The master plan for the 220-acre Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) aims to create a cohesive, vibrant, and flexible urban space that serves both the local community and the global stage.
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The Composite Neighborhood Plan is an interactive GIS platform documenting developments in and around a 900 acre study area centered around the Georgia World Congress Center.
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Composite Neighborhood Plan
Amplifying the
Georgia World Congress Center
Comprehensive Master Plan Study
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The threshold plan is an exciting journey into the very essence of the site of the Georgia World Congress Center — exploring and shaping the crucial thresholds that bridge the ground we walk on and the buildings that rise above it. Our charge is to craft recommendations that not only define the relationship between the ground plane and the building façades but also tell a compelling story through design.
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The master plan for the 220-acre Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) aims to create a cohesive, vibrant, and flexible urban space that serves both the local community and the global stage. The plan emphasizes sustainability, community integration, and economic potential while ensuring pedestrian-friendly design. At its core, the vision seeks to Amplify — to elevate the dichotomy of being both "Georgia" and "World," creating a space that is deeply rooted in the local community while resonating on a global scale.
project vision
Cohesive Campus Identity: Establish a unified and recognizable identity for the GWCC campus.
Maximizing Economic Potential: Leverage the site’s potential to drive economic growth and development.
Sustainability: Implement sustainable practices to reduce environmental impact, including addressing the urban heat island effect.
Community Integration: Foster strong connections with surrounding neighborhoods, ensuring the development benefits local residents.
Pedestrian-Centric Design: Prioritize human-first design, reducing dependency on vehicles and enhancing walkability.
guiding principles
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Public spaces and amenties support a walkable environment that connects visitors from Rodney Cook Sr Park, through the CWCC Campus, and beyond. New adjacent development provides places to gather, eat, work, shop, live, stay and play.
Investigation: Conducted a thorough investigation to understand the site, including geospatial analysis and community engagement to identify needs and opportunities.
Exploration: Developed three scenarios to explore different design possibilities, incorporating feedback from stakeholders.
Recommendations: Synthesized the best elements from the exploration phase into comprehensive recommendations.
Documentation: Documented the final plan to guide future development phases.
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Process Overview through Co-Creation
Emphasized a deeply collaborative approach, engaging the client, stakeholders, and community members in every phase. This inclusive process ensured that the final plan reflects a broad spectrum of insights and needs.
Phased Development: The plan allows for flexible, phased development of different lots, such as the Blue Lot and Yellow Lot, without one being contingent on the completion of another.
Community Engagement: Continuous engagement with local stakeholders to ensure the development meets the needs of the community.
Market Responsiveness: Adjust the plan based on market demands, ensuring it remains relevant and sustainable.
Implementation
The master plan is designed as a "kit of parts," providing a flexible toolkit that allows for the adaptation and reconfiguration of various elements based on future needs and developments. This approach ensures that the plan remains dynamic and responsive to changing conditions, market demands, and community needs.
Each part of the plan can function independently yet harmonizes with the overall vision, ensuring cohesive and sustainable development. To ensure the master plan addresses the needs of diverse user groups, eight personas were developed to capture the various experiences and requirements of different stakeholders. These personas guided the design process, ensuring that the development caters to a wide range of needs and experiences, from the local student to the international visitor.
Kit of Parts
Pedestrian Bridge: Enhance safety and connectivity with elevated pedestrian pathways.
Flexible Use: Design buildings with flexible use in mind to adapt to future needs, whether for office space, hospitality, or residential use.
Green Lung: Introduce large green spaces to improve air quality and provide community gathering spots.
The GWCC master plan represents a thoughtful, community-centric approach to urban development. By prioritizing sustainability, flexibility, and community integration, the plan aims to create a vibrant and resilient urban space that will serve Atlanta and its visitors for years to come. Through the poetics of the vision to Amplify, the plan seeks to elevate the local and global significance of the GWCC, making it a true landmark for the future. The inclusion of persona journeys ensures that the development meets the diverse needs of its users, creating a space that is welcoming and functional for all. The co-creation process, involving a wide range of stakeholders, guarantees that the final plan is reflective of a collective vision and shared goals.
conclusion
view the full campus master plan pdf
view the full campus master plan pdf
Amplifying the
Georgia World Congress Center
Campus Master Plan
design features
Experiential Equity: Ensure the site is accessible and enjoyable for both visitors and locals, from large event attendees to daily commuters.
Humanized Spaces: Transform vehicle-dominated areas into pedestrian-friendly environments with green spaces and community amenities.
Flexible Framework: Create a master plan that can adapt to future developments and changing market dynamics.
key objectives
Economic Edge: Arrange facilities around a central quad to create a dynamic economic hub.
Creative Clusters: Introduce green spaces and cultural areas to provide respite and promote creativity.
Defined District: Reinstate a grid structure to enhance connectivity and create more defined public spaces.
Development options
Replace large asphalt lots with green spaces to mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Incorporate sustainable building practices and aim for LEED certification.
Ensure access to healthy food and amenities within a walkable distance.
Sustainability Initiatives
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Amplifying the
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Composite Neighborhood Plan
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Welcome to the Composite Neighborhood Plan, an interactive GIS platform documenting developments in and around a 900 acre study area centered around the Georgia World Congress Center.
The goal of this effort is to position GWCCA to make good decisions about creating development on the campus that best serves the needs of event customers and the surrounding community, complimenting what neighbors are planning around the convention center.
Please note that all materials were gathered through verbal communications and publicly available data. This content is intended for informational purposes only and should be verified independently before use in decision-making processes.
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Georgia World Congress Center
Comprehensive Master Plan Study
©HKS, Inc. 2024
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Composite Neighborhood Plan
Site Threshold Plan
Campus Master Plan
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Amplifying the
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Composite Neighborhood Plan
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Campus Master Plan
Composite Neighborhood Plan
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Coming Soon
©HKS, Inc. 2024
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Amplifying the
Georgia World Congress Center
Site Threshold Plan
Composite Neighborhood Plan
Site Threshold Plan
Campus Master Plan
Home
©HKS, Inc. 2024
Back to Top
contact us
Amplifying the
Georgia World Congress Center
Site Threshold Plan
