One of the largest “downtowns” in America does not bear much resemblance to anyone’s image of downtown. Tysons Corner, Virginia, located a mere dozen miles west of Washington DC, is the poster child for sprawled America.
The vision for the future of Tysons Corner Center explores the phenomena of the “Edge City,” a term coined by journalist Joel Garreau in 1991. Edge Cities such as Tysons Corner are themselves evolving from mere highway interchange-focused, suburban, commercial agglomerations, to environments that accommodate most of the components of contemporary urban life, albeit in very non-traditional spatial configurations.
The vision addresses questions such as: How can typical shopping malls like Tysons Corner Center become more “urban”? Can its future be modified to provide the benefits of mixed activities, cultural interaction and density? Can it become a good place to live? Any urban formation in its earliest manifestations appears chaotic. But, can Tysons Corner be made less so, or does it, indeed, contain the DNA of the city of the future?
Images:
1) Tysons Corner Center Today: An introverted shopping mall with huge parking spaces
2)Section of the mall with new layers for sports, leisure, gastronomy and residential uses
3)View of one entrance of the mall with new sport areas and apartments on top
4)New Vision for Tysons Corner Center: diverse activities, cultural interaction and density
5)View from an apartment to the public sports area of the mall
Very nice concept. I think it makes a lot of sense. It was likely not chosen because it is specific to one portion of the problem as opposed to the problem in it’s entirety.