THE INTERSECTION OF 4TH AVE AND 9TH ST IN BROOKLYN, NY HAS DEVELOPED A COMMON CONDITION AMONG MANY AMERCIN CITY BLOCKS. THE DREGRDATION OF ITS STREET FRONT AND QUALITY OF ITS INHABITABILITY HAS REACHED A POINT OF INTOLERANCE AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED UNACCEPTABLE. ALTHOUGH THE LAYOUT PROVES TO BE QUITE ACCOMDATING TO THE AUTOMIBLE IT HAS ALIANATED AND INTIMIDATED MOST ALL OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE AREA. THE FOLLOWING PROJECT IS A PROPOSAL TO RECLAIM THIS INTERSECTION FOR ALL USERS AND PERHAPS EVEN DELOPE A TECHNIQUE FOR MAN’S APPROACH TO STREET DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT CENTURY.

RELAYERING THE INTERSECTION SEGREGATES USABILITY WHILE KEEPING USERS INTERACTABLE AND GIVING PRIORITY TO FORMS OF TRNASPORTATION OTHER THAN THE AUTOMOBILE. BY ADDOPTING SOME CLASSIC STRATEGIES, SUCH AS ROAD PAVING, AND DEVELOPING RADICALLY NEW ONES, SUCH AS THE SIGNAL BOX, THIS PROPOSITION PROVES TO BE A MUCH SAFER AND MORE INTELLIGENT ADAPTATION FOR THIS INTERSECTION.

THIS PROJECT TAKES FOUR DISTINCT PIECES IN ITS CREATION, WHICH WILL BE EXPLORED IN MORE DETAIL THOUGHOUT THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATION. 1) OFFSET PARKING, 2) SURFACE LANE RETEXTURING, 3) THE SIGNAL BOX (WHICH CREATES A MOMENT FOR ENCOUNTER, REST AND RELAXATION AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER AMMENITIES TO A NOW DANGEOUSE INTERSECTION), AND 4) THE BICYCLE SHOOT.

1. OFFSET PARKING: PARIS, FRANCE SET THIS PRECEDENT FOR SEGREGATING STREET PARKING FROM REGULAR ROAD TRAFFIC. THIS PROVIDES A PRVATE AND SAFER LANE FOR PARALLEL ROAD PARKERS DECREASING THE CANCES OF AUTOMOTIVE ACCIDENTS WHILE PROVIDING A BUFFER BETWEEN PEDESTRIANS AND ROAD VEHICLES.

2. SURFACE LANE TEXTURE: THE INTRODUCTION OF PAVED SURFACE TEXTURES FOR STREET LANES WILL INFORM THE DRIVER OF HIS/HER APPROACH TO THE 9TH STREET AND 4TH AVENUE INTERSECTION. THE INCREASEING COURSENESS OF THE PAVEMENT WILL SUBCONCIOUSLY DIRECT DRVIERS TO SLOW DOWN AS THEY BEGIN TO NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PHYSICAL FEELING BETWEEN CAR AND ROAD. THE SURFACE, WHICH IS GENERATED FROM REAPPROPRIATED RAILROAD TIES INLAYED TO THE STREET ASPHALT OR CONCRETE, WILL BE DIPERSED IN DECREASING INTERVALS AS ONE APPROCHES THE INTERSECION, AND THE INVERSE AS THEY DRIVE AWAY.

3. SIGNAL BOX (IDENTIFIED IN DASHED LINES): THIS FEATURE BECOMES THE INTERACTIVE LAYER THAT IDENTIFIES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERSECTION. IT WILL INCORPORATE A NEW APPROACH TO TRAFFIC SIGNALLING WITH THE USE OF AN OCCUPIABLE FLOATING SIGNAL BOX AND DYNAMIC STREET SIGNAGE AND SIGNALLING. IT WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR PEDESTRIAN INTERACTION WITH A SUSPENDED GARDEN CAFE, OVERLOOKING THE CITY OF BROOKLYN AND THE STREETS OF 4TH AND 9TH.

4. BICYCLE SHOOT: AN UNDERGROUND BICYCLE TRANSIT LOOP WILL BECOME ANOTHER LAYER TO THE INTERSECTION OF 4TH AND 9TH. BY CREATING A BIKE TUNNEL THAT WILL ALLOW BIKE RIDERS TO BYPASS HAVING TO CROSS THE BUSY INTERSECTION, NOT HAVING TO SLOW DOWN OR BE A DANGEROUSE SURPRISE FOR TRUCK DRIVERS AND COMMUTERS. THIS SHOOT WILL RUN PARALLEL AND BE VISIBLE TO AND FROM THE NEW YORK SUBWAY.

THIS INTERIOR SPACE SERVES AS A PEDESTRIAN BYPASS FOR THE IDENTIFIED STREET TRAFFIC OCCURRING AT 4TH AVENUE AND 9TH STREET. IT IS INTENDED THAT THIS OCCUPIABLE SPACE SERVE AS 1) AN ELEVATED CAFE AND GARDEN 2) A SIGNAL BOX THAT WILL BEGIN TO IDENTIFY NEW ADVANCES IN STREET SIGNALS AND SIGNAGE WITH INTERACTIVE LCD PANELS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO APPROACH ANSWERS DIRECTED TOWARDS SAFER DRIVING 3) SOLAR POWER GENERATOR FOR TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND STREET LIGHTS.

THE FOUR STRUCTURAL COLUMNS WILL HAVE THREE PROGRAMMATIC FUNCTIONS; THE FIRST WILL SERVE AS AN ELEVATOR FOR ADA ACCESSIBILITY INTO THE SIGNAL BOX. THE SECOND WILL SERVE AS A TELEPHONE BOOTH. THE THIRD WILL EXIST AS A DISPLAY FOR INFORMATION MAPS AND WI-FI CONNECTIONS.