Ash King - Decatur Urban Development

This studio explores the physics and metaphysics of water as an essential for urban dwellings. It attempts to answer how communities can rethink wasteful water use by designing sustainable and regenerative systems to capture rain runoff. The project site is the unused parking lot surrounding the East Lake Marta Station in Decatur, Georgia. The 11 acres were master planned to include a range of public and private spaces to accommodate urban life, parks, recreation, and medium-density housing. The Marta station entrance was also redesigned with special attention to the circulation of pedestrians and transit.

Water and ink studies. Digitized and then painted onto layers of acrylic to create depth.

Plan and section showing the site's topography and need for water collection strategies at either end of the plan.

The site is located at the meeting point between four different watersheds in the Atlanta and Decatur areas. Instead of a parking lot with rain runoff, the newly designed site acts as a collection point to redistribute and reintroduce water back into the aquatic ecosystem. Rather than harnessing water as a commodity, this proposal re-imagines the site and the East Lake Marta Station as a way to direct water back into streams, rivers, and the water table. It is a proposition that acknowledges access to safe water as a fundamental human need and recognizes the need for more affordable medium-density housing in the Atlanta area.

The master planning strategy involved removing the 1970s curved road around the MARTA station and letting the fabric of the existing neighborhood dictate proportions and road placement.

The master plan pays close attention to the existing neighborhood by using it to shape the location and scale of the new streets and residential units. The objective is to complement the neighborhood’s proportions while still following the site’s natural slope and water runoff patterns. Water is collected into two reservoirs on either side of the site.

System of subdividing, letting in light and air, creating outdoor spaces, and mirroring units to provide maximum privacy.

Front Elevation of a typical housing block.

East-West section through the private backyards of each townhome and the central courtyards.

The medium-density housing allows each unit to have an inner courtyard based on the Roman peristylium and a private backyard. The five types of units are mirrored and rotated to maximize privacy and allow for proper light and air circulation between them. They also have a series of raised terraces and porches on either side of the townhouse units.

Level 2. Each block houses 16 different units while still allowing for light and private outdoor spaces to all.

North-South Section through all 4 unit types and the central courtyards

The 4 types of housing units were designed to address the “missing middle” which refers to the need for dense family housing in walkable and transit accessible areas. Unit A is a 4 bedroom while unit B is a 3 bedroom. Units C and D are designed closer to apartments rather than townhouses and provide 2 bedroom options.