For my architecture independent project, I have been working on a site analysis model of downtown Des Moines. My project is a light rail transportation hub with retail and public space, and the site of the project is adjacent to the rail tracks running by downtown (in the image below, there are two surface parking lots next to two purple parking garages and a couple overpasses...those lots are where the hub will go). For those that have ever played SimCity, the color scheme should be pretty easy to recognize:

Green = residential lofts / apartments / condos

Blue = commercial office & retail

Yellow = industrial / warehouses

Orange = civic buildings, federal buildings, government offices, library, recreational buildings

Violet = parking structures

Red = skywalk system (not done yet)

Brighter shade residential, commercial, and civic buildings are ones that have been built within the last 5 years. See-through buildings are under construction or proposals that are pending approval.

I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out so far. I checked a couple "postcard views" and the proportions seem to be accurate. All I had to go off of were some heights for the taller buildings, so the shorter ones are guesses based on photos and Google Earth. I like 3D modeling...so much more fun than Autocad.

The foreground is the neighborhood I work in

That looks great m84. I hope you end up doing well on it bud.

I love SimCity. I thought about going to college to be a city and transportation planner, but my business began taking off and I went in a different direction. Good luck with it. I think artchitecture and urban and transport planning are interesting career choices.

looks good, now just need some photos to put texture to them.

That's pretty cool...

very cool. I've recently been learning sketchup, and love it. I originally learned autocat lt in high school, and enjoyed it. Sketchup is so much easier to use, and still very accurate. AND FREE!!!

Wow ... that's sweet, mustang .

*grins*

And, I, too, like SimCity ... just don't seem to have time for it much anymore .

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

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I was in Des Moines back in August for the IA state fair. My wife's family is from there.

Hey! I work in that orange building over there >

That is very cool. Keep us updated

Good stuff. A lot of hard work, to be sure. We need archis like you that are both talented and have a passion for it; you've heard me rant about the flakes in the field...I say feed them to the lions in the Colosseum ($h!, I forgot, I have to be a good Catholic/Christian).

Transit planning is SUPER interesting. It's where LA messed up.

I was just in Atlanta. Their MARTA system (heavy rail on dedicated track like a conventional subway as opposed to light rail) is 'effing unbelievable, but then Atlanta metro has topped 4 million in pop. at this point. I love riding on it, watching the sleek cars glide on the tracks next to the freeways....and it has helped turn the ATL into a world-class city.

The little town on the prairie Laura Ingalls lived in has come a long way.

LA had a wide-ranging transit system, but as in most cities the company found that buses were better able to follow changing residential patterns than the fixed rail network, at a lower capital cost (did you know Philadelphia has an incompleted and unused subway system?). Property taxes and land prices saw much of the old rail network torn up when trucking killed off the last of the local freight business. Only later, as population densities and traffic congestion increased did a fixed transit system once again become attractive.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Bob: As of right now, Des Moines' transit system is non-existent. All they have are the MTA buses that nobody uses. Everybody drives to work, I-235 is always backed up even though they recently added another lane or two by rebuilding the whole thing.

This summer a guy came to our office who owns a T-shirt shop downtown and is putting together a proposal for a street car system that would connect downtown, the Capitol, a college, and the airport. It would cost about $100 million, which is 1/6 the cost of rebuilding 235. Omaha tried the same thing and local residents shot it down because they didn't want any tax increases. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Des Moines...recently a $.01 sales tax proposal that would have gone toward consolidating all county buildings into one new office was shot down. DM just isn't a very progressive city when it comes to public transit. Even Little Rock, AR has a light rail system.

TheGriffon: I looked it up because I had never heard of Laura Ingalls living here, and actually she lived in De Smet, SD.

I <3 SketchUp!

I'm really impressed that you eyeballed the proportions for those buildings. How long did it take you to do all that?

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Bob: As of right now, Des Moines' transit system is non-existent. All they have are the MTA buses that nobody uses. Everybody drives to work, I-235 is always backed up even though they recently added another lane or two by rebuilding the whole thing.

This summer a guy came to our office who owns a T-shirt shop downtown and is putting together a proposal for a street car system that would connect downtown, the Capitol, a college, and the airport. It would cost about $100 million, which is 1/6 the cost of rebuilding 235. Omaha tried the same thing and local residents shot it down because they didn't want any tax increases. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Des Moines...recently a $.01 sales tax proposal that would have gone toward consolidating all county buildings into one new office was shot down. DM just isn't a very progressive city when it comes to public transit. Even Little Rock, AR has a light rail system.

TheGriffon: I looked it up because I had never heard of Laura Ingalls living here, and actually she lived in De Smet, SD.

I remember Des Moines, but I'm not inclined to double-check, so I'll take your word for it. It's been a loooong time since I read the book.

I <3 SketchUp!

I'm really impressed that you eyeballed the proportions for those buildings. How long did it take you to do all that?

I worked on it most of the day Saturday and Sunday, so probably 16 hours or so.

Bob: As of right now, Des Moines' transit system is non-existent. All they have are the MTA buses that nobody uses. Everybody drives to work, I-235 is always backed up even though they recently added another lane or two by rebuilding the whole thing.

How recent were the lanes added?

I can't remember how many lanes it had while I was there last October:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/1106/DSC07606r8_jpg.html

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

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How recent were the lanes added?

I can't remember how many lanes it had while I was there last October:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/1106/DSC07606r8_jpg.html

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot where I was" ... Patty Loveless ... 'I Try To Think About Elvis'

The whole project has been ongoing for the last 4 years or so, they're finally getting close to being done. Now there are some parts with up to 5 lanes in each direction. I think it used to just be 3.

Ah...I wonder if it had 5 lanes a year ago when I was there ... the traffic didn't seem THAT bad to me....

Course, I was comparing it to Chicagoland traffic ... he he.

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

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