Urbanscape Transformation

URBANSCAPE TRANSFORMATION:

REDEFINING THE URBAN PUBLIC PARK IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SHELLY SANG

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE THESIS PROJECT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE MAY 2010

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: DON HANLON, RAY ISAACS, GRACE LA

URBANSCAPE TRANSFORMATION:

redefining the urban public park in phoenix, arizona

SHELLY SANG

master of architecture thesis project school of architecture and urban planning university of wisconsin-milwaukee may 2010

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: don hanlon, ray isaacs, grace la

ABSTRACT

During the last century, many cities dealt with the challenges of rapid urban growth and continue to do so as a large influx of the world’s population relocated to urban areas for more opportunities and access to social and economic resources. In the United States, western cities like Phoenix, Arizona have witnessed rapid growth as the availability of inexpensive land continues to contribute to the horizontal expansion of the urban landscape. A consequence of this growth, is that the unique desert setting of Phoenix has either dramatically decreased within the city or has been pushed to the very extent of its periphery. Nevertheless, the city is also abundant in urban parks and areas of mountain park preserves. However, these city parks are green wasteland that are underutilized and do not reflect its natural context or provide the necessary resources that meet the demands of a growing metropolis.

This thesis project will redefine the urban public park in order to mitigate the disconnection between the urban and the natural setting within a desert context.

The chosen site is an existing deck park over a major interstate in central Phoenix also known as Margaret T. Hance Park. The deck park is located at the northern border of downtown in an emerging arts and cultural district. In addition, the project’s approach will emphasize the significance of context and four conceptual layers including performance, movement, surface, and ecology as the driving force behind the transformation of the urbanscape to enhance the public realm.

[fig. 1, left image: west view of downtown phoenix.]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First I have to thank my parents for their love, incredible support and sacrifice; for without them, I would not be able to pursue my goals and interests. I also have to thank my brother for his help and assistance with this project.

Thank you to the committee members: Don Hanlon, Ray Isaacs, and Grace La for this project would not be possible without your involvement, advice, and time in which I have learned a great deal and gain so much.

In addition, I would like to extend my gratitude to Professor Linda Krause for her involvement during pre-thesis, NJ Unaka for his suggestions and insights, my former professors Nan Ellin and Paolo Sanza, and the wonderful instructors at SARUP especially Pamela Schermer, Dennis Manley, Arijit Sen, Greg Thomson, Gil Snyder, Harry Van Oudenallen, and Manu Sobti for everything they have taught me.

I would also like to thank my friends for their support and encouragement, especially Giuseppe Mazzone, Runmin Yu, Jamie Lese, Nancy Chu, Sarah Lynn Christensen, Derek Blumer, Elizabeth Winters, Rachel Hicks, Kate and Peter Bissen, Joseph Schwobe, Hailey Kornish, Kristin Reichart, Tim VanOudenhoven, John Fox, Paul Mertz, Nathan Zywicki, Wacharapong Tumwasorn, Heidi Steinmann, Cassie Hibbert, Napa Nikolaus, Adrienne Benson, Jodi Masanz, Peter Nguyen, Khyati Rathod, Carlos Rivera, Johnny and Sandy Teng, Berenice Ibanez and Sabrina Russo.

Finally I would like to thank my fellow thesis classmates who all shared this journey with me and for making my last semester so memorable: Maria M. Rivera and Juan C. Feliciano for putting up with me as their roommate, Alex McEathron, Alex Chou, and Alex Fortney for making me laugh every day, Tami J. McCullough for believing in me, Joe Vraspir, Andrew Olsen, Jill Naumes, Carley Hoffman, Brian Howard, David Landon, Angie Huebner, Yasenko Badic, Ameya Redkar, Ed Markfort, Nate Lambrec, Emily Fournier, Dru Chapman and Nick Gaddy for his support.

[fig. 2, background image: view of the sonoran desert.] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT | II

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project Background: Losing Desert to Urban Sprawl 01 - 05

Project Narrative : The Significance of Urban Parks 06 - 08

Project Statement: The Thesis Objectives 08 - 09 Site and Context : Margaret T. Hance Deck Park 10 - 13

Theoretical Reference: The Significance of Landscape in Design 14 - 17

Precedents: The Contemporary Urban Parks 18 - 21

Initial Analysis: Defining Site and Conceptual Layers 22 - 39

Initial Iteration: Surface Modulation and Connection 40 - 49

Final Iteration: A Series of Layers and Transformations 50 - 81

Conclusion: Redefining the Urban Public Park 82 - 83

Citation: Bibliography and Images 84 - 87

[fig. 3, left image: aerial view of the phoenix metropolitan area.]

“The urban horizon is the site at which the natural and the urban engage and through this engagement are revealed. The urban and the natural are dialectically interrelated; one cannot exist without the other. It is only through the city that we can ‘think’ the natural world, and this is true whether you are in Lagos, West Covina, or Fukuoka . . . it follows that an extraordinary transformation in the way we see and understand the urban would be mirrored by a transformation in the way we see and understand the natural.”

- Albert Pope, from the essay “Last Horizon” 1

1. Albert Pope, “Last Horizon”, in Re-Envisioning Landscape/Architecture, ed. Catherine Spellman (Barcelona: Actar, 2003), 166.

[fig. 4, left image: view of downtown phoenix from south mountain.]

PROJECT BACKGROUND

LOSING DESERT TO URBAN SPRAWL

In the west, there is a unique connection between the earth and the sky; its urban horizon as dictated by western expansion and continuous growth or sprawl, provides an ever-present landscape that stretches far and wide. One of the best examples of experiencing that continuous “horizontal landscape” is in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona.1

Phoenix, located in the southwestern United States on a valley flatbed surrounded by mountains, has transformed itself into a sprawling metropolis within the last fifty years. Its unique geography, appealing climate, economic opportunity, and availability of inexpensive land have attracted a population of nearly five million people to the metropolitan area.2 As a result, housing developments have transformed the desert at a rate of one acre an hour spreading in all directions from the city’s core. The unprecedented population and land area growth elevated the city status to that of the fifth largest and fastest growing.3 However, massive suburban sprawl and a car dependent culture like that of Phoenix, fail to provide viable and quality public spaces, while also creating a sense of disconnectedness from the self, the city and its natural context.

Having lived in Phoenix for over a decade, I have witnessed that drastic urban transformation. At the same time, this is a unique place set within the lush Sonoran desert that is quickly disappearing as developers take over with tract homes, strip malls, and parking lots. Nevertheless, I see the potential that this city has to becoming a great American city. However, this potential has been hindered by its fast growth and inability to control and deal with rapid development that is quickly destroying its natural habitat. The fragile Sonoran desert is an important and diverse ecosystem with over fifty different animal species, eighty-five bird species, and a variety of plants that varies in location from the mountain ranges to the arroyos. As urbanization spreads, many of those unique species of plants and animals also face extinction and thus having a consequential impact on our environment.3

[fig. 5, satellite image of north america highlighting the state of arizona in blue with an enlargement view of the city of phoenix in orange.

phx

[fig. 6, left images: aerial plans showing urban land growth in the phoenix metropolitan area.

Furthermore, it is not just the loss of natural habitat, but a decline in a sense of connection to the desert context. The city of Phoenix was once the central home of the pre-historic Hohokam Indians, who created extensive irrigation canals throughout the valley between 700 A.D. and 1400 A.D. The late 19th century brought Jack Swillings and several inhabitants to the valley who named the area “Phoenix”, symbolizing the fact that they have risen from the ruins of a former civilization.4 The early 20th century depicted Phoenix as an agriculture heartland and transportation hub, while the 1950’s saw a rapid rise in population as the tourist industry attracted people by advertising the appeal of the desert climate. Nevertheless, growth continued in the city while a connection to the desert declined, existing only as islands of park preserves in a sea of urbanity. The desert in Phoenix has become elusive as green lawns and concrete carpeted the ground and the distance between the natural setting and the boundary of urban areas increased.5

It is without a doubt that the Phoenix metropolitan area will continue to grow and be urbanized, whether it is in the form of low density master planned communities or high rise condos. In that essence, I am interested in exploring a thesis project that will address and accept its current growth condition and yet deal with the issues of disconnection within the urban fabric of the city. I am looking to examine how I can respond to those changes, create a stronger connection within the community, and recognize the importance of context, in this case the Sonoran desert. It is in finding that connection between the urban and natural, can Phoenix become engage in dealing with the challenges of a growing contemporary city.

Notes:

1. Alan Berger, Drosscape: Wasting Land in Urban America (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 21.

2. Nan Ellin, “Phoenix 21: Desert Metropolis”, in Phoenix: 21st Century City, ed. Edward Booth-Clibborn, (United Kingdom: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 2006), 19.

3. Janine Schipper, Disappearing Desert: The Growth of Phoenix and the Culture of Sprawl (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008), 4-9.

4. City of Phoenix, “History”, http://www.phoenix.gov/CITYGOV/history.html.

5. Michael F. Logan, Desert Cities: The Environmental History of Phoenix and Tucson (Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press, 2006), 186.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF URBAN PARKS

While growth and suburban sprawl have come to dominate the Phoenix landscape, the city is also abundant in green spaces or parks. As more people continue to inhabit urban centers, these city parks become ever more relevant and significantly necessary as the need for communal spaces and a sense of connection to nature also increases. The era of Frederick Law Olmsted pushed for open green spaces as a way for dense and congested cities to breathe and think about the importance of public health. While that was the case at the time, modern cities like Phoenix that are lower in density and more widespread, need a different kind of green space. Contemporary public parks should be engaging intellectually and physically and in addition to providing open green space for recreational activities, should also reflect its history, context, and ecosystem. 1

Nevertheless, the public spaces or parks in Phoenix are for the majority of them underutilized and lack sufficient shade and water to make them beneficial to the community.2 The more successful parks are those of the desert mountain preserves, which maintain its original desert setting with minimal impact while providing hiking, walking, biking trails, picnic areas, and educational points, etc. However, the city urban parks are in contrast to the desert preserves. These urban parks are spread throughout the city, range in various sizes, consist of non-nativescape such as deciduous trees and green lawns, and lack the amenities to make them usable year round during the extreme desert climate. They are essentially green deserts or wasteland dotted like islands throughout the city.

Although these are issues with modern parks, why is it essential that urban parks be the vehicle used to deal with the problems of urban growth and as the pillar for creating that connection to nature? New approaches to urban design that encompass various entities, design disciplines, ecology and redevelopment of existing infrastructures, like that of the movement for “landscape urbanism”, demonstrate how landscapes like that of urban parks can be influential ways of developing a relationship between cities and the natural process.3 For example, the transformations of existing city infrastructures

like railways, parking lots, and industrial site into modern urban parks require less overhaul and costs than that of transforming an entire city. Urban parks like that of Chicago’s Millennium Park or the New York High Line that are well maintained and updated to reflect current city needs, are economic boosters that increase property values, attract tourist revenues, provide environmental benefits, and further create community cohesiveness.4 Essentially, it is the urban parks that will not only create that connection to the natural setting, but become the linking nodes between different growing communities in a sprawling area.

Notes:

1. Toronto Star, “Why Parks Are Important”, http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/235503.

2. Arizona Republic, “Singin’ on the train: Rail is a hot new venue for artists”, http://www.azcentral.com/news/ articles/2009/08/08/20090808lightrailspace0808.html.

3. Elizabeth Mossop, “Landscapes of Infrastructures”, in The Landscape Urbanism Reader, ed. Charles Waldheim (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 165.

4. Gothan Gazette, “Good Parks Are Good For the Economy”, http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/ parks/20090624/14/2949.

PROJECT STATEMENT AND OBJECTIVES

Therefore in order to respond to urban growth and sprawl in the city of Phoenix, this project’s proposal will focus on the urban public park. This thesis will redefine the concept of a desert urban park by emphasizing the significance of context as the process to define events. In addition, the project will also examine ways to transform the urban park in order to:

1. mitigate the disconnection between the urban and natural setting 2. invoke a memory of the desert landscape

3. celebrate the significance of water in the desert and 4. connect the urban park to the rest of the city. 4 3

border of the city area.]

[fig. 9, image of the sonoran desert, a lush habitat with a variety of plants and animals.]

[fig. 10, photo of the arizona canal, a significant resource that can be found throughout the city.]

[fig. 11, an aerial view of the core of phoenix, its downtown area.]

SITE AND CONTEXT

MARGARET T. HANCE DECK PARK

The site is an existing deck park over a highway tunnel (Interstate-10) known as Margaret T. Hance Park. Named in honor of the former city major of Phoenix it was constructed during the early 1990’s. The park was put in as part of the Papago Freeway construction project as a way to connect the northern residential part of town to the core downtown south. It is located at the northern border of downtown Phoenix spanning just over half a mile long and ranges from 200 feet to 700 feet in width. 1

The deck park is not only centrally located, but is within the vicinity of many popular destinations in Phoenix. Those major points include the main central library that is located next to the center of the park, the Phoenix Art Museum to the north, a major light rail stopping point, and the adjacent Roosevelt Arts District. Other amenities include cultural centers like the Jewish Heritage Center, Irish Cultural Center, Japanese Friendship Garden, and several schools such as the Arizona School for the Arts and the Phoenix Center for the Arts.

Although, the park is meant to be a bridge to connect two different zones of the city, it is quite hidden in terms of access and lacks the qualities to attract people beyond its vicinity. The park is also not fully used to its extent, but only during special organized events that occur near the main library or by a few transients who tend to linger in the area. Due to a lack of amenities and neglect, the park has also become an attraction for negative activities such as drugs and the homeless. In comparison to many other urban parks in Phoenix, the park does not take advantage of the unique desert environment, but is more disconnected to the identity of its native landscape and in a way has become a green wasteland. The deck park is chosen for the exploration of this project, because it is not only a gateway to the city’s core, but it is also surrounded by many unique cultural amenities.2

Notes:

1. http://phoenix.about.com/library/blmaphancedeckpark.htm.

2. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/08/15/20100815dek-park-tunnel-phoenix-margarethance.html.

[fig. 12, left image: an aerial view of margaret t. hance deck park and its vicinity.]

city of phoenix

A - PHOENIX ART MUSEUM (arizona art and cultural hub)

E - ARIZONA SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS (performing arts charter school for k-12 students)

B - VALLEY METRO LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (major stops are located near the library and at the arts district)

C - BURTON BARR CENTRAL LIBRARY (phoenix public library main and central branch)

F - PHOENIX CENTER FOR THE ARTS (a community arts center with classes for the performing and material arts)

G - ROOSEVELT ROW ARTS DISTRICT (urban art neighborhood with monthly festivities and exhibits)

D - CUTLERPLOTKIN JEWISH HERITAGE CENTER (a museum and community center)

H - MARGARET T. HANCE PARK (deck park over i-10 highway tunnel)

THEORETICAL REFERENCE

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LANDSCAPE IN DESIGN

While the term “landscape” can often be referred to scenes of a pastoral nature, in its modern context, it has come to include a variety of areas including infrastructures, urbanism, and ecology. Landscape is an open interpretation of transformation and design merging both culture and nature. It has the capacity to not only shape the environment, but also to express concepts that engage our perception. It is in this context, that landscape has increased in significance and its value can be found in its experiential quality that defines the spaces we inhabit.1

In recent years, there has been a shift and an increase in the importance of landscape over architecture in urban design. In Nan Ellin’s essay entitled “A Vulnerable Urbanism” from a collection of essays on re-envisioning the role of architecture and landscape, she talks about the failures of master planning and modern urbanism as consisting of a type of inclusivity that prohibits their full potential and instead produce only fragmented realities within the urban fabric. She further states that the lack of integration and the rigidity of master planning and modern urbanism have contributed to a level of dissatisfaction with those methods and the fostering of a new approach that focuses on the process and a relationship with the landscape versus a singular product. 2

The approach is based on the ideas of “landscape ecology” in which the users and the built environment are incorporated into the natural systems and is often described as “landscape urbanism”. The concept deals with the notion of interconnectedness and interrelation rather than isolation.3 In addition, Charles Waldheim, an educator and practicing architect who coined the term, further argues that the inflexibility of traditional urban design have not been able to deal with rapid change and growth especially in the area of urban sprawl.4 The tremendous urban growth of the last century and its effects have contributed to a growing awareness of environmental ecology on a more global level. This awareness brings about the significance of landscape in design and its ability to conceptualizes and theorizes alternative solutions that encompass the complexity of urban problems and its various entities.5

[fig. 14, left image: an aerial view of the deep ground project from the architectural association of london landscape urbanism program.]

Furthermore, “landscape urbanism” addresses several significant key factors including: context both near and far that can provide for the possibility of unforeseen programs, a framework to incorporate both process and techniques of various scales, and a mode of operation that organizes objects and spaces and process and events.6 A more important potential is its ability to change in scales, to examine the urban fabric within regional contexts, and to design relationships that are established between ecological processes and the built form. Within this theoretical framework, landscape is no longer seen as a separate entity, but as elements permeating together and comprising of four major themes: 5

1. “process over time”: flow and movement through urban forms with an emphasis on how things work in “space and time”, such as the dynamics of ecology where infrastructures can be viewed as part of the ecological process.

2. “staging of surfaces”: concerns the horizontal plane of the urban field that ranges in various scales from the sidewalks to a vast matrix of infrastructures covering large areas while allowing for the development of future possibilities by anticipating the changing demographics of the “urban surface”.

3. “operational or working method”: examines the significance of different research and representational techniques across various scales while incorporating an interdisciplinary approach such as engaging engineers alongside artists to better conceptualize solutions to urban problems.

4. “the imaginary”: suggests that the “collective imagination” can better inform creative solutions such as perceiving public spaces within the city beyond that of “recreation”, but as various performance, representation, and activities, etc.

Within these themes, the operational mode of this project will emphasize four conceptual layers as the framework for executing the design within the desert context Performance will represent the different activities or programs needed at the site to generate user groups, movement will examine how those programs are connected within and from the site, surface will reflect the abstraction and structure of the site topography as a way to provide flexibility for future activities, and ecology will look at how nature and the environmental process can be brought back to the site.

Why consider landscape an important tool for designing the urban public park? Beyond examining the notions of “landscape urbanism” and just thinking about the essence of landscape, its temporal quality makes it quite an ideal model for a process of transformation and change. It is a catalyst for transformation because it addresses the larger urban territory rather than the individual pieces of modern urban design. This is extremely relevant to the chosen site and the basis for this project in that the deck park sits over an existing infrastructure and its current design is already a representation of the qualities that did not work within traditional planning practice as seen by a lack of use, activities, and amenities.

Finally, this thesis project will not just base its theoretical approach for design through elements found in the concept of “landscape urbanism” but must also look at other theoretical landscape ideas such as projects by Lawrence Halprin, a landscape architect who emphasize the use of choreography and relating the process of nature rather than a duplicate of form in landscape and design.7 In the same way of constructing abstracted landscape, architect Bernard Tschumi sees building elements as a part of the natural landscape such as in his controversial design for Parc de la Villette in Paris. These theoretical studies made into practice are represented in the following examinations of four project precedents that in different ways best represent the concepts of redefining the contemporary urban park

Notes:

1. James Corner, ed. Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999), ix-x, 1-16.

2. Catherine Spellman, Re-Envisioning Landscape/Architecture (Barcelona: Actar, 2003), 224.

3. Nan Ellin, Integral Urbanism (New York: Routledge, 2006), 90.

4. Charles Waldheim, ed. “Landscape as Urbanism”, in The Landscape Urbanism Reader (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 37-38.

5. James Corner, “Terra Fluxus”, in The Landscape Urbanism Reader, ed. Charles Waldheim (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 23-33.

6. Mohsen Mostafavi and Ciro Najle, Landscape Urbanism, A Manual for the Machinic Landscape (London: Architectural Association Print Studio, 2003), 5-9, 58-63.

7. Lawrence Halprin, Lawrence Halprin Notebooks, 1959-1971, (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972).

This 125 acres park sits on one of the last remaining large sites in Paris. The park accommodates various programs including a science museum, music hall, playgrounds, and restaurants. Three major themes define the overall park design which consist of points, lines, and surfaces. Red follies which also act as orientation markers to break up the terrain are placed within a point-grid coordinate system where events are generated by its program. The lines also act as the circulation zone where pathways connect to other programmatic zones and the surfaces are for activities requiring a large area such as concerts and a market.1

The significance of examining Parc de la Villette as a precedent lies in the context of scale and programs or performance Tschumi use of follies as nodes, grid system, and various large anchoring programmatic elements broke the site into different sizes while providing space to accommodate various activities. In the same way, the deck park site is one large vast open space and this approach can be the guideline for organizing the programmatic elements of the site.

1. Bernard Tschumi Architects, “Parc de la Villette”, http://www.tschumi.com.

The Freeway park was constructed as a lid over a portion of I-5 as a way to heal the scar of the highway construction and to physically connect the residential area to the downtown financial center. Designed by Lawrence Halprin and Associates, the park encompasses the idea of blending the urban surface such as concrete with natural vegetation into one by creating concrete canyons and waterfalls.

After its early initial success, the park succumbed to years of neglect and was plagued with issues of drugs and transients. In 2002, the city made plans to improve the existing park by making short term and long term changes that included increasing activities on the site, adding more seating, outdoor cafes, informative gardens, and landscape improvement to alter the perspective of the park.

The Freeway Park is one of the earliest examples of a deck park in downtown. Employing some of the techniques used by the Freeway Park for revitalization can be a starting point to improve the current status of the deck park in Phoenix.

1. Seattle, “Freeway Park Activation Plan”, http:// www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/freewaypark/ ActivationPlan.pdf.

[fig. 15: an exploded plan of parc de la villette showing the different layers starting at the top with lines, points in the center, and surfaces at the bottom.]

[fig. 16: image of one of the red follies at parc de la villette in paris, france.]

PARC DE LA VILLETTE | BERNARD TSCHUMI | PARIS | 1982-1998

[fig. 17, image of the fountains at freeway park in seattle.]

[fig. 18, image of interstate 5 running below the freeway park.]

1976 & 2002 | SEATTLE | LAWRENCE HALPRIN | FREEWAY PARK

The High Line is a collaborative project involving various entities including the City of New York through Friends of the High Line in conjunction with the winning entry team of landscape architect, James Corner of Field Operations and the architecture team of Diller Scofido + Renfro. The main conceptual idea for their proposal for the design of the existing elevated railway is to retain as much of the sense of the original landscape while transforming it into a park that will be accessible and adaptable for the future.

Other unique features of the elevated linear park include the integration of ecology in its design, which sets itself as an important precedent for this thesis project as a way to mitigate that disconnection to nature. Through the strategy of “agri-tecture” that takes into consideration its urban microclimate and a flexible response to change, such as the selection and arrangement of plants or the interlocking precast planks allowing for irrigation and water collection, the High Line provides a place that reflects both the “nature” and “culture” of its present time.

1. Patrick Hazari, Designing the High Line: Gansevoort Street to 30th Street (New York: Friends of the High Line, 2008), 7, 30-31.

Stoss Landscape Urbanism proposal for Papago Trail in the Phoenix metro area re-envisions the existing canal infrastructure and recreational trails of the Papago Park as a large scale urban catalyst that incorporates ecology and adaptation at various points within the trail. The proposed interventions act as a framework that will deploy a series of navigational markers in order to solve issues of access, continuity and identity. These markers lay the structures for future urban interventions around the site and consist of activity rooms that bring together recreational, transportation, and hydrologic systems. In addition, diversion gardens are also proposed as detours from the trail to act as open space corridors that engage local urban conditions.1

The uniqueness of this project is its desert context and its integration of movement through the use of existing infrastructure. Their proposal of markers that act as destination points to create continuity and identity is an excellent example of how to create a series of nodes within the project site while responding to its urban desert context.

1. “The Papago Trail”, in Stosslu, (Seoul: C3, 2007), 169-183.

[fig. 19: perspective view of a section of the new york high line, an urban garden built over an existing elevated railway.]

[fig. 20: another perspective view of the new york high line showing the type of landscaping at this urban garden.]

[fig. 22, perspective view of the landing strip garden of the papago trail.]

[fig. 21, model view of the diversion garden of the papago trail project.]

2003 | PHOENIX METROPOLITAN | STOSSLU | PAPAGO TRAIL

INITIAL ANALYSIS

DEFINING SITE AND CONCEPTUAL LAYERS

Upon further examination of the entire deck park and the amenities within the vicinity, I have chosen to focus on the eastern half of the deck park site for the exploration of this thesis project. The eastern half of the site (approximately 20 acres in area) is unique in that it is not only surrounded by the most cultural amenities in contrast to the western side, which is mostly residential, it also has the most advantage points and open access areas for connections to the rest of the site and the vicinity. By focusing on a design solution for the eastern side of the deck park, it can become a model for the rest of the park and be a catalyst for transformation within the rest of the city. The main features of the eastern side of the deck park include the following:

A. connection through the light rail underpass to the deck park west side B. a strong view of the site from the eastern approach via the interstate below C. an existing green corridor connecting the site to the art museum in the north D. the main entrance to Phoenix Central Library which attracts a variety of people E. local art schools that already use the existing park fields as a playground F. a clear view and open access to downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Arts District

major light rail path and stops

deck park east side

central avenue central library deck park west

north side: residential district major access to downtown south of site

INITIAL ANALYSIS:

deck park east

i-10 to airport and east valley i-10 to los angeles

N

convenient car/bus access to site

context

CONCEPTUAL LAYERS

objective #2: invoke memory of the desert + fragile, extreme, drastic transformation

framework operation ecology

movement objective #4: connection to the city + within the site and vicinity

performance surface objective #3 significance of water

activities, programs and natural events merging within the desert park objective #1 connect the urban to the natural

programmatic activities such as play, view, gather, perform, create, listen, learn, take refuge, etc. to attract users and generate events

jewish heritage ctr.

az school for the arts central library

phoenix ctr. for the arts

PERFORMANCE DIAGRAM LEGEND

entry points main path read perform play view create

main access points to existing amenities with the site

green corridor connecting the art museum in the north (existing) to the central library, and to the arts district in the south (future)

extending existing library to include outdoor reading room zone and or cafe

providing an outdoor performance stage or amphitheater (original city proposal that was unbuilt) to accommodate all site amenities in an active zone (highest traffic)

creating an actual playground in a field where the performing arts school already uses for recess and break time

high visibility area for visual connection from the highway below to the site and to the phx. mountains in the north east

providing an outdoor area as part of the community arts center to allow for the display of art in an outdoor platform as a way to promote to passerby and connect with the existing arts district

MOVEMENT PATTERNS WITHIN THE LARGER CONTEXT

MOVEMENT PATTERNS LEGEND

1- topographic view of the phoenix metro area showing the mountains that surround phoenix on all sides.

4- railways are constructed to connect the city to other areas by running between mountains.

[fig. 24, above and right images: movement patterns of the phoenix metropolitan area (all layers) show how much existing natural elements like mountains inform city growth and access. streets and highways maintain standard grids while rivers and canals follow a more natural course around existing elements. these patterns will be used as the starting point for design.]

2- rivers are usually located at edges or crevices of mountains and ridges throughout the area.

5- city streets are constructed in a grid like manner to extend as far as possible before stopping at or around the mountains.

3- canals are built around where rivers flow to collect water from the mountains.

6- highways follow existing grids but also around the city in a loop.

light rail path with stopping points

average wind direction for this area: east to west

jewish heritage ctr.

central library

accessible path within site

az school for the arts

entry points

secondary connecting path between east and west side of the deck park

main connecting corridor/ green path

line of highway below

phoenix ctr. for the arts N

H.P.: high point platform area (>20 FT.)

M.D.: mid point transition area (<20 FT.)

STD.: standard point at grade level (0 FT.)

L.P.: low point area of water accumulation (<0 FT.)

SURFACE POINTS ELEVATION DIAGRAM

m.p. std. m.p.

h.p. h.p. std.

std. m.p. l.p. l.p.

l.p.

l.p. l.p. m.p. std.

the desert elevations have a significant impact on the type of life that can be found there from the top of the mountains to the lowlands. in abstracting the varied elevations of the desert, high point indicates designated areas for views in relations to indicated performances, while low points are for creating pools or depressed areas as a result of flow movement from high to low.

abstraction of desert topography as a way to create and connect spaces in addition to its experiential quality to create flexibility

SURFACE

IMPACT OF THE RAIN IN THE

DESERT ECOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

dust storm followed by heavy, short, rain

overcast and dark skies followed by light long rain

creosote bushes release unique aroma throughout the city after the rain (D)

wildflowers bloom in early spring after the winter rain (F)

flooded creeks/ streets (C) sprouting of desert grass and vegetation within days

life emerges from the desert after the rain and as water level begins to decrease, wildlife such as the desert toad appears above ground (E)

WINTER RAIN (A)

SUMMER MONSOON (B)

DESERT

[fig. 25a-f, above images: various views of the desert transformation process.]

representational abstraction of the desert habitat and its transformational process in order to increase its connection to the desert and bring back local plants and wildlife

“In Phoenix water could be used to play an essential role in the making of a poetic city that stimulates and relates to us as human beings”. - Catherine Spellman 1

1. Catherine Spellman, Re-Envisioning Landscape/Architecture, (Barcelona: Actar, 2003), 79.

FIRST ITERATION

SURFACE MODULATION AND CONNECTION

After examining the four conceptual layers of performance, movement, surface, and ecology as the driving forces for design and laying out the initial analysis where the structural framework for programs and connections can be determined, the next phase is developing the operational method that will tie everything together in one cohesive design.

In the essay, Terra Fluxus, James Corner writes about the idea of surface as a way to acknowledge demographic changes within the urban surface. For example, he talks about how people can spontaneously ‘stage’ various activities in a variety of ways at different intervals for different events. These events that take place can be connected temporarily across a vast urban field, while acting as different elements within a system of “a diverse network of interactions”.1 In this case, one can almost consider intervening within the site in a way that is not objectified by a design that is permanent such as the case of a programmatic structure, but a structural framework that allows for transformation, changes, and spontaneity of activities to occur within the site. To further emphasize this concept, Nan Ellin writes in Integral Urbanism, that the idea of “folding seeks to connect places . . . and to connect the present with the past and the future . . . folding seeks to acknowledge and support complexity.”2

As a result, one can began to look at surface and the idea of modulating ground planes as a way to transform, abstract, and connect people and places within the site.

Therefore, the first iteration will consist of a site transformation based on the four conceptual layers integrating the initial analysis while abstracting the ecological process of water within the desert through the means of modulating surfaces

Notes:

1. James Corner, “Terra Fluxus”, in The Landscape Urbanism Reader, ed. Charles Waldheim (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 31.

2. Nan Ellin, Integral Urbanism (New York: Routledge, 2006), 14.

[left image: mixed media collage of overall project concept based on an abstraction of the process of water within the desert.]

1) the first iteration for transforming the site includes creating areas where planes are tilted in a way to form large areas of possible water accumulation while creating mirages in the desert through reflecting pools.

depressed areas between tilted panels transformed into desert basin for water pools.

3) the third iteration of the initial concept sketch highlighting overall forms of tilted planes and major pathways for the flow of water throughout the site while creating defined edges and spaces for possible programmatic events. major pathways

2) the second iteration involves creating more tilted planes to move water throughout the site while abstracting the process of water flow in the desert.

4) the fourth iteration large site model shows the modulating surfaces in addition to areas of defined activities.

areas between two tilted planes create channels for water accumulation or to move water throughout the site.

viewing platform performance stage playing field art garden

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

fig. 26a: side elevation of existing library as the back drop for the stage

CENTRAL LIBRARY

fig. 26c: outdoor reading room as an extension of the library

main green corridor connecting to existing and proposed path high point

fig. 26b: viewing deck towards phoenix mountains

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR. AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

low point

high pt.

gathering zones located around performance area

average wind path east/west direction

CENTRAL LIBRARY

main green corridor connecting to existing and proposed path

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR. AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

avg. wind path activity circulation main green corridor highway path below standard sidewalk stairs elevator gathering zone

views toward site elevated lawn seating area for outdoor stage

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

playing fields at lowest point of the site

art garden as extension of existing community art center

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

activity circulation, size varies according to performance type

fig. 27a: highway path below

existing standard sidewalk fig. 27b: access areas such as elevator and stairs for viewing deck

44 | INITIAL ITERATION 5: PERFORMANCE

INITIAL ITERATION 5: MOVEMENT | 45

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

line of pathway area of level slope

low point, area of water accumulation

CENTRAL LIBRARY

modulating surface defined edges

up slope or surface area tilted upwards edges of high point or top of tilted surface

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR. AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

path level slope up slope high point edges water

fig. 29a: shady palo verde trees to line main corridor

CENTRAL LIBRARY

down slope

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR.

high point

trees or groves of desert trees to be located at low points and pathway channels for areas of water accumulation

AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

high pt.

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

DESERT WATER PROCESS

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

1 23

fig. 28a: high point, mountains in the desert

water flows from the top of desert mountains during the rain or melting of the snow toward crevices

fig. 28b: low point crevices between mtns. become rivers

rivers are diverted into canals creating reflecting pools in the desert

fig. 28c: canals are an important water source in the desert

low point: desert basin, areas of water accumulation

acacia trees to cover outdoor reading room as found near desert basin

pathways to slope toward low point like desert channels

fig. 29b: low point resembling desert arroyos & low flat areas for water accumulation

INITIAL ITERATION 5: ECOLOGY | 47

N

CENTRAL LIBRARY

INITIAL ITERATION 6

adding restroom core to areas under outdoor seating

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR. AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

reworking playing fields

reworking east entry path

CENTRAL LIBRARY

main corridor to be of steel mesh with gravel for water drainage

INITIAL ITERATION 7

sloping desert ground held up by structural steel edges

JEWISH HERITAGE CTR.

AZ SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

changing location of outdoor reading room to extend into main corridor pathway

PROGRESS SKETCH

enlarging the size of modulating surface planes to decrease number of edges

PHOENIX CTR. FOR THE ARTS

lowest point

bridge over sloping path

enlarging playing fields

revising east entry path to flow continuously and connect with west entrance

INITIAL ITERATION: PROGRESS SKETCH | 49

central library

music sitting

outdoor reading rooms

waiting talking people watching

outdoor cafe poetry

concerts

jewish heritage center

outdoor performance deck and lawn seating

viewing dance performance art theater outdoor cinema

urban art/ wall mural

community interactions festivals and cultural events play equipment basketball exercise educational seasonal display

market and display

playing fields

az school for the arts phx. ctr. for the arts art garden

star gazing

storm watching

observation

viewing deck and outdoor pavilion

contemplation shelter/shade service core food and drinks

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY N

xeriscape garden bird watching

performance as the first conceptual layer is the most significant in that it dictates all possible activities and programmatic elements that can take place within the site and define a sense of space. the proposed main performance types such as the art garden and outdoor reading rooms are based off of existing programmatic elements within the vicinity while the proposal also lend itself to other activities that are more informal and spontaneous such as viewing, learning, reflecting, etc.

52 | FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: PEFORMANCE

central library

connection to main library entrance and to the existing green corridor

jewish heritage center

outdoor performance deck and lawn seating

connection to phoenix mountains in the northeast connection to highway below

playing fields

outdoor reading rooms art garden

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY N

az school for the arts phx. ctr. for the arts connection to the arts district to the south connection to street

viewing deck and outdoor pavilion

although the designated performance types are determined by the needs of the existing programmatic elements such as the art garden as an extension of the existing community arts center, its relative location is also based on its connection to other surrounding site elements such as connecting it with the adjacent sites.

FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: PERFORMANCE | 53

central library

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

jewish heritage center

areas for gathering bridge over sloping pathways

az school for the arts phx. ctr. for the arts

main connecting corridor pathways as water channels stairs or elevator core

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY N

rusted steel grate steel support beam gravel compacted earth concrete

steel grate walkway detail

stone pavers decomposed granite

breakdown of pathways surface textures and types.

movement illustrates the various pathways throughout the site. the pathways in some areas vary in size, expand and then narrow acting like channels allowing for the flow and movement of water from a higher end of the site to a lower area. in addition, these pathways can also form ephemeral rivers when it rains as changing site elevations throughout the site allow for the accumulation of water as part of the site experience.

54 | FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: MOVEMENT

FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: MOVEMENT | 55

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

central library

reflecting pool at low point

jewish heritage center az school for the arts phx. ctr. for the arts

desert ground desert xeriscape garden

surface textures breakdown illustrating the various surface types such as desert xeriscaping, lawn texture for seating or playing fields, and shallow built out concrete areas for water collection.

rusted steel grate walkway

steel support channel

opening at steel edge for overflow

surface edge section detail built up ground and landscaping (sloped to drain)

perspective view of surface edges (rusted steel)

line of rusted steel sheet beyond

high point lawn area FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: SURFACE | 57

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

in the desert, trees and vegetation types are sparse but can be found depending on the slope of the land and how close is the water source. in areas of higher elevations, fewer trees and cactus can be found. cluster of trees are found in areas that are closer to crevices and low points where channels are formed and rivers created during the rain. larger patches of shade are grouped and not as abundant but are sparingly found and act as oasis from the extreme heat of the desert.

PERFORMANCE MOVEMENT SURFACE ECOLOGY

low point (-10’)

central library

jewish heritage center

tree location grade (0’) (-4’) (-5’) (0’)

flat/ low slope mid point high point +20’ canopies

(0’) (+20’)

high point: rocky with small brushes

mid point: cactus and some brushes or trees

phx. ctr. for the arts

flat/low slope areas: grasses or brushes

low point: no vegetation/ trees along edges

down slope

shallow water accumulation light water accumulation heavy water accumulation reflecting pool

diagram of water flow direction and area of water accumulation. the legend indicates the level of water accumulation with the darker blue being the area of highest and longest water accumulation. in addition, the darkest blue also represents the lowest point designated for pools and the lightest blue represent the higher areas or surfaces allowing for less water accumulation and more water drainage. FINAL ITERATION: CONCEPTUAL LAYERS: ECOLOGY | 59

ZONE 1: VIEWING DECK

ZONE 1 VIEWING DECK

viewing deck (upper level) and outdoor pavilion area as an extension for cultural arts activities through the phoenix center for the arts

a series of steel columns acting as a filtering zone from the street to the park

stairs to viewing deck behind rusted steel edge

cafe area tilted canopies

reflecting pool along pathway entrance to phoenix center for the arts FINAL ITERATION: ZONE 1: VIEWING DECK | 63

restroom and elevator core beyond

AUTUMN: OUTDOOR READING ROOM

WINTER: VIEWING DECK

perspective view from the main green corridor looking north toward the outdoor reading room area. in the fall or autumn from middle of september to november, the sonoran desert begins to cool down and is dry but not as severe as early summer. in addition, animals like lizards go back underground and the summer flowers begin to fade away. FINAL

perspective view from a walkway looking northeast toward the viewing deck. the desert has two bi-seasonal rainfalls, one in winter and one in late summer. in winter, (december and january) snow can be found in the surrounding mountains of phoenix, the trees and plants dry up turning into tumbleweed or cease to grow, some animals go into hibernation, and the mild weather is filled with light and gentle rain that can last all day.

SUMMER: PERFORMANCE

perspective view from the entrance of the art garden toward the western end of the site. in the spring time (february through april), if there is enough rain from the winter, the desert ground is bursting in bright colorful wild flowers and desert foliage blooms. the cool dry weather with some wind creates a very pleasant environment. FINAL ITERATION: PERSPECTIVE VIEW AT ZONE 4 | 77

perspective view from the sloping lawn toward the performance deck and main central library entrance. summer time (may - august) in the desert is divided into two parts which actually gives the sonoran desert five subtle seasons. the second seasonal rain is in late summer (july-august) and consists of hard, short, and dramatic thunderstorms known as the summer monsoon. the summer rain provides relief from the severe heat and can bring out wildlife and new foliage within days.

SPRING: ART GARDEN

during the winter seasonal rain, which is light and long, the cool and sunny days are interrupted by overcast skies and gentle rain. if there is enough rain during the winter, the transformation of the landscape takes place immediately during the spring when winter rain makes way for blooming wildflowers throughout the desert grounds and desert trees and foliage transform into bright yellow, orange, and red.

RAIN

AFTER THE WINTER RAIN

during the second half of summer known as the monsoon seasonal rain, which is strong and short, the severely hot and dry days are interrupted by strong dust storms, dramatic rain and floods while bringing a bit of relief from the summer heat. the landscape transformation is quick compare to winter and appears within hours as the creosote bush release a fragrant smell into the air and the desert toads come out from under its burrow. in a few days, the ground is also covered in green, as desert grasses also appear above ground.

SUMMER RAIN: PLAYING FIELDS BEFORE THE RAIN

AFTER THE SUMMER RAIN

CONCLUSION

REDEFINING THE URBAN PUBLIC PARK

The image to the left [Fig. 30] is an aerial perspective view looking down Central Avenue toward north Phoenix with a view of the mountains in the back and the project site intervention highlighted in blue. In addition, the perspective angle of the image also shows the “urban horizon” as the city stretches toward the mountains and beyond in the background. The project proposal is an integration of the urban and the natural creating a subtle engagement at the meeting point of both.

The proposed intervention seeks to integrate the urban and the natural in order to redefine the concept of an urban public park. The project form mirrors those of the mountains and river channels in the far horizon and yet the site proposal is a different merging of the urban and the natural. It proposes that the contemporary urban public park can no longer be just open lawn and green space, but must actively engage various elements including that of context. In so doing, context has come to play an important role in the design of an urban park, as not only does it dictate the running theme of the project, but becomes the cohesive element that ties the project as a whole. The context in this case is the Sonoran desert and through an abstraction of the desert ecology and water process, connections between the built and the natural are formed and events are defined. These connections include altering the city fabric by connecting to existing elements that create performances and events, playing with the movement and experience of water throughout the site, defining surfaces through changing elevations and tilted planes, and providing a framework of built edges for the support of the desert ecology, future programs and site developments.

Although the project intervention is not an extreme contrast within the horizontal landscape, it incorporates with existing elements and provides a subtle solution to transform the urbanscape in a way that allows for other transformations. In the fragile desert, a small transformation can leave an incredible impact; in the same way, this project may be a small footprint in providing the foundation for a larger scale transformation to take place within a landscape that is continually in flux.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berger, Alan. Drosscape: Wasting Land in Urban America. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

Booth-Clibborn, Edward. Phoenix: 21st Century City. United Kingdom: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 2006.

Corner, James. Recovering Landscape, Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

Ellin, Nan. Integral Urbanism. New York: Routledge, 2006.

Logan, Michael F. Desert Cities: The Environmental History of Phoenix and Tucson. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press, 2006.

Schipper, Janine. Disappearing Desert: The Growth of Phoenix and the Culture of Sprawl. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.

Spellman, Catherine. Re-Envisioning Landscape/Architecture. Barcelona: Actar, 2003.

Waldheim, Charles. The Landscape Urbanism Reader. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

IMAGE CITATION

FIG. 1. West view of downtown Phoenix, altered image, http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp269/joseytina 951/199106683_24a8b097d6.jpg.

FIG. 2. View of the Sonoran desert, original image by Steven Bedrick, http://www.bedrick.org/images/photos/ herp/sonoran_desert.jpeg.

FIG. 3. Aerial view of the Phoenix metropolitan area, altered image, personal collection taken on January 10, 2010.

FIG. 4. View of downtown Phoenix from South Mountain, altered image, http://www.reptilist.com/images/ phoenix2009/Phoenix%20view.jpg.

FIG. 5. Satellite image of North America and the Phoenix metropolitan area, altered image, http://maps. google.com/.

FIG. 6. Interactive growth maps, http://www.maricopa.gov/Assessor/GIS/growthslides.asp.

FIG. 7. Diagrammatic maps of municipal parks in Phoenix, http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/parkmap.html, image example of mountain park preserve, http://whoyoucallingaskeptic.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/sonorandesert.jpg, image example of city urban park, personal collection taken on November 2, 2009.

FIG. 8. View of downtown Phoenix from South Mountain Park Preserve, altered image, original image by James R. Gourdoux taken on December 20, 2008.

FIG. 9. View of the Sonoran desert, altered image, http://web-science.net/ecology/sonoran_desert.html.

FIG. 10. View of the Arizona canal, http://desertscientist.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/1794473.jpg.

FIG. 11. Aerial view of downtown Phoenix, http://www.aerial-photography-america.com/Z-480-834-5261Phoenix.jpg.

FIG. 12. Aerial view of Margaret T. Hance deck park and vicinity, http://www.maricopa.gov/Assessor/GIS/ javaMap.htm.

FIG. 13.

a) Image of the Phoenix Art Museum, http://www.bslaweb.org/webart/AwardWinners2008/03-Counterpoint_A. jpg.

b) Image of the Phoenix light rail, http://seeingredaz.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/light_rail_car1.jpg.

c) Image of Phoenix Burton Barr Central Library, personal collection taken on August 11, 2010.

d) Image of the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, personal collection taken on January 10, 2010.

FIG. 13. Continue e)Image of the Arizona School for the Arts, http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio. com/photos/original/11300309.jpg.

f)Image of the Phoenix Center for the Arts, http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/phxcntop.jpg.

g)Image of Roosevelt Arts District, http://ayearofyoga.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/first-friday. jpg?w=500&h=334.

h)Image of the west side of the deck park, personal collection taken on November 2, 2009.

FIG. 14. Image from the Deep Group Project: Relational Urban Model from the Architectural Association Landscape Urbanism Program, http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_u8lU8z7158A/R8wOz1CkpKI/AAAAAAAAAVw/k9K3iqvAbE/s1600-h/RELATIONAL+MODEL+1.jpg.

FIG. 15. Conceptual plan of Parc de La Villette, http://crisman.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=202.

FIG. 16. Image of the red follies at Parc de La Villette, photo by Adam Gimpert, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ thearchigeek/221648785/.

FIG. 17. Image of the fountains at Seattle Freeway Park, photo by Joe Mabel, http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Seattle_Freeway_Park_24.jpg.

FIG. 18. Image of the highway tunnel running below Freeway Park in Seattle, http://hugeasscity.com/images/ Freeway_Park_at_Seneca.jpg.

FIG. 19. Perspective view of the New York High Line, personal collection taken on November 6, 2010.

FIG. 20. Perspective view of the New York High Line, personal collection taken on November 6, 2010.

FIG. 21. Model view of the diversion garden of the Papago Trail, Stosslu, (Seoul: C3, 2007), 174.

FIG. 22. Rendering view of the landing strip garden of the Papago Trail, Stosslu, (Seoul: C3, 2007), 183.

FIG. 23. Various views of the eastern side of the deck park, personal collection taken on January 10, 2010.

FIG. 24. Aerial views of all layers of movement within the Phoenix metropolitan area, altered images, http:// www.maricopa.gov/Assessor/GIS/javamap.htm.

FIG. 25. Images of the Desert Transformation Process:

a) Image of rain in the desert, http://s.azcentral.com/home/File-/picture/66440/1/0.

b) Image of dust storm during the Phoenix monsoon, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3630316.

FIG. 25. Continue

c) Image of a flooded wash in the Sonoran desert, http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/08/01/july-2006-floodingin-tucson/.

d) Image of the desert creosote, http://www.milosh.net/photo/usa99/bush1.jpg.

e) Image of the desert toad, http://www.southwesternherp.com/images/SonoranDesertToadSantaRitaMnts-a. jpg.

f) Image of desert wildflowers, http://dreamcatcherinn.com/Gallery/albums/Views-from-the-Inn/desert_wildflowers.jpg.

FIG. 26.

a) Side view of the Burton Barr Central Library, http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/Images/US/AZ/Phoenix/ PhoenixNewCentralLibrary-Jan08-006a.jpg.

b) Image of the Phoenix Mountains, personal collection taken on October 17, 2010. c) Image of the outdoor reading room at Desert Bloom Library in Phoenix, http://www.laurafisherkaiser.com/ tag/phoenix-broom/.

FIG. 27.

a) Image of I-10 freeway below the deck park, personal collection taken on August 11, 2010. b) Image of stair access area for the New York High Line, personal collection taken on November 6, 2010.

FIG. 28.

a) Image of snow on the mountains near Phoenix, http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/real-estate-pic-ofthe-week-snow-near-phoenix/.

b) Image of Fossil Creek in Arizona, personal collection taken on August 21, 2010.

c) Image of a canal in Arizona, http://www.nebraskaweatherphotos.org/Dsc_8822d80sm4.jpg.

FIG. 29.

a) Image of a palo verde tree, http://longrealtyimages.fnistools.com/images/uploads/teams/123980/Content/278246/Palo%20Verde%20Tree.jpg.

b) Image of a desert riparian wash, http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/19/38/fb/salt-river.jpg.

FIG. 30. Aerial view looking down Central Avenue at the deck park site toward North Phoenix, altered image, original photograph by Tim Roberts, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/13100096.

SHELLY SANG

“urbanscape transformation: redefining the urban public park in phoenix, arizona” master of architecture thesis project - may 2010 school of architecture and urban planning - university of wisconsin - milwaukee fall 2009 pre-thesis advisor: professor linda krause spring 2010 thesis committee: don hanlon (chair), ray isaacs, grace la date of thesis presentation: friday, may 14, 2010 date of this publication: tuesday, january 11, 2011 contact information: sang.shelly@gmail.com