ROOT SUBURBANISM Fall 2014 | Cape Cod, MA | Critic: Pierre Belanger | Team: Yong Uk & S.Solano
In this studio we explored the construction of “infrastructural ecologies” as living systems that operate as urban infrastructures. This is a response and a preparation for large scale changes that we are seeing today - shifting climates, resource economies, and population movements. In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 100% of the drinking water comes from the aquifer and at the same time, 85% of Cape Cod’s residents operate their own septic systems. Consequently, the septic leach field contaminants are infiltrating the same source in which they drink from. The relationships of consumption, settlement, and excretion are explored as cultural identity. Questions are raised: How do we live responsibly on groundwater water and how can the landscape become a system that supports both consumption and excretion?
urban strategy scale 1: 3,000
K K J
G G
I
I
H
HH
H
H
G G
C C B B A A 1
1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7
7
8 8
9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
13 13
14 14 15 15
B B
B
A A
A 1
urban urban strategy____landform strategy____density distribution distribution
2
3 1 1
4 2 2
5 3 3
6 4 4
7 5 5
8 6 6
9 7 7
10 8 8
11 9 9
12 10 10
13 11 11
site edges
built form access points tidal poolground cover mound flat 50% ground cover 20% ground cover 30% 40% ground cover
15 13 13
14 14
D C
B
B
A
A 1
urban strategy____density urban urbanstrategy____built strategy____landform distribution form distribution distribution
tidal pool 20% ground covermound 30% ground cover flat 40% ground cover 50% ground cover
14 12 12
E
C
C 15 15
F
D
D
C C
C
G
E
E
D D
D
H
F
F
E E
I
G
G
F F
E
D D
J
I I
F
E E
K J
J
I
G
F F
K
K
J J
J I
H H
15
K K
K J
I
2
3
4 1
5 2
3
6
7 4
5
8
9 6
7
10
11 8
9
12 10
13
14 11
15 12
13
14
15
tidal pool
builtmound form
A 1
urban strategy____landform urban strategy____built distribution form distribution site edges
B
access flatpoints
AQUEOUS URBANISM Spring 2015 | Coney Island, New York | Critic: Brad Cantrell | Team: Elise Bluell
Coney Island has two conflicting and integrated pasts: it has been an escape for the inhabitants of New York City and it regularly faces storm surges and water inundation due to its low elevation in relation to sea level . We wanted to create a flexible environment between Coney Island Creek and the adjacent urban grid to better adapt to the changing nature of urban coastal regions. By combining the ‘attraction’ and ‘water influx’ characteristics of the island, we explored the management of water systems by creating new ecological zones that also address public space. This brings visibility to water systems and integrates them into the public and private realms of the city. While the beach front area of the island is heavily occupied with tourists and seasonal visitors, our intervention balances the crowds and restores value to the other side of the island that is visually and programmatically out of reach. Due to the low lying nature of the land, the insertion of tidal pools serve as ecologic hosts for an array of microconditions while intertwining with an infrastructural system that strategically collects and distributes water according to site density and material distribution. The formal arrangement of the strategy plays with the existing orthogonal organization of the city block while morphing to introduce a new urban form that is better adapted to sustain water inundation. This matrix promotes an urban for m that accepts a variety of program and built occupation to shift toward a more resilient and responsive urban system.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
urban strategy____built form distribution built form
access points
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Zone 1 10% Ground Cover
H12
K4
Zone 2 20% Ground Cover
G10
I5
Zone 3 30% Ground Cover
D12
G7
Zone 4 40% Ground Cover
A10
E11
Zone 5 50% Ground Cover
B7
D5
Zone 6 60% Ground Cover
I2
E2
salty creek water WATERFRONT pools + mounds + pavillions
low density
high density
low FAR
high FAR
uilding massing footprint
Block
salty creek water + freshwater runoff
Small units salty creek water ROAD THRESHOLD pools + medium density buildings
Courtyards
bioswale
salt marsh Connected
freshwater runoff
landform & circulation
it of Parts_Neighborhood cale 1: 1500
mudflat salty creek water + freshwater runoff
MIXED URBAN pools + mounds + medium density buildings
Oscillating
Mixed
fresh High Density Core
freshwater runoff
Structural Core salty creek water + freshwater runoff
Access Core Bridge URBAN MIXED RESIDENTIAL mounds + swales + high density buildings
brackish
salt freshwater runoff
Building Kit of Parts Scale 1: 500
URBAN RESIDENTIAL mounds + swales + high density buildings
ONE LAB Summer 2012 | Brooklyn, New York City | Future cities, Interdisciplinary | Critic: Mitchell Jaochim Project in collaboration with 30 participants of program
In this Collaborative studio we explored the idea of future cities using Red Hook, Brooklyn as our site. The area has depleted in population and economic status due to its physical disconnect from the rest of New York city through the BQE highway. Its history as a port made us ask the question of what it meant for it to re-connect as a major contributor to a local and global economy. The idea was to project how a future city would function, but to break away from traditional forms from the past. We explored topics such as population increase, climate change, and depleting resources. Our vision had to be multi-functional, allowing the city to have multiple uses over time. There was an active discussion about how architecture can have a dialogue with urban and landscape design to imagine more resilient cities.
GOVERNORS ISLAND MONUMENT
CHANNEL + SEDIMENT CATCHMENT
5
BROOKLYN TUNNEL ENTRANCE + BQE
PARTY TOWER
ATLANTIC STADIUM
CORAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND GREENBELT
TRANSPORTATION HUB BUILDING
5