mikaela pearson MLA, With Distinction [2014] Harvard University Graduate School Of Design B. Arch, Cum Laude [2009] California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo
Professional Experience
Selected Works
[2013] Asensio-Mah - Competition Team [2013] Graduate School Of Design Landscape Representation III - Teaching Assistant [2009-2012] Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects - Junior Architect [2010,2011] California Polytechnic State University Professional Studio - Teaching Assistant [2008] Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects - Intern
MLA Studio Work (2 - 17) Professional Projects (18 - 25) Architectural Work (26 - 33)
lines and circles
2
GSD Spring 2014 Michael Maltzan, Mia Lehrer
Los Angeles, CA
Slowing Basin
With David Pearson, 13 weeks Los Angeles has developed parallel with two infrastructures, the freeway and the channelized river. Efficiency highlighted unidirectional flows creating infrastructures that are simultaneously connective and divisive. These linear infrastructures remain some of the last open space in a city of continuous development, but deny the flux and disturbance accepted within a dynamic system. To evolve, the single linear flow in the city must be disrupted to create points of activity. Within this disruption the project redefins the pattern of trade and development.
Storm Water Basin
Scaled to the needs of flood conditions within the valley, the project cuts into the urban palimpsest to create “petri� basins. These basins perform various functions related to water management, such as storm water retention, water slowing and riparian habitat - becoming testing grounds for urban wilds. By utilizing the material language of the river and freeway constructions they continue a lineage of infrastructure within the city. By disrupting the linear infrastructure the project addresses the speculative urban scale of Los Angeles.
Freeway Development
Riparian Basin
Movement Flows throughout the site connect access lines within the valley and the subterranean of the river basins with the aerial spaces of the freeway.
3
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
4
Manzanita, Arctostaphylos
Riparian Basin
Storm Water Basin
Walnut, Juglans californica
Ironwood, Olneya tesota
Slowing Basin
Palo Verde, Parkinsonia Canopies Created basin habitats require a wide range of species to accommodate designed microclimates and highlight uses.
Proposed Water Flows Cutting through the urban palimpsest, the basins become islands in the city.
Urban Level
Storm Water Basin
Flood Topography
LA River
Recreation
Retention and habitat
Storm Water & Silt Catchment
Original Channel
5
Flood Topography Riparian Habitat
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
reciprocal materials
6
GSD Fall 2013 Solano Benitez
Asunción, Paraguay With Juan José Reyna Monrreal, 13 weeks While swimming is a popular activity in the tropical climate of Paraguay, the rivers and streams are heavily contaminated. Signs stating “prohibido banarse” line the shore, warning people away from the water.
Organic Substrate
The Costanera, a recently constructed large infrastructure project located between downtown Asunción and the Bay, consists of a large boulevard and pedestrian promenade on the bay. Included as a part of the project is a constructed beach - a popular recreation area, with no safe option for swimming. On a large scale, the project addresses material possibilities for creating recreational opportunities along the shore.
Sterilized
Guadua Bamboo is endemic to Paraquay and is used frequently in traditional structures, but stigmatized by the more affluent. Although bamboo has many positive structural properties, its poor fire and pest resistance, and ease of crushing all limit its use in public structures.
Thirteen Days of Growth
Mycelium, the vegetative part of the mushroom, forms an interconnected chitin structure underground. This structure can be grown in a controlled condition, and dried creating a lightweight fire and pest resistant compression material. Myceium also breaks down components in soil, making it ideal for water and soil remediation.
Mycelium Growth Growing Mycelium Using leaves as an organic substrate mycelium cultures were injected into small containers and left to grow in a variety of conditions. Growth became visible within two days.
Mycelium and bamboo are integrated to create lightweight public structures performing as protection from the hot tropical sun, filtration systems and shelter to facility beach recreation.
7
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
20 M AVG
BAMBOO CULM: - STRUCTURAL ELEMENT - 19.6 M AVERAGE LENGTH - 10 CM AVERAGE DIAMETER - NATURALLY ANTISPECTIC
10 CM
6-12 WKS TO DRY 8-9 YRS TO HARVEST
Culm with mycelium infill: - structural element - treated with borax solution - increased fire resistance - increased integrity
Diagrid with GUADUA BAMBOO CLUMP
mycelium stabilizer: GUADUA BAMBOO HARVEST - structural system - baked and dried elements - increased stability - increased solidity
GUADUA BAMBOO CULM
BAMBOO HALF CULM: - STRUCTURAL ELEMENT - CUT TO FACILITATE BENDING - 5 CM AVERAGE RADIUS
5 CM
Baked mycelium Stabilizing ring INITIAL SPLIT OF CULM
Substrate Added
Inject Mycelium
POUND SPLIT INTO NODES
LEVERAGE SPLIT ACROSS LENGTH
Bake Flexible bamboo diagrid
Thick Bamboo Weave:
Hole near node
Culm filled
- 8 Part Flattened Culm - 2 Cm Thickness - Rough Weave Mycelium growth - Small Gaps
Initial Split Of Culm Baked
Open Culm
Lay Split Culm Flat
Scrape Culm Mat
Thin Bamboo Weave: - Separated Strands - 1 Cm Thickness - Fine Weave - No Gaps Culm Split In Small Sections
Small Sections Shredded Into Fibers
Bamboo Joints: - Lashing - Retains Some Flexibility - Easily Replaceable Cross Bar Lashing
8
Bamboo Fibers Are Tightly Knit
Figure 8 Lashing
Bundled Bamboo Culm
Shade Tower
Baked Reishi Mycelium Water Pipe
Shade Tower Top Axon
Water Pipe
Shelter Tower
Plasma Filter
FILTER TOWER
King Strophia Baked Mycelium
The filter tower provides potable water for recreation purified through a number of filters and living and baked mycelium.
Living White Rot Fungus Geotextile
Base Axon
9
Filter Tower Growing Mycelium Four tower typologies vary radii and heights to accommodate different functions. Shade towers are most commonly deployed, while shelter and filter towers were deployed in strategic locations.
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
urban estuary Unit Performance Resistance
Ecological Catalog
Flow
Tidal Force
Natural Grade
rid on
Street
Fresh Water Upland Vegetation
tractor Curve
Engineered Soils
Settlement Pool
No Vegetation
Brackish Water
Fresh Water Upland Vegetation
Water Level
Fresh Water Wetland Vegetation
Fresh Water Upland Vegetation
Fresh Water Wetland Vegetation
Salt Water
Natural Grade
Lowland Estuary Vegetation
Sea Water
Upland Estuary Vegetation
Mud Flat
Siltation
Focused Flow
Shore
Collection & Barrier
ow Line
tractor Curve
Fresh Water
City Outflow
Barrier
Unit -basin +0
+0
.5 to 0
+.5 +0
+0 -1 to .5
-1
+0
+0
Gerritzen Avenue
Settlement Pools
Promenade
Filtration Pools
Settlement Basin
10
Rare Species Habitat Pools
Fresh Water Wetland Filtration Basin
Brackish Water Areas
Wetland Walk
Salt Marsh Retention
GSD Spring 2013 Chris Reed, Leire Asensio
Jamaica Bay, NY With Juan JosĂŠ Reyna Monrreal, 13 weeks
St
or
m
Su
rg e
Jamaica Bay, along the shore of Brooklyn, was utilized as a dumping ground for unwanted water, waste, and pollution. As the city has consumed the fresh water wetlands surrounding the bay, the salt water habitats have been inundated with polluted storm water runoff. This influx can be leveraged to service diverse habitat creation mediating the sea and the city. A coordinated site intervention creates habitats by leveraging a gradient from fresh to salt water between the city grid and the shore.
Lo w
Ti
de
Hi
gh
Ti
de
Through topographic manipulation, a series of basins lengthen the existing flow line to the bay. A modular approach allows localized cut and fill, with the possibility for expansion overtime. Many small topographic changes accommodate habitat diversity not only from the city to the shore, but within each mound/basin. The estuarine topography is interspersed between a gradient of development allowing ecological and social functions to overlap and redeveloping a concentrated marsh as a public space.
Brackish Water Habitat
New Topographies Concentrated urban estuaries overlap with urban development. New topographies mediate flows and the urban/bay edge.
High Tide
11
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
SURFACE RUNOFF 10% TIDAL ESTUARY 16,000 acres of wetland
INFILTRATION 50%
POLLUTED ESTUARY
INFILTRATION 15%
4,000 acres of wetland
Historic Water Flow
Existing Water Flow
Storm water infiltrates ground water as small creeks carry sediment into the Bay.
Storm water piped directly to the Bay feeding eutrofication and changing water chemistry.
Aster Court 20 mph
25 mph
25 mph
Gotham Avenue
Florence Avenue
Evaporation 15% Transpiration 15%
Aeration
Gerritsen Beach Library (1997) Temporarily Closed
Storm Water 55%
Precipitation
Transit Stop
Existing Bus Stop
Gerritsen Avenue 30 mph
Transit Stop
Transit Stop
Settlement Basin
Infiltration 15%
Proposed Station
Existing Bus Stop
Aeration Filtration Basin Habitat Basin
Green Roof
Water Management
+ Sweet gum
Liquidambar styraciflua Moisture tolerant
Brackish Habitat Low Salinity
Exterior Plaza
Semi-Public Outdoor Settlement Basin High Maintenance
+ Honey locust
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Dappled light for high traffic
+ 6.1 m
- 1.1 m
Brackish Habitat Med. Salinity
Brackish Habitat High Salinity
Sediment Trap & Storm Surge Mitigation
Extreme High Tide
Tidal Flux
Sub-surface Flow Surface Flow
+ Hawthorne
Crataegus phaenopyrum Attracts wildlife
+ Red Oak
Quercus rubra Salt tolerant edge
Storm Surge High Tide Low Tide
+ 4.6 m
Infiltration Basin
Storm Water Management
+ Willow Oak
Quercus phellos Wet soils, fast growing
Habitat Basin Fresh Water
+ 0.1 m
Proposed Water Flows
Conservation Area
+ 4.1 m
Topographic manipulation allows storm water runoff to contribute to a variety of habitats slowing, and purifying the water before it reaches the bay.
Sponetaneous Vegetation
Fresh Water Basins
Brackish Water Basins
Salt Water Sediment Barriers
Water Filtration & Habitat Creation
Habitat Creation & Storm Protection
Storm Protection & Silt Catchment
Habitat Basin Fresh/Brackish
+ 1.1 m
+ 2.5 m
+ 2.9 m
+ 3.1 m
Habitat Basin Brackish/Fresh
Liquidambar Styraciflua
Habitat/Flow Topography Contours .25 m
Habitat Basin Brackish/Fresh
Acer Rubrum
Glymnocla-Gleditsia dus Triacanthos Dioicus
+ 2.6 m
+ 2.8 m + 3.1 m
+ 3.4 m
+ 3.3 m
+ 4.1 m
+ 4.6 m
+ 4.1 m
+ 4.9 m
+ 6.6 m
+ 6.1 m
Gerritzen Creek
Salt Water Bay Condition Semidiurnal Tidal Range: 1.5 m Sandy Storm Surge: +4 m
N
Schematic Flows
12
Carex Spp
Scirpus Validus
Elecharis Obtusa
Juncus Gerardii
Limonium Salicornia Carolinianum Spp
Spartina Patens
Tall Spartina Alterniflora
Mixed Use
Low-D Residential 1-2 Stories
Mixed-Use Tower
Mid-D Residential 2-4 Stories High-D Residential 5-6 Stories
iles
Residential Semi-Public Courtyard Attached House
Mixed Use Over 7 Stories 10% Commercial 40% Offices 50% Residential
iles
Semi-Private Courtyard
Semi-Public Open Space
Offices
iles
Row Houses
Semi-Public Open Space
Commercial
RIO 1 EXTREME DENSITY
Green Roofs
Public Open Space Residential
DERATE DEVELOPMENT
Private Courtyard
Semi-public Courtyard
Semi-public Open Space
Public Open Space
Landform and Vegetation Models of topography as well as water and vegetation patterns range in scale from one basin (vertically exaggerated) to the entire shore system.
Infiltration Basin
ding Heights Gradient
NARIO 3 URBAN SPRAWL
ng Urban Clusters
Sparse and Scattered Points of Urban Density
13
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
defense in depth
14
GSD Fall 2014 Pierre Belanger, Niall Kirkwood
Cape Cod, MA With Shanji Le & Patrick Sunbury, 14 weeks Changing national security needs and shifting civilian attitudes require the United States military to become more self-sufficient. Development of the military as a distributed network of self-supporting bases contributes to the resiliency of the military and the country. Through an orchestrated remediation and biomass production strategy we intend to strengthen the Cape by cultivating a path toward material and energy autonomy. Within the MMR, the production and harvesting of row crops, cultivated trees and spontaneous vegetation create ground patterns with programmatic possibilities. Vegetal management strategies and agricultural production practices couple with civilian and military needs adjusting the pattern overtime. The location of specific biomass plantings and management strategies develops from a balance of site conditions and programmatic requirements. Varied production practices develop the site as a resource for the military and the cape while providing access to a previously closed site. Deployment of bio-piles, land farming and phytoremediation efforts decontaminate the site for civilian use and reduced military training. Integral to this process are poplar defense lines that filter the contaminated groundwater plumes as they move outwards to the surrounding communities. Through collaboration between the military and the biomass industry, these defense lines form a spine that merges with biomass plantings to develop the site as a circular ecology.
Landform and Vegetation Models informed earthwork formation and vegetal patterns. Earthworks direct water flow. Vegetation responds to water flow, programmatic and energy requirements.
0
15
1 KM
2 KM
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
YR 03
Defense Line 1 Length of Line: 1,561 m Length of Remediation: 30 years 05% Eastern Cottonwood
10% Black Willow
75% Hybrid Poplar
Number of Trees: 7,013 Water Purified: 7,573,500,000 liters Plume Reduction: 27.3%
Phytovolatization of Contaminants
00
Phreatophyte trees, pulling water from the capillary fringe of the water table, filter the plume as it moves toward the canal.
10
30
YEARS
YEARS
16
00
YEARS
Energy Generation - Biomass Wareham, Ma
Revenue
Biomass Industries Greatpoint Energy American Renewables Llc. Forest Systems Management
Pulp Mill
Pitsfield, Ma
y
ss ma Bio
it ctric El e
Jo
bs ati cre Re
Bourne
on
Jo
bs
Bio-pile Remediation
Sandwich Jo
bs
Biomass Plantations Remediation
Biomass
nue
Crop Rotation
J
ob cre s ati on
ls ue of
bs
Re
e Rev
Bi
Army National Guard
Cape Cod Biofuels
Jo
Bio m
ass
J
Coast Guard
s ob
Air National Guard Mashpee
Poplar Harvest
U.S. Department Of Defense Jobs
Falmouth
ber Lum Revenue
Cataoumet Sawmill
Bio-indicator Meadow Pattern of Growth The different plant species and patches are harvested on a varied time scale and at specific seasons. This allows coordination of varied site uses and energy production over time.
PRESENT DAY
17
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
san pasqual academy
Unit D: Shared Housing
Unit E: Staff Housing 18
RNT Architects
San Diego, CA Completed under: Ralph Roesling FAIA, Kotaro Nakamura, Rick Espana & Jeremy Joyce with Carlos Rodriguez San Pasqual Academy is a first-in-the-nation residential education campus designed specifically for foster teens. Located in rural San Diego County, the Academy provides live-in students with a stable home, an individualized education, and the skills needed for independent living.
Hilltop Housing 1
Widespread wildfires in 2007 burned many buildings on San Pasqual campus, including many homes. This provided an opportunity to provide definition to the campus and create community cohesion.
Hilltop Housing 2
A competition called for replacement units including attached and detached housing and a new Administration Building. All units are LEED Platinum certified featuring: Creekside Housing
Community Development Exterior Living Spaces Clear sight lines and defined Thresholds Water Efficient Fixtures Energy Star Lighting and HVAC
Administration Site Planning Each housing cluster was designed to form interior courtyards creating spaces to gather away from campus. The administration offices form an exterior lobby overlooking the campus.
Xeriscape Outdoor Spaces High Insulation and a Cool Roof Non-toxic Materials * Responsibilities: Presentation graphics, design contribution for site plan and floor plan, creation of construction documents, coordination with Landscape Architect, Structural, and MEP 19
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
20
Front Entry
Great Room
Hallway Interior The interiors maximize space with an open plan. Cross through ventilation as well as circulation expand the perception of space and connect to the site beyond.
21
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
freeway capping project Work completed under: Ralph Roesling FAIA & Tyson Cline Schematic design model for freeway cap. The cap traverses the 101 Freeway bridging the existing Downtown to the beach. The current division limits beach use within the city and has led to numerous vacancies along the shore. The project aims to leverage as much of the existing infrastructure to enhance the future city and reconnect to the beach. The main feature includes repurposing an existing vehicle on-ramp into a pedestrian path leading linking downtown to the pier. Project includes: Multi-modal Transit Station Concert Venue Parking Garage Promenade to Pier Pedestrian Overpass * Responsibilities: Design decisions through physical modeling
22
national parks service
RNT Architects
Kelso Depot & Kessler Springs, CA Completed under: Joe Mansfield Ranger housing in Mojave National Preserve currently consists of informal groupings of mobile home structures. To increase capacity and efficiency many of these structures are being replaced by multi unit residences. Two separate sites were developed requiring site planning, material selection and utility planning. The more remote of two sites required off grid utility service with associated coordination and planning. Priorities revolved around minimizing the footprint, energy efficiency and ease of use. Unique site planning requirements included: Layout and orientation of Solar Array Battery House design and Requirements Layout and Grading of Leach Field Minimized Hardscape Solar Hot Water Connection to Well Water * Responsibilities: Design contribution for site plan, creation of construction documents, coordination with Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing for off-grid and efficiency requirements
23
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
san dieguito school district Service
(N) Parking
Sports Drop-Off
PAC M&O Offices
Choir
Site Storage
Orchestra
Arts & Tech Gym
Music Team Room
Tech Shop
Dance
Creative Court
PAC Porch
Black Box
Flex Class
T.R. T.R.
Shop
Student Paseo Campus Green
24
Court
Ceramics/ Sculpture T.R.
T.R.
Stor.
Gallery Tech. Classrooms
Band Porch
Stage
Data
Art Yard
Courtyard Stage & Seating
PAC
J.
Team Room
Offices Concessions
(N) WarmUp Area
RNT Architects
Torrey Pines High School Bond Program Schedule Jan-2012 Bond Description
SD
DD
CD
DSA
BID
CA
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
Master Plan Pre-Schematic Design & Programming (Entire Campus) Phase 0 Schematic Design Development Construction Documents DSA Bid Construction
Original Campus Entry
Phase 1 Schematic Design Development Construction Documents DSA Bid Construction 1A
1B
1C
Original Campus Entry
1D
Phase 2 Schematic Design Development Construction Documents DSA Bid Construction Phase 3 Schematic Design Development Construction Documents DSA Bid Construction
Existing Gym
Work completed under: Ralph Roesling FAIA, Joe Mansfield & Rick Espana.
P:\579 - TPHS Master Plan\Master Plan\TPHS Schedule.xlsx
Schematic Design Submittal for the renovation of (2) High Schools to accommodate 21st Century Learning.
Admin & Commons
New Building Existing Building
Key Map
25
* Responsibilities: Assessment of current facilities, evolving evaluation of future needs (based on studies completed by the district and regular meetings with faculty and administration), design contribution, adjacency studies, presentation materials and phasing development.
Newer Campus Extension Site Planning The original campus was designed at a time when campuses were closed off, with little natural light or views. Opening up the campus became a priority for encouraging community involvement.
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
aggregate transit
Op-en Studio One Prize - Semifinalists
BRONX TRANSIT HUB
Blatant Channelization (high density) - water, flora, biking, drainage, and fauna
BRONX: ELECTRIC CAR CITY
Edgewater
Section: Water erodes paved infrastructure New Jersey
QUEENS: CLEANTECH INDUSTRY
Dissipation (medium density) - water depth meets sidewalk Port Imperial
Hunters Point
Weehawken
E 34th St. Lincoln Harbor
Hoboken North
Section: Blatant channelization
Hoboken
Newport
Unnatural Immersion (edges) - restores succession to the edges visitors are immersed
New York, NY Schaefer Landing
With Ian Slover and David Pearson, 3 weeks The island of Manhattan has developed a public transit system of established routes. The current transit could better connect the five boroughs divided by distance and water. By leveraging the fluid surface properties of water with swarming water transit, a new conception of movement within space emerges, coalescing the five boroughs. A variety of transportation environments, matched to density, need, and program results in a heterogenous mix of conditions accommodating and adjusting to constantly changing transportation needs.
Paulus Hook
Fulton Ferry Landing
MANHATTAN TRANSIT HUB
BROOKLYN: SCIENCE CITY
Liberty Harbor Pier 11
BPC/WFC
Liberty Landing Marina
GOWANUS CANAL: GREEN LIVING VILLAGE GOVERNORS ISLAND: ACADEMIC VILLAGE Port Liberte
STATEN ISLAND TRANSIT St George Ferry Terminal
STATEN ISLAND: HALL OF CIVILIZATION SIEDC GREEN ZONE 1,100 ACRES Brooklyn Army Terminal
ONE PRIZE COMPETITION Spring 2011
To Belford
26
To Atlantic Highlands
To Rockaway Landing
Project Contribution I contributed ideation, conceptions, discussion, and presentation, as well as defining how the waterways interact with users on a smaller scale. All drawings shown except map created by me.
biodynamic structures workshop
AA Visiting Schools Biodynamic Structures
Exploration models
Material and formal study
Photos of final model with sensors and arduino boards
Collar sizing
San Francisco, CA Tutors Andy Payne & Jason Johnson with Lennard Ong, Robert Devaney and Ben Crawford, 2 weeks Site activated light beacons respond to fluctuations of water through light, movement and variable states of equilibrium, relying on elasticity of material and dynamic supports. The stranded structure employs the aggregation of elastic material to react to exterior forces of tidal flux and site movement.
Collar Stranded Structure Fiber Optic Cable
The lamp signals to the city and carries action outwards as the structure becomes a beacon. The model was built on an arduino run delta bot and actuates in reaction to a proximity sensor.
Simulated model - delta bot Obsessive Modeling Physical and digital modeling (using grasshopper and rhino) were used in tandem. Project Contribution I contributed most to project form, concept, physical modelling, and digital representation.
27
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
infrastructural landscape
Native and Invasive Vegetation
Beautification Planting
Native Vegetation 28
Turf
Residential Planting
Cal Poly SLO Spring 2009 Michael Lucas Conventional System
Proposed System
House Hold Waste Water
House Hold Waste Water
Sand Filter Coal Filter Gravel Filter Primary And Secondary Filtration (Existing City Facility)
Tent city - teen residence Sand Filter Coal Filter Gravel Filter
Chlorination
(E) Water Treatment Facility
Primary Filtration (Existing City Facility)
Pathway
Condensate Clear Film
Ventura, CA Thesis, 30 weeks
131,700 sq. meters of solar still Evaporation
.6 gal/sq. meter
Solar Distillation System (Section Cut Through One Unit)
appx. 7,000 meters
River/Ocean
Collected Potable Water
Industry developed relatively freely, blocking public access to the Ventura River while freeway construction in the 1960s further delineated between the city and the river. With reduced industrial activity the city is trying to reconnect with the river. Infrastructure (the basic organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society) supports the basic needs of contemporary life, but dismisses society by invisibly providing its service. The transaction of resources and its effect on the land remain hidden. The absence of perceivable infrastructure isolates us from comprehending the city at its broadest level. By clarifying the connections between humans and what supports us we gain a greater understanding of the world around us.
Destroyed dwelling (by city)
33 Freeway
Bermed dwelling
Ventura River
Early site section
Downtown Pacific Ocean
29
Population Study A tour of the riverbed by a resident revealed the organization and hierarchy of its established population. Housing sites vary in permanence, protection, and privacy. Occasional city raids, and water fluctuations require temporary migration. MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
ballona drylands Flexible Structure Flexibility explored as a method of reflecting site changes overtime. As water transforms the site surface, the structure spatially transforms registering movement.
Fragmented Site Subsequent flexibility models explored the success and failure of flexible structure. This model fails due to a poor number of connections (requires 3 joints per arm to move freely).
Frame As the structure shifted to the concrete river bed the flexibility could not come from a shifting ground plane. This frame flexes with water speed and pressure to provide a shallower slope.
Cladding Faceted cladding allows a single surface to direct water flow. Over years the flowing water would soften the facets creating an increasingly smooth surface overtime.
30
In 100 Years A warm up assignment prompted us to ask what LA would be like in 100 years. I imagined a flooded future - with rising sea water, the landscape would change, and shift with the tides. The addition of water would erode the developed landscape into something wild.
Ballona Wetlands The wetlands are cut off from a natural water supply. By diverting water from Ballona Creek, the water could filter through the site, changing the landscape, and encouraging plant growth. The water flow would erode the built up layers of dredge along with the concrete river.
Resulting Forum The structure diverts water onto the site seasonally, acting as the catalyst for site rejuvenation. The structure would soften overtime. The structure would not filter the polluted water coming from inland LA, but allow the wetlands to function as that filter.
Cal Poly SLO Winter 2007 Terry Hargrave
3.
2. Filtration Allows water to flow through a material and carry away small particles.
3. Social View Water is viewed as a menace to the built environment. Our habits need to change toward water to allow it to act positively on the landscape, and contribute to the health of our ecosystems.
2.
Ballona Wetlands, CA
Water filtration
Hermitage
Site boundaries study
3rd Year - Honorary Mention, 10 weeks 1. Capillary Action Allows water to climb, penetrate, and be absorbed into a material.
Nature is: A process. A process of growth and decay over time. Architecture is man-made, so it is perceived as being separate from nature, but it cannot escape its cycles of breakdown and regeneration. Architecture is part of nature, but its processes do not function cyclically or on a short enough time scale to work with the environment. Architecture must work more closely with the cycles of nature, reflecting change and transformation over time. These cycles can be used as a positive force, enhanced by architecture.
Building as Diversion Peripheral Studies Early site studies contributed to the understanding of the site as a palimpsest. The fractured site defies its name, and needs to be experienced to be understood. 1.
31
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
jubilee church
Entry Ramp Baptismal Font Votive Chapel Choir Seating Exterior Nave Reflection Hall (Rain Catchment) Interior Nave Altar Garden Chapels
Main Chapel
Located on an isolated hillside, the church forms a complex with associated functions.
Altar
Below Ground 32
Above Ground
Cal Poly SLO Spring 2008 Curtis Illingworth
Reflection of nature Reflection of man
San Luis Obispo, CA 4th Year, 10 weeks The Catholic Church in California has developed two different spatial experiences to evoke spiritual reflection. The Mission offers awe and inspiration. It contains time, and history with a focus on solemn thought. There is also a history of outdoor worship spaces, allowing natural light and flora to create a calm and reflective environment going back to the purity of the landscape. The jubilee church breaks down these experiences in one structure.
Indoor/Outdoor Reflection Space The interior space mutes outdoor conditions, creating a sense of protection. The outdoor reflection space does not protect visitors from the elements, but rather provides a platform to experience them.
The structure is located on an isolated hill side above San Luis Obispo. The site affords views of the natural topography, and allows the visitor to separate from their daily lives.
33
MIKAELA PEARSON MLA
pearson.mikaela@gmail.com 760.793.1687
Thank you.