It Takes a Village

Fall 2022 | Professor W. Gavin Robb | Awarded studio-wide design award

This urban design project is located in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston on several parking lots currently owned by Wentworth University. The sites edges are defined by Mission Main housing, the Alice Taylor Apartments, the Southwest Corridor and accompanying orange line trench, and the Mission Hill neighborhood - rich with triple decker urban fabric. As a response to historic urban renewal projects, this proposal centers citizen participation, and outward connections to the surrounding fabric.

Mapping // By drawing historical figure/ground maps of the areas around the site, a history of disinvestment, and urban renewal is uncovered. The resulting urban infill projects, namely the Southwest Corridor are directly adjacent to the site. The map below abstractly represents these changes, as well as highlighting (in pink) properties that are owned by LLC’s or other management companies, indicating that they have a high potential for large-scale future change.

Outreach Strategy // A key part of the project’s ambition was a phase of “outreach,” which utilized a mix of existing community centers and new structures on vacant land or parks, a map of these outreach stations is seen below.

Design Framework // The design operates at three levels - the neighborhood level, stitching the proposal into it’s surroundings, the neighborhood unit, or the scale of one courtyard building, and the community unit which relies on a shared entrance and internal community spaces, at the scale of daily interaction (typically 8-15 units).

Site Drawings // In the site plan below, the aggregated courtyard buildings are seen as they relate to the community spine which connects the SW corridor to the southeast corner of the site. The first-floor programming - shown using dark-blue for community spaces and interior circulation, and lighter-blue for retail, strategically activates the corners of the courtyard buildings, working together to establish a vibrant and active ground plane. In the site section the series of public street to shared courtyard, to private residences is revealed, creating tiers of privacy.

Transects // The transects demonstrate some of the many permutations that can be created by combining various housing typologies, courtyard infill strategies, and corner programming. Units are accessed off of the courtyard facing facade to generate activity within the courtyard spaces and create a sense of community between residents.

Views // The views below demonstrate the active ground floor plane in action, and views from the paths that cross the site.

Camille Wimpe