From the sketchbook:
I admit that when Christopher Diehl first asked me to sit in on his graduate class reviews and mentioned it was concentrating on the proposed casino in Cleveland my very first thought was attempting to reconcile a casino typology (cloistered spectacle) with an urban site in a somewhat conservative city.
My very first thought was to attempt to suspend a structure under the Main Avenue bridge to take advantage of the East Bank versus West Bank mentality as well as attempting to reinvigorate the flats. Before you completely think the idea insane please let me explain some of the thought behind the siting.
Locating on the bridge allows for the proposed Shoreway plan which calls to change the freeway from Lakewood to W45th to a boulevard to extend over the river by altering the character of the bridge to be more pedestrian/cycling friendly as a vehicular drop and pedestrian entrance could be located on bridge level (both sides). The bridge location allows a cable car system to stitch the East and West banks with a form of travel that is both functional and spectacle, hopefully creating an impetus for more entertainment development in the flats. Views to the lake and city would be primarily unobstructed creating a prime location for attracting tourists and locals and stacking the casino function would allow physical separation of program to maintain family friendly visits to a restaurant/viewing deck yet still provide a marketing strategy for the casino to function as a casino.
Grand entries can exist on the bridge and in the flats, with bus drop off at all three points (bridge, east bank, west bank), service from the bridge and the possibility of increasing infrastructure (via a tower) if needed.
Just a quick sketch of thoughts to share.
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