UN///Scape
urban design ‘Weho Project’
VOL.1
Spring 2015 ARC 403+ LA 403 Interdisciplinary Urban Design LECTURE Project
VOL.1///NO.1
UN///Scape May 2015
Albert hernandez
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
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LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
Land-Scape Emergent Possibilities Subjugate with Spatial Manipulation Eco Overlaps ‘WeHo’ Urban Form and Social make-up
6 Million Angelenos Future of Urban Environments
Crit ‘WeHo’ OneRobertson Goals
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URBAN POSITION AND DIAGRAM
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PHOTO ESSAY OF SITE
OneRobertson
Eye On Robertson
THEORY READING RESPONSES
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and is one of the ultimate resources that all living things must utilize in order to survive. Land is obviously physical but human beings have managed to place an economic value on land, which has made some places more ideal to live. Due to this associated value of the land people have trivialized any and all land that is not necessarily valuable to the community. Also, land has been categorized and labeled by human inhabitants in order to keep track of how the land is used and valued. As a result trees and “natural elements” become ornamental where in fact, all land and its inhabitants become an ordered system that work as a process. Robert sullivan mentions that trees are not just ornaments but are “civic lungs, cleaning and cooling the environment”. Designers, specifically landscape architects must use the knowledge obtained to not only design a sustainable framework which people can thrive on, but also to educate the greater public about how we choose to live. Land isn’t a commodity and should not be treated as such. No matter if the land is considered urban, suburban, or rural, there are other living species and ecological processes at work. Like ecology, landscape architecture and urban design is a process that must place an infrastructure that considers the wild flow of things. Stated in Landscape as Urbanism, “Landscape can produce a postural image of nature”, which can be deceiving to people. The way we think of nature and land must change. Ultimately, we must understand that nature and land is a powerful force that must not be captured or idealized, but instead seen as a process that gets impacted with all the modifications human make.
This land was made for you and me.
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“Landscape can produce a postural image of nature”
THEORY READING RESPONSES
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‘LAND Scape’ “the concrete jungle” “landscape as urbanism”
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
“emergent “emergent possibilities” possibilities” “Synthetic patterns” “Introduction to topographic”
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
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Patterns within the urban context can be hroughout human history one of the very useful in defining and identifying space. greatest feet humanity has been able to achieve is the art of architecture. Synthetic patterns are not flat surfaces but Land is more than just soil; it is all that can be are three dimensional fields that ultimately discovered beneath it and all that emerges from dictate the space. An example of a pattern in it. There are inherent processes that sustain Los Angeles is the street grid. The street grid the emergents that have infinite potentials. The dictates how a person travels the city and also has several underlying discipline of Landscape Architecture allows a Land is more than just soil; it functions that coexist designer to rediscover is all that can be discovered together like water and the connection between beneath it and all that emerges management flow. person and place as well from it. There are inherent electricity as, has the ability to set processes that sustain the Within the street grid up the cultural framework emergents that have infinite there are unplanned elements that emerge that people live in through potentials. that create inherent the manipulation of cycles such as water pollution runoff. The land. The designer must visualize the land as street grid pattern subsequently impacts the three different aspects; material, spatial, and surroundings, creating an entirely different temporal. It is helpful to create patterns for environment within the urban fabric. the three categories in order to organize any given place. David Leatherbarrow states in his writings that the field of architecture as well as landscape architecture have the ability to create patterns which dictate the way one lives within the land, “Patterns of life.�
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
“place-making”
http://www.fagabond.com/news/?city_id=174
THEORY READING RESPONSES
Subjugate with spatial manipulation
“Where and How, A_Krieger” “Gruen_Jerde, B_Herman”
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rban design is a mindset that ultimately shapes the form of a community’s living conditions. Often times urban designers refer to a city as a collection of objects placed on an open field, and that is simply not true. That idea places too much importance to the objects and undermines what those objects are placed on. The urban fabric within every city is unique and distinguishable by its surrounding conditions. Urban design; not an object, but a field of relationships between human and the built environment. Most cities, along with Los Angeles, are a combination of living conditions with invisible boundaries and limits created by intangible political and social forces. The development of any one city is a process, evolving over a long period of time, which is often unnoticeable to the inhabitants. Although the direct impacts go unseen, the design individual spaces within the
bigger context shape the way the inhabitants experience the spaces. Designers are able to shape an individual’s experience in a particular space and ultimately manipulate the actions of a person with their reaction to the design. Each object and space manipulated creates a response and a relationship with the user. The relationships between the user and the space define the designed space and ultimately shape the urban living condition. The city has no shape or form yet has living forces that respond to each other creating the urban fabric as Krieger stated, urban design is an art of “place-making.” Urban designers must create spaces that allow for dialogue between the urban fabric and the inhabitants. Urban design must utilize “smart growth” that responds to changing human conditions and that are mindful to impacts to the human environment.
Urban Design _Not an object, but a field of relationships...
take possession of the area
identify the area
link the area -6-
embed the project
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
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THEORY READING RESPONSES
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0verlap
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rban design allows for designers to potentially have a positive impact on the urban layout as well as the urban inhabitant. Los Angeles is considered to be one of the largest ‘autopias’ in the world with a large amount of land dedicated solely to the automobile. Urban designers must understand the impacts of auto driven cities on the urban inhabitants. The history of the development of urban fabric has typically been influenced by economical factors and not the common good of the people. Urban design sets up a framework that influences the people but its should also allow for the people to influence the framework. There needs to be a shift in the process of developing and planning future cities to accommodate the inhabitants and the surrounding living conditions for all species. The urban fabric must be flexible and fluid in order to accommodate all species. There must be ecological overlaps that bind together to create a comfortable living condition that sustains itself. Information will drive the manipulation process to create a urban fabric that works with the surrounding ecologies.
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“architecture of 4 ecologies” “infrastructural ecologies”
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LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
WeHo can be defined by economic status, the creative arts, and the LGBT community
‘WeHo’
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Urban Form and Social make-up
est Hollywood is a unique space situated between the wealthy city of Beverly Hills and the iconic city of Hollywood, which definitely creates an interesting blend of various cultures. There are three major social factors that define this area including economic status, the creative arts, and the LGBT community. These elements all fuse together to create a district simply known as ‘WeHo’. The area has managed to become a staple of cultural influence on the larger surrounding communities. The development of the area has been dictated by not only the social factors, but the physical barriers that encompass the area. The Santa
Monica mountains create a barrier that cap the entire area and end the pattern of the urban fabric. The street grid it strongly influenced by the mountains. All streets running perpendicular to the mountains shift their patterns from rectilinear to curvilinear to compensate for the slope. In turn the larger streets like Santa Monica Boulevard, Sunset and Melrose run parallel to the mountains. The city of Hollywood and West Hollywood have become liner cities that gravitate to the larger streets that run parallel to the mountains. It is interesting how the mountains impacted the development of the area, creating an artificial river of automobiles (Sunset and Santa Monica) -9-
LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
the mountains impacted the development of the area, creating an artificial river of automobiles
that pull all the attention of the city much like historic cities (Paris) that gravitate to a river. The result of the linear development of the city is that there is no true “downtown” center and there is also a heavy emphasis on the automobile like most of the Los Angeles region. The Los Angeles car culture has allowed West hollywood to become a node within the urban fabric . Ironically, the first openly gay establishment in West Hollywood was a gay motorcycle club. WeHo historically has been home to the LGBT community and has been seen as a “safe haven” for the community to feel free to express oneself. Annually hosting a “Pride Parade” on Santa Monica Boulevard
where members and supporters of the LGBT community proudly celebrate the emergences of the subculture. WeHo thrives of the idealistic openness to subculture as the community strongly supports haute couture, streetwear boutiques, and artisan designs. West Hollywood has developed a design district that contributes a large revenue into the economy. Along with all the art sold in West Hollywood one of the most impactful item WeHo sells is the idea of tasteful cultural diversity.. WeHo certainly makes an argument for being Los Angeles’s tastes-makers and home to fashion icons. -10-
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LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
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n the year 2035, Los Angeles is projected to have close to 6 million Angelenos living in the greater area. Using West Hollywood as a precedent model of what cities should accommodate for, two key identifying factors should be addressed. The first, is the environment factors that contribute and impact the urban fabric and the second is the social evolution of the inhabitants. Not every city will be exactly the same but using trends seen in West Hollywood over the last couple of years, Los Angeles will be able to plan accordingly for the future by looking at the past. An example of an environmental factor addressed is West Hollywood is the street plan that addresses the aesthetic appeal of the streetscape. The plan specifically lays out tree types, street dimensions, and materials all in attempts to create a particular character and experience in the street environment. Although the plan’s primary goal it to address surface level street appeal, inadvertently the plan increases the urban forest and cleans water filtration in West Hollywood. By simply adding more trees to the streetscape the tree canopy coverage increases with numerous benefits to the environment. Stated by Robert Sullivan, trees act as civic lungs cleaning the air pollution. Also noted from the urban jungle was the emergence of ecological diversity that occurs in an urban setting. Although the diversity may go unnoticed, the increase of trees will allow for ecological agencies to thrive and emerged as contributing factors within the urban fabric. Another factor that West Hollywood could help Los Angeles in planning for future development of it’s city, is the social acceptance and openness to different cultures. West Hollywood has been a pioneer city for allowing subcultures to thrive including both LGBT and ART communities. Interestingly, a recent trend within the LGBT
Photo: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/52838078 West Hollywood street with vegetation planted on both sides of the walk way increase vegetation in the urban context.
community is the decrease of it’s residents living in WeHo. Communities are constantly changing and evolving which some would considered gentrification. In WeHo the LGBT community is being gentrified by wealthy citizens from Beverly Hills and Santa Monica as they move into the desirable area. Although the community is evolving due to various factors the urban plan could address this endless cycle by creating a plan that is flexible enough for social cultural changes. Social trends are without a doubt influenced by the Internet, social media, and the direction technology is heading. For example, people will no longer identify with race or sexual preference but social media status and common interest on facebook. The Internet has created communities that transcends physical limitations. Urban planning will have to be open minded and flexible to accommodate for the endless cycles of social evolution. -11-
LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
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6 Million Angelenos...
Future of Urban Environments
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LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
CRIT ‘WeHo’
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est Hollywood’s master plan is broken down into zoning plan, specific plans, and street plans. The overall idea of the zoning plan is to create a walkable city that upholds a artisan/ boutique street feel. Also, within the city they have proposed to convert unused space into green pedestrian friendly places. The city has accepted the linear car driven nature of the city plan and hope to create some vertical density along the main streets of the city. Along those main streets they have created specific plans that go into further detail about the framework of the area. Along Sunset and Santa monica, the city would like to create some density and cultural volume. Especially where Santa Monica and Melrose meet, the city envisions that this area could become the ‘downtown’ area of the otherwise linear development. The last aspect of the city’s master plan is the street appeal. The city has a plan to unify all the streets in WeHo with similar materials and tree types. The are some aspects to the plan that some urbanistic designers would all agree is beneficial to a successful urban pattern, which are the ideas of walkability and connectivity. To reference Busquets classifications of urbanistic projects, WeHo’s plan ‘reconfigures surfaces’ very well. WeHo has accomplished the restructured fine grain open spaces to account for public open spaces. Also reprogrammed the
LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
Diagram courtesy of West Hollywood City website. The diagram depicts identified zones that have a clear unique characteristic from one another. The city will attempt to link and create transition among the zones.
areas to anchor future growth of the city that will ultimately bring the community together. There were some opportunities in the West Hollywood master plan for improvements and changes. There was a contradiction in the master plan that called for walkability within city but also called for increased number parking lots. The idea of walkability should not be undermined by the automobile. The argument was that people would drive to West Hollywood then walk around the city. However, an alternative to that proposal would be to improve public transportation within and outside the city limits. With an adequate public system into and out of the city, the need for parking lots would decrease. There is a problem with dedicating so much space to
automobiles in an urban context. The idea is to improve the human experience within the urban fabric through improvements of space and scale. Also the street plan concept of the master plan is idealistic and picturistic. The plan is a great surface mask for the city that may seem attractive for appearances but does not address underlying issues with street infrastructure. Robert sullivan wrote the continuous use of landscape within the urban context only idealizes the notion of nature and trees. The streetscape plan has great potential in being much more than just an appearance feature and could be an ecological framework that could be embedded within the urban fabric. -14-
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LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
hotel artisan arcade roof top island the factory
tecto
outdoor cafe
taste-maker marke
streetscape
office
landscape
Slice
shopping
restaurants
entertainment
Platform
Cube -15-
Layers
LECTURE//PROJECT RESPONSES
OneRobertson
GOALS
global conference
the link
onic steps
boutique front
eting
Diagram of the design guestures made on oneRobertson. The combination of the guestures not only create the architecture but also dicated the moves made in the landscape. The guestures ultimatly create patterns of life that are embedded within WeHo.
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he OneRobertson Project was influenced by three major factors, the linear context of the street pattern, the design district, and the history of the factory. The three strategies Dushi took were design gestures, synthetic patterns, and surrounding forces identified around the site. Using the three strategies, Dushi was able to propose a project that not only connected the design community with the surrounding area but also created an anchor location that brought together retail,entertainment, and artisan design that West Hollywood could use as a catalyst for future development. The first strategy Dushi used was design gestures, which was influenced by the Busquets readings. The reading stated that key elements must be highlighted throughout the project to create a clear cohesive understanding of the space. The gestures were used to define and identify the space: a“slice” to create open space, a “cube” to enclose, and “platform” to display various activities. The next strategy used was synthetic patterns to dictate the programmatic elements within the defined spaces. The patterns forms used were points, lines, and fields. Points are individual moments within the site, lines are transitional spaces, and fields are the landmark spaces with mixed used activites. The last strategy used was identifying surrounding forces such as large buildings and important cultural influences around the site. The intent of the overall design of the project will create a physical as well as social and cultural connection to the design culture in West Hollywood while also highlighting the historic prencese of the factory. The design called for a direct path from the Pacific Design Center to and through the center of our site OneRobertson. Within OneRobertson there is a public plaza that accommodates several activities geared towards interaction, retail, and entertainment. Adjacent to the open space is the Factory that has been converted to accommodate specialized office space for designers and artist to occupy. The design is situated to focus on all the circulation in the open space as well as the Factory Studios. The Factory Studios produces artworks that eventually flows outward into the community. Workdisplay-sale-community/globalization. The process from the factory studios has an economical and social impact on the context that can influence the community. The overall design of the project is well embedded within the context and creates a circular cycle between the site and the surrounding forces.
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URBAN POSITION AND DIAGRAM
OneRobertson
PDC site
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URBAN POSITION AND DIAGRAM
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he OneRobertson Project was influenced by three major factors, the linear context of the street pattern, the design district, and the history of the factory. Dushi was able to propose a project that not only connected the design community with the surrounding area but also created an anchor location that brought together retail,entertainment, and artisan design that West Hollywood could use as a catalyst for future development. The intent of the overall design of the project will create a physical as well as social and cultural connection to the design culture in West Hollywood while also highlighting the historic prencese of the factory. The design called for a direct path from the Pacific Design Center to and through the center of our site OneRobertson.
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Within OneRobertson there is a public plaza that accommodates several activities geared towards interaction, retail, and entertainment. Adjacent to the open space is the Factory that has been converted to accommodate specialized office space for designers and artist to occupy. The design is situated to focus on all the circulation in the open space as well as the Factory Studios. The Factory Studios produces artworks that eventually flows outward into the community. Work-display-salecommunity/globalization. The process from the factory studios has an economical and social impact on the context that can influence the community. The overall design of the project is well embedded within the context and creates a circular cycle between the site and the surrounding forces.
PHOTO ESSAY OF SITE
The unseen side of master planning and urban design is often the daily markers all around the human environment. A person’s perception of a place or location is a collection of makers that stood out to him for one reason or another. Some markers in the urban landscape are sometimes not perceived as the most ideal image one would remember in his head, however all the markers is what creates the initial experience of the place. The photo series is a depiction of markers found within the urban landscape along and around robertson lane. The markers found around the site can be seen on various planes and
fields creating a certain patterns that the unconscious recognizes and stores for future rememberance. The images shown my path around a one block track around the site with vertical markers on wall surfaces and emerging from the ground. Also markers are apparent on the different surfaces either on the ground plain of vertical plan.
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PHOTO ESSAY OF SITE
E Robertson
On
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A_1_V1-20_5_15
Albert Hernandez Team Dushi