The B-Side: Discovering the Civic Value in the Strip Condition, 2008
Architecture-Infrastructure-Research, Inc.
Scottsdale

Site: Scottsdale: 2200 N. Scottsdale Road (near Oak Street)
Design team: Darren Petrucci and Phil Horton (www.a-i-rinc.com), with consultants Ryc Loope, Harvey Bryan and James Erickson of the College of Design, Arizona State University, Tempe
Estimated construction cost: $7.4 million
Features: increased office and residential space; sustainable components and systems such as adsorption cooling, solar panels and porous parking surfaces; improved neighborhood access; civic amenities

The B-Side: Discovering the Civic Value in the Strip Condition knits the community together by enlivening the underused, "dead" spaces around strip malls. Those depressing corridors now best left for garbage trucks are transformed into luscious parks designed for strolling. Architecture-Infrastructure-Research, Inc. calls these components "Amenity Infrastructuresª," which fuel new possibilities for civic life.

These leisure and recreational areas include pedestrian and bicycle pathways, an outdoor market and a basketball court: they become the centerpieces of a complex economic and environmental system that weds commercial and residential purposes. Easy parking and conveniently located everyday servicesÑthe hallmarks of the strip mallÑare no longer isolated and instead become integrated parts of a larger whole. Architecture-Infrastructure-Research, Inc. infuses this approach to mixed-use (commonly seen in many municipalities around the country) with a local spirit. Urban density marries suburban relaxation and innovative "green" design.

By doubling the square footage of the built footprint, The B-Side increases the profitability of the site and urges community connections. Buildings would house offices and live/work spaces in which a wide demographic could mingle: young couples, the elderly, service workers, office workers, professionals and families. The entire complex is retrofit with heat-reducing and energy-efficient systems, such as solar panels, water recycling and self-storage units that double as a solar air-conditioning plant. Porous pavement replaces the asphalt, to minimize heat radiation by 70% and allow rainwater to percolate and water the trees. Increased shade and filtration of the buildings' exhaust create refreshing, cool micro-climates. The new recreational amenities along the borders of the site invite the participation of the strip mall's neighbors. Architecture-Infrastructure-Research, Inc.'s proposal synthesizes commercial, environmental and social components of civic life in an integrated solution.

To apply the ideas of The B-Side on a smaller scale for this exhibition, the team designed Cool-Ground as "an intervention" at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Located adjacent to the commercial zone of the museum's entry (which houses the store, ticket counter and donor recognition wall), the intervention creates a new landscape and link to the outdoor courtyard and James Turrell's skyspace, Knight Rise, therein. Cool-Ground operates at the scales of both furniture and field, providing a surface that cradles and cools the body. Analogous to the property-line parks seen in the proposal for The B-Side, Cool-Ground reinforces the connection between the commercial and the civic.

Made possible with generous in-kind support from ForeverLawn, Albuquerque, NM, Seeley International, Australia/Phoenix and Lanton Associates, Tempe, Arizona. Additional in-kind assistance provided by Steve Biltz and Tom Bell, College of Design, Arizona State University, Tempe.

Special thanks to the project team: Ben Andrews, Jennifer Brungart, Rockne Hanish, Renata Hejduk, Joseph Pritchard, Vern Roether, Al Sanft; and the design/build team members Josh Carter, Eric Prichard.