If Not Retail, What Will Enliven the Ground Floor of the City?

“When you walk the streets, you see vacancies on every block in all five boroughs, rich or poor areas – even on Madison Avenue, where you used to have to fight to get space”

Faith Hope Consolo quoted in NY Times Article by Corey Kilgannon

For those of us who regularly follow the conversation about retail, over the last few years it has been described as “an apocalypse”, a “revolution”, or as an industry in flux that will not settle into its “new normal” for some time to come. As part of our daily design lives we are often reading several things at once that are relevant to our practice as architects, our love of cities and our interest in placemaking. Over Labor Day weekend, three such publications about retail converged, and made us question anew, what is the future of retail and what will the ground level urban landscape look like?

While reading Jan Gehl’s Cities for People and Doug Stephens’ Re-engineering Retail, an article in the Sunday Times chronicled the dearth of retail store closures around New York City (“A Vibrant City’s Vacant Look” by Corey Kilgannon, Sunday September 2nd, 2018). While one could delve into the “whys” behind this, as architects of urban places, we are more attuned to visioning the “what if”. How is the public realm impacted when a significant percentage of ground floor retail disappears? What new programming will we need in our cities? What will invite people to engage on the pedestrian level, other than passing through on the walking portion of their commute?

In Doug Stephens’ book he suggests that the physical retail realm is not obsolete, but that it is in a process of being reconfigured.  He believes (and we agree with him!) that people inherently crave shopping and will continue to seek it out, despite having most of our needs met by online transactions.  He cites the reasons for shopping as 1) the thrill of the hunt or discovery, 2) the fact that we are social beings and we are naturally drawn to crowds (how many times do we judge a good restaurant based on the level of activity within?) and 3) physiological (anticipation of a good find triggers the release of dopamine, and who can resist that?!).  He surmises that retail will need to shift its focus from products to experience.  In New York City, for example, Sonos has transformed a retail space into a destination where individual listening modules allow customers to hear music in a contained space, with artwork chosen to compliment the music.  People will ultimately be drawn to brick and mortar retail because of our intrinsic need for visceral stimulation.

“We will travel to a shopping space to learn, play, experiment and experience in a way that is simply not possible from home – with or without technology”.

Doug Stephens, Reengineering Retail (p. 145)

Michael Hicks for The Real Deal + Brookline.com

A compelling programming model for vacant storefronts is the current trend toward co-working spaces. Co-Working Creatives like Rough Draft in NYC offer flexible work space with many amenities such as natural light, shared printing and copying, outdoor seating, personal lockers and bike parking, and even basic kitchen niceties. As Stephens suggests, a popular venue will naturally draw individuals to it, which will in turn enliven the streetscape. Communities can legislate ground floor uses through zoning ordinances and overlay master planning guidelines. We believe that makes for an empowering experience for residents and city officials to revision their public realm. Specifically, how might the ground floor level be re-purposed beyond traditional commercial use, to allow for more creatively engaging spaces? We look forward to considering this topic further, as we partner with the City of Newton to analyze revisions to their zoning ordinance.

Rough Draft + Sharedesk.net Websites

In Jan Gehl’s book, Cities for People, the author pays close attention to what or who is being invited into a space.  As cities expanded their streets and highways, thereby “inviting” additional cars, traffic increased, and the public realm suffered.  Conversely, in cities such as Melbourne, Australia that have focused on inviting human activity by adding bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and pedestrian streets, public spaces have flourished.  But, as Gehl points out, it is not just the density of people that makes for a good city, but the sorts of activities that are offered that allow passersby to linger and enjoy occupying the space, and the quality of the edges that define the space.  At Form + Place we are ever aware of the role that “lively edges” can play in animating a space.

As Kilgannon points out in the NY Times article, New York City is beginning to reflect the shift in retail brought about by our increasing dependence on online retail (and the same can be said for many other cities as well).  So again, we wonder, what becomes of these empty spaces?  Shuttered storefronts are the extreme opposite of “lively edges”.  How might we re-imagine these “edges” to support active and engaging spaces? 

287 Gallery Website

When a building owner experiences a vacancy that persists in being hard to fill with a long-term lease, one option is to make that space available for pop-up stores. This requires a little active management on the part of the owner but the pay off in the form of location awareness and brand enhancement can be substantial. A use that fosters community engagement and event opportunities can be an ideal programming move, by bringing people out to the street and into the space. Given the prevalence of companies like Storefront that specialize in connecting building owners to creative entrepreneurs and established brands for short term and seasonal pop-ups, it’s clear that the pop-up market has potential to be an active catalyst in rebranding blocks blighted by vacancies and lacking energy.

Just as the retailer LL Bean has reverse engineered the co-working craze to be part of their brand and broaden their footprint of market presence, couldn’t a building owner, previously looking for typical retail or dining tenants reverse engineer the prototypical storefront space to be suited for office or residential users? What’s stopping them? Is it the perceived price that a “retail” space must fetch per square foot? Wouldn’t it be interesting to house a co-working space for a local university? Or a co-studio space for the students of a local art school or group of artists? Is there synergy in the making of art and “storefronting” of art in the same location? In the end, the market will continue to be driven by our human nature and need for social interactions. As social beings, we inherently crave a public forum to come together to exchange ideas and experiences.

Photo credit L.L. Bean

The Placemaking Experience in Private Residential Environments

By Michael A. Wang

In recent years, placemaking tenets have been referenced to help define the full spectrum of development contexts and building typologies. Accepted as a critical component of experiential architecture and planning used to shape urban environments and larger-scale mixed-use commercial developments, placemaking is now being associated with office interiors, hotel lobbies, multi-family common areas and even private residential contexts. In these smaller environments, there is often an emphasis on connectivity between interior and exterior spaces and a conscious effort to provide a focal point that shapes the social interactions of the end users, facilitating opportunities for community-building.

Trac 75 multi-family residential in Allston

In single-family residential settings, there is obviously a much more intimate and personal quality to these gathering places. It is well known that the way we use the public spaces in our homes has evolved to address a continuing cultural shift towards the less formal. An early phase of this shift was the recapturing of back of house spaces formerly relegated to the cook and the butler. Today, the kitchen is at the center of social interaction, whether entertaining guests or enjoying a family night at home. These trends have driven the repositioning of traditional rooms as owners reevaluate how they want to use spaces such as the formal dining room. With the advent of family rooms and “great” rooms, even living rooms have been relegated to holiday gathering places that often sit idle throughout the calendar year.

Rethinking opportunities for socialization inside the kitchen

In his residential architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright was masterful at creating spaces that maintained a degree of individual definition while flowing seamlessly from one part of the house to another - overlapping and interconnecting visually. Le Corbusier as well, though utilizing a very different aesthetic, contributed a great deal to the concept of flow by placing emphasis on “architectural promenade” -controlling the experience of people purposefully and sequentially moving through a house.

Open and flowing spaces in Wright's designs

Le Corbusier - visually connecting inside and outside space

Though crafted for very different eras, the experiential qualities of homes designed by the masters can still be applied in creating great spaces that support the way we interact socially today. While contemporary residential environments often focus on connectivity, a simple “open plan” approach alone does not necessarily result in spaces that feel defined, intentional and appropriately-scaled. Instead, architectural features such as soffits, columns, knee walls, etc. can go a long way toward establishing a variety of “places” within a largely open space. Visual connections between public rooms and exterior spaces not only allow for abundant natural light, but also can enhance the experience of both indoor and outdoor activities. The alignment of interior openings [“enfilade”] from room to room can create long views, promote a better understanding of the whole and continually reference the relationship of the home to the surrounding landscape.

Terraces, bays and porches used as exterior "rooms"

The design of transition spaces and exterior rooms – whether porches, terraces or defined lawn areas – serve to integrate the house into its context, further expanding placemaking opportunities for activities such as reading in the garden or al fresco dining. In fact, one’s surrounding context is often the primary driver for the orientation of key rooms, whether extending out horizontally into the landscape to capture views of the mountains or the water or emerging vertically in the evening onto a rooftop deck to survey lively urban surroundings. Placemaking principles that shape thoughtful environments, create a context for unique programming opportunities and connect us to the larger world, and can indeed be applied at many different scales.

Connecting to the larger context

Placemaking in a District Master Plan: Designing Edges to be Defined and Active

"No single topic has greater impact on the life and attractiveness of city space than active, open, and lively edges. Wherever people stay for a while, they seek out places along the edges of the space.”

Jan Gehl – Cities for People

In the world of big mixed-use development, there will always be new master plan proposals that seek to transform moribund urban districts of cities into dynamic and flourishing destinations for visitors, residents, and small and large businesses. From 10,000 feet, it’s easy to spot the new master planned development that dwarfs the scale of the surrounding pattern development of a city that was founded over three centuries earlier. As these districts, necessarily bounded by parcel ownership and neighborhood edges, rub elbows with adjacent properties, the potential exists to learn from their smaller, more people-scaled neighbors and spread the regenerative potential of the district master plan in the process.

Aerial view of MGM Springfield and Main Street corridor

Aerial view of MGM Springfield and Main Street corridor

One of the curious constants about our cities is that while the scale of developments increases, responding to land value escalation and the imperative of good ROI, the importance of an appropriately scaled public realm does not change. When it comes to strolling, shopping and dining in an urban environment, we still exhibit the same tendencies that Jan Gehl observed, with possibly one exception – we consciously crave experiential connectedness. Yes, we tend to gather at the edges, and those edges want to be “active, open and lively”, but today’s user of urban space is also searching for activities that are both authentic in feel and immersive in experience.

"Pocket park" and redeveloped block engaging the pedestrian

In a city like Springfield, which was founded in 1636, this isn’t necessarily as difficult as it sounds. Our older cities are characterized by certain “missing teeth” in the urban fabric; sites that once had a building but are now open lots, alleys or maybe reclaimed park space. Utilizing these existing conditions as assets - like in the case of MGM Springfield - might involve exploiting the view corridor offered by a pocket park, opening the building edge to the park, and employing the original masonry party wall as a mural advertising a critical tenant and reinforcing the district brand.

Retail strorefronts creating "open and lively" edges

The current trend of making storefronts in restaurants and cafes as open as possible has the dual effect of generating activity and interest for the restaurant owner, as well as adding to the overall vibe and dynamic feel of the district street. Sidewalks don’t need to be as wide as you might think to accommodate the activity, and parallel parking is actually a good thing as it buffers people dining at outdoor cafes and window shoppers from the traffic and noise of the street.

The variety of scales exhibited by the buildings of our older cities is one of the great characteristics that make the fabric of these historic neighborhoods so attractive. Some buildings are literally one shop wide while others comprise several shops and run the length of the block. In the case of the latter, the quality of architectural details, signage and lighting in combination with the leasing approach can mean the difference between and oppressive sidewalk experience and one of engaging variety and immersive urban experience. Placemaking at the sidewalk scale is first established by uses that allow for a variety of experiences; maybe a barber shop or a post office trip alongside a café outing or the discovery of a boutique to duck into along the way.

In the end, creating a dynamic environment along a busy Main Street starts with good programming, but relies on the careful consideration of edges to complete the picture. By utilizing the existing fabric of storefronts, sidewalks and urban spaces, and inserting new features to highlight tenants and reinforce the district feel, a well scaled public realm can foster connectedness and complete the placemaking experience.

Leveraging a Mix of Uses, the N-Squared Innovation District Attracts a Burgeoning Ed / Tech Sector

"We knew we needed to rethink work and leisure to promote more meaningful conversations. Lines are blurred in the way we live today; therefore our space should reflect that.” 

Jodie McLean – CEO, EDENS

The value of blurring the lines between work and leisure, summed up succinctly in a press release by retail developer EDENS regarding the recent merging of their office space with a local bookstore and café, reflect the general sentiment of many of today’s companies when it comes to location, design of work environments and the culture they embrace. They want to be in a neighborhood that has options for shopping, living, dining and playing, and they want their own space to reflect the variety of daily experiences their employees seek. The overlap of work and leisure is bemoaned by many, especially at home, but in the work environment, office tenants and developers alike are seeing value in softening the divide between work and play. And let’s face it, who doesn’t like it when a little leisure time makes its way into the work day?

In the N-Squared Innovation District, encompassing 500 acres in Newton and Needham, the trend of colocating education / tech companies like Empow Studios and Examity in retail based mixed-use developments, is beginning to change the face of the district and the face of these companies. Leonid Tunik of EMPOW Studios sees the value of their new location at 180 Needham Street. “The Newton-Needham community has always been very interested in our technology programs. It’s time we established a year-round presence in the Newton area that features our project-based technology curriculum. It’s fair to say that the momentum of development on the Needham Street corridor and the N-Squared Innovation District put it at the top of our list.”

From their perch on the second floor of 180 Needham Street, redeveloped by Crosspoint Associates, Empow Studios new space looks out over Needham Street and the newly opened Newton Nexus retail development. Empow sees the redeveloped Needham Street corridor as a great point of synergy with their popular Weekend Clubs and the STEM Club, a fully licensed after-school care program with a technology twist. Mixing education, technology and after school care is complimented by the ability of parents and Empow employees to run errands and get things done as they go to and from the studio. The retail center also sees the benefit of foot traffic in traditionally off-peak retailing hours.

Below the studio is the new Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. Replacing the dangerous eyesore of head-in parking at the relocated Boston Ski and Tennis, with outdoor dining and a graceful, entrance sequence to the studio above has completely transformed the experience of 180 Needham Street at this critical mid-corridor link.

Across Needham Street, Examity, an ed-tech online proctoring solution, has just begun construction on converting 10,000 sf of prime second-floor space into their new headquarters. While the development of Nexus was key to Examity’s decision to choose Needham Street as their new home, CEO Michael London also has a clear vision for creating a work environment where people can interact in a variety of settings that integrate leisure activities, such as a stolen moment at a cafe or an after-work cocktail with colleagues, into the daily experience of his employees.

The well-executed redevelopment of the Needham Street corridor, emphasizing a mix of complimentary uses that overlap work and leisure, is proving to be a desirable home for ed / tech companies and great retail destinations alike. As more and larger projects come on-line, featuring higher residential density and integrated open space systems, these companies will find themselves situated in a dynamic, walkable, 24/7 district that thrives on innovation and quality of experience.

Applying Placemaking Principles to the Design of a Collaborative Workplace

While placemaking principles are commonly referenced when developing complex mixed-use projects or revisioning the public realm, they are also surprisingly relevant for designing today’s office work environments. Underlying tenets that promote social interaction and collaboration can truly define the culture of the workplace and have a dramatic impact on productivity. But beyond productivity, a work environment should be an engaging place to be – both stimulating and educational. This is shaped, not only by the physical surroundings, but by programming, and ultimately, the diversity of its users.

Purposeful Planning – For certain businesses - like architectural firms - the open office environment remains a primary catalyst for meaningful collaboration. An open landscape facilitates communication on many levels and, whether direct or indirect, helps underline a company’s values and desired processes. The purposeful juxtaposition of younger staff and senior leadership establishes a culture of trust and is one of the most important components of mentoring. Whether overhearing in-house discussions regarding design process or listening to a phone conversation between a partner and a client, this exposure to navigating a range of diverse interactions is invaluable for employees of all ages and experience levels.

The new open office landscape at Form + Place, an architectural firm in Newton Highlands

Clearly Defined Gathering Spaces – Beyond open studio space, a well-rounded workplace should offer a variety of gathering spaces that can be programmed for a range of activities, whether work-related or purely for social interaction. A cohesive office environment is one that promotes community-building, and flexible gathering space that can accommodate active and passive uses is ideal. In larger work environments, some of these spaces can migrate to the ground floor lobby of an office building. Today’s office lobbies can offer opportunities for interaction with other tenants or a collection of local vendors and, thus, connectivity to the larger community. Subtle design decisions that shape a company’s immediate work environment can include integrating public “pin-up” space for collaborative project discussions or providing rotating gallery space for employee or client artwork. Again, if these forums are integrated into the open office environment, they speak to a company’s process and culture.

Integrating gallery space into an office landscape

Quality of Space – A thoughtfully designed work environment not only makes a lasting impression on your clients, it fosters a positive outlook, camaraderie and loyalty among employees. While ergonomics often point to the quality of the workstation as a key to efficiency, one could easily argue that very simple desk space has merits if it is placed in an environment filled with light, warm finishes and the buzz of conversation.

Connectivity to Larger Community – Similar to the relationship between buildings and the public spaces on which they front, desirable work environments are even more engaging when they are connected to a vibrant community context. A quality office location in a walkable neighborhood complete with restaurants, public amenities and connectivity to public transportation will attract a more diverse staff, especially a younger demographic that has a less auto-centric lifestyle.

Newton Highlands - a walkable neighborhood

Requires a vision – In order to accurately reflect the culture of a company, placemaking in the work environment must represent the values of the entire “community,” not just one person.

Placemaking is an ongoing process – Perhaps most importantly, the work environment should be an evolving landscape. Like a master plan for a community, it must be reevaluated constantly and there must be a willingness to reconceive it periodically to reflect a company’s desired culture, process and goals.

“When we started looking for new office space, we knew we needed to find three things: a location that simplified how employees got to work every day, a neighborhood that engages us on a daily basis, and an office space that supports the way we work every day.”

John Rufo – Principal, Form + Place