ATTRACTOR POINT THROUGH THE ROUNDABOUT OF PEDESTRIAN REALM
DESIGN PROPOSAL
The project aims to create a pedestrian-friendly environment that is seamlessly integrated into the larger context of the walkable city. It focuses on three major elements: walkability, transportation, and creating a unique atrium experience. The project aims to connect Bible Street, Bankhead Avenue, and Means Street, which will form a connection from a small scale to a larger scale of the primary highway of I-285 that surrounds Atlanta, Georgia.
Ensuring walkability is essential, as it promotes more pedestrian sidewalks than automobile lanes. As part of this project, the entire Bankhead Street and part of Bibb Street would be closed and designed for pedestrians only. The area would be linked with the Bankhead Bridge and create a way through the railroad from above, connecting Georgia Tech and English Avenue to become a threshold into the Georgia Tech campus.
The transportation system is designed to be hidden on the site. Means Street and Bibb Street would have three ramps leading to the cars, including loading trucks into the basement parking garage without interfering with the site's walkability. In addition to road transportation, a Marta station will act as the extension between North Avenue and Bankhead Station. Once the Marta line is established, the need to drive to the site will significantly decrease.
The monumental experience is revealed and engaged by the cylinder extruding void that creates the frames for the sunlight to enter the center plaza of the buildings in the afternoon. The movement allows both still and moving pedestrians to experience different environments created by this opening when they enter the urban realm surrounded by four connected buildings.