SYLLABUS by Anna Pla-Català

Translated from Spanish to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.com

Architecture Career Course Program 2020

01_Name of the subject Projects VI 02_Course title The Amphibious City. Biotopology of productive landscapes. 03_Teaching team data Professor: Anna Pla-Català,aplacatala@gmail.com Assistant Professor: Milagros Antonella Barchi,milli.barchi@gmail.com 04_Illustrative images

05_Epigraphs of illustrative images Proposal plan of the Lago Texcoco Ecological Park. Architect Iñaki Echeverría.

06_ Introduction Lake Texcoco Ecological Park, Mexico City The Consolidation Plan for the Hydro-ecological Rescue of the Federal Zone of the Former Lake of Texcoco diagnoses that the rescue of the lake ecosystem is the last opportunity for the Mexican capital (Echeverría, 2014). Lake Texcoco was part of a system of lakes located northwest of theMexico's valley. The history that has led to the drying out of a good part of the surface of the aqueous masses that were part of the system began in theprehispanic era. At that stage in history, the indigenous people built artificial islands in the shallows of the lagoon, with the purpose of gaining land for cultivation or, in the case ofMexico-Tenochtitlan, to build towns. In itXVII century, when the Spanish had already subdued the territories they calledNew Spain, the capital of the viceroyalty, was subject to countless floods. This motivated the construction of drainage works that, continued by successive governments during the time of independent Mexico, have led to the almost total disappearance of the five lakes that make up the system.

The Texcoco Lake Ecological Park (PELT) is aimed at becoming a protected natural area in order to protect the wetland area of the eastern Valley of Mexico. The project is designed to be built in the basin of ancient Lake Texcoco, which dried up as Mexico City expanded into a megacity of more than 20 million people over the past two millennia. The area has not been inhabited and has been off-limits to the public due to annual flooding and infrastructure problems. The construction of a park with cultural and sports equipment will begin, landscaping works will be carried out, and a nursery for recovered halophilous species will be built for their propagation. Some of the benefits that will be obtained with this project are better hydrological management of the Valley of Mexico, which translates into: regulation gaps that are useful to prevent flooding in surrounding municipalities, regenerate wetlands that reactivate the flora and fauna of the area. and mitigate environmental damage. The government hopes to open the first section of the park project by 2021 and hopes that PELT will result in the largest urban park in the world. PELT aspires to become a new urban, ecological and infrastructural focus capable of transforming Mexico City. This metropolitan-scale action, 14,388 hectares forty-nine times Hide Park (London), forty-three times Central Park 21 (New York) or six times Casa de Campo (Madrid), is a kind of Pandora's Box that verifies that utopia is possible. Study area: El Caracol The snail is an infrastructure 3,500 m in diameter and an area of 962.5 hectares based on spiral channels with levels that allowed the homogeneous distribution of water to facilitate its evaporation and exploit mineral salts. Today it is used as a gravel and silt dumping area. The composition of the subsoil is made up of a mantle of salt water that contains alkaline salts, composed of quantities of carbonate and sodium chloride, which emerge by capillarity to the surface, salting the land with tequesquite or pure sodium carbonate. The water that this area receives comes from runoff from the eastern part of the basin and the quality is residual. During the rainy season, shallow ponds form due to the hardness of the soil and its sandy texture. It is the area with the highest concentration of salts, so the vegetation is composed of the species romerito or Suaeda torreyana. El Caracol has a high potential to reintroduce the cultivation and production of spirulina algae and can be a breeding area for Charadrius nivosus and other shorebirds that like bare soil with high salt content. Due to its position and size, it is an important part of the rescue of Lake Texcoco. An orderly urban development in its northern arc will allow the rescue of the entire evaporator as a productive and recreational water park composed of spirulina cultivation ponds, a solar evaporator, new infrastructure, recreational parks and an articulator of avian rhythms. The projects will be aimed at the introduction of agricultural, social, cultural and sports infrastructure to benefit neighboring areas with great deficiencies, promoting renewable energy generation and consumption systems, among others. The objective is to use a non-renewable urban resource to create a space of great beauty, but not ostentatious.

Finally, it is important that the workshop will become a real space for mediation between theory and practice, given that we will work in direct relationship with the directors of the project and actual development of the PELT, Iñaki Echeverria, General Director and Daniel Holguín, Director of Architecture , exchanging information continuously in order to productively relate academic research and the real proposals and conditions of the Administration of the Mexican capital.

07_Abstract Multiscalar protocols for responsive environments. The architecture of the intemperate environment The design of the urban landscape has become a main arena for the development of ecological awareness as well as for the innovation of new orders of contemporary urban life. Much of contemporary urban life requires the organization, abstraction and automation of its undeveloped landscape. The workshop will examine how artificial and natural systems can be assembled to form new integral relationships in the era of climate change and global pandemic, embarking on the search for new forms of interaction and innovative models of urbanized landscape practice. In contrast to traditional methods and understandings of landscape design, based on the humanization of the, the workshop will seek the fusion of the natural and the artificial as a new purely synthetic material order, in order to invent and imagine new forms and ideas of beauty more in line with the cultural paradigm of the 21st century, through ecology, production and hybridization with the culture of the place, developing 'hyper-local' hybrids. 08_Brief of the subject Program: Large-scale Spirulina Farm: Productive Landscapes Spirulina was a food source for the Aztecs in Mexico since the 16th century, harvested from Lake Texcoco and subsequently sold as cakes and other food products. The Aztecs called it Tecuitlatl, which means stone excrement. Spirulina was found in abundance by French researchers in the 1960s, but there is no reference to its use as a daily food source after the 16th century. The first large-scale spirulina production plant was established in the early 1970s and attracted worldwide attention.

Bio-digital prototypes + bio-material prototypes: computational landscape + material computing Formal associations between landscape architecture through ecological processes. The initial exercises of the workshop will investigate a set of typological case study models of the historical and contemporary urban landscape. After diagramming them and extracting their performative and topological rules, transformations will be developed in order to generate hybrid solutions for problems such as: conditions of stasis and movement, composition and expression of the material, conditions of solidity and porosity, and changes over time. . By analyzing physical models of multiple environmental conditions with identified health indicators, principles can be extracted from the design of active materials and systems directed towards advanced climatic and cultural adaptability, increasing the potential for the use of biomaterial technologies that provide water harvesting and pasteurization to provide clean and safe water. 09_Objectives 1. Analyze and map water and topographic systems through time cycles in relation to morphological changes. 2. Analyze and map hydrological systems and cycles in relation to water ownership and management policy 3. Develop new hydrological and morphological prototypes 4. Study and map the connection with the perimeter neighborhoods in social and formal terms 5. Generation of connectivity and sustainable transportation protocols between new recreational parks

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Studies and home cultures of growth patterns and life cycles of spirulina and cyanobacteria. Nano and micro scale. Saline soil composition and intelligent topographies – patterns of subdivision and accumulation Development of simulation systems for behavior patterns and material-formal organization over time scales. HyperLocal – relationship with pre-Hispanic culture and aesthetics. Development and incorporation of ultra-local parameters. Synthesize all previous parameters in updated Chinanpas Systemic Format Prototypes

10_Theoretical Foundation Responsive Assemblies; the climatic fabric of lacustrine orders Constructions, landscape and environment, together with their intrinsic and operational overlaps, are the center of the research and serve us to rethink the multiscalar, receptive, climatic and political character of urban life in the era of the Anthropocene. It is in the non-linear interrelationships of these three specific regimes of architectural performativity that the possibility exists for alternative spatial categories to emerge dynamically. The objective is to "engineer" an intelligent system within an equally intelligent network that synthetically articulates climatic, ecological and productive ensembles, questioning the implications of ICT and biomaterials for the city of the 21st century. Such a systemic entity will act as a testbed for multi-scalar components with integrated intelligence. Its goal is to become a synthetic hybrid between artificial and natural processes in a non-dialectical way. Automated technologies increasingly inform the built form by blurring the boundaries between information and physics at various scales of operations in the urban fabric. Standard and non-standard building components combine with biological growth to produce hybrid systems that implement an intelligence layer that animates the static network making it dynamic, emergent and intelligent. Key is the potential for climatic and environmental performance along with new models of production and mobility that point to a different paradigm of urbanity and modes of collective habitation. Focusing on the intersection of computing, ecology, and design, we will use analytical as well as generative design techniques to propose new processes that enhance the role of technology in creating new environments. Against an understanding of architectural form as an autonomous object with respect to the context in which it is located, as well as against positivist uses of technology, we aim to achieve highly specific implementations of systemic-formal orders in a local context. The goal is to incorporate hyper-local idiosyncrasies for generic systems (computing and manufacturing tools) that will become creative, adaptive and non-prescriptive generators capable of catalyzing "novel and strange localities." 11_Presentation of Contents 1. Dynamic taxonomies of Landscape Units: The concept of landscape units is a differentiated morphological organization that conditions the type of activities that can be carried out in them and indicates their vulnerability to certain interventions. The identification of landscape units helps to establish the characteristics of the ecosystems, whether they are main, original, modified, conserved or disturbed, and assess the possibilities of recovery of other aspects that have been modified or are missing. The purpose of establishing them makes the planning and management of the territory possible. The landscape units for the PELT are defined from two main variables: soil composition and the presence of water bodies. Both play an important role in the study site, since they condition the type of vegetation, the presence of fauna and anthropogenic activities. 2. Dynamic Multiscalar Taxonomies Spatial Scales: Nano, Micro, Meso, Macro Time Scales: 24hr, 4seasons, annual 3. Responsive materialities: Exploration of biologically inspired material design, manufacturing of novel composites through smart materials design. 4. Additive/robotic manufacturing using salts and soil The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) describes a recent shift toward autonomous systems and societal reliance on cyber-physical processes that incorporate digital communications and navigation infrastructure, robotic manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. The construction industry is undergoing a transformation through the adoption of robotic technologies, such as additive manufacturing systems that enable a reduction in the time, cost and complexity of building delivery, and have potential humanitarian and socio-economic benefits. . The adoption of these technologies also allows for greater automation not only in production but also in design, challenging existing modes of architectural practice.

11_Methodology The subject is developed within the Workshop mechanics, starting from the development of corrections in 2 weekly meetings (Monday and Thursday). Specific meetings will alternate with each of the groups, proposed as instances for addressing the logic of construction of internal coherence of their respective essays; and intergroup corrections, aimed at exchanging the processes of evolution of their work between the various groups of students. 1.          

Organizational process/schedule 1st week: Analysis of the entire park – 12000ha 2nd week: Analysis, diagrams and three-dimensional maps of El Caracol – 900ha approx. Analysis of environmental forces. Temporal Cycles Identification of biotic and abiotic conditions. Orders: control, mediation, performativity Generation of dynamic behavior patterns through the use of Agent Systems (AGB) Multiscalar Zoom: 100ha/group, operation site assignment. Partial delivery, Protocols, Prototypes Micro application: envelopes and continents. Dynamic matter. Zoom Multiscalar_02: 100ha/group, synthetic Responsive Environment project (CA+AGB) Final delivery, Productive Landscape – Contemporary Chinanpa.

Questions and stages of development: What can you design based on the data in your environment? Based on data collected in each study area, groups will identify the specific needs of their environment to develop an architectural prototype with responsive capabilities. The environment or "climatic-site" will be your guide to define the performativity of your material system. Ask yourself the questions... What are the minerals in the earth, the water content, the surrounding biodiversity and its proximity to the main city?  Stage 1: Architecture that responds to the interface of its environment: identify your system A performative system: kinetic, programmable, objective pursued A material system: live, breathe, reuse How can I design to elevate or integrate an architectural construction based on site data and needs? Identify your WHY. What do you want to achieve based on the data and what system will be used to address the solution? (This will become the prototype structure and ambition of your project.) Something that doesn't respond mechanically but has biomaterial properties?  Stage 2: define three performative or material strategies Do your research and choose 3 performative functions that you want to solve with a certain system. (for example, removing carbon dioxide from the air). Find 3 cutting-edge projects to support your projects, study and diagram.  Stage 3: research and testing Once you have identified your chosen system and/or material, begin writing your experiments to physically test your proposal. This includes building a test environment/apparatus and writing readable/consistent formatted test lists. Write your initial hypothesis with a statement “If…. > then….” Record results, identify failures and repeat  Stage 4: design of the first scale prototype Based on the findings from your test apparatus or material reactions, you can begin modeling and building a scale prototype that integrates the system. This will be the nano-scale stage of the project, which will support and justify the macro-scale of your study area.  Stage 5: Finalize your prototype component system. Stage 3 and Stage 4 will be a loop. Based on the evidence from the test, your prototype will be adjusted. Depending on the functionality of the prototype, your system will be adjusted. Stage 5 will be to refine the conclusions of your experiment and finalize the design of your system prototypes. 3. Tools: Intensive workshops and tutorials: Ariel Valenzuela, Pablo Baquero  CHALK  AGB – Multiagent Systems  Environmental analysis tools  Applied visual scripting techniques – Celllular Automata (grasshopper)

12_Forms of evaluation and assistance regime - First stage delivery evaluation fifteen% - Second stage delivery evaluation fifteen% - Third stage delivery evaluation twenty% - Evaluation delivers fourth and final stage 30% - Individual essay 10% - Participation and attendance 10% 13_Day and time of course The workshop will meet on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. 14_Consultation hours Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 15_Mandatory bibliography Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1971.Alberto Kallach. Mexico. Future city. RM Publishing. 2010 Morton, Timothy. Dark ecology, For a logic of future coexistence, Thimothy Morton. Columbia University Press On Growth and Form, D'Arcy Thompson, Dover Publications, Inc. New York. Deleuze, G.,2004. Difference and Repetition. Continuum, London. 16_Optional bibliography Bateson, George,2000. Steps to an Ecology of Minds. The University of Chicago Press. London. Wark, Mackenzie,2015. Molecular Network: Theory for the Anthropocene. Verse, London Wark, Mackenzie,2015. Capitalocene. Public Seminar [blog] 15 October. Available athttp://www.publicseminar.org/2015/10/thecapitalocene/ [Accessed 18 January 2015]. Carpo, Mario. The Alphabet and The Algorithm. The MIT Press, 2011 Carpo, Mario. The Second Digital Turn. Design beyond Intelligence. The MIT Press, 2017 + Links https://nessmagazine.com/green-and-bold-lake-texcoco-ecological-park-by-inaki-echeverria-guitierrez/ https://www.arq.com.mx/tag/Parque+Ecologico+Lago+de+Texcoco https://mxcity.mx/2019/04/parque-ecologico-lago-de-texcoco-un-paraiso-en-lo-que-iba-a-ser-un-aeropuerto/ https://elpais.com/especiales/2018/nuevo-aeropuerto-mexico/

Note on plagiarism, copying and other academic errors Plagiarism is any form of reproduction of other people's texts, in the original language or translated, without complying with the citation rules, whether such texts appear on paper (books, magazines, unpublished writings, private documents, etc.) or on a medium. electronic (Internet publications, CDs, etc.), and regardless of the length or number of words of the text reproduced. It is presumed, without admitting evidence to the contrary, that students are aware of the applicable citation rules. In case of doubt about the applicable citation rules, the student must use any citation system that leaves no doubt about the authorship of the texts or passages written in the work (quotation marks, citation format, etc.). Copying is the unauthorized reproduction or use of other people's or own texts in written exams (partial or final), practical work, monographs, theses and other written works subject to evaluation. Any violation of the rules established by the teacher for the completion of written work subject to evaluation also constitutes an academic offense. The teacher will announce in advance if there are forms of collaboration permitted to carry out the work; If there is no specific announcement, the student must assume that the exam or work is strictly individual. Any of the violations mentioned in this section is also committed by the student who intentionally provides, in the context of an individual work subject to evaluation, the texts or elements used for the violation, or who facilitates the violation in any other way. If a student incurs any of these offenses, the teacher may fail him or her in the entire subject or in part of it; In any case, the professor will keep the available evidence of the fact and will communicate it to the Director of the corresponding academic unit, who will evaluate the seriousness of the conduct and send the information to the Academic Secretary.