Greening the
Industrial City

The author has chosen to layout sheets beginning with a higher density of diagrams on opening sheets followed by larger rendered images on later sheets. Though it is generally balanced by pages, there does not seem to be an overarching organizational system applied to all pages, which is always recommended for consistency and ease of reading by the jury. The color palette is also quite varied with use of purple, gray, orange and black headlines and images generally colored in yellow, orange and green tones. To further balance the sheets for consistency the author might consider finding a constant grid to apply to all sheets, even if the sizes and content of images vary. The text uses bold headlines which provide a strong hierarchy and readability to the major conceptual points of the project. However the font and text size do not aid in the communication of the project. It is recommended that the author reduce the amount of text, and find consistency in the horizontal dimension of the text columns, as the variation causes some challenges in reading. The use of all caps in this particular font also does not help the jury read the project easily. The renderings on sheets 3 and 4 would benefit from some basic annotation and descriptions. The sheets appear unfinished and unless the jury already has a clear understanding of the project, it is unclear how the project is organized and what one is looking at. The final aerial image in particular would be aided greatly by some additional text details. The submission has a good level of hierarchy in terms of details within imagery. As jurors always review a strong project more than once, it helps that upon deeper reading, one learns more about this project.

The project has in particular pushed the boundaries to test and find a unique graphic method which is complemented by clear layout and annotation for ease of communication and to generate a strong immediate response from a reviewer. The project stands out among typical project submissions for its bold use of color, which is well balanced using a mix of pinks, greens and yellows. The use of an introductory page to describe three easy-to-understand generative concepts, followed by individual pages to describe each concept, makes for clear communication. The project is a master plan, and so it is expected that it will remain general in its nature. However, it would help to provide some level of detail to the architecture beyond block masses. This would also provide a range of scales to the drawings, pulling the jury into the project and convincing a reader that this proposal has been thoroughly analyzed as a design project. While the drawings are generally aerial in perspective, and while it provides a strong graphic statement it also lends to a slight difficulty in understanding scale. The change on the final page to a street-level view is welcome, and this project would benefit from additional views at this perspective. The author might also consider a sectional drawing to better communicate scale and the individual’s spatial experience within the site and project. The text generally uses bold headlines which provides easy readability to the major conceptual points. In this particular project, it does not help to change font sizes for introductory versus secondary texts. The secondary texts read far too long and could be abridged. The ‘public art’ component specifically does not need so much text to communicate a simple topic.

The layout of the four sheets is crystal clear for easy reading, with a primary image that spans the entire page in the horizontal, consisting of 75% of each sheet in the vertical. Below, spanning the base of each sheet, details and text provide additional supportive information. This layout provides simple reading, allowing jurors to easily find required text and descriptive diagrams that in conveying the concepts established in the larger and visually more important image above. The color palette is a well-balanced mix of yellows, purples and greens as well as shades of skin colors for the scale figures. The primary site plan on the first page appears overly uniform. While the simple pedestrian loop within the project is clear, the author might consider some variation in graphics for the trees as well as the landscaping. The project is sophisticated, but this specific drawing is rather banal in terms of the information it yields, and does not fully reflect the project’s intent as it is shown on subsequent sheets. The use of annotation is advanced and communicates the correct amount of information to understand the project. However, the use of bold black-highlighted texts visually detracts from the otherwise accomplished graphics. This is especially the case on sheet 3, where the annotations are the most visually heavy elements on the page. While annotations should be clear and easy to find, they also would benefit from being secondary to the drawing content. The submission has a strong level of hierarchy in terms of details within imagery. The use of large imagery with significant detail urges a juror to spend additional time to fully read and appreciate the level of thought given to such a submission.