Commercial Architecture June 2016 - (Page 6)

the architects DEPARTMENT Guidelines That Energize Mixed-Use Designs San Diego is a living example of the power of effective mixed-use designs in urban settings. Michael Johnson, AIA, Founder and Design Principal Carrier Johnson + CULTURE W orking nationally on downtown revitalizations, one sees several themes in suc- cessful urban projects that enrich the civic fabric, energize social interaction, and inject Left. San Diego's new 3.4-acre Ballpark Village includes an elevated park, bridges, and a major public plaza. Underground parking, wood-framed mid-rise buildings, and towers stimulate a diverse and lively instant community. Renderings: CarrierJohnson + CULTURE economic vitality. In our current work with 14 of the top-20 U.S. developers in national mixed-use residential markets, Carrier Johnson + CULTURE, San Diego, has gained perspective of scale on how cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and San Above. San Diego's high-rise 7th and Market is a vertical city program that includes a hotel, retail spaces, offices, and affordable and market-rate residences. Diego are renewing their central business districts. Even competing projects help create a powerful symbiosis, drawing millennials and young families to live in expanding downtown neighborhoods and making city living better Among those design lessons are: on a daily basis. by eliminating excavation into a high water table. * Create mini-neighborhoods. As seen in the new 3.4- * Find creative alliances. Cities are bastions of pluralism Many projects benefit from recent experiments in re- acre Ballpark Village by Carrier Johnson + CULTURE, and dynamism, and our best mixed-use ventures forge developing cities, such as downtown San Diego, where being developed by Greystar/JMI, diversity and multi- valuable coalitions for lasting, positive change. Exam- new ideas have emerged in financing, handling legacy level thinking create instant urban excitement. The ples include residential projects in partnership with issues, complex hybrid types, adding density, enlivening large site is trifurcated with a mews into three sections, healthcare providers, senior-housing operators, aca- streetscapes, as well as incorporating affordable housing with an elevated park, bridges, and a major public pla- demic institutions, and even sports venues. and other social aims. Some offer useful formulas for con- za. Underground parking, wood-framed mid-rise build- Whether in Virginia Beach or Los Angeles, Tempe, struction methods; mix of unit types, amenities, and pub- ings, and towers with retail and live-work units stimu- or Portland, these rules for mixed-use help make urban lic zones; use of business centers; and retail presentation. late a diverse and lively instant community. developments more than merely buildings. They create new business corridors, vibrant neighborhoods, and tour- pen overnight. It has roots in the mid-1980s to address * Push for true mixed-use. With the right mix of uses, new developments encourage the street activity and a cityscape pockmarked by surface parking lots and un- economic impact that budding neighborhoods need. story, but for innovation in urban mixed-use architecture, derutilized structures. Spurred by a few major works- For San Diego's high-rise 7th and Market, designed by it's a reliable and winning case study. CA notably Jon Jerde's Horton Plaza and Arthur Erickson's Carrier Johnson + CULTURE for Cisterra Develop- convention center-alongside a thriving, though shrink- ment, a vertical city program of at least 10 uses will ing, defense industry, relocating businesses, and young boost city life with recurring flows of people and traf- professionals and creative types, everyone sensed an in- fic, from a hotel and retail to offices and affordable and credible opportunity. market-rate residences. Michael C. Johnson, AIA is founding design principal at CarrierJohnson + CULTURE, San Diego, a global architecture, design, and strategic branding practice known for innovative building, living, and communications solutions (carrierjohnson.com). Yet, the rebirth of downtown San Diego didn't hap- High-tech leaders, such as Qualcomm and biotech * Use affordable hybrid construction. While known for firms, moved here, and old bones such as the Gaslamp diversity of architectural expression, San Diego's mix of Quarter started to perk up. An active public-private coa- underlying structural approaches demonstrates econo- lition drew up new redevelopment guidelines, and neigh- my, resiliency, and long-term sustainability. The 15th borhoods took turns in a rolling transformation. ist magnets. San Diego isn't the world's only Cinderella and Island project in the East Village by Pinnacle Inter- Interview With Michael Johnson Since about 2013, the East Village-the largest of the national, for example, boasts a 45-story tower of con- Learn more about multi-use design in urban city's five districts-has emerged as the next renaissance crete and steel with a mid-rise base wrapping the block's settings in our interview with Michael Johnson at story for San Diego. New developments here take advan- perimeter in wood-frame structure over a concrete po- commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/architects. tage of several lessons learned over the past two decades. dium. The result is a less-dense mid-rise that cuts costs 6 COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE JUNE 2016 commercialarchitecturemagazine.com http://www.carrierjohnson.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/architects http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2016

The Architects
Green Schools Score High Marks
Modular Skylights Brighten College Spaces
More Sauce, Less Electricity
Lighting Improves Hotel Aesthetics, Safety, Security
UV Improves HVAC
Energy Solutions Enhance Learning Environment
Tree Trunks Furnish Store Backbone
Roofing, Skylights Boost Medical Stats
Building Technology Products
Showcase
Index
Portfolio

Commercial Architecture June 2016