AAMEL

= **Best Fit** = by Aamel

= INVESTIGATION STAGE =

**General characteristics of the neighborhood** :
The neighborhood of New York is very quiet (excluding 63rd drive), safe, and calm. Rego Park can be mainly divided into 3 parts. One part is on one side of Queens Blvd, the other part is on the other side of Rego Park, and lastly the third part of Rego Park is on the same side of Queens Blvd, but is seperated by railroad tracks. The first side of Rego Park is fairly busy with a mix of a couple of attached townhouses, single family houses, high rise appartements, and 2 shopping malls. The second side of Rego Park is a mix of a few low rise apartment buildings, a couple of medium rise apartment buildings with approximately 8-9 floors, a couple of condominiums, and a few single family houses. Lastly, the third side of Rego Park is mainly single family houses and attached townhouses (and maybe very few low rise buildings).

Block 3095, and lots 78, 79, and 80.

The size of all three lots combined is 100' x 40'

Images:
Tax Map

Street View

Satellite View

**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.** Rego Park is a mix of attached townhouses, single family houses, low rise apartment buildings, high rise apartment buildings, and condominiums. Rego Park is a neighborhood that already has many things. Rego Park has 2 shopping malls, Rego Center, and the Sears Mall. Rego Park has 5 public elementary schools, and students go to either Halsey JHS for middle school, or Russel Sage which is technically in Forest Hills, but only 2 blocks from the border of Forest Hills and Rego Park. For high school, students go to Forest Hills High School which is also barely past the part the border of Rego Park and Forest Hills, but most of its students are from Rego Park. Rego Park also has a recreation center which has basketball courts, boxing rings, ping pong tables, a fitness center, and after school program, and a preschool. It can also be considered a community service center, but it is too far for most Rego Park residents as it is right near the border of Rego Park and Elmhurst, and therefore most of the recreation center members are not Rego Park citizens. Rego Park also has enough barber shops, delis, 99 cent stores, restaurant, other small retail stores, and other stores of that nature. Rego Park also has a hospital which is named North Shore Forest Hills hospitals as it is technically in Forest Hills if one goes by official borders, but it is more accessible to Rego Park citizens.

**2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.** Rego Park is a neighborhood that might need a couple of more things to make it a better neighborhood for its residents. One thing that Rego Park needs is another recreation center which is accessible to two of the parts of Rego Park (the first part already has a recreation center called Los Batallion Hall) Los Batallion Hall is on the border of Elmhurst and Rego Park and therefore is not accessible for many Rego Park except for those who live around there. Rego Park could also use a nursing home or nursing center for elders as it doesn't have one. This would help elders living in Rego Park have a place to stay and be taken care of. Rego Park could also use another high school which is more accessible to residents of Rego Park who don't live in the area near Forest Hills High School as Rego Park is a big neighborhood.

**Buildings and architects that provide inspiration**
(//** Add at least 5 photos and explanations--AFTER you add each photo, write brief explanation of how the building and/or the architect inspire you. THEN, WHEN YOU ARE ALL DONE, ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS **// )



Staples Center is a building that inspires me as it is the home of my favorite basketball team, which is the Los Angeles Lakers. I am a die hard Laker fan. This is why this building means a lot to, and inspires me all the time as it reminds of all the glory the Lakers have gained in that building, and the championships they've won.



Madison Square Garden is a building that inspires me because it is the home of the New York Knicks which I love (second to the Lakers). Madison Square Garden is considered the Mecca of basketball, and the fact that it is in New York inspires me and makes me proud that I am a resident of New York.



This is a picture of the mosque in Mecca which includes the Kabah which is very sacred to Muslims. A mosque is a normal place of worship for Muslims around the world including me, but the mosque in Mecca is special as it is where about 2 million and more Muslims come to perform a pilgrimage once a year. It inspires me as I am a Muslim and it reminds me of the sacredness of the mosque and Mecca.



This is a picture of the Taj Mahal which is one of India's most beautiful structures. It inspires since I am am Indian and American, and therefore it inspires me to see what the country I am originally from and its development in creating beautiful and symmetrical structures.



This is a great architectural building that has a great and unbelievable design. It amazes and inspires me as it makes me realize the potential of architecture and how beautiful architecture in the future can be.

** In what ways has this investigation influenced you to design a building for your lot that makes the best fit for the neighborhood: **
After researching about what the neighborhood of Rego Park already has and what it needs, and comparing that to the 5 buildings that inspire me to see how I can incorporate some modernity into a neighborhood which is old, classy, and has brick buildings, I decided that the building that would have the best fit in this lot would be a recreation center that will have basketball courts, a swimming pool, ping pong tables,and so on. I know that the recreation center cannot be more than 5-6 floors or else it would look completely different than the surroundings, but this creates a challenge as the lot is not too big (only 100' x 40') and therefore will need to have more floors in order to add more facilities to the recreation center. I also know it will have to be a brick building with an old and classy design to fit in with the neighborhood, but in order to incorporate some of the modernity of the buildings that inspire me, I could maybe make the middle part of the recreation center a tinted glass window, or added glass colunms on each side of the building to add the modernity to the building. These are just some of the ways I could incorporate modernity into the old and classy neighborhood of Rego Park, in order to create a useful, appealing, and attractive recreation center.

Works Cited:

 *  "HowStuffWorks "The Kaaba and Al-Haram Mosque"" // Howstuffworks "Adventure" // Web. 10 Jan. 2011. .
 * ==**"Madison Square Garden Address." // Washington DC Travel //. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. . ** ==
 *  "Picture Of The Taj Mahal India." // Travel Pictures from Great Travel and Vacation Destinations from around the World //. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. .
 * **"Staples Center Address." // Washington DC Travel //. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. . **
 * =="Sustainable Architecture Building by ACME Firm Architecture." // Architectures Design – Residential Architecture, Modern Architecture, Building Architecture - Top of Architecture Design Such as Interior Architecture, Unique Architecture, Villa Architecture, Architecture Concept, Luxury Architecture. // Web. 10 Jan. 2011. . ==

= DESIGN STAGE =

**Problem to be solved:**
Rego Park needs a a recreation center that is more accessible to the major parts of Rego Park and to more Rego Park residents.

**Requirements:**

 * Must be a red brick building.
 * Should have some modernistic to go with the old and classical style of Rego Park.
 * All windows must be large enough for emergency/egress.
 * Must include a cafe or something of that sort in order to provide refreshments to kids.
 * Must include a place for kids to study and do hw.
 * Should include a pool for kids to swim.

**Constraints:**
100' x 40'.
 * The foot print of the building cannot exceed
 * The building will not exceed 6 floors.

Description of Three Possible Designs media type="custom" key="8117666" width="130" height="130" The first design of the recreation center that I will be creating in Rego Park is a very simple building with a simple design that fits right in with the old and classical style of Rego Park. It is a regular brick building with 6 regular sized window, 3 on one side, three on the other. It also contains 2 much wider windows in the middle, right above the door. The top of this recreation center (the roof) is split into 2 parts sort of like a castle, and the part between the 2 parts is translucent, which gives the building a modern look as well.
 * Design #1 **

** Design #2 ** media type="custom" key="8124298" width="130" height="130"

This second design of the recreation center that I will be creating in Rego Park is a little more complex and appealing design than the first design. It is another red brick building to go with the old and classical style of Rego Park, but it has 7 huge and wide windows to incorporate a bit of modernity into the building as well. This building also has a swimming pool on the roof which is surrounded by a translucent wall which also gives a little bit of more modernity to the building. This building is more modern looking and appealing than the first simple and old/classical building.

** Design #3 ** media type="custom" key="8124520" width="130" height="130"

This last design of the recreating center that I will be creating in Rego Park is the most appealing and modern looking than both of the previous designs. It is not a regular rectangular shaped building, but is circular, and the building is not too tall in height either as the building starts from underground so that more equipment and facilities can be provided in the small lot without making the building tall. This circular building also contains modern circular windows all around the circular shape of the building, and contains a circular pool on the roof, making the building very modernistic.

** Identify the Best Design: **
The best design out of the three is design 2, which is a redbrick building whose style isn't all that crazy and ordinary and would fit in with the old and classical style of Rego Park. There is a swimming pool on the top of this building, and there are 8 huge modern looking windows in the front of the building as well. This building also has a place for people to stand if its raining as there is sort of like a short passage that leads to the door.

** Justify Your Choice: **
The reason why I chose design 2 as the best design out of the three is because I believe that this was the design that best fit in with the old and classical style of Rego Park, while at the same time incorporating some modernity into the building by adding 7 huge translucent windows, and by adding a swimming pool on the roof of the building. The building would fit into Rego Park without sticking out like a sore thumb, but would also have a bit of modernity in it.