The assignment for this project was to analyze the Winter Park Village shopping complex in Winter Park, FL and reimagine the site with an emphasis on placemaking. The deliverables for this project were a site plan as well as detailed sections and renders of the three most important moments within the site.
When reimagining the site plan for this location, I chose to create three distinct districts based on the concepts of Recreation, Discovery, and Leisure. These districts represent broad elements which I believe are key for building and maintaining a healthy community.
The intent of the Discovery district is to encourage exploration through learning and play. For learning to occur, occupants must first feel safe and comfortable. While considering how I would create space in way that would make occupants feel comfortable enough to allow their minds to wander, I came upon the analog of reading a book. When reading a book, the book itself becomes a sort of protective "cocoon" within which readers feel safe enough to imagine new worlds and concepts while remaining in plain sight.
The space depicted in the above image is a mixed indoor and outdoor "History Corridor" highlighting the history of the site which once housed the first indoor mall in Central Florida as well as the history of Winter Park as a whole. Through informing visitors about local history, it is my intent to invoke a sense of pride and tie together the community.
The image above depicts a library and café space. In following with the concept of "cocoons," I chose to develop this moment through three layers of program which allow an occupant to feel isolated while still being able to observe the spaces around them. These three layers of space also allowed me to integrate several functions to include reading and socializing on the group layer, browsing and observing on the mid layer, and socializing and working on the top layer.
Situated between a series of stores to the south and the indoor recreation center to the north, the courtyard space depicted in the image and section below is intended as a respite and gathering space for like minded occupants to inhabit before or after recreation activity in the rest of the district. The space at the ground level is intended to foster socialization and browsing while the elevated space above allows occupants to observe the nearby recreation spaces while dining and socializing in a lower-energy setting.
The space depicted in the image below is a multipurpose gathering space in the Leisure district. To the left side of the image is an indoor shopping and dining venue with indoor entertainment and to the right side of the image is an outdoor amphitheater. The intention of this space and the Leisure district as a whole is to create a place for the community to safely come together to enjoy the local climate, local entertainment, and local dining, and in turn to become a better integrated community.
The models for this project were developed in Rhino 6 and final images were rendered with Vray 5.