L A NDSCA P E
ARCHITECTURE Seth van der Linden / Cal Poly Pomona 2015
PLACE AND SPECIFICITY
RE AD I NG NOTES ON SITE SPECIFICTY RE-PLACING PROCESS NECESSITY FOR RUIN
WAN D E R CHACO CANYON B O N I TA FA L L S
LI ST E N I NG LECTURE 1 LECTURE 2
L A N G UAGE LEXICON WORDS
R E A D I N G
RE-PLACING PROCESS What made this article unique was the stance that the author Anita Berrisbeitia takes on site specificity and process. She argues that our process is a reaction to site that creates place. However at the beginning of the article she discusses how a disconnect has been formed in our process, and that with that disconnect we as designers have only established a connection with site on the surface. Berrisbeitia states that site specificity only captured an artists interpretation of the site in one given moment, a blip in time. This concept existed next to her interpretation of place, which was described as “the visual character of a site.” As described in the article, “site was open-ended, whereas place was singular.”
Anita Berrizbeitia Edited: Julia Czerniak and George Hargreaves
HISTORY CULTURE EXPERIENCE SOCIAL EMOTION
R E L AT I O N S H I P S Berrisbeitia’s response to process in design is so pivotal as “site specific” becomes the key word in a new project. How does PHENOMENOLOGY this specific intervention react to the cultural and historical significances that occur in that space? Many times this level of detail in design in lost and instead it reacts to that one moment in time such as the “topography, scale, earth’s position, or color and light.” What needs to occur is both to blend seamlessly, to look at place and site as two different strategies becoming one.
PLACE
PROCESS
Four significant shifts in design methodology
1 3
2 4
Design processes rather than the final form. Form is derived from systems already present.
Site research extends to property limits, economic interests, demographics, migration patterns, and the landscapes history.
History is a process. It exceeds side design as just a reference for form, style, and type.
Anticipate further change. The design is just one phase in its evolution as a landscape.
Place is defined by Berrisbeitia in several different ways depending on the interpreter. She looks at how a human geographer, a cultural geographer, and a social geographer would define place. Each geographer essentially narrowed it down to human experience, culture, history, social practices, and economy. Place and site should be intertwined, and how we do that is rooted in process. Process is in important part of designing with intention. Knowing that the current implementation is just one of the many designs that have or will come to this site. This notion is one idea outlined by Berrisbeitia as ways for designers to shift their approach, into a process driven one. It ties into the history of the site, in that history should not be treated as just a way to derive form or program, but as a way that the site is defined. “Site is defined as much by its visible physical qualities as by its accumulated histories.” A response to those histories is how a landscape architect can better connect to place. Our process and design intention doesn’t end here though. Just as we designed with knowledge of the history of the site, it should be recognized that eventually this design will also become part of it’s history. I recognize and agree with Berrisbeitia’s arguments and find that currently this is where the profession of landscape architecture is going, designing with specific intention and detail to place and site in order to properly orient the project inside of it’s context.
NECESSITY FOR RUINS
J.B. Jackson
It’s interesting being that the theme of this pamphlet is place and specificity and that this article, the Necessity for Ruins, talks about these themes in a very different manner. We mostly talk about venerating a site or remembering the most significant historical pieces by incorporating design elements. But in this article it talks about utilizing those ruins, the very pieces that decayed and called for a redesign in the first place, as those design elements. I think it’s an interesting approach to look at it that way, to capitalize on the skeletal forms of the lost and find the inner beauty of those forms. Looking at the moments that the United States constructs such as the Vietnam memorial, the 9/11 memorial, etc., the stand as designs made to try and capture the size of the loss. Those types of designs strive to take the individual on an emotional journey to convey the weight and pain of an event, and depending on the project is either successful or not. I think that the ideas outlined in the Necessity for Ruins could be applied to some of these. For example, how powerful would it be if pieces of the 9/11 buildings were left on site, as it. To walk through a section of rubble or destroyed building, to truly visually connect with the level of destruction and terrorism that took place there. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with one method or another, or that there is one method that is stronger than another, but I think that after reading this article it’s definitely a method that is under explored and under utilized as designers. It’s a powerful method that should be explored. There are some methods that I see exploring this that could convey they weight through ruins but repurposed. Looking at pre existing infrastructure as a means of design is one perhaps more conventional way. Last quarter when looking at the Silverlake reservoir and what to do with a large piece of infrastructure that was going offline, a series of new interventions were recommended for this site. All kept the voids and dams of the reservoirs and simply repurposed them. That’s one way of keeping a piece of the site’s history and allowing it to carry over into the next life of that site.
Overall though this article left me with a lot of questions and curiosity in how site specific design can be implemented and interpreted. Sometimes it’s not just about pursuing heavy research into the history of a site to convey it into a design, but rather looking at what’s currently there before bull dozing. To look at what the site has to offer in its
SITE SPECIFICITY Miwon Kwon
In site and specificity it focused more on the placement of art and its direct relationship to place rather than designed landscape, but I think that the principles are very much the same and can be overlapped. Kwon essentially outlines that an art piece that is pulled away from its context not only looses its value, but the meaning of it completely changes. In specific context to site, should the site change the identity of the art piece changes and the value of it shifts. There are some pieces in Los Angeles that behave just like that. The lights of L.A. at LACMA represent specific times and moments of transition for the city, a piece of history and art that only exist to that city in that time. If it’s pulled away, it looses it’s significance.
I feel that this approach to art should be more heavily implemented, as many times I see that ‘pop up art’ is the approach. In Seattle I know there’s a series of art pieces that are simply plopped on the landscape and found a home, instead of being so intentional as to really being anchored to the site. While in New Mexico there was a Railway park designed by Ken Smith and Associates, which beautifully integrated the significant historical shifts of the site while taking art pieces that were literally pulled from the old metal. The art was birthed from the reuse of materials that gave it significant to the site. Even this level of intention helps ground a piece to place. The author argues that site specificity prevents refabrication, in that due to the site specific design of the piece it could never exist anywhere else. I agree but also disagree with this when applied to landscape design.
I think that to an extent site specific can’t be replicated. Naturally the context of the fabric surrounding it will influence forms and responses, but I feel that sometimes these influences can exist elsewhere. Unless an artist is so specific that the piece responds not only physically but through culture, history, and more, the piece could exist elsewhere. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, as I’ve seen a lot of success with landscape architects in creating an extremely site specific design, but I have not particularly felt that strong about an art piece in the landscape, save for a few examples. In the end I found myself agreeing with most of what Kwon had mentioned in her article. She brought up unique points about being able to understand the context of a piece/design in order to better perceive the context of the work. Her arguments that site specificity is a process is something that I have learned as a response to the articles I’ve read for this pamphlet. It has without a doubt opened up my eyes as a designer and will be forever influencing me when it comes to my designs as a landscape architect. Successful landscape architecture is found in a true understanding of site and place, and being able to respond appropriately.
W A N D E R
CHACO CANYON MESA HIKE
The day was getting hot and long, and the class was heading towards a path. We had seen the Mesa’s from a distance most of the morning today, and got a quick glimpse of them again from the base with our tour. It was almost surreal thinking that we would now be able to ascent to the top and get a true canyon view of what was around us. As we emerged to the top the view was breathtaking, and there was no possible way to escape it. Suddenly the specific attention to detail that the natives had when it came to alignments were made very apparent as we had an almost plan view of the sites. It personally amazed me to think about a culture of people so dedicated to their work and so dedicated to finding meaning and purpose in the universe that no task was too large to accomplish. This to me was the definition of site specific design. Being an ancient civilization everything naturally came from the site. Personal journeys, pilgrimages, and circulations were etched into the ground by hundreds of years of feet. Every part of the kivas were intentional in their astrological placement and orientation. The designs were the site, the site were the designs. I left wondering why landscape architecture can’t achieve that same level of success. If landscape architects can implement that level of connection between site and design, we would make extremely successful designers.
B O N I TA F A L L S This was quite the interesting wander, as it literally turned into a wander to try and find the falls. It’s not marked in terms of where to go, and instead it’s much more an exploration. It begins in a canyon with what had appeared to be a marker of where to begin. This led to an dried river bed, of nothing but chalk white ricks that appeared to go on forever. It was here that our little voyage began. This journey was lined with various treasures along the way, many of which took the form of an eclectic array of colored graffiti. Some of it I have to admit surprised me, as it was quite beautiful, but at the same time I was saddened that it was found in the context of this environment, and not an urban jungle. Our wander continued though for some time as the treed began to engulf us and suddenly the graffiti became our waypoint markers of where to go, to follow in the footsteps of those who had been there before. After some amount of incline we eventually reached the base of the falls.
It amazed me how quickly we shifted from this extremely dry riverbed to the amount of water that we had present there. It made for quite the fun experience. What was probably most unique for me was how different I noticed the graffiti on the rocks to be compared to that of Los Angeles. At Bonita Falls the art more so resembled that of an indian tapestry, where in L.A. it reflected the city much more. It made for a good wander.
L I S T E N I N G
BURNETT AND RIOS DROUGHT AND BEAUTY Unfortunately I arrived a bit late to this lecture, but I was still able to catch the presentation done by Rios. I was amazed at how well it not only overlapped with my pamphlet topic, but also how it related to the WDI design studio. I felt like he was reiterating what we had been learning the entire quarter, and it felt great to hear this things from a professional firm. Rios spent spent the majority of his time talking about the importance of site specificity and how a lot of times as designers that gets lost. He argues that along with a narrative, it should be the most important aspect of design. What I respected most about Rios and his answers that he gave to some of the questions was how he is able to blend narrative with site specificity. He outlined that often times being specific and intentional in your designs overlaps with having a strong narrative. The narrative often time responds to the context and ground the project within place. When I look at my project this quarter my narrative focuses intimately on our relationship with the night sky, and the site was an observatory. The narrative and the site blended beautifully together and were able to form a project that venerated a lost relationship while connecting historically to a distant past. This kind of relationship is what Rios focuses on his designs, and even if the narrative is solely for the designer, it is still present and strong with every project.
LIAM YOUNG TOMORROW’S THOUGHTS TODAY Liam Young is a speculative architect specializing in story telling of the future. He utilizes provocative language and visuals in order to stimulate a level of thinking that would other wise not be accessible. He did a presentation in downtown Los Angeles last year about our civilization and the anthropocene. Young presented a myriad of thoughts and ideas of where we are moving as a culture, many of them scary to think about, however a series of them can be applied to landscape architecture in present day. One of the most significant pieces that he put together was outlining the significance gold has on the geological fabric of it’s continent. The demand of gold literally shapes the mines and dictates the scaring of our planet. This type of relationship between consumer and landform baffled me, as I had no idea that significance the West had in shaping this landscapes. Although quite a dark and negative topic, some light was found in Liam Young’s words. The idea that a landscape could truly respond to the inputs around it, that it could be so dynamic and site specific that it truly would exist only within the heartbeat or pulse of those exact moments. I’m not sure how this would be achieved or what it would take to pursue this level of design. In the context of Young’s discussion it was definitely a negative moment, but I think that given the right level of provocative thought these ideas could materialize as an extremely momentous moment in present day design.
image courtesy of Liam Young’s Tomorrow’s Thoughts Today presentation
Kalgoorlie Super Pit, from kalgoorlietourism.com
L A N G U A G E
P A L I M P S E S T
s o m e t h i n g r e u se d o r a l te red bu t s t ill bea r i n g v i s i b l e t ra ce s of i t s ea rlie r fo rm
This wo r d r efe r s d i r e ct l y to re t a ining t h e histo r y of t h e si te . I n te r ms of la nd s ca pe a rchi te c t ure t h i s co u l d me a n a d es ign stra te g y i n th a t w h i l e th e s ite is being rep u r p os e d o r r e co n str u cted, t h e h is to r y of w h at i t o n ce wa s i s sti l l lef t in pla ce . It g i ve s ev i d e n ce of ch a n g e a nd a llows a deep e r hi s to r i ca l co n n e ct i o n to be m a de w i t h t h e u se r .
J U X T A P O S I T I O N
two t h i n g s b e i n g se e n o r pla ce d c lo s e to g e t he r w i th co n tra st ing ef fec t
Ju xt ap o si ti o n i s a n o th e r d es ign s t ratg ey. I t ca n b e u ti l i zed to give e m p has i s to a sp e ci f i c pa rt of t h e p r oj e c t o r to h i g h l i g h t a s erie s of inte r ve n t i o n s. F o r l a n d sca pe a rc h ite c t s t h i s co n tra st co u l d co m e fro m el e m e n t s i mp l e me n te d by t h em s e lve s or f r o m e l e me n t s th a t a r e c u rre nt ly exi s t i n g i n th e si te . I t ca n als o be u s ed to con t rast i ts co n tex t. The h igh line I wou l d ar g u e i s a j u x ta p o s it io n to t h e c it y o n s eve ra l l eve l s. Th e pre-exis t ing inf ras t r uc t u r e of t h e ra i l l ine a ga ins t the p l an t i n g p a l e t te wo uld be o ne exa mp l e .
D E M A R C A T E
to s e p arate o r to se g r e g a te, s e pa ra t io n b e t we e n a r t a n d i t’s co ntext
I chos e t hi s wo r d b e ca u se of it ’ s co nt ra s t ing natu r e to t h e th e me a n d n arra t ive of my pa m p hl e t . D e ma r ca te fo cu se s o n s e pa ra t ing an o b j e c t , i n th i s ca se a n a rt pie ce, away from i t ’ s co n tex t. Th i s se p a ra t io n I wo u ld arg ue d i s tor t s o r l o si n g th e m e a ning a nd inte n t i o n of th e p i e ce . F o r exa m ple , if you we r e to ta ke th e 9 / 1 1 mem o ria l do ne by P W P i n N ew Yo r k a n d move it to Lo s An g e l e s , t h e d e e p a n d si g n i f ica nt m e a ning of the p i e ce wo u l d b e l o st, and it beco m es two b i g h ol e s w i th wa te r fa lls . Wh ile s t ill in ter e s t i n g , t h e p i e ce l o se s it ’ s va lu e a nd m e an i n g . Th i s p r i n ci p l e a pplie s to s ite sp eci f i c d e s i gn i n th a t we d o no t wa nt o u r design s to de ma r ca te . Th e i nte nt io n is fo r them to b e su cce ssf u l a n d i nterpreted in that s p ace on l y , a n d sh o u l d it be m oved it wo u l d n o t ma ke sens e.
H O R T A T O R Y
u rgin g to so m e co u rse of a c t i o n o r co n d u c t
H or t ator y r efe r s to t a k i n g a c t io n o r m o t i vat i o n . I t wa s ch o se n be ca u s e of how I af f i l i a te d i t w i t h my t h em e of si te s p e c i f i ci t y. I n my p a mph let I’ m p ro m ot i n g si te sp e ci f i ci ty a nd u rging a co u r s e of a cti o n a cr o ss a ll la nd s ca pe de s i g n e r s . We sh o u l d a l l be t h ink ing ab ou t s i te sp e ci f i ci ty a n d h ow t h a t i n f l u e n ce s o u r d e si g n s a s we ll a s ind i v i d u al ex p e r i e n ce s. I n e s s ence t h is p am p h l e t i s ma d e to b e ver y h o ra to r y towa r d s a sp e ci f i c t h e m e .
M O N U M E N T
any e n d u r i n g ev i d e n ce or no t a ble exa mp l e of so me t h ing
S eve ral re a d i n g s t h a t I d id fo r t h is p am p h l e t o u t l i n e d t h e i mpo rt a nce of histr o r i cal co n tex t fo r si te spec ific s . Th a t des i g n fo r a p r o j e ct i sn ’t j us t a bo u t t h e sun a n g l e s or th e p l a ce me n t of t h e m o o n. But t hat i t ’ s a b o u t u si n g t h e ric h co ntext of th e c i t y, u ti l i z i n g i t ’s p l a cem ent in t h e worl d as a way to d r i ve d e s ign. Be ing in the 2 1s t ce n t u r y mo st p l a ce s a re no t being de s i g n e d , t h ey a r e b e i n g re de s igne d. So m e t h i n g t h a t h a s l o st pu rpo s e o r inte n t i on a n d we a r e r e a ct ing to t h a t . Mon um e n t wo r ks i n t h a t we ca n u t ilize thes e h i s tor i ca l fa cts to ma ke a m o nu m e nt to t h e c i t y. O u r i n te r ve n t io ns do n’ t neces s ar i l y ne e d to h ave a m o nu m ent , bu t rat h e r t h ey ca n b e a mo nu m ent .
C O N U R B A T I O N
a n exte n s i ve u r b a n a r e a r e s u lt ing fro m the exp an s io n of seve ra l ci ties o r tow ns so th at t h ey co a l e sce b u t us u a lly ret a in t he i r se p a ra te i d e n t it ies
Co n u r b at i o n a ct u a l l y ove rla ps well wi t h wh a t we j u st d i d i n o u r de s ign s tud i o . To h ave a se r i e s of inte r vent io ns and d e s i g ns t h a t ex i st i n one s ite bu t have t h e i r ow n se p a ra te i d ent it ies . As a s i te d eve l o p s f r o m th e expa nding c i t y, a s e r i e s of n ew h i sto rie s a re l aye r e d i n to i t’s p a st . I t’s u p to u s a s de s i g n e r s to u n p a ck th e se layers a nd dis cove r h ow we ca n b e tter inte gra te th e m i n to p i e ce s to r eve a l ide nt it ie s in t h e s i te. To co n u r b a te enco u ra ge s tha t as t he se si te s a r e u n pa c ked t h ey c r e ate t h e i r ow n i d e n t i tes , bu t s t ill co n n e c t t h r o u g h th e u r ba n fa bric .
A U G M E N T I N G
make s om e th i n g g r e a te r by a dd ing to it
Aug m e n t i ng wa s ch o se n as it dire c t ly r e l ate d to t h e i d e a of l aye r i n g. In re nd ering I tr y to have a s ma ny l aye r s a s po s s ible s o that e ac h o n e co n t r i b u te s to m a k ing t h e l ayer g r e ate r , fo r i t to r e a d a nd revea l it s e lf the m or e yo u i nve st i n to i t. Th is is h ow I s ee d e s i g n , i n th a t i t sh o u l d be m a d e a s layer s to b e d i scove r e d a n d u npa c ked . To augme n t i s to co n tr i b u te to t h e s e laye rs , on l y e ac h o n e a d d s to t h e g rea t ne s s of t h e des ign . I fe e l t h a t i f so me th i ng d o es n’ t a dd to the p r o j e ct o r i t i n fa ct d i minis h e s wh a t it ha p p e n i n g a t t h e si te i t s h o u ld no t be inc l ud e d i n t h e d e si g n . Au gm ent ing o u r mind s an d o u r p r o j e cts w i l l o nly a llow fo r t hem to b e t h e st r o n g e st t h a t t h ey po s s ibly ca n b e .
A N T H R O P O C E N E
a p r o p o se d te r m fo r t h e pre s e nt g e ol og i ca l e p o ch , d u r i ng wh ic h hu m an i t y h a s b e g u n to h ave a s igni f i can t i mp a ct o n th e e nv iro nm ent
An t h r op oce n e . Th i s wo r d es s e nt ia lly e n com pa sse s mo st of w h a t o u r des i g n s s t r i ve to i mp a ct . A s o u r t im e on t h e e a r t h a s a sp e ci e s t h e re wa s a m om en t w h e r e we si gnifica nt ly b e g an imp a cti n g t h e e a rt h . Th is m om e nt of i mp a ct, o r m o m ent of d i s t u r b a n ce i s w h e r e a lo t of l and s cap e a r ch i te ct s st r i ve to co m ba t . To have an i n te n ti o n a l d e sign t h a t no t on l y f un c t io n s b u t se r ve s to be t te r t h e env i r o n m e n t a n d l e sse n ou r im pa c t . If we t r u l y u n d e r st a n d o ut s ite s a nd wh e r e t h e i r co n tex ts we ca n be t te r co m b at t h e e nv i r o n me n ta l fo o t print . W he t he r t h a t ’s t h r o u g h pla nt ing strate g i e s to co mb a t a i r p o llu t a nt s o r typ e s of l ig h t i n g i n o r d e r to inc rea s e o u r ove ra l l l i g h t q u a l i ti y. We ca n al ways str i ve to ma ke a n im pa c t .
B I N A R I E S
co n s i s t i n g of , i n d i ca ti n g , or invo lv ing t wo . h avi n g t wo pa rt s
I s e l e c te d th i s wo r d a s a way to expa nd on my t he me fo r t h i s p a mph let . D es pite choosi n g b i na r i e s a mo r e sp ec ific way t h a t I app r oac h i t i s t h r o u g h a d i c h o to my. Like our b rai n h av i n g t wo p i e ce s bu t exis t ing as o n e , p i e ce s of a d e si g n ca n a c t a s t h e s am e . The c i ty a n d t h e p r o j e ct s h o u ld exis t toge t h e r , b u t se p a ra te . S i mila r to wh a t was tal ke d abo u t w i t h co n u rba t io n, in t h a t the p ar ks ar e to g e th e r b u t h ave t h e ir ow n iden t i t i e s . Th i s wa s so me t h ing t h a t wa s ver y ap p ar e nt i n o u r d e si g n s t h is yea r. My p roject an d Ja so n ’s p r o j e ct were e s s ent ia lly two p ar t s to R ya n ’s p r o j e ct . I wa s s u ns e t , he was s unr i se , a n d we b o th exis ted in con j uc t i o n w i t h R ya n ’s a r ma t u res . Ou r rel at i on s hi p s we r e b i n a r i e s th a t exis ted to r e a ct to M t. Wi l so n.
F R A C T A L
inf i n i te l y co mp l ex p a t te r ns t h a t a re s e l f - s i m i l a r a cr o ss d i f fe rent s ca les
Frac t al wa s a wo r d t h a t I t rie d to u t i l i ze ac r o ss my e n ti r e pro je c t t h is quar te r . I t r efe r s d i r e ctl y to pa t te rns t hat ar e si mi l a r a cr o ss d if fe re nt s ca l e s , b u t I a l so th i n k of it a s d es ign strate g i e s t h a t a r e p r e se nt a c ro s s a n en t i r e p r o j e ct . F o r exa mp le, wit h yo u r the m e fo r a p r o j e ct wa s i nfinit y, t h en eve r y p i e ce of t h a t p r o j ec t s h o u ld e n com pa ss t h e t h e me of infinit y, fr o m t he si te d e si g n to t h e jo ine r y of t h e f ur ni t u r e . Th i s me ans t h a t t h e desi g n r e a cts to t h e si te no t o nly o n a s ur face l eve l , b u t eve r y l eve l a nd laye r th at co u l d p o ssi b l y o ccu r wit h in t h e p r o j e ct.