Degree Project Congwei Cao by Congwei Cao

DEGREE PROJECT sam fox school of design and visual arts Congwei Cao

120 acres

WESTLAND ACRES A NOMADIC HISTORY FROM 1780 TO 2021

In 1797, About 50 slave owner families came to the St Louis from Kentucky. Many of them put their homes around the Missouri River at present St. Charles County area. As the city and counties are developing, the freed slaves begin to move southward to settle around places which is nowaroundchesterEeld.

more roads

more cars

bigger houses ChesterEeldcountyexperiencedapopulationexplosionfromthe1960sto the present day(from5)2,0-8 due to the white Fight driven by the pursuit the American dream and also racial segregation. More roads and more cars and bigger houses was built in a very short amount of time. The result is the American urban fabric has been completely reconstructed to what we saw today which is the American suburban style.

Data source: St.Charles County Timeline https://www.scchs.org/cpage. php?pt=285

Afterthe1930s,ChesterEeldhasbeenheavilydevelopedduetofWhiteFlightg.

DuringthatprocessWestlandAcreswereleftbehind.Ithasbecame therepresentationofthefDividedAmericag.Encroachingdevelopment whichhavemultipliedtheirpropertytaxes.Sothereisanewtermcalled fBlackFlightginStLouis.WhichisblackleavingStLouisduetothese gentriEcationsituation.

Nomadicpeoplefollowthenaturalresourcesandlive,becausetheydoncthavefoodsovereignty.ResidentsinWestland Acres also suffer from lack of food sovereignty and business ownership that’s why they are so vulnerable during thepandemicorothersocialunrestsituation.ThatcswhytheyhavetoFeeawaylikenomadslookingforstablefood resources and land since the beginning of 1780.

So I want to combine the physical characteristics of the site with the migration history of the freed slave community, creating a self-sustainable modern nomadic settlement city centered around an organic farm to help black community ofWestlandAcresgainfoodsovereigntyandbusinessopportunitiesandalsolandownership.Totalareawillbeten acres out of 120 acres.

FRAZIER FAMILY

MALINDA WEBSTER WEST FAMILY

JAMES ELLIS AND PHILIP WINSTON FAMILY

ELLIS AND WINSTON FAMILIES

Long family EllisandWinstonfamilies

Boonefamily

WestandFrasierfamilies ThefColoredAfrican BaptistChurchg

Coleman and Tyler families

TombstonesofeachfamilyhasbeenscatteredallacrossWestlandAcres. These tombstones are the living proof of the history of the land and it is deEnitelygoingtobereservedinthedevelopmentandtheycanalsoserve as historical anchor points in the design.

INTERCONNECTEDFOOTPATH

So The way that the communities are dispersed and settled and connected on the site resembles the nomadic pattern. They have nomadic ways of living in terms of both their history and culture and the habits of their dwellings. Data source: Nomadic patterns https://movementecologyjournal. biomedcentral.com/articles/10.86/s40462-18

Kente cloth of Ashanti Ghana

African tribal traditional pattern

African art pattern

So one of the things that can best represent the modern African American cultureistheirartsintermsofgraphicdesignandgrafEtis.Thesecultures are one of the inheritages that originated from Africa but also deep rooted in America at the same time.

So I look into some of the traditional African nomadic textiles design, the patterns all have a very long history. Then shapes can be abstracted from these nomadic patterns. These unique patterns also often serves as the family crest for each nomadic tribes which is resonating with the situation of our site. These dynamic and colorful shapes have been inherited by the African American community and plays an important part in modern African American culture.

Reorganize the abstracted shapes according to the location of the family tombs and nomadic pattern to make they scttered on the site yet still connected.

Organicfarmsareontopofthestripe shapebuildingbecausethisistheErst place those freed slaves settled in when theycometoWestlandAcresfromSt Charles county from up north.

Nomadic cluster centered around the historical family tombs. The cirlce in the center are galleries dedicated to that speciEcfamily.

The darker part of the building means that they are more focusing on education because they are close to the UnionBaptistChurchandschoolsonthe south.

OV E R L A P P I N G C LOT H PAT T E R N S C LU S T E R PAT T E R N S The African homestead room is enclosed, the open consists of a scattered spaces – courtyards – are layout of separate rooms outdoor rooms, which are around an open living for daily activities. The space, and a village conclimates of eastern and sists of a scattered layout southern Africa allow yearof such homesteads, round outdoor living, and sometimes with an enclosed space is used enclosurewall.Whileeachfor cooking and sleeping.

This settlement form is ecologically responsive and according to strict farming rules and cultural beliefs, which developed over centuries. scattered, but organically arrangedaround a central space.

A G G R E G AT E D

Groblersdal, South Africa

NOMADIC

Nabdam, Ghana

Watamu,Kenya

Datasource:ProfGeraldSteyn,Ph.D.Africancourtyardarchitecture:Typology,art, science and relevance.

SPACES AND PATHS IN AN AFRICAN VILLAGE ARE HIERARCHICALLY ORGANISED, FROM PUB LIC THROUGH SEMI- PRIVATE TO PRIVATE. .

PUBLIC S E M I P R I VAT E P R I VAT E

P R I VAT E S E M I P R I VAT E PUBLIC

USDA:Farmingonthecontourcreatessmallridgesthatslowrunoffwater. In stripcropping, the small grain or hay strips slow runoff water, allowing inEltrationandElteringsediment.Farmingonthecontourratherthanup and down reduces fuel consumption and is easier on equipment.

Same logic as the

nomadic pattern

3 1 2

2 2

8 7 6 5 4 4 3 1

African art galleries

Artist studios

Housingforartistandteachersatthefarmschool

Farmschool 5

Farmercsmarket

Farmtotablerestaurants 7

Organicfoodprocessingcenter

Workerschousing

Biketrail

1 3

Sectio

on 1-1

Sectio

on 2-2

ClusterFo

oorplandesign

Actual si

ite photo

Fores

stspace

Orientati

ionstudy

Orientati

ionstudy

Forestspacecanbepres volume yet form a rhythm fro

servedbyseriesofbuildingswithsmall om the outside facade as well.

African art galleries dedicated to each family 7500sqft

wood deck

750sqft*4=30sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

studio

outdoor African statue & installtion art

gallery

Administration

Artist studios 1800sqft 180sqft*16=280sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

gallery

wood deck

Bedroom

Atrium

WC Kitchen

Artist studio

Housingforartistandteachers 2100sqft 210sqft*24=504sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

OfEce

Atrium

WC Bedroom Kitchen living room

Farmcommunit

tyFoorplandesign

Relatively open space co So it has opportunities t

ompared to forest space to acommodate dense programs

Conforming t

to topography

Datasource:EllaPelnovich/LabellePrussia,AfricanNomadicArchitecture:Space,Place,andGender(Washington: SmithsonianInstitutionPres,195),7-8https:www. // worldhistory.biz/prehistory/9034-rendille.html

Datasource:NomadicArchitecturehttps:unmaterialstudio. // wordpress.com/2014/3nomadic-architecture/

Farmtotableres

staurants&FarmSchool

Farm

mSchool

Worker

rcsHousing

Farmschool 1760sqft

Classroom

Lab Lab Lab wc

Lab Lab

Breedinglab

Greenhouse

Classroom

Greenhouse

Breeding lab

Lab

Classroom

OfEce OfEce

Classroom

m Classroom

OfEce OfEce Lab

Classroom

Booth

FarmercsMarket 10000sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

Outdoormarketground

h Booth

Booth

Booth OfEce wc Booth Booth

Booth

OfEce wc

Booth Booth

Outdoormarketground

Booth OfEce wc OfEce wc

S WC WC

Bar

Farmtotablerestaurant 8000sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

Storage

Cold dish

Hotdish Preparation Pastry

DiningHall

Bar

Lobb

Foodprocessingcenter 40sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

Storage

Procedure1 wc wc

Procedure2

Changing Administration

Procedure3 Packaging Meeting Room Lobby

Workerschousing 3100sqft 310sqft*4=1240sqft

Intotal:1630sqft,3.7acres 10-20acres of farm land

1/6g=1c-0g

Bedroom 0.00

Storage

Living room Dining room

Kitchen

Bedroom

wc wc 10ft

Bedroom

This is sun light , wind speed , wind direction and radiation analysis to get full picture of the site. St Louis can be very cold in winter so we need some architectural approaches to reduce co2 emisson and also absorb sunlight as much as possible both in terms of site plan and building design to reduce the pressure on local infrastructure because America is on this transition from depending totally on traditional energy source to clean energy.

C LU S T E R PAT T E R N S & T E X T I L E PAT T E R N S Tombstones of each family has been scattered all across Westland Acres. These tombstones are the living proof of the history of the land and it is deEnitely going to be reserved in the development and they can also serve as historical anchor points in the design. Reorganize the abstracted shapes according to the location of the family tombs and nomadic pattern to make they scttered on the site yet still connected. Nomadic cluster centered around the historical family tombs. The cirlce in the center aregalleriesdedicatedtothatspeciEcfamily.

C O N TO U R FA R M I N G

So on a site plan level the Environmental strategies 1:AccordingtoUSDA,Farmingonthe contour creates small ridges that slow runoff water. In stripcropping, the small grain or hay stripsslowrunoffwater,allowinginEltrationand Elteringsediment.Farmingonthecontourrather than up and down reduces fuel consumption and is easier on equipment.

Environmental strategies 2: The lighter part in the physical model represent the places which have already been devenpled so there will be exsiting infrastructures. So all the new buildings are on already developed land to reduce impact on nature.

Environmental strategies 3: Almost all the wind direction have been distributed on the west-south side so all the functions that generates waste and smell should be on downwind which is the north eastern side of the site. So this is the restaurant and foods processing place.

African art galleries dedicated to each family 7500sqft

wood deck

750sqft*4=30sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

studio

outdoor African statue & installtion art

gallery

Administration

Diagram of steps of building the structure system. 1. foundation system 2. beams on top of the triangle foundations 3. Slabs on top of the beams 4. columns on the slabs 5. beams on top of cloumns 6. framing system 7. roof framing.

The envelop of the building is using SIP panel which is a kind of prefabricated wall panels and the size of it can be cutted by hand on site So the construction process doesn’t require wet work. The thickness of the insulation of the SIP panel can be caculated by the cliamte zone and temperature data available to everyone. The shape of the building is also good for stack ventilation. There are duct work underneath the slab connected to heat pump to heat or cool the building.

BEAMS

SCETION 1 -

BRACKET

SIP PANEL WALL

SECTION 2 -

BEAMS

ROOF

Heating

Cooling

Heat Pump

Dormer window

Bay window

Dormer window

Bay window

Artist studios 1800sqft 180sqft*16=280sqft

1/6g=1c-0g

gallery

wood deck

Bedroom

Atrium

WC Kitchen

Artist studio

Steel beam on peirs

Woodstructure

Prefabricatedslabonsteelbeams

Wooddeck

Workerschousing 3100sqft 310sqft*4=1240sqft

Intotal:1630sqft,3.7acres 10-20acres of farm land

1/6g=1c-0g

Bedroom 0.00

Storage

Living room Dining room

Kitchen

Bedroom

wc wc 10ft

Bedroom

Steel beams on piers

Woodstructure

Prefabricatedslabonsteelbeams

Wooddeck

This is sun light radiation analysis of the clusters of the residential units from NovtoFeb.Thestrategiesofthebuildingdesignistomakethebuildingparallel andconformingtothetopoasmuchaspossibletoredueceexcavation,sothe side walls of the building need to absorb sunlight So the design of the facade of the building is targeted to the sun direction.

This is a sustainable horizontal urban farming system which is suitable for WestlandacresThe . wholeecosystemisfarmcentered.Livestockandhuman manure can be used as organic matter to produce biogas and fertilizer, which can be used as energy to feed back the whole system. So it’s a sustainable, organic and healthy system based on clean energy.

FARM ENERGY

ENERGY

ABSORB ATMOSPHERE TOXIN

FERTILIZER COMPOST

MEMORIAL PARK LIVESTOCK

PURIFIED GREY WATER FARM TO TABLE RESTAURANT

FARM SCHOOL

ORGANIC FARM

BIO WASTE MANURE

ENERGY

BIO GAS

FERTILIZER CO2

FARMER’S MARKET

PURIFIED GREY WATER GREENHOUSE

WORKER’S HOUSING

MANURE

URBAN

WORKER’S HOUSING