Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
This is an architectural question, but can anyone think of a large institutional building that activates its surroundings, instead of pulling back behind lawns, hedges, or parking lots?
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The
Yale Center for British Art by Kahn. Chapel Street is an important commercial thoroughfare in New Haven. The building allows for storefront retail, which is "inserted" into the ground-floor "slots" of the grid. At least one of them, Atticus, a coffeehouse/bookstore, is practically an institution unto itself. The parking is kept in the rear/interior of the block.
There's a decent-sized curb cut for vehicular access along High Street, so it's not ideal. But it acts sort of like a mid-block alley and is also well landscaped with some mature trees.
It's interesting, too, because across the street is the Yale University Art Gallery featuring an addition that was one of Kahn's first major commissions IIRC. I personally love it, but it's pretty stark, and, like many of Yale's buildings, sort of turns its back to the city.
Anyway, as far as well-integrated institutions go, it was the first one that came to my mind. Unfortunately, I don't know how popular Chapel was at the time of its construction, by which I mean, I'm not sure if there was already a strong retail presence there or if the Center helped create that demand, so the circumstances are potentially very different.