PUAD 3011 Design Studio 4 (Spring 2022)
Led by Professor Mitchell Owen
Led by Professor Mitchell Owen
Site Isometric
This project considers a site in Kingston, NY, an historic Hudson Valley city that has
survived some turbulent decades to find itself in the throes of becoming the next version of itself. It has a strong emerging art scene that is attracting younger residents. COVID-related concerns and more flexible work arrangements have certainly impacted housing decisions and have led to a more competitive housing market in Kingston.
survived some turbulent decades to find itself in the throes of becoming the next version of itself. It has a strong emerging art scene that is attracting younger residents. COVID-related concerns and more flexible work arrangements have certainly impacted housing decisions and have led to a more competitive housing market in Kingston.
Kingston Arts and Residences aims to address two concerns—supporting the emerging art scene as well as providing new housing in the city. Instead of applying pre-formed metropolitan solutions to the design problems at hand, the project examines the forces at play more closely in this current refiguring of home and the urban environment.
The existing site was an underused parking lot with a significant elevation change from north to south. The site is located at the convergence point of historic and pedestrian-friendly streets--Kingston’s Stockade District Wall St and Fair St—as well as a strip mall that gains a lot of vehicle traffic to the north of the site.
The development is divided into two areas--commercial programs on the south end of the site, and residences to the north.
The project challenges the persistent appeal of the single-family house in all its facets:
programmatically, socially, historically, and mythically (a micro-urbanism in free-standing form). The recent growth and revitalization of small- and mid-sized cities can be read as these impulses coming together – a more affordable way for those inhabiting larger, more costly cities to attain the space and amenities offered by a single-family house while still being connected to urban density and the
community it fosters.
programmatically, socially, historically, and mythically (a micro-urbanism in free-standing form). The recent growth and revitalization of small- and mid-sized cities can be read as these impulses coming together – a more affordable way for those inhabiting larger, more costly cities to attain the space and amenities offered by a single-family house while still being connected to urban density and the
community it fosters.
The commercial programs are on the south end of the site, meeting the ends of N Front St, Fair St, and Wall St. The buildings create a plaza that extends the Stockade District. Surrounding the plaza are galleries, restaurants, a wellness center, and future commercial opportunities.
The north end of the site is residential. The development offers two housing options—townhouses and apartments, both of which are denser alternatives to free-standing single-family homes. The townhouses are inserted through this raised green space with access to parking below. Essentially, the entire development rests on an underground parking structure, which is crucial for vehicle traffic coming to the area. Additionally, by raising the entire site and resting it on a parking structure, it minimizes the drastic change in elevation from the pedestrian streets.
The primary architectural gesture of the project is the motif of arches. In the commercial portion of the site, the arch is used as positive space. The arch is used here to echo the historic Stockade District and creates covered pathways and courtyards throughout the plaza. On the residential portion of the side, the arch is used as negative space by the use of Catalan vaulted ceilings.
