Pedestrian Amenities Along 7th Avenue

Pedestrian Amenities Along 7th Avenue is a new public/private urban infrastructure that is catalyzing a revitalization project for the 7th Avenue commercial corridor in Phoenix.  It is a collaboration among the City of Phoenix, the 7th Avenue Merchants Association, and Arizona State University’s School of Architecture. The following presentation depicts the demonstration site or phase one at Glenrosa Street.

Pedestrian Amenities Along 7th Avenue is the first public/private partnership to develop prototypes for both city public spaces and private development. The design of these prototypes is the result of a unique partnership among Arizona State University’s School of Architecture, the 7th Avenue Merchants Association, the Melrose Neighborhood, and the City of Phoenix: Departments of Streets and Transportation, Neighborhood Services, Public Art, Planning, Community and Economic Development and Development Services.  The project is the result of a three year research and design effort to develop an urban revitalization strategy that forms a new multi-use pedestrian network linking together the disparate fragments of the commercial strip with the surrounding neighborhoods, parks, retail, restaurants, and schools. The site for this project is the one-mile commercial corridor of 7th Avenue between Indian School Road and Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona.

The demonstration site establishes a strong connection between the commercial strip and the surrounding neighborhood by creating a programmed / landscaped gateway at the quarter mile cross streets. The project depicted demonstrates at Seventh Avenue and Glenrosa, a new “Amenity Infrastructure” that combines shade, lighting, ground surfaces, landscape, and signage to transform conventional pedestrian and automobile infrastructures (such as sidewalks, street lighting, and parking spaces) into such amenities as shaded parking, display areas, outdoor seating, and recreation areas. Unlike conventional street infrastructures focused only on life-safety, these new amenities are designed with the merchants and neighborhoods in mind. The prototypes have been installed by the city in public right-of-ways and are available for purchase by the merchants for their private properties, creating a seamless transition between the public and private realm. This public/private integration extends boundaries and encourages “ownership”, appropriation, and activation of public space. As a revitalization tactic Pedestrian Amenities Along 7th Avenue is a flexible “emergent” Amenity Infrastructure that develops with the city, establishing a whole while accommodating the specific conditions of each site.

The new design elements establish a kit of ideas; bands, vertical panels, canopies, and trees, each one performing more than one function.

Bands:

The bands are constructed of rusted concrete. Fine iron fillings were broadcast onto the wet concrete and allowed to rust. This process created a colored surface that will improve with age. The dimensions of the bands mediate between the scale of the automobile and the pedestrian. They visually connect block to block, across streets, and neighborhoods to the commercial corridor. They operate as thresholds at the quarter mile intersections into the new district and neighborhoods. Their construction system is simple and familiar for city implementation and repair, and they are durable and maintainable.

Vertical Panels:

The vertical panels are constructed of two 6” rusted poles with a 6’-0”x8’-0” aluminum and lexan illuminated panel suspended between them. The panels are designed for interchangeable graphic art screens that create an “urban gallery”. Every six months the art on the panels will change allowing new local artists, school art programs, or local cultural representations to be displayed. Thus the City of Phoenix Arts Department can act as curator for the Seventh Avenue commercial corridor “urban art gallery”. An additional vertical panel is also deployed as a vine screen to help soften the hard urban context.  Functionally, the vertical panels are grouped with the canopies and positioned to block the south and west sun. They form pedestrian cultural rooms of retreat from the harsh desert climate.

Canopies:

The major architectural element is the canopy or LampShade. The LampShade is constructed from a single 8” vertical rusted pole with a 9’-0”x18’-0” light box suspended above. The smallest urban unit, the parking space, determines the dimensions of the LampShade. They stand 12’-0” at their bottom and 14’-0” at their top. These vertical dimensions are based upon the 11’-0” height of a garbage truck, and establish a new datum for the chaotic commercial strip. During the day the LampShade provides shade for a multitude of activities and at night it illuminates the area for added safety and evening events. The vertical face of the Lampshade is designed for signage or graphics that establish identity. In the demonstration site they are adorned with an enlarged image of a branch of the Evergreen Elm trees that have been newly planted. Merchants can also purchase the LampShade to replace their typically less effective signage and benefit from the shaded parking or display that it affords. The LampShade is a single unit that can be multiplied in a number of configurations depending upon the conditions of each site. Bus stops, parking areas, display, and outdoors eating are among some of the programs they accommodate. Their design is low maintenance, and cost effective. The shade is cooler than with typical shading devices due to the insulated depth of the canopy. They can accommodate a photovoltaic cells on top and battery storage inside for off the grid service. They have been established as a standard Street Transportation detail. Imagine if every sign in the valley also provided shade!

Trees:

The final layer are the trees. Due to the widening of Seventh Avenue in the mid 1960s all landscape right-of-way was absorbed by the street. Thus only the cross street right-of-ways provide any area for landscape improvements. The trees work with the bands and create a tree-lined street as a gateway leading into the surrounding neighborhoods. Rusted tree grates with up lighting are deployed due to the narrow sidewalk areas.

The goal of establishing “Amenity Infrastructures” is the simultaneous qualitative contribution to the city, the merchants, and the neighborhood. These interventions are deployed by the city and maintained by the merchants. They cater to both work and leisure activities allowing both merchant appropriation (displaying wares) and neighborhood occupation (recreation and leisure activities). “Amenity Infrastructures” contribute to the site as both pedestrian destinations and connections.

In addition to the new Amenity Infrastructures, other tactics have been employed to help the merchants participate in the revitalization strategy. A color consultant was employed to establish a color pallet for the commercial buildings. These colors are available to merchants when they plan to repaint their buildings. The colors create difference while maintaining cohesion.  Graphic designers were also brought in to create a new letterform and the M7 logo for the newly named district, “Melrose on Seventh Avenue” (named after the surrounding Melrose Neighborhood). This identity in the form of letterhead, banners, business cards, and t-shirts has helped the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association to promote the area. All of the tactics developed in Pedestrian Amenities Along Seventh Avenue contribute to the development of a unique district within the larger metroplex. This public/private partnership produces a more holistic approach toward urban design. One that is not imported but emergent from the place.