Zaha Hadid

A "site visit" yesterday to the parking lot that is where the old Convention Center used to be led to some interesting conclusions and inspiration.

First of all, the "blocky-ness" of the buildings dictated by the height restriction means that while there is plenty of light, the buildings fill their entire sites and leave no voids for sight lines. It is disorienting. At the busy area near the Verizon Center there is plenty of shopping and cultural activity (multiple theaters and the Portrait Gallery, for example) but it isn't apparent that the Mall is so close by.

At the Old Convention Center site we think it would be interesting to leave the avenue where 10th street intersects the site, open, as some sort of park or pedestrian path. This would have views up towards Mount Vernon Square and down to the Natural History Museum. A skyscraper of sorts directly above this void, above the respected height level or incorporating literal transparency there, would create signage and would be an element of needed triangulation for the area.

Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, Daniel Libeskind, and Pier Paolo Maggiora's Fiera di Milano (2014) is an interesting precedent to tie in with these ideas. The design concept is an "archipelago" in form that "doesn't duplicate any existing urban plans." "The plan calls for a central park area, and clusters of commercial high-rises carefully proportioned to provide shade for pedestrians."

// Bussiness Week - Wonders of the World