Creative Nexus by Jose Devora

creative nexus m u s i c e d u c at i o n a s a c at a l y s t f o r a c re at i ve We s t Ho l l y wo o d

a n u r b a n c r i t i q u e o n t h e c u r r e n t p e r c e p t i o n o f w h a t t h e “c r e a t i v e c i t y ” V a l u e s

c r e a t i v e n ex u s Te a m B i o

I nt ro to We s t Ho l l y wo o d

Site Mappings

Intense Urbanism Argument

Urban Design Strategy and Architectural Approach

Final Thoughts

Te a m P h o t o

team bio team members hilda del real jose devora d a v i d fl o r e s melissa langer

Te a m M a n i f e s t o Understanding urban design through the eyes of landscape architects, we were able to tackle the challenges t h at d e n s i t y a n d u r b a n g row t h b r i n g. We chose to take on this challenge by focusing our primary design towards the social qualities of life. Designing for the community in relation to context and the p u b l i c r e a l m w o u l d o ff s e t d e n s i t y a n d i t s repercussions.

san gabriel mountains downtown los angeles

west hollywood

santa monica mountains

santa monica

venice b

p a c i fi c p a l i s a d e s

beach

acific ocean

i n t r o t o w es t h o l l y w o o d “ There is an oppor tunit y for West Holly wood, in par tnership with LAUSD, to become the catalyst as a true creative producer.” First impressions of West Holly wood began with our past experiences. Bar hopping, restaurants, music venues and the Sunset Strip Music Festival were just some of our past experiences of the place before we began the site analysis. When visiting the site, at all times of the day the city seemed to be ver y walkable along both big boulevards but not nor th to south or south to nor th due to the grade change. As you walk along these two boulevards, Sunset and Santa Monica, one learns of West Holly wood’s ex travagant shops, dining, and bars. Especially the presence of an affluent lifestyle filled with cars, designer stores, and restaurants that allow diners to be seen from the street. The amount of billboards along the Sunset strip is also staggering. The sizes of tall walls and adver tisements that line the street is breathtaking. On Sunset however, one also feels West Holly wood’s musical histor y. Each music venue is seen as its own andmark, and one can see visitors taking pic tures of the famous sites. Music enthusiasts can be seen making lines to enter the nex t show, or arrive early to buy tickets for a future show. Together, the venues they make up one of West Holly wood’s oldest and strongest identities. This identit y, which we believe was born from West Holly wood's greatest qualities, creativit y, individualit y, and the ability to allow self expression. West Holly wood is known

as the creative city, and it may have been that in its past, but presently, that title is being used as a marketing strategy. Creativity in West Holly wood is seen in the form of the Pacific Design Center which is just about showcasing ar t, but there is no learning and encouragement of creativity. Many of West Holly woods creative businesses showcase creativity, but they do not teach how to be creative. The streets are lined with rooms that cater to the affluent, where they can afford such things. This city lacks an input on creative education. Visitors to West Holly wood do not see any of its local creativity or any creativity being created. As we delved into deeper research, we discovered that Los Angeles as the creative capital of the United States, held similar monetar y values in relation to its title. LA for example is a destination for people to come from other places to make specific business related to creativity. Yet, it lacks the necessar y funding for creativit y to emerge locally. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School Distric t being the largest public school system in the United States, which holds the most students, is deficient in creative input. The distric t lacks ar ts instruc tion. There is an oppor tunity for West Holly wood, in par tnership with LAUSD, to become the catalyst as a true creative producer.

Site Analysis Video

Creative Nexus Summar y Video

site mappings Shifting Identit y Creative Education Music + Events Creativit y + Values

the viper room

whisky a go go

rainbow the roxy

sunset/cienega

troubadour

the london

sunset marquis

chamberlain

house of blues

8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

andaz

mondrian grafton

s h i ft i n g i d e n t i t y chateau marmont

standard

unset tower

West Holly wood is a luxurious place where the rich and famous live. At the same time it is a worldwide recognized attrac tion for tourists. From the 70's to the 80's, a shift in the cultural fabric of West Holly wood emerged, giving bir th to a lifestyle that focused on the values of creativity through music. Music venues like the Whiskey a go - go, the Rox y, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Viper Room and others were the foundation for many rock stars to star t their career. This identity shift was responsible for Weho to be seen as a place where ar tists and fans were allowed to express themselves in a rock and roll lifestyle. Today that vibrant music culture that once was is gone, with only the struc tural remnants of these venues remaining. The charac ter of Weho now consists of a culture that uses the slogan of the "Creative City" as a marketing tool to attrac t more visitors. As this culture rises, hotels are outnumbering the music venues. For example the House of Blues is being closed down for a new hotel development to be built. One cannot not stop the cultural fabric from changing but is it really fair to completely erase a previous culture that had so much significance to the city? By revealing these identity shifts it is impor tant to recognize what has happened in histor y and adapt to it , while also using histor y as an educational tool for the future of the city.

whisky a go go the viper room

rainbow the roxy

n eolthon j

joehnnnon l oors d e elvreissley th d p neiailmon d

mdyrix jim hen

jaonpislin j

the house of blues

8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

est h w e g

colle k-12

dom of l

psychom

troubadour

6-12 west hollywood elementary 6-12

leedpe z

cognitiv

emotion

ro fa k-6 sew 9- irf oo 12 ax d hi ele gh m sc en ho ta ry ol

creative education

ellin

od ll ywo

tory a r a rep

scho r e t r a h ont c larchm k-8

mains learning

music

motor domain: development of kinesthetic skills

ve domain: acquisition of knowledge, thinking

willingless to recieve, internalize, share. n and feeling. music appreciation + sensibility.

psychomotor fundamental buildings perceptual abilities skilled movements nondiscursive communication

cognitive remembering

understanding applying analyzing evaluating creating

receiving responding valuing organization characterization

The 60s were a major scene shift in the histor y of West Holly wood’s Sunset Strip. Music venues began to appear as they were out of the LAPD’s jurisdic tion, thus creating a vibe that was different from the rest of its surroundings. This allowed for freedom of expression and individuality, two of the charac teristics that the founding fathers of West Holly wood aimed for. Unique moments like these allowed local bands, like The Doors, the oppor tunity to star t lifelong careers. Today West Holly wood is known as “ The Creative City ” as there is still some ac tivit y related to creativit y in the city. Yet, like there was in the 60s, there are not many oppor tunities for local ar tists to learn and explore. The creativity is mainly migrating from outside sources direc tly to the creative businesses, as local LA lacks funding in overall creative education, taking away workforce oppor tunities. Currently the Los Angeles Unified School Distric t recognized that it lacks education in the ar ts. In the recent ar ticle “Schools in need to get more LAUSD ar ts funding” from KPCC, stated that “ The California education code requires school distric ts to teach all children all four ar t forms ever y year from 1st to 6th grade,” however, it fails to do so. Without the funding suppor t of the largest public school system there is a missed oppor tunity to reach the maximum amount of students and reach them at an early age. The benefits of ar t are crucial as it teaches basic academic skills as well as lifelong life lessons. According to “Quality, Equity, and Access; A Status repor t on Ar ts Education in California Public Schools Grade Pre -K through 12” a briefing paper by California Allegiance of ar t education states that benefits of the ar ts curriculum include “cultural understanding, readiness for learning and creative thinking, cognitive outcomes, emotional intelligence and expression, social interac tion and collaboration, preparation for the workforce and lifelong learning.” Music education can be the catalyst for a creative West Holly wood and it realizes the Creative City ’s true values that the current perception lacks. 11

troubadour

whisky a go go the viper room

rainbow the roxy

the house of blues

8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

SUNSET STRIP MUS

SS F

music + events

SIC FESTIVAL P

West Holly wood currently hosts an array of festivals and par ties with musical influences. Principles of the area value high levels of self- expression which is reflec ted in the genre of events. The Sunset Strip Music Festival is a two day event that closes a sec tion of Sunset Blvd., and the businesses and restaurants around the area open to the festival goers. This event has used the site for a stage and beer garden in the past years. The Sunset Strip Music Festival was revealed to be the most specific event to our site making it the primar y focus. It is also the only event that hosts a variety of musical per former â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with a weighted rock influence. A shift of music trends is under way; elec tronic music is gaining popularity over rock music. Rock music is what West Holly wood was built on and should continue to be celebrated throughout the city. The event houses about 10,000 people each day. This is a large target group of users for our site. Although it is only one weekend a year, it is necessar y to design a large enough amphitheater to accommodate the large number of users. Freedom of expression through music is one of West Holly woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many positive attributes. Allowing users to experience a variety of musical events increases this quality of expression. It is impor tant to cater to these needs with use of programming and struc tures. The large amphitheater caters to small groups of people as well as large groups.

8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood andaz west hollywood oliverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime @ the grafton ace outdoor advertising melâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive-in sunset marquis hotel & villas

Gera

wells fargo

bikes and hikes

CRE

lgbt center

visit west hollywood gracias madre

lift west hollywood

restoration hardware kitson

honor

ald David Bauman T.M.

c r e a t i v i t y + v a l u es

dba dance club laurel hardware

EATIVE CITY AWARDS

ring innovation in business

Intensely researching the creativity of West Holly wood has led to surprising findings. In the past, West Holly wood truly was full of creativity and had freedom of expression. Impor tant life values were taught because of this culture. Impor tant life lessons were taught inside the famous music venues that line the Sunset Strip that could not happen any where else in the world. This culture is what made West Holly wood what it once was. Today, a different set of values are being taught. An affluent lifestyle is becoming the dominant culture of West Holly wood today. Luxurious and monetar y values are the focus up and down the Sunset Strip and on Santa Monica Blvd. The strip is putting money before their creative culture. Hotels are being built, instead of putting money into creative education, like ar ts, dance, and music. West Holly wood has an award ceremony where they celebrate businesses that are innovative and creative. However, these businesses are only being innovative to make money, not creativity. Each business that was nominated for a creative city award is placed on the creative values map to display where todays creative values are focused. These values are incorrec t. Places like the Pacific Design Center showcase creativity. On a street so rich in a creative histor y, in a city dubbed the creative city, and in a county dubbed the creative capital of the united states, there should be an over flowing amount of oppor tunities and resources for creative growth and exploration.

i n t e n s e u r b a n is m argument Philosophy on Urban Design as Landscape Architec ts West Holly wood Urban Experiment

p h i l os o p h y o n u r b a n d es i g n as lands cape archite cts Urban design is a relevant subjec t due to increasing populations around the world. Our team is accepting of urban growth and caters to the contemporar y needs of the people while thinking of the future. Understanding urban design through the eyes of landscape architec ture was an impor tant strategy while working through challenges of this projec t. The obstacles of density and urban growth were tackled by focusing our primar y design towards social qualities of life. Designing for the community in relation to contex t and the public realm offsets density and its repercussions. Handling the issue of density relating to programming was challenging. Our design focused on increasing creative oppor tunities for the public realm versus increasing the density of the site. A heavily dense site was compromised for an increase of social qualities of life. We strongly believe that this is acceptable if the programming improves qualit y of life within community members. Urban growth is inevitable and unstoppable. Thinking the latter is unrealistic. We are accepting urban growth as is with emphasis on life lessons for future generations. Repercussions of urban growth can be counter affec ted by improving life values.

qualities of life. Urbanism can change the values of an area. Currently, West Holly wood is undergoing a shift from a creative cit y to one catering to affluent lifestyles. This change is seen as having a negative impac t on what we aim to increase, creative outputs and inputs of the city. Our projec t goes beyond catering to the wealthy and makes bigger connec tions to ever y community member. The public realm is highly impor tant to us as landscape architec ts. Open space is highly valued along with human experience. After realizing that the social qualities of life were our main emphasis, we were able to create a strong argument against producing a highly dense site. Ex tensive research about a user ’s experience shaped the way of our design. Approaching urban design with a background in landscape architec ture is different than architec ts, city planners, government officials, etc. This became ver y clear to us as we moved along our design process. A new shift is happening in the career field of landscape architec ture. It is becoming evident that the land has as much influence on a place as the buildings do and that sometimes the land shaping is the more impor tant aspec t.

Many readings helped us develop Looking at the bigger pic ture allowed these ideas as students. In Charles Waldheims us to form these opinions about urban growth. ar ticle, “Landscape as Urbanism’, he states Cultural changes in the area have had a large “Over the past decade landscape has emerged impac t on our design philosophy. It is as a model for contemporar y urbanism, one impor tant to maintain the creative energy of uniquely capable of describing the conditions our site because of our focus on social for radically decentralized urbanization,

especially in the contex t of complex natural environments.â&#x20AC;? This new form of landscape has given us oppor tunities for deeper and more meaningful projec ts. It was impor tant to discuss the impac t of designing a quality landscape to allow us to push the boundaries and stray away from un-meaningful designs. Overall, urban design is not something that can be fully learned in a shor t time period. Considering these strategies over time will improve qualities of a successful landscape architec t.

w es t h o l l y w o o d u r b a n ex p e r i m e n t Working within the specific contex t of an area is a crucial element to the design process. West Holly wood is a historical music hub with its venues and culture. There is no better place to embrace the positive qualities of music than in an area like the Sunset Strip. West Holly wood Elementar y school is in close proximity to the famous music venues. The music venues are located on sunset strip and the elementar y school is located just south of the site. Our team decided to analyze the t ypologies of music venues in West holly wood and fur ther out in Los Angeles. This allowed us to understand different venue types so that we may make a better decision in a venue program in our design. West Holly wood is one of the most walkable cities due to its close proximity of amenities. We saw these oppor tunities as advantages in the placement of our programs. West Holly wood is a nightlife mecca because of that walkability. The transition from day to night is such a difference that it needs to be taken into account. Stores cater to either the day shift of visitors or the night shift of visitors that the Sunset Strip attrac ts. Some places along the strip cater for both, which is what we chose to design for. Schools in West Holly wood are in The Los Angeles Unified School Distric t. Ar t programs, including

music, enhance state education and produce life -long lessons to be passed on to future generations. Currently, the Los Angeles School Distric t is having problems with budget cuts, and ar t programs are the first to go.

u r b a n d es i g n s t r a t e g y a n d architectural approach Urban Design Strategy and Architec tural Approach Proximity + Flows/ Canopy Form Music Venue Typologies Program Program Distribution Site Densities Frequenc y Distribution of Typical Sounds Study Models Final Model Design Vignettes Renderings

u r b a n d es i g n s t r a t e g y a n d architectural approach West Holly woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sunset Boulevard is a place that acknowledges individuality and creativit y. Historically, music venues entered the Sunset Strip as the city allowed freedom in expression and lifest yle. Therefore the venues have played a prominent role in West Holly woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative demeanor. West Holly wood is known as the creative city. However, they focus on the monetar y value of that creativity. Instead of inputting into ar ts instruc tion like music, they primarily focus on the outputs that creativity produces. The schools in West Holly wood belong to the LAUSD, which lacks ar ts education funding. There is an oppor tunit y for West Holly wood, in association with the LAUSD, to become the catalyst for a true creative producer. Our design becomes a nexus that merges music venues, with music education, to teach a set of values that will educate the creative workers and will not only advance the sites music identit y, but help fuel innovation that will create jobs, as well as social and cultural benefits. Designing a music venue on our site derived from our music venue typologies. The music amphitheater that we designed not only ac tivates as a venue, but holds open space for all kinds of users to benefit from. Using the topography as an advantage, we placed the amphitheaters stage at the lowest point of the site. Rising away from the stage, we designed steps and seating with a soft slope enveloping the hardscape so that it gives users options. Rising beyond the seating is a grand canopy, where users can access the school restaurant, and music instrument rental. The canopy also creates different types

of spaces throughout our site. Below the canopy, dark spaces cater to users of an older age. Above the canopy, light shines on all as users are able to dine high above sunset. With the canopy rising above, the edges of our design align with the sidewalk, allowing for easy access onto the site. At the nor th west corner, steps allow pedestrians to step down onto the site, creating a reveal of the space. Our proposal is poised for many different types of uses. Catering to the massive Sunset Music Festival crowds, or holding a rock and roll concer t,as well as becoming as serene as a park. The design not only caters to its visible func tions, but it can become more. It will become what the LAUSD has needed for so many years. A creative nexus for the ar ts, that develops true creativity, in the cit y that was created to foster an atmosphere of creativit y and expression.

ethnomusicolgy- music in its cultural context theory- nature + mechanics. patterns + techniques history instruments composition- creation + recording. notation- symbols. written expressions or notes + rhythms

multi purpose space potential conference room

music school amphiteatre/ music venue instrument store cafe/restaurant interactive rooms/stations recording studio open/ public space

buy/sell/trade/rent program live music performance space anechoic chamber room- blocks extraneous sounds guitar string room cymbal room moshpit room harp station piano keys station

valuable lessons knowlege + learning

classes that teach valuable lessons and foster creativity

accustically appropriate rooms

emotional connections

experiences that evoke feelings that motivate and lead to appreciation, c u r i o s i t y, c re a t i v i t y.

ground and wall plane interactive spaces

social connection

frequent user

Users were divided in two categories in which frequency of visit was considered and were organized in a spectrum line that positions them in an order from frequent to less frequent users.

music enthusiast musicians music student local teen young family tourist local

spaces that foster interaction

experiential dichotomies

frequent user

soft hard

soft hard soft

hard

light dark

light dark light

dark

loud quiet

loud quiet loud

quiet

dense

dense sparse

sparse dense

sparse

open close

open close open

program The program organization derived from macro and micro mapping within the context of the site.

The experiential dichotomies further explain the needs of the user within each space which are qualitative value can be understood with the experiential quality categories.

structural kit of parts

amphitheater

enclosed

enclosed overhead

balcony

stage

seating

The result provides a deeper understanding on the spatial qualities that result from the required needs of the users.

th ev wh iper r i ho s k y o o m us a g eo o f b go lue s

ve hic l

pe de

str ian

p r ox i m i t y + fl o w s

rain the rbow b oxy ar &

sch o

26 gril l

canopy form

peel

access

seating

largo at the coronet cap: 130

seating + dining

standing

the viper room cap: 250

standing +

troubadour

whiskey a g

the roxy cap: 500

vibrato grill cap: AM

amoeba music cap:

HOB

seating+ balcony

sea

walt disney concert hall

the fox threater cap: 2,000

balcony

m u s i c v e n u e t yp o l o g i es extra small

<200

small

200-500

o go cap: 250

AM VR

medium

HOB

large

HB GT WD

500-2000

2000<

ouse of blues cap: 1,500

Through our analysis, we studied music venue typologies. This was impor tant for our design because it allowed us to use them as case studies to understand the density of these events spaces. Understanding the proximit y bet ween users, ar tists spaces, and elevations in the venues helped us to focus on the users and their needs. This also allowed us to generate a kit of par ts so that we may design spaces on our site.

ating open theatre

e greek theater cap: 5,870

ollywood bowl cap: 17,376

standing + balcony

seating open theatre

h y b r i d t yp o l o g i es

Taking our analysis fur ther and also taking advantage of our siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sloping condition we hybridized t ypologies to maximize experiences on our outdoor amphitheather design.

interactive rooms/stations anechoic chamber room- blocks extraneous sounds guitar string room cymbal room moshpit room harp station piano keys station

recording studio acoustically appropriate

amphitheater/ music venue

multi purpose space

open/p

ground an

p r o g r a m d is t r i b u t i o n music school ethnomusicolgy- music in its cultural context theory- nature + mechanics. patterns + techniques history instruments composition- creation + recording. notation- symbols. written expressions or notes + rhythms

instrument store buy/sell/trade/rent program

cafe + restaurant

live music performance space

ublic space

nd wall plane interactive spaces

Programs were distributed responding to the surrounding contex t.

s i t e d e n s i t i es

Site densities where explored to fit multiple types of events.

SS F

s i t e d e n s i t i es

The site is poised to cater events such as the Sunset Strip Music Festival.

greek amphitheater limestone absorbs audience noises absorbed by limestone h i g h e r f r e q u e n c y p e r f o r m e r s v o i c e r e fl e c t e d

glass

stone

f u l l r e fl e c t i o n 0 38

.01

plaster

.02

concrete

.03

.04

f r e q u e n c y d is t r i b u t i o n o f t yp i c a l s o u n d s 500 hertz & up

frequencies remain the same

2,000 1,00 500

below 500 hertz

l sio eph on n e le vo i fe ma ce le vo tru ice ck fre ig h je t tr t ai n

frequencies lowered

rin

ss d

100 50

ru m

200

frequency in cycles per second

100,000 5,000

wood

.05

.06

.07

full absorption 1 39

study mo dels

Study models exploring landscape field conditions and architec tural struc tures mainly through the use of chipboard, cardboard,clay and index cards.

fi n a l m o d e l

Final form of the Creative Nexus. Made out of 1/16â&#x20AC;? laser cut chipboard.

Drum Room Users that visit the drum room will get to play different types of drums from different t ypes of music. They will learn and experience the sounds that each drum makes as well as learn why do they make the sound that they make.

d es i g n v i g n e t t es Sound Absorbing Room A program that allows users to concentrate on a specific tune or idea. The absorption of all other noise but the tune the user plays helps with concentration. Also, users get to experience sound absorption through the knowledge of the material, feeling it, and knowing what it is.

String Room Users in this room get to listen to tunes created by strings that stretch from the floor to the ceiling. Learning about how tight a string is, effec ts the sound it makes can be learned in this room. Users will also get a workout strumming all day long in this room.

d es i g n v i g n e t t es Loud Room Sometimes users just want to play as loud as their amps can play. Visiting the loud room, users will not have to worr y about the neighbors complaining about their loud playing. Warning, ear plugs are recommended.

Visual Room For the hearing impaired. This room offers the experience of music in a visual way. Those unfor tunate that do not have the sense of hearing get to experience music visually in this room. Music is played and beats and sounds are visually seen on the walls, floors, and ceilings of this room.

renderings

Looking South West from the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Hilldale ave.

renderings

Looking Nor thWest from Hilldale ave.

renderings

Nightime view of Creative Nexus from Sunset Blvd.

fi n a l t h o u g h t s Intense urbanism is a deep subjec t that requires a variety of thought processes. There are many fac tors that must be considered whilst designing an area for an urban setting. Using knowledge and rules from landscape architec ture was a useful method to work through some of the complications and issues related to urban settings. Early on in the design process, we realized that our projec t needed to be one that truly mattered to society. This meant sacrificing a highly dense site for a valuable education area. The learning process to understanding urbanism is not a shor t one, but the time spent in this class has fur thered understandings about the subjec t which will be highly valuable for future experiences.

Special Thanks SWA Laguna Beach Office Rennie Tang Andy Wilcox Jeremy Jarin City of West Holly wood Members of the Midterm and Final Review and the rest of the Intense Urbanism Studio

hilda del real hildita89@hotmail.com jose devora josedevora17@gmail.com david flores jrdavidflores@gmail.com melissa langer melissalanger2121@gmail.com

c r e a t i v e n ex u s