Portfolio ML Tarozzo Kawasaki

PO R T F O L I O

Maria Luisa Tarozzo Kawasaki // Track: Urbanism

Maria Luisa Tarozzo Kawasaki Delft, Netherlands +31 619327169 malu.kawasaki@gmail.com

Motivation My interest in studying cities developed in my teenage years. Growing up in Brazil, a land of profound socio-economical divisions, I wanted to understand to which extent the living environment was a predictor of the well-being and self-actualization of local communities. Initially, I focused on what I perceived to be the fundamental unity of urbanism, i.e., the house itself. Spending a summer as a pre-college student at Parsons School of Design in New York City corroborated my decision to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture. I chose the Polytechnic University of Milan, as Northern Italy is the land of my ancestors and boasts a wealthy and peculiar architectural past.

I was first exposed to urbanism at the beginning of my bachelor´s and immediately became passionate about it, achieving the highest mark in my Urban Planning Studio lab. Starting from my very first year at university, I delved into the topic of urbanism in my free time, particularly through the work of Kevin Lynch, Jane Jacobs, and Jan Gehl. Their common human-scale approach to analyzing urban spaces shaped my view on urbanism as fundamentally a social science, where planning follows from a thorough understanding of the peculiarities of each community. During my third year, I had a chance of exploring the aforementioned bottom-up approach by assisting Professor Paola Savoldi in her research on school-related mobility in Turin, Italy. My role involved surveying students at a local high-school about which means of transportation they used to go to school. In order to emphasize the variety of experiences of the students’ body -made up of kids from all-over Turin and its outskirts- I decided to represent my findings in a comics booklet. Professor Savoldi helped me realize the importance of storytelling to drive human-scale inspired change in urbanism: only by representing the community as something alive and unique we are able to hear its multiple voices heard.

Interest in bottom-up urban research led me to explore the enormous potential of big data in the field. In 2019, I had the opportunity to map a favela for an NGO in my hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil. While mapping the area, I realized the physical configuration of the favela, somehow reflective of a social structure distinct from that of regulated areas, made it hard to get around as an outsider. This, I believe, is the major reason for the disconnect between the local communities and the people trying to study them. To try and tackle this issue, I developed neibz.com, a website where people from underserved communities in Brazil can answer questions about their living situation.

The data stored can then be used as a database for researchers. For the project, in October 2020, I received the Future Cities Challenge Award from Fondation Botnar and UN-Habitat.

The way in which digital tools can be used in the research of favelas was the subject of my thesis and a topic that I would like to further explore during my Master’s in Urbanism at Delft University of Technology.

Contents This portfolio is divided into four projects, each at a different scale: the human scale, the neighborhood scale, the regional scale, and the digital scale.

All the drawings presented in this portfolio are mine.

I

Human scale p. 1-5 MidShore: a public space between the school and the city Urban Planning Studio, Polytechnic University of Milan, 2017-2018

II I

II

Neighborhood scale p. 6-12 Domus Aqua + Convex Garden: a new community center for Crescenzago Architectural Design Studio 3, Polytechnic University of Milan, 2019-2020

III

III Lombardy, Italy

Regional scale p. 13-19 Connecting Landscapes: physical and digital connection in the Po Valley Final Design Workshop, Polytechnic University of Milan, 2019-2020

IV

Digital scale p. 20-24 Neibz: a software for evaluating neighborhoods Personal project UN-Habitat and Fondation Botnar Future Cities Challenge Individual Winner - Oct 2020

Introduction I. MidShore: a public space between the school and the city Scale: Human scale Academic Project: Urban Planning Studio, Polytechnic University of Milan // Feb 2020 Jul 2020 (First Year) // Group Work // Group: Francesco Stanziola, Sofia Tarfanelli, Maria Luisa Tarozzo Kawasaki, Yunpeng Teng, Miriam Tomaselli // Role: Designer, Researcher // Contribuition: Individual research, Project concept, Drawings (all of the ones presented) // Supervisors: Prof. Paola Savoldi (paola.savoldi@polimi.it), Prof. Francesco Curci (francesco.curci@polimi.it) Location: Area surrounding Quintino di Vona High School, Milan, Lombardy, Italy

1

For teenagers, walking to the high school is often one of the first opportunities to experience the city on their own. This experience is highly influenced by the location of the school and the way it interacts with the urban space. For this project, we studied the Quintino di Vona High School.

The school is only a few steps away from Loreto Square, one of the most congested areas of Milan.

The streets around the school’s building are noisy and dangerous. In addition, the structure of the building, characterized by a secluded courtyard, makes interaction with the city very limited.

Due to the project’s scale, the research methods consisted of surveys and interviews with parents, teachers, and, most importantly, young students.

We were able to make some interesting findings, like for example that students who live near the school preferred to eat outside the building instead of going home, even though there wasn’t a designated space for socialization.

To improve the well-being and the safety of the student population and at the same time increase level of interaction between the building and the city, we designed a public space that worked as a filter between the school and the city.

How do you go to school?

77%

16%

7%

How long does it take?

Loreto Square

0-10 min Distance in minutes 67% Percentage of students

10-20 min 25%

20-40 min 8%

Do you go to school alone?

Yes, I go by myself 45% No, I go with my friends primary street

secondary street

walkable path

green area

Quintino di Vona

Quintino di Vona’s architecture: courtyard and introverted spaces

25% No, I go with my parents 15% No, I go with someone from my family 15% Do you remain in school in the afternoon? 77% YES 23% NO

entrance classroom library gym auditorium Ground floor

First floor

Second floor

Third floor

When?

Monday 20%

Tuesday

34%

Wednesday 37%

Thursday

Friday

5%

4% 2

Strategy

I. Isolating the street where the school’s II. Creating a public space that works as main entrance is from primary streets a buffer in the same street

3

III. Facilitating the interaction between the city and the school building in a safe way

I. MidShore Street as a walkable public space I

I.The walkable space works as a safety filter between the school’s entrance and the main street

II

II. When exiting the school building, students can use an enjoyable area

107.24 m

III

III. The walkable space is public and helps school members and citizens interact

4 8.40 m 4.00 m

A

Section A-A’

5

A’

Introduction II. Domus Aqua + Covex Garden: a new community center for Crescenzago Scale: Neighborhood scale Academic Project: Architectural Design Studio 3, Polytechnic University of Milan // Sep 2019 - Jan 2020 (Third Year) // Group Work // Group: Lea Delafosse, Luna Legall, Gloria Maggiore, Maria Luisa Tarozzo Kawasaki // Role: Designer, Researcher // Contribuition: Individual research, Project concept, Drawings (all the ones presented) // Supervisors: Prof. Marco Stanislao Prusicki (marco.prusicki@polimi.it) , Prof. Antonia Maria Di Lauro (antoniamaria.dilauro@polimi.it) Location: Crescenzago neighborhood, Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Crescenzago is a neighborhood in Milan’s outskirts, characterized by the presence of different ethnic groups, of industries, and by the Naviglio della Martesana, one of the few open-air segments in Milan’s navigable water system.

The Navigli are mostly covered. Different studies exist about uncovering them and making them navigable again. We were requested to design a community center and a garden in Crescenzago, in a context in which the Naviglio was navigable again and connected to a now fully uncovered net of channels.

We designed a community center that offers to its users the possibility to partake in sports and leisure, using references spanning from Greek temples to the Modern movement. On the other hand, the garden was conceived as an open gathering space, along the lines of Japanese zen gardens and Brazilian landscape designs.

Companion gardening, a technique where different plants are placed together according to mutual biological benefits, was a cheap and manageable choice for populating the garden. In addition, it was a metaphor for Crescenzago: diversity can be beneficial.

6

The project takes into consideration the hypothetical reopening of Milan’s Navigli as a navigable system

Project area

L 70% Community Center 30% Garden

Ethnicity Albanian Bengali

Moroccan

Romanian

Italian

Sinhalese Ecuadorian

Crescenzago Neighborhood

Peruvian

Egyptian Chinese

Mobility Open-air Navigli’s segment Via Antonio Meucci: congested street

VIA Antonio Meucci

Conflittuale

CARGO

Incontro

Cargo: gathering place

Street intersection

Orti

Appropriazione

Intersezione

Bolla

Bicycle path

Il Ponte

Ponte

Area Progetto

Movimento

Movimento

Bridge

Pista Bici

Costruito / Natura

Via Padova: congested street

Parco Martiri della Libertà

Natura ordinata

Maritiri della Libertà Park 7

Urban density

Underground Navigli’s segment

VIA PADOVA

Rumore

Primary street Local street

Secondary street Bicycle path

High density Low density

Medium density

Strategy

I. Using the Naviglio as the main access to the space

II. Designing a community center to promote interaction between different ethnic groups

III. Leaving a considerable amount of open space to contrast the high urban density of the surroundings

8

Alignments

I. Domus Aqua

Access to Navigli

Entrances and views

Exploring the monumentality of water

B C A d D

B

b

B

a

B

C

f

C

C

A

A

h

D

c

A

e

E

E

g

B

B

A

A´

B'

Ground floor a: Leisure area b: Bathroom a: Public swimming pool d: Restaurant

First floor

e: Pavilion f: Coworking space g: Library h: Kid’s library

A B

+128 SLM

B’ A’

+126 SLM

SEZIONE B - 1:500A-A’ Section

+128 SLM +126 SLM

SEZIONE A- 1:500

Section B-B’ 9

A B

B’

A’ 2m

6m

4.5 m 1.5 m

3.0 m

Section A-A’

6m

11 m

13 m

4.5 m

2.5 m

Section B-B’

D C

II. Bridge

E

E’

D’ C’

Section C-C’

Section E-E’

Section D-D’

Section E-E’ 10

III. Convex Garden

Seasonal program

Garden as a place for gathering

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Companion planting: a metaphor for Crescenzago’s diversity Companion planting in gardening is the cultivation of different plants in strategic proximity for mutual benefits. In the case of Crescenzago, this technique also has a symbolic value, as it represents the benefits of ethnic diversity

WIN

TER

SUMM ER

Keeping the preexisting vegetation 11

Creating islands aligned in a strategic way

Protecting the garden from the main street

EV

S PRIN G

ER

GR E

EN

AUTUMN

Concept

B A

A’

B’

Section A-A’

Section B-B’

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Introduction

III. Connecting Landscapes: physical and digital connection in the Po Valley Scale: Regional scale Academic Project: Final Design Workshop, Polytechnic University of Milan // Feb 2020 Sep 2020 (Third Year) // Individual Work Supervisors: Prof. Marialessandra Secchi (marialessandra.sechi@polimi.it), Prof. Marco Voltini (marco.voltini@polimi.it), Prof. Lorenzo Mussone (lorenzo.mussone@polimi.it) Location: Province of Mantua (Asola, Casaloldo, Castelnuovo and Castel Goffredo), Po Valley, Italy

13

The Po Valley currently presents three major issues. First, digital divide is one of the main reasons its countryside is separated from urban space. In productive agricultural environments, the lack of a wireless network prevents the use of the latest technologies. Secondly, the presence of huge industrial zones determines a lack of interaction between the industrial and the residential areas, resulting in the degradation of the former. The third issue is the lack of sustainable mobility alternatives. In particular, the lack of connection between biking paths is very evident in the province of Mantua. This causes congestion between towns, frequently due to their functional interdependence, even though the short distance between them could be easily covered by bike.

The two most significant towns are Castel Goffredo and Asola, the former having an important industrial area and the latter boasting a train station and a high school. Intense traffic represents a danger for those people who actually use bikes to commute between the two towns. Having this in mind, I designed a bicycle path that connects Castel Goffredo to Asola, passing through the small towns of Castelnuovo and Casaloldo and the industrial area, with digital parklets in strategic points where people can rest and connect to the internet through a wireless connection.

79.12% of the analyzed rural area doesn’t have wireless connection

33.33% of the total area of Asola and Castel Goffredo together is industrial

1

Po Valley’s plan train station country road bicycle path train path area without wireless connection industrial residential rural river/lake

Castel Goffredo

Casaloldo

5.3 km 17 min

Castelnuovo 1.8 km 6 min

Asola

4.9 km 15 min

SAFETY ISSUE: In 2016 a biker was run over by a car on the road between Castel Goffredo and Asola.* * Gazzetta di Mantova, 17/06/2016

14

Strategy

I. Creating a bicycle path near the road that is already being used

15

II. Creating ramification that delved into the individual towns, connecting industrial and residential areas

III. Building strategic wireless access points inside the path

I. Bicycle Path

A

A’

Section A

3,5% of Italian workers use a bike on their way to work*

2,4% of Italian students use a bike on their way to school* 1

The total number of Italians who use a bike in their dailly routine is 1.012.000*

10.40 m

The total made in Italy by bike shift is 6.206.587.766 euro* * Rapporto sull’economia della bicicletta in Italia, Legambiente, 2018

2.90 m

Section B B

B’

Possible users: Industrial workers 1

Students 3

Tourists

2

Population of rural areas 5.40 m 2.90 m

1 potential wireless access point 2 train station 3 school existent bicycle path potential new bicycle path country road train path area without wireless connection industrial residential rural river/lake 16

II. Digital Parklets: Industrial area Parking lot as a public space Requalification of the industrial area More interaction between the bicycle path and the residential area Incentives for commuting by bike

Example: Parking lot in Castel Goffredo Current situation = 120 parking places

Potential situation =

Castel Goffredo (Industrial area) 118 parking places Public space (parklet) Bicycle path 17

Potential digital parklet Potential bicycle path Local street River

Even though the focus of this project is on the path from Castel Goffredo to Asola, the bicycle path and the digital parklets could cover the entire area where a wireless connection is missing, as shown in the map below:

III. Digital Parklets: Rural area Wirelless access point Resting points to the bicyle path Wireless connection accross the rural area

Emitting tower

Receiving antenna

Parklet (with antenna)

Example: Rural area near Castel Nuovo

Potential digital parklet Potential bicycle path Local street Provincial road River

Potential digital parklet Area without wireless Potential bicycle path

Provincial road River 18

Digital Parklet in Industrial area

Digital Parklet in Rural area

19

Introduction IV. Neibz: a software for evaluating neighborhoods Scale: Digital scale Personal Project: Jul 2020 - current // Individual Work // Role: Designer, Researcher // Contribuition: Individual research, Project concept, Drawings (all of the ones presented) Future Cities Challenge Individual Winner // UN-Habitat, Fondation Botnar // Oct 2020

Location: Favela Vila Missionária, São Paulo, Brazil

During my volunteer experience at Vila Missionária, a favela in the city of São Paulo, I created a map with local kids and had access to a type of information that is usually very difficult to obtain as a researcher.

The topographic configuration of a favela has a similar effect as a maze when you’re an outsider. In addition to that, in some favelas, it could be dangerous to get inside as a researcher due to social problems involving violence and local gangs Nonetheless, I was able to receive abundant information about Vila Missionária from local kids and their families.

When I went back to Italy, I started to think about a way to make the information from local people accessible to anyone, even if physically distant. I did research and realized that digital tools are the perfect solution for this kind of issue.

This is how neibz.com was born, a digital survey with simple questions based on five categories that are fundamental to understanding a neighborhood: primary services, secondary services, security, health, and sustainability.

In October 2020 I won the Future Cities Challenge Award for this project and the use of digital tools for researching favelas is currently the subject of my Bachelor thesis.

20

Favela’s topography: maze aspect (hard to get around without a local)

How can we identify those problems in a faster way? Internet! useful both to researchers and communities that need to be heard 90% of Rio’s favela population has access to Internet*

75% of Rio’s favela young population is using social medias*

* Revista Galileo

Neibz: digital survey to identify problems in a neighborhood

neibz The survey is designed in a multiple choice style

Vila Missionária, São Paulo

Veleiros (volunteer center)

Children’s house

On average, it takes around 5 minutes to answer

Thinking about what I learned in Vila Missionária I designed Neibz, a digital survey for collecting data that can be accessed through a website

5 subscores

Primary services Secondary services Security Health Sustainability

Mapping Vila Missionária with local kids Primary services

Problems identified:

Secondary services

Sustainability

Abandoned and unsafe public spaces A river that would overflow into a school Abandoned sports courts Drug selling near children’s house 21

Mobility

Safety

Health

The results are organized in a spider chart so they are easy to visualize The data collected from a neighborhood is stored for future comparison

22

Thank you for your time Best regards, Maria Luisa Tarozzo Kawasaki malu.kawasaki@gmail.com // +31 619327169