SPRING 2016

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Collaborators:

Sam Burner, M. Arch., NC State University (Team Lead)

Jessica Klink, M. Arch., NC State University

Jonathan Currin, M. Landscape Arch., NC State University

Stephen Dahlem, MBA Real Estate Development, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Allen Wood, MBA Real Estate Development + M.U.P., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Robin Abrams

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Midtown CATLYST represents a new form of development for the City of Atlanta: a catalytic moment amid the existing urban network that excites new connections between otherwise disparate members of the Midtown community. Atlanta is a rich city with a wealth of culture, arts, communities and businesses spread across a large geographic area. Despite its identity as a cultural capital of the South, there remains today a significant disconnect between members of these unique and vibrant communities; communities that continue to grow yet risk greater division as Atlanta pushes further outward into surrounding metros. In contrast, the Midtown CATLYST serves to provide a unique opportunity for connectivity within the city’s urban fabric.

This 21st century project activates a 14 acre site on the west side of Midtown that sits contiguous to Georgia Tech - a 19th century development -  and Technology Square - a 20th century development - to the east and north respectively. In addition, the new project creates a cross axis via an urban plaza connecting the underutilized pedestrian tunnel situated underneath the I-85 Connector and Midtown’s North Avenue MARTA station.

The initial phase of CATLYST involves the reactivation of the pedestrian tunnel, which on the Midtown side of the Connector is located at the base of the Olympic Torch, an iconic landmark and placemaker. The construction of a multipurpose civic center that focuses on community enrichment via spaces for digital fabrication and experimentation, technology incubators and low-rent offices, anchors the proposed development of two larger mixed-use residential towers. Members of the surrounding community are invited to interact with and learn from one another via new digital making laboratories, which become lively spaces filled with students, young professionals, and residents from the surrounding university, technology campus, and neighborhoods. Running between the tunnel and the North Avenue MARTA station is a public urban plaza, a new pedestrian spine connecting members of Georgia Tech and the surrounding Midtown communities. Finally, existing one-way streets are to be converted to two way streets and several intersections become at grade crossings in order to allow for a more pedestrian and bike-friendly environment.

Phase two introduces a new mixed-used office building adjacent to the tunnel alongside the construction of a new residential tower above the existing North Avenue MARTA station. The tower, providing both market-rate and low-income housing options, affords tenants easy access to MARTA and nearby amenities located in mixed-use retail spaces. Furthermore, members of the growing community are invited to interact with and learn from one another via both the community’s digital fabrication space and terraced urban plaza.

The final stage of CATLYST involves the construction of a series of retail, restaurant, office, and senior-housing options opening directly onto the urban plaza. The introduction of senior housing creates for Atlanta’s older residents, whose population continues to increase significantly, the opportunity to learn about new technologies and interact with younger members of the community. In addition, as the surrounding areas continue to develop, a series of integrated landscape systems, utilizing water reclamation strategies and bio-swales, branch out toward various parts of the city.