I completed this project as a 5th-year graduate student in 2011. The Cultural District Masterplan identifies the elements that make the city of Boise unique, then builds upon those elements to create a cultural district that promotes this lesser-known city as a specific urban place uniquely connected to it's geographic place, time, and conditions.

A strong local focus on agriculture, abundance of solar access, and a unique relationship to the river in Boise's arid climate combine as primary drivers of architectural form. In this schematic design, building massing is dramatically affected by the angle of the sun, the prioritization of urban agriculture, and the meandering of stormwater treatment facilities.

Solar Tilt Diagram highlights south-facing facades of buildings along the 8th Street Cultural District. The downtown street grid does not run directly north south, so to allow buildings to address the street as well as maintain south-facing façades I introduce rotate building floors at the second or third story. This diagonal already exists in a few downtown Boise buildings to some degree and here becomes a defining aesthetic of the cultural district. Reorienting these façades makes the sun more easy to control for daylighting and more easy to adapt for outdoor space.

Green Space Diagram addresses the potential for green roofs to bring the area's dedication to agriculture inside the city, to further outdoor living opportunities and to inject green space into a dense part of the downtown.

Storm Water Diagram shows how water can be collected from impervious roofs and streetscapes, channeled, slowed, and remediated in street-side bioswales. Bioswales serve to beautify the street and guide the way through the district to the Boise River.

The photocollaged images show how these bioswales can appropriate existing voids in the urban fabric, infusing the Cultural District experience with native flora and fauna.