terrain vague

terrain vague: baltimore's jones falls valley

beginning with ignasi de solo morales' terrain vague, students investigated the concept of and examples of marginal, residual and "unbuildable" urban sites -- sites that will increasingly become the focus of architectural practice. the questions we asked included "how do architects fully engage these sites?" and "how does apparently disjointed and marginal become amenity?"  students examined how baltimore's jones falls river valley with its layers of infrastructure might activate the neighborhood and reconnect the city fabric. they developed what they termed the "b-track" strategy urban park that integrated needed public amenities and programs. rather than decking over the site, students found ways to exploit the unique character with viable urban and architectural mediations. like other urban practice studios, students developed an overall urban strategy as a team and then, individually or smaller teams, fleshed out that strategy at the architectural scale.