San Antonio’s downtown is full of underutilized urban spaces. The most active areas at street level are where the Riverwalk and the street visibly connect and activities/uses, both cultural and commercial, draw people. The cultural intervention for 211 North St. Mary’s Street is an infill design that captures the vitality of the Riverwalk and translates it to the street above by inserting a hybrid of mixed-uses into a small area within the urban fabric.
The site, an abandoned historic shell of a former sporting goods store, approximately 29 feet by 240 feet, has both street and river access. The new design is interjected between two hotel masses and respectfully behind the historic façade. Following historic precedent, the new building utilizes a tripartite design; a public human scale base, a semi-public exhibition space in the middle, and private residential units on top. Pulling the masses apart creates delineation between the three sections divided by green spaces. The base of the building is a public connection to the Riverwalk that forms an area for performances, continuing the tradition of cultural activity along the river. Like other areas it will become a point of orientation, a marquee within the theater area of downtown.
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