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Somerville, MA | 1960’s Urbanism
Assembly Square:
By Katherine Ginn Ubben
Remembering the Past + Creating a New Identity
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Historical Evidence
Former Wetlands of the Mystic River
Brick Manufacture Boom
1890s
Ford MotorAssembly Plant
1920s
N
Long before the lowlands of Assembly Square were developed, it was orginally home to wetlands, running along the Mystic River. Today, You can still find evidence of this, where wild grasses grow in the damp areas of the site.
“The largest non-agricultural employer in town, and the industry which characterized the landscape for 70 years following the Revolution, was the brick-making business. The proximity of a major metropolitan area, coupled with the extensive glacial clay deposits of the Boston Basin, provided the impetus for early brick manufacture in the inland towns of Medford, Cambridge, and Somerville.”
24 Million bricks were produced in Somerville at the height of the brick-making industry.
“The Ford Motor Company opened its first Boston-area assembly plant in Cambridge in 1914. In 1926, the company moved to Somerville, constructing a model assembly plant on filled land near the Mystic River (near the reputed location of the 1636 lauching of Governor Winthrop’s ship “Blessing of the Bay”).
400 Number of cars made at the Ford Assembly Plant within every 8 hours.
70 Percentage of Assembly Square that was orginally wetland
1700s
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Great Cove added, now Financial District South Cove added, now Chinatown/Tufts Medical
Trimount
Copps Hill
Fort Hill
Land added along Charles Street/West End Created ropeworks on west end of the Commons
+ 203 Acres
West Cove
1634 Boston SettledKnown as the Shawmut PeninsulaDefined by three hills: Copps Hill,Trimount, and Fort Hill
Beacon Hill cut to fill Mill PondState House erected atop reduced Beacon Hill
Added more land than the entire Shawmut PeninsulaFill was transported from Needham Heights
Back Bay
+ 507 Acres
Great Cove
South Cove
+ 298 Acres
Mill Pond
+ 50 Acres487 Acres
1830 Mill Pond Filled 1845 Great + South Cove Filled 1865 West Cove Filled 1890 Back Bay Filled
Boston’s Landfill History
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45%Industrial
25%Residential
31%Infrastructure
1
23
4
USS Constitution Museum
Big Dig + Columbus Waterfront Park Fort Point - South Boston
Piers Park Sailing Center 1 2
3 4
Regional Analysis:Adaptive Re-Use of Industrial Sites
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Industrial
Park
Assembly Square
Not Shown as Park
Google 2012
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Taxonomy ofAssembly SquareHistorical FillMajorMinor
MajorMinor
Historical Site Originally WetlandMajor
Minor
Area Lacking Character
Area of Isolation
MajorMinor
Node
PathMajor
Minor
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Thesis + ConceptWith the objective of providing more open-space for the
residents of Somerville, I highlighted the history of the site by recreating the wetlands and reconstructing the
Assembly Square water tower.
By lifting the land, I introduced a hill that provides better views of the riverfront, the site, and the Boston skyline.
The infrastructure that supports the hill submerges the ground level of the program while allowing for a system
to filter greywater through the wetlands.
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Framework for Assembly SquarePoints of History
Historical Site
Edge
Axis
Open Space
Wetland
Winter - Snow Sledding Summer - Picnic Summer - Outdoor Movie
Concept of Open Space
I - 93
McGr
ath Hi
ghwa
y
Broadway Avenue
Sullivan
Chelsea
Wellin
gton
Foss P
ark
Framework forAssembly Square
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Mystic River
Draw Seven Park
Foss Park
Ten Hills
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N
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High Density Residential = 459,900 SFMixed Use = 165,000 SF
Retail = 150,000 SF
Office = 208,600 SF
Hotel = 263,500 SF
Community = 55,000 SF
Parking = 312,000 SF
Program
Open Space = 338,000 SF
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I - 93 Home Depot
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Public AtriumConstructed Wetland
First Stage of Water FiltrationMBTA
Orange Line to Oak Grove
Node: Community Center
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Natural WetlandSecond Stage of Filtration
MBTACommuter Rail to
Newburyport/Rockport
Mystic RiverFinal Stage of Water Filtration
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Node: Community Center
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Sports & Leisure CenterSt. Cloud, FranceKOZ Architectes
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Food Trucks + Open-Air Market
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Hotel Lobby
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Moss Grafitti
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Public Atrium
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Nykredit HeadquartersCopenhagen, DenmarkSchmidt, Hammer, Lassen
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Residential Passageway
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Gallery
Classroom
Running Track
Fitness
Dance
Gym
Game
Office
Node: Community Center
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Phase I: Infrastructure + Node Phase II: Hotel + Office Phase III: Retail + Office + Residential
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Concept Model Final Model
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Final Model inserted into Site Model
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