5th year fall, Professor Chad Manley
Project Narrative
The setting is Chattanooga, more closely a transect following a path from the north shore of the Tennessee River to the south by way of the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge.
Using the 2001 film Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, I will be focusing on the connection between land and water and more importantly how people can move effectively not only across the river but also to the river. The film follows Chihiro’s path with her parents through a tunnel to this seemingly deserted world, she leaves them to eat and explores on her own crossing a bridge along the way. As the sun sets, the world transforms into a lively and energetic scene, populated by the spirit world. The film follows her movement through this world from the restaurant, through a bathhouse, across and through a river, to a house in the woods, and back to the tunnel where it all began. The beautifully rendered and colorful film contributes to this newly proposed way to experience a piece of Chattanooga.
I selected moments from the film, expressing the ideas that could be best applied to the transect in Chattanooga. The journey begins at the River Street market, moving through Coolidge Park, then directly to the Walnut St. bridge. From there the journey continues to Maclellan Island and finally to Riverfront Parkway.
site photos
physical model photos
Fragment one starts in an underutilized alley and lot, which features one of the portals into Coolidge Park and is situated in the River Street market district. Implementing a community-focused casual dining and meeting hub will be Frazier Food Alley, which will only enhance the ability of the market street district to move through time. It will work as a programmed transition between Frazier Avenue and Coolidge Park. This moment within the city will focus on people and how they can move safely from one place to another. Adding more strongly connected pedestrian infrastructure to ease the connection into Coolidge Park.
site photos
physical model photos
Fragment two is situated at the intersection of Coolidge Park, the Walnut St. bridge, and the Tennessee River. Forming a vertical connection from the river up to the pedestrian bridge will be The Bathhouse at Walnut St. Bridge, housing multiple programs such as a bathhouse, community center, and recreation space, as well as dining experiences. Drawing from the properties of water to cast reflections, the structure will be a reflected version of one of the structural bays of the bridge, while forming a tower that connects the park with the bridge above.
site photos
physical model photos
Fragment three takes place in the area between the bridge and Maclellan Island. Transporting people cyclically from the bridge to the island by way of water. An imaginative and childlike way of transcending space will be featured between the bridge and the surface of the Tennessee River. From there, will be a retractable water path that appears to be just resting on top of the water, making it possible to get to the island. Being easily able to explore the urban wilderness on the island will prompt a sense of exploration and discovery, much like that of Chihiro when she traveled to the house in the woods.
site photos
physical model photos
Fragment four is at the end of the derive, bringing people back into the city after traveling to a land, not so far away. This moment at the edge of the bridge will merge a lively entertainment space with that of a serene elevated park. A lift will connect the bridge to the parkway below it and down to the shore of the river. Letting light and life into the land under the parkway will allow for a more inviting and populated space. There will be several walking paths and open-air sections of the road deck, as well as a much narrower cobbled path for vehicular travel. Working with the structure that already exists, there will be two platforms or stages. These will be attached to the limestone support pier and will create two different event spaces, one level with the parkway, and one below.
Using several conventions from previous exercises in the semester, I created four physical fragment models. Each features a slightly different use of brightly painted surfaces.
The passage of time within the project appears in the transformations of space from day to night. Taking a look at how a space can change, according to the presence or absence of sunlight. In the film the desolate world becomes full of life after dark, taking this theme into account, I look at how spaces change from day to night. How can they be transformed? What are the different feelings evoked by the change? How do their usages evolve? This is mainly seen through the photography of the physical models and the digital editing to capture these moments in time.
The collection of the sites along the derive can be observed in different ways depending on the time, but they are consistently working together to move people through space. Therefore forging meetings in and across time. They are moving within each other and themselves as time and people pass. The urban design elements have the potential to activate space, slow people down, and change the rhythm within the city.