NEW USERS

John is a Hipster that is a big part of this area. John usually is caught just hanging out with his friends at coffee houses or laying around on a spot of green or any open area to sit and talk for a long period of time. John travels by bike everywhere he goes having his friends following right behind him. He loves his bike. Driving is out of the question for he has an environmental aspect to his life. John loves to end his night with a dance party with a large amount of people in warehouses or at shows. The Electric Factory is at 7th and Callowhill where music and dance shows happen all the time. The area also has a number of music warehouses. John uses the site very often for it is a safe way to travel through the site to get to destinations. With slow traffic lights and a bike path it gives comfort traveling through here where he could stop to have talk time or catch an eventful party.

Erin is a Student at Temple University who lives in the northern part of the site. She wakes up and gets ready for her day of classes. Erin loads her back up and heads to school. She always decides to walk to school even though it's a good ditance but she likes the little workout becasue she cares what her body looks like. Erin goes through her classes and heads home. She stops at the local burrito stand on 10th street when she gets back in the area. Shes going to need some grease in her becasue it's 'Thirsty Thursday' and its always a drinking night on thrusdays. She gets her work done and has her friends come over to drink a little before they go out. She calls for a taxi and heads to center city becasue their is no nice places to go for some fun.

Kevin is a Worker who manages in one of the industrial storage buildings. He wakes up early in the a.m., drinks his cup of coffee and heads to work in his 92 honda escort. He is been driving this beat up car for the last 10 years now becasue he feels he cant buy another car cause he is under paid. He gets to 8th and callow street and there us nowhere to park so he has to pay to park al day. Already starting the day off slow, Kevin goes into work for a full day of annoying people. Kevin comes out of work to get his car to go home to his family and dinner but notices a scratch on his car from someone parking too close to him in the parking lot. Kevin drives off to his faimly siging to Journey becasue he knows he has to come back to this job tomarrow but happy that hes getting out of ther.

Marko is a Resident that lives in the area. He owns one of the many car care places in the area. He wakes up and walks down the street to open his shop up. He throws a pot of mothers ukrainian coffee on and goes next door to see his other local friends and how they are doing. He hangs outside of his friends little shop all day, exchanging over told stories how his home land is amazing. He gives dirty looks at people that he doesnt know and heads back to his shop for someone has pulled up to his shop. He goes back and forth to his friends and his car care all day til it's time to clock out and go home for some sausage beans and rice.

Ando is a Chinese Resident in the southern part of the site who is trying to open another chinese restaurant in Chinatown. He lives right above his soon to become restaurant. He lives with his wife and 3 young teenagers, all who will be working for their father and huband. He wakes up going to markets in Chinatown to find what food he wants to get his 'fresh' foods from. He stays in the area, not leaving it becasue his culture is there. People come in and go from his area and he wants to provide for them traveling through ther southern part of this site. When his restaurant is started, there will be no time for traveling anywhere else in philadelphia for his rertaurant is opneed everyday of the week.

Paulsky is a Child that is part of an african amercian family. His family lives in an enclosed small block residential area next to the vine street expressway. Awaken by his mother during the week for school, his sister walks him to school that is located in the northern part of the area. After school, he ditches his sister to run around with his friends. They find open areas to play football or tag. He is out late where is parents do not know where he is because he is somewhere new everyday. He cant go to franklin park becasue it's too tp cross the vine street expressway. He runs around and makes terror in the neighborhood until he hears his mother calling his name. Paulsky runs home and gets a mouthfull from his mother and sits down and eats dinner. He goes to sleep for he cant wait to run around with his friends again after school.

more on program thought

Applying programmatic thoughts to these users, there is one thing to still think about. There are the users that pass by. How to go about “interviewing” them to come to the site? How to provide program to this area that people coming through will want to drive, bike, run, or walk through this area.
The first step into thinking about these scenarios was open space vs. enclosure. Bringing green spaces around the Electrical building has the potential of stopping space while people are living or traveling through the area. Since the residents in the area do not even use this at all, it can bring them together and see what this great part pf the city is all about. They know this area is there, they can see the building from five blocks down the road. They know its there so it has potential of uniting it. All the users have a sense that they need this leisure space that the area does not provide. Hipsters and Students could come and hangout and possibly plan their next dance party, or even just to have a walk through and a cigarette. Children have a space to run around in and parents not worrying about them because they know where they are and feel sage about it. Workers could have their lunch break out here.
So getting them to the building, what is going to be there? The building needs to establish something for the users in the area and outside coming in. If you look at Rem Koolhaas’ Seattle Public Library, he gives this sense of cross programming. He states about the building, “The ambition is to redefine and reinvent the Library as an institution no longer exclusively dedicated to the book, but as an information store, where all media - new and old - are presented under a regime of new equalities. In an age where information can be accessed anywhere, it is the simultaneity of all media and the professionalism of their presentation and interaction, that will make the Library new.”5 This building needs to be flexible and have specific duties for all users.
Pushing the parking over to the other side of 8th street is needed. There are so many parking lots there that are never fully filled and it will add to he open space aspect.
Is there a possibility of residents inhabitation this building at all? Not sure if people want to live here if events are going on outside constantly. Maybe residential could be looked more toward college students and hipsters since they are in that age range where they could handle events going on and participate in.
The circulation needs to connect using these Willow Street lines from Spring Garden down to the site and back up. It will stitch people using spring garden down into the site and back on their path. This makes a linkage to the site on their route. What will go on here is not determined, but a leisure pathway will conclude what this site needs.

THE [USER]

The Child is woken by their parents for school everyday in the area. They are driven by their parents, ride the bus, or walk to school. They might not really like school, but like most kids, they want to get school over with so they can go play with their friends. They have their playtime and are called in for dinner. They finish their homework and off to bed to wake up again the next day and wait to play games. The fact that this area does not have anything around for their kids to play in has to be disappointing for the Child. Franklin park is across Vine Street, but who lets their child run across a major street like that one. There is some open space around 10th and Green Street, but the Child gets away and out of site from their parents. To the northwest is a good amount of residential. They need something for their kids to be entertained so they are not running the city getting lost.


The Student lives in the area. Waking up everyday to get to class by catching a bus, riding a bike, walking, or driving. They come to school, put their efforts towards their education and leave. They continue with a new journey, stop at the library, grab a beer with some friends, come home and write a paper, or watch some TV. A Student always needs to blow off some steam, they need some leisure time, even if it is hanging out with their friends, maybe want to catch a movie or go out to the bar or even just to get some alone time by themselves. A Student living in this area has plenty of accesses to different atmospheres in the city, but they do not have that genuine getaway space close by to them.


The Worker comes and goes to work everyday. Works his or her 9-5 job and goes home to their family. The Worker starts out by getting up and usually traveling by car to get to work. He or she does their duties and drives back home getting caught in hush hour traffic. They come home to their families, eat dinner and gets ready to do it all over again the next day. There is a storage building at 8th and Willow Street with the Red Cross and Traffic Court at 8th and Spring Garden. There are parking lots in-between them for parking for the surrounding area of structures holding their jobs. A worker always needs some time to get away from their job or even wait till hush hour traffic and pass by. This could be a great opportunity to give them leisure time to themselves with open or enclosed space to get away from their everyday lives.


The Hipster is a big part of this area. A Hipster usually is caught just hanging out with friends at coffee houses or laying around on a spot of green or any open area to sit and talk for a long period of time. The Hipster travels by bike everywhere they go. They love their bike. Driving is out of the question for they have an environmental aspect to their lives. They love to end their night with a dance party with a large amount of people in warehouses or at shows. The Electric Factory is at 7th and Callowhill where music and dance shows happen all the time. The area also has a number of music warehouses. The Hipster uses the site very often for it is a safe way to travel through the site to get to destinations. With the slow lights and bike path it gives comfort traveling through here where they could stop to have their talk time or catch an eventful party.

Electrical Power and Corporate Identity: PECO’s Delaware Generating Station

http://ruins.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/electrical-power-and-corporate-identity-pecos-delaware-generating-station/

investigations from last meeting

franklin park
- tourist group
-doesnt go north

narratives
-hipster
-student
-resident
-tourist

people that arent there
interviewing
-teens
-students
-children
-elders

checking out ridge subway

perception of journey and experience
-what are the stories about how i want to use those for

what are the uses that are needed?
-enjoyable through it

deadzones
-how it changes
-whatis fertile ground

get on viaduct

bramante
-milan vs rome
-monumental
-emptiness is monumental

pics of electrical bldg from different points

getting into programatic issues

open space vs enclosure
- green in surrounding open spaces
- good - has potential of a stopping space while traveling through
- bad – it could be the stomping ground for the drug traffic already going on
- park like – for the residential in the area that doesn’t use area at all
- spaces are so large that they jump out at you
- abandon buildings – program needs to establish something for people in area and for outside area
- ex. Koolhaas – Seattle Public Library
- Mercati Generali – abandon area turned into commercial and leisure - The strategy for the redevelopment of the Mercati Generali proposes a balance of uses that closely resemble an emergent method for the rehabilitation and reprogramming of disused structures. Whereas historically public space flourished around squares and streets linked to religious or civic buildings or landmarks, today’s cities relay increasingly on the private sector to propagate the city pulse, especially through retail and leisure.
- good – the buildings are noticeable through out site and out side of site

% of users
- in the site now
- 25% RESIDENTIAL
- 40% OPEN SPACE AND PARKING
- 35% INDUSTRIAL
- proposed % of uses
- keeping residential
- open space
- push parking to one generalized area
- parking lots – are not filled at all but a necessity for workers
- open space – “park like” – residential use and user friendly to people coming through site
- abandon buildings – three buildings that are being worked with
- connecting them to the open space and circulation
- good – buildings need to be highly public
- cant be private – users wouldn’t use it and it would become abandon again

circulation – walk vs bike vs drive
walk – spring garden and 8th street are mainly used for walking now
bike – spring garden – connecting most people from music scene to center city more
car – spring garden for travel – 8th street for red cross – callowhill for high travel
willow street lines – means of bringing users into site and through buildings
- the line cuts through the site and into open spaces
- stitching users from top and bottom as mapping routes for future linkages