Cherokee Farm Proposal
Professor James Rose | Governor's Chair Studio | Spring 2017
While this project was a part of a group effort produced by the Governor's Chair Studio, the ideas, concepts, and drawings developed on this page were entirely my own work and well-received by Phillip Enquist of Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Several of these concepts are currently under construction.
This project addresses the possibility of a pedestrian link between UT campus, UT hospital and Cherokee Farm via the present-day dairy farm. In order to create this connection, I first developed a grid logic within the dairy farm site. The idea was to create connections between prominent entry points of the hospital and dominant pedestrian channels already present on the Cherokee Farm site. I then intersected these arching connections with sightlines leading from a riverside park in Sequoyah Hills and the main the backbone of UT campus. The backbone to which I am referring is the direct axis which leads from Joe Johnson Drive all the way to the Hill.
In this section, I am proposing that a new pedestrian bridge could be added to the end of Joe Johnson in order to extend the University's backbone across the river to the current Dairy Farm. The pink lines highlight proposed pedestrian routes and development possibilities which could be implemented to create strong connections between UT hospital and Cherokee Farm if the University were to relocate the dairy farm.
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There is currently a substantial elevation change between the foot of the proposed bridge and the Dairy Farm, which would require elevator access. This creates an opportunity much like the one which has already been addressed at Volunteer Landing. Essentially the space at the foot of the elevator could become a dock of sorts, serving as a multipurpose public space and further improving Knoxville’s waterfront.
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To the right you can see the current connection between Cherokee Farm and Cumberland avenue. I am proposing that the turnaround at the end of the alcoa bridge could also be made to look more intentional through the use of engraved steel panels lining the highway and patterned ceramic frit glass lining the river. This would offer improved protection for pedestrians while maintaining select views of the river.
In this section, I am addressing the northernmost part of the research district. I have proposed three buildings here. Two of these buildings line a quad and one faces the river. The building facing the river has a large spherical void which mimics the rounded corner of the neighboring roadway.
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Each building has a central atrium, lined with walkways. Like the site, these buildings also respect a strict grid of 25 foot bays. The first floor of each building is reserved for multipurpose, semi-public spaces such as restaurants and meeting halls. The upper floors have been sectioned off for labs and offices.
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You can see here that the two buildings lining the quad have had large voids removed which reflect the shape of the proposed mounds within the quad. It is my belief that certain bays could be merged with their neighbors in order to avoid small awkward spaces where these voids have been removed. This would give certain rooms unusually angled interior walls which could actually be quite interesting and break up the monotony of the grid.