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I recently thought of an idea for multi-level pedestrian walkway as part of an urban development, but I'm not sure if it could actually be constructed in reality. I'm hoping more experienced urban planners and architectural enthusiasts would have a better idea...
Basically I imagine a high rise urban building with let's say 15 stories. The first 5 stories are retail, the upper level is office/housing.
My thought was that at street level there would be shops built to the city's sidewalk. Nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much your typical urban storefronts.
For the remaining 4 upper levels however, I imagined some sort of ramp, a gentle gradient as wide as the sidewalk, that would be built into the building's facade and level off into to an elevated walkway, I guess it would technically be a balcony of some sort, that would have additional shops built to it.
This would go on, wrapping around the outside of the building for the remainder of the public space. I'm visualizing a slight rising slope to get to the next story, where it would then level off to accommodate retail entrances, outdoor seating etc. and begin to rise again as you walk further around, leading you to the next level of shops and restaurants. This would go on for the remaining retail floors up to a certain point and ultimately lead to some kind of rooftop space, I suppose.
This is nothing more than an idea for a unique pedestrian experience that could enhance the walkability and access to tall, dense, mixed use buildings. I have no idea if it would even be feasible or if it could even be constructed as I described. If anyone has any insight, I would greatly appreciate it.
Interesting, but what you're describing sounds like nothing more than an urban shopping mall, which many cities have, except it's a better use of space to have the pedestrian walkways at the center of the building.
Interesting, but what you're describing sounds like nothing more than an urban shopping mall, which many cities have, except it's a better use of space to have the pedestrian walkways at the center of the building.
True, it would be similar to an urban shopping mall, only inside out. Yes, typically shopping malls are covered, indoor facilities with amenities on the outer edge while the pedestrian walkway is at the center. In my model however, the walkways would be entirely outdoors, wrapping around the building to provide access to the shops, housed at the center, which are inside of the building. Essentially, it would bring the experience of the pedestrian from the sidewalk upwards, multiple stories, to create the feeling of a dense urban street layered on top of several other urban streets.
I guess what I'm imagining is your perspective at the street level would be the same on the 4th floor, and so on. You would still have the sidewalk, curbside amenities, retail signage, public art and everything else, only instead of facing the street itself, you would be facing a railing overlooking the street by 30+ feet.
Perhaps now that I think about it, this would not be as ideal as the average indoor mall. I just thought it was an interesting concept that could be done in a unique way.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The skybridge is common, some multi-level, but other than a few large shopping malls and Class A office buildings, they are not very affordable. In addition to the cost to construct, many cities (such as Seattle) charge a street use permit fee annually, because it goes over their street or sidewalk. The typical fee is $30,000/year.
The skybridge is common, some multi-level, but other than a few large shopping malls and Class A office buildings, they are not very affordable. In addition to the cost to construct, many cities (such as Seattle) charge a street use permit fee annually, because it goes over their street or sidewalk. The typical fee is $30,000/year.
Not quite a skyway either, although in the same family. This image from a small portion of the system in Minneapolis is fairly similar to what I had in mind
I drew up this simple diagram in MS Paint to get a better idea of what I was thinking of. Obviously in a 3D world, it wouldn't appear too much like this, and the rising portion of the walkway that leads up to the higher stories obviously wouldn't overlap the entrances to retail shops. In reality I'm thinking they would be hidden towards the back of the building with the flat parts at the front, but the basic concept is there.
What you described is quite common in many shopping districts in Hong Kong, and in other east asian cities.
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