Walter de Maria, Mile Long Drawing, 1968
Flash Floods and Desert Claims
Institute of Landscape Architecture Professor Christophe Girot www.girot.arch.ethz.ch designlab-girot@arch.ethz.ch
The Architecture of New Resilient Settlements in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona Spring 2015
Institut für Landschaftsarchitektur Professor Christophe Girot HIL H 55.3 ETH Hönggerberg CH-8093 Zürich T +41 (44) 633 29 87 X +41 (44) 633 12 08 Office: Claudia Knecht Design assistants: Ilmar Hurkxkens Magdalena Kaufmann Philipp RW Urech Hil H 55.3 T +41 (44) 633 21 71 hurkxkens@arch.ethz.ch urech@arch.ethz.ch kaufmann@arch.ethz.ch www.girot.arch.ethz.ch
2
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
4
METHODOLOGY
6
SITE
7
PROGRAMME
14
PHASE 1: TOPOGRAPHY
16
PHASE 2: DETAIL DESIGN
18
PHASE 3: SCENOGRAPHY
20
SEMINAR WEEK
30
VOCABULARY
41
STUDIO RULES
44
REFERENCES
45
Pattern of the Brawley Wash
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INTRODUCTION Many countries face an increasing desert problematic. In the context of a changing environment, a stronger focus will be set on deserts all around the world. We present this studio as an introduction to desert design, a new area of competence in architecture and related fields where landscape architecture will play a vital role. The desert is inhospitable and defined by extremes: wet and dry, hot and cold, permanent and ephemeral. But surprisingly enough, the major threats to life in Arizona are not rattlesnakes but flash floods. The FS2015 Landscape Architecture design studio of Prof. Christophe Girot will investigate future scenarios for water restrained settlements in the Arizona desert of North America. It will address the challenge of design, whether it be architecture or landscape modeling and design, in a flood prone area. The prime concern is the study and manipulation of local topography to retain water periodically for seasonal settlement with periodic cultivation. Life in the desert will become semi-nomadic again. The studio will rely on field analysis to understand the inherent properties of the desert landscape and will work towards structuring rainwater catchment and distribution for seasonal camps or towns in the Sonoran desert. During the studio, students will elaborate a site specific strategy on a given site in the Sonoran desert of Arizona both at architectural and landscape architectural scales. The design approach takes into account the amplitude and dynamics of floods in relation to terrain, topography, vegetation and settlement. Analogue tools (sketches, sections, models, plans) will alternate with computer tools (CNC modelling, computer analysis and 3d visualisation) to develop tangible and precise topologies in the landscape. During the semester, skills in caad-/cam will be developed for CNC modeling in order to familiarize students with the design of topographically responsive interventions. The combined means of architectural and landscape representation with regard to fluctuating water runoff will help locate, scale and define new development strategies for the desert. A field trip to Arizona is planned in march together with some architecture students of the Technical University at Delft in the Netherlands. The trip will provide better insight into the situation at hand combining site expeditions, presentations and group discussions. The goal of the studio is to develop a set of varying design approaches for a given site. This will be achieved by adapting architectural and landscape architectural approaches to questions of topography, water dynamics, vegetation and settlement patterns into a single whole. Students will be asked how people can live better in dry, yet flood prone landscapes of the American Southwest in this century. ETH students shall work in teams of 2 on a set of landscape architectural proposals that will include considerations of scale, dynamics, topography and dwelling style. The combination of architectural and landscape architectural approach will be integrated in a model generating a broad range of possibilities, solutions and visions for the future. The studio includes a seminar week in Arizona, USA (max. 970 chf, 12.03 to 23.03.2015, joint field trip with TU Delft architecture students) Introduction: 17.02.2015, 10:00h, hil h 35.1 The studio includes “integrierte disziplin planungâ€? 3 ECTS The studio space is ETH HĂśnggerberg hil c40.1 / c40.7
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HISTORICAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH (1936)
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STUDIO METHODOLOGY The goal of the studio is to develop a set of varying design approaches for a given site. This will be achieved by adapting architectural and landscape architectural approaches to questions of topography, water dynamics, vegetation and settlement patterns into a single whole. Different scenarios may emerge depending on the way dynamic forces - such as water, sedimentation, vegetation and urbanization - are staged together and interact with each other. We will concentrate on the geometry of the ground, the composition of space and the organisation of contemporary urban and leisure activities. Work in the studio is about making the future more visible through drawings, models, maps and various other notations. Techniques you already master combined with new tools which we will introduce to you throughout the semester will help set up and verify the fundamental parameters of your design project. The work will be conducted following a topological design approach. This technique has been developed at our chair over the last several years, integrating the physical, scientific, and poetic properties of a particular site in a single meaningful whole. Students will need to balance the artificial displacement of material together with the natural forces of erosion and sedimentation provoked by water dynamics. Students will be asked to imagine scenarios that will use and modulate extracted materials topographically for a variety of purposes ranging from landscape design to urban and waterfront design. In other words, no ground material will be brought in or transported out of the site. The topographic process will transform the landscape, reinforcing its relationship to the water’s edge and to adjacent urban areas. This is first and foremost an exercise in site planning and landscape evolution elaborated through the management of water surfaces and topography. The design scale ranges from the architectural object to the overall site. Students must familiarize themselves with different landscape scales. The precise character given to the design intervention will depend on the design choices made for each scale. This studio will bring several concerns together:
- Landscape: topography, water dynamics and vegetation - Architectural: settlement patterns - Infrastructural: hydrology, circulation and services
Students will apprehend the scale of a landscape by assessing designated areas within the site which will make them recognize various edge conditions. These edges will reveal a variety of landscape elements in shape, space and time. A critical assessment of these edges will lead to a better understanding of possible design decisions for the project. Some of these edges have a higher degree of resistance offering more or less permeable boundaries (visual and physical) from one space to another. By slight modifications, other edges may have the potential to reconfigure and bring change. The edge in this sense is not fixed but becomes a dynamic generating process for new topographies in an overall landscape strategy. What will the formal aspect of your design be? What is your aesthetic orientation and which image will you show for a plausible development over time? Working on a reduced scale of site through the investigation of edges will help raise the issues of material, construction, separation, definition and development of space in the landscape. This design project must lead to a challenging scheme for the Sonoran desert of Arizona by constructing a landscape vision for this site. It must understandable and communicate the fundamental aesthetic choices that you will have developed. A range of scales will be explored from 1/200 to 1/1000. Various modes of representation and media will be tested to investigate different design possibilities. There will be a constructive and creative dialogue between drawing, modelling and computer 3D visualization.
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ARIZONA - HISTORY Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan friar, was the first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. Although he was followed a year later by another gold seeker, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, most of the early settlement was for missionary purposes. In 1775 the Spanish established Fort Tucson. In 1848, after the Mexican War, most of the Arizona territory became part of the U.S., and the southern portion of the territory was added by the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Arizona history is rich in legends of America's Old West. It was here that the great Indian chiefs Geronimo and Cochise led their people against the frontiersmen. Tombstone, Ariz., was the site of the West's most famous shoot-out—the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Today, Arizona has one of the largest U.S. Indian populations; more than 14 tribes are represented on 20 reservations. Manufacturing has become Arizona's most important industry. Principal products include electrical, communications, and aeronautical items. The state produces over half of the country's copper. Agriculture is also important to the state's economy. Top commodities are cattle and calves, dairy products, and cotton. In 1973 one of the world's most massive dams, the New Cornelia Tailings, was completed near Ajo.
Tohono O‘odham people live in a reservation Sout-West from Tucson Web. 27th January 2015.http://southernarizonaguide.com
Web. 13th January 2015. http://www.infoplease.com/us-states/arizona.html
Still from the film „Gunfight at the OK Corral“ from 1957 Web. 14th January 2015. http://www.laweekly.com/arts/
Arizona‘s biggest copper mine: Morenci Web. 14th January 2015.http://arizonaexperience.org/sites/
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THE SONORAN DESERT The Sonoran Desert is an arid region covering 120,000 square miles (310‘000 km2) in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, as well as most of Baja California and the western half of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Subdivisions of this hot, dry region include the Colorado and Yuma deserts. Irrigation has produced many fertile agricultural areas, including the Coachella and Imperial valleys of California. Warm winters attract tourists to Sonora Desert resorts in Palm Springs, California, and Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. This is the hottest of the North American deserts, but a distinctly bimodal rainfall pattern produces a high biological diversity. Winter storms from the Pacific nourish many West Coast annuals such as poppies and lupines, while well-developed summer monsoons host both annuals and woody plants originating from the south. Freezing conditions can be expected for a few nights in winter. Trees are usually well developed on the desert ranges and their bajadas. Often abundant on these well-drained soils are Little-leaf Palo Verdes, Desert Ironwoods, Catclaw and Saguaro. The understory consists of three, four or even five layers of smaller woody shrubs. Tall chollas may occur in an almost bewildering array of species. The alluvial lowlands host communities of Desert Saltbush, wolfberry and bursage. On coarser soils, Creosote Bush and bursage communities may stretch for miles. Where the water table is high, Honey or Velvet Mesquite may form dense bosques or woodlands. Other species are restricted to alkaline areas. Stream sides may be lined with riparian woodlands composed of Arizona Ash, Arizona Black Walnut, Fremont Cottonwood and various willows, with a dense understory of Arrowweed, Seepwillow and Carrizo. The Sonora Desert is rich in animal life as well, with many species in all groups derived from tropical and subtropical regions. The western part of the Sonora Desert (sometimes called the „Colorado Desert“) is closer to the source of Pacific storms and is noted for spectacular spring flowering of ephemerals when there is winter-spring rainfall. (This phenomenon is not limited to here.) However, the western portion is relatively depauperate, lacking many of the species such as the Saguaro that depend on good summer rainfall. Web. 13th January 2015. http://www.desertusa.com/sonoran-desert.html
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Sonoran desert around Tucson Web. 14th January 2015. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/
Ricketts, Taylor H. Terrestrial ecoregions of North America : a conservation assessment. Island Press, 1999. Print.
CLIMATE The climate in Tucson is referred to as a local steppe climate. There is little rainfall throughout the year. In Tucson, the average annual temperature is 20.6 째C. The average annual rainfall is 301 mm. The least amount of rainfall occurs in May. The average in this month is 4 mm. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in July, with an average of 59 mm. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 30.7 째C. The lowest average temperatures in the year occur in January, when it is around 11.2 째C. The variation in the precipitation between the driest and wettest months is 55 mm. The variation in temperatures throughout the year is 19.5 째C. Web. 16th January 2015. http://en.climate-data.org/location/1467/
Average annual precipitation in Arizona Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/az.gif
Climate graph Tucson Web. 16th January 2015. http://en.climate-data.org/location/1467/
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FLASH FLOODS Precipitation in the Southwest USA falls heaviest at different times of the year; the higher elevations of Arizona, New Mexico, western Colorado and Wyoming, and Utah see more in the winter, while the summer monsoon brings thunderstorms that enhance the rainfall in the deserts and nearby hills. Quick downpours from summer thunderstorms can cause flash floods anywhere. But the Southwest‘s unique landscape can turn a seemingly small amount of rain into a roaring flood in minutes. Much of the region averages less than 20 inches (51cm) of rain a year, leaving the ground dry most of the time. The hot summer sun bakes the sandy soil until it‘s hard and dense. Heavy rain easily flows over the rock-hard ground instead of soaking in, the key ingredient for a Southwest flash flood.
The start of a flash flood is often maid out of mud and detritus Web. 16th January 2015. https://localtvkstu.files.wordpress.com/
The Southwest‘s topography has been described as breathtaking, mystical, and surreal. Rising sandstone buttes tattooed with the watermark striations of many millennia jut hundreds of feet (100ft = 30m) into the pristine air, towering over twisting and turning canyons that mark the trails of rivers and streams. The numerous steep-walled canyons, along with hundreds of shallower washes that fleetingly mark the seasonal paths of runoff from downpours, are the land‘s natural waterways, places to stay away from when the sky unleashes its torrents of rain. The washes and low spots are particularly dangerous places to be when rain water collects and is on the move. Bob Tibi, chief of Hydrologic Services for the National Weather Service‘s western region, says the washes are „typically dry but the reason they‘re there is because that‘s where the water goes when it does rain.“ The shallow slope of the land and lack of defined water channels in washes make them places where campers and hikers are killed most frequently during flash floods simply because the warning signs are nearly invisible, he says. Given these conditions; hard-packed soil, steep, rock canyons and abundant washes, and the narrow passageways of slot canyons; the National Weather Service estimates that it might only take a half inch (1.5cm) of rainfall over a small area to create the deadly walls of water common to Southwest flash floods. Web. 16th January 2015. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/
A flood cutting a road in two Web. 16th January 2015. https://universalheli.com
The strength of flash floods Web. 16th January 2015. http://i.dailymail.co.uk
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DROUGHTS Arizona Could Be Out of Water in Six Years Prolonged drought and a rapidly expanding population are pushing Arizona‘s water system to its limit
and they‘re looking to squeeze even more out of every drop. But that doesn‘t stop the fact that climate change and the prolonged drought have cut their upstream supply. Schultz, Colin. Arizona Could Be Out of Water in Six Years. smithsonian.com, 2014. Web. 16th January 2015
Arizona is bone dry, desiccated by the worst drought ever seen in the state‘s 110-year long observational record. The Grand Canyon State has been in drought conditions for a decade, and researchers think the dry spell could hold out for another 20 to 30 years, says the City of Phoenix. That people have not been fleeing Arizona in droves, as they did from the plains during the 1930s Dust Bowl, is a miracle of hydrological engineering. But the magic won‘t last, and if things don‘t start to change Arizona is going to be in trouble fast, says the New York Times. A quarter of Arizona‘s water comes from the Colorado River, and that river is running low. There‘s not enough water in the basin to keep Arizona‘s crucial Lake Mead reservoirs topped up. If changes aren‘t made to the entire multi-state hydrological system, says the Times, things could get bad. If upstream states continue to be unable to make up the shortage, Lake Mead, whose surface is now about 1,085 feet (330.7m) above sea level, will drop to 1,000 feet (305m) by 2020. Under present conditions, that would cut off most of Las Vegas’s water supply and much of Arizona’s. Phoenix gets about half its water from Lake Mead, and Tucson nearly all of its. Aside from the Colorado and other rivers, Arizona does get about 44 percent of its water from groundwater. As a fall-back, some cities have already turned to pumping this water out of the ground. Yet groundwater is only renewable to an extent, so relying on it long term is not a real solution. Even if the current problems can be solved, though, that doesn‘t mean Arizona will be free of water-related woes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, climate change is going to make everything worse.
Central Arizona Project is designed to bring about 1.5 million acrefeet (1’850 mio. m3) of Colorado River water per year to Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties. CAP carries water from Lake Havasu near Parker to the southern boundary of the San Xavier Indian Reservation southwest of Tucson. It is a 336-mile (541km) long system of aqueducts, tunnels, pumping plants and pipelines and is the largest single resource of renewable water supplies in the state of Arizona. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.cap-az.com/
Warming has already contributed to decreases in spring snowpack and Colorado River flows, which are an important source of water for the region. Future warming is projected to produce more severe droughts in the region, with further reductions in water supplies. Future water scarcity will be compounded by the region‘s rapid population growth, which is the highest in the nation. Arizona already has projects set up to recycle waste water,
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SITE PICTURES
12
SITE AERIAL
13
STUDIO PROGRAMME The arid site is located around the Brawley Wash in the lower Altar Valley South-West of Tucson, Arizona. The Valley, a typical Sonoran Desert bajada landscape, is delimited by the Sierrita Mountains to the East and the Baboquivari Mountains to the West. The site is planned for future urbanization and is prone to sudden rain water streaming down alluvial fans from the foothills that merge and coalesce into washes that temporarily fill, flood and flow after into adjacent areas. The design studio will develop topographic solutions to this problem by studying the following elements: The Desert The starting point of the studio is the study and manipulation of local micro-topography meant to contain and direct water periodically. Every team will have to decide on the exact locations of retention areas through a careful analysis of topography within the given perimeter. The way in which water will be directed and harvested will in turn help define the the new confines of urban settlement while enabling specific landscape structures allowing for periodic cultivation aligning to the wash. The Wash Whenever it rains strongly, water comes down the Brawley Wash from the upper Altar Valley suddenly in the form of flash floods. A decentralized system of water catchment, storage and re-distribution needs to be developed down the wash to control flood hazards and allow for safer settlement patterns that respond to the need of water storage and desert cultivation. The Settlement New amenities will be needed to operate the water catchment with water storage facilities and redistribution. These can either be seasonal or more permanent settlements comprising of a research station and housing combined with the necessary agricultural buildings. The location of such a research station should logically evolve from the precise topographic reading of the site. The topological interventions on the Brawley Wash will require a careful consideration of terrain. Together with this question a connection to the South Sasabe road will need to be established along with access within the perimeter to the proposed site of intervention. 14
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I. TOPOGRAPHY CG Christophe Girot, Teaching Assistens (TAs): Ilmar Hurkxkens, Magdalena Osinska, Philipp Urech Spring Semester 15 W1
FEB
PROGRAM
THEME
PARTICIPANTS
ROOM
16 17
10:00 Introduction
18
10:00 References, Texts
Sand modelling
Design Hypothesis
CG, TAs
Foyer | Atelier
Excercise 1
TAs
Atelier
Design Hypothesis
TAs
LVML
Excercise 2
TAs
LVML | Raplab
Design Hypothesis
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
Excercise 3
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
19 20 21 22 W2
23 24
10:00 Introduction to Rhino
Modelling in Rhino
25
10:00 Introduction to the site
14:00 Introduction to CNC
3
10:00 Lecture Guy Nordenson
Project development
4
10:30 Lecture Emily Scott
26 27 28 MARCH W3
1 2
5 6 7 8 W4
9 10
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
7
TAs
LVML
8
TAs
LVML
TAs
HIL H35.1
TAs
Atelier
11
9:00 FIRST CRITIQUE
Design Hypothesis: final draft
12 13
11:30 Departure ZHR
19:30 Arrival LAS
ETH SEMINARWEEK / SITE VISIT
14 15 W5
16 17 18
Arrival in TUSCON
19 20 21 22 W6
23
Presentation TUCSON
24
21:30 Departure LAS
25
18:20 Arrival ZHR
26 27 28 29 W7
30 31 APRIL
1
9:00 DESIGN REVIEW
Design Strategy
2 3 4 5 W8
[EASTER]
6
9 10 11 12 W9
13
[SECHSELĂ„UTEN]
14
Project Development
Design Strategy
15 16 17 18 19 W10
20 21
9:00 MID TERM CRITIQUE
22
Project Development
Design Strategy
CG, TAs, Guests
23 24 25 26 W11
27 28
10:00 Lecture Gerd Burla
29
Project Development
14:00 Visualisation Workshop
Design Synthesis
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
"Visualisation and Planting Plan"
TAs
Atelier
Design Synthesis
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
TAs
Atelier
30 MAY
1
[LABOUR DAY]
2 3 W12
4 5
10:00 presentation visualisations
6
Project Development
7
16 W13
8 9 10 11 12
9:00 LAST DESIGN REVIEW
13 14 15
[ASCENSION]
Design Synthesis
Phase I. Topography The first phase of the semester will address the organisation and form of the site. Exercises, lectures and workshops are programmed to introduce the students to the topology of the Sonoran desert. The result will be a first design hypothesis for the water restrained settlements on the site. The students are asked within this phase to develop topographical prototypes obtained through precise landscape manipulations of the local topography. The primary function of these devices is to retain water periodically for seasonal settlement with periodic cultivation. During this phase, the following themes must be resolved:
- Defining the topography - Defining edge conditions between the intervention and the local topography
FEBRUARY 17 : INTRODUCTION, EXERCISE 1, SAND MODELLING FEBRUARY 24 : EXERCISE 2, RHINO MODELLING FEBRUARY 25 : WORKSHOP ON CNC MILLING MARCH 03 : EXERCISE 3 MARCH 11 : FIRST CRITIQUE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: TITLE AND STATEMENT PLAN WITH TOPOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS SECTIONS WITH TOPOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS DIAGRAMS AND SKETCHES SAND MODEL MILLED MODEL
17
21 22 W2
23 24
10:00 Introduction to Rhino
Modelling in Rhino
25
10:00 Introduction to the site
14:00 Introduction to CNC
Design Hypothesis
TAs
LVML
Excercise 2
TAs
LVML | Raplab
3
10:00 Lecture Guy Nordenson
Project development
4
10:30 Lecture Emily Scott
Design Hypothesis
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
Excercise 3
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
7
TAs
LVML
8
TAs
LVML
TAs
HIL H35.1
TAs
Atelier
26 27 28 MARCH W3
1 2
5 6 7
III. DETAIL DESIGN W4 9 8
10 11
9:00 FIRST CRITIQUE
Design Hypothesis: final draft
12 13
11:30 Departure ZHR
19:30 Arrival LAS
ETH SEMINARWEEK / SITE VISIT
14 15 W5
16 17 18
Arrival in TUSCON
19 20 21 22 W6
23
Presentation TUCSON
24
21:30 Departure LAS
25
18:20 Arrival ZHR
26 27 28 29 W7
30 31 APRIL
1
9:00 DESIGN REVIEW
Design Strategy
2 3 4 5 W8
[EASTER]
6
9 10 11 12 W9
13
[SECHSELĂ„UTEN]
14
Project Development
Design Strategy
15 16 17 18 19 W10
20 21
9:00 MID TERM CRITIQUE
22
Project Development
Design Strategy
CG, TAs, Guests
23 24 25 26 W11
27 28
10:00 Lecture Gerd Burla
29
Project Development
14:00 Visualisation Workshop
Design Synthesis
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
"Visualisation and Planting Plan"
TAs
Atelier
Design Synthesis
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs, Guests
Darch
CG, TAs, Guests
Darch
30 MAY
1
[LABOUR DAY]
2 3 W12
4 5
10:00 presentation visualisations
6
Project Development
7 8 9 10 W13
11 12
9:00 LAST DESIGN REVIEW
Design Synthesis
13 14
[ASCENSION]
15 16 17 W14
18 19
Layout and text
Synthesis, communication, visualisation
20 21 22 23 24 W15
25
[PENTECOST]
26
FINAL CRITIQUE
27
FINAL CRITIQUE
28 29 30 31
18
Data and document delivery
Phase II. Detail design
MARCH 13-25: SEMINAR WEEK
The second part of the Studio will address the detailed design of the site in term of amplitude and dynamics of floods in relation to terrain, topography, vegetation and settlement. Students will be asked to develop a range of proposals at the architectural scale and the local landscape scale that envision innovative settlements. The design strategy will rely on field analysis and will concentrate on structuring rainwater catchment and distribution for seasonal camps or towns in the Sonoran desert. By using the water analysis, students will be able to verify their design and answer the question: how can people live in a dry, yet flood prone landscape of the American Southwest in this century.
APRIL 1 : DESIGN REVIEW
During this phase, the following themes must be developed:
- Consistent design strategy and argumentation - Planting plan concept - Topographical detailing - Integration of typical water level fluctuations, as well as flood risks - Programming the site - Defining edge-condition concept between water and land - The relationship of the site to the seasonal settlements with periodic cultivation - Re-qualifying edge conditions according to: Dry zones / Flood prone zones
Documents required: Title and Statement Plan with topographical indications 1:500 Sections Diagrams on water level variation Collage Milled Model APRIL 21 : MIDTERM CRITIQUE Documents required: Title and statement Plan 1:500 with contour lines (50cm) Sections 1:200 Diagrams on water level variation Diagrams on site organization 3 Collages Milled models
19
8
TAs
LVML
TAs
HIL H35.1
TAs
Atelier
9 10 11 12 W9
13
[SECHSELĂ„UTEN]
14
Project Development
Design Strategy
15 16 17 18 19 W10
20 21
9:00 MID TERM CRITIQUE
22
Project Development
Design Strategy
CG, TAs, Guests
23 III. PLANTING AND SCENOGRAPHY 24 25 26 W11
27 28
10:00 Lecture Gerd Burla
29
Project Development
14:00 Visualisation Workshop
Design Synthesis
TAs
Foyer | Atelier
"Visualisation and Planting Plan"
TAs
Atelier
Design Synthesis
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs
Foyer
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
TAs
Atelier
CG, TAs, Guests
Darch
CG, TAs, Guests
Darch
30 MAY
1
[LABOUR DAY]
2 3 W12
4 5
10:00 presentation visualisations
6
Project Development
7 8 9 10 W13
11 12
9:00 LAST DESIGN REVIEW
Design Synthesis
13 14
[ASCENSION]
15 16 17 W14
18 19
Layout and text
Synthesis, communication, visualisation
20 21 22 23 24 W15
25
[PENTECOST]
26
FINAL CRITIQUE
27
FINAL CRITIQUE
28 29 30 31
20
Data and document delivery
III. Planting and Scenography The third phase starts with a workshop on visualization. It will allow students to refine their design and test various aspects such as scale, spatial qualities and topological modulation. The ground textures and vegetation structures developed in phase two will be investigated in different perspectives and wil describe the scenography of the design. Students are asked to formulate a definitive design choice for the site landscape development. The design will address different scales from an overall spatial concept for the site to specific edge definitions. Students will work throughout all these scales, establishing a clear spatial hierarchy and translating their concept to the scale of the site. Spatial qualities and ambiances will be supported by choices made in materiality of surfaces, designed variation based on water typology (depth, movement and surface), soil structure (mud and drought) and vegetation (design and integration with the surroundings). The goal of this final phase is to develop, elaborate and visualize a plausible approach to the future of the site and to document the diferrent design approaches for a given site. This requires a synthesis and refinement of the various themes tackled throughout the semester into a consistent and tangible landscape vision for water restrained settlements in the Arizona desert of North America.
APRIL 28/29 : WORKSHOP ON VISUALIZATION AND PLANTING MAY 5 : PRESENTATION VISUALIZATION Documents required: 1 overview, A2 size (horizontal) 1 section-perspective, A2 size (horizontal) MAY 12 : LAST REVIEW Documents required: Title and statement Plans with contour lines (50cm) Sections Diagrams 1 overview (render) 1 section-perspective (render) 2 detail views (render) Models MAY 26/27 : FINAL CRITIQUE Documents required: Title and statement Plans with contour lines (50cm) Sections Diagrams 1 overview (render) 1 section-perspective (render) 2 details views (render) Models
21
PLANT CLIMATE ZONES ZONE 3: HIGH ALTITUDE DESERT (Elevation 1‘000-1‘500 meters)
ARIZONA PLANT CLIMATE ZONES
ARIZONA PLANT CLIMATE ZONES
ARIZONA PLANT CLIMATE ZONES
With average minimum winter temperatures near freezing, such landscape plants as Chinese photinia (Photinia serrulata), Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), Pomegranate (Punica granatum) and Silk tree (Albizia julibrissin) grow well. However, in most of this zone, winters are mild enough for success with Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), Euonymus (Euonymus species), Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum). The growing season in this zone is about 200 to 220 days long. In the southern part of Zone 3, spring frosts are over by the end of March. Other areas are generally safe after April 10. Annual rainfall ranges from 25 to 50 cm. Point of reference towns: Benson, Bisbee, Clifton, Douglas, Globe, Prescott, Payson, Sierra Vista, Sedona.
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/gar
ARIZONA PLANT CLIMATE ZONES
ZONE 4: MID ALTITUDE DESERT (Elevation 600-1‘000 meters)
The mild winters of Zone 4 do not meet the cold requirement of many deciduous fruits, flowering trees and shrubs that grow in Zone 3. On the other hand, the subtropicals and tender plants of Zone 5 must be protected from the hard frosts which occur here. September, October and November are ideal months for planting cool season annuals, perennials and the basic landscape plants. This allows time for the plants to become well-established in the new location before the onset of summer heat. Fall planting is not recommended for tender plants such as Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea species) and Lantana (Lantana species) which might be injured by winter frosts. South American hybrid mesquite (Prosopis hybrid), Xylosma (Xylosoma The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Any products, services, or congestum), Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana), organizations Texas that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorsement by ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens), Blue palo University verde of Arizona. Document located http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1169.html (Cercidium floridum) and Star jasmine (Trachelospermum Returnof to College publication list jasminoides) are representative Zone 4 plants. Point reference towns: Ajo, Safford, Tucson, Wickenberg. Web. 16th January 2015. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1169/ Web. 16th January 2015. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1169/#zone3
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The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative A organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in University of Arizona. The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Emp Document located http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1169.htm organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this public University of Arizona. College publication list Document Return locatedtohttp://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1169.html Return to College publication list
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y of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Any products, services, that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorseme
VEGETATION PATTERN - Zone 3-4
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VEGETATION PATTERN - Zone 1-2
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VEGETATION PATTERN - Zone 5
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GREEN SPACE CONTEXT
Carnegiea gigantea (Saguaro) Carnegiea gigantea was named in honour of the great philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). A true giant of the cactus family, it has become a part of film history as the iconic ‘Western cactus’ featured in many Western films. In Arizona, where its blossom is the official state flower, these giant cacti form entire forests. Their appearance is so spectacular and unique that an entire national park has been dedicated to them, the Saguaro National Park. A fitting tribute because the saguaro is not only beautiful and impressive, but is also the only member of the genus Carnegiea. However it’s most important feature is the part that it continues to play in long standing and significant aspects of Native American culture. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/
Echinocactus acanthodes (Barrel Cactus) Barrel cacti of some species easily reach over 1 metre in height at maturity. The ribs are numerous and pronounced, and the spines are long and can range in color from yellow to tan to red, depending on the age of the plant and the species. Flowers appear at the top of the plant only after many years. The flowers only appear on the very top of the plant. One should approach a barrel cactus with extreme caution. A puncture to human skin from one of the spines is considered a ‘dirty wound’. If the puncture is deep enough to draw blood, antibiotics may be needed. Barrel cactus plants are one of the more dangerous cacti to humans in the desert Web.9th February 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_cactus
Astrophytum myriostigma (Bishop’s Cap) A. myriostigma is a spineless cactus defined by the presence of three to seven (usually five) pronounced vertical ribs which define the cactus’ shape when young (the genus name “astrophytum”, literally, “star plant”, is derived from the resulting star-like shape). As the cactus ages, more ribs may be added and it becomes more cylindrical in shape, growing up to about 70–100 cm tall and 10–20 cm in diameter. In the wild, the cacti flower in early spring, so that their seeds can grow with summer rains. Plants produce one or more flowers 4–6 cm diameter near the apex; the numerous tepals are creamy yellow, sometimes with an orange or red base. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.plantsrescue.com/echinocactus-grusonii/
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Aloysia gratissima (Bee-brush) A fragrant, slender, erect shrub to 3 m with squarish stems, generally light gray bark, and branches sometimes bearing sharp tips. Leaves up to 2.5 cm long by 13/41 cm wide but often smaller, usually in clusters along the stems. Flowers small, white, crowded on spikes up to 7.5 cm long and extending above the leaves, appearing from March to November. As the name beebush suggests, this is a honey plant. It also provides browse for wildlife. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/
Agave bovicornuta (Cowhorn Agave) This bold, stunning agave has broad dark green, lanceshaped leaves that are edged with decorative red-brown to yellow marginal teeth and terminal spines. This solitary agave (i.e., no offsets) is native to Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua Mexico. Since full sun or reflected heat exposures can result in some sunburn on the leaves, a filtered shade exposure is ideal. Place it under large specimen trees or in patio containers. After flowering, this plant will die. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.mswn.com/
Agave americana (Century Plant) Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spread of about 1.2 m. with gray-green leaves up to 0.6 m long, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce to the bone. Near the end of its life, the plant sends up a tall, branched stalk, laden with yellow blossoms, that may reach a total height of up to 8–9 m tall. Its common name derives from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers or adventitious shoots from the base, which continue its growth. Web. 9th February 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_americana
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Lemaireocereus thurberi (Organ Pipe Cactus) The organ pipe cactus grows only in the Sonoran Desert. Organ pipe cacti are very sensitive to frost. Because cold air settles in valleys and the desert floor, the heat loving organ pipe cactus grows on southern facing slopes below elevations of 900 m. The organ pipe cactus gets its name from the many slender, curving vertical stems which resemble the large pipes of an old-fashioned organ. When the organ pipe cactus matures, its root system will eventually absorb any rain that falls. The organ pipe cactus stores water in its stems to survive the heat and drought of the desert. It has fibrous ribs running vertically up the stem to help keep it upright. When the cactus dies it leaves behind its bleached ribs. Web. 9th February 2015. http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/
Opuntia engelmanii (Prickly Pear) Prickly pear cactus represent about a dozen species of the Opuntia genus (Family Cactaceae) in the North American deserts. All have flat, fleshy pads that look like large leaves. The pads are actually modified branches or stems that serve several functions -- water storage, photosynthesis and flower production. The fruits of most prickly pears are edible and sold in stores under the name “tuna.” Prickly pear branches (the pads) are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable. They, too, are sold in stores under the name “Nopalito.” Prickly pear cactus are found in all of the deserts of the American Southwest, with different species having adapted to different locale and elevation ranges. Most require course, welldrained soil in dry, rocky flats or slopes. Web. 9th February 2015. http://www.desertusa.com/cactus/
Kallstroemia grandiflora (Arizona Poppy) Abundant, five-petaled, three quarter to one and one-halfinch wide flowers rise above the plant. Generally bright orange with a red basal spot, they can also be white with a red basal spot or even yellowish with a dark orange spot. . The Arizona poppy is common to profuse in flat, sandy grasslands from sea level to 1’850 m. A summer bloomer, Arizona poppies begin to appear with the rains and in particularly wet years, their display rivals spring wildflowers. Even if Kallstroemia dominates an area one year, it may be rare or nonexistent the next. Web. 16th January 2015. http://www.desertusa.com/flowers/az-poppy.html
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Yucca brevifolia (Joshua Tree) The Joshua tree, the largest of the yuccas, grows only in the Mojave Desert. Natural stands of this picturesque, spikeleafed evergreen grow nowhere else in the world. Joshua trees rely on the female pronuba Moth for pollination. No other animal visiting the blooms transfers the pollen from one flower to another. In fact, the female yucca moth has evolved special organs to collect and distribute the pollen onto the surface of the flower. Mormon pioneers are said to have named this species “Joshua” tree because it mimicked the Old Testament prophet Joshua waving them, with upraised arms, on toward the promised land. The Joshua tree likes dry soils on plains, slopes and mesas, often growing in groves. Web. 9th February 2015. http://www.desertusa.com/flora/the-joshua-tree.html
Yucca elata (Soaptree Yucca) The soaptree yucca is one of the most characteristic plants of the Chihuahuan Desert. It is an abundant evergreen, palm-like shrub or small tree growing 3 to 5.5 m high. The soaptree yucca derives its name from the soapy material in its roots and trunks which made this plant a popular substitute for soap. Native Americans used the coarse fiber of the leaves for weaving baskets. Cattle enjoy the tender young stalks, and chopped trunks and leaves are still utilized as emergency cattle feed in times of drought. Web. 9th February 2015. http://www.desertusa.com/flora/soaptree-yucca.html
Cercidium floridum (Paloverde) This plant is primarily found in the Sonoran Colorado Desert of southeastern California, and the Sonoran Deserts of southern Arizona and of northwestern Sonora state (Mexico). It is found predominantly in desert washes or bajadas, a result of its need for water, although occasionally it can be found in creosote desert scrub habitat, accessing seeps in desert hills up to 1,100 m. Parkinsonia florida grows to heights of 10–12 metres. It is a rapidly growing large shrub or small tree, and rarely survives to 100 years. The plant’s trunk, branches, and leaves are blue-green in color, hence the common name. The plant is drought-deciduous, shedding its foliage for most of the year, leafing out after rainfall. Web. 9th February 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinsonia_florida
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SEMINAR WEEK
Waypoints
Fr.13th
Sa.14th
Su.15th
Mo.16th
Tu.17th
We.18th
Z端rich stopover Heathrow Las Vegas
Las Vegas
Las Vegas
Las Vegas Page
Page Flagstaff
Flagstaff Tucson
Jean Lake Hoover Dam Valley of Fire
Badwater Basin Zabriskie Point Mesquite Dunes Rhyolite ghost town
Double Negative Temple of Sinawava
Horseshoe Bend Antelope Canyon Monument Valley Canyon de Chelly Painted Desert
Roden Crater Arcosanti / Taliesin West
9165 km
420 km
560 km
530 km
700 km
580 km
13h 00
5h 00
6h 30
7h 00
7h 30
7h 00
Th.19th
Fr.20th
Sa.21st
Su.22nd
Mo.23rd
Tu.24th
Tucson
Tucson
Tucson
Tucson
Tucson Prescott
Prescott Las Vegas
Workshop Site Visit
Workshop Site Visit
Workshop Site Visit
Workshop Site Visit
Taliesin West / Arcosanti
Gran Canyon S. Rim Hoover Dam
380 km
660 km
4h 00
6h 30
Program (progress dependent)
Distance Travel time
Waypoints
Program
Distance Travel time
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M G D Z L
C H
B K
UTC +8 UTC +7
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SEMINAR WEEK: HIGHLIGHTS
Web. 27th January 2015. http://i.lv3.hbo.com/a
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LAS VEGAS
“In a city of illusion, where change is what the city does, it’s no wonder Las Vegas is the court of last resort, the last place to start over, to reinvent yourself in the same way that the city does, time after time. For some it works; for some it doesn’t, but they keep coming and trying.” - Hal Rothman, Neon Metropolis Las Vegas is a city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city known primarily for gambling, shopping, fine dining and nightlife and is the leading financial and cultural center for Southern Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 30th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 603,488 at the 2013 United States Census Estimates. Web. 16th January 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas
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Web. 27th January 2015. http://upload.wikimedia.org/
H
HOOVER DAM
Construction began in 1931 and completed in 1936. It still stands tall as an engineering marvel high above the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada. The mission of Hoover Dam was multi-purpose. Flooding along the Colorado River as it made its way to the Gulf of California had to be controlled. The water-flow had to be harnessed to provide much needed water to the fertile, yet arid agricultural areas of California and Arizona. And hydroelectric energy was to satisfy the requirements of millions and millions of people in adjacent regions. A scenic by-product of Hoover Dam is the gigantic reservoir of Lake Mead, a stunningly beautiful water recreation wonderland. This boating, sailing, fishing and houseboating paradise attracts over 10 million visitors a year. Web. 28th January 2015. http://www.arizona-leisure.com/hoover-dam.html
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Web. 27th January 2015.http://upload.wikimedia.org/
Z
ZABRISKIE POINT
Mark: Would you like to go with me? Daria: Where? Mark: Wherever I’m going. Daria: Are you *really* asking? Mark: Is that your *real* answer? - Michelangelo Antonioni, Zabriskie Point Zabriskie Point is a part of Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence. Zabriskie Point is also the name of a 1970 movie by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni; its soundtrack features music by British band Pink Floyd and Jerry Garcia. The philosopher Michel Foucault called his 1975 acid trip at Zabriskie Point the greatest experience of his life. Web. 16th January 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabriskie_Point
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Web. 27th January 2015. http://landarts.org/
D
DOUBLE NEGATIVE
“There is nothing there, yet it is still a sculpture.” - Michael Heizer Double Negative is Michael Heizer’s first prominent earthwork. Seen above from near the edge of the work, and below from space via satellite, Double Negative consists of two trenches cut into the eastern edge of the Mormon Mesa, northwest of Overton, Nevada in 1969-70. In keeping with the mission of modern art, Double Negative blurs the distinction between sculpture (“art”) and normal objects such as rocks (“not art”), and encourage viewers to consider how the earth relates to art. The sheer size of Double Negative also invites contemplation of the scale of art, and the relation of the viewer the earth and to art itself. How does art change when it can’t fit in a museum? How does one observe an artwork that’s a quarter-mile long? Web. 28th January 2015. http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/double_negative.html
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Web. 27th January 2015. www.lovethesepics.com
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GRAND CANYON: HORSESHOE BEND
“The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison - beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world.” -Theodore Roosevelt The Canyon is an overwhelming experience, and nothing can prepare a visitor for the sight. The Grand Canyon is a massive canyon carved over several million years by the Colorado River. Grand Canyon National Park boasts an elevation change of nearly 2130 m from Point Imperial to the banks of Lake Mead. The canyon itself is, from rim to river over 1610 m deep. In spots the rock layers exposed in the canyon display over two billion years of geologic history. Throughout the past century, hundreds of authors have attempted to depict the enormous landscape that is Grand Canyon. Not surprisingly, words most often fail to invoke the sense of awe and wonder that many visitors experience. Edward Abbey, a noted Southwest author, once penned: “Those who love it call it the canyon. The canyon. As if there were no other topographic feature on the face of the Earth”. Web. 28th January 2015. http://wikitravel.org/en/Grand_Canyon
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Web. 27th January 2015. http://www.wallope.com
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MONUMENT VALLEY
“Monument Valley is the place where God put the West.” - John Wayne Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 300 m above the valley floor. It is located on the Arizona-Utah state line, near the Four Corners area. Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Director John Ford used the location for a number of his best-known films, and thus, in the words of critic Keith Phipps, “its five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West.” Web. 28th January 2015.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
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Web. 11th February 2015. http://upload.wikimedia.org/
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WHITE HOUSE RUIN (DE CHELLY CANYON)
Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pronounced “canyon d’shay”), contains over 2500 archeological sites ranging from 1500 B.C. to 1350 A.D. and is considered one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in North America. Among these sites are several hundred Anasazi Indian villages built between 350 and 1300 A.D. After 1100 the Anasazi built dramatic masonry cliff dwellings in caves and recesses in the canyon walls. The Anasazi began to vacate the canyons about 1300 A.D. The area was sporadically occupied until the early 1700s when the Navajo Indians began settling in the canyons. Today, Canyon de Chelly sits in the middle of the Navajo Indian Reservation and is still home to many Navajo who live in and utilize the canyon’s resources. Notable sites are White House Ruin, one of the best known and most dramatic of the Anasazi cliff dwellings; Mummy Cave, a large cliff dwelling with a 3-story tower occupied from 300 to 1300 A.D.; and Antelope House, named for its many colorful paintings of antelope. Web. 28th January 2015. http://www.nps.gov/
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Web. 27th January 2015. http://www.coolturehunter.it
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THE BONEYARD (DAVIS–MONTHAN BASE)
With the end of the Worl war 2, operations at the base came to a virtual standstill. It was then the base was selected as a storage site for hundreds of decommissioned aircraft, with the activation of the 4105th Army Air Force Unit. The 4105th oversaw the storage of excess B-29s and C-47 “Gooney Birds.” Tucson’s low humidity and alkali soil made it an ideal location for aircraft storage and preservation, awaiting cannibalization or possible reuse — a mission that has continued to this day. Web. 28th January 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis%E2%80%93Monthan_Air_Force_ Base
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Web. 11th Fbruary 2015. http://www.cesl.arizona.edu/
K
KITT PEAK
The Kitt Peak National Observatory is a United States astronomical observatory site located on 2,096 m Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O’odham Nation, 88 kilometers westsouthwest of Tucson, Arizona. With 24 optical and two radio telescopes, it is the largest, most diverse gathering of astronomical instruments in the world. The observatory is administered by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Kitt Peak is the second-highest peak on the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation, and as such is the second-most sacred after Baboquivari Peak. Near the summit is I’itoi’s Garden, the summer residence of the nation’s elder brother deity. The name Ioligam means “red stick” in reference to the abundance of manzanita bushes on and around the mountain. Web. 12th February 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitt_Peak
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VOCABULARY To participate in discussions about landscape architecture design and aesthetics, each student should understand the following terminology:
CANAL an artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation.
DRAINAGE BASIN the area drained by a river and all its tributaries. Also called catchment area.
DAM a barrier, typically of concrete, constructed to hold back water and raise its level, the resulting reservoir being used in the generation of electricity or as a water supply.
DROUGHT drought is an extended period when a region receives a deficiency in its water supply, whether atmospheric, surface or ground water. A drought can last for months or years.
DESERT a desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. About one third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid.
DYNAMIC a process or system characterized by constant change, activity, or progress. A force that stimulates change or progress within a system or process.
DESIGN making a set of specific topological decisions that affect spatial aesthetics, and modify positively natural processes and dwelling on a given site. Design brings a new identity to both city and nature, it is through the modification of our landscape that both balance and beauty can be found for times to come. Landscape design is particularly about adding value to urban planning and qualifying a broad variety of engineering and architectural concepts. DEVICE a device is an instrument that can be used to produce landscape developments over time. It is about conditioning a site in such a manner that it engenders, produces and transforms landscape in a space/time relationship. DRAIN a channel or pipe carrying off surplus liquid, esp. rainwater or liquid waste.
ECOSYSTEM a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Freshwater ecosystems are among the earth aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes and ponds, rivers, streams and springs, and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a larger salt content. Freshwater habitats can be classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, and vegetation. EMBANKMENT a bank, mound, dike, or the like, raised to hold back water, carry a roadway, etc. ENCROACHMENT an entry into a place or area that was previously uncommon; an advance beyond former borders. EROSION the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.
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FARMLAND farmland is typically land devoted to agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of life— particularly the rearing of livestock and production of crops—to produce food for humans.
IRRIGATION irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.
FLASH FLOOD flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields. Flash floods are distinguished from a regular flood by a timescale of less than six hours.
LAND ART land art is an art movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked. It is also an art form that is created in nature, using natural materials such as soil, rock (bed rock, boulders, stones), organic media (logs, branches, leaves), and water with introduced materials such as concrete, metal, asphalt, or mineral pigments. Sculptures are not placed in the landscape, rather, the landscape is the means of their creation.
FLOOD an overflowing of a large amount of water beyond its normal confines, esp. over what is normally dry land. FLOOD BARRIER a flood barrier, surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. FRAME a reference plane in which spatial and aesthetic relationships can be studied over time. A frame can be a structure that differentiates, combines, or partitions elements within a much broader milieu. It is also a point of view that encapsulates the overall spirit of a design project. GROUNDWATER water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock. HYDROLOGY the science of the properties, distribution, and effects of water on a planet’s surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere.
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MIGRATION human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in the new location. The movement is typically over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is also possible. Migration may be individuals, family units or in large groups. MONSOON the rainy season when the South-West monsoon blows, from about April to October. MORPHOLOGY the branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of organisms.The study of the structure of a landscape which includes its modulations, inflections, natural systems and circulations. NATIVE AMERICAN native americans are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North America, and their descendants. RETENTION the capacity to hold or retain liquid.
SALINIZATION the process by which a nonsaline soil becomes saline. SAND a loose granular substance, typically pale yellowish brown, resulting from the erosion of siliceous and other rocks and forming a major constituent of beaches, riverbeds, the seabed, and deserts SANDSTONE sandstone (sometimes known as arenite) is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. SEDIMENTATION sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration or electromagnetism. SETTLEMENT a settlement is a community in which people live. A settlement can range in size from a small number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas. Settlements may include hamlets, villages, towns and cities. SOIL the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles. STOCK TANKS a stock tank is used to provide drinking water for animals such as cattle or horses. Stock tanks can range in size from 100 to over 6’000 liters and typically are made of galvanized steel. These tanks are filled either by a pump, windpump, creek, spring, or even rely on runoff water from rain or melting snow.
STRATEGY Strategy in the context of landscape design talks about the art and science of organizing forces on a territory to reach an aim. The science applied to the overall planning and conduct of large-scale operations. STREAM: EPHEMERAL/PERENNIAL a stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. An ephemeral stream only exists for a short period following precipitation or snowmelt a perennial stream has continuous flow in parts of its stream bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. TOPOGRAPHY topography is the graphic representation of the surface features of a landscape through on a map, indicating existing positions and elevations of the terrain. It is also a tool of analysis and design for the landscape with a structured entity, showing the relations and topographic transformation of its components. Generally speaking a topographic map refers to the survey of a place or region, in design it signifies the representation of the entire ground structure of a project. TOPOLOGY topology is the precise study of a place (topos) capable of defining its existing or evolving structural and morphological properties (i.e: the surface of the ground). It is also the study of complex surfaces and their dynamic deformations over space and time. WASH a wash is a dry creek or stream bed that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. WATERSHED an area or region drained by a river, river system, or other body of water/an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
sources: wikipedia, Thesaurus
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STUDIO RULES This studio deals with a complex site at various scales and we require that students work in groups of two. The site visit (seminar week) is part of the process and mandatory for everyone. The official „Design Studio“ days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays and we expect you to be present in the Studio from 10am to 6pm. This allows us to give short-notice inputs and/or program modifications. After the final critique, all students have to copy their final documents (layout, plans and photos of models) on the server in order to receive their grade. The file format will be announced later. Uncompleted or late pin ups will not be accepted and will not receive any final critique. On critique and reviews days, it is mandatory to be present all day long. Please check the ETH-homepage regularly for the latest information. www.girot.arch.ethz.ch
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REFERENCE BOOKS
Worster, Donald. Rivers of Empire. Oxford University Press, 1992. Reprint.
Salvesen, Britt. New Topographics. Steidl & Partners, 2010. Print.
Ponte, Alessandra. The House of Light and Entropy. Architectural Association Publications, 2012. Print.
Brinckerhoff, Jackson. Landscape in Sight: Looking at America. Yale University Press, 1997. Print.
Banham, Peter Reyner. Scenes in America Deserta. The MIT Press, 1989. Print.
Van Dyke, John Charles. The Desert: Further Studies in Natural Appearances. Charles Scribner’s sons, 1901. Print. 45
Reisner, Marc. Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water. Penguin Books, 1987. Print.
Misrach, Richard. Desert Cantos. University of New Mexico Press, 1987. Print.
Tiberghien, Gilles A. Land Art. Art Data, 1995. Print.
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REFERENCE LAND ART De Maria, Walter. Mile Long Drawing. 1968. Land Drawing. Private collection. The Mile Long Drawing acts as a reference not for the experience of the line itself but for the entire lake bed. If you understand what Heizer was doing, it makes you wonder if the relationships could be turned inside out or if there were other direct ways of connecting to other properties of a space rather than just dealing with what it looks like. In 1968, Heizer was not working in the desert alone, he was working with another artist from New York named Walter De Maria who wanted to do just that. De Maria knew that strange things happen on the dry lake beds. Due to the blurring of the distinction of foreground and background, distances are very hard to recognize. When the lake beds are large enough and the air clear it is nearly impossible to determine if a mountain is five miles (8km) away or thirty (50km). There is just no way to orientate yourself. I feel like De Maria had a very New York response to a vast open space, if you need to know how big something is, draw a line. Being that this is a very large dry lake bed so it could not be just any line and with the help of Heizer, the two proceeded to layout two parallels each a mile (1.6km) long and separated by twelve feet (3.7m). The lines were drawn with powdered chalk. The longer the line the more likely that it would be able to establish a direct connection to the entire space of the lake bed. A line that is five hundred feet (150m) long holds and connects to the space in a way that is very different than one that is 5,280 feet (one mile = 1.6km). It is significant that each of the lines were a mile long. A mile is probably the largest measurement that a person could still feel that they have a good intuitive grasp of the distance. In other words, a mile is an easy distance to relate to ourselves, and it is not without significance that the famous pictures of the Mile Long Drawing show De Maria lying on the ground of the lake bed between the two lines. It is to remind us that these are size measurements, this is an installation about how we relate to space in a more complex version of the way that Malevich’s square relates to the edges of the canvas. Douglass, Arcy. „The Black Square“. Portlandart. 17th March 2009. Web. 13th January 2015.
Long, Richard. Dusty Boots Line. 1988. Land Art in the Sahara. Private collection. “I like the idea of making something from nothing. (...) My work is completely physical and personal. I’ve walked or climbed to the place of each sculpture. I’ve made it with my hands (or feet) and energy at that time. To walk across a country from coast to coast, for example, is both a measure of the land itself – its size, shape and terrain – and also of myself, how long it takes me and not somebody else.” Richard Long: Heaven and Earth, room guide: room 3 . Web. 13th January 2015. http://www.tate. org.uk/
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Turell, James. Roden Crater. 1979-2011. Land Art in Arizona. Private collection. “It is a volcanic crater located in an area of exposed geology, the Painted Desert, an area where you feel geologic time. You have a strong feeling of standing on the surface of the planet.”—James Turrell Roden Crater is a natural cinder volcano situated on the southwestern edge of the Painted Desert in Northern Arizona. Since 1972 James Turrell has been transforming the crater into a large-scale artwork that relates, through the medium of light, to the universe of the surrounding sky, land and culture. „James Turrell - Roden Crater“. TL mag. 25th octobre 2013. Web. 13th January 2015.
Heizer, Michael. City. 1972. Land Art in Nevada. “As long as you’re going to make a sculpture, why not make one that competes with a 747, or the Empire State Building, or the Golden Gate Bridge.” City, Michael Heizer’s life-long project, is quite possibly the largest piece of contemporary art ever attempted. Because the artist is a very private individual, little is known about City, except that he has been working on it since 1972 (he claims 1970). Located in the remote desert of Nevada, City comprises five phases, each consisting of a number of structures referred to as complexes. Web. 16th January 2015. http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/city.html
Heizer, Michael. Dissipate. 1968. Land Art in Nevada. Private collection. Heizer collectively titled the works commissioned by Scull « Nine Nevada Depressions ». Made between August and September 1968, Heizer’s 840 km line of loops, faults, troughs, and intersections linked nine sites on dry lakes located on government-owned land in Nevada (…) For another of these « Depressions », number eight, Heizer determined the placement of the five rectangular trenches of « Dissipate » by the compositional device of dropping five matchsticks. Their arrangement according to the laws of chance became his plan. Boettger, Suzaan. Earthworks: Art and the Landscape of the Sixties. University of California Press, 2002. Print.
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REFERENCE LIVING STRUCTURES Adams, Robert. Mobile Homes, Jefferson County, Colorado. 1973. Photograph. George Eastman House Collections. Critic Sean O‘Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said „his subject has been the American west: its vastness, its sparse beauty and its ecological fragility. [. . .] What he has photographed constantly – in varying shades of grey – is what has been lost and what remains“ and that „his work‘s other great subtext“ is silence. O’Hagan, Sean. “Robert Adams: a photographer with a profound sense of place”. The Guardian. 16.02.2012 . Print. 08.08.2014
Pueblo people. Pueblo de Taos. Late 13th century - present. New Mexico. Situated in the valley of a small tributary of the Rio Grande, this Pueblo Indian settlement, consisting of adobe dwellings and ceremonial buildings, exemplifies the enduring culture of a group of the present-day Pueblo Indians. It is one of a group of settlements established in the late 13th and early 14th centuries in the valleys of the Rio Grande and its tributaries that have survived to the present day and constitutes a significant stage in the history of urban, community and cultural life and development in this region Web. 19th January 2015. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/492
Anasazi people. Mesa Verde. 450 - 1300. Montezuma County, Colorado. The Mesa Verde landscape in the American south-west is considered to be the type site of the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan culture, which lasted for some nine hundred years from c 450 to 1300, on this plateau in south-west Colorado at an altitude of more than 2600 meters. There is a great concentration of spectacular Pueblo Indian dwellings. Some 600 ‘cliff dwellings’ have been recorded within Mesa Verde National Park, including the famous multi-storey ones such as Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Square Tower House, built of sandstone and mud mortar, and an additional 4100 archaeological sites have been discovered. New discoveries are routinely made. The exceptional archaeological sites of the Mesa Verde landscape provide eloquent testimony to the ancient cultural traditions of Native American tribes. They represent a graphic link between the past and present ways of life of the Puebloan Peoples of the American south-west Web. 28th January 2015. http://www.livescience.com/27360-mesa-verde.html
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Lloyd Wright, Frank. Taliesin West. 1937. Scottsdale, Arizona. Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Wright felt very strongly about the connection to the desert. He said: “Arizona needs its own architecture… Arizona’s long, low, sweeping lines, uptilting planes. Surface patterned after such abstraction in line and color as find ‘realism’ in the patterns of the rattlesnake, the Gila monster, the chameleon, and the saguaro, cholla or staghorn – or is it the other way around—are inspiration enough.” The structure’s walls are made of local desert rocks, stacked within wood forms, filled with concrete. Wright always favored using the materials readily available rather than those that must be transported to the site. In Wright’s own words: “There were simple characteristic silhouettes to go by, tremendous drifts and heaps of sunburned desert rocks were nearby to be used. We got it all together with the landscape…” The flat surfaces of the rocks were placed outward facing and large boulders filled the interior space so concrete could be conserved. Natural light also played a major part in the design. In the drafting room, Wright used translucent canvas to act as a roof. Wright believed natural light aided the work environment he had his apprentices in, keeping the inside of his building in touch with the natural surroundings. Web. 27th January 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin_West
Lautner, John. First shelter. 1937. Part of the desert shelter design program of the Taliesin Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. One of the first students who internalized the poetry of habitation in the crisp desert landscape and studied the shelter as architectural miniature was John Lautner, who later became well known in Los Angeles. Lautner sought elementary tectonics that he based on the grammar of Taliesin West, with the iconic rotation of the Right Angle at 15°. To a sleeping area he adds an open canopy where he places his drafting table with views of the McDowell Mountains and the horizon of the Valley of the Sun. This translation of the simple tent to a miniature-architecture will emerge later as the proving ground for students who are concerned with their own architectural voice. As it is natural, in the decades following we find a distinction between the students who designed under the influence of the Master, and those who broke away from the architectural vocabulary of Wright to develop their own, personal phraseology. Web. 27th January 2015. http://www.greekarchitects.gr/
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Altar Valley Conservation Alliance. Elkhorn/Las Delicias Demonstration Project. 2012. Arizona State School Trust Land The Elkhorn/Las Delicias Watershed Restoration Demonstration Project (Elk/LD Demo Project) showcases planning, installation, and monitoring of watershed restoration practices in ephemeral arroyos and associated uplands and tributaries in a flash flood dominated landscape of the Altar Valley. The approximately 6 km2 project site, located on Arizona State School Trust Land, bridges two neighboring ranches. A poorly drained fence-line access road bisected 25 drainage channels, many of which had become deeply incised, with increasingly severe erosion creeping and branching upstream. A team of restoration experts evaluated the site and designed a treatment plan in April 2011 based on landowner objectives and the principles and practices described in Bill Zeedyk and Van Clothier’s watershed restoration primer Let the Water Do the Work and Bill Zeedyk’s book A Good Road Lies Easy on the Land: Water Harvesting from Low Standard Rural Roads. Monitoring and evaluation findings as of January 2014, after only two years and three rainy seasons (2 monsoon and 1 winter) indicate: - Increased soil deposition in channels and associated tributaries and uplands; - Minimal vegetation change to date within, but vegetation increase is expected as soil deposition continues; - Increased vegetation diversity and density evident in upland rock structures and road treatment sites; - Impressive sediment and vegetation response to wood treatment in alluvial fan; - Excellent structural integrity of all treatments, with very few repair needs; - Minimal to no evidence of construction impacts, with the exception of rock left on site for continued work; - Monitoring techniques are repeatable, useful and statistically valid; - Project success can be enhanced by augmenting existing and/or adding additional rock or wood structures; and - Significant learning and research opportunities are available due to excellent access, monitoring data, and broad support for the project. Web. 11th February. http://www.altarvalleyconservation.org/
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Flash Floods and Desert Claims Spring Semester 2015 Institut f端r Landschaftsarchitektur Professor Christophe Girot