Becky McCray recently posed the question: "What can you do with a roofless building?"
The presence of a roofless building is a common site, according to Becky McCray, but she wants to find new ways to tap the potential of the typology.
You probably have one in your downtown. Maybe a building burned, or maybe the roof just fell in. These things happen. Now you have an empty space, maybe with walls, or maybe just an open lot. What can you do with a roofless building?
The standard answer has been to make a pocket park: a little green space, a bench or two, and that’s about it. Maybe a memorial or piece of art. Pocket parks are OK, but they aren’t the only possibility. There’s much more we can do.
McCray goes on to posit a number of possible uses of such a space, gathered in two categories of "not for profit ideas" and "not-just-for-profit ideas," before soliciting feedback for more.
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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