I spent the majority of this week working on sketching some ideas for master planning the site. I have 46 acres, and obviously I am not designing a project totaling more than 2,000,000 square feet. The best position for the building is in the northern quadrant next to Greenfield Ave. I experimented with moving the diagonal railroad track (presently abandoned but will be used by the Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee commuter rail), but given the radial and slope limitations of railways I was unable to move it away. As a result I decided to keep the railway position where it is now, but elevate it.
Site Sketch 1
Site Sketch 2
The first two sketches were an attempt to locate the best building position. In both schemes I am extending Lapham Avenue east, and then have it turn south and cross a bascule lift bridge into Bay View.
Site Sketch 3
Site Sketch 4
Site Sketch 5
Site Sketch 6
The next four sketches continue to examine the potential road access and building location, as well as manipulating the railway.
Site Sketch Final
With my final sketch I feel I have reached some conclusions for site organization, including:
- Open a wide corridor under the railway viaduct, which will give people a better view (versus the present mouse hole) and create a green corridor extending east from First Street out to the Inner Harbor
- Create a dramatic gateway with the north/south railway, and elevate the diagonal railway to allow a 15′ passage below, the bridges will be a statement
- Remove the coal pile and return the area to a wetland, as it is not ideal for developments and would make a nice front yard to the WATER Institute and School of Freshwater Sciences (north of Greenfield Avenue)
- The Milwaukee Innovation Center will span the triangular area between the railways
- The area south of the MIC will have low-to-medium rise industrial and commercial buildings relating to the water and design technologies developed at the SFC and MIC
- First street will feature new commercial buildings and parking ramp for metro station
Below is an image gallery of the first study site model. The model was laser-cut using supplied topography, which I then coated with a layer of polyurethane. On top of the model I applied modeling clay, which doesn’t bond to the paper allowing me to reposition it several times until I came up with the pictured scheme. Scale 1″ = 60′
