OLAF SUNLEAF

This animation is of St. Paul Minnesota. It mainly includes the Lowertown Historic District. This area is a former industrial area, now mainly lofts, galleries, and restaurants. This somewhat unique background provides an interesting built environment with regulations to keep this area thematically consistent.

The block that I chose to focus on offered a good combination of an early 1900’s hotel, with a more modern but still somewhat early 1900’s inspired business and condo building. These both attach to a parking garage and the skywalk system that is woven throughout downtown St. Paul. This block is also surrounded by parks, a public library, a theater, and a sports arena. I thought this block would be a great study of a large rang of urban functions, and urban traffics.

In this image I replicated and represented the block as it exists today. I focused on street traffic and signage and contrast it with the different green spaces in the vicinity. The annotation included call out some of the more notable elements of this neighborhood, including the parks and the skywalk. In the key I show how I used hatches to signify these different areas and how diverse the urban functions are in this district.

The diagram for this project is a look into how Minnesota came to be. I then work my way to focus more and more on this part of the neighborhood. Going from Minnesota, to St. Paul, to the Lowertown Historic District. I also try to dive deeper into the history and function of the skywalk system in St. Paul. Focusing not only the ideas behind it but the pros and cons of its current existence.

My animation was inspired by the local foot traffic caused by the near by theater that uses the parking garage in my block. I have included large posters of the upcoming touring plays coming to this theater, as well as some outdoor activities for before, during intermission, and after the plays. I chose to show an evening environment in the fall to show how this area can be used in the colder month, which are frequent in Minnesota. I have included warming areas to hangout around and walk by in order to try and encourage more people to walk outside, and not depend on the skywalk system in the area.