In November 2004, the then College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) was asked by the Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) to conduct a teaching exercise on the upgrade of the Arizona Capitol Mall District in Phoenix. Instructors and students in the CAED at Arizona State University (ASU) have conducted many site- and discipline-specific studio projects in the past. The novelty of this year’s project was that the architecture and planning studios would focus on the same area and were to be conducted simultaneously.In the spring of 2005, 46 students (31 urban planning and 15 architecture seniors) assembled in a joint studio project to develop a revitalization plan for the Arizona Capitol Mall District, applying urban design concepts that would be unique to the area. This report is the result of a single semester’s worth of collaboration and serves two purposes: it acts as a supplement to the architecture studio’s final design program and as a resource for ideas and concepts toward furthering the renaissance of the Capitol Mall District.
[Note: For more information, contact Professor Carlos Balsas or Professor Claudio Vekstein. Photo source: Jim McPherson]
