Regenerative Place-Making at Benning Road Metro Station: Architecture as a Determinant of Identity in the 21st Century

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2004-05-20

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Where "placelessness" occurs, inhabitants' potential for finding an existential foothold is compromised. Residents' identities are existentially dispossessed. The effect of such dispossession generates a spectrum of unfavorable behavior patterns, ranging from apathetic malaise to criminal activity.

   "Regenerative Place-Making" will explore design in a viable but overlooked urban environment. Located near a Metro Station at East Capitol Street and Benning Road, the site is the geographic center of Eastern Washington and is a potential gateway intersection for the district. The urban design will investigate exterior space issues, mixture of uses, and transit-oriented development as stimulus for surrounding neighborhoods. The architectural design will address creation of a landmark, to set character and programmatically anchor the intervention. Character will be rationalized by mnemonic and tectonic aesthetics. 

Approached holistically, "Regenerative Place-Making" can revitalize neighborhoods, individual identities, and community pride, all of which can reduce crime and raise the median quality of life.

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