Recipro-City

Recipro-City, 2008
Gould Evans
Phoenix

Site: Tempe: 524 W. Broadway Road (near Roosevelt Street)
Design Team: Krista Shepherd, Aaron Herring, Melissa McGuire with Briana Smith, Caleb Alvarado, Luis Cruz-Martinez, Abigail Hoover, John Dimmel, Gina Poppe with Brina Smathers, Kevin M. Cooney, Marshall Witzig
Estimated construction cost: $1.75 million
Features: flexible shade and energy-efficient glazing, solar power, permeable concrete pavers, xeriscape, improved signage, community room, outdoor tenant, widely applicable

Gould Evans' stated design strategy was to provide the "biggest bang for the buck." Recipro-City provides a solution that a developer would see as valuable in today's market by assessing the strip mall's basic problems and coming up with off-the-shelf, "green" and cost-effective solutions. By their estimates, flipping this strip mall (including purchase price, construction costs and bank fees) would net profits in excess of 20%.

The mall's biggest challenge—poor signage, heat-contributing surfaces, nonproductive landscaping, inefficient shading and windows, and a closed-off environment—are remedied by Gould Evans's makeover mantra: "strip it, work it, own it." Louvered shade structures reduce energy costs and provide desirable, usable outdoor space. Colorful, dynamic and larger signage attracts attention and creates an identity. New surfaces for the roof (photovoltaic panels), the parking lot (permeable concrete pavers), the landscaping (a grove of desert trees) and the windows (high-performance insulated units) offer energy-cost reductions and heighten pedestrian friendliness. Balancing the edges of the strip mall creates accessibility from all sides. Opening a bay for an "outside tenant" creates greater visibility for tenant and community activity. Making room for a "community tenant" ties neighborhood ownership to the mall.

Many of the competition proposals have heeded Gould Evans's suggestions in one way or another. They have made the strip mall a more desirable place to be by addressing key concerns about energy usage and inhabitability and by creating spaces that provide amenities for the community.


Recipro-City Recipro-City, 2008 Gould Evans Phoenix Site: Tempe: 524 W. Broadway Road (near Roosevelt Street) Design Team: Krista Shepherd, Aaron Herring, Melissa McGuire with Briana Smith, Caleb Alvarado, Luis Cruz-Martinez, Abigail Hoover, John Dimmel, Gina Poppe with Brina Smathers, Kevin M. Cooney, Marshall Witzig Estimated construction cost: $1.75 million Features: flexible shade and energy-efficient glazing, solar power, permeable concrete pavers, xeriscape, improved signage, community room, outdoor tenant, widely applicable Gould Evans' stated design strategy was to provide the "biggest bang for the buck." Recipro-City provides a solution that a developer would see as valuable in today's market by assessing the strip mall's basic problems and coming up with off-the-shelf, "green" and cost-effective solutions. By their estimates, flipping this strip mall (including purchase price, construction costs and bank fees) would net profits in excess of 20%. The mall's biggest challenge—poor signage, heat-contributing surfaces, nonproductive landscaping, inefficient shading and windows, and a closed-off environment—are remedied by Gould Evans's makeover mantra: "strip it, work it, own it." Louvered shade structures reduce energy costs and provide desirable, usable outdoor space. Colorful, dynamic and larger signage attracts attention and creates an identity. New surfaces for the roof (photovoltaic panels), the parking lot (permeable concrete pavers), the landscaping (a grove of desert trees) and the windows (high-performance insulated units) offer energy-cost reductions and heighten pedestrian friendliness. Balancing the edges of the strip mall creates accessibility from all sides. Opening a bay for an "outside tenant" creates greater visibility for tenant and community activity. Making room for a "community tenant" ties neighborhood ownership to the mall. Many of the competition proposals have heeded Gould Evans's suggestions in one way or another. They have made the strip mall a more desirable place to be by addressing key concerns about energy usage and inhabitability and by creating spaces that provide amenities for the community.

Click the links below to open the files in a new window or right-click and select save as to download to your computer. Please note that some files may be more than 15MB and take additional time for download and display.
Competition Board A	Competition Board B	Project Description	Submitted Technical Specification Form
Please note: all files may not be represented for each firm, e.g. Competition Board B does not exist in every instance and has been combined with Board A.