Space Analytics: Projects and Cases

	Projects and cases The examples below illustrate our work in access takings, architectural copyright, corporate knowledge management, design competition, downtown redevelopment, economic feasibility, highest and best use, design disputes, problem/ distressed property, public forum, slip and fall, site context, trade dress, traffic congestion analysis
	A regional mall Understanding space to improve sales An attractive three level mall in one of the Los Angeles area's largest retail complexes had consistent revenue problems affecting line stores both near its anchors and at certain locations. Our findings were that the problems of location and configuration of vertical circulation elements, the location of entrances from parking garages and that several chunks of fragmented and insufficiently lit space contributed to pedestrians bypassing certain store areas. It has since been redesigned. [top of page]
	A specialty mall Identifying critical developer and designer errors A mall designed to be filled with high-fashion retailers was sold for one-fourth of its construction cost five years after completion to a charismatic Christian church congregation. Repeated attempts by investors, designers and 'workout' specialists produced diminishing results. Despite the existence of an older, successful, nearby mall targeting a similar market with similar retailers, this mall was erroneously termed a victim of economic or external obsolescence. Our work addressed two factors — the spatial design of the common area and the underlying decision criteria. Using shape network™ models relating spatial patterns to occupancy and vacancy patterns, we compared this mall with the successful mall to show it was functionally obsolete by design. The metaphor guiding its design was the European village. We showed how this underlying idea was both badly misunderstood by the developers and designers and mistakenly applied. See our award-wining article, Design and Value. pdf [top of page]
	The most expensive downtown park in America Understanding a failure prior to redesign Designed by highly regarded landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, Denver's Skyline Park was referred to as the most expensive park built in the early 1970s. But by the mid 1990s, the park had become something it was not intended to be — a steeplechase for skateboards and bikes and a hangout for hoboes. Street-level shops and restaurants in properties immediately facing the park were rarely successful. An a-maze-ing layout. Our analysis prepared for the Downtown Denver Partnership showed a combination of internal configuration and poor connections to the street grid made it possible to 'privatize' substantial parts of Skyline Park minimizing its everyday use by middle-class downtowners. It was recently redesigned and rebuilt. [top of page]
	Longest commercial street in the United States Increasing the value of Main Street properties At 26 miles, Denver's Colfax Avenue is one of the longest commercial streets in the world. Oddly, next to some of the finest, most vibrant early 20th century single-family neighborhoods near downtown Denver, commercial property values on Colfax had fallen far behind those of residential properties a few doors away. And though they could easily walk to Colfax, nearby residents rarely frequented Colfax merchants. Our long-term involvement began as an author of the Strategic Action Plan for the Colfax Business Improvement District. Space Analytics identified the key problem as the intelligibility of the street to middle-class pedestrians and drivers caused by a combination of inattention to right-of-way improvements and poor private development practices allowed by local public agencies. As a new plan takes shape, this venerable avenue is experiencing significant private sector reinvestment and public sector reassessment. [top of page]
	What is an architect, really? Surviving the wrong choice of architect The low-profile founder of one of the largest cable media companies was going to build a luxurious, 25,000 SF great house, manager's house, stables, hangar and landing strip in one of the most scenic but undiscovered areas in the West. But after little more than year, the project was experiencing delays, fee and cost increases and after almost another year with the main house barely started, the owner terminated the architect and the architect counter claimed for unpaid bills and to prevent his designs from being used. Problems appeared to stem not from management but from early stage conceptual design. The architect, though experienced and properly registered, did not have a degree in architecture but had received his license by exam. His wife, who worked with him, had an undergraduate, non-professional degree in 'architecture.' But the real problem was that neither the architect nor his wife had academic or work experience designing a great house. They were learning by doing. [top of page]
	Context Analysis for a Design Competition Helping Architects Win a Job The new Denver City-County Office Building is the first city government office building to be built here since before World War II. The 500,000 square foot facility would occupy a crucial site on the edge of downtown Denver immediately across from the original City-County Building and the Denver Civic Center, a City Beautiful era ensemble. Both building design and urban design were key considerations. We were retained by the firm which later won the job to assist in writing the initial submission and to analyze the urban context. The exhibit at the left was one of several representations showing patterns of access between public and private space near the project site. Of the finalists, our client was the only local firm that did not affiliate with a major national or international architectural design firm. [top of page]
	Street Configuration Analysis Surviving redevelopment A Tucson citizens group was concerned about the impact of new downtown plans, The Rio Nuevo Plan, on the vitality of the originally settled part of Tucson near the Santa Cruz River, an area of major archeological and hydrological significance. We did an audit of the existing configuration of public space patterns in the area as well as the new plans in order to identify problems to be addressed. Subsequent plans were changed in response. [top of page]
	Public Forum Analysis Supporting a First Amendment case Two publishers who distributed game programs on the sidewalks next to Coors Field were arrested for trespass. The sidewalks were part of the property the Colorado Rockies National League Baseball Club leased from the publicly funded stadium district.The publishers then sued the Rockies claiming they were in a public forum protected by the First Amendment. Part of the question centered on the distinction between private space and public space. Our testimony analyzed planning intentions, pedestrian experience and underlying patterns showing that all sidewalk entrances to the ballpark were a seamless extensions of the original city street grid and functioned as public spaces. The trial court and later the Colorado Supreme Court each concluded all adjacent sidewalks were public space. [top of page]
	Structural, functional or aesthetic failure? Establishing value after destruction A 22-story, beach front hotel built in Guam in the late 1980s was damaged by an earthquake shortly after it opened. Because only the foundation of the $90,000,000 building could be salvaged, the building lost over 90 percent of its value. But one question was whether the loss of value was due to structural failure or to functional and aesthetic failure. If the latter, it lost value before the earthquake. Built during the Japanese bubble economy, the hotel had guest rooms priced near the highest percentile, as though it was a luxury hotel. We were engaged to provide evidence that its functional and aesthetic character was significantly inferior to that of luxury hotels both around the around the world and in the same market area. By showing the functional and aesthetic differences between this hotel and luxury hotels, we provided evidence that its pricing structure and revenue streams were inflated and that its value was $50,000,000 less than what it cost to build. [top of page]
	Gambling on function Establishing value in the context of business failure The functional utility of a building with a historically designated shell in one of Colorado's limited stakes gambling towns was one of several matters at issue in an unjust enrichment suit. The building had undergone extensive interior reconstruction that terminated before completion. The contractor sued the owner for the several hundred thousand dollars it claimed it was owed. Since many small casinos had failed, we were asked to determine whether the building met functional requirements. Our work first distinguished external (economic) from functional obsolescence by identifying the impact of decreased demand on overall real estate values. This was done using a financial break-even model equating fixed costs with real estate values and variable costs with casino operating costs. Historical revenue streams were derived from adjusted gross proceeds published by the state gaming commission. We then related revenues to floor plate sizes and showed the building was not functionally obsolete. [top of page]
	Head to head with local government Compensating and repairing loss of access One owner of a multi-acre tract with industrial-commercial zoning in an area changing rapidly from agricultural to suburban had to grant a pipeline easement along the frontage. Another owner of a large agricultural parcel with residential-commercial zoning next to a small shopping center and fronting a major arterial was required to give up a substantial amount of access due to the widening and reconfiguring of the fronting arterial. In each case, by making larger parcel distinctions, by analyzing development alternatives and required patterns of circulation, by examining factors affecting how drivers scan and perceive in their cone of vision and by showing the size, shape, position, visibility, internal and external configuration of the use in the before and after conditions, our work showed there were significant changes to the highest and best use of these properties that resulted in economic damage with settlements in favor of the property owners. [top of page]
	A trade dress case Protecting business by protecting design At a trade show, owners of a large portfolio of outlet malls became aware of plans to develop another mall on a parcel adjacent to one of theirs, one of the most successful outlet malls in the U.S. On seeing the plans and illustrations, they believed the proposed mall was so similar that it was a copy of their mall and sued to compel the developers of the proposed mall to change the design. The developers modified their design, but claimed that during this time they lost prospective tenants and financing and filed a counterclaim that the action of the owners of the existing mall was brought to interfere with their development. We used shape-network techniques to analyze both the surface and the deep structures of the aesthetic aspects of both designs to show similarities and identities. We used space primitives to show the functional similarities and identities of the layouts as shoppers would use them demonstrating that perceptions of aesthetic patterns would be contingent on movement patterns. As a result, the developers of the proposed mall dropped their counterclaim. [top of page]
	Railroaded? The shape of substantially impaired access A new light rail line running next to existing sidewalks required eliminating vehicle access to a number of businesses. One affected property was an industrial/ warehouse facility in a CBD fringe with two separate structures: a one-story, clear span building connected to a two story, 16'x20' bay building each with separate loading entrances. The functional utility differences between the two, which were overlooked by the condemning authority, resulted in 'larger parcel' distinctions that significantly increased the value of economic damages awarded the owner in a settlement. [top of page]
	Fractured design, fractured ankle Inherently dangerous design At about 5 pm on sunny day in mid May, a husband and wife in their 60s walked out of a suburban restaurant heading to their car in the parking lot. As she walked, she didn't see the edge of the two or three stair steps in her path and tumbled down. Her multiple fractures left her with a six-figure health care bill. On reviewing actual site conditions we found they conformed with the design drawings which showed a condition of merging treads and risers as the site's slope gradually increased making steps appear to be a ramp. We documented seven reasons that the design was both inherently hazardous and hazardous because of inadequate design to mitigate knowable problems caused by context, length, light, and handrail location. [top of page]
	Bad (maintenance) habits Foreseeable mis-management On a misty Sunday morning in late spring, a woman got out of the car and went into the convenience store to buy a bottle of soda. As she turned left toward the cooler after she entered, her foot slipped forward and she landed on her other knee. Within several months, she had surgery to repair injuries from a hyper-extended knee and had the joint permanently immobilized. Our investigation indicated her shoe soles picked up water on entering and that the mat had not had the collected water removed and the wet floor sign was displayed regardless of conditions creating habituation practices apparently overlooked by management. [top of page]
	An architectural copyright case Protecting architectural intellectual property A builder constructed two large and expensive houses in an exclusive subdivision. An aspect of the front facade resembled another house previously built not far away. The architects of this first house brought an action against the builder. We provided the builder's attorney with a convincing shape-network analysis that the facade pattern was integral with the spatial pattern for all of the houses. It turned out that the builder had previously seen a promotional brochure of the original house. A settlement was soon reached. [top of page]
	Our knowledge base Building , place and property types shopping centers — regional, specialty, outlet, community sport and entertainment — ballpark, performing arts center offices — corporate, insurance, utilities, professional civic and institutional — museum, urban park, civic center hospitality and gaming — resort hotel, motel, casino housing — single-family, multifamily (garden, high-rise), rental, purchase airport terminals health care — patient floor layout, day surgery layout industrial — warehouse, high-tech, control room restaurants specialty and multi-unit retail luxury houses — traditional and contemporary neighborhoods — suburban; traditional; new urbanist street corridors — suburban arterial, main street, light rail line [top of page]