
Density
Schools
Commercial Hubs
Block Typologies
SCALE-LESS SOLUTIONS
We consider multiple scales at once from molecular to global. We believe that in order to find good design solutions we must look both outward to larger regional and global systems as well inward down to the molecular level. By doing this we alter our vantage point, which changes what we see. When this concept is used as problem solving technique it allows new insights to merge. Looking at a problem at one scale can lead to a better understanding of something else at a different scale. The Emperor Penguins of the Antarctic is the best example of how this works. Examining a single Emperor Penguin couldn’t explain how these 60lb birds survive the harsh winters, but looking at the entire population reveals that hundreds of these birds huddled together to create one big mass. The collective generates enough heat to keep the flock alive in the most extremes of cold.
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HEALTHY HOME HUNTER, THE NEXT GENERATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH
In 431 B.C the ancient Greek historian Thucydides wrote the first account of public health problems when he described an epidemic in Athens during the second year of the Peloponnesian War. Over the next 22 centuries the control of disease transmission and sanitation were the main concern of public health efforts. In 1854, Dr. John Snow revolutionized public health by tracing a cholera outbreak in London back to a pump on Broad Street. Snow used a simple dot density map to show how cholera cases clustered around the Broad Street pump. This simple map, along with his statistical data, definitively showed the connection between the poor water of the Broad Street Pump and the cholera cases. Since then, Snow’s method of linking health data to geographic data has become a common means to understand the origin of an epidemic. Today, Public health efforts have expanded beyond crisis response to proactively promoting healthy lifestyles and reduction of preventable and chronic diseases. The scientific studies showing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are abundant, but the linking of this data to geography is scant; Healthy Home Hunter is a tool that will change this by allowing people to critically examine the health profile of their home and community. HHH will do this by consolidating available data into one publically accessible source, which can be filtered by users based upon their concerns. This will allow people to create their own “deep” health maps. Users will be able to search by property or by geographic area (block, neighborhood, zip code, etc…) and receive information on how healthy the real estate is in that location. The information will be presented as a set of simple scores/icons with a detailed option for those who want to know more. The site will focus on the positive (finding green and healthy attributes), rather than on the negative (seeing how unhealthy a place is). In other words, this website is a tool to recognize and support the healthy aspects of place. To that end, HHH will also provide expert advice to individuals on how to improve the healthiness of their home and community making the site a tool to inform and address public health concerns. Initially, HHH will be developed for use in New York City. This will allow the creation of rich product offering unburdened by an attempt to cover all markets. It will also build upon efforts of residential developers to set their NYC developments a part from their peers by building healthy projects. It is the intent to expand to new markets once beta is launched and proven in the marketplace. A beta version of Healthy Home Hunter can be found at http://hhh.lathrios.com.
Access to fresh food, NYC
Personalized Report Card of your home
Charitable Giving, as percentage of income, NYC
School Quality, NYC
Cancer Rates, NYC
DEEP MAPPING
FEMA flood hazard zones | Pittsburgh, PA
We don’t start a project with a preconceived solution; rather we use research to help us to find a solution. Our main research tool is deep mapping. “Deep” maps combine quantitative and qualitative data to describe place. This methodology shows traditional geographic data, such as metes and bounds, with overlays of other critical information like demographics, health, ecological, and economic Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data sets. These are combined with historical information, insights gathered from community outreach, photographs, three-dimensional models, and experiential information. When complete, the aggregation of all this data reveals hidden patterns, opportunities, and possibilities that cannot be found with a traditional urban design approach. Deep mapping allows us to have a fuller understanding of place, time, and potential.
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ECONOMICS OF CHANGE
To paraphrase the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr – “we are what we build”. All of us in our lifetime will absorb hundreds of potential harmful substances from the built environment. We absorb these substances from breathing, touching, and ingestion. The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals by the Department of Health and Human Services / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in nearly all of the participants in their 2009 report. PBDE is used in polyurethane foams, plastics, and a myriad of other building products and has been linked to lower fertility rates. Another example is from a recent CDC study that found bisphenol A (a component of epoxy resins and polycarbonates that may be a potential reproductive toxin) in more than 90% of representative samples of the U.S. population. In other words, we are making our homes, schools, offices, hospitals, and cities out of potentially harmful substances (i.e. and suspected carcinogens, mutagens, respiratory irritants, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins, and etc.), which migrate into our bodies through daily contact. rePLACE wants to change this paradigm. On our projects we identify opportunities to improve human and ecological health. We examine health issues from a global perspective down to the molecular level. On a molecular level, we examine the composition of the materials used in the streetscape elements such as benches for their known and suspected health concerns. And, on a global level we examine how the heat island effect will impact a community in the near and far future.
This approach allows us to have a fuller and richer understanding of a location, offers new insights, and leads to unique and creative solutions. For instance, we ink what we learn about the health profile of a project to the local real estate economy and identify the marketing groundwork that must be done in order to demonstrate the value of the health decisions made on a project. This allows everybody to understand the direct (health) and indirect (economic and societal) benefits of building a healthy community.
Mapping regional jobs, Village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area
Zoning Map, Village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area
Mixed-use Waverly Avenue, Village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area
In a world defined more by Google than Ford Motors, what should happen to industrial districts? How can the factories and warehouses of these often underutilized areas evolve to be the heart of a community’s local tax base once again? How can the declining industrial base of a community be replaced with other meaningful, well-paying jobs? These questions are challenging communities of all sizes, including the Village of Mamaroneck, New York.
In 2012, the Village of Mamaroneck adopted an updated Comprehensive Plan. The plan directly takes on this challenge by setting a goal for the Village to “make better use of industrial areas.” This study is intended to be the next step, creating a new vision for its 46.6-acre industrial district that reflects the values and aspirations laid out in the Comprehensive Plan - Quality of Life, Small-Town Character Diversity, and Environment. Today, Mamaroneck’s industrial Area, like many other similar towns along the MetroNorth/I-95 Corridor, has seen a decline of traditional manufacturing. The number of manufacturing businesses has steadily fallen since the late 1990s and the Village is out-pacing the larger economic trend of declining manufacturing in the U.S. The number of manufacturing firms fell by 3.3% across the country; by 11.9% in the State; 8.7% by the County; and 19% in ZIP code 10543, which is the Village’s Industrial Area. As of 2005, light manufacturing is only about half of the businesses in the district. General services (businesses such as catering, auto repair and storage) make up the other half. The rest of the District (29% of it) is grandfathered residences, public works, and vacant land.
For the best possible future for the industrial district this plan address the daily physical challenges of the district: growing traffic congestion coupled with limited parking; residential development pressure; and environmental problems such as frequent flooding. The plan must also build on strong local assets: excellent mass transit connections, an optimal regional location, and a well-educated and motivated population. With this in mind, rePLACE is working with the Village to chart a new and better future that understands the larger economic, social, and environmental influencing factors of today as well as tomorrow. This means looking beyond the borders of Westchester County. Examining national, regional, and local real estate drivers against the unique factors that define the character of the Village’s industrial district to ensure this plan will be a success.
Early concept: Activating the Sheldrake River and creating recreational destination
Early concept: Establishing zoning framework and district gateways
Community design outreach, Village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area
CREATIVITY TRENSCENDS
Mixed-use development in Manhattan: new public school, residential, and retail
When the first impulse is to accept an answer, draw a past conclusion or to complete a directive rather that to ask a question a very vital opportunity may be lost. The creative impulse looks and processes the world differently. Understanding that a conventional set of rules or a system of constraints is a challenge, a puzzle or a journey, rePlace builds logical foundations based on their extensive experience and sets out to solve real world problems.
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DEVELOPMENT: NEW YORK CITY GRID
In 1811, New York City adopted the Commissioner’s Plan establishing a grid system on the island of Manhattan. The plan extended the opportunity for urban development north from Greenwich Village to Washington Heights and east/west from the East River to the Hudson; this marks the beginning of the dialogue between the physical characteristics of the island and the local economy. The plan described during the early 1900’s as encompassing the “republican predilection for control and balance … [and] distrust of nature.” The value proposition established in the plan foretells a need for a sustainable approach that creates maximum value from a finite resource. All while protecting this demand by creating a place whose characteristics both serve and support the present day lifestyle tastes of its inhabitants. Described by the commission that penned it, the plan combines “beauty, order and convenience.” TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT AIR RIGHTS (TDR) During the 1960’s and 70’s the control and balance established by the grid required flexibility to ensure the priorities of the day were not lost in the rigidity of the grid itself. In the 1961 zoning revamp, this rigidity was addressed through the design of a zoning mechanism “Transferable Development Air Rights” (TDR). The mechanism was not static but rather was a series of rules to reflect the agenda of the day in New York City. “The concept of transferring development rights gained popularity throughout the 1960’s and 70’s as a way to preserve historical structures, agricultural land and other ecological resources, promote the creation of public spaces and affordable housing, and control urban density and suburban sprawl.“ With the advent of TDR, the cities cultural icons such as Trinity Church Yard have the ability to realize economic benefit while maintaining their iconic presence. Increasingly large-scale private development in New York City benefits from the ability to assemble properties, balanced by public benefits such as affordable housing, school construction, and public realm improvements. The initial characteristics of the grid laid out bounds to ensure economic value has now become a strategic discourse between urban growth and the associated qualitative benefits to the public. Through our design discourse rePlace Urban Studio has extensive experience interpreting the aspects of both the grid and site assemblage process. In addition our team creates physical urban strategies that help position assemblages in order to maximize potential profits qualitatively. A unique professional design firm, rePlace is not in service to future architectural commissions. But is rather interested in the physical manifestation of a balanced approach that services both development opportunity and public benefit.
Columbia University Manhattanville
Masterplan, Zoning Bulk, and Section through W 131st Street, Barack Obama Presidential Library (Columbia University submission), New York, NY
Creating cohesive neighborhoods: Hudson Square study for Trinity Real Estate | New York, NY
Waterfront edge study | Inwood Neighborhood Plan
AMPLIFICATION
Municipal Mooring Basin at Lake Michigan and Kinnickinnic River | Milwaukee, WI (photo credit: Erik Kath)
Our generation has the ability to see beyond the physical realm to gain meaning from data. rePLACE has developed a suite of data driven apps that offer insight to emerging urban trends. The apps gather open-source, publicly available information about places and curate technical results for mass consumption and understanding. Our proprietary apps, (HealthyHomeHunter, the Community Dashboard, or the Innovation District Creator) crowd-source interaction to inform future iterations or support areas for future informed exploration. These tools amplify and cross-pollinate our discourse beyond the traditional boundaries of the design field in hopes of enabling an informed public discussion about how the collective shapes our world.
A REGENERATIVE FUTURE
Challenges facing our future - climate change, resource distribution, economic inequality, and social justice - must be addressed. No one is excused. As designers of the public realm our practice is structured to seek out potential solutions, to test and fail and ultimately to evolve ideas that will contribute to tackling these challenges. We believe by learning from our collective past, smartly utilizing technology, forging tools for tomorrow, and questioning the boundaries of what has yet to come, we can impact and alter this future. We hope to evolve as implementers of a transparent public realm and definers of regenerative environments.
Community Dashboard
Innovation District Creator
Development potential with flood plain overlay, Village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area
STUDY: Southwest Bronx "Live-Near Planning" Incentive Zones: Phase 1 and 2
The Queen Mary 2, moored at Atlantic Basin in Brooklyn, NY (photo credit: Erik Kath)
In 1839, businessman Colonel Daniel Richards proposed building the Atlantic Basin. By 1848 the Colonel’s idea was reality. The Atlantic Basin became part of a shoreline shaped by maritime industries. During the 19th century, as the Port of New York was becoming the world’s busiest, the Atlantic Basin helped the Brooklyn waterfront become the heart of the City’s maritime economy. The success of the basin prompted further development around the site. In the same year that he built the grain elevator, Richards petitioned the city to build and open a street grid of more than 35 streets around the site of the Atlantic Basin. The City of Brooklyn complied and laid out a street grid that connected Red Hook’s waterfront to the rest of South Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn waterfront continued to thrive through World War II. In the postwar years, however, automation and new technologies, along with disputes over control of resources led to the decline of New York’s maritime industry. The failure to adapt to the new container-based approach to shipping, in particular, helped shift port activity to New Jersey - where new facilities were being constructed. As a result, a long-standing industry that shaped the landscape of the city’s waterfront greatly diminished. The City of New York undertook major reconstruction projects on Red Hook’s waterfront during the 1950s: the Civil War-era warehouses on the Atlantic Basin were demolished and the Basin was partially filled in. Today, Atlantic Basin is a cruise ship port-of-call, and the surrounding uplands are underutilized warehouses and other light industrial spaces.
Development studies for Atlantic Basin | Brooklyn, NY
Development studies for Atlantic Basin | Brooklyn, NY