SOUTHWATERFRONT
FALL 2011 ARCHITECTURE UNDERGRADUATE THESIS PREP D A N I E L L E
THIREAULT
WATER
The Pacific Northwest has an abundance of water, a fact not fully appreciated. Greywater systems and rainwater collection systems are not new to this area, but water is still often wasted. Water is a resource that we can utilize to optimize heat and energy transfer both within and between building structures. Because water nourishes all life forms, and I will examine how it can be the center of a community. This resource can link between buildings as a network, both physically and conceptually.
THESIS INVESTIGATION How can we more effectively use abundant water resources and art activities to reinforce social, ecological, and economic sustainability? Ecodistricts are a progressive way to enrich our communities and decrease our impact on the local environment. These ecodistricts need to do more than just comprise of series of sustainable buildings. They need strong ecological connections, an interdependence with resource sharing, and a rich civic ecology built around a local economy and self governance. I have chosen the South Waterfront as an investigation site because of its strong relationship to the Willamette River and close proximity to natural ecosystems. Currently the area has made great progress in ecological planning and sustainable building, but it lacks the vibrant social life of a strong community. My thesis will explore how water and the arts can help develop internal neighborhood connections and links to the larger city.
PROPOSAL I propose to design an arts center that is part of a social network of resource sharing buildings. I will explore how the building design can use water to inspire sustainable behavior and support community interaction. As part of a ecodistrict network, I am striving to make my building a demonstration on how the sustainable strategies can be celebrated. So often people are desensitized to information. With the abundance on eco-friendly practices and statistics, there needs to be alternative ways to inspire sustainable behavior. My building design will celebrate water as a resource as well as demonstrate how it can be used to stimulate urban activity and community cohesion.
GOALS
TO CREATE A LIVABLE, VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOOD -Support healthy
bike and pedestrian transportation
-Design a clear hierarchical street system -Promote emphasis on retail vs. residential streets -Facilitate bicycle traffi c
-Create strong community -Public Gathering Space -Community Gardens -Local Market -Utilize Public Art for Communication
-Develop ecological
connections
sustainability
-Effi cient and expressive water collection -Resource sharing among buildings -Energy effi cient buildings
-Strengthen connections
to nature
-Green corridors linking to the waterfront -Increase awareness of the Willamette River Ecosystem -Strengthen habitat corridors
-Make the built environments.
environment expressive using artwork, art activities, and aesthetic
-To draw ettention to natural assets, such as water -To encourage sustainable living -To connect the neighborhood to the larger city
SITE 1 5
2 3
6
4 1
2
3
4
5
6
1936
South Waterfront Developmental History
1948
1955
1974
1980
1996
FLOOD
From Buster Simpson Greenway Development Plan
South Waterfront Developmental Projections
SITE
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT South Waterfront Greenway Development Plan
Ankrom Moisan South Waterfront Plan
SITE ANALYSIS
Access
Filtration
Activity Nodes
Site Mediation
SUMMARY
My specific site is located next to OHSU, at the intersection of SW
Whitaker St and SW River Pkwy.
On my lot, I will develop an Educational
Art and Community
Center to engage the community.
This center will serve as a means
of connection between the city
and the river, the community and OHSU, and the existing apartments and future development.
The building activities will attract residents and visitors from diverse
backgrounds, connecting across generations, beliefs, and races.
The building will serve as a demonstration of sustainable strategies
in an engaging, artistic way, utilizing
art and education as a
communication tool.
There will be a housing tower adjacent to the Arts Academy to provide
residential space for student, professors, visiting professionals, and condos above to help fund and support the Academy.
USER PROFILES Community
Bob and Alice
Denise and Nancy
Ashley and Thom
Activities: -Community Classes -Public Gallery Openings -Public Performances -Public Lectures Hours of Use -After Work - After 5pm -After School - After 3pm -Weekends
Academy
Will and Linda
Linda Wysong
International
Luis Camnitzer
Arunkumar H.G.
Colin Ives
Mark Salvatus
Activities: -Formal Art Education/ Artist-In-Residence -Eco Art Exploration -Performance Art and Practice Hours of Use -Primary work hours 9-5 -Evening Performances and Lectures -After Hour Project Development Activities: -Guest Lectures -Eco Art Exploration -Artist-In-Residence Programs -Housing Needs Hours of Use -Primary work hours 9-5 -After Hour Project Development
ARTS COMMUNITY PROGRAM A C A D E M Y
Facility Services
Parking? -Child Care Center - 1 @ 800 sq ft -Lobby - 1 @ 1500 sq ft -Administrative/Offi ces - 6 @ 120 sq ft -Cafe - 1 @ 1500 sq ft -Trash/Recycling - 100 sq ft -Private Rentable Studios - 6 @ 200 sq ft -Facilities Services - 400 sq ft -Restrooms - 3 @ 200 sq ft
Performance Arts
-Music Practice Rooms - 4 @ 200 sq ft -Sound Booth - 1 @ 200 sq ft -Theater/ Lecture - 1 @ 3500 sq ft - 1 @ 1500 sq ft -Dressing Rooms/ Showers - 2 @ 800 sq ft -Dance Studio/Recital Space - 2400 sq ft
Education
-Classrooms - 4 @ 800 sq ft -Gallery - 1 @ 300 sq ft - 1 @ 800 sq ft -Computer Lab - 1 @ 400 sq ft -Library - 1 @ 1500 sq ft
Physical Art
-Ceramics + Kiln - 800 sq ft INT 400 sq ft EXT -Wood Shop - 2000 sq ft -Metal - 2000 sq ft -Weaving - 800 sq ft -Printmaking/Photography - 800 sq ft + 100 sq ft Dark Room
Outdoor
-Ampitheater -Sculpture Garden -Community Market/Gathering Space -Playground
Housing
-Residential Tower Adjacent -Cooperative Arts Student Housing -Artists-In-Residence -Condos Top Floors to Support Arts Academy
PROGRAM
VARIABLE USER ACCESSIBILITY
Community Classes Public Lectures
PUBLIC
Gallery Exhibitions Art Performances Formal Art Classes Eco Art Exploration Artist In Residence
PRIVATE
Performance Practice Housing Facilities MORNING
AFTERNOON
EVENING
NIGHT
ECO ART
POTENTIAL FRAMEWORK AND PRECEDENTS Buster Simpson’s Scrapyard Of Transformative Potential
Using excavated materials from the site as development continues, create a source for local artists to utilize. This material will provide a resource for artists to draw from and recycle to create public artworks throughout the South Waterfront Greenway and future commissioned and collaboration projects with private and public development.
Living Water Garden
The park was designed as a giant fish, with each part of the treatment system represented by a body part. The water’s journey starts when it is pumped from the river up a 20-foot high hill into the settling pond (eye of the fish). The water then enters the constructed wetlands (scales) planted with seven different water-purifying plants designed also to refer to Hang Long, a series of beautiful limestone pools cascading three kilometers down the nearby sacred Mt. Emei. http://www.keepersofthewaters.org/lwg_gal.cfm
Sculptures of Living Processes – Jackie Brookner
The Gift of Water - “Brookner’s sculpture features various mosses on a pair of large cupped hands. The mosses purify the water of the fountain and the sculpture itself represents the precious nature of the water that we use.” “The Roosevelt Community Center in San Jose is a LEED gold certified building and re-cycles storm water runoff from the roof. Two of Brookner’s installations do this filtering. In one of them (left) water is channeled into a basin-like sculpture that aerates the water as it drops into the basin below where it is filtered and recycled.” http://www.thethirdray.com/installation/sculptures-of-living-processes-jackie-brookner/
PRECEDENTS
Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts Providence, RI
Finn Center
Community School of Music and Arts Mountain View, CA
Mark Cavagnero Associates
The Center for Music and Arts Education is a 25,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art education facility. It will be the fi rst permanent home of the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA), a 35-year-old nonprofi t organization in Mountain View, Calif. In addition to housing music classrooms and private music studios, the building provides visual arts studios, administration space, a recital hall and an outdoor performance space. This building is helpful in deciding what kind of programmatic elements would be benefi cial in my project.
A three-story, 38,815-squarefoot interdisciplinary arts center for a mix of Brown University’s departments, including theater, dance, music, and visual art. The building includes a 200-seat recital hall and screening facility, a multimedia lab, a recording studio, large multipurpose production studios, a wood shop, offi ces, and gallery space. A green in front of the main (west) facade features grass-covered steps and doubles as an outdoor amphitheater; a fl at swath of zinc paneling on the facade accommodates a projection screen. This building has a very similar size and features that I want to include in my project. It is a good reference on how education and the arts work together in a single facility, also in an urban setting.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
3D INTERPRETATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY BedZED. “BioRegional Solutions for Sustainability” Web. http://www.bioregional.com/whatwe-do/our-work/one-planet-communities/. BedZED is a good reference for a sustainable community model. It unifies the community both on a resource sharing level, and a social level. The strategies applied will be a good source to see the effectiveness of certain design implementations. It is also a good reference for any housing components that may be integrated into the project. Benyus, Janine M. Innovation Inspired by Nature. Harper Perennial 1997. Print. Biomimicry is all about drawing inspiration in design from the natural efficiencies of nature. “Innovation Inspired by Nature” will help me to understand the full possibilities and implications of biomimicry structurally and socially. “District Energy Analysis: South Waterfront - North District.” Portland Sustainability Institute. Web. This document covers the main areas of current energy consumption and the reduction goals. It outlines the potential opportunities, benefits, and projected next steps. Although it mostly covers the northern region of the district, it will be a good tool for analysis and direction for my project. “EcoDistrict Summit.” Portland Sustainability Institute. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pdxinstitute.org/>. I attended the EcoDistrict Summit held in Portland on Wednesday 26 October 2011. There was an abundance of discussions on the different aspects of EcoDistricts, from community interaction resource infrastructure. One discussion which was especially helpful was about community programs such as a tool library or a neighborhood food harvesting group. McKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D, Doug “Fostering Sustainable Behavior” 2006-2010 Web. http://www. cbsm.com/public/world.lasso. This site has a wealth or articles relating to ecological concerns. It is an inspiration for how you can utilize community based social marketing to influence behavior. I will be using this source as a reference when designing the building systems and expressive water features related to the site ad community as a whole. Portland Parks and Recreation “South Waterfront Greenway Development Plan Design Component- Phase I” Dec. 8th 2004. Web. http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index. cfm?c=45643&a=175890 This resource will be extremely helpful in integrating my design with the future greenway and park design anticipated for the South Waterfront. It also covers an plan for public art and how the current conditions and industrial remnants can potentially be integrated into future public spaces. Since I will be exploring the merits of the marriage of art and sustainable behaviors, the integration of the public realm is very important and this document will help inform that strategy.
Simpson, Buster “Portland South Waterfront Greenway Conceptual Schematic Design Phase” August 2004. This document goes into detail of a specific public art making plan. It covers strategies from erosion control to “Laboratories And Studios For Urban Pioneers” to “Scrapyard Of Transformative Potential”. Since I want to create an environment for individuals to create and stimulate ecological awareness, this proposal will allow me to integrate my design with strategies already being explored by the greenway plan, and let my project to encompass all the aspects of art and public art making. Sipes, James L. Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources. Hoboken (N.J.): John Wiley, 2010. Print. “Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources” focuses on real world case studies involving water management and covers the policies, planning, design, and implementation of water conservation and systems. Although the northwest does not have a shortage of water, it is an integral part of my design and I think this will have a lot of insight for me to design the most efficient water systems possible within the south waterfront. I also think this could be influential in thinking about water transportation and using water for resource (heat) transportation as well as just a resource itself.
‘South Waterfront Design Guidelines and South Waterfront Greenway Design Guidelines” City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. 2010. Web. This document thoroughly outlines the City of Portland’s goals and guidelines for design in the South Waterfront EcoDistrict. This will be a key reference for my project as the design develops and relates to the neighborhood.
Spaid, Sue. Ecovention exhibited June 21-August 18 at the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati. Web. http://www.greenmuseum.org/c/ecovention/intro_frame.html. This text will be very informative on how artists are currently integrating sustainable practices, or promoting ecological awareness. I can use this resource to create a platform to promote artistic expression of eco-friendly behaviors.
“Willamette Riverbank Design Notebook”. City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. May 2001. Web. This notebook is a tool produced to help foster design along the urban river edge which is beneficial to fish, wildlife, and people. The development of the river edge is extremely important for the site, as it is currently a recovered industrial site.
PROCESS DIAGRAM PROGRAMMING
DEFINE ECO ART FINALIZE PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS DETERMINE OCCUPANCY
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
PUBLIC INTERACTION: GREEN SPACES
SPATIAL DESIGN VARIATIONS
GATHERING SPACES
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES
MARKET DESIGN
URBAN CONTEXT DESIGN DESCRIBE LOCAL ECOLOGY AND RESPOND TO IT
DESIGN REVISION
SPECIFIC WATER FEATURES
DEFINE SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES
DESIGN EXPRESSIVE WATER FEATURES
FINALIZE DESIGN
EXPLORE PLANTING OPTIONS FOR WATER FILTRATION
INTEGRATION TO WATER INFLUENCES ON DESIGN
INTEGRATE RESIDENTIAL LOBBY/DENSITY
INTRODUCE STORM WATER MITIGATION
FACADE AND BUILDING FORM EXPRESSION