strip district market hall
Spring 2014
Taking into account the ongoing negotiations for the development of a large, empty riverfront site in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, this project task is to create a market hall (30,000 ft2), office space (18,000 ft2) and a destination restaurant (10,000 ft2) on a corner of a proposed new residential development. Given is the 60 foot tall residential block to the west, as well as a two story underground parking structure that would front the site and provide an open plaza at ground level.
With such a focal building type as a market hall located at the periphery of the Strip District and away from pedestrian traffic, the most immediate problem is access. In order to get people into the site, I saw it an opportunity to create an entry and exit point for the Strip District as a whole, and enabled this by using part of the site as a city bus stop and turnaround. From the buses people can move into a central open courtyard, where they can access the market hall, office, and restaurant. I also recognized that a substantial parking structure in the very car-unfriendly Strip District will create a destination in and of itself. Most likely this lot would be completely full during weekends, so the site has two separate axes of human movement. To mesh this difference and join the site together through outdoor programming, a trellis structure creates a direct axis to the riverfront, guides people into and around the market hall, and provides an area for outdoor market spillover during warmer months.
Developing details and the exterior organization was the next step after solidifying the overall programming layout. First I redeveloped the trellis structure from welded tube steel to C channel steel beams that bolted to plates between the columns. This allowed lighting wires to run between the beams and a more elegant ground connection to occur through a steel plate. The specific point of entry, where the “bus stop” would be located, was marked by an elevated and roofed section of trellis along the axis with the courtyard. In addition, the circulation points of the parking structure were located and brought into the outdoor trellis circulation.
Exterior cladding is simplified to two materials: zinc panels and glass. The zinc gave a more civic and modern look to the complex that previous iterations using aluminum panels couldn’t pull off. Large glazing allowed in more natural light, and at two points the wood trellis slats climb and cover the glass around the circulation towers. Overall the market, with a spacious ground floor and two mezzanine levels, takes the feel of a warehouse, a familiar and proven building type in the Strip District.