What are the most interesting unrealised urban visions?

Ecology1%24potential-landfill-1960s.jpg

How much of San Francisco bay could've been filled in without environmentalist intervention. The water between Alameda and San Mateo Counties would've become a river.

I can only imagine how many of the structures built on that landfill would collapse during an earthquake. The 1989 earthquake caused soil liquefaction in San Francisco's Marina District, which was built on landfill. Unsurprisingly, some of the buildings there didn't fare so well during the quake:

1024px-LomaPrietaSFDivisideroCollapseMeyer.jpg


The ground was also deformed, destroying roads and sidewalks:

LomaPrieta-Marina2.jpg


Now multiply that wrecked neighborhood by several dozen if much more of the Bay had been filled in and built upon.
 
Edmonton, Alberta. 1963 (METS) design study for a US style freeway loop enclosing the downtown area.
The mind boggles...
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Traffic to this day is majorly restricted in the north/south axis. The South East/North East freeways have merit, particularly as the alignments were already laid out/acquired and would not have caused much displacement on established areas at the time. Without the build out of the East Leg (which Would cause major acquisition/displacement issues) the whole idea becomes troublesome. That such an audacious idea was contemplated (to the point of funding a multi-million dollar design stage) is either far thinking...or just bat$h!t crazy!
The Jasper Freeway (aligned down McKinnon Ravine) would have been a very good way of getting people into the core, coming from the southwest quadrant of the city. Two different civic governments tried to build a scaled back version of this particular segment (as a four lane divided arterial) but the public backlash was heavy.
Much of this is impractical, but some of it's elements would be very nice to have, now that there are 1.2 million souls in the Greater area.
One of the four spans (the northernmost) of the James MacDonald bridge system was built between 1968-71 and serves to this day in it's original "temporary" configuration. Designed to a 100km/h standard (posted at 60km/h) for the westbound collector lanes of the freeway, it is now a favorite spot for the Edmonton Police Service to pad their pockets.
This LINK contains scans of many of DeLeuw/Cather's sheets from this original contract.
This was but one part of an evolving, comprehensive transportation plan for the Edmonton region and many other elements have been built over the years. Whitemud Freeway, Yellowhead Trail, Capilano clusterhump (a freeway to nowhere...) and the major arterial on 170th St. on the west side. The initial road works done (since largely demolished and rebuilt during ring road construction) in the 70's on the east side of the city were also a part of the METS concept.
 
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kernals12

Banned
I can only imagine how many of the structures built on that landfill would collapse during an earthquake. The 1989 earthquake caused soil liquefaction in San Francisco's Marina District, which was built on landfill. Unsurprisingly, some of the buildings there didn't fare so well during the quake:

1024px-LomaPrietaSFDivisideroCollapseMeyer.jpg


The ground was also deformed, destroying roads and sidewalks:

LomaPrieta-Marina2.jpg


Now multiply that wrecked neighborhood by several dozen if much more of the Bay had been filled in and built upon.
Good point. Although, there were few deaths from that. 2/3 of all the deaths came when the upper deck of I-880 in Oakland collapsed and crushed the cars on the lower level. Thankfully, because so many people went home early or stayed at work late to watch the World Series, rush hour traffic was well below normal levels.
 
With a lick of paint, the ziggurat design would be amazing.

One thing I never quite figured out, the love of dull grey for that and the other Brutalist projects.

You can add pigment to concrete, and not even worry about paint-- and adds almost nothing to the cost of the project.

Or even colored panels, like in Minnesota
640px-Riverside_Plaza_and_Mixed_Blood_Theatre_at_sunset_2014-08-09.jpg
 

Deleted member 94680

One thing I never quite figured out, the love of dull grey for that and the other Brutalist projects.

You can add pigment to concrete, and not even worry about paint-- and adds almost nothing to the cost of the project.

Or even colored panels, like in Minnesota

I can only assume it’s to do with cost. But using different colours of concrete wouldn’t be that bad an option, either. Grey, red, yellow/sand colours would at least break up the monotony.

Unless it’s something to do with the quality of the concrete?
 
Marincello-model_6028.jpg

This is Marincello. A planned suburb that was to be built in Marin County, CA. Environmentalists stopped it from being built and it's now a hiking area.
Having visited the headlands and seeing how rugged they are, I can say that this project, when completed, would have been an incredible sight to behold.
 
I can only assume it’s to do with cost. But using different colours of concrete wouldn’t be that bad an option, either. Grey, red, yellow/sand colours would at least break up the monotony.

Unless it’s something to do with the quality of the concrete?

the average color loading for Iron Oxide powder(aka rust) is 2.5 pounds of pigment per 94 pounds of cement, 2.6 percent. Iron Oxide is cheap, and most concrete already has some iron oxide in it already, from the Portland process, that makes it grey. So Black, Yellow and Orange are fairly easy, and do not effect the mechanical properties at all.
 
One thing I never quite figured out, the love of dull grey for that and the other Brutalist projects.

You can add pigment to concrete, and not even worry about paint-- and adds almost nothing to the cost of the project.

Or even colored panels, like in Minnesota

The aim of Brutalism was to change people by placing them in radically different environments. Social and psychological engineering by architecture.

I bet a restricted colour palate was part of that.

I have to say, the coloured panels in Minnesota you show look ugly as sin.

fasquardon
 
The aim of Brutalism was to change people by placing them in radically different environments. Social and psychological engineering by architecture.

I bet a restricted colour palate was part of that.

I have to say, the coloured panels in Minnesota you show look ugly as sin.

Looked a little better when new, but that's Modernism, doesn't appeal to everyone.
That colored panels was one of Ralph Rapson's design elements
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Only Architects seemed to like Brutalism, though.
 

Driftless

Donor
One thing I never quite figured out, the love of dull grey for that and the other Brutalist projects.

You can add pigment to concrete, and not even worry about paint-- and adds almost nothing to the cost of the project.

Or even colored panels, like in Minnesota
640px-Riverside_Plaza_and_Mixed_Blood_Theatre_at_sunset_2014-08-09.jpg

I used to drive by those buildings often when I lived in Minneapolis. They always reminded me of my ancient Kenner Building Set (same vintage)
 

Driftless

Donor
I can only imagine how many of the structures built on that landfill would collapse during an earthquake. The 1989 earthquake caused soil liquefaction in San Francisco's Marina District, which was built on landfill. Unsurprisingly, some of the buildings there didn't fare so well during the quake:

1024px-LomaPrietaSFDivisideroCollapseMeyer.jpg


The ground was also deformed, destroying roads and sidewalks:

LomaPrieta-Marina2.jpg


Now multiply that wrecked neighborhood by several dozen if much more of the Bay had been filled in and built upon.

I remember hearing a geologist compare building on the filled-in portions of the bay like building on Jello - in regard to the form of seism that occurred.
 
In the early 1900's, Scranton, Pennsylvania was served by several railroads serving the downtown area. The Delaware & Hudson, Central of New Jersey, and New York Ontario & Western followed the gorge of the Lackawanna River. This passed under Lackawanna Avenue - a main downtown street - at essentially a right angle. Parallel to Lackawanna Avenue and passing over the other railroads was the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.

Scranton proposed a Union Station for all the railroads that would have straddled the Lackawanna River. The front of the station would have faced Lackawanna Avenue. The DL&W tracks would be accessed on the other side, while you would descend below street level to board the other railroads' trains - on a series of tracks and platforms built directly over the river. The river would have passed through an artificial tunnel under the station building.
 
How much of San Francisco bay could've been filled in without environmentalist intervention. The water between Alameda and San Mateo Counties would've become a river.
I can only imagine how many of the structures built on that landfill would collapse during an earthquake. The 1989 earthquake caused soil liquefaction in San Francisco's Marina District, which was built on landfill. Unsurprisingly, some of the buildings there didn't fare so well during the quake:

The ground was also deformed, destroying roads and sidewalks:

Now multiply that wrecked neighborhood by several dozen if much more of the Bay had been filled in and built upon.
I remember hearing a geologist compare building on the filled-in portions of the bay like building on Jello - in regard to the form of seism that occurred.

Liquification was my first thought as well. I'm well familioar with it in Japan, where a great deal of urban land is reclaimed, especially in the greater Tokyo area. It was a big part of Peter Hadfield's 1995 book Sixty Seconds That Will Change the World, a examination of what will happen when the next major earthquake hits Tokyo.

The 1964 Niigata quake showed on a smaller scale what liquification would do.
 

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I wonder how this statue could be dismantled or kept in disguise during the Yeltsin's years. It would be utterly dominating over the landscape and ideologically undesirable in the 90s.

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Of course, the Palace itself can be used as host for some of the post-Soviet governing body, but the situation would look ridiculous.

Heh - a Firdos Square (the infamous Saddam statue in Baghdad in 2003) style toppling would be pretty spectacular. Destructive, but spectacular. Maybe in an expy for the White House being shelled by tanks of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in a TL where the fall was bloodier...
 
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