Commercial Architecture June 2017 - 9

FEATURE

mixed use

Kenneth W. Betz, Senior Editor

ixed use is not a new idea. Retail, office,
and residential have long co-existed side
by side in cities and towns, but there is lit-

tle doubt projects are becoming more unique and more
comprehensively planned. Creating a community and
a destination is the new emphasis, and transportation,
whether in the form of parking for private vehicles, access
to public transportation, or usually both, is a priority.
"In the past, design for mixed-use projects was more
homogeneous, whether new or renovated. Today, these
projects want to have an identity of their own for each of
the different program elements. There's an expectation
that a project be different, unique, and have a distinct
character. Often a component-an existing wall, a contextual characteristic such as material or scale, or a unique
prior use that has a strong typology-becomes integrated
into the project as a way to define its identity," explained
Russ Holcomb, AIA, LEED AP, principal, Duda|Paine
Architects, Durham, NC.
Newer office projects, an important element of successful mixed use, according to Holcomb, also have more
of a hospitality feel that merges with the services and
amenities of the area.
"Work isn't just being at your desk anymore," he said,
"and people aren't just connecting with co-workers, but
with people they meet outside their office, in building
amenity spaces like cafeterias, conference centers, lounge
areas, outdoor terrace areas. A lobby used to be this beautifully designed interior space with a couple of chairs and
maybe a security desk. Now that's really changing because there's an expectation that there might be a coffee
shop immediately adjacent and open to the lobby, that a

Lincoln Common is the redevelopment, created by Epstein Chicago, of the former Children's Memorial Hospital site in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood into a mixed-use project of approximately 816,000 gross sq. ft. featuring 540 luxury rental residential units, 160,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and
57,000 sq. ft. of open area accessible to the public, all serviced by an 850-car garage. Photo courtesy Epstein.

significant amount of lounge-like seating be provided,
both public and private, where you can have a meeting
with a coworker, a client, or a potential client. Frankly, it's

comes from mixed-use areas in the city. "They may have

na State Univ., Raleigh]-the students wanted collabora-

a better use for what would normally be an empty lobby."

old downtowns, but these have fallen off a bit. The idea

tion areas. They didn't want a carrel in a library for

In some instances, mixed-use projects are more large

is to create vibrant, semi-urban core areas that make them

studying. A lot of schoolwork is now project based and

scale than in the past. "There's been a lot of interest in

interesting places to live, so you get a lot of excitement for

team based. And when they don't work with others, they

larger mixed-use projects," John Marx, AIA, principal,

better retail and restaurants, creating a liveliness you'd

want to be around others while doing their own work.

Form4 Architecture, San Francisco, observed. "We're

otherwise have to go to the city to find."

Talley speaks to the generation that's coming out of these

working on one project that's 4-million sq. ft. attached to

The dilemma is that the younger engineers don't want

learning environments into the workforce and the hous-

a BART station; it's 2-million sq. ft. of office, and then

to live in the suburbs, but the jobs are there, Marx contin-

ing market. They want the ability to work, whether it's

residential, but retail would activate the development in a

ued, and this has made the traffic issue the number one

with somebody or by themselves, and to meet in casual,

new urbanist way. It would activate the streets and create

problem in the Bay Area. "I think if you can make it in-

open, collaborative environments. And they want it all-

a little neighborhood."

teresting to live in some of the suburban areas, that'll take

work, home, play-to be convenient. It's just the way this

some of the pressure off of the transportation system and

generation functions," Holcomb said.

Geography may play a part in how mixed use is perceived and how extensive it might be, as well. In the San

take pressure off of San Francisco," he said.

James Young, senior project architect, Epstein, Chica-

Francisco Bay area, for example, many of the jobs are

Much of the change is driven by a new generation of

go, concurred that mixed use today is generation driven.

outside the city itself and in Silicon Valley, Marx noted,

workers and consumers. "We saw it when we were design-

"I think there is more emphasis in supporting a genera-

but those communities often lack the vibrancy that

ing the Talley Student Union at NC State [North Caroli-

tion of new young professionals that spend more money
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JUNE 2017

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