The Underbelly
Team
Name: James Berndt
Nationality: American
Institution / Company: Oklahoma State University
Name: Braden King
Nationality: American
Institution / Company: Oklahoma State University
Name: Rony Ramirez
Nationality: American
Institution / Company: Oklahoma State University
-FINALIST of FUTURE PUBLIC SPACE Competition
Considering the rise in homelessness in the Dallas, TX community, we decided to highlight the severity of the issue of the living situations under the John Carpenter highway. We address the current living conditions adopted by transient homeless individuals and aim to raise them to a higher standard. Connected to site context like the DART East transfer center, we acknowledge and invite the passage of the locals and those who seek refuge in the futuristic public space.
We ignite an idea that provokes thinking differently about unused spaces in the urban environment. To empathize the unique reasons for living under the highway is to strive to create a public space more noble and humane in nature. Utilizing the beams supporting the overpass, a track holds the living units and allows them to roll out and adjust accordingly at the will of the inhabitants.
The highway that runs through this area of Dallas is flanked by two districts – Downtown Historic District and Deep Ellum. With our proposal, we hope to facilitate the flow of pedestrians and highlight a place of refuge, a shelter, a home surrounded by a growing awareness of this demographic in dire need of recognition.
#dignity #empathy #restoration #placemaking #story
