South Street Square An Exploration of Building Typologies at the General Motors Stamping Facility in Indianapolis, Indiana

Daniel LiggettMaster of Urban Design 2011Professor Bruce Race - FAIA, AICP, Associate Professor of PracticeAdvisor Michel Mounayar - RA, Associate Dean of College of Architecture and PlanningAdvisor Kevin Osburn - RLA, Principal at Rundell Ernstberger Associates

41 2011 Creative Project Summary

South Street SquareAn Exploration of Contemporary Building Typologies in Indianapolis, Indiana Daniel Liggett

Over the next 30 years, South Street Square will provide Indianapolis with its fi rst contemporary, urban neighborhood. Located at the existing GM stamping facility, South Street Square will be a mixed-use neighborhood with a diverse range of building typologies. The typologies are designed to create a diverse, inclusive neighborhood. It will off er both aff ordable and market rate units, and provide amenities such as park and open space and a vibrant commercial shopping district.

The creative project explores

contemporary urban housing design that supports the development of diverse and dense neighborhoods. The proposed design helps our understanding how to adapt the GM site into a contemporary community.

The research aims include a process that analyzes the specifi c demands of housing, evaluate how an existing framework plan can be adapted to fi t a set of building typologies, and the form and shape of the typologies on site.

“To most people this is their most treasured possession. It is not just bricks and motor or a fi nancial investment; it is a vital part of their life. Home is crucial to everybody’s daily well being.”

Tony Monk, forward “At Home in the City”

Introduction

42Daniel Liggett

The site is located in the southwest region of Indianapolis, Indiana. Historically, the city was laid out with four diagonal streets entering the city and ceasing near Monument Circle. Each diagonal street has its attraction and character. Indiana Avenue developed into a place for IUPUI and health services, Massachusetts Avenue has small shops and restaurants, and Fountain Square is known for artesian lofts. However, Kentucky Avenue has lost character with the development of super blocks, including Lucas Oil, the convention center, and several industries. The development at the GM site sought to reconnect to

the center of Indianapolis by using several attractions; Indianapolis Zoo, Victory Field, Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Convention Center. The clear constraint has become an opportunity. The development at the GM Stamping plant studied how proper urban building typologies can form the majority of the development site.

Demographics

Addressing the current population and housing trends infl uences several of the project’s objectives. As found through the United State Census information for Indianapolis, a rental to ownership housing

breakdown of 64% ownership to 36% rental.

However, the proximity of the South Street Square in relation to Indianapolis means the ratio between ownership and rental units should be reevaluated. This census information directed the land use type and density of building typologies in South Street Square. Furthermore, parking requirements vary depending upon rental or ownership housing. Additionally, building types inform parking policy. The proper amount of parking must be available for commercial services for the residents of South Street Square. The housing demographic infl uenced all of these decisions.

Population demographic that impacted the building typology objectives include age, household size, and race. Census information shows that target rental age group is less than 35 years of age, while the target age for ownership housing is between 45 and 54 years of age. To support other ages and cultures/races, the typology was varied throughout diff erent districts of South Street Square.

5+5+

Downtown Indianapolis1.61.6

Indianapolis (Balance)2.22.2

Concept Diagram

Downtown Living Range

Concept Diagram

Indianapolis (Balence) Average Household Size

43 2011 Creative Project Summary

Framework Master Plan

There are two primary organizational features for the South Street Square master plan.

The fi rst is South Street Walkway, which is extended from historical South Street, the most southern road as part of the original layout to the city of Indianapolis.

The second organizing feature is Arc Street, a newly developed space meant to connect the development, South Street Square, and major downtown attractions. A park is formed where South Street Walkway and Arc Street intersect. The street grid within the site is organized on a forty-fi ve degree angle to optimize wind patterns and breezes that move off the White River and through the site. The street grid also runs parallel to Kentucky Avenue, the historical

southwest street angle entering downtown Indianapolis.

Other design features include districts, gateways, landmarks, nodes, circulation, and open spaces. These provide urban design context for building typologies.

There are two types of character districts in South Street Square. The fi rst is the commercial shopping district, found on Arc Street between the two transit stops. The second are the park districts. South Street Park and Arc Park vary in programming. South Street Park functions as a high activity area for the transit stop. Arc Park is programmed as a space to relax and designed to suit the general public for use of the library and religious buildings. The districts are surrounded by an array of

residential housing types. There are two key gateways. One is at the east end of South Street Park and other is at the west end of Arc Park, both on Arc Street. These gateways are located in the commercial shopping district and pronounce the site to visitors. Elevated building corners cause a compression and release eff ect on those traveling from the enclosure of Arc Street to the open park space.

A vertical landmark is located at intersection of South Street and Arc Street. It is a vertical element, designed into an intermodal transit facility. The streetcar stop, South Street Walkway, and commercial shopping district make for a mix of transportation alternatives. Extruded building corners are also expressed as gateway elements.

South Street Square: Design Features

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Arc Park

South Street Park

GM Reuse

Arc StreetWhite River

Oliver Avenue

Washington Street

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44Daniel Liggett

Framework Circluation

Framework Public Space

Framework Land Use

Arc Street, from transit stop to transit stop, is the central address for South Street Square. It is a street that functions as a linear space with a series of interconnected nodes. There are several diff erent types of circulation modes within and beyond South Street Square including pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular, and streetcars.To improve pedestrian circulation, blocks were reduced from the typical 500 foot widths of Indianapolis blocks, to 375 foot and 150 foot blocks. Smaller block sizes support a more walkable system for pedestrians. The smaller block typology also allows for bicycles to easily navigate South Street Square with safely designed crosswalks and celebrated streets.

To promote walkability and biking, South Street Walkway has been designed as a non-motorized pedestrian and bikeway that extends to the White River and the newly developed portion of the White River State Park (see Figure 5, 7 and 9). South Street allows for pedestrians, bicyclists, runners, joggers, and people of all activities to easily access South Street Park, the commercial shopping district, and Arc Park, which are nestled within the interior of South Street Square development. South Street provides a friendly way for bikers to travel. Other street types include bike lanes.

There are four street types including alleys (and service alleys), residential streets, collector streets, and Arc Street. Alleys service commercial and residential areas and provide access to parking.

Residential streets have bike lanes on-street. Residential streets have

Vehicular Routes

Secondary Routes

Greenways

Railways

Public Institutions

Hardscape Space

Softscape Space

Public Commerce

Destination Point

Public Space

Low Dense Residential

High Dense Residential

Light Industrial

45 2011 Creative Project Summary

South Street Square Master Plan

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Arc Transit Stop

Oliver School

Arc Park Gateway

Church

Arc Park (Parking Under)

Community Library

Celebrated street-type

Townhouses

Mixed Use Plex

Mews

Courtyard with Parking

Apartments

Plex Service & Parking

Shophouse

Doubled Loaded Units

Arc Street Gateway

Micro-police station

Refl ecting Pool

Multimodal Hub

Transit Authority

South Street Walkway

Anchor Retail

Market Housing

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Reuse GM Plant24

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Arc Street in Action!

just two travel lanes with on street parking. This street type is designed to provide parking and a peaceful street for residents.

The collector street is designed to provide effi cient travel within and through South Street Square. They are critical for the development of special use zones, such as the micro-police station and transit authority which require quick egress and ingress of emergency vehicles.

Arc Street is a “complete street” as it off ers plenty of space and safe movement for a variety of circulation types. Pedestrians have large wide sidewalks, cafés, planting beds that cool the environment, and public seating. Bike users have a dedicated bike space, much like that of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which safely separates bikes from traffi c. On street parking is available for commercial businesses. The streetcar also has its own dedicated space that makes two stop in South Street Square.

The plan outlines public and private open spaces. Building typologies respond to their open space setting in terms of height, ground fl oor use, and orientation. Residential buildings facing parks have deeper setbacks. Arc Street spans the two parks and is a public green space as well.

An additional plaza contains the southeastern-most transit stop. This transit stop is near to the school. Private green spaces are within each lot and block. These private green spaces would include the open space in plex, terrace, and shop housing.

The South Street Square project illustrates how building typologies work within a framework plan. The project shows how typologies form a contemporary district with a cohesive form.

The project site is 40 acres with various building types. The typologies are dependent on several factors, including land use. The land uses found in South Street Square include institutional, industrial, commercial mixed-use, residential mixed-use, park and open space, and residential land use.

Design Topics for Typologies

The typological exploration of South Street Square includes terrace housing, plex housing, courtyard, mew housing,

townhouses, and shop housing. Each typology has a list of standards to follow for development. These design objectives were used to formulate standards:

• Density• Land use• Location in Context• Parking• Transit Oriented Design • Street Types• Park & Open Space• Height• Setback• Transparency & Form of 1st Floor

These topics were used to develop design standards for South Street Square.

47 2011 Creative Project Summary

Ownership Housing

Ownership & Rental Housing

Mixed-Use & Ownership - Rental Housing

The building types for South Street Square address contemporary urban forms.

Standards and guidelines include height, setback, and transparency of buildings fl oors. The height standard for the building typologies is linked with density. Mixed-use buildings are taller than single use residential buildings.

The fi rst fl oors of commercial buildings are to be the tall and transparent to promote a fl exible use for a variety of potential commercial businesses. The fi rst fl oor façades are to be visually accessible from the sidewalk and retail.

The building setbacks for residential buildings refl ect the need for privacy. The further the setback from the right-of-the-way, the more public to private transition space is available for porches, stoops, and patios.

Typology Standards

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25%

20%27%

12%

4% 3%

66%9%

12%

5%

6%

2%Infrastructure

Industrial

Park & Open Space

Special Use

Commercial

Residential

Mews

Townhouses

Shophouses

Courtyard

Plex

Terrace

Residential Typology Breakdown

Land Use Breakdown

Arc Street Section

Public buildings, such as commercial and government buildings form promote public use and access.

In order to create diverse and inclusive neighborhoods, the proposed land use and density for South Street Square was designed to attract a variety of people.

Also, an enhanced public realm, invited people to experience the space. Higher densities and a mix of uses activate the public realm. Private “back” areas are more eff ectively used for service and parking.

Typology form also ensures “eyes-on-the-street” meaning the area will be safer, as everyone acts as an informal watchman. The plan has commercial mixed-use on Arc Street. By increasing density at this area and providing shopping, it becomes the primary destination for residents and visitors.

Building type design can contribute toward a reduction in greenhouses gases and consumption of fossil fuels. To achieve energy effi ciency, natural lighting and passive

cooling systems were integrated into buildings. The “skyline” of the development is to be pyramidal in shape. The tallest buildings, or highest density, are located at Arc Street. The buildings decrease in height to be energy effi cient for optimal use of day lighting and passive energy systems.

Floor transparency standards encourage the fi rst several fl oors

to be as transparent as possible. The reason for this is twofold. First, transparent fi rst fl oors activate the street. In terms of sustainable systems, the fi rst and second fl oors are more likely to be shaded by street trees. Natural environmental strategies can be used to passively cool the building. Upper fl oors receive more direct sunlight and consist of less transparent material.

Typology Features

Daniel Liggett

49 2011 Creative Project Summary

Townhouse Shophouse Residential Plexhouse

Mixed-use Plexhouse

24’ min. --

12’ min. --

2 story --

24’ min. --

10’ min. 15’ max.--

2 story --

14’ min. --

3 story --

5 story --10’ min.

Height

Setback

Density

Parking

= 1 unit

surface/tuckunder space on street on street & park between on alley & park between

from street R.O.W.

24’ min. --

36’ min. -- 36’ min. --

60’ min. --

W

South Street Square includes seven building typologies that are terrace, plex, courtyard, apartments, townhouses, shop homes, and mews.

Terrace homes are approximately 27% of the housing types. They come in a variety of forms, and can be adapted to mixed-use development. Alleys provide service access to terrace homes and commercial blocks removing cars from the public right-of-way.

Plex units allow for a variety in occupancies. Second story walkups and basement units off er potential for a mix in market and aff ordable living units. Much like terrace units,

they are fl exible in using alleys to help free the street right-of-way from additional vehicles. Terrace homes and plex units are mixed use typologies found on Arc Street. They create an attractive edge to the commercial shopping district found between the two streetcar stops in South Street Square. Mews are smaller one or story units that are located in the alley between two rows of terrace or plex units. They have one service alley and one circulation alley on either side. Mews are often associated with the plex or terrace house in which it shares the lot. In South Street Square, 33 mew units are provided less than 100 feet from parks and the commercial shopping district. Mews have social and

economic advantages. Socially, families can off er the units to family or friends, to keep them close to home if need be. Economically, they provide aff ordable units to those who are looking to rent studio-type spaces. The rent produced each month by these units provides an incentive to create and maintain the success of mew typologies.

Rental building types include courtyard and stacked fl at units. These typologies can off er aff ordable living, with an increase in density. Most of these units are close to public transportation and have lower parking requirements. Eight development acres are dedicated to these two typologies and provide living for almost one

Building Types

50Daniel Liggett

Mews Mixed-use Terrace Terrace House Chicago Courtyard Apartments

3’ - 6’ min. 10’ min. 10’ min.

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12’ min. --

Use Req. --

15’ min.

1 story --

5 story --

3 story -- 3 story --

no parking provided on alley on street on street & park between

36’ min. --

60’ min. --

36’ min. --

24’ min. --

36’ min. --

thousand people.

Townhouses and shophouses are designed for market rate and aff ordable ownership. In South Street Square, 3.5 development acres are included for these housing types. These building types help provide market rate and aff ordable units.

Urban design guidelines support quality design because all designers and developers play by the same rules. Urban design typology standards can create consistent form that supports place making objectives and values. These conclusions are illustrated by the creative project eff ort:

1.Urban design guidelines and standards are important for mixed use districts with residential, commercial, offi ce, industrial, or special uses.

2.The guidelines and standards support place making. They shape the form of buildings to respond to

social and economic activities and community connections.

3.Housing should support and facilitate new living strategies. Contemporary design can be responsive to new needs and life styles, even if the base idea for each typology is classic in nature.

Conclusions