mae murphy iowa state architecture fall 2019
a rch 301 po rtfol io
C AR E B E T W EE N THE E AR TH AND SKY
Prologue Project: Acts 1, 2 & 3 Research in preparation for depaving workshop with Commonstudio
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Commonstudio Depaving Workshop @thecommonstudio
A N E V A LU ATI O N O F I NVE R NESS: carcinogenic building material study
mae murphy & run-qian lin iowa state architecture / arch 301 landscape studio / prof. liza walling
The Space Required to Care: Carcinogenic Building Materials and the Toxic Built Environment Mae Murphy & Run-Qian Lin
The process of understanding care began by analyzing spaces through the exploration of Maggie’s Centers providing care to cancer patients in a structure built just outside of major hospitals. The Maggie’s Centers have become quite trendy for well-known architects to design around the world. For example, Zaha Hadid’s center in the Fife Victoria Hospital, Richard Murphy’s center at the Edinburgh Western General Hospital and Frank Gehry’s in the Dundee Ninewells Hospital. Mapping the care spaces within the region is important to understand where these acts of care occur. Yet it can be even more intrinsically important to locate the spaces causing harm-- a factor against care practices. Often the most abundant and affordable building materials such as plastics, metals, and wood are frankly very toxic. What can we use that is better for the environment, cost effective, easily constructed and ethically aware? Every day, buildings are designed to take CARE of people but they are built upon the very materials that cause harm. Carcinogenic building materials are present within almost every space created in the 20th and 21st century. Cancer is caused when two cells divide during mitosis in an incorrect way. They miscommunicate, replicate uncontrollably, obtain too many messages and/or divide incorrectly. Whatever the case, these bad cells begin to build up without the preventative checks in balances in place. This process is internal. The cell comes from within and destroys us. 20th century building materials --along with pretty much every manufactured item within consumerism today-- cause forms of cancer such as lung, stomach, pancreatic, bladder, kidney, skin, prostate, nasal passage, breast, testicular, and many more. The very walls we build to shelter ourselves are the ones harming us. This toxic relationship with our beloved materials causes the most harm. So why don’t we have more PREVENTATIVE measures instead of post diagnosis in terms of cancer treatment? The difficult part of this analysis is the lack of research about the preventative measures of cancer. The very research that goes into curing cancer is the research that goes into creating materials that cause it.
The repercussions of consumption. Who will be impacted in this “gamble”? Who will get lucky and win all the chips? Who will lose? +We spend so much money researching CURES for cancer +We spend so much money developing products and materials that CAUSE cancer +Why don’t we spend time PREVENTING cancer? +The materials we are creating are turning around and harming us in many ways. -Studies show we eat up to one credit card per day of harmful microplastics from toxins do? What can you +Use Your Resources - Research sites that discuss available non-carcinogenic materials such as the Healthy Building Network, Living Product Challenge, International Living Future Institute, Cradle to Cradle Products, Green Seal, BlueGreen Alliance +Consume Consciously - Find approval lists that identify safe alternatives and place your money to support those institutions. Research toxic materials and how to avoid them. +Promote Capitalist Transparency - Support policies and regulations that promote manufacturers to publish the exact information regarding health and the environment with their product. +Knowledge is Key - Education is critical when discussing topics of harmful building materials. Research products, find credible sources and share the information. This is how we can make a change. How do we propose alternatives? Who is responsible to make a change? Education is a key component to prevention, specifically within architects who hold power to specify the very materials that make up the built environment. With the research gathered in our research it is important to understand the political impacts of carcinogenic materials. We hear about banned materials only after thousands of cases have impacted our society. Phthalates, VOCS, formaldehyde, and spray foam building insulation are some of the most toxic examples of mediums that harm our bodies on a daily basis. As the two of us begin our journey of discussing toxic materials we are exposing the very infrastructure built to shelter us. This perpetual cycle instigates the very need to learn about our surroundings and what we are consuming.
The Maggie’s Centre in Inverness, Highland, is at Raigmore Hospital, and was designed by David Page of Page\Park Architects. Landscape design and sculptures were again the work of Charles Jencks. The building opened in 2005, and won the 2006 RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture.
To what extent is it the architect’s role to specify/modify/control/ educate/advocate/create/care?
Where do we draw the line?
C LI MATE ACTI O N CE NTERS
mae murphy & run-qian lin iowa state architecture / arch 301 landscape studio / prof. liza walling nominated for the spring 2020 hansen prize
Climate Action Centers: a Study of the Fourmile Creek Watershed and the Green New Deal Mae Murphy & Run-Qian Lin
Before we begin, we would first like to address two points that inspired our work: As designers we must acknowledge that design has a political role in society. Buildings are not neutral. Architecture without context is nonexistent--and frankly very ignorant. Climate change is happening. It is our responsibility as students to have knowledge and intent to address climate change and the impacts it has on the world. Our project, the climate action centers, are built using prefabricated panels and locally sourced materials. These temporary structures are curated towards each site’s individual experience of climate change. The buildings are easily constructed and destructed, a modular process, of providing meeting spaces, equipment and storage within. We began the process of understanding CARE spaces through the exploration of unseen care. Asking the question: “what is not visible on our existing maps?” Mapping the care spaces within the region is important to understand where these unseen acts may occur, and answer the question of if they want to be visible and how can this concept be applied and utilized in a larger scale of taking CARE of our landscape. These spaces are imagined as a tool to implement the Green New Deal, or a similar proposal, dedicated to creating green jobs to help the economy in the U.S. The Green New Deal is a policy proposed by Democrat Representative Alexandria OcasioCortez and Senator Edward J. Markey. The Green New Deal congressional resolution is to conquer climate change through economic measures in the U.S. This policy is introduced on the premise of demolishing the use of fossil fuels and outfitting the U.S. infrastructure with energy efficient measures to attempt to stop greenhouse gas emissions. It strives to alter and change the very way the landscape is controlled. It is our role as designers to build projects that implement these policies with the best practices possible instead of focusing on aesthetics and hyper realistic renderings displaying only what we want to see. As appealing as the Green New Deal may seem, it has become a political proposal in the 2020 U.S. Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a role in the Climate Crisis advocacy adapting it into his political platform. Not only is the Green New Deal lacking any actual laws or regulations to enact, it strongly appeals to the middle class by means of
providing large statements without evidence or action. However some sort of policy will become enacted to motivate the county into the channel of greener jobs. Our small structures form a bottom-up approach to helping and providing sources for people in sites of climate crisis. In the case of Fourmile Creek in Pleasant Hill, Iowa it is a suburban neighborhood with a high rate of housing displacement due to flood zone boundaries. It is on the intersecting point of the Des Moines, Iowa voting precincts, distinguishing the space between political boundaries and the division of farm and city. The amount of resources in the site is minimal. Along with the lack of habitation, the nonhuman aspect is prevalent through the analysis of cut down trees, anonymous waste dumping and concrete barricades to the area-- a lack of care towards the landscape. There has been an increase of community research and planning dedicated towards revitalizing the Fourmile Creek. There are five prevalent identities that contribute to the Fourmile Creek Site: Suburbs, lake, creek/bridge, trees landscape and neighborhood. The suburbs around the U.S. are often conglomerated near an attraction such as water. The lakes, rivers and creeks are often manipulated in some fashion to fit the capitalist needs of our society. Old excavation sites become filled with water and provide the community with a large body to use as exercising, entertainment and fishing. The suburban neighborhood in Pleasant Hill Iowa was developed in the 1950s but the specific neighborhood of Edgewater began in the early 90s and has gained popularity ever since. The rise of suburbanization has impacted the act of care within society and changing the way families commute, interact, provide care for children and the elderly. Sites located in a watershed area are under complete reconstruction due to the impending climate change occurring across the globe. It is time to encourage sites to develop an action plan. What are we going to do when a one hundred year flood occurs? Or a five hundred? Are we prepared? Probably not. It is important to educate ourselves on the factors that are impacting the world around us. Landscapes around the world are increasingly changing, adapting and altering the spaces around us and it is time we provide the resources to provide aid. This is not a new idea, however it strives to counter a very relevant topic surrounding climate change and how we decide to address it. The spaces that needs the most care are the
ones largely impacted by these actions. Often times when living near a large body of water it requires a certain amount of resources, money and time to equip a space for natural disasters. The Fourmile Creek within the large Fourmile Creek Watershed in Des Moines, Iowa is part of a larger water runoff system that leads into the Mississippi River. It is important to understand the context in which the site is located and the impact of this excess water within Iowa. The midwest is seeing a lot of these instances where water begins to build up and continues every wet season. This widespread watershed is important to see where the water concentration is and where is came from. The Fourmile Creek leads into Lake Red Rock just south of Des Moines. The bridge that spans the Fourmile Creek on Williams Street is an important factor in the site area due to the proximity to the flood zone area. Bridges provide temporary asylum from the water below, but are limited to the load capacity and the space to withstand weight. The walking trail that runs parallel to the Fourmile Creek is an important communal path that runs through the neighborhood. It connects the Copper Creek Lake with the Fourmile Creek and continues to western Des Moines. There is a lot of community foot traffic present on the trail which takes people right through the flood zone. The trail has permanent gates that are easily locked due to the large amount of seasonal flooding that prevent the traffic from crossing. A temporary structure would provide tools and equipment needed in order to aid local people walking by and in need of temporary housing. These structures are resources on site which provide community spaces, tools, and equipment to the locals implementing the Fourmile Creek Greenway revitalization AND the new national GND policy. Other community watershed project sites besides the Fourmile Creek exist within Iowa such as: Turkey River Headwaters and Chihak Creek Water Quality Project (Howard SWCD), Water Quality Wetlands (Iowa Nutrient Research Council), Reducing Nutrient Loss in the South Iowa Fork River Watershed (South Fork Watershed Alliance), Lake Creek Water Quality Planning & Development (Calhoun SWCD), Planning Actionable Water Quality Projects in Black Hawk Creek Watershed (Grundy SWCD), Edge-of-field Outreach & Planning in the Morgan Creek Watershed (The Nature Conservatory), Lower Fourmile Creek Greenway Project (City of
Des Moines), Mahaska Country South Skunk & Cedar Creek Watershed Project (Mahaska SWCD), Evaluation & Preliminary Design of Stormwater Wetlands (City of Perry). There is a set of instructions utilized to educate communities on how to program the building towards specific needs. INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL Site analysis Curating programs to community Establish what the building needs with the community Ex: kitchen, bathroom, open space ect. Transportation, gathering local workers (wages, benefits) Local material collection Analysis of the building structure and environmental impact Process of construction Structure Foundation Water Power Transporting space to other site Putting in storage for later use Moving to different site These Climate Action Centers provide the space to foster a new government structure. The current community action groups advocate to implement change within the diverse local knowledge framework. It provides resources like water quality tools, emergency rescue equipment, soil analysis, land surveying. It also has places to observe the amount of change that has occurred within the site such as housing displacement, and decrease property values. For example, looking at torn houses. Windows framing views of different parts of the site along with an open floor plan to encourage people to walk outside and experience the empty site. Open floorplan to allow for movement and meeting spaces. Flexible modular panels allow the arrangement of rooms to allow for closed and open space when needed. Built in tables and benches fold out to allow for seating and working space. Equipment is transported from one site to another containing tables, chairs, projector, whiteboards, paper to write, laptops, library resources, onsite research equipment and tools to see the evidence of climate change, flood zoning and housing displacement.
The Lower Fourmile Creek Greenway project is already initiated in Des Moines. These temporary government buildings create space to allocate resources, interview locals, and foster places for engagement in a suburban setting. The 1 ½ in wood benches are an additional piece to aid the program of the climate crisis centers. This extra piece is part of the total assembly package delivered to each location. The bench folds upwards towards the top of the wall panel. It is supported by a line connecting the end of the bench piece to the upper part of the panel for support. This same concept is applied towards shelves for storage and display when community members are working. The benches allow for discussion spaces to naturally appear to facilitate feedback sessions on site at fourmile creek. The squared storage space allows for flexible use of space for materials, equipment, tools, files and more. It provides a condensed area of storage within a small square footage. The shelves within the storage space are able to rotate together to save space, and allowed to rotate apart to access the items within. The storage is then easily mobile to place inside the transportation vehicle and go to the next site. This allows for the collaboration of working items and knowledge passed on from one site to the next. The wall panels are easily mobile as well. They are arranged one way to allow for more private alcove spaces, but can be pushed out to accommodate large group meetings. This versatility is adaptable depending on the event/program within the building. This allows for the collaboration of working items and knowledge passed on from one site to the next. The structures are assembled using non-toxic materials temporarily placed within sites that already have existing community advocacy groups to help restore the climate crisis landscape. Carcinogenic building materials are present within almost every space created in the 20th and 21st century. Building materials --along with pretty much every manufactured item within consumerism today-cause forms of cancer such as lung, stomach, pancreatic, bladder, kidney, skin, prostate, nasal passage, breast, testicular, and many more. The very walls we build to shelter ourselves are the ones harming us. This toxic relationship with our beloved materials causes the most harm. With the knowledge gathered in our research is important to understand the political impacts of carcinogenic materials. We hear about banned materials only after thousands of
cases have impacted our society. Phthalates, VOCS, formaldehyde, and spray foam building insulation are some of the most toxic examples of mediums that harm our bodies on a daily basis. The Climate Action Centers utilize transportable panels containing nontoxic materials such as cellulose fiber insulation and FSC approved formaldehyde-free plywood. This temporary governmental building structure advocates for on-site specific spaces to implement policies from the Green New Deal (or a similar policy) to engage the local community and obtain important feedback within the new governmental facilities.
Sources Cited: ArcGIS Web Application, maps.dsm.city/projects/. “Architecture as Public Health.” WTTW Chicago, 8 May 2013, interactive.wttw.com/tenbuildings/architecture-public-health. “Environmental Protection.” Iowa Department of Natural Resources, www.iowadnr.gov/environmental-protection/water-quality/ watershed-improvement/watershed-basics. Fleming, Billy. “Design and the Green New Deal.” Places Journal, 1 Apr. 2019, placesjournal.org/article/design-and-the-green-new-deal/?cnreloaded=1. National Desk Staff, and Hearst Television Inc. “Restaurant, Homeowner Celebrate Halloween with Unique Decorations.” KCCI, KCCI, 15 Oct. 2019, www.kcci.com/article/restaurant-homeowner-celebrate-halloweenwith-unique-decorations/29466991. “Nitrate in U.S. Tap Water May Cause More Than 12,500 Cancers a Year.” EWG, www.ewg.org/research/nitrate-us-tap-water-may-cause-more-12500cancers-year. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria. “Text - H.Res.109 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Recognizing the Duty of the Federal Government to Create a Green New Deal.” Congress.gov, 12 Feb. 2019, www.congress.gov/bill/116thcongress/house-resolution/109/text. “Roman Bondarchuk.” Films Now Showing on MUBI, mubi.com/ showing. “Water-Related Diseases and Contaminants in Public Water Systems.” Centers for
FARM
VOTE
WATER
CARE
arch 301 portfolio - fall 2019 - mae murphy