Global depletion of resources and rising transportation costs have forced many cities to rethink strategies for future development. Indianapolis is no exception, and Stadium Station provides solutions for these problems while offering highly desirable living accommodations in an urban setting. Stadium Station supports existing downtown employers and activates currently underperforming areas around Union Station and Lucas Oil Stadium. Stadium Station also promotes economic development by accommodating new commercial spaces.

Download Project PDF

Indianapolis is historically termed “The Crossroads of America,” due to an extensive rail infrastructure network and The National Road, currently U.S. 40. Today, however, most people associate the nickname with the four interstate highways that pass through Central Indiana.

Indianapolis has a tremendous opportunity to reclaim this identity by providing public transit connections the way the city currently provides interstate connections. However, Indianapolis is far behind where it could be regarding transit.

Only within the last several years has Indianapolis begun developing a plan for transit connections in and around Marion County. The current plans should be refined, improved, and put into development.

The transit system should be centered with a multi-modal transit station in the Indianapolis urban core. The station will bring together all types of transit at one central hub to provide riders as many transportation options as possible.

This project proposes Union Station as the potential hub for future public transit it Indianapolis.

Download Project PDF

Van Camp Crossing is a creative urban design project in Indianapolis, Indiana, focusing on alternative stormwater management for brownfield sites. The redevelopment project also considers a range of successful urban design practices ranging from environmental planning to placemaking and economic viability. Through these methods, previously undesirable and fragmented parcels are revitalized into a thriving community.

Download Project PDF

Eco-Island promotes Indianapolis’ identity as an alternative energy producer, activating waterfront, developing a commuter gateway to downtown, and creating a livable community.

Urban development must consider sustainability, specifically dealing with cities as part of a compound system with social, biological, and technological components. As we go to smaller scale, we should consider buildings as components of the city rather than deal with them as a single object. Eco-Island aims to identify effective low-energy and low-carbon infrastructure and the ecological impact of development patterns. It also explores the role of education in modifying wasteful lifestyle and public awareness, and defines sustainable standards that support the lifecycle of a sustainable development.This project applies three major strategies.

First, it identifies development patterns (transportation, mixed-use, and open space), and how these three factors promote a holistic approach to create socially and economically sustainable development. Second, it study self-sufficiency (passive and active systems), and how these two strategies contribute to afford a convenient sustainable environment. Finally, it also explores education’s role as a key factor for sustainable development.

Download Project PDF

This creative project explores redevelopment opportunities in Indianapolis first-ring suburbs. Littered with remnants of outmoded industry and vacant brownfield sites, these first-ring suburbs have abundant acres of opportunity. Coupled with an all-but-abandoned belt railroad, the Indianapolis Belt Railroad corridor provides a physical framework for concentrating development and networking neighborhoods.

Prevalent throughout the United States, first-ring suburbs are struggling to compete with revitalizing downtowns and the endless sprawl of wealthy outer-ring suburbs.
A first-ring suburb renaissance is desperately needed to ignite a renewed sense of pride in these historically vibrant neighborhoods. With roughly 1/5 of the nation’s population living in first-ring suburbs and the geographic proximity to the city core, these neighborhoods need urban design with a vision for sustainable growth.

This urban design project explores best practices for revitalizing first-ring suburbs into mixed-use, transit-oriented developments to conduct innovative sustainable technologies throughout neighborhoods adjacent to the belt railroad.

Download Project PDF

The University of Indianapolis was founded in 1902 and has grown up with the neighborhood to the south–University Heights. Indianapolis suburban growth eventually surrounded what used to be a secluded campus and neighborhood.

Rethinking the regional context and the university’s role, this urban design project considers how a transit line through the area would affect development around a station over the next 50 years.

Download Project PDF

“Campus Commons” is a proposed family-friendly transit-oriented neighborhood adjacent to the University of Indianapolis on the south side of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a community where people live happier and healthier lifestyles. Its housing options and variety accommodate the needs of a broad range of residents while providing options as they age and their lives change.

The University of Indianapolis works hand-in-hand with the neighborhood to create dynamic partnerships that are mutually beneficial, such as world-class education and healthcare options for residents. A neighborhood heart featuring an orchard, community gardens, and farmers market promotes positive dining habits and stewardship for the land.

Campus Commons is a place where residents take pride in walking, biking, and riding safe, clean public transportation. Sidewalks, trails, bike and car share programs, a shuttle bus, and a light rail station make this one of the nation’s most walkable communities. Residents live, play, and work all in one neighborhood, and access to all of Indianapolis without needing to own a car.

Download Project PDF

The Net-Zero Capitol District provides Downtown Indianapolis with a model for sustainable urban living. Located just north of the Indiana State Capitol the sixteen blocks making up the district are currently over run by surface parking lots that separates IUPUI’s campus from the Central Business District. While this area has shown potential with the renovation of the Canal Walk, it still finds itself plagued with suburban style developments and poor ground floor transparency, which have severely limited the districts urban activity to date.

Indianapolis has found itself in an opportune position with a high demand for downtown apartments. The Net-Zero Capitol District will incrementally provide an additional 2,000 residential units in Downtown Indianapolis to help recreate what was once a vibrant urban community in the heart of the city.

The master plan for the Capitol District introduces transparent ground floor activity along Senate Street anchored between a new Capitol Park and the State Capitol Building Government Complex. It celebrates the street grid network and utilizes the existing view shed corridors to strengthen pedestrian movement between the Canal Walk and the American Legions Mall.

Aside from creating a unified urban identity for the neighborhood one of the major goals of the plan is to reduce the districts carbon emissions to become a net-zero community. The plan provides a guide for reducing energy demands and utilizing renewable energy sources. Utilizing the existing building stock allows us to focus on retrofits paired with new standards for construction in order to reduce energy demands. While on the supply side, the plan provides renewable energy through a district wide geothermal heating and cooling system, and other recommended technologies including rooftop gardens and photovoltaic panels.

In order to become a viable neighborhood the Capitol Districts’ residents and stakeholders must lead the way. A plan is not intended to happen over night, instead it should foster gradual change built around the core values of its people. The Net-Zero Capitol District plan provides Indianapolis with a framework for reinventing its urban fabric and a guide for future development.

Download Project PDF

We have all heard the saying “we are what we eat”. Another idea that is just as true is, “we are what we grow”. With this in mind The Project School is being developed in a ground breaking partnership with Timothy Gray and Ball State University, and Mathew Jose (from Big City Farms) to create an urban garden along the monon trail at the school’s 22nd street campus in Indianapolis. When Principal Tarrey Banks looked at the overgrown, derelict property behind his school, he knew that it could become something wonderful, not just for the students but also for the neighborhood and ultimately, the city. The farm project can serve as a model for developing partnerships between schools and urban farmers in every Indianapolis neighborhood.

A group of fourteen Ball State University Architecture students led by faculty director Timothy Gray constructed classroom and meeting facilities for the project, using re-purposed shipping containers. The buildings are being designed to satisfy functional requirements, but also to demonstrate sustainable building practices. The surplus of shipping containers that exists in this country due to the current trade deficit, along with their relatively efficient adaptability to a variety of building functions, makes them a choice well suited to the project. The buildings themselves would become educational tools, extending the agenda of the urban farm to that of the built environment.

The project would be used by the rotating body of students enrolled at the school annually, as well as the local community. The high profile site is adjacent to the heavily used Monon Trail and is at the center of the “Smart Growth District” identified by the City of Indianapolis.

The Indiana Avenue Net-Zero District, located directly north of the State Capitol Building, symbolizes the change in the state’s environmental attitude. Every feature within the development was built with the consideration of sustainability. Formerly dominated by parking lots, it is now a site that encourages pedestrian and mass transit use, thus reducing carbon emissions.

Within the Indiana Avenue Net-Zero District is three subdistricts: Student Village, Indiana Avenue, and the Pedestrian Alley.

1. The Student Village is the brain of the district. It is an area where IUPUI students live and study. In addition, students are given an opportunity to apply their knowledge in the student oriented businesses that provide co-ops and internships.
2. Indiana Avenue is the spine of the development. This mixed use area supports the users of the entire district and the surrounding areas. In addition, it is a high traffic area that connects the CBD to the downtown area.
3. The Pedestrian Alley is the pulse of the district. This system of alleys acts as a web connecting the vibrancy and activity throughout the district. This subdistrict will be one of the few in Indianapolis where the alley has its own address. The intimacy of this space makes it a wonderful area for dining, gathering, and socializing.

Download Project PDF