Guardian of the South Gate and Threshold to Opportunity: An Immigrant’s Refuge and Prospect Rachel Landsberger - Prof. Michael McCloskey
In response to the enormous number of immigrants seeking opportunity and sanctuary in the United States, particularly the unaccompanied children flooding the US/Mexico border, this thesis addresses the following architectural concepts in the service of creating a memorable yet pragmatic immigration facility: prospect and refuge, threshold, path to place, the known and the unknown, and culture and identity. The purpose of the facility is while immigrants and refugees are waiting for their immigration paperwork/process to be completed, to offer them a place of shelter and hospitality and provide them with the necessary skills to be productive citizens, no matter how long their stay may be at the facility. Based on the concepts noted above, the objective of this thesis is to create an architecture that welcomes and embraces the diversity of the immigrants and the skills, knowledge, and traditions that they bring with them, while introducing them to values and aspirations of their new country, as they can be poetically, pragmatically, and responsibly imbedded into memorable architecture. This thesis will prove that through sensitive and conscientious design, the well-being, both mentally and physically, of current and future refugees and immigrants travelling to the US will be improved phenomenally, and that these people will experience the reputable American morals of hospitality, thoughtfulness, respect, and equality as they are making their way to their new nation, ultimately resulting in better citizens and a better United States.
Landsberger - 1 - Introduction
Site Description The site is located along the Rio Grande River in the outskirts of Bownsville, Texas, at the US/Mexico Border. This location is the southernmost tip of the US and closest to Latin America, making it easier and more convenient to reach for the immigrants and refugees coming from Central and South America. It is directly across from the major Mexican city of Matamoros. There are ample methods of transportation for accessing the site: Brownsville Ship Channel (7 miles away), Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (3 miles away), the Gulf of Mexico (21 miles away), and major international highways (adjacent to site). Additionally, there are convenient proximities to the site, such as public transportaiton, higher education, and the bustling city itself which offers many opportunities for jobs, healthcare, education, and housing. The site is currently unutilized and highly restircted by US border patrol authorities. It is relatively flat, with exception at the river’s banks, and contains mostly low to medium height vegetation. The climate is humid and warm. Humidity is about 80% all year through with summer temperatures in the 80’s and winter temperatures in the 60’s. Fortunately, there is a steady constant breeze most of the time, with prevailing winds coming from the southeast at an average of 12 mph, which is a great advantage and helps alleviate the heat and humidity. This site, although subject to hurricanes from time to time, rarely floods. From this information, two key factors will be heavily taken into consideration: strong structure to withstand hurricane storms and ample natural ventilation allowing the constant breezes to ventilate buildings.
Brownsville Ship Channel, 7 miles International Airport, 3 miles 0 miles
proposed site
Gulf of Mexico, 21 miles
1500’
3000’
6000’
9000’ N
major international highway University of Texas at Brownsville images of site
public transit bus stop
Landsberger - 2 - Research
Program Interior Uses/Spaces
Exterior Uses/Spaces
• Main entrance/Welcome Hall – In-processing • Medical Evaluations/screenings & treatments • Criminal Background Screenings • Offices & files storage • Waiting rooms/areas • Communal lodging – Washrooms – Laundry • Common gathering areas – Lounges • Religious/intercultural center • Classrooms – English language – Trades/skills – U.S. law & history • Dining • Oath Hall – Out-processing
• • • •
Courtyards Balconies Gardens/agricultural areas Recreational areas – Soccer – Baseball – Volleyball – Playgrounds • Walking paths
• Multiple facilities along border • Each facility comprised of multiple “neighborhood buildings,” creating a small town or village • Facilities hold between 1,000-2,000 occupants depending on site • If no vacancy, then shuttle provided to next • Started with smallest unit: lodging • Average of 36 occupants per floor, including 1 resident assistant per lodging floor • 2 floors of lodging, with one floor of amenities • Average of 72 total occupants per building • Lodging can consist of 2-person rooms, 4-person rooms, or a reintegration suite • Results in a comfortable scale and a manageable amount of people per building, per site
Percentages of Program SF Welcome Hall
Site Total Square Footages • Welcome Hall = 29,500 SF – Processing offices – Background screenings – Medical screenings and treatments – Waiting rooms/areas • Sleeping quarters = 77,040 SF • Washrooms = 23,580 • Social lounges = 50,400 SF • Dining = 26,820 SF
Determining Occupancy
• Classrooms = 120,000 SF – Elementary levels – Higher education levels – Trade/vocational training • Multi-faith center = 28,000 SF – Inter-cultural center – Counseling – Community events • Oath Hall = 14,500 SF – Out-processing offices
Sleeping quarters Washrooms Social lounges Dining Classrooms Multi-faith Center Oath Hall
Total = 369,840 SF among 16 mixed use buildings
Landsberger - 3 - Research
Case Studies Case studies included research on thresholds and paths since emphasis in this project is on path to place, symbolizing the paths that the immigrants and refugees are taking as they journey to the US. The two most influential case studies were of King’s College and Stampalia and taught how thresholds and paths can be created by walkways, arcades, doorways, waterways, interior rooms, outdoor spaces/gardens, and a simple change in materials and heights.
Landsberger - 4 - Research
Background Information and Design Development A majority of immigrants and refugees comes from middle and lower classes. Their lifestyles are very humble and small in scale, and emphasis is placed on community and family gathering. Therefore, to not only offer them refuge of familiarity but also to respect their past, design of the facility will be small in scale and consist of recognizable, and humble, materials. Thus, wood will be a major material used throughout the project due to its warm, homely qualities. The other major material used throughout the project will be concrete and serves two purposes. First, the concrete is reinforced and withstand ferocious storms whenever hurricanes hit as well as provide a sense of security for the occupants. Second, the exterior faces of the concrete have crushed mica that glistens when the sun shines onto its surfaces, serving as a beautiful beacon that can be seen as people approach the facility. Resulting buildings’ materials will be a mix of old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, traditional and contemporary, private and pubic. Additionally, buildings will be modest in size as not to feel intimidating to occupants who come from small and humble lifestyles. Plenty of spaces will be provided to encourage gathering at various levels, from small social and study lounges to medium courtyards and balconies to large centre greens. examples of immigrants’ and refugees’ housing conditions
Landsberger - 5 - Research
Fall Review - Design Concepts and Development
Landsberger - 6 - Fall Review
Fall Review - Site Plan and Organization
Welcome Hall/in-processing/screenings/oďŹƒces
Lodging/dining/classes
Multi-faith Center
Out-processing/Oath Hall
Landsberger - 7 - Fall Review
Fall Review - Plans and Sections of a Typical Lodging Building
Social/study/children’s lounges
Sleeping quarters
Interior circulation space
Washrooms
Exterior circulation
Exterior circulation space
conceptual elevation
Landsberger - 8 - Fall Review
Technical Review - Sustainable Strategies
southeast elevation
west elevation
northeast elevation
Wind chimneys help offset the use of mechanical systems. Prevailing breezes enter the wind chimney and pass over dehumidifying/cooling elements. This cooler air sinks to lower interior spaces and provides a drop in temperature as well as fresh air and pleasant interior breezes. Meanwhile, warmer air rises and is exhasuted from the buiding. According to calculations, this building would use approximately $8000 a year for cooling. However, introducing natural ventilation throughout the building drops the cost to about $1000.
east elevation
north elevation
south elevation
Landsberger - 9 - Technical Review
Technical Review - Sustainable Strategies and Mechanical Systems In the summer, warm but fresh air enters the double roof and cycles through dehumidifying/cooling elements. The new cool air is blown into interior spaces from near the ceiling. The cool air sinks and disperses through the interior spaces and then exhausted out through near-floor returns via small ventilation fans. The process is repeated as the already semi-cooled air then combines with the fresh air. Being that the local environment is very humid but has comfortable temperatures about half the year, dehumidification systems are used to help keep comfortable temperatures before immediately relying on cooling systems. Note the common air space shared by the double-wall and double-roof systems. This double-envelope system acts as an insulation layer and enables air flow. In combination with the operable louvers, this system greatly helps to reduce use of HVAC systems. In the winter, air within the double roof is heated from the sun hitting the roof. The small near-floor ventilation fans reverse flow and bring the warm air from the heated space, through the ductwork that runs through the walls of the double envelope system, and into the interior spaces. As this warm air rises, it is exhausted into near-ceiling returns, and the process is repeated. (The majority of ductwork throughout the building is located through walls rather than ceilings to preserve aesthetics of the exposed woodwork.) It is this integration of the enclosure system with the mechanical system that helps offset costs and energy usage.
Landsberger - 10 - Technical Review
Technical Review - Enclosure and Structural Systems
Integration of concrete primary structure with wood secondary structure Wood-framed Wall Construction cementitious scratch coat
cementitious brown coat cementitious scratch coat
acryllic finish coat GWB
The primary structure of a typical building is concrete post and beam construction. From this structure, hangs a double-envelope curtain wall system. The structure also supports the doubleroof system that is integrated with the doublewall system. Wood-framed walls and glass curtain walls make up
the interior walls of the double-envelope system. The exterior of the doubleenvelope system is a glass curtain wall tied back to the supportive structural system of the building. Bridging these two walls are openings located at each sleeping quarter to allow occupants to open windows for fresh air despite the seemingly closed space of the
wood stud wall framing
double-envelope system. The exterior-most element of the double-envelope system is the operable louvers. Not only do these significantly aid in preventing solar heat gain in the summer and allow for warmth in the winter, but they also protect the glass walls from flying debris in severe storms.
vapor barrier
insulation metal lath drainage mat
sheathing water resistent barrier wood flooring
Flooring Construction
concrete fire barrier sound mat wood subflooring wood floor joists
Landsberger - 11 - Technical Review
Final Review
AN ARRIVAL OF HOPE
REPRIEVE
RELIEF
HAVEN
LIBERTY
Landsberger - 12 - Final Review
Final Review - Site Plan and Section
5 2
2 2 3 2 2
2
4
2 2 2 2 2 2 1
N
1. Welcome Hall
2. Lodging building
3. Educational building
4. Multi-faith center
5. Oath Hall
Landsberger - 13 - Final Review
Final Review - Floor Plans, Sections, and Elevation
first floor plan
second floor plan
third floor plan
B
A
A
B
N
section A-A
section B-B
balcony
classrooms
sleeping
offices
lounge
dining
service
kitchen
8’
16’
32’
48’
The lodging building offers plenty of private and public spaces for occupants to use as they please. Private spaces are the sleeping rooms, which include a washroom each. Public spaces are classrooms, social lounges, study lounges, classrooms, and dining area. Private spaces are kept to the second and third floors, while the first floor is reserved for public uses, although all floors do have various spaces for gathering.
Landsberger - 14 - Final Review
Final Review - Sustainable Strategies
Since the Technical Review, the design of a lodging building has developed and changed. There is no longer a double-envelope system with a double-loaded corridor layout. Rather, the depth of the building has been minimized so that natural ventilation can be maximized, thus elliminating the need for the doubleenvelope and wind chimney systems. The “double-roof� design remained, however, to minimize solar heat gains. As the sun hits the exterior roof, breezes enter the double-roof space and help keep the interior roof cooler. The operable louvers remained but only at the private, residential spaces. Intricately carved mica-concrete screens are now replacing the louvers at public spaces, such as lounges, classrooms, dining, etc. These screens have depth and are angled to help minimize harsh solar gains. To further assist in controling solar gain, as well as add to aesthetics, plant boxes are integrated into the louvers. Both the louvers and the screens still protect the glass portions of the building against flying debris during ferocious storms.
Landsberger - 15 - Final Review
Final Review - Structural System
As previously mentioned, the primary structure is reinforced concrete post-and-beam construction to withstand the huricanes that hit the area. To soften the often insitutional, sterile feeling of concrete, wood is introduced as the secondary structure in the form of joists, which are exposed, to bring a warm, home-like feeling to the building.
Concrete Post and Beam Construction with Wood Joists
Landsberger - 16 - Final Review
Final Review
EXTENDING RESPECT
EQUALITY
HOSPITALITY
OPPORTUNITY
WELCOME
Landsberger - 17 - Final Review