Lara Mehling_ Portfolio 2013-2014 by Lara Mehling

PORTFOLIO

2012-2013

LARA MEHLING

intervention map

[ver路nal路is : marker of heat, lightness, time, the moment when winter is eclipsed by spring] As a surface puncture, a vernal pond renders visible a unique and brief moment of exchange. It marks time through the seasonally fluctuating water table; its flow programs occupation. On a regional scale, a range of perforations in the ground patterns the surface of the site into a distributed, vernal reservoir.

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

warm season swimming

high water log-drive

frozen basin â&#x20AC;&#x153;wetâ&#x20AC;?storage

detail plan / diagramatic model inserts

pond typology

bristol models

Despite its unceasing flow an aquifer is still confined. Its contours set up zones of tolerance, both in terms of disturbance and access. It â&#x20AC;&#x153;servesâ&#x20AC;? the ground and its occupants directly above. A thinner surface ties the citizen closer to a vital resource. Eight pond typologies, driven by seasonal groundwater flows, explore a variety of activities demanded by and suited to the varying dimensions of vernal pools.

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

type-specific experiential perspectives

CNC-milled model (lightbox)

The engine of not only material and metabolic exchange, but also of human activity, is an ephemeral, porous field that lies adjacent to, if not submerged directly within, the dense, compacted fabric of the upper Cape.

zone 1 zone 2

zone 3 zone 4 “TIMBER HARVEST: A moisture gradient in seasonal flux programs the harvesting techniques within a distributed, vernal reservoir. The proximity of the ground surface to the watertable determines permitted levels of disturbance. Four management zones with varying ranges radiate outward from the vernal’s fragile center.”

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

installation

aerial (CNC model rendering) Site activities with varying degrees of access to the public eclipse one another in short succession, optimizing the specific, critical water level that signals its operation. Wet season and dry season condition its itinerant occupants.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;CIVIL LIGHTS: From an aerial perspective, night lights indicate densities of human settlement.Vernal occupation adopts the notion of nocturnal inhabitation, terrestrial-aquarian half-lives, and on/ off switch circuit boards. A seasonal round allows for coordination.â&#x20AC;?

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

foam model / occupational calendar

decay study sample

1.5"

0.5"

-1m

1.5"

3" foam model height

2.5"

1.5"

0.5"

0.5" watertable

-1m

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

0" foam model depth

3" foam model height

2.5"

1.5"

0.5"

0.5" watertable

-1m

0" foam model depth

resin model

Occupational activity is zoned: if porosity and moisture availability in the ground measures the rate of decay, then groundwater controls not only the speed of occupational flows, but also its regional designation as well. Unlike a typical watershed that elicits zones of exchange on the surface, an aquifer is fiercely local.

research folio

spotted salamander / Ambystoma maculatum

20+ masses

blue-spotted salamander / Ambystoma laterale

10+ egg masses

wood frog / Rana sylvatica

40 + egg masses

fairy shrimp / Brachinecta lynchi

in any life stage

1.5 - 3.5 cm

Vernal Occuption employs a telescopic method in order to magnify a unique and ephemeral phenomenon. From the scale of a salamander egg attached to a floating stick in a muddy forest puddle to a satellite perspective of an urban network revealing centers of activity on the upper Cape Cod, this project explores how these fine, microscopic patterns may inform a lighter urbanism at large.

BREEDING GROUNDS: Just below the reflective surface of a blackwater woodland puddle, fallen twigs and leaves become the ground for amphibian reproduction. As subsurface structure for obligate species, the debris cycles nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Field Notes for Vernal Occupation Location: Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA 41°40’17.43”N / 70°33’53.06”W

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

0.3 meter vantage

spotted salamander / Ambystoma maculatum

20+ masses

blue-spotted salamander / Ambystoma laterale

10+ egg masses

wood frog / Rana sylvatica

40 + egg masses

fairy shrimp / Brachinecta lynchi

in any life stage

1.5 - 3.5 cm

0.3 meter vantage

12 sequential elements

concept section

VERNAL OCCUPATION cape cod

faunal ranges

The profile of a shallow ephemeral pond reveals how minute changes in topography and moisture elicit particular vegetation types. Graminoids, forbs, shrubs, and trees emanate outward from a New England pond. Animals are drawn to vernal pools, altering their migration patterns to come upon these stepping stones in an arid landscape, particularly in years of drought when still-standing water is scarce. Animals eat seeds and move on; they become agents for propagating water, literally carrying the potential for future vernal ecosystems.

fog phenomenon - a visibility calendar white rainbow

+ peak sea fog occurrence

cold patch formation

cold patch maturity

full spectrum saturation

cold patch decay

cold patch formation

cold patch maturity

cold patch decay

cold patch maturity

ambient sound personal sound 69 24

vertical mixing / tidal cooling

14 13 7

surface air temperature (SAT) (Fahrenheit) sea surface temperature (SST)

vertical mixing / tidal cooling

66 24

22 20

14 13 7

surface air temperature (SAT) (Fahrenheit) sea surface temperature (SST)

0.09 0.24

ambient sound personal sound 69

1.13

tidal flux (m)

0.09 0.24

1.28

vortex

1.13

1.28

vortex

TERRITORIAL TURBULENCE jamaica bay, ny

tidal flux (m)

fog frequency diagram

fog frequency

SST

atmospheric stability

+ ++

+ +

SAT SST

downdraft

+ + - -

vertical mixing atmospheric stability surface inversion

amplified bathymetry

colliding currents

- -

atmospheric stability

opposing wind and current directionality

vertical mixing

SST

SAT

surface wind

wind speed

- -

obstacle 2: depression

wind speed

downdraft

+ ++

+ upslope fog

surface wind

downdraft amplified bathymetry (split channel)

+ +

- -

vertical mixing

split channel

+ +

advection fog (SEA FOG)

radiation fog

SAT

obstacle 1: mound

++ surface wind

wind speed

downdraft

split channel

surface inversion

atmospheric stability

vertical mixing

SST

cold patch

downdraft

strait

SAT

topographic contraction

+ ++ surface wind

wind speed

downdraft

steam fog

cloud development: vertical mixing + surface wind + thermal contrast

- -

cold patch parameters: bathymetry + tidal flux

atmospheric phenomenon: fog types

infrastructure catalog elevaational program infrastructure catalog

8m 8

learning

research

production

distribution

wetland cultivation

recreation

multi-level classroom facility

multi-level laboratory

storage and maintenance center

commercial program areas

stilted residences

event spaces

ferry ports

observation decks

aquaponic docks

distribution roadways / parking

elevated dike roadway

pedestrian pathway / bicycle access

â&#x20AC;&#x153;floatingâ&#x20AC;? classrooms

desalination network

hydroponic greenhouses

salt storage piles

intertidal retention ponds

beach swimming areas

public underwater viewing areas

split-level observation areas

aquaculture pools p l (open ((op + enclosed)

underground salt filtering facility

intertidal pools

thermal pools (fueled by greenhouse air purge)

1 unit (3 apartments: 48 sq.m. each)

single housing unit

corner module (3 units)

building module (4 units)

superstructure

assembled courtyard

assembled unit (8 units)

vehicular traffic mainland road

dike road

pedestrian

dock / connecting boardwalk

circulation

deck / connected surface connecting bridge

capped/solid platform

double wall/courtyard

subsurface infrastructure

surface condition

double wall/capped

double wall/open

single wall/open

TERRITORIAL TURBULENCE jamaica bay, ny

cold patch formation

cold patch maturity

cold patch decay

cold patch formation

cold patch decay

cold patch maturity

cold patch maturity ambient sound personal sound 69 26

vertical cooling vertical mixing / tidal t

66 24

14 13 7

surface air temperature (SAT) (Fahrenheit) sea surface temperature (SST)

vvertical ertical mixing / tidal t coolingg

22 2

22 20

14 13 7

tidal flux (m)

0.09 0.24

1.13

0.09 0.24

1.28

1.13

1.28

vortex vortex programming tidal zones main research campus

shellfish aquaculture

residential

shellfish aquaculture pond

intertidal pools

seawater farm

waterpark

shellfish aquaculture pond

seawater greenhouse

tidal retention pond

floating fish pen

desalination plant

natural intertidal pool

swimming basin

freshwater swimming pool

shellfish aquaculture pond

thermal bath shellfish aquaculture pond

recreational waterfront

halophyte fields

-10 -1

sugar kelp crop LP -12m

P -55

dike

HP +3m

high tide low tide

P 0

material exchange worrki kiing ng w waterfront ter (port)

axonometric vignettes:

recre ecre creatioonal waaterfront ont (harbor))

researcch + recreeation

ferryy route vehhicular la road secction n cutl tlin line

production + wetland wetlland ccultiva ultivation

1. fish feces fertilize greenhouse plants 2. greenhouse pool heating 3. feed production for aquaculture 4. laboratory for aquarium species 5. nitrogen extracted by seaweed 6. nutrient-rich water from shrimp farm fertilizes halophyte fields PLAN

Dead Horse Bay

scale 1:2000 05

100m

Fog is a phenomenal experience. Its occurrence relies on a delicate balance of thermal contrast, humdity, and wind. In Territorial Turbulence, surface sea and air temperatures are manipulated to affect localized advection fog within Dead Horse Bay through tidal flushing. Through an engineered system of subsurface vortices (whirlpools) and microclimatic, heat-generating superstructures, invisible processes and cycles such as tidal flux and seasonally rotating wind patterns are rendered visible, albeit ironically through fog. Fog provides private spaces within the public realm. By playing with depth of field, expansive and vast, yet unenclosed experiences are granted to the inhabitants, visitors, and employees at a new environmental research facility and education center that seeks to integrate production and play.

zonal program map

isometric views: walking woods, pedestrian roadway, open seating

FRANKLIN PARK ENTRANCE boston

Crossing the Midline: An Amendment to Olmsted’s Plan contemporizes Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for Franklin Park, the final component of Boston’s Emerald Necklace. Through the careful preservation and manipulation of his primary design principles, namely the setting up of changing views and the curation of movement through an interplay of topography, circulation, and tree spacing, the intentional barrier between the city and park is dissolved and a series of connected urban plazas is introduced to activate the edge.

intervention plan / circulation isometric

FRANKLIN PARK boston

sections of generational plantings

axonometric: program excerpts

FRANKLIN PARK boston

spring perspective: the boardwalk

Preserving Olmsted’s vision for Franklin Park requires one basic, counterintuitive move: giving a portion of its perimeter up to the city. Dissolving the intentional barrier between the “country” park’s eastern edge and the city of Boston through a network of pathways which allow for cross-lateral movement becomes the agenda in rejuvenating a declining park.

autumn perspective: platform hill

As Olmsted drew his designs out of the topography at hand, manipulating landform consciously and conservatively, this project reconfigures the ground immediately adjacent to the street. Contours are pulled back along the edge and gathered up near corners and major entrances to open up spaces for public gathering.

FRANKLIN PARK boston

section perspective: corner square As keyholes into the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior, these smaller plazas hint at a more permeable environment. The cuts where the contours have been pulled back and the soil removed become the grounds for revegetation.

plan

EDGE EFFECT cambridge

detail plan

Edge Effect seeks to revitalize a small urban delta at the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts as the site for a shared gathering place between the city of Cambridge and Harvard University. This small urban plaza is divided into two main spheres, a roughly public one for large-scale, organized events and a more private one that invites more intimate and spontaneous encounters.

site section elevation

To soften the transition, porous rows of resilient roadside vegetation are introduced in imitation of diorama panels, which create a gradient of visibility and privacy for occupational diversity within a small urban plaza. As ones moves through the site to its point, a gradual change in size relationships occurs. The desired effect is one in which the visitor appears to shrink in size and despite ascending the tiers, begins to lose visibility, encouraging a slower and more cautious pace.

EDGE EFFECT cambridge

sequential section elevations