MONEERAH ALAJAJI DESIGN PORTFOLIO
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Whats on Your Plate? Food As Knowledge
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Kaleidoscope: Beauty Inside the Vessel
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ReciproCity: Water Urbanism in Addis Ababa
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(Re+Pro) Development
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YMCA Streetscape Improvement
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Cotton Kingdom
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Reading New York Urbanism
Urban Design Studio II
Commercial Interior Project
Urban Design Studio III
Urban Design Studio I
Architecture/Fabrication Studio
History and Theory Seminar
Urbanism and Videography Seminar
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Fast Food in Public Schools
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WHATS ON YOUR PLATE? Urban Design Studio II
Site Newburgh, Orange County, NY. Professors Kaja KĂźhl, Anna Dietzsch, Jerome Haferd, Liz McEnaney, Justin Moore, Shachi Pandey, Raafi Rivero, David Smiley, and Dragna Zoric Teammates Vasanth Mayilvahanan, Annie Wu, and Wei Zhang
Working in the Hudson Valley, the Studio operates at the regional scale and asks students to enter the discourse of urbanization beyond cities to engage unevenly dispersed socio-spatial ecosystems at multiple scales. The Hudson Valley, a region defined by multiple systems, histories, and geographies, has deep connections to New York City, the global metropolis at its southern edge. The region is understood as the integration of settlements, modes of production and consumption, and the topographic and biological contexts in which they take place. The studio explores the region’s rural/urban socio-spatial ecosystems as the site for intervention to address the global climate crisis.
Despite having many farms, fresh produce in these counties are not widely available due to their high production costs. Lack of nutritious food, easy access to fast food joints, and cheap prices of meat in grocery stores and supermarkets, create an unsustainable food cycle. These issues magnify significantly in areas like Newburgh, which has a diverse young population with school children making up for a third of the population. Therefore, there is a need to restructure the food system to reduce significant carbon emissions by providing access to quality food, changing the current meaty diet and creating awareness by educating the children for the future.
Food Systems Meat and Dairy is responsible for account for 25% of carbon 14.5% of the emissions carbon emissions
Newburgh enlarged city school district
Population 28,444 Poverty Rate 31.2% Average Age 27.9 Singles Rate 28,444 Unemployment Rate 8% K-12 Students 10,745
Public School Locations Food Desert Zone 0%-27% Students Having Free/ Reduced-Price Lunch 28%-46% Students Having Free/ Reduced-Price Lunch 47%-95% Students Having Free/ Reduced-Price Lunch
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Hudson Valley Site Map
First U.S. case of mad cow disease Publication of dietary guidelines-associated health impacts Meat crisis due to decrease in major cow feed-anchovies Policies viewing fast food as cheaper alternatives to develop low-income areas 1,000th McDonald’s restaurant opens SBA subsidized fast food chains in food desert areas
1st McDonald’s restaurant opens
Per capita availability of boneless trimmed meat/ lbs per year
History of Diet Change
High School 3217 (Two Schools) Newburgh Free Academy North High School 3217 (Two Schools)
Newburgh Free Academy
K-5 791 Gams Tech Magnet School
K-5 512
Horizon On the Hudson
South Middle School Middle School 729
Central Kitchen Satellite Schools Population Density Intervention Area Truck Route
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Newburgh Siteplan
Satellite Schools Stakeholders: National Funding USDA National School Lunch Program
Central School Kitchen
State Funding USDA Farm to School Grant Program (At Least 51% Produce Within State)
Stakeholders: National Funding USDA National School Lunch Program State Funding USDA Farm to School Grant Program (At Least 51% Prodoce within State) Earth Institute Columbia Univeristy Hudson Valley Foof Hub Initiative
Local Farms Stakeholders: Local NGO For Farmers Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition USDA Intitiative to Provide Fundings Know Your Farmer
Market
Kitchen
Cornell Co-op extention Orange County to develop the kitchen Local partistioners to help Employment for the Community Orange County Economic Development
Communal Dining SNAP benefits for the community to buy food
Educational Garden
Children Students during school time
Downning Park Planning Committee
Calvary Presbyterian Church USDA Farmers Market Local Food Promotion
Community during Holidays - CACFP USDA Summer Food Service Programs (State Level)
GARDENING
System Reconstruction - Program Diagram
Learning Garden
Community Garden Grocery Market
Green Roof Green Roof
Unloading Area
Community Garden
Drive-Through Market
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Learning Garden
Site Axon
Health Library Central Location
Market/Garden Welcome Center Multifunctional Dining Hall Walkin Storage Satellite Module
Satellite Module
Satellite Module
Community Dining
K-5 Dining
Corridor Learning Garden
Food Lab
Entrance
Dining Space Central Kitchen Learning Garden Wet Storage Packaging Space Community Circulation Student Circulation Truck Circulation
Exploded Axon
Multifunctional Dining Hall
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Drive-through Market
GARDENING
training training
Dining Grocery Pickup Educational Gardening Culinary Training Weekend Program
Seasonal Diagram
Student Dining in the Afternoon
Market/Garden
Multifunctional Dining Hall
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Roof Garden
Community Dining at Night
Kitchen
5-K Dining Hall Corridor
Learning Garden
Entrance
Unloading Area
Grocery Market Learning Garden
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Site Axon
Central Location
Satellite Module
Satellite Module
Satellite Module
Entrance Greenhouse
Food Lab
Walkin Storage
Dining Dining
Learning Garden Entrance
Dining Space Central Kitchen Learning Garden Community Circulation Student Circulation Truck Circulation
Exploded Axon
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Exterior Rendering
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Kaleidoscope Beauty Inside the Vessel
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KALEIDOSCOPE Commercial Interiors Project
Site Midtown East, New York City, NY. Status Built Teammates Katy Rafferty, Chris Guteris, Luis Reveira, Erik Lundberg, and Katie Timmerman
This space is a functional meeting and event space in midtown east, the program includes a large meeting room and several spaces for breakouts and dining, making it perfect for conferences, trainings, and exhibitions. Building tenants are able to enjoy workplace cafÊ and outdoor terrace for relaxed work. The building is a typical New York international style building. With a steel and glass façade, it is situated among multiple buildings of the same style and construction methods. For this reason, it is important to differentiate the commercial interiors experience, taking something of the ordinary and elevating it to something extraordinary. In 2016, the historic building was upgraded
and he building lobby and introduced a kaleidoscope concept through the use of interactive art, mimicking the changing patterns inside of a kaleidoscope. Our team used this as an inspirational departure point to develop the concept of beauty within. The kaleidoscope is a plain object at first sight, however, when in use the viewer is immersed in the beauty that is contained, transforming an ordinary shape into an intricate abstraction of its original form. The design team utilized the color, form and light to inform the design elements of this project. The construction plans and the details were developed alongside the development of the design, the project was opened in April 2019.
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Common Space
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Construction Plan
Progression through color
Progression through light
Progression through form
Concept Diagrams
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Hub Meeting Room
Forum Meeting Hall
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Reflected Ceiling Plan
4 7/8”
1’-7” Underside of structure above Metal runner channel anchored to slab
Framing/Fire blocking or mineral wool as required between studs to enclose top of cavity
Provide blocking as required. Verify size and requirements on field. 4 7/8” Underside of structure above Wall partition as scheduled
2 1/2”
Curtain track with drapery
5” MIN VIF
Roller shade in existing pocket as scheduled
7”
3”
Ceiling as scheduled framing and blocking as required
Roller shade in existing pocket as scheduled
Finish ceiling as scheduled Opening at top of fascia for air return at fill perimeter of soffit Corner bead typical Sloped ceiling in boardroom Light fixture scheduled
GYP board ceiling, see RCPs for height, framing & blocking as required Slot diffuser as scheduled
Ceiling Details
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Reception and Gallery
Common Open Space
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Finish Plan
Finish Pallet
PANTON E, GINGER BRE
PANTON ETOASTED NUT
PANTON E, COR
A PANTON E, MUTED LAY
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Communal Kitchen
Governance Structure
Shared Income
Agreement of Unity
Agriculture as a Practice
Family Connections
Ecological Services
Under Maintained
Strong Social Network Under Utilized
Aird
Peacock Park Development Pressure Uneven Work/ Resident Population
Low Quality Products
Lack of Infrastructure
Informal Housing
Low Income Need for Basic Services
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Need for Clean Water
No Ownership of Land
Strengths and Fragilities
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RECIPRO(CITY) Urban Design Studio III
Site Peacock Park, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Professors Kate Orff, Geeta Mehta, Thad Pawlowski, Julia Watson, Adriana Chavez, Dilip Da Cunha, Lee Altman, and Fitse Gelaye Teammates Mary Allen, Nikita Kumar, and Anai Perez
This studio examined regional histories and learned about future resilience and adaptation strategies to develop a productive critique and offer Addis Ababa specific proposals that will advance its resilience. The goal is to link social, economic, and environmental prerogatives along a transect of transformation and project alternative futures of the city. Underlying all of the work is a focus on the power of water to shape equitable cities of the future. Peacock Park is a unique prominent site in the heart of Addis Ababa. The site is home to the Kebena Bulbula Farmers cooperative that currently practices large scale urban agriculture. This site is defined by its relationship between two rivers, which allows the coop to actively work the land, producing agriculture in a symbiotic system with the ever changing river.
Learning from this unique site, the redevelopment of Addis Ababa’s rivers should not be that of a large scale infrastructural project but rather through a smaller more localized system. Addis has the potential to achieve its goal of becoming a world class city not through imported models, but by learning from the legacy of what currently exists. Structures, such as this cooperative, are a legacy worth preserving. By using cooperatives as a unit of change, a variety of co beneficial relationships can be formed between the government, the residents, the land, and its rivers, overall engaging a symbiotic relationship of reciprocity. This system allows the cooperative to enter into a new relationship, one where they share a variety of benefits, and becoming a more powerful actor.
Road and River Threshold
Field and Park Threshold
River and Field Threshold
Existing Site and Location of Interventions
Growing Habitation
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Working Landscapes
The Living River
Expansion and Weaving Into the City
Housing Cooperatives Multimodal Transportation Corridor Commercial Corridor
Public Gathering Space
Public Waterfront Access River Stewards
Woven Working Landscape
Agricultural Production Rotating Public Space Ecological Services Irrigation System
Gradient of Plantings for Water Filtration Non-Edible Crops Edible Crops
Bioremediation Holding Pond Permanent River Dam
Program Catalog
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Growing Habitation Site
Growing Habitation Housing Structure
Kebele
Condos
Coop Control of Space
Pool ‘Resources’ to buy: - Some Cash - Stewardship Credits - Education Credits
Family Network from the Cooperative
Government Built Housing
1. Establish Grid -Three by two plots per coop -Four to five households/family groups per coop
2. Plot Division -Two plots for housing -Two plots for future commercial space -Two plots for dedicated common space
3. Government Built Housing -Housing structure built by the government -Other four plots to be democratically built by the coop
Cooperative Housing Structure
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Growing Habitation Moment
River Stewardship
Incremental Housing
Economic Corridor
Program Diagrams
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The Living River Site
Absorption and Filtration
Increased in Biodiversity
River Stewards
Productive Canopy
System Diagram Ecological Services
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Working Landscapes Site
Kebena River
Agriculture Land
Peacock Park
Agriculture Land
Bantiketu River
Kebena River
Rotational Space
Peacock Park
Rotational Space
Bantiketu River
Shrubs Sesban
Kebena River
Edible Crops
Rotational Space
Koba Ensete
Acacia Decurrens
Peacock Park
Koba Ensete
Rotational Space
Shembeko: Bamboo
Bantiketu River
Weaving Multi-canopy Structure
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Working Landscapes Moment
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Forming Rotational Spaces
Resilient Redevelopment
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Activation of Public Realm
Project Goals
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(PRE + PRO) RE-DEVELOPMENT Urban Design Studio I
Site Jersey City, New Jersey, NJ. Professors Tricia Martin, Nans Voron, Hayley Eber, Sagi Golan, Quilian Riano, Austin Sakong, and Shin-pei Tsay. Teammates Alvi Rahman Khan and Kunal Mokasdar
Today, Jersey City has 33 percent of its area under redevelopment. This gives us the chance to reimagine the city and the way we construct it. The city is growing, and its growth is at a rapid pace. It’s accommodating more and more people, optimizing the available floor area. Multiple sites in Jersey City are marked as redevelopment zones by the city’s planning department The majority of the redevelopment clusters are concentrated around Jersey City’s Downtown, Journal
Square, and Newport waterfront. We are proposing a set of strategies addressing this development. This set of guidelines overlays sectionally on the existing planar zoning, encouraging and supporting resiliency on new development throughout the current and future floodplains and introducing resilient temporary programs in the ground level. The programs are driven by the needs of the users to improve the current streetscape. Through these strategies, we hope to achieve resilient built forms with inclusive public spaces.
30% Redevelopment Zone
65% Increase in Population
50% Vulnerable Areas
Public Transit Redevelopment Zone Green space Underutilized Green Space
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Jersey City Site Map
Tool
+ Stormwater Management
Percolation Pit
++ Increase Permeability
Ground Modulation
Temporary Programs
Public Space Network
Interactive Streetscape
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+ Tax Incentives
Opening Up the Ground Floor
Programing
Tools and Techniques
100 Year Flood Plane Underutilized Green Space
Railway
Holland Tunnel
50 Year Flood Plane
Redevelopment Zone Hamilton Park 10 Year Flood Plane
Historical District
Developed Area
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Site Axon
Light Rail Jersey Avenue
NJ Transit Martin Boulevard
Redevelopment Site
Site A Lackwana Terminus
Redevelopment Site
16th Street
18th Street
Grove Street
Martin Boulevard
Site B
Palisade
NJ Transit Redevelopment Site
Site C Existing Conditions
Permissible Height
Water Collection Area Low Point
Pocket Park
High Point Rehabilitation Space Low Point
Permissible Height
High Point Rain Garden
Pocket Park Water Management Tank
Controlled Vegetation
Recreational Space
High Point Public Park/Farm
Permissible Height Stepped Framing Low Point
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Public Market
Additional Density Roof Garden
Extension to Streetscape
Vacated Ground Floor
Flood Resilient Programs
Roof Garden
Additional Density
Flood Resilient Programs Extension to Streetscape Vacated Ground Floor
Additional Density Roof Garden Vacated Ground Floor
Extension to Streetscape Flood Resilient Programs
Iterative Development
Permissible Height
Roof Garden Public Park/Farm
Flood Resilient Programs
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Additional Density
Roof Garden
Vacated Ground Floor Public Open Space
Extension to Streetscape
Rain-Shine Scenario
Wood
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Steel Structure
Bench Assembly
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YMCA STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENT Architecture/Fabrication Studio Site Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Professors Robert Trumbour Teammates Drew Conserva, Silvia Colpani, Thomas Darr, Lindsay Dumont, Stefanus Edo, Carla Gautier, Chad Leroche, and Keyanna Phillips
Since the start of the new century and with increased momentum over the last decade, architects have actively engaged the act of making within both practice and academia. Although the causes of this shift are many, three of the main reasons are the proliferation of digital fabrication tools, the rise in computational methods, and an obsession with the properties and behaviors of materials. Situated between the scales of furniture and architecture, this design problem is modest in theory but complex in execution. The design explored the scale of the body, modalities of movement and rest, and fundamental social and contemplative states of being. The modus operandi
was applied research and thinking through making, and the primary scale was one to one. The prototype served as the primary mode of inquiry supported by a full range of digital tools and hands on fabrication. Working with Wentworth’s Center for Community and Learning Partnerships and the Hyde Park YMCA, this studio explored existing site conditions and current client aspirations to improve the entry of their recently constructed facilities. As part of a team of twelve students, I designed, poured concrete blocks, cut mahogany surfaces using a CNC mill and installed state-of-the-art benches for the Thomas Menino YMCA in Hyde Park.
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Siteplan
1. Linear Zone: The seating in this area is arranged for productive individual use.
2. Hybrid Zone: The layout in this space is such that it can be used both for conversation and productivity.
3. Circular Zone: The seating arrangement in this zone allows for it to be a conversational space.
Layout Diagram
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Project Photo
Wood Mold
Pivot Edge
Foam Insert
Concrete Block
Concrete Method of Making
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Daytime Rendering
Mortar Channels Mounting Embeds
Insert Type
Wood
Metal Support
Level with Pavers
Paver
Concrete
Bench Assembly
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Project Photo
Installation Process
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Night Perspective
Watch the Animation Here: https://bit.ly/2SQsezn
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Booming Commercial Street Scene
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COTTON KINGDOM History and Theory Seminar
Site Claiborne, Monroe County, AL Professor Sara Zewde Teammate Hugo Bovea Garcia
In 1852, the New York Daily Times commissioned the thirty one year old Frederick Law Olmsted to conduct an immersive research journey through the Southern slave states. The country was headed toward civil war, and the paper dispatched young Olmsted for his ability to reveal the cultural and environmental qualities of landscape in a narrative voice. Today, landscape architecture, urban design, and planning—disciplines Olmsted helped to shape—
continue to grapple with the economic, political, and ecological conditions rooted in systems he documented so vividly 165 years ago. This seminar investigated the relationship between major contemporary issues in urban discourses with the documented conditions of cities in Olmsted’s 1861 book, Journeys and Explorations in the Cotton Kingdom. Also, it positions Olmsted’s journey not only as source material, but also as methodological proposition, in reflection on the significance and methods of research and representation in design practice.
1830s - “Cotton is the King” Cotton Region (Black Belt) Soil Fertility
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Geological Layers
High influence in soil fertility
Topography
1860s - Civil War
Hydrology
The Civil War was one of the main drivers in Claiborne’s downturn, and the abolition of slavery severely altered the cotton economy, leaving plantions without labor workers, which resulted in an economic recession for the city.
Ideal Conditions for Cotton Crops
1860s - Civil War Area Lost by Confederacy 1863 1864 1865 Battlefields of Alabama
1862 - Railroads Act
In addition to that, the construction of the Louisville and Nashville Railroads bypassed the town on both sides of the Alabama River, which, combined with the previous events, caused a dramatic decline in its population.
1862 - Railroads Act Louisville and Nashville Railroads
Bypassed Claiborne on both sides of the Alabama River
1865 - Slavery Abolished Cotton economy severely affected by lack of labor
1873 - Yellow Fever Outbreak Counties severely affected by the Yellow Fever Outbreak
Claiborne’s population decreased to 350 people and continued to decline
1880s - Claiborne Ghost Town
Today, Claiborne is largely abandoned but the area is still surrounded by cotton plantations due to the industrialization of cotton in the 1950s. Some of the issues inherited from the antebellum rural Alabama, such as social inequality and major public health problems, still persist up until today.
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1880s - Claiborne Ghost Town 2020 - Rural Alabama
Severe health issues Lack of infrastructure
Cotton Region (Black Belt)
Bell’s Landing Claiborne Alabama River Mobile
Cotton Kingdom, Then & Now
Claiborne Alabama:
Claiborne became one of two major shipping points in Monroe County because it provided access to staple and luxury goods from Mobile for nearby cities and towns. As a sign of Claiborne's importance to the cotton trade in Alabama, William Locklin constructed Alabama's first Eli Whitney-designed cotton gin in 1817 in Claiborne. When Frederick Law Olmsted visited Claiborne, he was impressed by the dynamic town and its relationship to the river. Also a specific scene of how the slaves were exporting the cotton by throwing it down an incline without affecting their value to the platation owner and how less of a value of the free Irish men have.
Cotton Journey
Bell’s Landing was a major shipping point that provided access the Alabama Rive providing the area with nesseccary products.
Plantations
Bell’s Landing Alabama’s Major Shipping Points Claiborne Alabama was an important shipping port for cotton and trading center throughout the 1850s.
Claiborne
Alabama River
Mobile (Port of entry - exit)
Gulf of Mexico
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Alabama River is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about 6 miles north of Montgomery.
The Mobile Port was a significant entery point to the Alabama river from the Gulf of Mexico.
Cotton Incline, slaves would drop the cotton bails from the top to be received by Irish men at the bottom.
Movement of Steamboats was sign of Claiborne's importance to the cotton trade in Alabama, ships would travel to Claiborne.
Fort Claiborne was worked by the Irish men who would receive the cotton bails by slaves and load it on the ships.
Visual Literary Analysis
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Documentation of Different Fabrics
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READING NEW YORK URBANISM Urbanism and Videography Seminar Site Hoboken, New Jersey. Professors Cassim Shepard and Jesse Hirakawa Teammates Nikita Kumar and Sophie Lee
Reading New York Urbanism is a seminar that introduces urban design students to New York City as a laboratory of historical experiments in both designing and understanding the urban environment. The goal of the seminar is to arm students with the observational and representational tools to be able to “read” the city and the multiple forces that influence its physical form and social experience and to represent these forces through documentary video.
The class explores specific places throughout three districts: Jersey City/Hoboken, NJ; Long Island City, Queens; and Sunset Park, Brooklyn to analyze how different actors—writers, artists, designers, real estate developers, government agencies—have interpreted, represented, or intervened in these sites over time. We have focused on Garden Street Farmers Market in Hoboken to document and understand how open public space can act as a community gathering area.
COME-unity: Rethinking the Urban Square, is a short documentary that talks about Garden Street Farmers Market and how activates an urban square. Watch COME-unity the full short video at this link. https://bit.ly/35NRnQQ 80
Garden Street Farmers Market
Im Dylan from Brooklyn, NY.
Im Evan from Jersey City, NJ.
Im Samantha from Hoboken, NJ.
Im Connor from Long Island, NY.
Community and Products Diagram
Garden Street Farmers Market 14th St & Garden St, Hoboken, NJ Saturdays 9AM-2PM Jun - Dec Is that cheese can we try some?
Its oatmeal try it!
Picking up veggies?
Im into healthy holistic eating so I love coming here, everything is local and fresh.
I like how this market fosters community gatherings and supports local businesses
The market is the market because of the people, this area comes to life on saturdays.
Its a hot day but people are still coming to around to pick-up their supplies for the rest of the week and to enjoy some chilled natural drinks.
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Our oatmeal is locally sourced we work with a local farm, very dellious and healthy.
Sit down the show is starting soon..
Sustainability to this community is to eat locally, eating closely to where food is grown and to be able to see and try the food encourages the area to be more environmentally friendly.
Lets support local farmers
Successful day! Cant wait to come back and sell more pickles.
The plaza is usually unused during the week but the residents are happy use this space as a resource on weekends.
Comic Strip of COME-unity
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I’m part of the dirt... I’m part of the water... I’m part of the air...
This work is dedicated to our planet earth, may we all design concisely for better environment.
moneerah.alajaji@columbia.edu
AlKhufaisa, AlRabwa, Unit 7215, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
+966 55 582 3302