LECTURE PROJECTS
Elise H. Ahn LA203 Lecture Spring 2015
Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE : Lexicon Entries Article 1. Abstract Article 2. Basin Article 3. Context Article 4. Objective Article 5. Experience Article 6. Garden Article 7. Layer Overlay Article 8. Map Article 9. Poetic Article 10. Value
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
CHAPTER TWO : Theory Responses Article 1. Rambunctious Garden (Ch. 9. Conservation Everywhere)
Article 2. Projective Ecologies (”Parallel Genealogies” by Reed and Lister)
Article 3. Composing Landscapes Article 4. Instinctual Marks, Relational Fields, Sites of Wonder
25 27 29 31
by Perry Kulper
CHAPTER THREE : External Discussion Responses Article 1. City Everywhere lecture Article 2. San Gabriel Watershed conference Article 3. Thomas Heatherwick Studio lecture Article 4. Parks Onward Day session
35 37 39 41
CHAPTER FOUR : Individual Insights
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Learning the Lexicon
LEXICON ENTRIES
Abstract Basin Context Design Objective Experience Garden Layer Overlay Map Poetic Value
3 Lexicon
Abstract to make things clear by pulling out desired information; to filter out or take away information that are considered unnecessary or less important; using generalized form rather than precise representation; reduction of a complex reality. Body of water
Abstracted study of elevations and casted shadows of three cardboard models (LA201) With simple symbol of dots and minimum usage of colors, elevations of the created topographies and the intensity of shadow effected by the different elevations are pulled out and emphasized in this mapping.
Higher
Lower
5 Lexicon
Basin a bowl-like depression in the surface of the land, typically holding a body of water; a part of land that is lower at that center than at the boundaries, especially one from which water runs down into a river Peck Road Park basin in El Monte
7 Lexicon
Context the surrounding in which an event occurs; existing environment in which events, materials, forms, and patterns become visible parts of a larger whole
tin g
Seating areas that reect the street culture and add energy to the city life
c re a
fe ,
sa
Spire (2008) by Andy Goldsworthy The Presidio, San Francisoco Constructed from the trunks of 37 Monterey cypress tress felled during the reforestation program, this 100-foot-tall sculpture exhibits the layering of natural and human history in the Presidio’s forest. It was intentionally made non-monumental so that it could fade into the forest and become a part of the surrounding area and its history.
Plants that serves as barriers while visually apealing
co
mp let es
tre ets an d
ne w
r the
fo es ac sp en op
pu bl
ic
9 Lexicon
Design Objective a purpose or goal that a design intends to attain or accomplish, not inuenced by personal feelings, interpretations or prejudice but based on facts; the emphasis of urban open space design has changed from decorative to functional to ecological. Powell Street Promenade in San Francisco Designed by Walter Hood To achieve its goal of creating safe, complete streets and new open space for the public, the Pavement to Parks Program in San Francisco initiated these parklets all over the city. With this design objective in mind, this new type of public spaces were created, providing pedestrians and neighbors accessible open spaces with seating, planting, and art.
8 Lexicon
11
Experience the apprehension of an object or events through the mind or senses—hearing, feeling, smelling, seeing, and balancing; A person’s experience might be different from that of another person, based on his or her point of view, value, expectations, or pre-conceived ideas. Two Running Violet V Forms (1983) by Robert Irwin Reflecting the unique changes in light and conditions throughout the day, this piece of art provides an “ever-changing perception experience” to the viewers. Each viewer’s interpretation and experience with this art varies depending on his or her perception process.
home-grown vegetables
8 Lexicon
Garden a plot of land, usually outdoors, set aside for display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature that needs to be maintained; a planned space incorporating both natural and man-made materials Backyard Garden of my mom’s friend. She set aside a portion of her backyard to grow her own vegetables. Even though this garden is relatively small compared to gardens people usually think of, her garden helps improve the quality of her family’s life, producing healthy vegetables and visual enjoyment.
Elementary School Districts Secondary School Districts Congressional Districts City Districts
13
Religious Partners Governmental / Medical Partners ĚƵĐĂƟŽŶĂů WĂƌƚŶĞƌƐ Commercial Partners
8 Lexicon
15
Layer Overlay to lay multiple sheets of material on top of each other; revealing relationships between two or more layers, it might function as a framework for a design; physical, biotic, and human layers exist in a landscape. Layering of dierent districts Various types of districts including school, city, and congressional are overlaid on top of each other. Through this process, I learned that the area is quite unorganized and inconsistently divided.
8 Lexicon
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Map a representation on a plane surface; schematic representation of a place, event, or idea that sometimes reveals relationships; to present selected information by reducing and abstracting reality to provide clarity Mapping of my experience in San Francisco How I perceived San Francisco is mapped, not in a realistic way, but with a reduced representation. The ďŹ gure ground and the organized pattern of circles derived from the metallic wall of De Young Museum reveal my impression of the city as a concentrated and busy place.
8 Lexicon
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Poetic having a beautiful or graceful quality; not literal but rather emotional and artistic; arousing certain emotions and imagination; it might help establish connection between feeling, functionality, and meaning Walt Disney Concert Hall This famous architecture evokes a feeling of peacefulness and intrigues the visitors’ imagination with its graceful and uent quality and massive scale. Unlike rectangular buildings we see in general, this structure is asymmetrical and poetic yet functional.
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Value beliefs or ideals considered worthwhile or desirable; to regard something to be important, precious, or useful; it dictates how a person thinks, feels, and behaves; in design, values inform intention Value Tree Like each tree bears different fruits, so does a person’s life, depending on the value he or she seeks after. It is similar in design: the designer’s value brings out an outcome different from that of another with a different value.
Interested Readings
Projective Ecologies ”Parallel Genealogies” by Reed and Lister
Composing Landscapes “Instinctual Marks, Relational Fields, Sites of Wonder” by Perry Kulper
THEORY RESPONSES
Rambunctious Garden Ch. 9. Conservation Everywhere
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The conservation project should be about adding lands and deepening value of the lands, not just protecting what we have. Even though it is important to protect certain lands, in order to truly “protect” them, we need to create connections between different fragments of lands in a form of corridors. Connectivity is the key to encouraging biodiversity and population maintenance of different species. Even though these strips of lands that generates connections seem less significant than the actual “wilderness,” I think both the interconnected wild landscapes and the protected areas are equally important. As the definition and strategies for conservation evolve, I think the role of landscape architects will become more vital and expanded, because landscape architecture can be applied in different scales and everywhere. Landscape architecture also requires both nature and human intervention to encourage harmonious coexistence of human and wildlife. As a student studying landscape architecture, I am very much excited to see how I will be able to use my skills to not only beatify spaces, but also to help manage the ecosystem successfully. The fact that conservation movement can be initiated and continued by everyone, unlike many of us believe, was a surprise and a relief for me. I did not really think that what I do with my backyard, for instance, would bring out changes. Now that the nature is supposedly everywhere around us, I think it became every person’s responsibility to achieve healthy relationships between us and the nature, because we are a part of nature.
Ch. 9. Conservation Everywhere from Rambunctious Garden by Emma Marris
8 Reading SO CIA
S USE AL UR secular ceremonies
”Parallel Genealogies” by Reed and Lister from Projective Ecologies
site for cafe life meeting place for the individuals
the site of war games, ball games, bullfights, bull races, and horse race (Palio)
refuge amid the crowd people picknicking in the piazza
the site of festivals and public ceremonies
place for picnicking
a regular market place
the well-known horse race, Palio, occurs twice a year on July 2nd and August 16th.
Saint Bernardino preaching in the piazza
“The Palio sums up many aspects of Sienese life, character, and tradition...it represents...constant renewal, the triumph of life and death and with it, the longevity of the republic, as well as a reordering of prestige among the competing contrade… Quite apart from being an engaging event, the palio is a ritual of rejuvenation for the city and a reconfirmation of its civic tradition.” - Rowe
POLIT ICA LU
Numerous and varied uses
WITHIN
meeting place for the terziI (the three major political divisions of the city) open-air hall / church for discussions and sermons
part of a vast underground storage political forum
As it lies next to the intersection of the tree city districts, the piazza’s almost neutral setting made it a natural market space. In 1309, various trades and professions like barbers and sellers of meat, leather, hay and saffron had been prohibited from the central square. In 1407, grain, flour, and poultry markets were banned as well. The city government ensured that the piazza’s shop spaces to be only filled by quality retailers such as cloth merchants and goldsmiths, and professionals such as bankers. Shop owners were also prevented from extending their work spaces more than two braccia—an old Italian unit of length, usually about 26 or 27 inches—outside their shop fronts. The rules and restrictions were intended to ensure the “dignity of the square while also showcasing the site” (Nevola 19).
FONTE GAIA
PALAZZO PUBBLICO anually-held, Il Mercato nel Campo
It looks like design that allows both ecological succession and human occupation is what we need today. Since it is less likely to encounter pristine nature today, promoting coexistence of human and wildlife is essential. It is true not only for Southern California, but for anywhere else in the world. People today are aware of importance of having nature around them, and with human-made infrastructures and interventions already built upon nature, encouraging interplay of man-made world and wilderness is inevitable. Again, the role of landscape architects, who handle both ecology and design for people, is expected to be greater than ever before.
S SE LU
S SE
Over the past three decades, the idea of nature has been redefined continuously, until recently, it is now accepted to have characteristics of open-endedness, adaptation, and flexibility. This unpredictable quality of ecosystem, now partnered with the evident occurrence of climate disruption, is pushing designers to switch design and intervention management methods in our ecosystem—from trying to manage whole ecosystems to managing ourselves and our activities instead. In order to do that, three critical and parallel genealogies of ecology in the natural science, the humanities, and design are to be studied by designers, especially landscape architects, who will be “marrying the operative and performative aspects of dynamic ecologies with emerging design theory” (37). Unlike the prior concept of landscape design where how it looks like mattered more, today’s landscape design asks for what it can do as well.
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TORRE DEL MANGIA
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The form activates the content. The presentation of the material, topographic, technical, cultural, and economic substances are all assembled together into a form. Balance is the key to create a good landscape architectonic composition. When preparing for each project, I am not sure what context or findings I should use to come up with forms or composition. So I start by overseeing all the information I have collected and then sort out the ones that are relevant to what I am trying to convey. Even though I am still learning many different ways to come up with balanced design, I know that the ability to see relationships between different aspects of landscape needs to be expanded.
Subject 1. Landscape as Spatial Design from Composing Landscapes by Clemes Steeenbergen
8 Reading
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Kulper mentions the importance of being a versatile designer in the constantly-changing world. The notion of art has become liberated and now is less concerned with appearance and more concerned with ideas. I am pretty sure most artists in the past also tried to portray in their artworks whatever ideas they had in mind, but they had to spend some time creating artwork itself manually. With various types of medium of art, especially from computer programs available, the artists now can spend more time conveying their ideas in a deeper level. I think the viewers today have also become more concerned with the idea behind works than in the past. They want to know how the design or artwork evolved and what it is trying to communicate. Same for me too, even though outwardly appealing objects catch my eyes first, but when the design intention and background are explained, I become more interested in the work. Kulper came up with his own mode of communication through architectural representation that reveals the unknown and undiscovered. By using dashed lines and symbols and layering inscriptions, vector, and images together into montage, Kulper creates a sensational composition of depth and precision. I think it’s important to learn his way of revealing things unnoticed and communicating ideas, because it will allow us to come up with our own style of design eventually. I became interested in discovering ways to fuse conventional architectural drawings through overlaying and disjointing the plan, section, and elevations, so that my work will reveal more processes and ideas clearly.
“Instinctual Marks, Relational Fields, Sites of Wonder” by Perry Kulper
Witnessing discussions
External Discussion ResponseS
City Everywhere lecture San Gabriel Watershed conference Thomas Heatherwick Studio lecture Parks Onward Day session
8 Discussion wat er s
up
p ly
development
development
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City Everywhere lecture by Liam Young
ater s ply w up
Monumental changes p ns tra on ati ort sp an transportation tr
City Everywhere, an imaginary city of near future technologies woven together from fragments of real places, was introduced by Liam Young during his lecture. Through 3D graphics, sounds, and storytelling, he took the audience a tour to the virtual city. Even though the city does not exist in reality, it gave an illusion that it existed in real life because it talked about current issues as well. This computer-generated experience allowed us, the passengers, to see distant landscapes (e.g. Bolivia) that is not easily reachable physically. This virtual community now became closer than the physical community. It is not a surprise that such community could be closer than the actual ones exiting around us, because many of us have closer access to computer and internet today. I think Liam Young made architecture more accessible and personal to people by using a mode that is convenient to today’s people. His way of providing people with architectural experience in this way might become prevalent pretty soon because it is right there near us.
development
Liam Young’s exploration of applying architecture in a new way was eye-opening. I always perceived architecture as something tangible and physical, and that was one of the reasons why I chose landscape architecture as my major; I like working with my hands. The lecturer’s way of seeing architecture, however, inspired me to explore and expand my understanding of what architecture could mean.
development
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8 Discussion
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The conference was mainly about opportunities and challenges that come with the Monument designation of the San Gabriel Watershed and its impacts on social, economic, and environmental health of the large region. As the San Gabriel Mountains became a national monument, social, environmental, and economic changes are expected to follow around its neighborhood. During the discussion, I saw the possibility of creating connections between the distant communities to the San Gabriel Mountains through more accessible transportation systems and appropriate advertisement. I could see city planning process in a much more realistic and practical way through the conference. I learned that an establishment of a historic site brings out numerous changes to the surrounding communities. I also discovered that one needs to consider what such event mean for the people and wildlife.
A genius can't beat a hard worker, but the hard worker is defeated by
a person who finds it delightful to work.
- Confucius
San Gabriel Watershed conference
8 Discussion
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After attending the Thomas Heatherwick lecture at Hammer Museum, I became more certain about the future of Landscape architecture as a field that can influence many people’s lives in a regional scale, national scale, and even global scale. He and his team’s designs vary in scale from a handbag to a university building, and throughout the lecture, it was clear that his innovative idea has touched and motivated many people’s lives. Thomas Heatherwick and his team’s projects not only has significance in England, but it also has importance for Los Angeles and Southern California. With Los Angeles being one of the very top cities visited in the nation, I think it is significant to learn his artistic and innovative way of providing optimal experience for the people and solving problems. Rather than settling for the habituated way of making the city attractive, Los Angeles and Southern California might want to come up with new unique and memorable signatures that represent the cities. Throughout the lecture, I kept asking myself where his ingenious design ideas came from. I noticed that his attitude to make best out of the given situation and circumstances and people-oriented way of thinking enabled him to help people appreciate and enjoy given moments through his design, instead of merely trying to impress the public or show off his design capacities. One thing he said that stick to my mind was that people remember people and the moment. It seemed like he was enjoying what he was doing, and loved the fact that his design can give meanings to people’s mundane life.
The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio @ Hammer Museum
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Open spaces and the community influence and develop each other. In order for green and brown spaces to be developed, community efforts and involvement are necessary. And the transformed spaces will enhance the local community in return, reinforcing community pride and meaning. Knowing how the community and open spaces are interdependent of each other is significant to Southern California including Los Angeles. California, with its largest and most various natural and cultural resources, such as rivers, lakes, beaches, hiking/biking trails, picnic areas and campgrounds, is undergoing major demographic changes and environmental changes. Severe drought occurring in recent years in California, especially, might impact how open space will be managed and developed. Still, transforming forgotten spaces into places that have meaning to the community is essential because it revives the community. Developing forgotten spaces will not only help local communities develop culturally, but also economically. I was surprised by one of the speaker’s comment that parks are economic engine, because I thought parks and green spaces would not benefit the community economically, for they are usually open for the public free of charge. Through the discussions, I learned that understanding the surrounding local community is one of the important element as landscape architects to come up with a design that is utilized and loved more. A deep understanding of the surrounding area brings out an effective and sensible design that transforms the community. Artscape: Transforming Green & Brown Spaces Parks Onward Day @ Cal Poly Pomona
Final Introspection
INDIVIDUAL INSIGHTS
前 BEFORE this last quarter of my 2nd year landscape architecture program began, I did not really struggle with the program. Yes, it was tough because it was a field of study I never had experienced before, and yes, because it seemed to be demanding more time, money, and skills as the program progressed. But as the 3rd quarter started and proceeded I felt my unpreparedness and limited ability to express myself verbally, graphically, and in a written form. Working in groups was also a challenge for me because I always preferred working on my own. Arranging time to meet up, distributing work amongst group members, and coming up with the best solution as a group also required energy for me, surprisingly. As these new conflicts intensified, I could not help questioning to myself, “Is landscape architecture really for me?”
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ĺžŒ AFTER the 10 weeks have passed, I am here understanding more about landscape architecture: the amount of study I need to further, the energy and time I need to input, and the skills that I need to improve. It is interesting how 10 weeks can be so long and short at the same time. Despite some disappointments and errors, when I look back, I feel myself grown a little. I now appreciate working in groups, because we can help each other and share ideas. And through that process, I learn about myself more. I also have a better understanding of what landscape architecture is and its capability to impact the society. Answering the question that I asked myself earlier, now I want landscape architecture to be for me, even though I still have got a long way to go.
to be continued