MATTHEW ALBERT WILDERPacking Boxes: Suburban Infill of Recent Sprawl(Under the Direction of LEONARDO ALVAREZ)

Current trends in suburban development have led to an overabundance of empty

and abandoned “big-box” retail buildings and similar structures. Opponents of suburban

sprawl have become evermore vocal about the aesthetic and social problems associated

with sprawl, especially sprawl of the past thirty years. Past and present theories of

suburban development compete to solve the problem of sprawl, yet few have taken an

honest look at the current state of the suburban landscape. This thesis examines the

theories of Robert Venturi, Rem Koolhaas, the New Urbanists, and others in order to

develop an honest understanding of the suburban landscape. By combining the ideas of

the many theorists and incorporating strategies of infill and reuse an example of suburban

infill is presented through the design component of this thesis. An infill and reuse

program is presented for a former Ford automobile dealership in suburban Athens,

Georgia.

INDEX WORDS: Suburb, Suburban infill, Adaptive reuse, Sprawl, Big-box,

Landscape architecture, Temporary architecture, Athens Georgia,

Learning from Las Vegas, Greyfield, Grey belt

PACKING BOXES: SUBURBAN INFILL OF RECENT SPRAWL

by

MATTHEW ALBERT WILDER

B.S. Miami University, 1997

A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

ATHENS, GEORGIA

2001

© 2001

Matthew Albert Wilder

All Rights Reserved

PACKING BOXES: SUBURBAN INFILL OF RECENT SPRAWL

by

MATTHEW ALBERT WILDER

Approved:

Major Professor: Leonardo Alvarez

Committee: Hank MethvinDr. Paul SutterLucy Rowland

Electronic Version Approved:

Gordhan L. PatelDean of the Graduate SchoolThe University of GeorgiaMay 2001

iv

To Lisa,for all of her love and support.

v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the members of my reading committee, Lucy Rowland, Dr.

Paul Sutter, and the chair of my reading committee Hank Methvin, for their individual

perspectives, valuable insight, and critique of this text. I must also thank my major

professor Leo Alvarez for all of his hard work throughout this endeavor.

I would also like to thank my friends and family for supporting me through all of

my years of school. Their love and support helped me to make all of this possible. I

cannot forget my wonderful fiancée, Lisa. She was always there to support me through

the longest and toughest of days, and for that I must thank her.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................v

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1

2 RECONFIGURATION OF THE LANDSCAPE: THE LANDSCAPE OF

SPRAWL...................................................................................................................6

Issues of Development and Redevelopment....................................................11

Disposable Landscape.......................................................................................12

3 SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT THEORY.........................................................17

Post-war Suburban Fascination ........................................................................17

An Early Deciphering of the Suburban Strip...................................................19

Learning from Las Vegas..................................................................................21

Spatial Relationships .........................................................................................22

Symbol, Iconography, and Communication ....................................................24

System and Order of the Suburban Strip .........................................................27

Change and Permanence Along the Strip.........................................................28

Architecture of the Strip: Monumentality Versus Big Low Spaces...............29

Las Vegas and the Strip: Thirty Years Later....................................................30

Rem Koolhaas....................................................................................................34

The New Urbanism: Against a Landscape of Sprawl .....................................37

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4 INFILL AND REUSE ............................................................................................40

Infill ....................................................................................................................40

Adaptive Reuse..................................................................................................43

Advantages of Reuse .........................................................................................46

Case Studies .......................................................................................................47

Blue Hen Corporate Center...............................................................................48

River Village at Liberty Park............................................................................49

Togawa and Smith Architects...........................................................................52

Smith and Hawken Outlet .................................................................................52

Chelsea Piers, New York ..................................................................................54

5 SITE ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................58

6 THE DESIGN APPLICATION.............................................................................68

Conclusion .........................................................................................................82

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................83

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Although the name of a city may remain forever constant, its physical structure constantly evolves,

being deformed or forgotten, adapted to other purposes or eradicated by different needs. The demands and

pressures of social reality constantly affect the material order of the city yet it remains the theater of our

memory. Christine M. Boyer The City of Collective Memory (1994)

This thesis aims to decipher an understanding of the landscape of sprawl and to

present a viable design solution for a suburban infill site. I will present current

information to shed light on the state of sprawl across the United States, from the

landscape architect’s perspective. Utilizing the works and writings of prominent figures

such as John Brickerhoff Jackson, Rem Koolhaas, and Robert Venturi, I will present an

understanding of the complex order of suburban sprawl and an argument for the need to

utilize suburban infill as a means to retrofit this particular landscape. More specifically, I

will present a suburban infill design for the recently vacated University Ford automobile

dealership site along the Atlanta Highway at Epps-Bridge Road, on the west side of

Athens.

During the last fifty years of the twentieth century, the American city has

sprawled upon the landscape at an unprecedented rate. Formerly recognizable boundary

lines have been blurred as major cities have spilled out into the countryside, while in

some cases cities have literally grown together, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, or

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. These days, as we begin the twenty-first century,

2

sprawl is at the top of the list of buzzwords that describe the state of growth and

development that predominates across the American landscape.

In the August 2000 issue of Architectural Record, Suzannah Lessard stated that,

“Sprawl has turned the world inside out.” Her feeling is that the blurring of boundaries

between city and country has left us with no way to make sense of the landscape at hand.

Yet, we try to make sense of it, to civilize sprawl in order to reverse the situation that has

so quickly befallen America. The American public is beginning to mount a hefty attack

against the sprawling of America.

In the presence of their peers Americans are typically harsh critics of sprawl, but

if we pay close attention we come to realize that the critics quickly contradict themselves.

In a Time/CNN poll Americans favored the establishment of greenbelt areas around their

communities by a two to one majority. However, the same people, by a three to one

majority also believed that the right to control the destiny of their own land was much

more important than government regulation of the land for the common good (Krieger

54). As Krieger writes, “Americans seem to be saying: Do not limit my ability to benefit

from-or even enjoy-the sprawl of my own making, but do protect me from future sprawl”

(54).

There is no doubt in the minds of many environmentalists and social scientists

that there are detrimental impacts upon the environment and society as a direct result of

sprawl. However, the juggernaut of suburban sprawl has been the established growth

trend for the past fifty years and does not appear to be slowing anytime soon. The New

Urbanists have begun a great effort to corral sprawl − to show developers that there are

viable alternatives, but often the end result is simply stylized sprawl. Suzannah Lessard

3

has made a bold statement in reference to the widespread desire to civilize suburban

sprawl. She writes, “learning to see the landscape of sprawl in a way that is free of old

preconceptions [is necessary] to address the radical reconfiguration of [the] landscape by

sprawl”(55). She goes on to say that the profession of landscape architecture is “perhaps

better equipped to come to grips with these compositional issues…than architecture, or

even planning.” (55-56). Her reason for saying this stems from her view that landscape

architects are both environmentalists and designers who relate equally to the built and

natural worlds. She writes, “They [landscape architects] have both the practical

experience and the spiritual sensitivity to look over a region and select the natural

configuration of open space around which the built world could arrange itself” (56). The

physical structure and material order of cities is changing, and not according to any

established architectural or planning theory. Complex changes are occurring in the

landscape of sprawl and in order for positive transformations to take place we must learn

to see and understand the landscape of sprawl in its own right.

In J.B. Jackson’s ongoing search for the quintessential definition of “landscape”

he suggested that we should be concerned with the nature of the American landscape.

The nature of the American landscape, as we currently understand it, is that of the

suburban landscape of sprawl. Robert Venturi's Learning from Las Vegas, first published

in 1972, is an essential manuscript for the student of architecture, landscape architecture,

and planning to read in order to honestly see and begin to understand the nature of

sprawl. The study was not about Las Vegas, Nevada, the city; rather, it was about the

Las Vegas strip of 1968. The Las Vegas Strip of 1968 was the archetype from which to

derive lessons for the typical American highway strip (Venturi, et al 18). Venturi, Scott

4

Brown, and Izenour, the studio originators, recognized that in the decades since the end

of World War II, growth and development strategies and practices had evolved into a

complex and difficult to understand metropolitan form. As Venturi suggests in Learning

from Las Vegas, “…the complex order of the strip… is a manifestation of an opposite

direction in architectural theory…the order in this landscape is not obvious” (52). What

the studio participants set out to do was to argue that the gaudy vernacular and complex

order of the highway strip in fact had architectural value. At the time of publication, and

for many years afterward, the Learning from Las Vegas thesis was widely rejected. Not

until recently has the body of this work been validated by much of the architecture

profession. J.B. Jackson and Robert Venturi’s writings offer an honest assessment of the

suburban landscape that is key to the future development of the suburban highway strip.

The radical reconfiguration of the American landscape, outside of the traditional

urban center, is a result of sprawl and the suburban sprawl as we know it is changing

before our eyes. Growth is occurring so rapidly and marketing techniques change with

such frequency that the suburban landscape has an air of disposability about it. Big-box

retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target are making a nationwide push to build new

supercenters to replace older stores that can no longer compete in the eye (or bottom line)

of the company. The suburban landscape is left blighted as a result of the leapfrog effect;

the result is that vast seas of asphalt are left unused and buildings empty when the retailer

relocates only a couple of miles away, or even just across the street. Empty buildings that

cannot be filled with replacement retailers can eventually lead to the death of portions of

the suburban strip.

5

Urban infill has been a popular topic for many years, especially in the field of

historic preservation. However, not until recently have we discovered the need for

suburban infill, to say nothing of strategies to retrofit the suburban landscape. During the

summer of 2000, a charrette sponsored by the Urban Land Institute resulted in a list of

ten principles for reinventing America’s commercial suburban strips; however these

proposed principles struggle to adhere to an urban architectural theory that is not

applicable to the suburban landscape.

We can look at virtually any suburban site in America and examine the complex

order so that we may see the landscape of sprawl and begin to address it in an appropriate

way. Athens, Georgia is a good place to begin. It is a city known for its small-town

atmosphere, but it is quickly becoming a victim of sprawl. In a February 2001 report

released by USA Today, Athens was highly ranked among the nation’s cities for worst

sprawl. According to the report, Athens is the worst of seven cities studied in Georgia,

including Atlanta, and sixteenth worst nationwide (Gallentine 1A).

In the following chapters, I will present a brief summary of the development of

sprawl, largely over the past thirty years. I will also present urban and suburban

architectural theory from some of the leading minds of the profession of architecture,

landscape architecture, and related fields. I will explain, in further detail, infill and

adaptive reuse before assimilating this information to present an argument for suburban

infill. In order to better demonstrate my conclusions I will produce a design solution

through a series of images and drawings to represent one specific possibility.

6

CHAPTER 2

RECONFIGURATION OF THE LANDSCAPE:

THE LANDSCAPE OF SPRAWL

Unless fresh ideas are introduced the continued growth of loose suburban areas will undermine

our historic cities and deface the natural landscape, creating a large mass of undifferentiated, low grade

urban tissue, which in order to perform even the minimal functions of a city will impose a maximum

amount of private locomotion, and incidentally, push the countryside even farther away from the sprawling

suburban areas. Lewis Mumford The Urban Prospect (1956)

Lewis Mumford was quite accurate in his prediction of increased "private

locomotion" leading to the domination of the suburban landscape by the automobile. The

spread of the American public further beyond the traditional boundaries of the city and

the continual erasure of any distinction between city and country has led to one of the

most hotly debated topics of the past twenty years: suburban sprawl. In fact, sprawl had

already become an issue with the regional planners of the early twentieth century, such as

Mumford.

From the urban contingent, Jane Jacobs spoke openly and critically in her book,

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, about American cities and the needs that

must be met in order for them to be reaffirmed as centers of human life. Her critique is

largely of the urban center; however, she does speak to the woes of suburbanization. In

fact, she said, “The semi-suburbanized and the suburbanized messes we create…become

despised by their own inhabitants tomorrow” (445). A truer statement could not be made

today. Suburban populations across the United States are raising their voices against the

7

proliferation of suburban sprawl, proven by the nearly 200 ballot measures designed to

limit growth or preserve open space, which were passed nationwide in the 2000 general

election (Easterbrook).

Published in 1961, Jacobs’ book was quite a statement about American cities as a

whole. The post-war boom of sprawl had already begun and she recognized the

processes associated with it that were leading to the exponential death of cities. Speaking

to the historic fact that many people moved out of the cities in order to distance

themselves from the filth and crime, and to be closer to the country, Jacobs pointed out

that, “indeed an immense amount of today’s city gray belts was yesterday’s dispersion

closer to nature” (445). Though Jane Jacobs was primarily concerned with the urban

core she is important to include for her insights on the future of suburban America. She

was the first to clearly recognize the grey belts and patterns of suburban development

leading to their formation.

These gray belts that Jacobs refers to are the dying areas of suburbia left behind as

prosperity and affluence continue to push cities horizontally across the American

countryside. Of the horizontal push she says, “Nor, however destructive, is this

something which happens accidentally or without will. This is exactly what we as a

society, have willed to happen” (Jacobs 446). Forty years ago, Jacobs could read the

American landscape and understand the processes of dramatic change as they were

happening. She was even able to predict that, “thirty years from now, we shall have

accumulated new problems of blight and decay over acreages so immense that in

comparison the present problems of the great cities’ gray belts will look piddling” (446).

Now ten years beyond her prediction, the American landscape of sprawl is still going

8

strong, pushing further into the countryside, continually blurring an already

indistinguishable boundary that might delineate city from country.

In the decade of the 1950s, the United States population became predominately

suburban, and by 1980 sixty-five percent of all Americans lived in the suburbs (Rowe 4).

Not only has the majority of the United States population come to reside in the suburbs,

but many of the same people now also work in the suburbs. Suburban metropolitan

development has led to the decentralization of many American cities and to the creation

of what Peter Rowe calls the "middle landscape." Suburbia is in fact a landscape that has

become the middle between the country and the city, the purgatory between what some

consider heaven and some consider hell.

The development of the suburbs is in fact quite simple. As transportation and

communication lines have become more advanced and more prevalent in the United

States, the ease with which the population can move and remain in contact has increased

dramatically. The sprawl of the suburbs is not a phenomenon that has only occurred

since the end of World War II. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, with the

advent of railroads and streetcars, people have been progressing further away from the

city center. This can be seen in any major city, as well as in a smaller city such as

Athens, Georgia. In Athens, for example, a survey of the historic districts that surround

the downtown give one a good cross-section of pre-World War II suburban development.

Neighborhoods of craftsman style or colonial revival homes circumscribe downtown

Athens. Even closer to downtown are suburban neighborhoods comprised of homes built

prior to 1900. Many of these neighborhoods still remain in varying degrees of stability.

The stigma that is attached to sprawl, by prominent figures and the media, since 1950 is

9

the perceived quickness with which it has occurred and the new characteristics associated

with it. The most derided characteristic of suburbia, one that has its roots planted deeply

in the 1950s and early 1960s, is that of the suburban commercial strip. The strip is and

has been dominated by strip malls, restaurants, automobile dealerships, gas stations,

supermarkets, discount superstores, and many other services that have left the cities for

any multitude of reasons.

As Timothy Davis writes, "As the twentieth century draws to a close, it is time to

re-examine one of America's most maligned and misunderstood landscapes: the

automobile-oriented strip" (93). In order to correct the landscape of sprawl, the core of

its existence must be understood. The "nebulous zone of drab buildings and half empty

parking lots," that Timothy Davis describes as being bypassed by suburbanites, is the

heart of suburban sprawl (93). Many of the popular retail establishments have

continually moved further away from the urban core. As they have moved further out

they have left a "hand-me-down landscape" in what Peter Rowe calls the middle

landscape. Suburban strip structures are occupied by successively less "popular"

businesses until no one is left and the businesses stand empty.

The strip as we know it came into existence in the early 1950s. Since the end of

World War II open-air strip malls and enclosed malls have dominated the suburban

landscape, and they are still popping up all over the country. The impact of the mall, as a

whole, has been felt on almost every aspect of contemporary life (Clausen 144). In the

boom period after World War II and continuing on through the 1960’s the automobile

was king in the eyes and hearts of most U.S. citizens. The suburbs grew rapidly and

Americans openly embraced the suburban strip. After World War II, the sudden rise of

10

large suburban residential subdivisions spurred the development of these strip retail and

service centers to tremendous proportions (Clausen 147). Peter Rowe contends that, "In

the American suburban landscape, the automobile-oriented shopping center is a prolific

companion to the single family home" (109).

Post World War II life in America was prosperous and the demand for consumer

goods was higher than ever before. All of this prosperity led to the period between 1950

and 1965 as being the “big bang” in the development of the modern day strip in the

United States (Clausen 147). Since the strip has been dominated by the development of

the strip mall, it is worthwhile to look at some figures to develop a better understanding

of the massive boom in growth throughout America's suburbs in the past fifty years.

By 1964 there were more than 7,600 shopping centers across the United States,

most of which were strip malls serving vast new housing developments (ICSC). By 1972

that number had nearly doubled to over 13,000 shopping malls. The boom continued

through the decade of the 1980s with the construction of more than 16,000 new malls for

a total of more than 29,000 (ICSC). Currently there are more than 43,600 shopping

centers in the United States, only 1800 of which are enclosed malls (ICSC). The trend in

retail development has been to sprawl outward from the city, along the highways, leaving

behind outdated and outmoded structures for new, bigger, and more innovative buildings.

The presentation of success and vitality, aesthetically and technologically, is an important

selling point for retailers of pop culture. Underlying economic forces are also at work on

the suburban strip. When the economic base shifts to a new location there is little that

businesses along the strip can do to resist. However, retailers are not the only entities

affected by the desires to move to newer, bigger, and better locations. Suburban light

11

industry, commercial offices, and other retail establishments such as automobile

dealerships will move on, leaving empty sites in their wake which will eventually become

new pieces of the gray belt. This continual process of location upgrading has left an

oversupply of retail spaces in cities across the country.

Peter Rowe contends that, "the most disconcerting physical characteristic of the

middle landscape is the desolate and inhospitable space left between many buildings and

building complexes" (249). Rowe is speaking to the complex and rapid development of

the landscape of sprawl when he denounces the leftover and neglected pieces of land

between suburban strip buildings. As the sprawl continues to move further away from

the city center, sites are left abandoned and these "desolate and inhospitable spaces"

between buildings begin to be combined. The gray belt that Jane Jacobs recognized

grows larger as more and more derelict sites appear in the landscape in closer proximity

to one another. The disjointed ugliness that holds the suburban fabric together is one of

the predominant eyesores that gives the suburban strip a bad reputation. As Lewis

Mumford suggested long ago, maybe these spaces could in part be used for a higher

purpose.

Issues of Development and Redevelopment

Peter Rowe writes, “Depending on which prism is used, the resulting view of

suburban metropolitan development can vary widely. Moreover like many other

evolving and unresolved subjects it very much depends on who is doing the looking”

(35). Many people and groups have been looking through individual prisms at the

landscape of sprawl in recent years. Most of them have the same goal; they wish to stop

sprawl, and what they consider to be its cancerous effects, dead in its tracks. Jane Jacobs

12

was recently quoted as saying, "Here comes a generation or two that just can't stand what

the previous generations did, and for whatever reason they want to expunge it. And they

are absolutely ruthless with the remnants of it" (Kunstler). Environmentalists, architects,

landscape architects, planners, social scientists, economists, politicians, and even the self-

serving suburbanites are all raising their voices and concerns against what they are

calling the monster of sprawl. Many different ideas for putting a stop to it have been and

are being presented and debated in the hope of finding a way to curb suburban sprawl.

One seemingly obvious potential seems to be often over looked as pointed out by Jane

Jacobs, in a September 2000 interview, with James Kunstler. She said, "But [what]

nobody is even thinking about now is the suburban infill" (Kunstler).

Disposable Landscape

The gray areas that Jacobs described are areas of economic death and aesthetic

blight both in and around our great American cities. They are a direct result of the

continuation of suburban sprawl. As technologies improve, market demands change, and

the population increases, the suburbs move further away from the center of the city.

Being left behind are often abandoned and derelict sites that were once thriving centers of

retail and commercial activity (Figure 2-1). These days it is very common for retailers

and commercial enterprises to move just a couple of miles away or even just across the

street, leaving behind large empty buildings, parking lots, and thousands of square feet of

unused space. As development practices stand now, new development and/or

redevelopment rarely occurs on these dead and dying suburban sites. Often these sites

remain empty because the economic base is gone, or simply because the specific built

structure of the site does not readily lend itself to reuse. Sometimes new retailers move

13

in to fill the large voids, or the space is subdivided with the hope that a number of smaller

businesses can fill it. Or, as is more often becoming the case, the buildings and parking

lots stand empty and fall victim to a state of neglect and disrepair.

Fig. 2-1. Abandoned Kmart, Schwarzer, Mitchell. “The Spectacle of Ordinary

Building,” Harvard Design Magazine. N.12, Fall 2000: 13.

Infill and adaptive use projects in historic districts of many cities have become

quite popular means of reviving city centers near death; however, the treatment of the

suburban landscape has been quite the opposite. The suburbs have been so greatly

divided into distinct uses by numerous regulations that it is quite difficult for

"innovative" development practices to take place. In an interview with James Howard

Kunstler, Jane Jacobs speaks to that fact:

When enough of the old regulations can be gotten out of the way–which is

what is holding things up, there is going to be some great period of

infilling. And a lot of that will be makeshift and messy, and it won't

14

measure up to New Urbanist ideas of design-but it will measure up to a lot

of their philosophy. And in fact if there isn't a lot of this popular and

makeshift infilling the suburbs will never get corrected. (Kunstler)

Beyond old regulations, the suburban landscape also struggles with an unspoken

stigma of disposability. Peter Rowe states that, "Many buildings have a temporary

quality, suggesting that they might be here today and gone tomorrow" (249).

Construction of buildings, especially among suburban strips, has come to be highly

driven by economic forces different from those of decades past. We are fully into the era

of the big box retailer and it seems the boxes just keep getting bigger. Buildings go up

quickly and cheaply so when it comes time to upgrade or move on, the current structure

has profited the company well. Even most historic preservationists have no desire to

retain properties such as those occupied by Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and automobile

dealers, as they see no architectural value in them–not to mention buildings such as these

do not stay in their original constructed form for very long. It is not a conscious thought

process by most Americans, but the underlying truth is that structures in the suburban

landscape are treated as disposable. The corporations, which construct these buildings,

have little regard for their future use. In fact, Wal-Mart has been known to hold the lease

on a vacated site as a tactic to keep competition from moving in. Most of the American

public that patronizes these big box retailers do so without thought or concern for the

structure in which they shop. Typically, if thoughts do occur, they are of the need or

desire for a new store or building. This temporary use and disposal of the "big-boxes" is

a major contributing factor in the rapid outward sprawl of the suburbs. Arguments

abound that even if we were to continue developing and building at the current rate (some

15

400,000 plus acres per year according to the Sierra Club) that it would take 50 years of

sprawl to consume a single percent more of America’s expanse (Easterbrook). Figures

like these can easily be misleading when no supporting evidence is presented. The truth

is, the expanse of open land in the United States is tremendous, but the figures not being

presented are how much of that land is truly developable.

Why should we make an effort to reincorporate derelict suburban sites into the

suburban fabric? We should make an effort because the suburban landscape is one that is

not disappearing any time soon. We now must deal with the consequences of previous

generations of development in a reasonable manner. The concern that we are using up

land too quickly can also begin to be addressed if we reuse suburban sites. There is a

movement beginning to gain momentum with regard to current suburban development

practices. It is starting to swing in a new direction, signifying the end of the first major

wave of suburbanization and the beginning of a new form of suburbia. As the

momentum increases, the American public becomes more acutely aware of the

consequences of suburbanization, especially of the past thirty years. Cheap, temporary

suburban buildings are not as disposable as some might think. Many of these structures

will remain into the future, long after their original occupants have moved on. It is time

for a second wave of development to wash over the suburbs leaving behind a new

approach to suburban development, an approach of smart growth that searches for

strategies to link the suburban fabric together physically or fundamentally. Alex Krieger

has said that, "reinvestment is the hardest concept to popularize or achieve. Without it

we have not yet reached a culture of smart growth" (57). Reinvestment is an important

first step yet it is often difficult to achieve, primarily because it is cheaper and less risky

16

to build in greenfield sites. The reasoning is that places that have failed once may fail

again. Economic risk is probably the biggest deterrent to developers

There is a real social, economic, and environmental need to reincorporate these

gray belt sites that ring our cities and blight our suburbs back into the suburban fabric as

viable suburban destinations. Cities have gradually increased in density around a tight

urban core, while the suburbs have not. The suburbs are the epitome of waste, especially

of wasted space. However, rethinking the already made landscape can lessen the waste

and ultimately lead to a better life, socially, economically, and environmentally. The

landscape of sprawl is one that may never be completely stopped, but it may be slowed

dramatically and corrected, as Ms. Jacobs suggests, if a concerted effort is made to

reincorporate dead spaces along the suburban strip once again into the suburban fabric.

17

CHAPTER 3

SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Post-war Suburban Fascination

During the last third of the twentieth century, different scholars, architects,

planners, and the like have studied the landscape of sprawl, many with an interest in

stopping suburban sprawl. However, a number of these minds have been interested in

actually finding a better understanding of this landscape. They understand that sprawl

has nearly crippled American cities such as Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles,

California, but they also understand that sprawl has occurred for many specific reasons

and not merely by accident. One must learn to honestly see the landscape of sprawl in its

own right, and attempt to understand the seemingly complex order in which it has taken

place. Simplistic and superficial denouncements of sprawl will not help to bring about

positive change if we do not honestly understand the suburban landscape. We must get

beyond the aesthetic problems and realize the forces at work that have given shape to the

suburban highways.

Honestly seeing the suburban landscape is not a new idea. Nearly half a century

ago J. B. Jackson had an essay published in the journal Landscape. The essay was

entitled “Other-Directed Houses,” and in it Jackson spoke of the landscape of sprawl. In

the mid 1950s, many Americans were already recognizing an “untidiness and ugliness” in

much of the landscape. Bernard DeVoto labeled the suburban strip “longitudinal slums”

(Jackson 55). Americans were becoming more numerous and more mobile; therefore,

18

previously unspoiled stretches of highways leading into and out of cities were being

invaded by new roadside developments. Even in 1956 Jackson suggested that the

development along the highways was overwhelming, yet, "it would be hard (though not

impossible) to exaggerate the extent of this blight" (Jackson 56). This, at the time, newly

evolving feature of the American landscape was already coming under fire from critics,

yet the American public was showing a great fascination with it. In response to both the

critics and the admirers J. B. Jackson stated:

A liking for this feature of the human landscape of America should not

blind anyone to its frequent depravity and confusion and dirt. Its

potentialities for trouble–aesthetic, social, economic–are as great as its

potentialities for good, and indeed it is this ambidexterity which gives the

highway and its margins so much significance and fascination. (58)

Jackson was essentially arguing that the suburban landscape, though often seen as a place

of jumble, neglect, and disarray, is a place that has as much potential to be profitable and

enjoyable as any other part of the American landscape. It’s just a matter of perception.

Few people today would readily support Jaskson’s argument, even though it

remains valid to this day. It seems that there are many more critics of sprawl and the

highway strip than ever before. Very few people support the potentialities of good in the

suburban landscape; rather, the suburbs have become demonized for environmental,

social, aesthetic, and economic problems that are perceived by its critics, most notably

James Kunstler and Andres Duany. Kunstler’s books, Home from Nowhere and

Geography of Nowhere, and his website are filled with condemnation and criticisms of

what he calls, “the fiasco of suburbanism.” Jackson took an honest look at the suburban

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landscape and noted that there was potential in it, both good and bad. He saw that the

American public had a desire to frequent places such as these and that there was a certain

amount of enjoyment that could be gained from the strip. He suggested that the

landscape of sprawl maintained a "fleeting beauty" and an "occasional usefulness." As a

counter to the critics of the new highway development, Jackson asked, "would it not be

better–fairer, that is to say and more intelligent–to see if the potentialities of these

roadside slums cannot somehow be realized for the greater profit and pleasure of all"

(58). Quite significant in Jackson's essay, with relation to Learning from Las Vegas, is

the fact that Jackson said that we had not yet tried to understand the landscape of sprawl.

He asked, "How are we to tame this force [suburban sprawl] unless we understand it and

even develop a kind of love for it?" (58).

An Early Deciphering of the Suburban Strip

In truth, Jackson's essay, “Other-Directed Houses,” is a compact precursor of the

Venturi work, Learning from Las Vegas. Jackson pointed out the fact that the American

public had already begun to spend more of its time along the highways connecting our

cities, recognizing the significance of the sprawling highway developments. Already

groups had begun condemning the highway developments and "devising legal and moral

means of destroying them" (Jackson 58). Jackson countered this desire to condemn the

highway strips by noting:

Thus any highway reform program which has at the back of its mind the

old-fashioned notion that our roads are really nothing but means for fast

and efficient long distance transportation, to the neglect of the leisurely

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pleasure seeker and the establishments which exist to serve him, will run

head on into a flourishing American institution. (60)

The suburban strip is an American institution indeed, and it is still going strong nearly

fifty years after Jackson's “Other-Directed Houses.”

Not only did J. B. Jackson see the suburban landscape differently than most, as a

place of interest and potential, but he also recognized the architecture of the strip as being

its own – an “other-directed architecture.” This other-directed architecture of the strip is

one of “conspicuous facades, exotic decoration and landscaping, a lavish use of lights and

colors and signs, and an indiscriminate borrowing and imitating to produce certain

pleasing effects” (Jackson 68). The strip is based on the customer and the architecture is

designed to communicate and attract. He says, “the only possible criterion of its success

is whether or not it is liked” (62). Even in 1956 critics were bemoaning the “vernacular”

and gaudy architecture of the suburban strip. Popular taste and the basic need for

communication was muddling the strip according to the “high-minded groups.” Jackson

said what others still repeat: “We have become too fastidious, too conformist, in

architectural matters. The austere ambitions of the contemporary architect to create a

self-justifying work of art have no place in this other part of town” (62). This “other part

of town” remains to this day as the suburban strip and the debate continues as to how it

will be “corrected.”

Jackson's essay has unintentionally stood the test of time. Published in 1956 it

was a charge to the design and planning professions to come to grips with the

complexities of the suburban strip and the landscape of commercial sprawl, yet decades

later few people have taken action. Sixteen years later Learning from Las Vegas was

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published with a very similar yet more provocative message: that the landscape of sprawl

deserved to be understood and appreciated. Learning from Las Vegas argued that the

most derided American landscape was actually the most important and vigorous part of

American cities.

Learning from Las Vegas

Learning from Las Vegas, first published in 1972, is an in-depth analysis of the

Las Vegas, Nevada strip and a discussion of symbolism in architecture and the

iconography of urban sprawl. Best of all, it is an honest description and understanding of

the suburban strip. It evolved from a studio project in which participants spent ten days

in Las Vegas, collecting information along the strip, and the remaining ten weeks of the

course analyzing the information and presenting the results. Venturi begins by saying:

Learning from the existing landscape is a way of being revolutionary for

an architect. Not the obvious way, which is to tear down Paris and begin

again, as LeCorbusier suggested in the 1920s, but another, more tolerant

way; that is, to question how we look at things. (3)

Venturi's main argument is that modern architecture has not allowed for a non-

judgmental examination of the environment in which we live. He says, "modern

architecture is dissatisfied with existing conditions" and that "architects have preferred to

change the existing environment rather than enhance what is there" (3). Written nearly

thirty years and an architectural era ago, this statement still stands tall today. As we

listen to and read about the supposed agonizing troubles presented by sprawl today, we

find the dominant discussion revolving around the desire to completely eliminate sprawl.

Nearly everyone is dissatisfied with the existing conditions produced by the suburban

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landscape and the desire to expunge the work of previous generations reverberates

throughout architectural, planning, and design circles across the United States.

Venturi, Scott Brown, and Izenour chose the Las Vegas strip as the focus of their

analysis not because of the values or morality presented in the architecture of the strip,

but because the Las Vegas strip of 1968 was the archetype of the modern landscape of

sprawl; it was a "phenomenon of architectural communication" (6). It was a technical

studio in which "new analytical tools for understanding new space and form" were

developed (73). There was a trend developing along the highways leading out of

American cities in the form of strip development and the Las Vegas strip represented the

epitome of what was to come. The studio originators had the foresight to recognize the

trend and fact that the American public maintained an intense attraction to the strip,

beyond its material offerings. Learning from Las Vegas systematically creates a

suburban model of the strip according to Las Vegas strip of 1968. However, since that

time little work such as that produced in Learning from Las Vegas has been

accomplished. Even so, there is still valuable information that can be extracted from the

project and applied to current suburban problems. Learning from Las Vegas presents

characteristics of the strip that can serve to help form a model for future strip

development and suburban infill.

Spatial Relationships

Venturi says, "the strip is something else…not chaos, but a new spatial order

relating the automobile and highway communication in an architecture which abandons

pure form in favor of mixed media" (75). Modernism was a reaction against mixed

media. Pure form and space was the rule in modern architectural theory, and the

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suburban strip was the antithesis. Suburban sprawl and the strip cannot be understood

using established architectural theories of pure form. The first and most basic observation

put forth by Venturi et al is that architecture has always been infatuated with one single

design element: space (6). The "design" of the strip has no regard for spatial

relationships; therefore, there is no obvious order or system of design readily visible to

observers. The spatial sprawl of the strip is not so easy to like as compared to something

highly designed such as an Italian piazza (Venturi, et al 6). In comparison sprawl is

condemned as ugly. Space may be defined for the many individual parts that comprise

the strip, but as a whole there is nearly zero relationship between these spaces linking the

suburban fabric. Each new addition to the strip is typically sited with little regard to

existing structures and conditions, ignoring any possible linkage that is alternative to the

highway.

Spatial relationships between parts of the strip may be lost, but space exists in

grand form. "The A&P parking lot is a current phase in the evolution of vast space since

Versailles" (Venturi et al 13). Over thirty years has passed and the parking lot is still an

exercise in "vast space" (Figure 3-1). In comparison, Venturi describes parking lots as

being the "megatexture" of the commercial landscape:

The parking lot is the parterre of the asphalt landscape. The patterns of

parking lines give direction much as the paving patterns, curbs, borders,

and tapis vert give direction in Versailles; grids of lamp posts substitute

for obelisks, rows of urns and statues as points of identity and continuity

in the vast space. (13)

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In this suburban space, architecture defines very little. Instead sign and symbol

define space. The iconography of the suburban strip dictates direction to the visitor

rather than direction being "communicated through the inherent, physiognomic

characteristics of form" (Venturi et al 7). Spatial relationships do not define the strip, yet

they have a great impact upon its success and how the public perceives the strip.

Fig. 3-1. Aladdin casino, hotel, and parking lot, Venturi, Robert et al. Learning From

Las Vegas Revised Edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998: 16.

Symbol, Iconography, and Communication

The architecture of communication is the dominant form of architecture along the

suburban strip (Figure 3-2). "Communication dominates space as an element in the

architecture and the landscape" (Venturi, et al 8). Anyone who has driven through the

25

typical American suburban strip understands the high degree to which communication is

necessary and present. We are bombarded with symbols, signs, billboards, lights and

movement, and familiar building designs in nearly every city that we visit. Densities of

retail establishments along the strip are by no means high, nor therefore overly difficult to

navigate, but poor communication of the location of any business may spell out its

untimely doom.

Fig. 3-2. Looking north on the Las Vegas strip, 1968, Venturi, Robert et al. Learning

From Las Vegas Revised Edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998: 37.

Roadside architecture has a high degree of commercial persuasion. The

iconographic representations of so many American franchises not only permeate our lives

but those of people in other countries as well. Few cannot recognize the "golden arches”

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of McDonald's or the Texaco star while driving along the highway. Roadside

architecture of the strip has a "bold impact on a vast and complex setting of a landscape

of big spaces, high speeds, and complex programs" (Venturi, et al 8). In seeing the

landscape of sprawl, Venturi notes that, "the graphic sign in space has become the

architecture of this landscape" (13). A windshield survey of most suburban strips will

prove that the sign and symbol are typically much more dominant than the building

which they are advertising. High-style architecture of the building matters very little on

the strip. Sign and symbol dominate followed by the iconographic architecture of the

franchise. In more recent years we have, however, seen a reversal of this trend due in

large part to the institution of local sign ordinances in an attempt to "clean up" the

suburbs. These ordinances often limit the height, size, and materials from which signs

can be made, yet there is no doubt that the suburban strip is still one dominated by "bold

communication rather than subtle expression" (Venturi et al 8). The will of small groups

of vocal protesters is changing the face of the strip through their adamant dislike of the

highway strip aesthetic.

The architecture of the suburban strip buildings is typically not dominant, as is

often the case in the urban core. Often the suburban building front is simply a modified

billboard, with an entrance and an exit to and from the goods inside. Venturi says,

"regardless of the front, the back of the building is styleless, because the whole is turned

toward the front and no one sees the back" (35). While this may be true, it is no different

from that of buildings designed for the urban core of a city. The difference is that in the

suburbs all sides of the building are often more readily visible, a direct result of a lack of

definition of space in designing the strip.

27

The suburban strip thrives on symbol and iconographic imagery in architecture.

Commissions putting controls on architecture have only hindered the true design of the

suburban strip. There are only a few controls that can be instituted that will not make the

strip become a monotonous bore and even so they are little more than superficial

aesthetic considerations that have almost nothing to do with the architecture of the

buildings and communication. The complete suppression of symbol and iconography

along the strip, to nothing more than token gestures, defeats the novelty and whimsy of

the strip. The strip acts as an expression of the freedom from the grid form of the city. In

fact, some cities have expressive centers such as Times Square in New York City, but

typically the strip is the city’s expression of freedom.

System and Order of the Suburban Strip

"The image of the commercial strip is chaos. The order in this landscape is not

obvious" (Venturi et al 20). The strip is very loosely ordered. Highways and secondary

roads comprise the strip, yet the relationships of the spaces and buildings often seem

independent of the road system and even of themselves. Venturi points out that the

highway system at least gives direction to the growth of the strip, yet little more (20).

Because densities are low, "immediate proximity of related uses, as on Main Street,

where you walk from one store to another, is not required along the strip because

interaction is by car and highway" (Venturi et al 20). Some developments have

attempted to make the strip more pedestrian friendly by clustering big-box retailers

together, but even then the individual stores are not even at a human scale. The task of

walking from store to store can still seem a daunting one because no attempt is made to

connect adjoining properties. Related activities and businesses may be next to each other

28

yet completely inaccessible without an automobile. Along the strip we find unrelated

activities juxtaposed next to one another on a regular basis – a strange mix of uses

completely unrelated except for the fact that the automobile ties them all together. We

find gas stations next to hotels, next to restaurants, next to movie theaters, next to car

washes, next to grocery stores, all of which must somehow be accessed via the

automobile. The chaotic order of the highway strip is its main characteristic. It can,

however, be supplemented with layers of alternative linkages to ease some of the chaos

associated with the automobile and the strip.

Change and Permanence Along the Strip

Venturi only briefly touches upon the permanence of the strip and the frequency

with which it changes. While looking at the Las Vegas strip, he noted, "the rate of

obsolescence of a sign seems to be nearer to that of an automobile than that of a building.

The reason is not physical degeneration but what competitors are doing around you"

(Venturi et al 34). Thirty years ago this may well have been true, but to make an equal

comparison today we have to recognize that the life span of a suburban strip building, for

its original use, is now much shorter than in previous generations. Big-box retailers

along the strip are becoming notorious for building fast and cheap. Once the building has

served its purpose and the business has outgrown its location, it moves on to another site

leaving behind a deserted building. This goes hand-in-hand with Peter Rowe's

declaration of buildings having a temporary quality. Change is the norm along the strip,

whereas permanence is often an anomaly.

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Architecture of the Strip: Monumentality Versus Big, Low Spaces

Monumentality in architecture along the strip has rarely been dominant. Flashy

electric signs and neon lights dominated the Las Vegas strip of 1968 (Figure 3-3). The

buildings were often subordinate to the architecture of communication. Buildings that

did present themselves as dominant did so only because the façade acted as both building

and billboard, or the "decorated shed" as Venturi describes.

Fig. 3-3. The lights of the Horseshoe casino “decorated shed,”

http://home.earthlink.net/~mjceditor/

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Venturi described the casinos as "big, low space," almost cavern-like in their

separation from the world outside on the strip (Venturi et al 50). The casino is "…the

archetype for all public interior spaces whose heights are diminished for reasons of

budget and air conditioning" (Venturi et al 50). The practice of building big, low spaces

continues to this day with most of the big-box retailers, as suburban development is often

controlled by budget restraints. It is widely known that the cheapest building to construct

is the one story sprawling "big box."

The low horizontal practice of building along the suburban strip is so engrained in

our knowledge of suburbia that we rarely think twice about it. Architectural

monumentality is not necessary along the strip; in fact, it might even seem out of place.

However, increasing strains on the environment and demands placed on infrastructure

might somehow be lessened if a more vertical approach were taken along the strip. Two

and three story buildings are certainly not out of the question. The area known as

Buckhead, in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, is a good example of a suburban landscape

beginning to become more vertical.

Las Vegas and the Strip: Thirty Years Later

"Tom Wolfe wrote, 'Las Vegas is the only town in the world whose skyline is

made up of neither buildings, like New York, nor trees, like Wilbraham, Massachusetts,

but signs'" (Venturi 124). Indeed the strip in Las Vegas has changed. In 1968 it was the

archetype of the modern highway strip, designed for cars and speeds of thirty to forty

miles per hour. Venturi has compiled a list of ways the strip has changed (Table 3-1).

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Table 3-1.

From Las Vegas to Las Vegas

The Strip to the Boulevard

urban sprawl to urban density

parking lot to front yard

asphalt plain to romantic garden

the decorated shed to the duck

electric to electronic

neon to pixel

electrographic to scenographic

signs to scenes

iconography to scenography

Vaughan Cannon to Walt Disney

pop culture to gentrification

perception of the driver to perception of the walker

strip to mall

mall to edge city

folk art, vivid, vulgar, and vital, to unconvincing irony.

Source: Venturi, Robert. Iconography and Electronics Upon a Generic

Architecture. The MIT Press Cambridge, MA (1996): 127-128.

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Jean-Louis Cohen writes, "The Yale explorers saw in the implicit order of Las

Vegas the triumph of the principles conceived by Frank Lloyd Wright for the expanse of

Broadacre City, with one significant difference, the lack of any aesthetic control over the

buildings" (105). Signs, billboards, and decorated buildings were designed specifically to

entice the eye of the driver in order to lure him/her into the roadside establishments.

Today, more than thirty years after the Learning from Las Vegas studio took place, Las

Vegas is one of the fastest growing and most prosperous cities in the nation, and quite

possibly the world. Without the Vegas strip, the city might just be another stop on your

way from here to there. The strip is no longer dominated by an architecture of

communication; rather, it is dominated by the architecture itself. Signs have changed

from lavish and flashy to "squared off, flat-topped ladder signs," that rival the biggest and

best of strip shopping centers throughout the United States (Hess 103). The architecture

has evolved from the decorated shed of big, low spaces to big, monumental theme resorts

costing hundreds of millions of dollars to construct (Figure 3-4). The sign and building

have merged to form an entity even greater than the decorated shed. Cohen also writes,

"As for the mastodons of the new hotel-casinos…they function as mega-signs no longer

on the level of the automobiles moving along the Strip, but on that of airplanes coming to

land at McCarran Airport" (106).

As individual casinos and hotels have grown into vacation resorts those that were

once separated by large expanses of parking lots now "rub elbows and create unexpected

juxtapositions" (Hess 109). The south seas meet the Roman Empire in the middle of the

Nevada desert. Alan Hess relates the modern Las Vegas strip with foreground activity

33

(shops and restaurants) and background (the casinos and hotels) to the ordinary strip

shopping center with fast food and flowers shops occupying the outlots (111).

Fig. 3-4. Casinos and hotels along the Las Vegas strip at night,

http://home.earthlink.net/~mjceditor/

Steven Izenour revisited the Las Vegas strip in 1990 and made observations about

the changes taking place. He noted that the two biggest changes "involved scale of

development and transportation" (46). All travel had been by car in 1968, and casinos

and gas stations shared frontage along the strip, in close proximity to one another. He

now says, "In a sense the strip is evolving from a purely auto driven thoroughfare to a

classic American Main Street, depending equally on cars and pedestrians…the Shell

station no longer lives cheek-by-jowl with Caesar’s" (49).

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The Las Vegas strip, though it was considered an archetype for the modern

suburban strip, is an exception to the rule, rather than the rule itself, with respect to

growth along American highways. The popularity of the casinos and the attractions

associated with the Las Vegas strip have allowed for the immense amount of

development that has changed this once suburban car dependent strip to a much more

pedestrian oriented experience. Patterns of development have changed and the number of

people inhabiting the strip has grown beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The strip is still

not the suburban development that many such as the New Urbanists desire today, yet it is

a valid example of the potential of suburban strip development.

The history of the Las Vegas strip may seem an anomaly to most, but it can be

argued that most suburban strips across the United States have potential to prosper in

much the same way. Even in Athens, Georgia, the strip is a destination for many

thousands of people that live in and around the city. The suburban strip needs to

redevelop and increase in density in order to continue its role as a desirable destination.

Though Learning from Las Vegas is largely about the architecture and form of the

highway strip, the more important lesson to be learned is that the strip develops through

evolutionary processes. Physical evolution, deformation, and eradication all act upon the

strip over time, as was the case in Las Vegas, continually remaking the already made

landscape. Not every strip has all of the potential of Las Vegas, yet the model exists and

can be a guide from which to make decisions for future development.

Rem Koolhaas

The architect Rem Koolhaas has a more radical perspective on the form of

American cities and suburban sprawl than almost anyone in the field. Koolhaas describes

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the boom of sprawl in Atlanta, Georgia in a way that can be understood and applied to

most any American city:

Atlanta was the launching pad of the distributed downtown; downtown

had exploded. Once atomized, its autonomous particles could go

anywhere; they gravitated opportunistically toward points of freedom,

cheapness, easy access, diminished contextual nuisance. Millions of

fragments landed in primeval forests sometimes connected to highways,

sometimes to nothing at all. (843)

It’s quite the idyllic description of sprawl and the decentralization of the city. In

fact, Koolhaas says, "Atlanta is not a city; it is a landscape" (835). By detaching the

name from the place, Koolhaas destroys the common notion of the city. He says, "it is

not dense; it is a sparse thin carpet of habitation…its strongest contextual givens are

vegetal and infrastructural: forest and roads" (835). Indeed as Venturi described, the

highways are simply paths to guide the direction in which suburban development will

proceed. Venturi does maintain the distinction between the urban core of the city and the

suburban form of the periphery. Koolhaas, however, boldly contends that any distinction

between center and periphery is completely gone.

If the center no longer exists, it follows that there is no longer a periphery

either. The death of the first implies the evaporation of the second. Now

all is city, a new pervasiveness that includes landscape, park, industry, rust

belt, parking lot, housing tract, single family house, desert, airport, beach,

river, ski slope, even downtown. (852)

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Koolhaas is a rebel in the architectural world not only in his designs, but also in

his understanding and full acceptance of the landscape of sprawl. Koolhaas was one of a

number of panelists in a discussion held at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in

1996 to debate the merits of urban and suburban development patterns. New Urbanism

was the topic at large. Andres Duany, the leader of the New Urbanist movement at one

point proclaimed that his goal was to make suburbia "more palatable and to derail the

speeding train called sprawl" (Krieger 58). The rebuttal by Koolhaas was to "accept the

train and ride it in style" (Krieger 58).

Ellen Dunham-Jones further enlightens us to the way in which Koolhaas thinks.

She describes the development model by which Koolhaas is inspired as one of "surreal

artifice and congestion of the humming metropolis" (51). In an attempt to put this in

layman's terms, we can say Koolhaas is inspired by the unexpected juxtapositions, chance

effects, and ingenuity and inventiveness that can be found throughout the city, both in the

urban core and the suburban periphery. Dunham-Jones says that Koolhaas "celebrates

architecture and the personal freedom of peripheral growth" as he "endorses the speed,

movement, and ephemerality of modern life" (51). Rather than fight the current

movement in the development of cities Koolhaas is one of the few who proposes to

accept and work with the flow of ideas. Instead of troubling himself with program and

form, he detaches the two. He describes this detachment by saying, "Only through a

revolutionary process of erasure and the reestablishment of liberty zones, conceptual

Nevadas where all laws of architecture are suspended, will some of the inherent torture of

urban life-the friction between program and containment-be suspended" (201).

Koolhaas’ theories and ideas go much deeper than most people can comprehend, but at a

37

certain level there is validity in his desire to “ride the speeding train of sprawl.”

American pop culture is driven by public desires typically realized in some suburban

form. Taking advantage of the situation just might be one viable solution to the problems

of suburban development. As opposed to fighting sprawl with architectural theories that

do not apply, new suburban solutions can be developed that will be accepted by pop

culture as valid means of change.

The New Urbanism: Against a Landscape of Sprawl

The New Urbanists are a group of architects and planners supporting a renewed

pattern of growth and development within our suburbs. Their primary objective seems to

be to rid the United States of sprawl, once and for all. Venturi’s and Koolhaas’s honest

look at the landscape of the suburban strip must read as blasphemy to anyone that is a

part of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Andres Duany, considered to be the leader

of the New Urbanists, thinks very differently from the aforementioned Rem Koolhaas.

Ellen Dunham-Jones points out that Duany is inspired by "town planning along civic art

principles" and that he "bemoans the asocial behavior imposed by car dependent

planning" (51). Though the New Urbanists can seem to be extremists in their defiance of

sprawl, they may now be heading in a direction that is more compatible with the

suburban landscape.

Up until now, most of the New Urbanist projects have been found at the far edges

of our cities, often at or beyond the edges of the existing suburban fabric. Some critics

have gone so far as to call it “New Suburbanism.” New Urbanist communities have in

the eyes of some, notably the planner, Alex Krieger, become the epitome of sprawl.

Many have been developed as entirely new towns and "communities" yet have shown

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little signs of life that are substantially better or different from that which they attempt to

replace. However, Duany constantly argues that time will prove that he and the New

Urbanists are correct in their quest to create a viable new form of suburban living. New

Urbanist communities are often built with mass-transit in mind but in the end they are

lucky if the development has bus stops. Very few New Urbanist developments have

actually occurred as infill: urban or suburban. New Urbanism has become a hybrid form

of sprawl, and until recently it has seemed to be nothing more than a novel idea. Alex

Krieger, a planner and harsh critic of New Urbanism, states that the most notable

achievement of the Congress for the New Urbanism is the “crafting of a text [the CNU

charter] that contains what many have advocated and making those beliefs appear

proprietary to a movement” (74). Krieger also says that, “the most difficult challenge

facing American urbanism may not be coming up with a better way to subdivide the land,

but to rescue, reinvigorate, reform, resettle, learn once again to love places already made”

(75). Innovative suburban infill can reform and reinvigorate the landscape of sprawl into

a place that is less environmentally degrading, less wasteful, less redundant, and more

attractive. Rather than starting over when faced with urban or suburban problems, we

should revisit failed or obsolete developments and make a second attempt.

It now appears that the New Urbanists are beginning to understand the value of

suburban infill. In a report released February 20, 2001, the CNU explains its findings of

a yearlong study of dying enclosed regional shopping malls. The CNU has coined the

term “greyfield” to define the areas comprised of the dead and dying regional malls.

Greyfield is to be interpreted much the same way “brownfield” is, as a descriptor for the

contaminated and often toxic former industrial sites. A greyfield is a developable site

39

that is not toxic, but also is not free of constraints from previous development. A

greyfield is also ironically similar to the grey belts that Jane Jacobs describes. For the

purposes of this thesis we can take greyfield to mean any formerly developed suburban

site now in a state of decline or abandonment. Whether they are called greyfields or grey

belts, it is obvious that important people and groups are beginning to recognize these

areas of potential redevelopment in the suburbs.

New Urbanism has potential in many of its philosophies. Just as Jane Jacobs said,

“a lot of [suburban infill] will be makeshift and messy, and it won't measure up to New

Urbanists ideas of design–but it will measure up to a lot of their philosophy” (Kunstler).

If outward growth away from the city center is slowed and redevelopment takes place on

former sprawl sites, alternative connections can begin to be made. Koolhaas’ notion that

the city has become so diffuse, leaving little distinction between the classic urban core

and the suburban sprawl, leads to an understanding of a new suburban landscape fabric.

Tying this fabric together through a variety of ideas, both physical and fundamental, may

be the best compromise for the development of American cities.

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CHAPTER 4

INFILL AND REUSE

Infill

"Infill is the practice of erecting buildings on the gap sites in a city utilizing the

'wasted' space. The architectural challenge of infill is to make the new structure fit in

with the existing structures while still maintaining a style of their own" (Huls). Not only

is infill the utilization of wasted and leftover spaces, but it also the redevelopment of

abandoned sites amidst currently developed areas. Urban infill has been one tool by

which cities have attempted to reverse the effects of suburban sprawl. Some cities such as

Portland, Oregon have promoted urban infill through the use of a growth boundary.

Since 1979, Portland has been a "laboratory city for smart growth" (Lacayo and Cole).

Inside the growth boundary, building permits are readily granted while they are much

more difficult to obtain beyond the growth boundary (Lacayo and Cole). The effect is a

reduced land supply that results in an interest in infill development opportunities in the

urban core and suburban periphery. Between 1990 and 1996, Portland's growth boundary

resulted in just a thirteen percent spread of the city, the same percentage of population

growth seen by the city during that same timeframe (Lacayo and Cole). Often, cities

spread much more than their population increases. For example, metro Kansas City,

Missouri, spread seventy percent while its population only increased by five percent

between 1990 and 1996 (Lacayo and Cole). Infill development can be successful if the

piecemeal development of individual lots is avoided in exchange for a program of infill

41

that "focuses on the completion of the existing community fabric," whether it be urban or

suburban (Report 38).

Infill has been closely associated with the historic preservation movement. In

order to revive older portions of cities, new development must occur at the same time as

redevelopment and reuse of existing infrastructure. The “architectural challenge” to

urban infill is often a result of a strong preservation commission that exists to protect the

integrity of the city’s historic resources. There is most certainly a challenge to producing

successful urban infill because so many people have such a vested interest in the cities in

which they work and live. Public reaction and commission regulations often push the

cost of a proposed project to exorbitant highs, resulting in the abandonment of good

projects. The suburbs, on the other hand, have faced few infill challenges – the biggest

challenge being the implementation of infill as a suburban development tool.

As we have learned thus far, the suburbs throw all established architectural theory

and practice out in exchange for a more straightforward practice of development for the

sake of the bottom line. The architecture of communication has dominated the suburban

strip, spatial patterns are not interrelated between sites, and the only cohesiveness in

architectural design amongst suburban development is the competition for one business

to out do the next with iconographic signage and buildings; few people ever mistake

McDonald's for Burger King! Suburban infill is rarely achieved as a successful form of

redevelopment. Of the locations in which infill would seem to attract the least amount of

opposition, it is practically unheard of as a viable alternative to suburban sprawl. Maybe

it seems a bit confusing to most to continue to build sprawl on top of already built sprawl,

but it seems to be the most logical option. In order to make the best use of a finite

42

amount of land it only makes sense to redevelop and rethink existing sprawl. Urban sites

are difficult to infill because of cost restraints, typically increased by property value and

design requirements often imposed by preservation commissions and city ordinances.

Greenfield development is the cheapest, yet it seems that most of the American public

has tired of the lengthening commutes and the loss of farmlands and woodlands around

cities across the United States. So the question is why not develop via suburban infill?

"Infill development contributes to a more compact form of development which is less

consumptive of land use and resources" (Report 38). Whether it is in the city or in the

suburbs, infill is a good idea if our goal is to slow the outward sprawl of American cities.

Currently we are seeing an increase in the amount of abandoned big-box retailers,

automobile dealerships, strip malls, and the like, which leave greyfields prime for

redevelopment. Of course, many of these sites have not been left empty due to failed

enterprises; rather, businesses move to new locations short distances away for the

purposes of expansion and facilities upgrade. Because these abandoned sites are already

in the middle of the suburban melee, it makes sense to redevelop them into viable

suburban destinations. Housing communities and other neighborhoods exist nearby, and

major roads and other infrastructure are present. Developers should be capitalizing on

prime locations and land already prepared for construction. The existence of

infrastructure and proximity to existing amenities would seem to be a major draw for

developers, but economic forces tend to keep them away.

Suburban infill sites should follow in the footsteps of the Las Vegas strip in many

respects. Much of the original Las Vegas architecture and buildings are gone, but the

strip still exists with the same purpose as the original strip. It may have increased in

43

vertical size and scale, yet for the most part it remains in the same location as it was thirty

years ago. This has been achieved through increasing density with each successive

redevelopment. The primary goal for greyfield redevelopment should be increased

density, through both innovative and neo-traditional design. An attempt should also be

made to link the suburban fabric together via a common thread, such as through a

fundamental process of environmental sensibility or a physical connectivity via roads and

alternative transportation routes. The most basic environmental concerns, such as water

conservation, should be explored in design of suburban sites, and solutions should be

represented in parking and site design, at the minimum. Nodes of suburban development

already exist. If, in the redevelopment process, the nodes can be further organized so that

functional alternative transportation linkages can be developed in between, the suburban

system can become a more enjoyable place to participate in. I am not recommending that

all suburban sites be linked to the central city. Though that would be a valuable asset in

some instances, it is more important to interlink the suburban sites before an attempt is

made to tie the whole of the city together.

Adaptive Reuse

Richard Austin writes, “What is so significant about the national mood today is

the acceptance that change does not require a total abandonment of the past” (vii). It is

by no means a stretch of the imagination when one suggests the rehabilitation of a former

warehouse into lofts or a new corporate headquarters, but when the suggestion of

adaptive use arises in regard to suburban buildings, visions become blurry. It has been

said that, “our older buildings have lasting value, not only aesthetic but also economic

and social, and that we are often much wiser to rehabilitate them than to tear them down”

44

(Diamonstein 9). In this day and age of anti-sprawl sentiment, it can be very difficult to

convince almost anyone that there is lasting value in the buildings of the suburban strip.

It may not be lasting value in the sense that the building has redeeming architectural

qualities that should be preserved for future generations to appreciate. Rather, the

building may be reused in part or in whole and in doing so the value of reuse is, at the

most basic level, economic as well as environmental. Urban reuse projects are becoming

evermore popular, and cities across the United States are renewing historic districts

through a combination of adaptive use and urban infill. Suburban renewal may be

achieved in much the same fashion.

Kenneth Powell writes, “The greatest challenge, indeed, for the twenty first

century is the legacy of the twentieth century. The new architecture is about process

rather than product. It welcomes the dynamic of the future and addresses the lessons of

the past” (19). Suburban infill should meet the challenge of twentieth century

architecture by reusing “plain, ordinary, low value old buildings” in redevelopment along

the strip. Typically, the architecture of the suburban strip has little or no “high-style”

qualities for which one could create an argument in favor of preservation. Jane Jacobs

has said in the past that, “Cities need old buildings…by old buildings I mean not museum

piece old buildings, not old buildings in an excellent and expensive state of

rehabilitation…but also a good lot of plain, ordinary, low value old buildings” (187).

Though Ms. Jacobs was talking about the city, her statement is quite applicable to the

suburban strip. Ordinary low value buildings are already being used again and again by

second and third wave retailers. Often ethnic enclaves form in strips formerly housing

national chains and franchises. In examining the “Miracle Mile,” Timothy Davis stated

45

that, “the ubiquitous strip is quietly evolving into a richly multi-cultural landscape that

reflects the changing ethnic and economic character of late-twentieth century American

society” (97). There is a need along the strip for the ordinary and cheap; no one should

pretend there is not. Ethnic enclaves rich in culture and economically viable on their own

level, are often viewed as suburban blight by middle and upper class America. Careful

attention should be paid to sites such as these so as not to confuse economic vitality with

suburban blight. We must be able to read the suburban landscape so as to be able to see

the difference. It can often be argued that a specific site has a much higher potential use

which allows for redevelopment and use on a grand scale. Yet there is a balance between

second-hand and new that needs to be met.

Richard Austin defines adaptive reuse as “a process by which structurally sound

older buildings are developed for economically viable new uses” (49). Adaptive reuse

can be as simple as a local businessman moving into an old gas station and turning the

property into an insurance office. It can also be as grand as turning a former cotton

warehouse into lofts and retail space. “Functionally obsolete buildings come in all types

and kinds of settings. The most endangered building types [are] those with the least

promising market potential for their intended uses” (Gause 6). Suburban office parks,

industrial properties, strip malls, auto dealerships and closed military bases are just a few

of the many types of properties that, once abandoned, can sit empty for years unless a

creative idea is put to work to adaptively reuse the site. The rapidly changing economy

and life styles of a vast majority of Americans is leading to a greater potential for

adaptive reuse than ever before. As more building types become available in an even

greater diversity of locations, opportunities for creative reuse abound.

46

Single use zoning in the suburbs has led to a landscape “characterized by separate

residential communities, office and industrial parks, shopping malls, and commercial

zones located along major thoroughfares” (Gause 34). The buildings left empty in

suburban locations pose unique problems for those interested in adaptively reusing them.

Mixed use zoning in the suburbs has typically been hard to come by, as most New

Urbanists will attest. As suburban infill and reuse become more popular as a means to

curb sprawl, single use zoning will be a significant deterrent for those who wish to

redevelop greyfield sites. Much effort will need to be put forth by supporters of new

ideas in order to get the old regulations changed.

Advantages of Reuse

The time involved in the completion of a reuse project can be greatly reduced up

front due to existing structure and infrastructure of a given site. Not only does it take less

time to complete a reuse project, but also development costs can be significantly lower

than new construction. Money that would have normally been devoted to infrastructure

and the structural frame of the building can be used instead for a higher quality final

product. Often older buildings can have aesthetic qualities no longer common in modern

buildings. Though suburban buildings may not always have unique features, the ease

with which portions of the shell may be stripped away and replaced with new materials

and designs, more than makes up for the lack of unique aesthetics. Most importantly, the

reuse of a site within the existing suburban fabric saves open farmland and natural areas

from becoming paved over – a concern shared by most Americans.

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Case Studies

Much of the adaptive reuse of suburban sites has been in former regional malls

and strip malls that have been turned into offices, schools, and medical clinics. The

construction of these malls, with their large footprints, high ceilings, and open floor

plans, lends to flexibility and ease of change in reuse projects. In Galveston, Texas, for

example, the Port Holiday Mall was redeveloped into offices, classrooms, and outpatient

clinics for the University of Texas Medical Branch (Hay 44). In Phoenix, Arizona,

overcrowding in the Phoenix school district was relieved when the Maryvale Mall was

made into classrooms for the elementary and middle schools (Hay 44). Hay says, “the

malleability and impermanence of mall architecture may be [the malls’] salvation” (45).

The aesthetic atrocities that most malls have become, as a result of turning their backs to

the outside world with large windowless buildings, and further separating themselves

with acres of asphalt from neighboring businesses, is now lending itself to change.

Roofs, facades, exteriors and interiors can all be easily stripped from the steel frame and

replaced with materials and design appropriate to the building’s new use.

Many other suburban sites lend themselves to reuse, revitalization, and

redevelopment just as malls do. Hay begs the question, “will malls continue to be

America’s ultimate recyclable building?” (46). Malls may very well become the ultimate

in recyclable buildings. However, many more unique opportunities exist to redevelop

other suburban commercial sites. The suburban fabric is beginning to change, and

through adaptive reuse and infill, developers can mold suburbia into an environment that

is more favorable to both humans and nature.

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The following case studies represent projects of reuse along the suburban strip.

All of these projects include suburban strip architecture or automobile related structures.

Not included are projects involving greyfield mall redevelopment as defined by the New

Urbanists. The New Urbanist mall redevelopment projects, most notably the Eastgate

Mall redevelopment project in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are not reuse at all. These

projects ultimately eradicate the suburban buildings in exchange for neo-traditional town

planning and development. The emphasis of this thesis project is the adaptive reuse of

suburban strip architecture.

Blue Hen Corporate Center

In Dover, Delaware, the Blue Hen Mall fell into a state of decline in the 1980s

when a new regional mall was opened just three miles to the north. The new mall sapped

the life from the Blue Hen Mall by drawing the two major anchor tenants away (Gause

43). Aetna Health Plans was in need of new office space for its claims department and

chose to lease one of the anchor tenant buildings. Aetna renovated 68,000 of the

available 90,000 square foot, one story building (see Figures 4-1 and 4-2). The project

was completed in just six months, the first two of which were devoted to planning and

design (Hoyt 106). Aetna ended up with a sleek and professional looking building in

short order, and at a reduced cost. Costs for the project were substantially lower than

new construction would be, due to the existing structure and infrastructure. Aetna paid

just $5.7 million for the finished product versus the $7.1 million estimated to construct a

new building (Hoyt 107).

The Aetna move attracted other similar tenants, including Nations Bank who

renovated the other vacant department store turning 80,000 square feet into corporate

49

offices (Gause 43). With the two new business anchors on either end of the former mall,

a revival of the site has taken place. The former Blue Hen Mall has evolved from a

greyfield site into the Blue Hen Corporate Center, with multiple professional offices and

support services. This project demonstrates the ability of an adaptive reuse project to

rejuvenate a suburban site through a completely new use. Within a short period of time

the image of this former mall was completely changed and the site became a viable

suburban destination.

River Village at Liberty Park

In Birmingham, Alabama, a 40,000 square foot strip shopping center was

converted to office space. The long, one story structure was gutted and a second story

was added to one portion of the building, thereby increasing the square footage of the

building by some 20,000 feet (Gause 33). Again, the existing building framework and

infrastructure, such as parking, allowed for a reduction in construction costs. The bleak

façade of the building was stripped away and replaced with brickwork, windows, and

doors readily visible to visitors (Figure 4-3). Once an eyesore, River Village at Liberty

Park became a viable professional office complex. The final cost of this project was

approximately $70.00 per square foot, comparatively less than new construction might

have cost. The physical change in the structures of this site demonstrate the ease with

which an image can be changed and additional stories can be added to a big, low space,

with a lower overall project cost.

50

Fig. 4-1. Aetna offices after six months of redesign and construction, Hoyt. “Blue Hen

Corporate Center,” Architectural Record. 183.10 (1995): 106.

Fig. 4-2. Floor plan of the Aetna facilities, Hoyt. “Blue Hen Corporate Center,”

Architectural Record. 183.10 (1995): 107.

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Fig. 4-3. River Village at Liberty Park before and after, Gause, Jo Allen. New Uses for

Obsolete Buildings. The Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C. (1996): 33.

Fig. 4-4. Togawa and Smith Architects before and after, Gause, Jo Allen. New Uses for

Obsolete Buildings. The Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C. (1996): 57.

52

Togawa and Smith Architects

In 1993, Togawa and Smith, Inc. of Pasadena, California renovated a 6,300

square foot auto-repair shop. The high ceilings of the garage allowed for the creation of

elevated office space, thereby leaving the floor open for studio space (Figure 4-4).

Unique architectural features of the garage were incorporated in to the new design. The

total development budget was a mere $30.00 per square foot (Gause 57). Though this

site was not a suburban site, it demonstrates how a former automobile related structure

can be converted for a new use.

Smith and Hawken Outlet

Smith and Hawken, Ltd. found the need to create a couple of outlet stores in order

to sell surplus inventory and factory seconds from their clothing line. The company did

so in both Berkeley and Mill Valley, California. Both stores were built into existing

structures on a budget of less than $40 per square foot (Wagner 54). The Mill Valley

store was opened in a former pre-fab style, suburban BMW dealership (Figure 4-5). The

show room and adjacent garage were turned into a large open floor sales area (Figure 4-

6) in a bare-bones design utilizing anything that could be salvaged to add to the effect

(Wagner 54). Some additions were made to the exterior to evoke the feeling of a

horticultural or agricultural setting, keeping in line with the company’s theme, yet the

former building maintained much of its original look (Wagner 54).

53

Fig. 4-5. Smith and Hawken clothing outlet in former BMW showroom and garage, Mill

Valley, California, Wagner, Michael. “Creative Outlet,” Interiors. 151.2 (1992): 54.

Fig. 4-6. Floor Plan of the Smith and Hawken Outlet, Not To Scale, Wagner, Michael.

“Creative Outlet,” Interiors. 151.2 (1992): 54.

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Chelsea Piers, New York

The Chelsea piers infill and reuse project is unique. It is an urban infill project in

the heart of Manhattan, but some argue it is just one more step in the suburbanization of

New York. Located on the piers between 17th and 23rd Streets along the Hudson River

(Figure 4-7), it is New York City’s largest fitness complex (Cole and Howell). This infill

project is unlike most, which typically have housing as the main component. The

Chelsea Piers complex is examined here for its uniqueness and the inspiration it provided

for the design element of this thesis.

It has been said that the Chelsea Piers complex is quite possibly a result of “a new

post-industrial strategy of urban revitalization and economic redevelopment framed

around themed entertainment, fitness, and sports environments” (Cole and Howell). The

entire 1.7 million square foot complex is located on four piers that jut into the Hudson

River. Amenities include a four level, fifty-two stall, fully automated driving range, an

in-line skating facility, two roller rinks, two ice rinks, an Olympic-size swimming pool

and sundeck, a climbing wall, batting cages, a 23,000 square foot gymnastics facility,

indoor soccer and basketball, and a strength and conditioning facility. Also included is

indoor volleyball, an indoor quarter mile track, a bowling alley, pro-shops, and

restaurants. All types of exercise and recreation classes are also offered along with teams

and leagues for most recreational sports.

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Fig. 4-7. A bird’s eye view of the Chelsea Piers complex in Manhattan,

<http://www.chelseapiers.com>.

The Chelsea Piers complex is unique for its character and location. It is the

creative reuse of a site that was originally built for completely unrelated uses. Though

the complex evokes certain suburban qualities, such as big low spaces and single use

facilities, they are by no means detrimental to the livelihood of Manhattan. The piers

have some “suburban strip” qualities about them, such as major sponsors such as Reebok,

Nike, and Pepsi advertising and adding a commercial flare to the site, yet few would

mistake this place for one along the strip. The piers have a presence of their own place;

“Chelsea Piers is a place at once deeply connected to New York and utterly separated

from it” (Cole and Howell). Paul Goldberger has written, “there is a profound desire

almost everywhere now to combine the comforts of middle-class suburban life with at

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least some of the excitement and entertainment that cities have traditionally provided…”

and that, “the horrifying prospect is that the two will eventually meet–that the

suburbanizing city and the urbanizing suburbs will someday become indistinguishable,

one homogenous mass.” Apparently Mr. Goldberger is not a fan of Rem Koolhaas’

notion of the city and suburb becoming one as a landscape. Though the complaints have

been made that the piers are a continuation of the suburbanization of New York, the exact

opposite argument can be made. The creation of the Chelsea Piers is indeed “a seemingly

reasonable and ethical urbanism built around the technologies of health” (Cole and

Howell).

The American public is and always has been changing. What the future will hold

is often hard to predict, especially when it comes to the future of American cities.

However, one prediction may very well come true–that of Mr. Goldberger’s fear and

Koolhaas’s acceptance of the city and suburb becoming one homogenous mass. Projects

such as the Chelsea Piers will continue to be built, and at the same time draw fire from

critics, as will traditional suburban neighborhoods and New Urbanist developments.

Chelsea Piers is an excellent example of infill and reuse that reacts to the current

demands of society and does so in a responsible and creative manner. All of the case

studies presented represent viable site-specific solutions for suburban reuse and infill

projects. In order to compare the projects, I have created a table showing original uses

and square footage, as well as new uses, square footage and cost of construction. Most

notably you will find that the cost of construction for these sites is substantially lower

than the cost of new construction (Table 4-1). Though it is hard to generalize about new

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construction costs, a realistic figure for the types of projects discussed thus far is

approximately $120.00 per square foot (Gause 42).

Table 4-1. Comparison of Case StudiesSite Original Sq Ft Final Sq Ft Cost/sq ft Original Use New UseBlue Hen 90,000 68,000 $64 Anchor Dept.

StoreCorporate

OfficeRiver Village 40,000 60,000 $70 Strip Mall Professional

OfficeTogawa &Smith

6,300 6,300+ $30 AutomobileRepair Garage

ArchitectureFirm

Smith andHawken

5,000 5,000 $40 AutomobileDealership

Clothing Store

Chelsea Piers NA 1,700,000 NA Shipping Piers RecreationalComplex

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CHAPTER 5

SITE ANALYSIS

The chosen site for this suburban infill design application is the former University

Ford automobile dealership located at 2470 Atlanta Highway, in Athens, Georgia (Figure

5-1). A brief chronology of the Athens Ford dealership reveals that Trussell Ford moved

from 165 Pulaski Street, in downtown Athens, to the Atlanta highway location in 1973,

where it remained Trussell Ford until 1991. In 1991 ownership changed and the name

became University Ford, as part of the University Motors group. In 1999 University Ford

relocated further west of downtown Athens, to a site in Bogart, Georgia, at 4260 Atlanta

Highway, thus abandoning the 2740 Atlanta Highway site (Figure 5-1).

The actual site is some twenty-eight acres in total. Approximately nine of those

acres are paved in asphalt and contain the three structures that formerly housed the

dealership showroom and related services. The remaining nineteen acres are wooded

land leading down to the Middle Oconee River which flows along the northern edge of

the property. The developed portion of the site is relatively flat, and this flatness extends

into the wooded portion of the site, before significant elevation changes occur as the land

drops towards the river. There is a total elevation change of greater than 100 feet on the

site. To the west of the Ford site Tremont Parkway leads into an eighty-six acre single-

family, detached home subdivision that is currently in various stages of completion.

Future phases call for the development of a river park along the banks of the Middle

Oconee. Further to the west, more automobile dealerships are found lining the Atlanta

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Fig. 5-1. University Ford, Kmart, and Heyward Allen, 1996,

<http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/default.asp>

60

Fig. 5-2.Graphic representation of existing site conditions.

61

Highway. Directly to the east of the site is a Kmart department store that is

approximately twenty-five years old. Just to the east of Kmart is the Heyward Allen

automobile dealership, which will soon be relocating to Oconee County, just a few miles

to the south, along Epps Bridge Road. Both the Kmart and Heyward Allen have prime

river frontage on the northern boundary of their properties as well. To the south the

Atlanta Highway borders all three properties (Figure 5-2). Across the Atlanta Highway

various businesses may be found including another automobile dealership, a gas station, a

restaurant, a motel, as well as a few independent businesses. East and westbound traffic

on the Atlanta Highway is accessible with ease from the Kmart site via a traffic signal, at

the intersection of Old Epps Bridge Road and the highway. The former University Ford

site, however, has essentially been cut off from eastbound traffic along the highway.

With the recent completion of a limited access highway-style ramp that connects the

newly widened Epps Bridge Road with the Atlanta Highway, access to the site for

eastbound traffic has become a challenge, for traffic both entering and exiting the site

(Figure 5-3).

The three buildings on the site consist of Butler Building style garages and a

showroom and office space (Figure 5-4). The building nearest the highway was the

showroom and business office. The most significant architectural quality of the building

is its Modernist style accentuated by the expanse of large plate-glass windows and the

simple and otherwise featureless box-like design of the building. This building is

approximately 6,000 square feet. The structure directly behind the showroom is some

285 feet long and 60 feet deep (Figure 5-5). The majority of the building consists of

62

Fig. 5-3. Access to and from eastbound Atlanta Highway traffic is restricted by the Epps

Bridge Road Ramp, photograph by author.

63

Fig. 5-5. Looking east across the University Ford site. From L to R, a butler building garage, the main service garage, the

Rear of the showroom building, photograph by author

Figure 5-4. Full Panorama of existing butler building style garage, photograph by author.

64

large glass garage doors, fifteen on both the front and back. The building is of simple

steel frame, “Butler Building” style construction. The remaining structure is also a Butler

Building and is approximately 8000 square feet. It has no significant architectural

features.

In order to obtain a better understanding of the overall landscape of the area I

composed two figure ground images to compare visually the amount of paved surfaces

versus built structures. Figures 5-6 and 5-7 show, in white, the amount of paved surfaces

and building footprints. As can be seen, paved surfaces significantly out-weigh building

footprints in square footage. Even if we accounted for the floor area of buildings with

more than one story paved areas would still be greater. There are only a few two-story

buildings in the vicinity, such as a motel and some apartment buildings.

In another comparison study I looked at downtown Athens (Figure 5-8) and the

actual developed area of the University Ford site (Figure 5-9) at the same scale.

Downtown Athens, from Pulaski Street east to Thomas, and from Broad Street north to

Dougherty is not all that much larger in total land area.

The character along the strip, just east and just west of the Ford site, is comprised

of a substantial number of signs and billboard advertisements. However, because the

road is six lanes wide with a median to the east and four lanes with a median to the west

of the site, the various advertisements have much less of a visual impact than one might

imagine. The “architecture of communication” is mainly billboards, smaller signs, and

one decorated shed in the form of Kmart. The only other architecture with any visual

character is the Chinese restaurant on the south side of the Atlanta Highway and the

Heyward Allen dealership that has been decorated with elements of the Colonial Revival.

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Fig. 5-6. Buildings

Fig. 5-7. Pavement

66

Fig. 5-8. Downtown Athens, Georgia

Fig. 5-9. University Ford, Kmart, Heyward Allen

67

This has been achieved via the addition of columns across the façade of the single story

typical strip building.

To once again look beyond the boundaries of the dealership site we can see and

predict the future availability of the land. We already know that the Heyward Allen

dealership is relocating to nearby Oconee County, thereby freeing up land for reuse.

With the Kmart Corporation having closed stores across the country in recent years,

coupled with the fact that this store is twenty-five years old, it is quite likely that it may

be closing its doors sometime in the near future. It will come as a move to either relocate

to a new location or permanently close as a loss to the company. Assuming this happens

of Kmart’s own will, the suburban infill site that I am examining suddenly becomes quite

a bit larger–nearly twenty more acres would be available. With area businesses reaching

their maximum capacities or profit abilities now looking to move to new locations, this

frees up land for redevelopment and reuse. Many people enter Athens from the west on

the Atlanta Highway and Route 316/Epps Bridge Road putting them precisely in this

location only minutes before reaching downtown. This entire area that is bisected by the

Middle Oconee River, the Atlanta Highway, and Route 316/Epps Bridge Road is prime

for suburban infill and reuse.

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CHAPTER 6

THE DESIGN APPLICATION

Denise Scott Brown posed the question: “What do we do having learned from Las

Vegas?” (45). Good question. Denise Scott Browns’ answer to her own question was:

“At a prosaic level you’ve learned some perceptual tricks of the trade, beyond this the

process of assimilation is unconscious at its most fruitful level…facing the implications

of Las Vegas in our work is proving much more difficult than describing Las Vegas”

(45). Learning From Las Vegas as well as the ideas put forth by J.B. Jackson, Rem

Koolhaas, the New Urbanists, and others provide designers with a mixed bag of ideas that

can be applied to the suburban landscape. Now that I have learned from Las Vegas and

taken an honest look at the landscape of sprawl, I must assimilate the information and

extract from it conclusions, from which to develop a suburban infill and redevelopment

design.

Jane Jacobs’ comments to James Kunstler during their September 2000 interview

became the driving force behind my design decisions. I found it interesting that Ms.

Jacobs is making important statements about suburbia, to an advocate of New Urbanism,

and the New Urbanist movement, which seems to adore her urban ideas, is not really

paying attention. The fact that she acknowledges suburban infill as necessary, and that

she recognizes the processes will be “makeshift and messy” and not necessarily

welcomed with open arms by the New Urbanists helps to validate my design project.

69

I chose the former University Ford site because it possessed many qualities of the

suburban strip that are recognized by the Learning from Las Vegas thesis. The Ford

dealership was established on the Atlanta Highway site in 1973, merely a year after the

publication of Learning from Las Vegas. My examination of the University ford site in

the context of Learning from Las Vegas and the Las Vegas strip thirty years later allows

me, as a landscape architect, to create a program for one piece of the suburban landscape

that will become a catalyst for redevelopment and infill in Athens’ 1970s era grey belt.

The Learning from Las Vegas text does not necessarily teach us anything new

about the suburban highway strip of today. The real lesson learned in this thesis came

from combing Venturi’s Learning from Las Vegas with Las Vegas thirty years later, Rem

Koolhaas, Peter Rowe, J.B. Jackson, and Jane Jacobs. The result is that I have

developed, for myself, an honest analysis of the potential of suburban strip development.

The suburbs can be rethought and in most instances resettled while maintaining the

character of the suburban strip. The process is evolutionary, as shown by Las Vegas,

albeit at an accelerated rate.

In researching ideas for suburban infill, I have been able to identify a number of

areas or factors of contention, which I must address, as part of the design process. I find

it difficult, if not impossible, to prioritize the factors into a hierarchy of importance;

therefore, the sequence of their discussion in no way insinuates such an ordering.

As Venturi and the Learning from Las Vegas thesis suggested, spatial

relationships along the strip are lacking as compared to an urban business district, and as

has been noted, the ordering of the spaces is highly driven by the forces of automobiles

and roadway construction. As a highly “suburban nation” we move from space to space

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in our automobiles. Primarily those spaces, between which we move, are large parking

lots. The future development of the suburban strip relies greatly upon the future form of

suburban parking. The truth is until a terminal fuel crisis or something else of that

magnitude occurs, Americans are not getting out from behind the wheel of their cars. As

frustrating as it may be, the population of the United States is addicted to its vehicles.

Understanding the impact of the automobile, suburban spatial relationships can be better

developed to account for America’s car dependency.

Suburban destinations can and should still be designed, however, alternative

transportation networks should also be incorporated into the designs. As sites such as the

University Ford site are redeveloped into a higher use of the land, the spaces between

suburban destinations should become links to one another. As Lewis Mumford urged

many years ago, we must contend with the automobile as the primary mode of

transportation, but this does not mean that we must ignore the need for alternative

connections. The spaces between suburban sites that Peter Rowe is troubled by therefore

become positive space rather than negative space, alleys of connective fabric, so to speak.

These formerly ignored inhospitable spaces can become secondary means of connection

between suburban destinations.

As was demonstrated through the site analysis, the combined acreage of the

University Ford, Kmart, and Heyward Allen sites is less than that of downtown Athens,

Georgia. By beginning redevelopment and infill of the area with the University Ford site,

development on the surrounding areas can be responsive to the new site. As such, with

continued development the suburban destinations can start to become interlinked visually

and physically. The creation of alternative transportation corridors such as pedestrian

71

and bicycle routes become linkages between the suburban strip sites and nearby

neighborhoods rather than, rather than the interstitial spaces being left as desolate

inhospitable spaces. Transportation between suburban destinations is perhaps the one

factor of contention that may be granted more weight than any other.

Much as Koolhaas and Venturi, I have accepted the free form of the suburban

highways. Making more roads will not solve suburban problems of congestion, nor will

connecting all places via mass transit (an impossible feat, I might add). However, vital

secondary connections within the suburban fabric, and at times between the urban core

and the suburban periphery, can prove to be more valuable than the oft preached about,

but unattainable goals of enough roads to reduce the intensity of highway traffic.

Another point of contention is the temporary architecture of the suburbs that Peter

Rowe spoke of. As infill begins to occur in the most recent of suburban sites and

development begins to fold in upon itself, as has already happened in the earlier suburban

rings, developers will find buildings often with little or no use to the purpose at hand.

These structures will either be replaced entirely, or, better yet, reused whenever possible.

Whether it is replacement or reuse, in part or in whole, the resulting development should

be of a higher use than the previous one and preferably be comprised of structures that

are more readily useful to future users, or as flexible to change as their predecessors.

Also, a certain percentage of temporary architecture should give way to new, more

permanent architecture, as well as give rise to a more vertical architecture. The big low

space of the suburbs is a hard habit to break, but it can be achieved.

The New Urbanists have made it widely known that single use zoning is another

issue with which to contend. The design application presented in this thesis was

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conceived without concern for zoning regulations, under the assumption that they can be

changed for the better. Zoning is often a major hindrance in getting a project off of the

ground. The suburbs have been so divided into individual uses by zoning regulations that

it can be difficult to develop an innovative project. I believe Jane Jacobs is correct; once

the old regulations begin to be gotten out of the way new standards of development will

emerge.

The American public is fascinated with the suburban highway strip. The strip has

become a significant part of most Americans lives. The highway strips are not only a

primary source of goods and services, but also a place for leisurely activity. However, as

suburban locations of leisure activity are developed on the fringes of existing suburbia,

and without relation to one another, the suburbs become less fascinating and more

frustrating. Without any sort of continuity between sites and the need to travel to

multiple destinations in order to accomplish all that one needs to, the suburban strip is

becoming much more difficult to navigate.

Communication of available goods and services is alive and well along the strip;

however, in some instances, “beautification commissions” have placed strict standards on

signs. Limitations on materials and heights have become another obstacle for retailers

and developers to overcome in the continual process of growth. The sign and symbol that

is part of the attraction of the strip should not be squashed for the aesthetic desires of a

small group. Learning from Las Vegas established the importance of the sign and

symbol in the suburban strip. Though their impact has lessened in part over the years,

there is no reason to reject sign and symbol as a valid design element in future suburban

projects.

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With this design, I aimed to create a new suburban destination via infill and reuse. After

conducting research into theories of suburban development and the landscape of sprawl, I

set out to design a site that would maintain a suburban character and become a catalyst

for redevelopment of one part of the Athens grey belt. As opposed to redeveloping this

site into another strip mall or office park, I made the choice to redevelop through a

program of recreation and leisure activity (Figure 6-1 and 6-3). Athens, Georgia is in

need of a number of recreational amenities separate from those provided by the

University and this site lent itself easily to such a program. The existing structures and

large asphalt clearing (Figure 6-4) can easily be reused and added on to, to create an

intensive recreational complex. Beyond the previously developed portion of the site, I

am recommending the creation of a multi-family residential development nestled among

the forest behind the recreational complex and overlooking the river (Figure 6-2). Along

the Middle Oconee River I am recommending a river park that would connect to one that

is proposed by an 86 acre single family housing development to the west of the site. I am

also recommending the continuation of the river park along the riverbanks on what is

currently the Kmart and Heyward Allen sites, both of which will eventually be

redeveloped as suburban infill projects.

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Fig. 6-1. Site plan of recreational facility proposed for the former University Ford automobile dealership site.

75

Fig. 6-2. Compact suburban destinations along the Atlanta Highway tied to each other via alternative transportation routes.

76

Fig. 6-3. Rendering of the University Ford site, representing the recreational program of the site.

Fig. 6-4. Panorama of the existing condition of the former University Ford site, photograph by author.

77

The very specific focus of the design is the recreational complex (Table 6-1). By

reusing the former automobile showroom and garages in conjunction with additions of

new construction, I am greatly increasing the F.A.R. (floor area ratio) of the existing

developed site. The existing square footage of the buildings on the site is approximately

33,000 square feet with an F.A.R. of 0.09. I propose to increase the F.A.R. to 0.31 with

the addition of nearly 80,000 square feet of floor space. The site will also have more

surface are used beyond the buildings, in the form of outdoor basketball courts, a skate

park, and multi-use lawns. Amenities incorporated into the design include a NHL

regulation size ice rink, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility, an outdoor

climbing wall, batting cages, an indoor lap pool, and a bowling alley (Figures 6-5, 6-6,

and 6-7). The long row of garage service bays has been programmed to become pro-

shops, cafes, and a health foods market. Parking on site is to be handled with both

surface lots and a parking deck. Close attention is being paid to the design of the site so

that alternative connections will have an equal importance to automobile traffic.

However, because this site is primarily a suburban destination, the main access to the

facilities will be via the automobile.

The site is to become a hybrid of open public space and membership based

amenities. In order to maintain the open feel of the site without establishing a perimeter

fence to “secure” the property, certain amenities will be openly accessible to the public,

while others are available with a fee or membership. The basketball courts and skate

park will be open to the public as well as have equipment rentals available on site. All

other activities will require a fee or

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Fig. 6-5. Rendering of ice rink building and central thoroughfare.

79

Fig. 6-6. Rendering of bowling alley (left) and fitness complex (right).

80

membership to acquire access. This program of open public space and membership

based amenities, as well as shops and restaurants should result in a viable complex during

all hours of operation. Though the mix of uses on the site is limited to recreation and

support services, the site does lend itself to being active throughout the entire day.

The nearby single-family residential and recommended multi-family development

should also provide a base of visitors to the site. The multi-family development on the

nineteen wooded acres of the site will consist of nearly 300 units, varying in size from

700 to 1200 square feet. One, two, and three bedroom units will be located in clusters of

two and three story buildings, nestled among the trees behind the recreational complex.

Even with 300 units nearly half of the wooded are can be left intact as a natural amenity

to the residential development. Also the multi-family complex should be intimately

connected to the river park and secondary transportation routes between the nearby

suburban destinations.

Fig. 6-7. Rendering of climbing wall and basketball courts

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The design of this site is an important first step in remaking the already

made landscape in Athens, Georgia. There are definite rings of development that

are noticeable when driving out of Athens along any of the many roads that pass

through the city. The greyfields, however, are most prominent along the Atlanta

Highway. This site is not the only site in Athens worth consideration for

rethinking. It is, however, one of the many pieces of the suburban fabric that may

be addressed individually in order to make better use of existing resources.

Table 6-1. Design Program

Program Amenities F.A.R. Square Feet

Infill and adaptively reuse the

former University Ford automobile

dealership with a program of

recreational and leisurely activity.

Increase the F.A.R. of the site while

maintaining the suburban character.

Associate access to the site

primarily with the Atlanta Highway,

but create alternative transportation

routes linking the site to other

nearby suburban destinations.

4 outdoor basketball courts

Inline skate and

skateboarding park

Outdoor climbing wall

Batting cages

Quarter mile running loop

NHL regulation ice rink

Bowling alley

Strength and conditioning

total fitness complex

Indoor Lap Pool

Pro shops, restaurants, cafe,

and health food market

Increase from

the current

Floor Area

Ratio value of

0.09 to 0.31.

Increase total

square footage of

buildings on the

site from 33,000

square feet to

112,000 plus,

square feet.

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Conclusion

Suburban infill design has its merits, and with a new, more honest approach to the

complex order of suburban design, design professionals such as landscape architects can

help to solve, at minimum, site specific problems within the suburban fabric. At issue, as

has previously been noted, are the lengthening commutes and horizontal spread of cities,

along with mass consumption of open land and natural resources. Though some cities

have grown so tremendously is size and circumference and even others have grown

together, there still is a tremendous amount of land on which we can build. The real issue

is that the American public has a deeply rooted desire for what I’ll call aesthetic-

efficiency. Primarily, Americans want efficiency. Once we have had a taste for the easy

life, we rarely want to go back to “doing it the hard way.” And now, to make matters

worse there is a tremendous desire nationwide to have everything built held to some

aesthetic standard. Some of the forms of aesthetic control have become laughable. Many

localities are requiring vast supercenters to apply faux facades that present the image of a

small town main street, yet we still park in giant parking lots, the building still sits many

yards back from the street and we still enter through one or two primary banks of doors!

Nothing has change, but the paint job. Even worse McDonald’s stores are forced to shed

their franchise image for clapboard siding and gabled roofs. The suburban highways do

not need to be dressed up in classical architectural elements and ridiculous nostalgic

innuendos. What needs to be done is a new awaking to the face of suburban America.

The momentum is swinging and designers now have the chance to develop creative

design solutions for suburban destinations without the embarrassment of faux facades and

forced nostalgia.

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