Multi-Grid
Year: 2013
Competition Entry: SixtyNine Seventy, The Spaces Between: An Urban Ideas Competition
Team: Mike Albert, Victor Perez Amado, Aneesha Dharwadker, Fadi Masoud, Conor O'Shea
Recognition: Design Jury Finalist, People's Choice Award Finalist, and Honorable Mention; 2015 Merit Award in Planning, Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Mult-Grid is an urban-scale open space strategy that binds together Salt Lake City’s numerous cultural attractions in an ecologically-driven manner.
The resilience of the grid as a framework to guide urban growth stems in large part from its ability to be recalibrated according to emerging social, economic, and cultural conditions without undermining its multiscalar efficacy. From the continent to the regional township or section to the downtown core of American cities, grids across America have evolved to suit a variety of needs. At the onset of the 21st century, American downtown cores are thriving after decades of population loss and experiencing renewed cultural and artistic vibrancy. This condition is exemplified in Salt Lake City by investment in proposed architectural projects such as the Utah Performing Arts Center, the Jessie Eccles Quinney Center for Dance, and the Utah Film and Media Arts Center. However, investment in buildings alone will not fully capture the urban renaissance currently sweeping across the United States, nor will it adequately address environmental concerns generated by urban growth.
To move forward in an ecologically responsible manner and harness the cultural energy currently emanating from downtown Salt Lake City, an urban-scale open space strategy that binds together Salt Lake City’s numerous cultural attractions — including performance art, visual art, cinema, shopping, dining, and religious destinations — is needed.
MULTI-GRID responds to Salt Lake City’s most recent cultural and artistic rejuvenation while maintaining an urban sensitivity to the grid’s religious origins and its numerous historic evolutions since the city’s founding in 1847.
MULTI-GRID has four grid strategies:
1. MICRO-GRID Creating smaller blocks.
2. FINE-GRID Activating residual spaces.
3. GREEN-GRID Cleaning air and water.
4. CULTURE-GRID Binding the arts and open space.
