Large Lecture Project Ivan Ochoa
LA 203 Andy Wilcox
Lexicon Entries Pg. 3-13
eory Responses Pg. 14-27
External Discussion Responses Pg. 28-33
Individual Insights Pg. 34-36
Photo Essays Pg. 37-40
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Lexicon Juxtaposition Objects that are positioned parallel or close to one another in order to create a comparison or contrast. Allowing my trench and walls to converge in certain viewpoints, I oer the sense of an ongoing manifestation with these parallel structures to cohere with one another.
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Hierarchy
Rambunctious Uncontrollable, the rowdiness of true nature. On my diagrams, I have researched area’s within the section that cannot be overlooked as the forces contribute to makes my section its own from the lake.
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An echelon that ranks with a sense of society into ranks. Although I have an obvious downhill slope, the heights of the forest give a sense of direction and more it gives a new sense to what is above all.
Depth
Accumulate
An object or space that has a broader de nition then what meets the eye allowing the user to have a maximum or minimum usage at rst. Within my model, I have shown areas that at rst were given a max point, but aî‚?er playing with the surface, I was able to expand its own depth and arise new de nitions to the landscape.
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An object that overtime has been able to expand on its original numbers or amount. During night time, i am able to capture light with moving vehicles that pass by at night.
Dynamic
Void A space where nothing is a yin yang to the positive feature on the design. Seeing my model in all negative space, it’s not until I gave the edge true purpose and interaction where my negative space begins to be taken by positive space allowing voids to open in certain areas within the lake.
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Views that can blur unimportant information but revealing certain projections blind to unfocused person. Here I have walls/platforms that have been given a distinct music waves yet for reasons of capturing noise and showing it with height dierences within the landscape.
Adaptability
Harmony
Objects that can withstand the ever-changing design of the geography. is bird before had been found at echo park, yet when the meadow at Silver lake was made, not only did the bird sustain aer the depletion of the reservoir, it still adapts to reach water locations (LA River).
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A rhythm that is able to successfully connect throughout its own pattern. e eld able to lead from a dense area to open space leading people to a new area.
î ˘eory Responses Emergence An object that dominates within its own circle of objects. î ˘e lonely tree is able to emerge within the landscape giving it a unique accent technique.
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Synthetic Patterns Synthetic patterns struck me the most with how patterns can be found everywhere but it’s to our own process how we translate it to the world. In Los Angeles, there isn’t really one community let alone a single pattern, I see LA as a rambunctious city. You can grab and do as much as you think it will work, but in the City of Angeles, you can only wish for patterns that you have purposely manifested to be accepted. Whether it’s the Disney Concert Hall in downtown, e Getty on Westside, the “river” of LA or even something as quiet like the Sunken City in San Pedro, with Los Angeles reaching out from mountains to sea, drought to beauty, mistakes to landmarks, that’s the beauty of the patterns that fall onto this city, they need to be brought out in order to be shown to the city. For example, in the image provided, I was sitting on the edge of my section for an hour trying to capture what was coming at me, and what most stood out were these cars that passed by every 2-3 seconds, it was endless. I moved around and couldn’t get away from the rambunctious noise. I eventually had certain moments at night where all I heard was wind and a more sentimental value from this area. ese diagrams helped me create certain mounds to not only capture traffic pollution, but to also capture that of what was at the silver lake reservoir.
Pamphlet 28 Under Restless Landscapes by Smout Allen, we begin to see other situations where design isn’t just in uenced by a need, but questions on how can I use my need and make it helpful for that situation. Hence being labeled Restless Landscapes because these areas’ and the reason’s we design for them. Flooding, so raise houses so water passes underneath, capture water by leaving indentures in order to catch water when it passes by, or change anything’s meaning by examining what and why part of it. In Southern California, I believe early on, the people took the need, the only purpose and never sought to actually establish a better reason since the population was booming. Which I wouldn’t discourage it at all, since it is a starting point, but aer LA sought it t to their standard, they never returned to it and le it and said, its accomplishing what it was meant to do, completely uttering out any possible human interactions let alone ecological manifestations that had already existed. is is where we have come to see today as the mistake to multiple area’s within Southern California, area’s with a purpose, but the isolation of itself which in its own way, truly summarizes LA, where all people from around the world come to be a somebody, but really only forgetting that it’s a community rather than only themselves.
Pg. 16 Pg. 18
Rambunctious Gardens Towards the end of the book, chapter 9 was a great throw off to the rest of the book where everything had purpose and an obvious answer, here we pull in things and her experience from India and realize were not in India, but Seattle. Finally, somewhere that (when read) has a place randomly with an atmosphere of rivers that have factories along these rivers, a vibrant city, a split up ecology to make new. Reading it helped me see that although we know la as the center of a random ecological disaster, other places already established it but are working as best they can to make a better place. Restoration is not a vision for this part of the book, which to me is something that is for romantics hope for. To return is to move backwards, and to want to stay in the past is where I can’t oblige. In Southern California, I guess we could return to certain standards of the past, but I don’t think it’ll be possible to maintain with more and more changes happening as the time passes. Instead we should see what is happening and work with what is and will continue to happen and truly make our own. Mentioned in the chapter is “Natures background” and here it really is open to the reader on what that means, in LA one can see Gri th park more of a wilderness area then Tongva Park, while the LA mountains can be considered a forest, everyone just needs to be aware what the surroundings are and what they should expect as nature is intended and given.
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Projective Ecologies On page 258, we read none other than the infamous LA River, which in my eyes can’t better sum up how e City of LA and most of Southern California is as a whole. Which to the reading, I have to agree, it’s a “freakology”, but living in Southern California all my life only allows me to appreciate it even more. To those who don’t live here and understand its difference among other infrastructures, it does take time to get used to. A very linear time ago, when LA was growing everyday by 10 fold, LA didn’t have time to think of consequences in the long run, but now the city has this grand infrastructure (just like our freeways) that de ne our own ecology just a little more. is chapter truly embodies what it means to the people of LA having this river. As we try to “ x” the problem, we run into all the desired questions like, who will occupy it? What about existing wildlife? Can it be used as transportation? What will happen to the city when its main purpose was to remove ooding within the LA area? As questions to rise, this will be an ever changing site since it starts from Canoga park in the Valley and ends in long beach towards south LA ports. With it passing by underdeveloped areas, through TV studios, dining and restaurants, factories for battery manufacturers and more, even neighborhoods with schools being fenced off to it, how will the city of la be able to incorporate it back into the “freakology” of LA.
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Atlas of Novel Tectonics Restoration Within the Ecosystem. A view for romantics and those who believe in a sacred, original beauty. Sadly, we don’t live in a black and white world, we have grey spots everywhere, and although the idea of revitalization is a nice idea, going back doesn’t necessarily solve or improve current time situations. With new animals and/or plants de ning them as homes, one can’t simply wish to go back rather than look for a new outcome. In Los Angeles, we have a vast amount of plants and even the iconic palm tree for LA is one of the most festive plants for this city, but the truth is, although we hold a vast amount of palm trees due to being low water consumption, there is only one native palm tree in California, so knowing this, should we remove all the non-native plants from LA? Or like the city of LA, embrace it and not only make the most out of it, but incorporate it within our own image. To those new animals, same situation, only some of them are endangered now leaving us with a totally new “moral” situation and to that, what’s next? We can’t just completely diverge and go a new direction, but we can work with what’s happening within the entity that is Los Angeles.
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Pamphlet 30 e Architectural Reconstruction of Geography, something that is very heavily invested in modern design, whether you’re in architecture, graphic design, especially urban planners, seeing not the literal geography (a little) but seeing what is within the land is just as important as the design. A modern sense, GIS (Geographic Information System), which allows people to see who lives within the area, where water is found, income, sun patterns, weather patterns, ecological zones, etc, a vast amount of research in the tip of your hands. In this chapter, there is a unique distinction between architects and landscape architects where architects overlook people with buildings overshadowing them, and landscape architects from early days where we’d design for the picturesque and not really see ourselves within the landscape. Yet although we design so much, we blindly design forgetting that we ourselves will disrupt the current ecology and overall it will be us who changes the geography. In LA we did this with the river and freeways, so what difference are we if we don’t accept that we still are changing the geography rather than trying to work with it in order to bene t us and try to give back to the ecology in a positive way. With Southern California not slowing down, it’s upon us to design with the geography rather than against us completely. ese theories have all been more of a basic set of rules that one should always keep within the back of their head when designing, one way or another were already preforming these unconsciously, yet to a future look, people will need to be an even bigger factor when implementing design.
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Discussions
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Duel Sci-Arc Patrik Schumacher + Tom Wiscombe 5/17/16
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is “Duel + Duet” was nothing like I’ve ever experienced. is was the most interesting panel I have been to since starting at CPP. Wiscombe with an obvious Los Angeles vibe design when it comes to splitting up pieces of his work but at the same time still allowing it to communicate separated. Schumacher having just been turned into the head of Zaha Hadid aer Zaha’s recent passing, he didn’t only represent his personal idea’s but the face of his company. Apparently this hasn’t been there rst meet, but when this started shots were red from the beginning. Both approaching a project on sunset differently, Schumacher approaches it with his rm’s approach and wants to not only leave a mark, but expand its mark and have it as a stepping stone. Living in Southern California all my life, I wasn’t able to understand his philosophy as clearly as he did, and neither did Wiscombe, he understood that although Zaha is powerful in the sense of the design world, they weren’t going to be able to walk right in and expect the city to just give into their future plans, instead Wiscombe approached it like a Gehry approach by leaving a mark an icon, a true symbol of what it means to be in LA. I leaned toward Wiscombe’s approach rather than Schumacher, but I found Schumacher had better research into the area rather than leaving a pattern that was just exciting because certain ground levels were used for them. Schumacher did have a more manifestation when it came to people and their experience through it rather than just from a distant. At one point, Wiscombe even pointed out their good friend Jesse Reiser on how everything can’t be a stepping stone and how we must approach a city like LA with its own distinction.
CPP Arc Department Roxi oren 5/20/16
Duet Pg. 32
Roxi, although considered as an architect rst, her approach to everything was very landscape architect approach (and yes I do consider a difference). In the end view, its true we all are just designers, and her being the head of the department, she realized that even the graphic design program had a different spin on it (even if at times it means nothing [her words]). Right away her lecture was a bore to me and most of the architect students as she only discussed about a certain class that she teaches yearly where they go to the country side and implement something to Olmsted’s old plans. Rather she utilized the plans and remade spaces with art if I had to say myself. I didn’t like this at all since this class had nothing but a rich farm and can’t really apply this area to real world (unless you can have a rich sight that’ll be nothing more then what it is). Overall nothing relatable to Los Angeles view other than how she incorporated the majors together, so towards question time, I asked her speci cally how she’d approach a city like La with infrastructures like the LA river, Griffith Park, city planning like Venice or Santa Monica, or even environment like our ecology. To this she replied very simple, with so much going on with so many rules all around in the pits known as LA, one can’t dissect at this city and expect to happen, one must work with what is LA and pull out certain hidden qualities that people overlook that truly make LA, LA.
Insights
Pg. 34
To the tar pits of La, We accept you for being this black gunk that captures anything your hands can latch itself onto. You have latched onto your own people and have hardened on us which only forces those who haven’t accepted you into doing so. Although we try and try to outrun the tar, it only eats away any optimism we might have le, yet, just like animals did in the past, they can help one another out by pulling them out and realize what a sensation it is to be one with the pit.
You’ve seem to spread to the far depths of La, with more and more places falling under this substance, we need to embrace you for who you are, the people caught can only do so much, it falls upon us who see you more than just a sludgy substance to show the beauty of what is that makes you, you. Whether its areas that have fallen apart like Sunkin City in San Pedro, to the abandoned zoo in Griffith Park, or even cruddy traffic within the streets or freeways of LA. Adaptability is only to those who have accepted the tar and can rejoice in the depths of this blackness known as e City of LA.
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Photo Essays
Los Angeles and its dominant animal, vehicles. We read on all these outside factors that we have caused that must be either worked into or at least be acknowledged with some kind of plan behind one’s mindset. is city truly can’t be experienced if it weren’t for transportation. In Los Angeles I believe we lack public transportation and people don’t see how useful it really can be, so all quarter I have worked with pulling out the transparent enjoyment of taking a pause every now and then and to see everything slowly pass by. Waiting, experiencing, learning, these are all qualities and traits we as human have begun to stray away from with technology having such a grip on our eyes. Although one day we might have to adjust to this, I don’t believe balance can achieve if we don’t try to actually balance out this pause. Pg. 38
Going to Silver lake on random days to collect information like how it is when it rains, day, heat, night, weekends let me get a feel for how the area is maintained, viewed, and used by the public. Patterns of people getting off bus, water owing away from reservoir, people with or without dogs, shade spots, water fountains, etc etc. e luxury of sitting and watching let me see the smallest details where people breeze by, whether its laying down and watching the clouds pass by, it can all be used for a design method. e better ones actually get to be used by who’s already using it into a new and already their usage. Whether I will design to question how and where the water reaches, or even the dead silence of the non-moving water, theories will always be implemented into design to keep the everlasting questions to mind. Pg. 40