Project 1A— Circulation Systems Mapping

As part of my Intermediate Design 201 course we were assigned a site in Chinatown, Manhattan in the corner of Grand Street and Chrystie Street. My partner, Alexander Elguera and I were responsible for mapping and analyzing the circulation systems in the neighborhood scale and in a bigger city scale. The process consisted of an observational survey around the site which consisted of pictures, sketches and annotations based on things we noticed on site. After the initial survey we proceeded to gather data and information regarding modes of transport, traffic patterns and general activity that surrounded the site. We found multiple ways from which the site could be accessed and developed a set of mappings that helped us understand more in depth what the site had to offer.

We noticed a marked difference between the day and night activity. Mainly because during the day, fish and food markets were open and many people gathered around them, during the night this businesses were closed, therefore the activity and circulation of people was more evident in the adjacent park across the street. Having the Grand Street subway entrance on our site also influenced the amount of people that would constantly fill the sidewalks during the day, specially on rush hours. Our trips to the site were on a car and like most of Manhattan and NYC, finding a parking spot during the day was an arduous task, surprisingly on our first night visit we found a spot right across the site on Chrystie Street. In our mappings we attempted to accentuate and represent this findings.