© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 1 Takoma Park Dog Lounge Seeking Design Cues: Assessing Urban Design

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 2 The Adjacent Building A sk What spatial elements are expressed in the arrangement of buildings (solids) and spaces (voids) that form the project’s context, to which a new project may respond? What compositional elements are expressed in the design of buildings that form the project’s context, to which a new project may respond? Would it make more sense to complement or contrast with the context? (Note that both are responses)

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 3 The Adjacent Building This is the existing building on the property. What cues do I notice? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 4 Modulation BracketField Brick and limestone piers are used to mark a horizontal rhythm while an aluminum and glass infill is used to layer it vertically. An awning is used to reinforce pedestrian scale and provide shelter. The façade is organized horizontally into a linear field of 3- bay modules that turns the corner, bracketed by a terminating/anchoring mass. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 5 Pedestrian Median Here’s more of the context. What additional cues do I notice? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 6 Vertical Modulation Vertical and horizontal banding are seen as an organizing device for the facades of other properties. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 7 Facing Building Brick, limestone and aluminum found on our client’s building are reflected in this property through use of color though not materials. I also note how the scale of the detailing on this building is much coarser than on the existing building on our site. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 8 South Face: Carroll Ave What do the existing datums and rhythms imply for the void that is the site? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 9 Vertical Datums I can extend the vertical datums across the site, using diagonals to make the projection accurate. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 10 Horizontal Datums I can also extend the horizontal datums across the site to see what they imply. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 11 A Mesh A A A A A b b b b b b And I can extend both vertical and horizontal datums from the existing building across the site. Note that I am not yet proposing design ideas. I’m just looking. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 12 Just West I could do the same kind of assessment of the implications of this building, on the west side of Willow Ave. G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 13 Just West For example, does the east façade, facing our site, suggest any local symmetries? E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 14 Up and Down the Street Other views might bring other insights. G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 15 Up and Down the Street What about this building, across Carroll Avenue?. G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 16 Up and Down the Street Does the façade facing the project site suggest any local symmetries? E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 17 Up and Down the Street Same idea, another perspective. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 18 From the NW Corner What’s worth noting here? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 19 From the NW Corner There’s a setback line and a local symmetry. There’s also a varied material context that includes siding on the north, brick on the east, granite on the south, and limestone on the west. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 20 The Residential Context What’s worth noting here? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 21 The Residential Context Mass Void There’s a series of more-or- less square masses separated by almost square voids. Mass Void E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 22 Up and Down the Street Other buildings in the area (though not adjacent) are even smaller in scale, and combine brick, stone, and stucco. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 23 Up and Down the Street What’s point on? Does the context have any common themes? Perhaps there’s at least a lower mass in front of taller blocks. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 24 Up and Down the Street This is the view looking West on Carroll Avenue toward DC. What cues can I take from it? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 25 In Plan OK. Enough with photos. What about figure-ground assessment. What’s here? G ather

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 26 In Plan I’ll start by making the masses and voids more obvious. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 27 In Plan I can also see how the continuity of the masses changes. Large contiguous masses More fragmented masses N otice

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 28 In Plan I can also look for bleed-out, where well-defined spaces start to lose their definition. E nhance

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 29 In Plan Where are the gaps that could use some reinforcement? N otice

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 30 In Plan Although Carroll Avenue is not very well defined, it looks like the project site might have a role in starting to create a more cohesive streetscape. T ranslate

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 31 In Plan That makes it easier. Now…What’s patterns do I see? How might the project might address the figure-ground condition. It can address the church… …and/or Willow… …and perhaps the space defined by the church and office buildings… …or maybe Carroll Ave. instead of the church. T ranslate

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 32 In Plan Let me also identify alignments and local symmetries. The effects of some reach farther than the effects of others. N otice

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 33 In Plan And what design cues might I take from all this? A few of these regulating lines call out for a response. How might I respond? I can answer that when I move on to design. T ranslate

© Barry D. Yatt. All rights reserved. 34 This is just a start. Many more cues might be found. The key is to look for them.