MOUNT AIRY FORESTAnna Barchick-Suter, Steven Bevan, & Greg Sanders

SITE DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW

Mount Airy

Site Development

The objective of this project was to create a subdivision in Mount Airy Forest, a 1400 acre park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bordered by Colerain Avenue on the east, Shepherd Road on the northwest, Westwood Northern Boulevard on the southwest, and Montana Avenue and West Fork Road on the southeast, Mount Airy is surrounded by a mix of housing and businesses.

A 131 acre site in the northern portion of the park was selected. It’s topography is able to be built upon, but still kept the character of the forest. The neighborhood layout and features were designed with the forest in mind and allow for interaction between the built and natural environments.

Achieving a mix of housing types and land uses, so as to create a more complete and well rounded development, guided the design process. The final plan satisfies this goal and reflects the diversity of housing in the area surrounding vthe site.

Two motifs seen in the site are walkability and mixed use. Mount Airy’s existing extensive trail network is supplemented with additional trails and walkways within the development. The street network includes sidewalks on every street with connections to the trail network and elevated walkways. The development also features a mix of single family housing, multi-family housing, and mixed use commercial buildings that are integrated so as to maintain a balance.

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Photos taken on site

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Elevated Walkways

Multimodal Transportation

Tree Preservation

Amphitheater

Land Bridge

A unique feature in the development is the use of elevated walkways. These walkways provide a different perspective to pedestrians and are located in focal points and main arteries in the site. In the plaza area, walkways are utilized to give a second connection to mixed use buildings. Over the main boulevard, the walkways become part of the trees lining the median adding another way for pedestrians to traverse the development. The walkways are a part of the larger trail network that connects with all of Mount Airy Forest.

Connectivity is another theme throughout the development and is present at all different scales. Sidewalks and trails provide pedestrians with the opportunity to fully move around the development and explore Mount Airy Forest. Sidewalks on every street let pedestrians experience the traditional neighborhood development style while the elevated walkways provide a whole new perspective on the development and the outdoors.

Public transportation is becoming more necessary as more people are moving into urban areas. The development offers three bus stops on a route that connects to adjacent neighborhoods and downtown. Mount Airy’s proximity to downtown and other urban areas make this bus stop an attractive incentive.

Cars are still the dominant choice of transportation in America and our development provides room for cars but does so in a way that car transportation is not encouraged. There is on-street parking on many of the streets but there is a greater ease to walk within the development or take a bus when leaving.

Mount Airy Forest is densely wooded and in the plan a way is provided to keep as many trees as possible, even with all the built environment included. Silva Cells are boxes that are underground that keep tree roots from going above the ground level. This is key when incorporating trees with any kind of material like concrete, asphalt or brick. Silva Cells are used in the plaza, medians, and sidewalks to prevent the roots from damaging any open space, road or sidewalk.

In the southern portion of the development, the amphitheater acts as a flexible open space. Connected by walkway to the plaza, it encourages walking and outdoor activity. Because it’s only partially developed with concrete, forming grass steps, it offers residents and visitors a place to engage in activites such as frisbee, walking, and performance. The location helps act as a segue between commercial area and forest and is a combination of the built and natural environments.

The idea of the land bridge is to bring the two parts of the development into one joined community in a unique manner. At 150 feet wide and about 700 feet long. The bridge becomes a focal point for the development. Rather then being a simple road bridge, the land bridge allows for interaction to occur throughout the linear park. The walls on either end of the bridge turn into vertical gardens, allowing for the land bridge to blend in with the surrounding environment. From below, the bridge becomes a unique gateway into the community and an icon that makes the overall development special.

FEATURESMOUNT AIRY FORESTAnna Barchick-Suter, Steven Bevan, & Greg Sanders

Image sources: architypesource.comcoleraintwp.orgconfluence projectdeeproot.com

ecobuild.co.ukqueencitytour.blogspot.comswarthmore collegewikimedia

High Line Park - New York City

Forest Walk - Singapore

Market Square - Pittsburgh

Sugar Beach - Toronto

Market Square - Pittsburgh

Sugar Beach - Toronto

Waterfront Park - Louisville

Eden Park - Cincinnati Scott Amphitheater - Swarthmore College

High Line Park - New York City

Dangling Log - Hartford

Vancouver Land Bridge

Figure Ground

Street Sections

Housing TypesLand UseThe figure ground diagram appears to be misleading to an extent because of the land bridge between the northern and southern parts. However, within the actual built up

areas, the high density and diverse building types can be clearly seen. Street network flow is depicted by viewing the spaces in betweenthe buildings.

There are three different road types in our development plan: collector, subcollector, local access. The collector road includes a median with a lane of traffic and parking on each side which will be used on the Boulevard and Blue Spruce. The local access includes on street parking

with a lane for passing traffic that will be used on every residential street. The subcollector is used on the cur-rent arboretum road and includes two lanes of traffic with no on street parking.

The map shown displays the types of housing and structures in the development, along with the number of units planned for each. The placement of each type of housing brings the boundaries between types to a minimum. Creating a diversity with housing allows for different family types and people to move into the area and interact with each other.

In order to keep with the high density of the community, row housing is used a great deal throughout our development. Row houses allow for the land to be developed more efficiently and parcel sizes can stay small. The sketch here shows an example of what row houses we were inspired by to use in our design.

This map shows the parcels and how they are intended for use. The primary uses in the site are green space, single family, multi-family and mixed use commercial. The land use

map goes along with the theme of diversifying the site, mixing in single family with multi-family and combining mixed use buildings and open space.

SITE SPECIFICSMOUNT AIRY FORESTAnna Barchick-Suter, Steven Bevan, & Greg Sanders

Local access Collector

Local access Subcollector

Single family Single family

Mixed useMixed use

Townhouse Townhouse

University of CincinnatiSite Planning & Design studio - Fall 2012

Professor Mahyar ArefiTA: Jaren Abedania