OUT OF THE BOX
Big-box retail typically kills nearby street life with its internally-oriented spatial logic and surrounding sea of surface parking. But development at this scale also offers community jobs and proximity to shopping for neighborhood residents. What if the opportunities presented by big box developments could be harnessed for productive use, while mitigating their anti-urban presence? This project for a supermarket development sponsored by the Community Design Collaborative integrates a pedestrian armature, public plazas, and open street frontage into the big-box equation, connecting surrounding streets and nearby Franklin Park, and providing a buffer between centralized public parking and the surrounding neighborhood. The expansive roof of the building - typical of large footprint retail - is deployed as a stormwater management tool, and housing is added above at key corners to activate the project with a mix of uses.