"There is divine beauty in learning, just as there is human beauty in tolerance.
To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth.
Others have been here before me, and I walk in their footsteps.
The books I have read were composed by generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and disciples.
I am the sum total of their experiences, their quests.
And so are you."
Elie Wiesel
I developed a teaching methodology for design studios to ini ally start a dialog with students. Studio begins with an introductory explora on that examines an aspect on the design ques on in a form-making, experien al way. The projects I choose for studios center around challenged or disadvantaged popula ons in urban environments and these ini al inves ga ons seek to put the students into the mind of the user - their experiences, their emo ons and to understand their voices. Deep thinking ques ons were posed to each student - not to solely be answered, but to urge students to think about the concepts presented. The introductory inves ga ons also allow myself, as an instructor, to get to know how each student thinks, what they love about design and how to best tailor to their individual process of learning and making.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is a success.”
He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.”
“Trash has given us an appe te for art.”
mural arts as cultural emergence interwoven personal exchange urban collec on of moments..... and faces
personal connec ons to the river landscape as living remnants
Students were to construct a physical study model that illuminates best the evalua on/perspec ve of the “advantages and disadvantages” of living and working in the Mantua/Belmont Urban Neighborhood. Each model was cra ed as a reflec on of an interpreta on of a meaning of the place – An experience from the point of view of a resident. The pieces sought to generate an understanding of the qualita ve and quan ta ve aspects of living, working and playing within their urban and regional circumstances. Each was encouraged, in this process, to invoke a “feeling/emo on” of the placeand of a reading that iden fies and represents a feature or condi on in the urban neighborhood that would make it dis nc ve and/or unique.
“Let us make future genera ons remember us as proud ancestors just as, today, we remember our forefathers.”Roh Moo-hyun
“Unlike a drop of water which loses its iden ty when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent.Pauline Kael Henry Ford
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”Leonard Cohen
“Landscape is a noun…so here find a li le book about some words cri cal in [exploring] the essence of landscape. Neither dic onary or field guide, it is only an invita on to walk, to no ce, to ask, some mes to look up and around.”
from “What is Landscape?” by John S lgoe
This is a ques on for explora on. It is a vastly broad ques on embodying many meanings, categories, manifesta ons, nuances, processes and values. Landscape is a living medium of systems – everchanging and evolving. New yet meless. Made, but inherent or revealed. We are stewards to it. What is landscape to you?
I asked the 3rd year undergraduate design studio prior to designing a community core in Santa Fe, New Mexico the ques on - “What is Community?”. I gave them each two s cky notes. The words that emerged were: family, social, interac on, connec on, cultural, gathering, whole, support, diverse, memory. Of note no descrip on noted a physical thing. The words were solely experien al.
landscape is memory landscape is personal
landscape is journey
landscape is connec on
landscape is me landscape is systems
intelligence curiosity reflec on empathypride success honesty joycouragewisdom perseverance
hope convic onhonor inspira on
strengthsorrow
Each
Create six (6) India ink dot two-dimensional composi ons on (12” x 12”) white Canson© paper. The work will represent posi ve and nega ve space – black on white.
Ink dot composi ons are digitally scanned, drawn, overlaid and manipulated to adapt to each scaled typology:
• Garden: in mate and/or personal.
• Plaza: communal and/or public.
• Street: system and/or a set of rela onships.
core surface whirl curve PROCESS PHOTO
control
stack peel foold PHOTO PROCESS
The spa al manipula on of paper explores the process of deconstruc ng<>reconstruc ng a basic form, evolving a space that emphasizes human scale + narra ve and connec on + integra on to an emo onal experience. The modeling explores the inten onal development of form and space: DISRUPT<>RECONSTRUCT: making through individual discovery, brainstorming, disrup ng and reitera on, breaking down a form and reconstruc ng it, evolving it based upon a big idea. SCALE<>NARRATIVE: communica ng the size of a space in rela onship to another form within a physical space.
Philadelphia is a city of Neighborhoods. Mantua/Belmont in West Philadelphia was a neighborhood where gunshots and crime had become almost normal. In 2016, the area chosen as one of President Obama’s first “Promise Zones” for economic development. Mantua is bordered by some of Philadelphia’s largest ins tu ons (the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the Philadelphia Zoo, and Fairmount Park), as well as by large industrial sites (most notably the AMTRAK rail yards). The 4th year Urban Design Studio posed the ques on: what physical design intervenons could encourage healthy and ac ve lifestyles, thereby improving public health among residents? Students inves gated the site’s social, cultural, ecological, economic and physical background to develop important design considera ons for re-imagining a healthier place for people. The students traveled to Philadelphia and par cipated in tours/workshops with Drexel University, The Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia Community Gardens Associa on and the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. The student designs came together and re-visioned the neighborhood through a physical, collabora ve model.
The West Philadelphia Promise Zone aims to reduce poverty and bring greater opportunity to people living and working in West Philadelphia. The ini a ve helps organiza ons work together to connect residents to high quality educa on, well-paying jobs, affordable housing, health services, and safe, economically healthy places to live. The area of the West Philadelphia Promise Zone is roughly two square miles – bounded by the Schuylkill River to the east, Girard Avenue to the north, 48th Street to the west, and
to the south.
Sansom Street WEST PHILADELPHIA | MANTUA-BELMONT NEIGHBORHOOD WEST PHILADELPHIA | MURAL ARTS PHILADELPHIA | MURAL ARTS TOUR + WORKSHOP WEST PHILADELPHIA | COMMUNITY GARDEN TOUR WEST PHILADELPHIA | COMMUNITY GARDEN RESIDENT MEETING WEST PHILADELPHIA | COMMUNITY LOT TOUR WEST PHILADELPHIA | DORNSIFE CENTER RESIDENT VISITS WEST PHILADELPHIA | COMMUNITY URBAN DESIGN TOUR WEST PHILADELPHIA | RESIDENT CONVERSATIONS
An Interna onal Design Compe on was based on an exis ng vacant site located at the southern end of the Coachella Valley, California near the Salton Sea. Home to resort communi es including Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage, the Eastern Coachella Valley lacks affordable housing for the permanent and seasonal, Mexican farmworkers who harvest its crops and staff the local service industry. With annual salaries of just $15,000–$30,000, workers and their families are forced to live on the streets, in cars, or in one of more than 100 unpermi ed mobile home parks, without access to adequate heat, hot water, sanita on, or ven la on. Breaking New Ground: Designing Affordable Housing for the Coachella Valley Workforce was sponsored by The California Endowment, a Los Angeles–based private health organiza on, and targets the inequitable gap between the people who come to the Eastern Coachella Valley to play and those who keep its $4 billion agriculture and tourism industries running.
onal Desig i n Compe e on was based on an exis ng n vacant site located at the southern end the Coachella near the Salton Sea. Ho Home to resort communi includuding Palm S Palm Desert, and Rancho the Eastern Coachella lacks a ordable the permanent and seasonal, Mexican who harvest its crops staffa the e local service industry Wi With annual salaries of just workers and their families are forced to live on the streets, in cars, or in one of more than 100 unpermi mobile home e park r s, without access to heat, hot water, sanita or ven n New Ground: Desesig i ning n A ordable Housing the Coachella Workf k orce c spononsored The Endowment, a Los Ang n eles based private health on, and targ r ets th t e gap between th t e who come to the Eastern Coaoach c ella l Val a le l y to play a and those who keep its $4 billion agriculture and tourism indndustries running.
CONVERSATIONS WITH FARM WORKERS CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILES SITE IMAGERY + CURRENT CONTEXT
Santa Fe is the capital of the state of New Mexico. This area was occupied for at least several hundred years by indigenous peoples who built villages. The City of Santa Fe, founded by Spanish colonists in 1610, is known as the oldest state capital city in the United States (407 years old). Santa Fe (meaning “holy faith” in Spanish) had a population of 69,204 in 2012. Its nickname is “The City Different” because it does everything a bit differently - appears physically different and is one of the most distinctive urban capitals in the United States. Santa Fe relies on tour ism as a major source for its economy and years ago, developed a plan to initiate a “Santa Fe Style” – a way of life and aesthetic look/brand to ensure its livelihood. Santa Fe is the third largest concentrated art center in the world, outside of New York City and Los Angeles. Its strict zoning and building codes provide for no building to rise in height over two stories, except for religious or important institutional/public buildings in the city. All buildings must also conform to the Santa Fe Style, possessing earth tone colors, approved/proportioned architectur al blocked/stacked forms with smooth, rounded edges and vernacular inspired detailing and materials. Local Santa Feans also hold their history sacred and treat water, in a high-desert (7,000 feet + elev.) climate, as a precious resource. The 3rd-year Studio Project explored how to create a contemporary 21st century core community space within a recently built village located in the high-desert environment of Santa Fe. The 21,000-acre community (Rancho Viejo) central space design challenged the studio to create a new neighborhood core, taking into account Santa Fe’s complex regionally-specific economic, ecological, multi-cultural, aesthetic and sociological issues. The investigation was to distill and connect these complexities to a place-making process that could re-envision new life, health and soul for the community.
Past na onal memorials have been envisioned to remind us of an idea, an event, a notable person or people that impacted our world in a unique way. They celebrate, tug at our hearts, inspire, reflect and allow us to experience the past so that we might learn for our future. Memorials also tell stories. The Na onal Museum of the American Indian will honor Na ve American servicemen and women as a symbol of the country’s respect for Na ve Americans’ sacrifice and patrio sm by sponsoring a compe on that seeks to tell this important story and allow for “a place for reflec on where genera ons of Americans can honor the proud and courageous legacy of Na ve Americans in the military, and look forward to the future”. Students in the 3rd year studio inves gated Na ve American stories. They researched, inquired, documented and experienced the site and context through traveling to the museum and Washington D.C..... They sought insights, drew connec ons and developed designs through a process of mapping, modeling, deep understanding and ul mately melding meaning, crea ve place making and empathy to graphically communicate the memorial’s design.
Established in 1856 as an orphanage for neglected and abandoned children in Los Angeles, Maryvale is the longest-opera ng non-profit child welfare agency in Los Angeles. Their mission is to heal, empower and educate children and families to ins ll hope for a more fulfilling future. The Rosemead Maryvale loca on offers early educa on services including two preschool programs and a before-and-a er-school program that services over 300 children daily and subsidized preschool for our community’s lower income families. The goal of crea ng a school garden will also allow for early teachings in science and the process of providing care to living things. The students, prior to designing the garden, diagrammed revealing the pa erns, layers, textures and rela onships of their emerging plan ng design’s ideas/concepts. Other studies were diagrams represen ng plants as healing/sensory studies, play/movement, educa onal/crea vity, food produc on and plants as habitat/ecology.
The plan ng design engaged a school open courtyard for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. Many of these children had been abandoned or abused prior to coming to reside at Maryvale. The goal was to create a series of outdoor rooms for the children for both ac ve and contempla ve gathering outside of the classroom and from the indoor confines of the facility. The Plan ng Design Studio designed a school edible garden, a gathering area and remodel an established mud kitchen. All together the goal of the garden was so that children would learn about the process of life through the wonder of growth, hands-on science and a closer familiarity with the earth.
“I was so emo onally blown away by the amazing effort and the many crea ve ideas put forth by all the Cal Poly the students for HOLA. I am so exited to see where this goes and I am looking forward to the final designs. Every child deserves an equal chance to be successful . Thank you!”
Tony Brown, Execu ve Director - Heart of Los Angeles | HOLA
HOLA serves more than 2,300 kids each year, ages 6-24. HOLA presently provides undeserved youth a chance to be successful, through excep onal free a er school programs (academic, arts and athle c programs) within a nurturing environment, empowering them to develop their poten al, pursue their educa on and ul mately college while strengthening their communi es. The 2ndyear studio is designing an entry sequence to the HOLA Campus’ new 25,000 square foot Arts and Recrea on Center. The new center will consist of modular structures built from single-use shipping containers. There will be a large performance space that opens up into the landscape. The building is also equipped with green roofs, solar and several stacked roof decks for students.
Students re-envisioned an entry landscape to the HOLA Campus’ new Arts and Recrea on Center and developed comprehensive ini a ves to add value for the campus and community, as well as crea ng a new entry space of the new Arts and Recrea on Center. Thestudents put themselves in the space as it was a purposeful ini a ve for students designing for students. HOLA envisioned a passive space with gathering areas for both individuals and groups, circula on throughout and sought for the landscape to have a rela onship to the new building physically, socially and symbolically - while also crea ng a visually appealing view when walking to or out of the front of the building. Visibility into the space was important as there were safety issues to be considered, as the school sits within an economically challenged and complex urban neighborhood where exists a homeless popula on and gang ac vity in the area.
STUDIO SITE CONSTRUCTION VISIT + SHIPPING CONTAINER CLASSROOMS
COMPLETED ARTS + RECREATION SCHOOL | HOLA
STUDIO FINAL REVIEW AT HOLA WITH CLIENTS, STUDENTS + COMMUNITY
A fouth-year Capstone urban design inves ga on and collabora ve effort with DC Planning and swa group, developing a vision exploring resilient design strategies to integrate public space, an established layered architectural framework and historic complex hydrologic systems in Georgetown, Washington D.C. The Georgetown Waterfront Vision sought to reveal a place where ecology and public life coexist. It rethinks Georgetown’s Potomac River Edge to create shared prosperity and proac vely protect against the dual threat of sea level rise and flooding.
Preserving America’s early transporta on history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Opera ng for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communi es along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recrea onal treasures. The canal is part of a larger urban waterway system and was inves gated as part of the studio considering Georgetown’s Waterfront Park, which is flooding due to sea-level rise.
The studio developed urban design strategies and an inten oned argument that ul mately created design solu ons at a contextual and site scale level - developing real-world applica ons that li ed the Georgetown Waterfront to new eleva ons and purposes. These big ideas allowed for ecology to persist, evolve, reconnect and expand for future genera ons to come. The Georgetown Waterfront Vision informed a framework for the project, grounded with layers of research and analysis, u lizing process driven, socially equitable design solu ons.
Walk along Potomac River
Water Story Profile/Section
A second-year studio interlaced street and transport as a comingling concept - as an equitable canvas where both street and transport collide, and human/ecological experience occurs. The students developed an informed infographic to communicate a vision for a future mobility stance. Each student team developed a graphically communicated, data informed language to communicate ideas for future mobility through an infographic. Each vision was further developed from research, site reconaissance and a field trip case study inves ga on. Students ul mately brainstormed ideas to convey a vision for future mobility in Los Angeles, California - big ideas that propelled their urban design strategies going forward.
A secocond-year studio intererlaced street and transport as a coming n ling n concept - as an equitable canvas where both s street and transport collide, and human/ecologicacal experience occurs. The students devel e oped an to communicate a vision a stance. Each student team a communicated, data lananguage to c communicate ideas throug u h an inf n ographic E Each vision was site reconaissance and a eld trip case inves on brainstormed ideas to convey a vision in Los Calif i ornia - ideas that their urban desig i n es n
A second-year
A second-year studio partnered with the Architecture and Design Museum of Los Angeles (A+D) and CoMo on LA, a global laboratory of future mobility bringing together the leaders of the mobility revolu on every November in the City of Angeles. CoMo on is a global pla orm where the most innova ve transporta on and technology companies, as well as civic and business leaders from across the mobility ecosystem explore, collaborate, and interact to share ideas. The CPPLA students’ urban design ideas and ini a ves would become part of an eventual museum exhibi on, tackling new and innova ve, visionary modes of future sustainable mobilty in the City of Los Angeles.
The South-Central Farmers are comprised of approximately 350 families that live in the community surrounding the former project site at 41st and Alameda. From 1994 to 2006, the South-Central Farmers operated the 14-acre project site as the South-Central Community Garden. The studio will design a new garden for the South-Central Farmers in a new site loca on as their community core. Part II Spring Semester 2021 addressed plan ng, ecology and the design and programing of the new 1/8th-acre site. The design ideas will become catylysts for the future weaving of an urban farming network throughout South-Central Los Angeles, addressing food insecurity and food deserts prevelent in the community.
There are 900 linear miles of alleys in Los Angeles, which combined would make up about 3 square miles—about half the size of Griffith Park and twice the size of New York’s Central Park. Sca ered throughout the city in neighborhoods, commercial zones, downtown, and L.A.’s industrial areas, the alleys, for the most part, are ignored. South Los Angeles alone contains about 300 linear miles of alleys, or approximately 30% of all the alleys in the city of Los Angeles” . Many alleys in South Los Angeles, however, are currently misused as unsanc oned dumping grounds for trash, and are in a degraded state with the second highest flood complaint density in the city due to the aging stormwater infrastructure and lack of permeable surfaces.
Alleys exist as a finer grained, layered spa al framework – a living system that provides connec ons to all of the spaces in-between that are worthy of inten oned micro and macro mobility, ecological process, human interac on and equitable use. Cal Poly Pomona’s Capstone Studio inves gated and re envisioned a series of spa al typologies in-between buildings throughout several districts in South Los Angeles. The studio ul mately created a comprehensive field guide/design manual, with the guidance of several professional partners, from the ini a ve.
LA 4621L.02 main ini a ve was an urban design inves ga on on Resilience Hubs - equitable, community-serving facili es that support and empower residents during natural disasters as a result of climate change; serve as facili es to mi gate civil unrest and public health crises; organize the distribu on of food and services to communi es in need; and also double as suppor ve, educa onal cores that inform, build and strengthen communi es. Ul mately the students compiled a comprehensive typological design handbook from the ini a ve.
Resilience Hubs as urban places are o en loosely defined - expanding into the public realm and accessible to all during COVID-19, and would become focal points for neighborhood revitaliza on and provide resources residents need to enhance their own individual capacity, suppor ng and strengthening their neighborhood and neighbors. To date, most community resilience work focuses on iden fying and managing vulnerability and risk through top-down approaches. The students addressed the complex roots and causes of climate change, and engaged community members of local neighborhoods,
The City of Los Angeles, Mayor Garce ’s Office of Resilience, and The Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, in the process of planning and ac ng to enhance resilience.
The Blue Greenway will link established open spaces; create new recrea onal opportuni es and green infrastructure; provide public access through the implementa on of the San Francisco Bay Trail, the San Francisco Bay Water Trail, and green corridors to surrounding neighborhoods; install public art and interpre ve elements; support stewardship; and advocate for full waterfront access as an element of all planning and development processes throughout Southeastern San Francisco now and in the future.
The Blue Greenway wilill li link established open spaces; create new recrea onal es and green access the on the San Francisco Trail, the San Francisco Water Trail, and green corridors to n install art a and intererpre ve elements; support stewewardship; and advocate water access as an element all pl n and processes Southeastern San Francisco now and in the e
The Blue Greenway is a 13-mile long/1-mile depth public open space corridor that will connect a diverse, economically challanged, marginalized community to green open space, lacking in their neighborhoods. A former industrial area, the sites are polluted, toxic brownfileds that are in the process of environmental remedia on. The students will directly address people’s quality of life and environment, par cipa ng in healing the community by envisioning a series of healthy, inclusive, comfortable and universally accesible network of parks, trails, beaches and bay access points along San Francisco’s neglegled Southeastern Waterfront.
a spiritual campus design inspired through physical, social, cultural and ecological moments.
The church campus form was envisioned by mapping the wind blowing meadow grass and by re-purposing structures to re-imagine housing a youth camp for disadvantaged children. The church is permeable to the meadow, proposing a visual and social exchange with the landscape.
VISION
water flow
a series of ac ve gestural experiences expressed as movement, layering + flow.
Harrah’s Rincon involved work with the Rincon Na ve American Tribal Leaders to represent an experien al oasis through flow and movement. The original gestural sketch was developed into a lazy river for the resort - incorpora ng a series of layered experien al moments through the flow of water, the ver cal and horizontal layering of plant material, the growth of food for guests and members of the tribe and through the emergence of a local public mural arts program.
| Wuhan, China revealing the tradi on and experience of home to a river farming town.
Envisioning a new river town East of Wuhan, China provoked an inten on to build upon ideas of tradi onal courtyard housing and re-purpose exis ng structures within an new entry park - situated between the new high speed rail sta on and the new community. Ques ons were posed: what community meant to the resident farmers, fisherman and ar sans, and choices were ini ated to build upon the people’s sense of tradi on and home and add value to their lives.
Our diverse community of collaborators.
The Virtual Field Study (VFS) is composed of a series of lectures, on-site virtual tours, interactive workshops and presentations. This initiative allowed students and the wider community to be virtually connected with local and regional participants from throughout the United States and the world. The Virtual Field Study initiative was never envisioned as a substitution for in-person education, rather as another valid method of engaging students in their landscape architecture studies at Cal Poly Pomona.
