Site Security Design

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MASTER PLAN

CONCEPT

Upon selecting the Washington Navy Yard as my site I began a more detailed analysis of specific site attributes such as con-touring, flooding, and specific uses of facilities and areas within the fenceline. Through this research it became clear to me that there was plenty of opportunity along the western and south-ern boundaries of the Navy Yard to create new spaces and corridors which the public could use along with the personnel from the installation. Specifically just outside of the northwest corner of the Navy Yard there is a vacant dirt parking lot which is totally underutilized at this time. Similarly along the southern fence line due to nuisance flooding which occurs once to twice per year Prime waterfront real estate is relegated to parking lots and a small sculpture park.
It was these types of realizations that began to anchor my concept for a master plan. By creating new types of spaces along the fence line beginning in the northwest corner extend – ing South to the river and then along the riverfront to the 11th Street Bridge I could introduce some new valuable program space which could be used by both the community and the installation and begin to introduce some of the interaction I was looking to achieve. Due to the size of the site I had to pay par-ticular attention to access from each of these new spaces to the next. In effect I was creating a continuous corridor around the fence line from the northwest corner to the southeast corner.
While this provided the framework of my master plan it still left many questions. Namely, how do I begin to break down the vertical barrier to achieve the interaction I’m looking for without sacrificing security. Be-cause I only had so much space to work with I began to think about the barrier in different terms. For example there are military installations in the Mojave Desert which do not have fences around them because the desert acts as the barrier. This got me wondering if there was some other way to provide this separation in this limited horizontal space? I began to think vertically. By creating a raised pedestrian bridge (NAV-SEA Bridge) throughout my master plan I was in effect bringing users inside the base visually without sacrificing security. For example as an individual comes from the Southeast Federal Center to the 11th Street bridge and they walk along an elevated walkway they are visually able to access the installation, see the ceremonies that are going on in – side and feel a part of them, without actually being able to access the secured area(Riverwalk). Furthermore this also addressed the issue of flooding. An elevated walkway provides users the opportunity to get from the Southeast Federal Center to the 11th Street Bridge even during periods where the Anacostia River is higher than your usual. These Concepts form the basis of my master plan.
Some of the important components to make this work were creating spaces inside the fence line along the southern edge of the installation where users of the elevated walkway could stop and visually engage with the goings-on within. My master plan presents a few options, namely a ceremonial field, a wetland park, and a relocated sculpture park. The intent here is for users to find themselves viewing retirement ceremonies or Navy Band practices, etc from the elevated walkway, and feeling a part of what’s happening inside the installation. All the while remaining safely separated from the secure installation.
Upon the conclusion of the masterplan phase I selected a specific area of focus to further develop and put my ideas into practice. Namely, I chose to focus on the wetland park as I see this as the most underuti-lized portion of the Navy Yard. An area which is largely paved to ad-dress the flooding issues, the wetland park has the strongest potential to create this third-place of interaction.
This new wetland park is primarily composed of two components. The first component (Programming) is creating a third place which will attract and encourage use by both the surrounding communi-ty and the individuals within the installation. This could primarily be accomplished by creating program spaces which could serve and attract the users. The second component (Security) involves maintaining a satisfactory barrier between the wetland park and the adjacent installation without overtly dividing the two. A foun-dational premise of my thesis is the reinterpretation of the vertical barriers to achieve adequate separation in a less traditional way. As such I could not rely solely on simple vertical planes (brick walls or wrought iron gates) to separate this third place from the installation.

PROGRAM

As I focused on the first component, creating a place attractive to the community, I found myself primarily looking at the historical significance of the Washington Navy Yard. As I researched this installation I found its history rich with nautical themes and mon-uments related to sailing and the sea. Given the commemorative aesthetic of Washington, DC I found myself striving to create a place which could be representative in both its form and spirit of the United States Navy. For this I found myself harkening back to the symbolism of the anchor. Such a universally understood form I envisioned this place, the Navy Yard, as the symbolic anchor for the entire United States Naval service. Furthermore, what better maritime symbol to illustrate the power and significance of this place in a peaceful and passive manner than this; the placid anchor which holds the massive warship steady? It is here that I began to lay out my plan using the sweeping curved forms of the anchor.
Given the fact that the Admiral Willard Sculpture Park currently located inside the fence line of the Navy Yard was the only exist – ing use that I wished to keep in my design, I had every intention to relocate these sculptures to the new wetlands park to be en-joyed by the entire community. It was extremely important for me to make this new wetland park an educational place where users could learn about the United States Navy and see some of its most treasured statues and Relics. As I began to lay out the park and looked at access from the installation to the riverwalk three obvious junctions were exposed and it is here that I chose to relo-cate the sculptures.
In keeping with the educational component it occurred to me that a trip to the Washington Navy Yard without experiencing a tour of a Navy vessel would be a shame. As such I introduced three size Naval vessels as floating museums to be used by visitors. These would be located along three piers which would continuously remain accessible along with the Wetland Park. Only the brow of each would be secured if need be so that the vessels themselves can remain part of the installation but can be used by visitors when the Navy deems appropriate.
Because one of the most prominent units located on the Navy Yard is the Navy ceremonial band I felt that it would be a missed opportunity not to provide a forum for the band to play for the public. A small amphitheater with ample room for viewers is provided in the northeast corner of the wetland park. The intention is for the Navy Band to be able to perform here and showcase their talents to the general public visiting the park. In addition, this also pro-vides an area for non-Navy bands to perform as well increasing the possibilities for its use.
Adjacent to this Amphitheater is a food truck park which can be used by the surrounding community and individuals on the instal-lation during lunch and special events. The beauty of the food truck park is that it provides retail space on a semi-permanent basis.
In present day 2019, a visit to the Washington Navy Yard around lunch time of any given weekday will expose multiple food trucks scattered throughout the installation. By collecting each of these in a central area, accessible to the public as well as the installa-tion, I can create a place ripe for interaction and flexible enough to adjust with the Navy’s security needs on any given day.
A public swim center is also programmed for the southeast sec-tion of the park. While taken for granted by many, the ability to swim is extremely important to the Navy and has been known to keep many would-be sailors from realizing their desire to serve their country. The Navy takes swimming very seriously, and what better way to engage with the community and demonstrate Navy core values than by sponsoring a public swim center for all to use?
Finally, the most substantial element of the programmed spaces designed to attract visitors, is the wetland park itself. This in-cludes the elevated pedestrian bridges and paths encircling the pond beds. The intention for this element is itself two-fold. On the one hand providing a natural setting for relaxation or exercise or simply communing with nature in a dense urban fabric. On the other hand the wetland park is an outward display of the Navy’s commitment to defending our territory (in this case from the river) as well as adapting to the threat of rising water levels in a resilient fashion.
By providing a mix of programmed uses which could appeal to both the surrounding community as well as those working on the installation, I am providing attractions to encourage the interaction I hope to achieve. While there is a certain level of activity which is expected to take place already given the strategic location of the site, these new programmed uses will only help increase that activity.

SECURITY

“We call this universal behavior “site plus,” that is, taking advantage of the characteristics of a site as well as adding reinforcements to achieve safe ground. Two types of sites offer initial advantages for defense: those with water protecting part or all of the perimeter and those with steep slopes pro-tecting all or part of the perimeter. Water and high ground, alone or in combination, are still highlyvalued for more than utilitarian reasons.” Lozano, Community Design & Culture of Cities (214)
“Other locations with partial slopes require, in addition, man-made protection: the artificial hill-the defense wall-establishes a vertical barrier between the settlement and the outside world.”Lozano, Community Design & Culture of Cities (216)
The second component required a less traditional approach to providing separation. For the Third Place to work, it was important that it felt both connected to the installation as well as unique. The Third Place must be a distinct zone of interaction that its users are aware of (even if subconsciously).
For this to be effective, it was necessary to create a formal sense of entry and exit. This was accomplished using simple gates (similar to the design of the existing Navy Yard gates) to clearly articulate its boundaries. These gates provide the users with a sense of enter – ing or exiting a distinct place. Because the design of the gates is in keeping with the rest of the Navy Yard, users can associate them with the installation and logically feel as if they are entering the installation.
Once the users are within the Third Place, it is important to tastefully treat the boundaries to promote security (in an unobtrusive way). For this design problem I found myself focused on two historic approaches; the Moat and the Ha-ha. In the case of the moat (similar to the example of the desert mentioned earlier) a simple waterway provides the separation needed rather than a wall. In the case of a Ha-ha, a change of elevation which is hidden from the user provides separation while providing the illusion of connection. By combin-ing these two concepts at the boundary of the Third Place, we achieve the benefits of separation without the negative connotation of the vertical plane. An added benefit of this treatment at the boundary was the opportunity to introduce terraces to assist the ecological processes of the wetland.
Stormwater from the installation can now be diverted to the ter-raced zones along the east and west borders of the park for gravity filtration prior to eventually joining the river and aquifer. Converse-ly, rising water levels at the river can successively flood the pond and terraces to be held longer in the spongy soils and vegetation in order to mitigate the impacts of flooding. Wave action can also be decelerated thanks to the drag of the soil and vegetation.
“The emphasis on the Wall as an inclusive monument for all to experience, visit, and enjoy appears to be growing in popularity…The wall was garrisoned not by toga-draped latin speak-ers but by a polyglot mix of recruits drawn from around the Roman world. The Roman empire served to allow people, things and ideas to move over great areas and mingle in new combi-nations. Near Eastern religions from the cult of Mithras to Christianity were brought to the re-gion, while classical gods were fused with local ones. Far from the empty rural and isolated landscape we now see, the military zone of the Wall was an area of thriving activity, econom-ic and cultural innovation and pluralism.” Hingley, Hadrian’s Wall (317-318)

Contents
Introduction
Research
Site Security Design
Site Selection
Site Study
Master Plan
Concept
Program
Security
Proposed Solution
Plans & Sections
Isometrics
Renderings
Bibliography & Images

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In Defense of a “Third Place” How Reassembling the Boundaries of an Urban Military Installation can Maintain Security while Uniting the Community