Portfolio of Selected Works 2014-2020 by Laura Margaret Sollmann
Professional Experience, Academic Work in Preservation & Architectural Design
updated Apr 2020
Table of Contents
Professional Experience 4-11
01.
Romanesque Revival Police Precinct: construction documents & research
12-15
02.
Construction documents for the interior restoration of Cincinnati Union Terminal
16-21
03.
Eastern Columbia Building: conditions assessment drawings for building drop survey
Academic Work, preservation 22-35
04.
Tactical preservation strategy and narrative for 16131 E Warren Ave, Detroit MI
36-37
05.
The negative impact of neglecting this history of blight during the era of the urban renaissance
Academic Work, architectural design 38-41
06.
Copy & Paste: recycling form derived from Bruce Goff’s Emil Gutman House (1958)
42-45
07.
Urban Greenhouse Farming: an application of operative design
18th Police Precinct, photographer Frank E. Parshley (Aug. 1895)
project
Romanesque Revival Police Precinct: construction documents & research
firm
John G. Waite Associates, Architects PLLC [ fall 2017 - spring 2018 ]
about
Built in 1890 as the 18th Police Precinct of Brooklyn, George Ingram (architect) designed the station and adjacent carriage house in Romanesque Revival, using the strong details of the Architectural style to mimic that of the police force. A once imposing structure, the historic site fell into decay. After the police precinct moved to another location, the building went through several short-lived and unsuccessful reuses, before being abandoned in the 1980s. Shortly after, it experienced a fire which destroyed much of the interior fabric and left the building exposed to the elements. In 2016, the NYC School Construction Authority announced that the site had been purchased to construct a new school for the district. Of Ingram’s original building, all is to be demolished except for the two main facades of the station house facing the streets (and minimal portions of the other elevations). My contribution to the project involved developing schematic, design development, and construction documents, and conducting primary research on the site’s history.
4
to be removed
1
to remain
2
WE ST ELEVAT ION
to remain
3
to remain
to be removed
to be removed
4
E AS T ELEVAT ION
Conditions
S O UTH EL EVATI O N
1. Biogrowth 2. Graffiti 3. Brownstone spalling 4. Brick spalling 5. Deterioration of ornamentation 6. Exposed interior - no existing glazing in windows 7. No interior levels - fire in 1980s
to remain
N O R TH EL EVATI O N
3
4
2
East and North Facades of station house to remain. West and South Facades to have partial elevation to remain, the rest to undergo careful removals. Stable to be demolished.
1
5
West elevation of the original 1889 drawing set, accessed at the NYC Department of Records
Digital reproduction of above drawing
6
Architectural description of the building in its existing condition First draft report for the New York State Historic Preservation Office The Station House is a three-story brick building with brownstone and limestone elements, decorative brick types, and bluestone stringcourses at each level. The base along the main East faรงade, Tower, as well as partial on the South, have a brownstone water table. A bluestone water table sill is placed above this and runs along the full perimeter of the building. All arched window openings have red brick voussoirs. Along the top perimeter of the building on all facades is bluestone coping set on top four courses of scalloped brick (East, North, and partial South elevations) or four courses of red brick (West and partial South elevations). In total, there are six turrets, three on the East/South facades and three on the North/West. All turrets consist of a bluestone cap, four courses of scalloped brick, and brownstone base. Three of these turrets located on the Southeast corner of the building have an additional twelve course curved brick shaft, one of which is missing (likely to have fallen sometime after 2014 based off of prior documentation). The most prominent feature on site is the tower on the corner of 4th Avenue and 43rd Street. There are three arched openings set at each level. The first story windows have arched brownstone drip moldings placed above the brick voussoirs. Between the first and second floors is a carved limestone bandcourse featuring the heads of three dogs surrounded by foliage. Above the thirdstory windows rests projected brick arches terminating on carved brownstone imposts. The top of the tower is a corbeled brick cornice beneath bluestone coping. The reconstructed parapet (installed prior to the 1940s) is still in place.
The main entrance is located inside the portico along 4th Avenue. The interior of the portico consists of brick arches varying with bullnose, hinge, and nominal shaped brick; the original door no longer exists. The arched brick ceiling is reflected on the exterior of the portico with brownstone voussoirs around an arched opening. The left of the arch terminates on a brownstone impost, the right on a granite column with a carved brownstone base and impost. Along the top is coping stone along the full perimeter of the portico with ornately carved brownstone elements that consist of foliage or faces. This continues to the North elevation of the portico, where a similar arched opening is located.
medallion is fixed above the windows, underneath an overarching brownstone drip molding. A final single window is above this.
Next to the portico is a one-story bay with a sloped roof and small arcade of three arched windows. Above the voussoirs of the windows are three arched brownstone drip moldings that connect at their springing points. The roof itself is no longer existing, but historically was once constructed with Beavertail-shaped clay tile. At the second story above the shed are two more windows with brownstone drip moldings that connect at their springing point, placed on top a carved brownstone piece with five bezants. Located above the window molding is a decorative metal tie-washer.
To the left of the double-height windows is a small recess in the faรงade, running from the basement level to the window sill on the third level; at the top are four carved brownstone faces similar to the ones found on the portico. To the right of the double-height windows is another recess in the faรงade running from the basement level to the second story. At the second level is a small balcony and sill made of carved brownstone balusters and supporting brackets. The window set at the second story has a carved brownstone hood within the recess, and above it on the surface. Two of the six turrets can be found on this elevation, as well as four more metal tie-washers.
Set above this on the third story is an interlaced arcade of five windows with a decorative brick design above their voussoirs, set between two turrets at the top of the building. This feature is replicated on the South elevation to its adjacent corner. Above the portico, are two more windows with a column placed between them, set back from the surface of the faรงade. A carved limestone
The North elevation has slightly more symmetry than the main East elevation. At the basement level are five windows and a masonry opening for a door. One the first, second, and third stories, each level has six arched window openings. The main feature of this faรงade is two doubleheight windows that are topped with a decorative metal grille in the location of what was historically the internal stair core. The windows are divided with a carved brownstone and decorative molded brick band.
7
Construction document drawings of west and south elevations for compliance set of demolition, excavation, and temporary bracing
8
Construction document drawings of west and south elevations
9
10
2 1
3
4
5
7 6 3
5 8
9
2 8 9
10 1 10
467
Existing conditions sur vey conducted by ground and lift, Aug-S ept 2017 1. 2. 3.
Biogrow th on north elevation. Biogrow th at parapet mortar joints on south elevation. Turret with bluestone cap, scalloped brick, cur ved brick, and brownstone base, typical. 4. Decorative grille covering window. 5. Brick painted red, ex tensive graffiti and biogrow th. Windows missing , infilled with ply wood. 6. Decorative limestone car ving. 7. Brownstone drip molding above window. 8. Decorative brownstone element. 9. Decorative brownstone elements at roof of portico, note: biogrow th at roof. 10. Cur ved brick in portico entr y.
11
July 2016 start of the Cincinnati Union Terminal restoration campaign
project
Construction documents for the interior restoration of Cincinnati Union Terminal
firm
John G. Waite Associates, Architects PLLC [ summer 2016 ]
about
In 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Cincinnati landmark Union Terminal (1933) on its list of 11 Most Endangered Places. Art Deco train station turned Museum Center, Union Terminal had fallen into decay after 80+ years of extensive water infiltration, natural deterioration, and deferred maintenance. Beginning in the summer of 2016, an extensive restoration went underway to restore and update many of the building’s historic spaces and systems. The project was completed in spring of 2019. As a co-op intern with JGWA, I spent the summer developing the construction documents of the interior historic spaces of Union Terminal, focusing primarily on adding details and drafting existing conditions. This involved referencing the original 1931 CD set of drawings, conducting archival research, and referring to field notes drafted by myself and others within the NYC office. During my second stint with JGWA during 2017-2018, I continued with construction adminstration work on CUT, responding to RFIs and conducting research when necessary.
12
Surveying marble conditions on balcony located in Rotunda, July 2016 (top), with assocated field notes (middle), translated in Revit indicating existing conditions within the CD set (bottom)
13
1931 CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
14 Newsreel Theatre Elevations
Theatre Lobby Elevations
Newsreel Theatre Plan
2016 CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
Rotunda elevations, North-East-South-West
15
Existing conditions of terra cotta (note the lighter areas are from previous repair campaigns), image taken during drone survey conducted by WJE-LA office
project
Eastern Columbia Building: conditions assessment drawings to be used for survey drop
firm
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Assoicates [ summer 2019 ]
about
The Eastern Columbia Building was completed in 1930, design by architect Claud W. Beelman, to be used at the HQ for Eastern Columbia Company. It is one of the more iconic buildings along Los Angeles’ skyline, its turquoise terra cotta and Art Deco features standing in sharp constrast to its neighbors. ECB has since been converted to lofts. The purpose of this drawing set was to aid conservationists doing a drop survey for an in depth condition assessment of prior repair campaigns on the terra cotta and brick masonry, starting at the clock tower. The WJE-LA office conducted a drone survey for high-quality imagery of the four clock tower faces. Working with these images and base drawings, I developed details of molded terra cotta elements, joints between terra cotta and masonry elements, and translated conditions imagery to the drawings to be used for mark-ups during the drop survey.
16
DROP 1
DROP 2
DROP 3
Indicated zones for drop survey on east elevation with blue highlighted portions of past terra cotta repair campaigns
17
EAST ELEVATION
18
SOUTH ELEVATION
19
WEST ELEVATION
20
NORTH ELEVATION
21
16131 E Warren Ave, Oct 2019
project
Tactical preservation strategy and narrative for 16131 E Warren Ave, Detroit MI
class
Preservation Studio, University of Pennsylvania [ fall 2019 ]
about
Part of the preservation curriculum for UPenn’s Master of Science in Historic Preservation program, this studio was an opportunity to do an in-depth analysis of an existing building, developing a tactical preservation strategy that would provide incremental phases of work focusing on the tangible aspects of the building’s rehabiliation, and the intangible aspects of its role within the narrative of the rise, decline, and means of revitalization for the East Warren-Cadieux commerical corridor. This analysis of 16131 E Warren Ave was part of a greater study on tactical preservation as a revitalization method for the city of Detroit, working alongside three other students to devise a report focusing on the East Warren-Cadieux commercial corridor.
22
A philosophical strategy on the erasure of blight
An interpretative strategy on the identity of place
In 2014, Detroit declared 40,000 properties as blighted and in need of demolition. At the same time, the city declared nearly an additional 40,000 at-risk structures that were on the cusp of becoming blighted in their future. While the removal of blight is necessary to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community, blight removal can oftentimes have adverse affects on the perception of the built environment.
16131 E Warren reflects a common history found throughout Detroit: neighborhoods that thrived under the boom of the early- and mid-20th century, and faltered under the pressure of various dynamics nearing the end of the century. 16131 E Warren had an unassuming history, hosting a variety of commercial shops and professionals, as well as residents. Vacated by 1997, and foreclosed upon in the early-2000s, 16131 is currently in the stage of nearing the end of its lifecycle. It has become a symptom. However, it also carries the ability to provide the necessary steps in finding a cure.
The era of Urban Renewal, in which swaths of buildings were demolished in the promise of development, and that promise laid empty for the next sixty years in which only a surface lot became of it, shares much in the same narrative of blight removal programs. While the glaringly obvious problem is omitted, it leaves a visible scar on the landscape, creating divides with vacancy of space (an open lot), rather than just of vacancy of place (an abandoned building). Blight is not the diagnosis. Blight is a debilitating symptom that is seen only at the surface level. It is something that is easily perceived. And that perception is easily removed through demolition. The erasure of blight does not do away with the symptoms of an ongoing pandemic. Blight removal acts as a quick remedy to deeply rooted issues that are seen within communities that lack the resources necessary to be a community of health. And those resources oftentimes remain withheld by those with power that lack the agency to evaluate the symptoms before administering what is seemingly treated as a cure-all solution (demolition). With 40,000 additional structures on their way to becoming deemed as blighted properties, there should be urgency to develop methodologies to address the singularity of a property rather than a comprehensive plan to do away with the problem.
East Warren-Cadieux has a sense of urgency to address their neglected and their underutilized resources that have managed to stay standing, but some for not too much longer. There is frustration—obviously and warranted. But their urgency is at a stalemate when it comes to addressing the necessary moves that much be accomplished in order to bring assets back from the brink of blight. With this in mind, 16131—in all of its dilapidated glory—should act as a rehabilitation incubator, to allow communities visuals of how problematic these symptoms can be in preventing immediate, efficient and effective change. Much like the human body, the health detriments that impact the lifecycle of a building as first experienced—and oftentimes concealed—on the interior, before their greater problems are made visible on the surface. By following in suit with the proposal to open up 16131’s infilled storefronts, the community has access to develop understanding and stake in the rehabilitation of their historic resources. By opening up the storefronts, it allows the transformation of the building from dilapidated to functioning to be an inclusive process of change
Despite calling to curtail the rate of deterioration of those soon-to-be-blighted buildings, rehabilitation of structures to forgo their journey to demolition in part perpetuates this issue. When buildings undergo an extensive transformation to hide traces of their neglected pasts, its removes the physical traces of negative history that has been inflicted onto its fabric. That is not to argue that we should preserve-in-ruin every building on its way to demolition. Rather we should develop sensitive design interventions that allow these buildings to take a next step in their narratives while still holding onto their past and that of their community.
23
Building context & significance It is important to recognize the parameters set in place by not only blight, but also those imposed on the existing physical environment of East WarrenCadieux by its storied vacancy. The surviving building stock of EWC is relatively sound. Though some buildings are clearly nearing the end of their lifesysles without immediate intervention, EWC presents a wealth of opportunity with the fabric it has managed to hold onto. While there is no documentation in terms of historical photographs, first-hand accounts and research into its functionality through city directories and newspaper ads reveal that 16131 E Warren remained relatively at full capacity throughout the first two-thirds of its life. By the end of the 20th century, 16131 and its four storefronts and three apartment units were entirely vacant; and within several years, the property was foreclosed.
History of occupancy Constructed in 1927, 16131 E Warren played host to a variety un-extraordinary functions—beauty shop, drug store, record shop, dental lab—programs that operated as an anchor to the utilitarian development of E Warren Ave. One of the only notable changes in use is the transformation of its second level, originally accommodating office space for medical professions, finding itself by mid-century reused as apartment units. Otherwise, this building of moderate architectural integrity humbly fared whatever activity or vacancy its multi-storefront contrived during its (inferred) seven-decade use. 16131’s commercial evolution reflects that of the E Warren corridor, the building sustaining the ebb and flow of commercial use and disuse, much in the same with corridor at large. And while its disuse became its anthem in recent decades, much in the same with the corridor at large, the existing state of 16131 gives way for opportunity to explore an untapped narrative in how un-extraordinary histories of use and neglect can pave way for a building’s opportunity to regain its footing—figuratively and literally.
24
1928 16131 16135 5005 5009 5015
Jones & Plappert, real estate Vacant Frederick, physician Vacant Vacant
1957 16131 16135 5005 5009 5015
16131 16135 5005 5009 5015
All-Star TV & Record Co. Farm Orchard Market (3) Apartment Units Zeller Building Co. Vacant
1938 Beauty Shop, Lydia E. Pohl Blaire’s Drugstore Frederick, Larsen, Jordan, phys. Vacant Vacant
1967 S &S Insurance Agency All-Star TV & Record Co. (3) Apartment Units Stag Archery Shop Bedford Dental Laboratory
1974
1997
Beauty Shop, Lydia E. Pohl Blaire’s Drugstore (3) Apartment Units Apres Vous, clothing store Bedford Dental Laboratory
Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant
Vacant Occupied
25
1 10 2 3 4 9
5 6 8 7
Existing conditions It is unknown at what point 16131 crossed the line of restorable and entered the realm of only salvageable. The building has been fully compromised by exposure to the outside elements for an undetermined amount of time. Without immediate action, 16131 is at risk of tipping the scale from salvageable to need of demolition by necessity. The physical transformation from life to blight is not a unique narrative for 16131 E Warren. It is a common theme found not only along E Warren
Ave, or throughout Detroit proper, but within every distressed urban community whose historic resources are cut short because of a lack of urgency on the city’s behalf to save narratives created by un-extraordinary histories. Buildings like 16131 rely upon the agency of individuals who hold a vision, and communities that have a stake in seeing through the transformation of their historic assets from blight to life. The existing conditions of 16131 thus play an active role in the first incremental steps of its activation.
[1] Interior exposed to elements; rotting/collapsed wood roof; steel framing at risk of becoming compromised. [2] Missing mortar and stepped cracks in masonry throughout. [3] Collapsed roof on back one-story portion of building. [4] Storefronts boarded up. [5] Existing paved parking. [6] Prolonged standing water in basement from leaking pipe(s). [7] 1927 datestone detached from building, summer 2019. [8] Storefronts infilled with CMU and glass block masonry. [9] Original wood windows deteriorating. [10] Compromised roof. 26
27
A
B
D C
6-month plan Feild assessment & weather-proofing A monumental first step to undergo the rehabilitation of 16131 E Warren is to first focus efforts on installing a new roof to help mitigate the rate of deterioration the building is currently undergoing with its fully compromised skin and interior. It is recommended that the southern most storefront on the east faรงade should be replaced with operable doors. Due to the extensive demolition the interior will experience, a large enough opening should be provided in order to easily extract debris from the interior as the building undergoes its phased rehab. While every building on this block of E Warren is currently sitting vacant, the first phase of rehabiliation gives ample opportunity to activate the sidewalk and surrounding area of 16131.
[A] Install new roof. [B] Conduct conditions assessment on interior and exterior. [C] Remove major debris; shoring and scaffolding on interior. [D] Remove infill; install operable storefront to be used for removing interior debris. 28
roof collapse + saturatation + weight of debris
saturatation + weight of debris
saturatation + weight of debris
pipe burst in basement
remove debris
shoring & scaffolding
vacant
vacant
vacant
vacant
vacant
activated
29
E
F G
6-month plan Activate sidewalk From the exterior, 16131 looks no worse for wear. Aside from the infilled storefronts and boarded up windows, the building looks much the same as every other vacant property along EWC—an empty building, but a building with potential nonetheless. While every building along EWC may not be in as dire of condition as 16131, it can be assumed 16131’s conditions can be found elsewhere. The trouble, however, lies in the fact that its current state of disrepair remains unseen by the surrounding community. This plays to a larger narrative of frustration felt by the residents of MorningSide and East English Village—over why there is anger felt towards the slow drip of development that seemingly is always talked of but never experienced.
plan for 16131 E Warren, this state of frustration, confusion, and anger, can partially be addressed (not solved) by opening the interior to the streets. By removing the infill on the storefronts along E Warren, and replacing glass block masonry and cinder blocks with transparent contemporary storefronts that expose the interior, 16131 can easily convey to the community why projects such as this type take time, take patience. This allows for an immediate small change to activate the sidewalk directly in front of the building, with pedestrians taking the time, even if just for a few seconds, to peer in, ponder, and move on. This acts as a stepping-stone for inclusive participation from the community in its change.
The public is not informed—verbally, but specifically visibly—of how dire of a state many of these buildings are in. Thus, as a proposed 2-month incremental
[E] Remove infill; install contemporary/temporary glass storefront. [F] Activate sidewalk on E Warren Ave. [G] Begin interior demolition. 30
E Warren Ave elevation in its existing condition, 2019.
E Warren Ave elevation proposed modification inline with 6-month plan to activate the sidewalk in front of the building.
E Warren Ave elevation proposed modification with security gates placed on interior as per the Detroit Main Street Overlay guidelines.
31
L
H
K
I
J
2-year plan Introduce new programmatic use As interior demolition continues, a proposed second incremental move would be to stabilize and rehabilitate the back end of the building in order to bring programmatic use to the space. A proposed function would be to develop a community food hall in which residents can contribute family or favorite recipes to be served. This idea developed out of Detroit’s tradition of food stands that pop up along empty lots found along major trafficked corridors. Since the back storefront’s roof has already collapsed, preserving this moment and keeping it open air not only memorializes the history of neglect this building has endured, but
also plays homage to the tradition of the food stand culture in Detroit existing within an outdoor space. The community-provided recipes for the proposed function also gives community members stake in the building’s rehabilitation and success. The parking lot shall also be activated by providing seating for the community food hall and develop a public space along the corridor.
[H] Restore original woof windows (replace where necessary). [I] Maintain storefronts on E Warren Ave. [J] Maintain use of operable storefront to begin front end rehabilitation. [K] Activate parking low as flex-public space. [L] Stabilize back end of building; remove infill and install new storefronts and develop new programmatic use in space.
32
P
M N
O
5-YEAR PLAN ACTIVATE 1ST LEVEL STOREFRONTS Within five years, 16131 has undergone an extensive and full rehabilitation of its fabric. While the back two storefronts of the building still play host to a permanent neighborhood food hall, the first floor plan remains relatively flexible in order to commemorate the ebb and flow of activity and vacancy the building saw in its prior lifetime. If one fiscal year calls for two active storefronts, there are two storefronts. If another year calls for a grander space with an open floor plan, the building has the ability to adapt.
A proposed first function to be introduced to the space, however, should be something that attracts both community and surrounding neighborhoods to participate in. Thus, an after-school creative space for musical programming is suggested. Noise generated would carry-on the tradition of sidewalk goers peering in as they did several years prior when the same blocked in storefront finally were opened up.
[M] Install new signage. [N] Replication historic storefronts for flex-space at front end of building. [O] Maintain operable storefront to become port between interior and exterior space to memorialize the building’s drastic rehabilitation.
[P] Develop permanent food hall and maintain exterior flex-space.
33
Q
R
5-year plan Activate second level apartment units The second part of this plan is to activate the second level and reinstate the original (inferred) floor plan of three offices converted to apartment units. Providing apartment units in 16131 will fill a currently vacancy of what types of properties are available to rent, rather than own, and most rental properties in the East Warren-Cadieux area are houses which requires extra upkeep for the renter, and can be burdensome for those seeking to live on their own. Note: the second level apartment unit layout is a drawing provided by the current building owner.
[Q] Create (3) rental aparment units on the 2nd level. [R] Complete rehabilitation of building. 34
First level, flex-storefronts The original floor plan of the building consisted of (4) storefronts. The new proposal is to convert the back (2) storefronts, highlighted in pink, to become one combined space. The front (2) storefronts in blue should remain flexible.
Second level, apartment units Note that the yellow dots on the left plan are locations of chimney shafts. It can be inferred that the plan to the right is similar to the original layout, given window opernings and location of chimneys.
10-year plan Catalytic affect along the commercial corridor
The ultimate goal of this tactical preservation approach of 16131 E Warren is to spur similar types of revitalization methods to other buildings currently sitting vacant along E Warren’s commerical corridor. With buildings in various stages of rehabiliation and partial- to full-use, it will compose of a more functional and compelling development narrative for EWC in the coming years.
35
The wrong diagnosis
project
The negative impact of neglecting the history of blight during the era of the urban renaissance
work
Indpendent research [ fall 2019 - present ]
about
“The ways in which we diagnosis and treat blight have remained relatively stagnant over the last century—reliant upon the extraction of the diseased portion, leaving visibly traumatic scars on the built landscape. The erasure of blight, however, does not do away with the symptoms of an ongoing pandemic. Urban decay is ingrained with the socio-economic nuances and racism that have been historically structured into our cities’ means of operation. Administering a cure-all solution through demolition only removes the surface layers which cover the intangible qualities that have caused our cities to repeatedly fail.” This is part of an ongoing independent research topic inspired by various class projects explored while at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania. Portions of this research were to be presented at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center’s Second Annual Meeting on Community Archaeology and Heritage, theme “Owning (up to) the Past” (April 2020). The conference, however, has been postponed due to COVID-19 circumstances.
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THE WRONG DIAGNOSIS paper extract
The etymology of ‘blight’
Blight is a common lexicon used to describe the multitude of intangible qualities that cause a city’s societal-, social-, and economic-disparities, which manifests itself through the built environment. To understand the language at play within these statues, it is important to study the etymology of how blight’s definition came to be. The historical context of the word itself dates back to the 15th century as a descriptor for farmers addressing agricultural disease that affected their crops.1 At the turn of the 20th century, urban reformers “started to use the language of blight as a metaphor in their descriptions of vast numbers of problems they noticed in cities”—the borrowed language used “with the intent to make their studies of cities seem as rigorous as those of traditional sciences”.2 While this mirroring of association from agricultural to urban disease was also meant to make planning studies and “analysis appear objective and scientific,” it also “reflected the general prejudices of society regarding racial minorities” by comparing minority neighborhoods to invasive plant species/disease.3
The consequence of the analogy
Out of this model of thinking rose a similar diagnosis and treatment for blight consequential from agriculture. In agriculture, the process is quite simple, rooted down to the extraction of the diseased portion of the plant, ensuring the blight does not spread and infect surrounding plants. Throughout the 20th century, the remedy was much the same for treating blight in the urban context. This method was specifically administered by Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, which encouraged razing major swaths of urban fabric in the name of slum clearance.4 While the removal of blight in agriculture was to ensure the health and longevity of the crop and its neighboring fields, blight removal in cities was enacted under the same pretense of ensuring public health by eradicating harmful building stock deemed detrimental to the wellness of a community.5 The problem of this analogy, however, is based upon what actually is the considered the disease at play. For agricultural purposes, the blight is the disease. Its removal corrects what is killing the plant. In urbanity, the blight is simply the physical conveyance of the disease. If the blight is removed, then the disease (re: the societal-, social-, and economic-disparities) simply shifts to a new location—festers—and then manifests itself once more as physical blight.6 The simplified process of extraction, clearance, and replacement did not correct what was (and still is) inherently causing our cities to repeatedly fail. While the analogy of blight in the agricultural and urban context fits together visually, it does not align synthetically. Blight in its legal statutes only addresses a limited and concentrated scope of the greater problem within cities. This is something that caused major ill consequences of the Housing Act of 1949 and its heavily purposed reliance upon nondescript definitions of “slum” and “blight”.7 While cities have experienced previous periods of demolition, such as the City Beautiful Movement in the early-20th century, the Housing Act blindly followed a generalization that removed the physical indictors of urban decay, rather than provide more specific solutions to the nuances in motion that cause urban decay.8
“Blight (n.).” Online Etymology Dictionary. Vacant Property Research Network, Charting the Multiple Meanings of Blight: A National Literature Review on Addressing the Community Impacts of Blighted Properties (Washington, DC: Virginia Tech University, 2015): 6. 3 Pritchett, Wendell E. “‘The Public Menace’ of Blight: Urban Renewal and the Private Uses of Eminent Domain.” Yale Law & Policy Review 21, no. 1 (2003): 16-17. 4 §101(2) of Title I—Slum Clearance and Community Development and Redevelopment sought to prevent “the spread or recurrence, in such community, of slums and blighted areas”. Pub. Law 171, 81st Cong., 63 Stat. 413 (1949). 5 Pub. Law 171, 81st Cong., 63 Stat. 413 (1949), §101(2). 6 “Though [urban renewal] policies often succeeded in removing blight from the neighborhoods, they also destroyed intact communities, forced lower-income (and often black or Latino) residents out of their neighborhoods, and shifted the blight to other neighborhoods”. Dickerson, Mechele A. “Revitalizing Urban Cities: Linking the Past to the Present.” The University of Memphis Law Review 46, (2016): 974. 7 “Blighted-areas” is the actual term used within the Housing Act of 1949, not simply “blight”. 8 The objective of the City Beautiful Movement was to emphasize desired “improvements in aesthetics, public health, and efficiency…[but] was oblique on how to deal with slum conditions, blight, and poverty”. “Planning Postwar Cities.” Make Big Plans. The Newberry, n.d. However, as planning and architectural schemes of the City Beautiful Movement took stronghold over cities, many neighborhoods (oftentimes industrial or with older building stock) were demolished in order to make way for projects, such is the case with Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, PA. 1 2
37
Emil Gutman House (1958) Gulford, Mississippi
project
Copy & Paste: recycling form derived from Bruce Goff’s Emil Gutman House (1958)
class
Architecture Design Studio, University of Cincinnati [ fall 2014 ]
about
Drawing inspiration from Bruce Goff’s work within the realm of the conceptual and whimiscal, this project was an exercise of borrowing something old to create something new. An existing floor plan of Goff’s Emil Gutman House was iterated to develop a new design, implementing characteristics opposite of his original scheme: grounded vs elevated, open vs closed, multi vs single level, transparent vs covered, public versus private. Based upon the massing and geometries used by Goff’s design, the new design manifested itself as a organically rigid form mimicking nature’s sharp edges of the mountain range of its fictional location, while also maintaining moments of open-air with a cantilevered reading platform covered by a glass ceiling.
38
Sketch exercise to evaluate form and space
39
a. b.
c.
a. hand-drafted reproduction of Goff’s original floor plan [in graphite] b. selected portion from plan to be implemented into geometric pattern c. geometric pattern that influenced the form of the new floor plan
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sub-level
level one
level two
level three
reading nook embedded in earth with glass ceiling to connect above
open plan of book shelves
ascent into reading space
cantilevered over written knowledge, visual connection to nature
( grounded )
( open )
( height )
( reveal )
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N Site: Prisoner’s Lake, DeVou Park, Covington KY
project
Urban Greenhouse Farming: an application of operative design
class
Architecture Design Studio, University of Cincinnati [ summer 2015 ]
about
Provided only with the precedent of a given site, this project was an exploration of our own choosing while implementing ideas from Anthony Di Mari & Nora Yoo’s “Operative Design: a Catalog of Spatial Verbs” (2012). Based upon the topography, I worked with reverseing the concept of form follows function and allowed for the site to act as the primary force in the design. The result of the iterative design process created a massing model which allowed for a greenhouse and similar programs to fit comfortably, its use serving both the private (residential neighborhood) and public (city park) groups of the area.
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base
shear
reflect
pinch
skew
copy & paste
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in the cafe
in the greenhouse
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1
4 3 2
6
5 7
8
LEGEND 1. Greenhouse 2. Administration 3. Conservatory 4. Cafe 5. Classrooms 6. Farmer’s Market 7. Storage 8. Produce Storage
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Thank you. Laura Margaret Sollmann 513-520-4361 sollmann@upenn.edu
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