Tyler Haupert: Channel Square

Tyler Haupert

GSD2201 Site Representation and Research

December 2010

Objective

Channel Square is a community intended to provide families with a viable residential option near Boston's Inner Core. The new neighborhood is located in the underutilized industrial space between the Boston Convention Center and the Reserved Channel.

In order to create a family friendly environment, Channel Square will contain a series of handsome, 1.5 acre parks modeled after the famous parks in Savannah, GA. These intimate parks will provide open space far from busy avenues and other dangerous obstacles for children. Residents of the neighborhood will also enjoy a new school, convenient access to the Financial District and Mayor Menino's burgeoning Innovation District. Additionally, Channel Square will contain a stock of over 2,500 affordable housing units, fulfilling a conspicuous need near Downtown Boston.

The built fabric will also offer families the housing typologies research shows they most desire. These include garden apartment buildings and townhomes. These low scale, attractive typologies will ensure each park square gets plenty of sunlight.

Viewing Channel Square in Context

Google Earth allowed me to view my site in context at many levels. I was able to overlay my conception of the district as a whole in the form of a district map. Google Earth allowed me to understand how my sub-districts related to adjacent neighborhoods. I was also able to study how different building typologies would fit into the Channel Square sub-district. By overlaying a photograph of Boston's South End over the Channel Square area I was able to visualize what a residential neighborhood with townhomes and pocket parks would fit into the space.

My sub-district plan overlayed on a map from Google Earth.

Channel Square's area. Notice South Boston to the south, the Boston Marine Industrial

Park to the North, and the Convention Center and reserved Channel to the west and east.

Courtesy Google Earth.

Channel Square on the Ground

The Channel Square Neighborhood will not be part of a PDA, and will built by an assortment of private and not-for-profit developers. Thus, it is useful to see what the proposed zoning requirements would allow developers to build around any given park in the neighborhood. The following images were created in Google Sketchup to experiment with different densities and gain an understanding of the massing developers would be able to build within the set guidelines, which include an FAR of 2.5, a height limit of 50-60 feet, and a lot coverage ratio of 60-80%. My Sketchup model is available in Google's 3d Warehouse HERE.

A Channel Square park and its surrounding neighborhood in context.

The low building heights create space for each park to receive plenty of sunlight as opposed to the "canyon" effect many public spaces in areas with higher buildings experience.

A street view of a park and its surrounding residences in Channel Square.

Channel Square in Video

The following video affords viewers an up-close view of what a park and its surrounding area may look like once development has occurred.

This model offers people a base for experimenting with new built forms on the South Boston Waterfront. By using my new grid and Sketchup model, anyone can add to my neighborhood and use it as inspiration for their own!