designbelt

Meet The Circles     Pittsburgh, PA     (2010)

Abrahamson + Smith 

entry text from Pittsburgh Civic Minded Design Competition

We propose to create a new signature neighborhood, The Circles, up the hill from the Arena on the edge of Upper Hill. The Circles are the most distinctive neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This neighborhood is composed of walk-up buildings four to five stories tall and of curved plan, multiples of the famous Royal Crescent in Bath, England. Also present is a landmark hotel, competing on the skyline with a torqued corkscrew profile.

Three distinct activity areas populate the territory west of The Circles: a sunny swimming area to the south, a meadow-like winter play area to the north, and an urban park to the west nearer downtown. Anchoring this urban park is a forecourt across the street from the new Consol Energy Center. Flowing through this court we propose a skating canal reminiscent of Montreal’s Rideau Canal, which becomes a lazy river in summer, solidifying Pittsburgh’s place as the Venice of the United States.

But let’s get back to the problem at hand, Civic Arena. Let’s face it, most of the people that want to save the Igloo are Penguins fans. If you turn it into a science lab, those people won’t be able to experience the space. What we propose is to have those people park their cars inside. We propose to replace Pennsylvania’s most profitable surface parking with Pennsylvania, and possibly the world’s, deepest parking garage, spiraling deep below the Civic Arena far enough to replace all existing spots. It’s also a reference to the extents of local mining culture. Nobody digs holes better than Pennsylvania. Nobody. That’s right, West Virginia, we said it.

The heart of our proposal is an expansion of public space and the addition of amenities to a preexisting neighborhood. In addition to these amenities, The Circles transforms an underwhelming surface parking lot with a great view into a gem on the crown of the city of Champions.