Jose A. Brunner Architectural Design Portfolio

JOSE ALEXANDRO BRUNNER Associate AIA Architectural Design Portfolio

PROFESSIONAL

SKYLINE COLLEGE

PARKMERCED BLOCK 20

BART WALNUT CREEK STATION

MISSION HOUSING

CENTRAL KITCHEN

HUNTERS POINT POWER PLANT

VISITACION VALLEY SCHLAGE LOCK

KENNETH HENRY COURT

PLAZA ADELANTE

TORQUED HOUSE

LANDSCAPE DESIGNS

ACADEMIC | GRADUATE

PRESSURIZED FITNESS CENTER

FINDING LIFTA

QUEER VILLAGE

MEDITATION SPACE

SKYLINE COLLEGE SAN BRUNO, CA | 2018

Social Science & Creative Arts Complex

Collaboration with Snøhetta

Client: San Mateo County Community College District

The Skyline College Science and Creative Arts Complex is a 120,000-square-foot community college facility dedicated to teaching the next generation of scholars, artists, performers, and technicians. The building massing takes its cues from the mountains surrounding the campus, using stratification of layers to build an iconic image that defines a new edge towards the public at the south and a larger quad for the students at the north. It is one building unified at the ground floor level with support spaces concealed under the quad and is broken down in scale by two masses that rise above grade.

The complex’s cutting-edge facilities, including classrooms, studios, art gallery, 180-seat recital hall, and a 500-seat performing arts theater, empowers students, faculty and staff to better express themselves and their ideas, and highlights the college’s commitment to be an open and welcoming space for all.

renderings by Snøhetta

Proscenium theatre

proscenium theater

Main lobby Recital hall recital hall

composite building section - longitudinal looking north

GFRC PANEL DIVISION LINE, TYP. INDICATES DESIGN INTENT, TO BE COORDINATED W FABRICATOR AND INSTALLER RIBBON WINDOWS GFRC SOFFIT TO MATCH COLOR AND TEXTURE OF GFRC FACADE. SEE A-925.

CONSULTANT 100%

PROJECT

DATE: REVISIONS: NO. DESCRIPTION

CORNER PANEL AT ALL CORNERS, TYP. CIP-4A PROJECT

looking west from plaza above main lobby

west facade viewed from quad

east facade from forecourt

west fcade viewed from quad

aerial view of quad and creative arts complex

PARKMERCED BLOCK 20 SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2017

Multi-family Residential Project Team: DCI Engineers (Structural) and Webcor Builders (GC)

Client: Maximus Real Estate Partners

Last developed in the decade following World War II, the new development plan for the Parkmerced neighborhood calls for a community rooted in forward-thinking urban ecology. The Block 20 project sits at the busy intersection of Junipero Serra Boulevard and 19th Avenue on the existing Parkmerced campus, a location that affords sightlines out to Lake Merced and back to the rolling hills of San Francisco.

The design capitalizes on both the fast-paced, active edge along Junipero Serra and the more intimate setting on the opposite side of the site, where deep-set balconies soften the boundary between the residents of the building and an idyllic park.

The smooth glass acts as a foil against the prickly high-rise, which itself seeks to make a connection to the urban environment further afield while continuing the playful sophistication that defines the character of Block 20.

The design, in keeping with the plans for Parkmerced’s development, is aspirational; the bright palette and gleaming surfaces draws viewers to it. The building itself consists of 299 residential units spread across a 17-story tower — rising 145 feet above grade — and an 8-story midrise.

EMBANKMENT

2 PARKING

36’

site location Block 20 within Parkmerced

TOPPING SLAB OVER REINFORCED TRAFFIC COATING,

   2/23/2017 7:02:40 PM

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   1 A5.01 1 A5.03 1 A5.04 

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   

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 

 

       

BUILDING SCALE: 3/32" = 1'-0" BUILDING - ELEVATION - SOUTH 2

northeast perspective from adjacent park

east facade view from Junipero Serra Boulevard

Identify Opportunities & Constraints

Meeting intent

Confirm Design Parameters

BART Walnut Creek Station is an important intermodal station that is at a unique point in its history; Walnut Creek Transit Village Transit-Oriented De velopment will transform the station area, putting the station at the heart of a dense new mixed use development. The modernization of the station must seamlessly connect the station to the new development and its wider context, improve the passenger experience, and prepare the station for future growth.

This modernization plan builds on a number of previous BART studies, including the 2004 Walnut Creek Comprehensive Station Plan and the 2013 Walnut Creek BART Station Access Study. This plan focuses on improve ments to areas that will remain within BART’s control over the long term, and excludes areas being improved as part of the Walnut Creek Transit Village project (see image above right). The diagram above maps the steps the team took to gather and analyze existing information as well as input from various BART stakeholders. This process and findings are described in the Existing Conditions Report, which is an appendix to this Station Plan. Pages 4-5 show the layout of the existing station in mid-2019, anticipating the completion of Phase 1 of the Walnut Creek Transit Village Project.

Diagram of tasks undertaken early in the design process

Concourse Plan from the 2004

Phases of the Walnut Creek Transit Village , a transit-oriented development project being constructed on either side of the existing station. (compiled from 2011 Transit Village Plan with overlaid annotations)

Walnut Creek Comprehensive Station Plan

Proposed new elements (green)

Existing elements to be demolished (red)

Existing elements to remain (grey)

(N)

(N)

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM PLAZA (EAST)

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM PLAZA (EAST)

The Paseo ends in a semi-circular plaza from which customers can see the station entrance elements and get a visual sense of the vertical circulation layout. The open layout and transparent fare barriers allows customers to see the garage and bus terminal beyond.

The edge of the semicircular plaza is the edge of the Transit Village development; in this rendering it is expressed as a change in pavement pattern. As the station design and Transit Village phase 3 landscape designs develop, it will be possible to use the same paver style and pattern for the entire entry area, creating a more expansive and unified station approach plaza.

PAVER

TYPE ‘A’

Color: Stanford Sand, Mesa Buff, Carmel Size: 3x18

TYPE ‘B’ Color: Stanford Sand Size: 3x9

TYPE ‘C’ Color: Mesa Buff Size: 3x9

TYPE ‘D’ Color: Light Grey Size: 3x18

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM YGNACIO VALLEY ROAD (SOUTH)

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM YGNACIO VALLEY ROAD (SOUTH)

The vertical circulation elements are sculptural forms that express their function as well as playful organic geometry. The view of the station from this general angle would be visible from Ygnacio Valley Road, and so is one of the wider public faces of the station. DRAFT (SOUTH)

The new elevators are tall elements visible from many angles on the site. Both the elevator cab and the shaft will be glazed to create a sense of security and visibility, and according to the BFS. While all BART stakeholders desire glazing, it will take further study to satisfy both the desire to maximize visibility and the need to limit glass in areas not visible to the station agent. The rendering shows how on the unsecured side glazing might be high up, where it can act as a lantern at night. The sketches above show alternative approaches. All should have larger glazed areas facing the paid area.

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM EVA PASEO (WEST)

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW FROM EVA PASEO (WEST)

The canopy and signage help make the station entrance easily identifiable from a parallel or oblique approach, such as one from the EVA paseo or from the south end of the site. The station agent booth is positioned for easy access from this more navigationally complex side of the station.

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW OF UNPAID STATION ENTRANCE

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW OF UNPAID STATION ENTRANCE

As an alternative to artwork at this location, the finish material would extend to the vertical faces of the ceiling form.

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW OF NEW PAID AREA (LOOKING SOUTH)

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS | VIEW OF NEW PAID AREA (LOOKING SOUTH)

Platform 1Platform 2

The new paid area includes new vertical circulation at the back and the existing elevators, painted asymmetrically to make navigation easier. A large wall at the back provides an opportunity for art.

Here images of Robert Minervini’s previous works are used as placeholders to help visualize the artwork opportunities.

MISSION: HOUSING

PRESERVING THE HISTORIC WHILE BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

San Francisco is currently experiencing a growing housing crisis that threatens its residents; by 2030, the city’s population is estimated to increase by 150,000 people while adding only 9,000 new dwelling units. Low-income residents are vulnerable targets for displacement, while historic buildings are under constant threat of demolition due to neglect or new construction.

Mission: Housing showcases laminated veneer lumber construction as a tool for alternative development, providing affordable housing in the heart of the city. The proposed building’s form is sculpted in reaction to its context through tapering and shearing. The resultant massing is sensitive to the life of the street while increasing density. The skin system references Churrigueresque patterning, yet expands and shifts across its height to reveal lush gardens and an expanding array of delicate canopies. The original light well is extruded, allowing passive ventilation and natural lighting throughout the core. Communal spaces are provided for urban agriculture, irrigated via in-house greywater purification. This embedded horticulture purifies the air inside the building, provides nourishment for inhabitants, and strengthens San Francisco’s tradition of civic parks.

Until now, urban growth has been obstructed by the false dichotomy between preservation and progress, but this is no longer the case. The innovative variety of laminated veneer lumber technologies facilitates our strong and diversified strategy for sustainable evolution which can strengthen and mature the fabric of the city.

Architectural Design:

DLR Group | Kwan Henmi

Jose Alexandro Brunner

Amelie-Phaine Crowe

Peter Hess

Catherine Meng

Takara Tada

Osma Dossani Thompson

Structural Design:

DCI Engineers

Vanessa Acon

Joey Benassini

Dean Lewis

Sumandeep Singh

BUILDING ECOLOGIES

GREEN ROOF

THE GREEN ROOF HELPS TO CLEAN AND FILTRATE THE RAINWATER, WHILE REDUCING HEAT GAINS TO THE BUILDING.

RAINWATER COLLECTION

RAINWATER IS CAPTURED, FILTERED, THEN RE-USED FOR LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION.

GREYWATER RECYCLING

GREYWATER IS COLLECTED AND TREATED ON SITE. RECYCLED WATER IS STORED AND USED FOR LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION AND TOILET FLUSHING.

SUN SHADING

EXTRUDED FACADE FINS PROVIDE SUN SHADING WHILE STILL ALLOWING DIRECT SUNLIGHT INTO THE HOUSING UNITS.

NATURAL LIGHT AND VENTILATION

THE FACADE SYSTEM ALLOWS FRESH AIR AND NATURAL LIGHT INTO THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING. PLANTINGS AT THE TRELLIS IMPROVES THE AIR QUALITY.

A VERTICAL FARM AT THE TOP OF THE BUILDING CONNECTS

PUBLIC ART

INTERIOR SURFACES PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO PERSONALIZE THEIR ENVIRONMENT, ADDING TO THE EXISTING VIBRANT STREET MURALS OF THE MISSION DISTRICT.

NATURAL LIGHT AND VENTILATION

THE FACADE SYSTEM ALLOWS FRESH AIR AND NATURAL LIGHT INTO THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING. PLANTINGS AT THE TRELLIS IMPROVES THE AIR QUALITY.

URBAN AGRICULTURE

A VERTICAL FARM AT THE TOP OF THE BUILDING CONNECTS RESIDENTS WITH FOOD PRODUCTION AND PROVIDES THE COMMUNITY WITH LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE.

CHIMNEY EFFECT

THE CENTRAL ATRIUM PROVIDES PASSIVE VENTILATION THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING. OPERABLE LOUVERS AT THE TOP ALLOWS WARM AIR TO ESCAPE.

PUBLIC ART

INTERIOR SURFACES PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO PERSONALIZE THEIR ENVIRONMENT, ADDING TO THE EXISTING VIBRANT STREET MURALS OF THE MISSION DISTRICT.

CROSS VENTILATION

SINGLE LOADED CORRIDORS ALLOW FOR CROSS VENTILATION THROUGH THE HOUSING UNITS, PROVIDING NATURAL AIR FLOW AND TEMPERATURE REGULATION

COMMUNITY SPACE

COMMUNITY ROOMS, INCLUDING A DAYCARE AND RECREATION ROOMS, ARE PROVIDED AT THE BASE OF THE BUILDING, AND ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

PUBLIC GREEN SPACE

THE ROOF OF THE EXISTING BUILDING BECOMES A PUBLIC GREEN SPACE FOR THE COMMUNITY. PLANTINGS REDUCE HEAT GAINS TO THE BUILDING BELOW.

WATER TREATMENT

BUILDING GREYWATER IS COLLECTED AND TREATED ONSITE, THEN STORED FOR FUTURE USE.

SPATIAL PROCEDURES

SPATIAL PROCEDURES

CENTRAL KITCHEN & SALUMERIA SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2012

Restaurant + Retail TI

Paxton Gate Design/Build

Client: Ne Timeas Restaurant Group

Central Kitchen is located on the gastronomic corridor of 20th Street in the Mission District. The design was inspired by the site’s industrial context as well as the northern California landscape. Our intent was not only to make this a highly functional space, but to marry the simple, rustic, and elegant into one aesthetic. Responsibilities included developing design iterations, implementing ADA requirements, preparing construction documents, detailing custom furniture, and specifying materials.

courtyard dining space with retractable awning

salumeria retail space galvanized olive bucket lights repurposed ceramic tiles

entry way with sho-sugi-ban cladding

I beam attachment to stud wall

kitchen and indoor dinning with hardie board panel wall

elevation with hardie board panels

customized retail counter

HUNTERS POINT POWER PLANT SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2012

Interim Use Feasibility Study

Project Team: A+D Architecture and Design and GLS Landscape & Architecture

Client: PG&E

The former Hunters Point Power Plant (HPPP) was an electricity-generating facility fueled by natural gas, fuel oil, and diesel. HPPP operations ceased on May 15, 2006, and the plant is now closed. The plant is located on approximately 38 acres in the City and County of San Francisco, adjacent to India Basin, which is part of the San Francisco Bay. The demolition of the HPPP and the subsequent remediation of the site to residential standards constitute significant milestones for the Bayview Hunters Point community.

A+D was asked to develop conceptual approaches for interim use of the former HPPP site. The development of conceptual approaches took into careful consideration a wide range of contributing factors to ensure that it aligns with the needs of the surrounding communities and the constraints as imposed by local zoning and regulatory bodies. As part of the derivable, A+D (in partnership with GLS) submitted a summary report with the objective to provide a range of conceptual proposals to advance the discussion regarding interim uses. Project responsabilities included managing the architectural team, conducting site analysis, researching case studies, identifying program (classrooms, retail, recreation & parking), proposing a kit of parts (shipping containers, trees & scaffolding), designing site plans building configurations, developing 3D models, and assembling the final summary report for client review.

retail spaces

NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY

Create a new positive focus on the neighborhood that raises cultural and environmental awareness, celebrates local history, and fosters a greater sense of place.

DESTINATION

Sponsor an innovative mix of open space uses to enhance the existing qualities of the site - climate, view, waterfront - in order to attract people from outside the neighborhood.

roll-out with scaffolding

GROWTH GENERATOR

Encourage community advancement by providing employment opportunities and educational services for neighborhood residents such as skillbased job training, after-school programs, and small business ventures.

classrooms and courtyard site plan: green belt with parcels A and B

VISITACION VALLEY SCHLAGE LOCK SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2012

Open Space and Streetscape Master Plan

Project Team: AECOM, GLS Landscape & Architecture and A+D Architecture and Design

Client: Visitacion Development LLC

The planning for the Schlage Lock site has been under way for more than a decade. When a proposal for a Home Depot (2000) was met with community opposition, a collaborative planning process between the community and the City of San Francisco was launched to revitalize Visitacion Valley. The Process examined how to reuse the Schlage Lock site in a

Greenway Park

Design Overview

Old Office

Design Overview

Blanken Park and the that together form one open space system.

Greenway Park is a long, narrow park located along Street A (where the street splits into two one-way roads), between Visitacion and Sunnydale Avenues. The Design for Development document states that this space was modeled after San Francisco’s South Park; thus, the Open Space and Streetscape Master Plan proposes the design of this park as a garden with tree-lined edges and programmed with a few single-use activities. Two elements of the site’s history are celebrated in the Greenway: the rail line trace here becomes a double line of trees, and a rain garden punctuates the end of the park at the location where marshlands used to exist in the Valley.

The uses around the Greenway Park are primarily residential, with narrower streets that allow residents to view into and across the Greenway easily. The specific amenities recommended for the Greenway include a playground, a half basketball court, a flower garden for strolling, and two smaller multiuse lawn areas with picnic tables and benches. The court area will be striped to accommodate other sport activities as well. It will not be specifically lit for night use. The linear swale and rain garden occupy the eastern and southern portions of the park. A park shelter or gazebo (about 200 square feet) is proposed on the paved northwest point of the Greenway, acting as a marker and opportunity site for local public art displays, as well as a shade, rain, and wind shelter.

development site plan section through blanken park

Blanken Park is located on the northeast corner of Building 1B. The given its on-structure incompatible with railroad sible. Two separate It is important to note additional restrictions have not yet been tested

Schlage Lock Open Space + Streetscape Master Plan D

figure 8: bird’s eye view of zone I looking north

Redevelopment

Visitacion Valley Redevelopment 51

figure 31 |Greenway Park perspective

former schlage lock leland park

way that benefits the existing neighborhood. The planning effort culminated in 2009 with the adoption of the Visitacion Valley Redevelopment Plan and the Design For Development document. This Open Space and Streetscape Master Plan is one of the first implementation documents for the reuse of the Schlage Lock site.

Office Building Plazas and Blanken Park

Overview

the Old Office Building (OOB) Plazas, as shown in Figure 37, are interconnected spaces one of the site’s three main parks. They form both the terminus of and gateway to the site’s system. located at the corner of Blanken Avenue and Tunnel Road, above the railroad tunnel located corner of the site and extending south between the west side of the tracks and the east side open space above the tunnel presents some limitations and some unique opportunities on-structure condition. It has load-bearing capacity restrictions and some recreational programs are railroad safety, but it is also the only portion of the site where food production may be pos separate enclosed areas for community gardens above and adjacent to the tunnel are proposed. note that Blanken Park is not within the developer’s ownership, thus it is potentially subject to restrictions imposed by JPB and Union Pacific Railroad, its current owners. Additionally, these sites tested for potential contaminants that may restrict food growing.

Redevelopment

figure 36 |Blanken Park and Old Office Building Plazas Perspective

lock co. office building and blanken park

KENNETH HENRY COURT OAKLAND, CA | 2012

Multi-family Affordable Housing Renovation

Project Team: Studio Perez and Salazar Architects

Client: Satellite Affordable Housing Associates

1.3 acre site

playground entry kiosk

renovated courtyard and building facade

accesible apartment entry door and patio

community room

community room plan

clip-on balconies at 2nd floor apartments

PLAZA ADELANTE SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2010

Mission Resource Center

A+D, Architecture and Design

Client: Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)

third floor

second floor

ground floor

third floor lobby

section a-a

The Mission Resource Center (Plaza Adelante) poses to combine a number of non-profit organizations operating out of different areas in San Francisco into a single location in the Mission District. The project looks at the high level of interaction between these organizations and explores the ways within which the architectural elements can promote and foster further connections and future

interactions. The renovated 1901 building uses transparency and overlapping multifunctional spaces to merge the public spaces of the building with the semi-public areas of the individual organization headquarter spaces. Responsibilities included producing 100% CD, coordinating consultants and the design of five tenant improvements. Photographs by Theodore

Rzad.

1982-2008

2010

communal conference room stairway

TORQUED HOUSE LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA | 2006

Janick Residence | Design Proposal

Visible Research Office

main house

The site characteristic of this residence desire to live below in the meadow raison d’ete. The torqued movement views from the meadow with outwa pavilions which grow in complexity as below while the main house located 56’x20’x8’ bar constructed with prefabricated The cooper expanded mesh is created performative in that the apertures change a sun break. My duties included conceptual and assembling competition submittals.

The site characteristic of this residence is an open meadow which turns quickly into a heavily wooded slope. The desire to live below in the meadow during the day and move up the hill each night gave the buildings their raison d’ete. The torqued movement comes from a contrapuntal reading of the site, juxtaposing inward looking views from the meadow with

entry to main house

form z, illustrator and photoshop

guest house garage

esidence is an open meadow which tur ns quickly into a heavily wooded slope. The during the day and move up the hill each night gave the buildings their comes from a contrapuntal reading of the site, juxtaposing inward looking rd looking views from above. The program is dispersed into a series of as they move up the hill. The guest house and garage frame the meadow on the slope takes advantage of distant views. Each pavilion starts as a efabricated modular parts that are modified depending upon site conditions. eated through a custom laser cut patter n. The skin can be understood to be change to direct views, create privacy screens, and allows the skin to act as conceptual diagramming, designing building in plan, section and elevation, submittals.

outward looking views from above. The program is dispersed into a series of pavilions which grow in complexity as they move up the hill. The guest house and garage frame the meadow below while the main house located on the slope takes advantage of distant views. Each pavilion starts as a 56’x20’x8’ bar constructed with prefabricated modular parts that are modified depending upon site conditions. The cooper expanded mesh is created through a custom laser cut pattern. The skin can be understood to be performative in that the apertures change to direct views, create privacy screens, and allows the skin to act as a sun break. My duties included conceptual diagramming, designing building in plan, section and elevation, and assembling competition submittals.

view from meadow

lap pool

LANDSCAPE DESIGNS SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 2011-2013

Residential Gardens

Paxton Gate Design/Build

Client: Various

union st. outdoor living

mt. davidson garden

union st. vertical garden an fire pit

arbor and jacuzzi

children’s fort

a-frame fort

potrero home office conversion glen canyon japanese courtyard

reclining ipe bench

mt. davinson front garden

poured concrete bridge and ipe decking

PRESSURIZED

FITNESS CENTER NEW YORK CITY, NY | 2013

Advanced Studio: Conditioning Urbanism

Columbia University

Collaboration with Wei Huang

Critic: Phu Hoang

The project aims to research and investigate the role that “air design” has in forming our cities. “Air design” is the conditioning, or modification, of air engineered to fill the volumes within buildings. From the early technologies invented to modify temperature and humidity, building systems are now capable of modifying the air of pollution, mold, odors, noise, static electricity and even electromagnetic radiation levels. Conditioning this air is regarded as secondary to the occupiable spaces that it serves.

The projectargues that the requirements of “air design” have become so extensive that it can no longer be considered in service to the program. This conditioning of air has led to a parallel and invisible program with extensive impact on the built environment.

high resolution: pressurized corridor

wind: regional (weather station) / local (anenometer)

dumbo aerial

sound: pressure (decibel meter) / noise levels (recorder)

BRIDGE

STREET CORRIDOR

HIGHWAY OVERPASS

TUNNEL

bridge tunnel hyw. overpass street corridor

corridor distorted by wind tunnel effect

front st. view

second level plan: sound propagation

The project aims to redefine the urban fitness center by harnessing various resolutions of wind and sound, both from within the building and the surrounding urban context. The wind tunneling effect that occurs between buildings serves as a spatial generator for the shrinking and expanding zones of air and sound plenums.

The new fitness center aligns the sequence of air with the architectural specificity required for each fitness activity. In addition, different forms of enclosure provide various levels of sound attenuation, from the ambient sounds of the neighborhood filtered by the exterior performative skin to the ones that propagate within each programatic chamber.

indoor pool

FINDING LIFTA: ENACTING THE ERASED LAND

Advanced Studio: Jerusalem and the Occupation of Memory

Columbia University GSAPP

Critics: Craig Konyk and Nina Kolowratnik

Our studio looked at the frozen past and present-day dynamics of the last Palestinian village standing in Israel: Lifta. The village located in West Jerusalem, was abandoned during sustained attacks by militia forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Its 3,000 inhabitants hastily fled and were prevented from returning when the 1949 UN Armistice Line

was drawn. This left Lifta village and large parts of its agricultural lands on the Israeli side of what became known as the Green Line.

Today, many of Lifta’s refugees are located in Ramallah, the Occupied West Bank, refugee camps, cities of neighboring Arab countries, as well former Lifta lands in East Jerusalem.

Some refugees are even located as far away as Europe and the US. For these refugees, their village remains a vivid memory landscape. Lifta homes and lands continue to be designated as absentee property by Israeli authorities and Lifta refugees are not allowed to assert claims of legal title over the land or permanently return to their property. This holds true for all Palestinian refugees. However, while most former

Palestinian villages were bulldozed and covered by parks or resettled, Lifta represents the only village where large parts of the built fabric remain intact and largely unoccupied until this day. Lifta stands as a symbol for a silenced past and the still pressing Palestinian refugee question.

In 2006 the Israeli Land Administration approved a development plan for Lifta (Plan 6036), which would transfer refugees’ properties to private investors to develop a residential area with 220 housing units. In 2011 the ‘Coaliton to Save Lifta,’ formed of Israeli and Palestinian activists, filed a petition to stop the bidding process. An Israeli Court ruled in favor of the activists in 2012 but the ruling was only a temporary stay order over a procedural matter. Lifter is currently still under the threat of being lost. The project aims to be a productive contribution in envisioning alternative futures for Lifta. Imagining the possible future use and development of Palestinian villages in Israel is crucial to the question of Palestinian refugee return yet it is seldom openly discussed in detail among Israelis and Palestinians alike.

KINNE TRIP

TEL AVIV JAFFA

STUDIO TRIP

DAYR GHASANA

The goal of the nine day Kinne trip to Jordan, Israel and the Occupied West Bank was to meet as many persons and voices involved in the Lifta situation as possible. We spoke to spatial practitioners, artists, and activists about Lifta in order to gain a better understanding and appreciation of its complexities. The initial challenge was to decide upon spacio-political scenarios from where we could start imagining alternative futures. Some schemes are based their concept on the assumption that Lifta’s legal case would be won and the village would be preserved. Other students positioned their concept within today’s circumstances, challenging Israeli politics in ways outside the Israeli courts.

Ultimately, the results of the studio are responses to a simple question: what is the agency of an outsider architect in a situation of sociopolitical conflict? The studio worked through the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (of which Lifta is a microcosm) and developed an architectural lens to dissect its spatial imperative beyond its present situation as merely a memory landscape.

ABWEIN

AJUL

BIR ZAYT

RAMALLAH AMMAN

JERUSALEM

LIFTA BETHLEHEM

DEHEISHE REFUGEE CAMP

LISTEN OBSERVE DISCUSS

Nine Days of Lectures, Tours, Journeys and Conversations in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank

PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF THE SEPARATION BARRIER

273 MI

430 MI 330 MI

PROPOSED UNDER CONSTRUCTION

A UNPAVED SERVICE ROAD

B FENCE WITH ELECTRONIC SENSORS

C PATH FOR DETECTING FOOTPRINTS

D PATROL ROADS

E TRENCH

A ISRAELI SETTLEMENT

B SERVICE ROAD

C TRILINGUAL ISRAELI WARNING SIGN

D MODULAR CONCRETE BARRIER

E METAL FENCE

F BILINGUAL PALESTINIAN WELCOME SIGN

G ROAD CLOSURE GATE

H PALESTINIAN VILLAGE

PROJECTED BORDERS

TYPE C

TYPE B2

26 LINEAR KILOMETERS OF SPATIO-POLITICAL CONFLICT

A walk along the periphery of Lifta’s ancestral lands will reveal a unique social, cultural, and political cross section of the conflict. Lifta is strategically located by straddling along the Green Line. The area is composed by several landmarks including two of the Jerusalem Ring Neighborhoods. Also included is a node of transborder highways, a high-tech industrial park, the separation barrier, and Hebrew University. The Eastern Jerusalem side contains the commercial neighborhood of Bab a-Zahara, olive tree farms, and multiple traces of informal growth. Residential towers emerge when crossing the Green Line. In the neighborhood of Romema, structures dating back to the British Mandate remain abandoned. Rounding out the journey is Jerusalem’s largest cemetery and a view towards the “Area B” village of Beit Iksa.

Lifta

Ramot: Israeli settlement. One of eight Jerusalem Ring Neighborhoods,1974

Ramot: Security barrier overlooking Shufat

Transborder Highways: Tel Aviv-Jerico and Ramallah-Bethlehem

Har Hotzvim: Campus of Science-Rich Industries,1970

Givat HaMivtar: Israeli settlement,1970

Tzameret Habira (view towards Shufat and Anata): Israeli settlement,1972

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Mount Scopus campus,1925

Isawiya: Palestinian neighborhood and portal to the E1 zone

Bab a-Zahara: Palestinian neighborhood and commercial center

Bab a-Zahara: Olive tree farm

Bab a-Zahara: Traces of informal growth and subsequent demolition

Sanhedria: Neighborhood straddling the Green Line,1967

Romema: Founded during the British Mandate of Palestine,1921

Bridge of Strings: Entrance to the western city, 2008

Lifta: Ongoing occupation

Har HaMenuchot: Jerusalem Cementery,1951

Beit Iksa: Palestinian village located in Area B

FINDING LIFTA

Enacting the Erased Land

Context

The land of Lifta exists in the present, although hidden beneath layers of conflicted urbanism. While the village stands as a contested space, its agricultural lands have become almost indistinguishable within modern day Jerusalem. However there are some exceptions that are apparent only when looking through a specific lense. These exceptions are manifested in the outlines of certain neighborhoods, in the resilience of ancient roads, and in the remaining Liftawis who continue to reside on Lifta land. These refugees oversee the area and fight for the protection, preservation, and return to their homes which have grown into historical ruins.

26 Linear Kilometers of Spatio-Political Conflict

A walk along the periphery of Lifta’s tribal boundaries* will reveal a unique social, cultural, and political cross section of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Lifta continues to be strategically located within Jerusalem by straddling along the Green Line. The area is composed by several landmarks which include the ruins of Lifta, and two out of the eight Ring Neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Also included is a central node of transborder highways, a high-tech industrial park, the separation barrier, and the Hebrew University.

The Palestinian portions of this area contain the commercial neighborhood of Bab a-Zahara, olive tree farms, and multiple traces of informal growth. Residential towers emerge upon crossing the

No 1: Stones as marker

No 2: Laser as projected line work

No 5: Directional pole as acknowledgement

No 6: CMU block as planter

No 9: Demolished site as ruin

No 10: Turkish coffee cart as information hub

Green Line and structures dating back to the British Mandate remain abandoned in the neighborhood of Romema. Rounding out the journey is Jerusalem’s largest cemetery and views towards the “Area B” village of Beit Iksa.

Musha’ and the Politics of Mapmaking

The parceling and redistribution of Lifta began in 1958 with the Ottoman Land Laws. Prior to this time, Palestinians practiced the Musha’ system which entailed a shared approach to agricultural lands. In contrast, the Ottoman laws required landowners to register ownership under one individual. A great amount of manipulation and falsification occurred during this process which resulted in collective land being registered under one villager or Ottoman administrators and merchants. In the case of the latter, Palestinians continued to retain possession of their land but in effect became tenants of absentee owners.

In 1923 the Mandate government developed plans to partition the lands into parcels. Surveys

and mapping systems were developed in order to define geographic boundaries in relation to specific coordinates. These, among many other events, laid the foundation for a systematization of land settlement and foreign sales in 1928.

During the 1948 Palestine War, 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their lands.

Among these refugees were approximately 2,550 Liftawis. The 1949 Armistice Agreements sought to establish demarcation lines between a newly formed state and its neighboring countries. These boundaries resulted in the division of Jerusalem.

During this time, Liftawis returned to the portion of their land that remained within Palestinian control.

In 1967 Israel captured East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War and the remainder of Lifta became annexed land.

Today, Lifta survives as the last unoccupied Palestinian village within the State of Israel and many refugees, some spread across the globe, continue to visit their land.

Map as a Strategy

Finding Lifta is an invitation to help enact the illegible land through a series of urban interventions that confront the erasure of Palestinian villages. This pamphlet contains a palette of methods to mark the extent of Lifta’s agricultural boundaries as well as a map registering its urban footprint. By engaging in this cartographic experiment, whether it is as a contributor or participant, you will begin to read the city of Jerusalem through a new and critical lense.

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Columbia University

Finding Lifta: Enacting the Erased Land Facebook.com/findinglifta

Concept and design: Jose Alexandro Brunner

No 3: Letters as living memory

No 4: Votives as symbols of remembrance

Musha’

“ A system of cultivation whereby shares of land are periodically allotted on a rotational basis to each cultivator within a community.”

Zeina B. Ghandour

No 7: Sign as reminder

No 8: Tiles as street medium

No 11: Building as projector screen

No 12: Grape trellis as ornament

original document was distributed among Lifta refugees in the form of a half/tri fold pamphlet

LIFTA

MAGICIAN: END OF YEAR SHOW

Site model as projection surface

Produced with the use of a cnc mill and finished in gesso

QUEER VILLAGE NEW YORK CITY, NY | 2013

Advanced Studio: Sweet Home Urbanism

Columbia University GSAPP

Critic: Andres Jaque

The notion of a home is no longer confined to the four walls of our dwelling. A home is performed in the city and consists of a series of points that cater to our unique lifestyles. New York City contains approximately three shelters to serve the estimated 3,000 LGBTQ homeless youth. Combined these shelters offer a mere 200 beds which leads many at risk youth to rely on alternative spaces for recreation and shelter. Many of these spaces are contested as other more privileged members of society aim to displace the youth from the few spaces where they are able to express themselves. Queer Village presents a spatial mapping of the streets, piers, churches, and parks that house this community and explores the potential for alternative forms of development within a gentrifying metropolis.

spatial mapping of a home

influence of tourism

Queer Village re-envisioned

alternative development: youth housing LGBTQ Neighborhoods in

Park Slope

New York City

MEDITATION SPACE VALLE DE GUADALUPE, BC | 2014

Visual Studies: Techniques of the Ultrareal Columbia University GSAPP

Collaboration with Della Leapman and Jordan Anderson

Critic: Joseph Brennan

design development sketch

rendered view with tree, basic materials and lighting

design development sketch

rendered view with site context, basic materials and lighting

The use of perspective and rendering is often an afterthought. With the abundance of 3D modeling software and the ability to see every angle of a project instantaneously, renderings are often a last minute tool for representation. Our team was challenged to not only think of rendering as a method of presentation, but also a tool for design.

The goal was to quickly design a meditation structure and its context for the exploration of techniques for creating ultrarealistic renderings. We focused on color, light, material, context, reflection, and opacity throughout the course of the entire design. The building and components were initially modeled using Rhino, and were imported into 3D Studio Max for topography and site creation.The main engine of exploration was V-Ray for 3D Studio Max with the use of 3rd party plug-ins (Ivy Generator, Forest Pack) and additional processing software for editing the final images.

interior rendering

frontal view

design development sketch rendered view with site context final transition rendering

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