portfolio 2012, compressed

René Josef BiBeRstein MUD, BURPl.Urban Designer / Planner2012 Portfolio

CompetitionsFloat Your Boat!Walkable CitiesIncubator Factory

graduate workThesis: Six Nations CityThe End of the CityVisualizing Zoning Bylaws with GrasshopperHolding CourtKensington Bicycle CondominiumsMake/PlaceCities that Could Never Be?

undergraduate workThesis: Is There a Golden Mean?St. Anne’s PlaceApplying the Human ScaleCaçadores SquareDanforth Boulevard

professional workIndigenous Centre ModelBloorcourt Village Urban Design StrategyCrystal Beach Pattern BookMetrolinx Mapping

[email protected]

float Your Boat!

Submission to Ed Bacon Student Design Competition, Philadelphia

2011awarded first prize

Float Your Boat! promises a new waterfront for all: industry, commerce, visitors, pleasure boaters, and above all, ordinary citizens. In Center City, I-95 is buried entirely to seamlessly link the city to the water. To the south, it remains raised, but an innovative array of building designs and parks link the two sides of the highway.

In the process, Float Your Boat! partially merges Front Street and Columbus Boulevard into a single thoroughfare, named “Delaware Boulevard.” With an integrated light rail line and ample pedestrian realm, Delaware Boulevard creates a new north-south spine for multiple modes of north-south movement. At the same time, a waterfront promenade for pedestrians and bicycles allows citizens to experience the river in a car-free environment. (Car access to the water is mostly provided by east-west streets). The highway itself continues to hold as much traffic as before, but with a reduced number of exit/entry points, thereby freeing up more room for buildings, open space and people.

OREG

ON

MAR

KET

“DELAWARE BLVD”

I-76 CORRIDOR

34TH

BROAD

InterchangesTerminus PointsBroad St. SubwayMarket/Frankford SubwayTram Lines

Proposed Extension

Possible FurtherExtension

FLOAT YOUR BOAT!Why Philadelphia Should Get Over (and Under) the I-95 Corridor

Competitions

The project divides the waterfront and highway into segments, treating each as separate extensions of the city.

The design centres on an epic set of ‘Odessa’ steps extending Market Street to the river’s edge.

Walkablecities

walkable Cities poster

Submission to Toronto Society of Architects “Walkable Cities” Poster Competition

2010

Competitions

incubator factory

Submission to Ed Bacon Student Design Competition, Philadelphia

2009awarded Honourable mention

This project proposed that an abandoned factory site in South Philadelphia be repurposed as a space to incubate new manufacturing businesses, as well as a museum and park dedicated to the city’s industrial heritage.

part 4: a view inside

63

the spine

six nations City

Master of Urban Design Thesis Work

2011-2012Advisor: Adrian Blackwell

graduate work

In its substance, this project is a new town development on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, near Brantford, Ontario. Rapid population growth has forced the band council to engage in large-scale, centrally-planned urbanization for the first time. However, far from conventional platting, this alternate design for the development attempts to deal with the wider issues of reconciling nature and suburban growth, as well as generating urban form for a rural population. It draws on the form and functions of the landscape, as well as the urban traditions of the Six Nations. The former include the positions of topography, water, farmland and forest, while the latter is the historically evolving form of the Iroquoian town.


61

the town edge


55

between town nodes


50

view of six nations City

The project has implications not only for the Grand River territory, but also for the potential future urbanization of other aboriginal communities and the way in which all urban dwellers in southern Ontario deal with the history and substance of the land we inhabit.

graduate work


44

typologies: hill houses, attached and detached

Townhouses conform to and reveal slope


51

layering of town elements

existing + forest spine ring

CroWn + raYs Cross streets park belt

trail netWork farMland penetrating toWn buildings

townhouses reveal slopes

elements of Community design


56

15 minutes to brantford

35 minutes to hamilton terminal35 minutes to McMaster university

10 minutes to ohsweken

15 minutes to Caledonia30 minutes to hamilton airport

Central terMinal

internal shuttle bus loop

local bus network

Caledonia

six nations CitY

haMiltongo transithamilton street railway

ohsWeken

haMilton airport

MCMaster universitY

low frequency service to tyendinaga, akwesasne, kanasetake, kanawake

low frequency service to upstate new York six nations communities

internal shuttle bus loop

shuttle bus and Commuter bus network

part 3: the city in the country in the city

37

negative urban deployment

interior and exterior transport network

urban areas Conform to landscape grain

graduate work

part 2: historic + site research

20

“southWold”

1400 1800

“nodWell”

1400 1800

Cahiagué

1400 1800

(Funk, 2003)

(Ellis, Ferris, 1990)

(Heidenreich, 1971)

Population: 5000

“garoga”

1400 1800

“kloCk”

1400 1800

“MaCpherson”

1400 1800

(Funk, 2003)

(Funk, 2003)

(Ellis, Ferris, 1990)

Population: 800

Population: 800

part 2: historic + site research

26

?

longhouse toWn

‘shorthouse’ toWn

Quasi-longhouse Cabins

dispersed neighbourhood

ConteMporarY lineardispersed neighbourhood

Westernized brant village

densitY

a historic trajectory?

Historic evolution of iroquoian urbanism

archeological record

Visualizing Zoning Bylaws with grasshopper

Master of Urban Design Independent Study Course

2011Advisor: Tom Bessai

Grasshopper, a programming application associated with the Rhino rendering software, has achieved popularity as a way for architects to experiment with parametric design. I wondered–could it also be turned to the decidedly less glamourous task of visualizing the maximum build-outs permitted in zoning bylaws? As a summer Independent Study programme, I was able to parametrically render the outcomes of Toronto’s zoning bylaws, including heights, setbacks, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and angular planes.

screenshots of grasshopper model

Conceptual flowchart of modelmaximum Buildouts without and with minimum lot widths

Master Plan

the end of the City

Master of Urban Design Studio Work

2011Instructors: Mark Sterling + Paul Hess

Blurring the EdgeBlurring the Edge

René BibersteinKamyar Khozeimeh

Mi T biMina Turbic

Somewhere the city must end. But how? This group studio project aimed to develop a transition between the Markham suburbs, just outside of Toronto, and the adjacent farmland. Referencing the linear form of the farm lots, a grid was generated in which various landscape types could be accommodated in a patchwork cycle. A trail circuit further sought to programmatically connect dormitory, commercial, recreational and agricultural areas.

graduate work

Design Concept Green Matrix / René Biberstein

Strip Farm Lotsplinear farm lots

Design Concept Green Matrix / René Biberstein

Strip Farm Lotsp Landscape Zones Green Matrix / René Biberstein

Demonstration Block: Proposed Green Matrix / René Biberstein

plan detail

grid overlay Concept

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

Holding Court


2011Instructor: Andrea Kahn

This project aimed to repair Lawrence Heights, a poorly aging 1960’s housing project in suburban Toronto. Rather than tearing much of it down (as is currently proposed), Holding Court suggested that the community’s ubiquitous parking courts be converted into landscaped spaces. Additional streets and more intensive mixed-use infill was proposed in underutilized spaces outside of the courts.

graduate work

kensington Bicycle Condominiums


2011Instructors: Rob Wright + Ivan Saleff

Infilling a parking lot in Toronto’s densely built Kensington Market provided an opportunity for a mixed-use building with two retail facades. Designed especially for cyclists (it provided extensive bicycle parking, but no car parking). An internal courtyard offered shared open space for residents.

shadow studies

graduate work

nassau street façade

Courtyard

make + place


2010Instructor: Carol Moukheiber

This project repurposed a number of emptied factories in Toronto as creative industry-driven light manufacturing sites grouped around a new transit hub.

More playfully, it also proposed that housing be constructed on their roofs, to seamlessly stretch the residential city over the industrial one.

intensification and identity

Toronto

‘Europe’

Toronto + ‘Europe’?

‘Hong Kong’ Toronto + ‘Hong Kong’?

Toronto?

Toronto Naturally Intensified?

graduate work

U

U

U

U

C

C

C

C

C

C

CC

C

CC

C

C

C

C

C

UU

U

C

$*

Employment Lands

University Campus

College Campus

UC

$ Financial District Office Cluster

Airport

employment-education Convergence

Cities that Could Never Be?


2010Instructor: Adrian Phiffer

post-apocalyptic primitive City

neo-Classical City

This graduate studio class permitted a number of wild graphic experiments regarding alternate urban forms.

graduate work

Office Commercial

Hotel Residential Retail CommercialParking

Cultural Low-Rise Mixed EMS Station

ornithopolis

Velopolis

11

ideal ratio: instead of 2.4-2.5, it would now be 1.2.

1:500 scale. Image by author.

Among contemporary theorists, Ashihara made the following conjecture in 1970, echoing

Maertens:

According to my observation, D/H=1 is the critical point at which the quality of the exterior space radically changes. In other words, if D/H becomes larger than 1, we feel that the distances between buildings become rather great, while if D/H becomes smaller than 1, then we feel that the distances become rather small. When D/H becomes equal to one, then we feel a balance between building height and the space between buildings… [W]hen we exceed D/H=4, the mutual distinction begins to dissipate and the interaction between building is hard to perceive unless we provide some structural connections… (1970, pg. 43).

The relationship between ratio and enclosure has frequently been cited (Thiel, Harrison,

Alden, 1986) (Jacobs, 1993, pg. 278). This view attempts to explain ratio preference as the result

balancing claustrophobic and agoraphobic impulses. Raymond Unwin was emphatic about the

role of enclosure, agreeing to the principles laid down by Sitte for public square design. “The

effect of enclosure in a place is so important that many methods have been suggested for

obtaining some considerable degree of enclosure, even with the modern wide streets” (original

emphasis) (1976, pg. 90). Indeed, enclosure and ratio seem arguably to be implicitly connected

in most approaches to the topic, and a pleasing ratio may be due to a pleasing enclosure.

undergraduate work

Is There a Golden Mean?

Bachelor of Urban + Regional Planning Thesis Work

2007

Why do we love the scale of some spaces and hate others? Is there such a thing as a universal comfort zone? My undergraduate thesis was an academic paper summarizing the history of inquiry into the ideal height to width ratio, as well as the results of original research I conducted through a series of psychological experiments.

9

The late nineteenth century German architect Hermann Maertens developed what

planning theorist Hans Blumenfeld later described as the “only” scientific theory of ideal street

width (Blumenfeld, 1971, pg. 217). Motivated by finding the ideal distance to view architecture,

Maertens made two main assertions that have obvious implications for ratio. First, he noted that

the maximum distance an object can be perceived is 3,450 times its size, meaning that human

facial features (specifically the nasal bone) can be clearly perceived at no more than 22 m. On

this basis, Maertens recommended a “human scale” of street, no more than 22 m wide (see Fig.

1). Furthermore, he argued that facial expressions could only clearly be perceived at 15 m, which

he recommended as an alternate “intimate human scale” (see Fig. 2).

1:500 scale. Image by author.

Maertens second assertion was that the human eye was limited by a 27 degree field of

clear vision (the total range of sight is much wider, but perception is reduced). In the vertical

plane, this translated into 18 degrees above the eye and 9 degrees below (Blumenfeld, 1971, pg.

218). If building height is limited to 18 degrees above the eye, as Maertens suggested, then

streetscape ratio is set at approximately 2.4 to 2.5 (see Figs. 1 and 2). This is Maertens‟ ideal.

Maertens went on to proscribe the characteristics of various ratios: at 1, a person sees mainly the

68

74

68

74

22

4. Analysis

4.1 Overall Outcomes

4.1.1 Renderings

When comparing the rendered streetscapes, participants in the experiment showed a

strong preference for ratios of 2 and 1 (50% and 46% respectively ranked these as their first

choices) (see Fig. 7). They were most likely to dislike the ratio of 4 (with 62.5% placing it in

fifth, or last, place). The ratio of 3 was fairly unpopular, being ranked fourth (second last) by

50% of participants.

The ratio of 0.5 was unpopular, but produced the greatest disunity, with equal numbers of

participants placing it in third and fifth (last) places (37.5% each). Participants may have

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1st Choice 2nd Choice 3rd Choice 4th Choice 5th Choice

Perc

enta

ge o

f Par

tici

pant

s

Preference Rank

Fig. 7 Dispersal of Results in Ranking Rendered Scenes

4 Ratio

3 Ratio

2 Ratio

1 Ratio

0.5 Ratio

st. anne’s place

Bachelor of Urban + Regional Planning Studio Work

2008

Working with Habitat for Humanity Toronto, this project envisioned a site plan and massing for converting the disused St. Anne’s Parish Hall into a subsidized condominiums.

naismith’s rule


2007

This small project mapped ‘Naismith’s Rule,’ a formula for calculating the time required to hike a certain distance. The circular shapes on the model show how far a hiker, moving in a straight line, could travel in any given direction in a specific time, given the topography.

undergraduate work

Caçadores square


2008

Herm

an Av.

Ritchie Av.Salamanca Av.

Caçadores St.Caçadores

Square

Bloor St. W.

Roncesvalles Av.

Dundas St. W. Arterial Streets

Collector Streets

Local Streets

Lanes

Parks

Other Destinations* Entances/Exits toDevelopment

* *

*

*

DUNDAS WESTSUBWAY STATION

BISHOP MOROCCO-THOMAS MERTONSECONDARY SCHOOL

BLOOR GOSTATION

RONCESVALLESAVENUE SHOPPING

Caçadores square

This project proposed a small mixed-use development on the site of a derelict shopping mall in Toronto’s west end. It included filling in the blanks in a broken streetwall, and adding a new residential community centred around a square.

danforth Boulevard


2009

This project imagined Toronto’s Danforth Avenue transformed into a European-style boulevard, featuring perimeter-block buildings, much wider sidewalks and a promenade overlooking the Dan Valley.

undergraduate work

indigenous Centre model

Contract for Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario

2012

professional work

Located in the striking boreal forest of the Canadian Shield, Lakehead University’s campus has been the subject of numerous design proposals, often wild and occasionally downright campy. In 2012, the University decided to curate an exhibition of these historic designs. I was contracted to build a 1:150 scale model of the unrealized 1970’s “Indigenous Centre”–a cluster of giant tepee-like cones. The model was constructed using plaster, paper, and an array of decorative elements humourously borrowed from model railway construction.

U R B A N D E S I G N S T R A T E G Y7B L O O R C O U R T V I L L A G E

PP

PP

4

3

2

1

3

*

*

*

*

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*

*

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*

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* **

***

**

*

* *

* **

***

Heritage Listed/Designated Buildings

Public Buildings and Places of Worship

Gateways (M

ajor and Minor)

Prominent Visual Sites

Fine-Grained Retail Frontage

Height Potential3-5 Storeys (10.5 - 16.5 m)

5-7 Storeys (16.5 - 22.5 m)

7-9 Storeys (22.5 - 28.5 m)

9-12 Storeys (28.5 - 37.5 m)

12+ Storeys (37.5 m

+)

Soft Sites

Urban Design Elements

Public Open SpacesProtected Low

-Rise Neighbourhood

Special Sites (see discussion on pages 14-17)

1 *

Off-Street Public ParkingP

Properties of Interest

Concord Avenue

Ossington Avenue

Carling Avenue

Shaw Street

Crawford Street

Montrose Avenue

Bloor Street West

OssingtonSubw

ay Station

Christie Pits Park

OssingtonBaptistChurch

TheBickfordCentre

St. John’s Church

Roxton Road

Irene Avenue

Northumberland Avenue

PP

PP

4

3

2

1

3

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

**

**

*

*

* **

***

**

*

* *

* **

***

Heritage Listed/Designated Buildings

Public Buildings and Places of Worship

Gateways (M

ajor and Minor)

Prominent Visual Sites

Fine-Grained Retail Frontage

Height Potential3-5 Storeys (10.5 - 16.5 m)

5-7 Storeys (16.5 - 22.5 m)

7-9 Storeys (22.5 - 28.5 m)

9-12 Storeys (28.5 - 37.5 m)

12+ Storeys (37.5 m

+)

Soft Sites

Urban Design Elements

Public Open SpacesProtected Low

-Rise Neighbourhood

Special Sites (see discussion on pages 14-17)

1 *

Off-Street Public ParkingP

Properties of Interest

BobAbate

RecreationCentre

Height Potential

as show

n on

this m

ap represents the m

aximum

conditions permitted

by angular planes (see pages 9-10 for discussion of angular planes). They are provided for guidance only.

In many, if not m

ost cases, achieving the full extent of these heights m

ay not be possible due to the conditions of individual sites.

Irene Avenue Parkette

AU

GU

ST

20

10

10

The Role of Angular Planes

Angular planes currently exist in the Zoning Bylaw, and built form may not protrude into them. They (as illustrated at left) are applied to ensure transition to low-rise residential areas and open spaces, as well as to ensure sun protection on the street. In Bloorcourt, approximately 90 per cent of the BIA is presently subject to angular planes. Rear 45 degree angular planes begin at a point 10 m high, 7.5 m from the adjacent property line. Front 45 degree angular planes begin 13 m above the front property line.

When height bonusing is being considered, angular planes can effectively create an ‘absolute maximum’ height. Because lot depths vary in Bloorcourt, and some lots do not back on to Protected Neighbourhood areas or Parks, potential heights range from 3 to 12 storeys. Only the Dover Square apartment complex is deep enough to reasonably accommodate a new building over 12 storeys.

Recommendations

• Greater heights can and should be considered subject to angular planes, in exchange for public benefits. The Development Framework Plan has the appropriate height of these buildings.

• Buildings over 20 m in height, located on the south side of Bloor Street, must demonstrate no incremental shadow impact on the north sidewalk during the shoulder seasons (March 21 and September 21).

Soft Sites

‘Soft sites’ are immediate opportunities for redevelopment. In Bloorcourt, they include:

• Parking lots that front on Bloor Street• One-storey buildings• Other significantly underutilized sites

Recommendations

• The BIA should anticipate and support probable future redevelopment of these sites, subject to the design guidelines contained in this document.

Each front angular plane would originate 16 m above the front property line, while each rear plane would originate 10.5 m above a 7.5 m setback.

Potential height bonusing could vary depending on lot depth, with the deeper lots permitting taller buildings. The few lots where rear angular planes are not required would enable greater height potential. The existence of rear lanes contributes to height, because angular planes may start further back.

Bloor StreetRight-of-Way

North Side Property South Side PropertyNeighbourhood

Setback

Angular Plane

Angular PlaneAngula

r Plan

e

Maximum Height Maximum Height

NeighbourhoodLane

Angula

r Plan

e

Setback

7.5 m 20 m

30 m 40 m

10.5

m

45°

m45° m

3 m

6 m

7.5 m

10.5

m

9.5

m

16 m

16 m

45° m 45° m

Bloor StreetRight-of-Way

North Side Property South Side PropertyNeighbourhood

Setback

Angular Plane

Angular Plane

Angula

r Plan

e

Potential BonusPotential Bonus

NeighbourhoodLane

Setback

Existing

Proposed

45-degree angular planes currently originate 13 m above the front property line, and 10 m above a 7.5 m setback from the adjacent property at the rear. Total height is capped at 16 m.

Angula

r Plan

e

AU

GU

ST

20

10

14

3.5 SPECIAL SITES

1 Dover Square Site

Certain sites will require special built form guidelines because of their unique conditions. Four such sites have been identified. Three of these are located just beyond the boundaries of the BIA, but may influence the quality and character of the area. Each site presents a significant opportunity for redevelopment.

The locations of these sites are indicated on the Development Framework Plan.

The Dover Square Apartment Complex was built in the 1960’s in the “tower-in-the-park” style. Although its buildings are much taller than the rest of the neighbourhood, the site remains significantly underutilized at the ground level. Its owners have sought to intensify the site for some time, and a proposal has been the subject of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing.

The following guidelines should apply to any future development on this site:

1. Consistent setbacks.2. Maintain and better frame the central courtyard/quad.3. Access through a series of continuous mid-block connections to be retained

or created.4. Open a north south connection through the building and to Bloor Street.5. Mass height internally within the block, subject to angular planes originating

from a property line on the opposite side of the street.

1

1

1 23

43

3

3 3

5

Existing Condition

Legend

Development Concept Framework

Demonstration Plan

UR

BA

N

DE

SI

GN

S

TR

AT

EG

Y

31

BL

OO

RC

OU

RT

V

IL

LA

GE

Rendition of Scenario 1

AU

GU

ST

20

10

14

3.5 SPECIAL SITES

1 Dover Square Site

Certain sites will require special built form guidelines because of their unique conditions. Four such sites have been identified. Three of these are located just beyond the boundaries of the BIA, but may influence the quality and character of the area. Each site presents a significant opportunity for redevelopment.

The locations of these sites are indicated on the Development Framework Plan.

The Dover Square Apartment Complex was built in the 1960’s in the “tower-in-the-park” style. Although its buildings are much taller than the rest of the neighbourhood, the site remains significantly underutilized at the ground level. Its owners have sought to intensify the site for some time, and a proposal has been the subject of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing.

The following guidelines should apply to any future development on this site:

1. Consistent setbacks.2. Maintain and better frame the central courtyard/quad.3. Access through a series of continuous mid-block connections to be retained

or created.4. Open a north south connection through the building and to Bloor Street.5. Mass height internally within the block, subject to angular planes originating

from a property line on the opposite side of the street.

1

1

1 23

43

3

3 3

5

Existing Condition

Legend

Development Concept Framework

Demonstration Plan

This Urban Design Strategy provided a planning analysis and public realm improvement plan for the Bloorcourt Business Improvement Area in Toronto’s west end.

Bloorcourt Village urban design strategy

The Planning Partnership

2010

professional work

Crystal Beach pattern Book


2008

The traditional building typologies of Crystal Beach, a nineteenth century resort town on Lake Erie, were analyzed and categorized in this pattern book. The book is to be used as a tool for controlling new development in the community.

While working at The Planning Partnership, I undertook the difficult graphic design exercise of communicating the complexities of Metrolinx’s regional transit plan for the Greater Toronto Area. The result of a series of maps indicting future priorities for higher order transit, and their interface with urban growth goals.

professional work

metrolinx mapping


2006

portfolio 2012, compressed

Documents

alternate design

design centres

new waterfront

south philadelphia

new northsouth spine

delaware boulevard

south movement

new town development