A neglected urban public space – the space underneath the viaduct
With the expansion of the urban scale and the development of urban transport, a variety of viaducts have been introduced, either as urban expressways, railways or metros.
This type of space occupies an elevated position to assume the role of a road and at the same time creates a large shaded space beneath it. These spaces are often overlooked by programmers or treated haphazardly as ground level roads, resulting in cold and lifeless spaces. It is heartening to note that in recent years designers have increasingly begun to focus on the unhealthy parts of the city (those urban spaces that are functioning, stagnant or deteriorating) and have begun to target their designs and even organise competitions to positively intervene in negative urban spaces, including the spaces underneath viaducts.
The following are some of the best examples of the transformation of spaces underneath viaducts：
Folly for a Flyover，A neglected space has been transformed into a waterside cinema, performance and café venue.
In 2012, Folly for a Flyover transformed the basement of the A12 motorway north of the Olympic Park into an outdoor waterside cinema, café and performance space. It has been transformed into a space.
(createlondon.org. (n.d.). Folly for a Flyover – Create London.)
(createlondon.org. (n.d.). Folly for a Flyover – Create London.)
Snohetta + Strelka KB + Strelka,This project is located under a viaduct in Russia and is part of the redevelopment of the Garden Ring. Prior to the redevelopment, this area under the viaduct was used as a car park. As a result, it is featureless, seemingly abandoned and can be described as a typical example of a negative space under a bridge. In response to the site’s advantageous characteristics of being close to the metro station and the central park, it was allowed to be transformed into a skate park. And time has proved the success of this transformation, with the public space now becoming a part of Moscow’s social life and a new attraction for young people.
The project covers a very small area, but the transformation of its own spatial and functional properties injects a youthful energy into the whole area. The skate park has a lane on each side and for safety reasons the designers have created high guardrails and safety nets around its perimeter.
The design falls into place as the site is divided into two levels with an amphitheatre style design with steps and universal elements for skateboarding beginners and those who want to develop the sport. At the same time, the monotonous, predominantly grey ground was abandoned in favour of coloured concrete in order to activate a positive mood visually. You can skateboard here all year round thanks to the elevated bridge that blocks out the sun and rain.
(ArchDaily. (2018). The skatepark at Kremski Bridge / Snohetta + Strelka KB + Strelka. )
(ArchDaily. (2018). The skatepark at Kremski Bridge / Snohetta + Strelka KB + Strelka. )
It is easy to see from these examples that although the untreated spaces underneath viaducts are mostly negative, they actually hold a variety of development potential in their own right. In brief, these include the following: the structural properties of a “roof” to protect them from the rain, often a high degree of accessibility, often a high degree of freer spaciousness, etc.Of course, the negative attributes are obvious, as most of these spaces are windy and inherently colder because they receive less light, and city noise and car exhaust are also factors to consider.
It is up to us as programmers to avoid their negative attributes and to create new urban spaces in response to these strengths.
References
Gideon Golany and Toshio Ojima (1996). Geo-space urban design. New York: John Wiley.
createlondon.org. (n.d.). Folly for a Flyover – Create London. [online] Available at: https://createlondon.org/event/2011-create-art-award/.
ArchDaily. (2018). The skatepark at Kremski Bridge / Snohetta + Strelka KB + Strelka. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.cn/cn/905408/ke-lei-mu-si-ji-da-qiao-de-hua-ban-chang-snohetta-plus-strelka-kb-plus-strelka?ad_name=article_cn_redirect=popup [Accessed 14 Apr. 2022].
Friends Of The High Line and Diller Scofidio + Renfro (2008). Designing the High Line : Gansevoort Street to 30th Street. New York: Friends Of The High Line.
Thank you for taking the time to write on such a fascinating subject. As an urban design student, we study about urban issues and creative solutions to them. I, too, wrestled with such neglected and abandoned under-bridge space during my research. Moreover, it is vital to note that these spaces may feel unimportant, but they rather have a profound impact on the surrounding areas. The examples you mentioned were really good, but I would like to add a simplified angle and give examples doable by the local people as well.
https://inhabitat.com/scottish-underpass-transformed-with-led-lighting-and-art-installation/bigg-designs-led-lighting-underpass-cumbernauld6/
Craiglinn Underpass, Cumbernauld Scotland
It began as a local school initiative including community involvement. In a nutshell, it was a transformation of a vandalized and neglected underpass into a one-of-a-kind journey. The kids were asked for some original ideas. Murals representing the cityscape, people, local architecture, and wildlife are painted on the walls by the school children. Also, LED lights are also an added element that changes the colour of the underpass throughout the day. The school children were involved in the design process throughout and hence they feel a sense of ownership of the space and the deserted underpass is now transformed into an inspiring and attractive site.
Finally, I am glad, as you mentioned, it is delighting to see designers focusing on such unused spaces and coming up with innovative solutions. We as upcoming designers should always try to focus on and solve such issues.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. It is true that there are many such ’grey spaces’ in the city that we have neglected. But in fact there are many public spaces in the city that have a great potential to be explored. These are spaces that exist in the city, with undefined functional properties, but with many possibilities and plasticity. In addition to the examples you have given here, I think there are others that could be exploited, such as colonnades and gables in buildings, abandoned urban areas, traffic roundabouts, abandoned industrial areas, roof spaces of some buildings and facades of some buildings. I have also collected some good examples of roof gardens. If widely adopted, rooftop gardens can reduce urban heat islands, thereby reducing smog events, heat stress-related problems and further reducing energy consumption. Rooftop gardens also help to reduce storm water runoff. As designers we should take some of the neglected urban spaces and use them to redesign them in a more creative way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Fenchurch_Street
Liu, K. “Energy efficiency and environmental benefits of rooftop gardens” . National Research Council Canada. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
McMillan, D.W., & Chavis, D.M. 1986. “Sense of community: A definition and theory,” p. 16.
Jiaxi, thank you for this interesting blog. The work we did for the Housing Alternatives module enhanced my understanding of this topic. It has made me realise the importance of it, as I have noticed that it is commonly overlooked by urban designers and planners. I found that in the case of the site we were asked to work on, which is located near the heart of Gateshead, the flyover became a dangerous barrier for pedestrians and cyclists wanting to join the city centre. I therefore came up with a solution that would connect both sides of the flyover, establishing a link between neighbourhoods and ensuring pedestrian flow by putting the pedestrian at the centre of the scheme.
As Arundhati also commented, I believe it is critical that we ‘recycle’ these urban spaces as they occupy huge amounts of space and, instead of putting pedestrians and cyclists at the forefront, they often become dark, loud, polluted spaces inhabited with antisocial behaviour. As urban designers, we should think of these places as opportunities rather than obstacles, and as you depict in your blog, many professionals have come up with very creative ways of handling and reusing these spaces.
As you suggest, I personally find that situating sports-related schemes underneath flyovers is a fun and smart way of reusing these spaces. One scheme that I particularly like is A8erna in Zaanstad Amsterdam, where they transformed these spaces into a riverside attraction, allowing for many waterside activities below the motorway. With such activities, traffic noise does not become as problematic as the activity itself is noisy.
ArchiTonic (2003) A8erna Available at: https://www.architonic.com/en/project/nl-architects-a8erna/5100103 (accessed 24/05/22)
These are interesting examples that Jiaxi presents to us, and as learners of urban design, we should pay more attention to these unnoticed urban spaces. “Leftover space is a long-standing and established fact, and it is not something that can be easily changed by “good design” alone, there are many factors that influence it.” (Simon Zhang, 2022)
At the same time, it is important to recognise that there is a difference between what designers and others think. Designers design in a relatively optimistic way, wanting to design spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, while in reality some ordinary people choose to use these spaces in simple and specific ways, such as neglected dead-end green spaces in the community, temporary homes for the homeless, event spaces for street sports, or even a small space for graffiti enthusiasts to doodle freely.
A good example of this is the Graffiti Pier in Philadelphia, a wild internet attraction that is a graffiti artist’s paradise. Originally called Pier 18, the pier was part of an industrial legacy that was abandoned for years, and the industrial site has since become a gathering place for graffiti lovers.
From my perspective as a programmer, the site could be completely redesigned, but from the graffiti artist’s point of view, the place is what they want it to be. ……
In the end I think that the space under the bridge is perhaps not the most difficult part because it is indirectly lit, but the real difficulty is the disused underground station etc. Maybe we can explore more cases together to learn more about this aspect. The New York Transit Museum at Court Street Subway Station in Brooklyn might be a good case in point.
1. Exploring Philadelphia’s cityscape – Graffiti Pier https://hiddencityphila.org/2017/03/marked-potential-graffiti-pier/
2. https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/458034131
3. Wikipedia – New York Transit Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Transit_Museum
This is an exciting point. A lot of urban space is wasted. As the population grows and urban transport develops, it inevitably creates ‘wasted’ area that is primarily fragmented and fragmented. These spaces should not be ignored; they can also accommodate many functions and activities.
Some of the more common of these spaces are those underneath viaducts. The space underneath the viaduct is usually located between two areas, and this space needs to act as a link between the two regions. The viaduct itself can be seen as a roof, and the resulting space can be seen as a large covered shed, which is an advantage of the viaduct.
I want to add a characteristic example: PLATFORM PARK is a design for space underneath a viaduct, which connects all the surrounding areas. This design combines the surrounding sites and accommodates many functions without significant alterations to the site. I think this is a perfect example of design underneath a viaduct. (TERREMOTO.LA, 2022)
Terremoto.la. 2022. TERREMOTO.LA. [online] Available at: <https://terremoto.la/project/platform-park> [Accessed 24 May 2022].