This masterplan was created with the intention of providing a pedestrian hub for the neighborhoods around the North Potomac Yard in Alexandria. The design features two major mall strips from North to South. Along these strips, the buildings have been designated for mix-use with commercial space on the first floor and facades. Above these stores along the malls, you would see either residential or office space. Currently the majority of this neighborhood does not offer many safe walkable options, besides the new trail installed along the river side of the site. This design aims to slow down traffic in these corridors to put the pedestrian safety first. The form of the mall funnels people from one end to another allowing people to feel comfort and safety. but not confined. On the Southern end of both malls there are water features accompanied by planting beds. At the Northern end, the mall connects to a naturalistic green space. This space serves as a recreational park where users can engage with the Four Mile Run waterway.

The idea for the design began with the intent of creating a "hub" for the neighborhoods here. This hub would be place where people could interact with one another and have a social life. The town and area really lacked something like this in this vicinity, so a safe option these people could walk to was essential. Our design began with one large mall, and then evolved to have two malls which are a bit smaller.

After drawing out an initial design idea, we moved on to drafting the shape and form of the open spaces and building footprints. We wanted the mall to feel open and inviting, and not restricting in any way. For this resign we created a funnel shape to create a fluid movement throughout the site. In order to still provide a level of comfort and shade from the beaming sun, we included planters down the middle of the malls.

The zoning map shows the distinctions of building usage. You can see that the buildings along the mall contain mixed use buildings with commercial stores on the first floor. Above these buildings are either residential or office space, sometimes both. These design ideas meshed into our final product which is a simplistic, yet naturalistic space. The plantings soften the rough edges around the town and buildings to create a balance of texture.