#12.006 The Proper Size of a Flying Pig

Posted: 13 May 2012 | Author: bcooper | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

 

-Andreas Lange

Twenty thousand people gather in the streets between Paul Brown Stadium and the Ohio River. Dressed lightly for the expected heat and humidity of a May morning in Ohio, the runners scurry around in last minute preparations for the race.

A system of temporary architecture has been arranged to accommodate the masses.  Chain link fences limit movement, a large banner marks the starting line, platforms are arranged for speakers and power songs to be blasted over the crowd, and most importantly for the runners, plenty of Port-a-potties stretch as far as the eye can see.

The gun goes off and the race starts. A river of bodies bounces off into the city. Twenty minutes later the starting line is empty.  The temporary architecture will be removed and the street returned to normal before the Monday workday begins.

What do such mega events mean for the architecture of the city?  How can a city as a space provide for all the needs of an event for tens of thousands of people for a few hours on a Sunday morning while at the same time remain appropriate to the everyday functions of the city?

What would happen if design assumptions of the typical architectural design process were applied to the layout of an event like the Flying Pig?

One of the most typical restraints in architectural design is the program.  A program is a list of needs or desires for a project.  You want to build a school in Ohio? Look up the OSFC to find the required square feet per student. Want to build a new downtown office tower?  Check the zoning requirements for parking spots per building square feet and see if it will fit. But what if the program was pushed to an extreme?

Imagine if space was given for all of the runners to start on the starting line like the horses in the Kentucky Derby.  When the gun goes off, everyone is released from the gates at the same time.  Equal access for all.

With 20,000 participants lined shoulder to shoulder at 18 inches per runner, the starting line would stretch 30,000 feet or 5.7 miles wide.  The starting line would extend from the River to the Norwood Lateral.

This is an impractical way of running a large race, however, the desire of providing equal access is not uncommon for design problems.  What if everyone in an office tower got a corner office?  What would that look like?  What would a school look like if every classroom had light and air on four sides?  What if our sports stadiums created box seating for everyone?

Building and zoning codes are written based upon worst-case scenarios.  Once you determine the “guts’ of the project, you have to then set all the limitations for egress, travel distance, fire ratings, allowable areas, door operations, stairway widths, etc. and check to see if the design works.  The requirement of designing for the worst-case scenario leads to spaces that are oversized, underused.  Simply put, many of our buildings are built too big because of overlapping demands for maximums.

One of the most typical developments in reuse of space is the conversion of old factory buildings into office space or loft apartments.  The reason pre-war industrial architecture is so well-suited for conversion is that the original building was so simply conceived.  Regular structural bays, large windows for daylight, and durable construction materials make the space as appropriate for industry as it is for modern flexible office space.

Our spaces need to be appropriately sized and then made flexible and thoughtful enough to make the greatest use of the space now and in the future.  They need to provide for the needs of everyday life and manage the worst-case scenarios. Intelligent design not only manages extremes of use, its arrangement and form establishes the framework and tensions that give our city and buildings character.  The Flying Pig is one of the most celebrated races because it runs through the city and the city gives it life.

 

Andreas Lange, AIA is an Architect at BHDP Architecture and member of the Young Architects and Interns Forum and Committee on Design

 

 

 

 

---