Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Thesis: Pinpoints for Public City Life

PINPOINTS FOR PUBLIC CITY LIFE urban acupuncture as a way to reinvigorate key public spaces in santa cruz de la sierra, bolivia megumi kamiya bachelor of landscape architecture thesis spring 2019

acknowledgements Dedicated to my number one fan and support, my mom. Thank you for never giving up on me.

To studio: Excited to see all the places we will go! Thank you for all the endless, sometimes sleepless, but memorable studio adventures together.

To the program faculty: Thank you for helping me find my way within the discipline during these five years. Your encouragement meant the world to me.

To my advisor: Thank you for all of your insights, and for pushing me to put my best work out there. Your contagious passion for design inspires me towards excellence.

Pinpoints for Public City Life: Urban Acupuncture as a way to reinvigorate key public spaces in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Megumi Kamiya

Terry Clements Project Advisor + Program Chair

Dean R. Bork Senior Project Coordinator

This senior project is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Degree in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1

PART 2

Abstract

5

BACKGROUND Global Level

Personal posture as a designer

6 7 9

Country Level

Desaf ío XXI Introduction Environment Economy

Human Development Population

11 12 16 20 24

City Level

City Goals + Objectives

Current Public Spaces

Postcards: [Es]sense of of a City

29 30 32

FRAMEWORKS City Approach

Urban Acupuncture by Jamie Lerner Site Approach

Cities for People by Jan Gehl

4

Table of Contents

Case Studies

Space + Program Examples

34 36

40

42

INTERLUDE

PART 3

SITE VISIT Observation

Travel Sketches First-Hand Documentation

Photographs + Patterns

DESIGN Analysis

Observational Traditional

Neighborhood Impact

Main Challenges + Opportunities Concept

Part I: Democracy + Education

Part II: Inward to Outward, Outward to Inward

Goals + Objectives

Program Breakdown Process

Stage I: Setting up the site

Stage II: Late Winter

Stage III: Modeling as a Tool Final

Stage IV: Human-scale Intentionality

Final remarks Bibliography

44 46 48

50 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 62 64 68 72 74

thesis abstract

My undergraduate thesis focuses on analyzing the quality of the current public realm in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and how key design interventions (i.e. pinpricks) can revitalize under-used public spaces to foster social democracy, equity, and collective city identity. The city-scale approach to understand and assess city life is through Urban Acupuncture interventions, originally

by Jamie Lerner. The site-scale framework, on the other hand, is taken from Jan Gehl’s Cities for People, human-centered design and analysis principles.

Using these two theories hand-in-hand, I have chosen to reimagine two plazas that sit adjacent to each other: one holding the main municipal library, and the other grounding the departmental justice courthouse.

Pinpoints for Public City Life

5

PART 1

PART 2

INTERLUDE PART 3

PART 1:

BACKGROUND The first portion of the book zooms through three different levels, varying in purpose and theme. The Global Scale seeks to define what my personal stance as a designer is, which deemed crucial in highlighting the reason behind my thesis’ scope. The National Scale looks at Santa Cruz’s departmental role within Bolivia, listing four illustrative areas to give context for both my audience and myself. Finally, the City Scale begins to lay out the different ways I have used to understand the Santa Cruz and its public realm.

6

Part 1: Background

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, 1604

1604

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7

GLOBAL LEVEL

Impact and personal drive combined

Landscape architects—alongside other disciplines—find themselves in a unique position in this current century, where pressures of climate change, population growth, technology advancement, and globalization are shifting the way we define our cities and lifestyles today.

8

Part 1: Background

As a designer, I knew I had to establish what drives the work that I do, especially within the today’s issues. Enriching the individual experience through advocating social equity and good design within cities led me to start with my own hometown.

THE NEW LANDSCAPE DECLARATION Def ining a personal stance

“The profession charged with designing this common ground is landscape architecture. [...]

Landscape architects bring different and often competing interests together so as to give artistic form and integrated function to the ideals of equity, sustainability, resiliency, and democracy” (LAF, 2017).

When coming to define what would the main drive for this year-long thesis would be, I found a powerful manifesto co-written by over 700 landscape architects that asked the same question to themselves. This is what led me to discover The New Landscape Declaration, published in 2017. Its inspiration came from a small group of landscape architects in 1966, who articulated the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Declaration of Concern. The same, united voice — urging leaders towards action in regards to the future of the American landscape — was even more amplified with The New Landscape Declaration fifty years later, gathering over 700 landscape architects across the country.

The collection of concerns, vows, and overall call of action spoke to the type of purpose I wanted to possess as I stepped into the field of landscape architecture. Particularly so, the commitment towards applying our creativity to bridge the gap between “social and ecological justice” brought my deepest yearnings into words. From this point, I felt I was in good company, knowing that I am entering into discipline-wide effort.

book reference

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NATIONAL LEVEL

A holistic understanding of current conditions

The national level of understanding helped me gain a holistic perspective of the department of Santa Cruz in relation to Bolivia. From the outset, I understood I could not address every single issue affecting Santa Cruz, yet I was compelled to gain a firm grasp of the “whole, realistic picture�. While colloquial knowledge propelled my understanding of Santa Cruz from the outset, I needed to understand the context I was stepping into as a designer.

10

Part 1: Background

SANTA CRUZ: DESAFIO XXI

Four key challenges for Santa Cruz in the 21st century

“Progress will come gradually, we will obtain it with our efforts ...” (Memorandum of 1904)

environment

human develop’t

population

economy

In 2016, the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services and Tourism of Santa Cruz (CAINCO in its Spanish acronym) compiled an extensive proposal document with a two-fold purpose: (1) to illustrate important data about the fast-paced changes Santa Cruz has experienced in the last four decades and (2) identify five key areas challenges Santa Cruz would have to tackle in the 21st century.

Similar to The New Landscape Declaration’s source of inspiration, Desaf ío XXI came from the Memorandum of 1904, where a small group of passionate Santa Cruz leaders drafted a visionary proposal for the future of the city. Addressed to the government, this document was “highly valued for the clarity and projection of their demands, as well as their validity” (CAINCO, 2016). This in-depth resource deemed crucial for deepening my understanding of Santa Cruz, and the final four areas of related concern used in this thesis are: (1) environment, (2) economy, (3) population, and (4) human development.

Again, I knew the scope of this project could not solve all these social, cultural, environmental, and economic issues, but they served as a way to create a common platform to base my future design decisions from, to judge said decisions within the city’s needs and concerns, and to effectively communicate Santa Cruz’s story to others.

book reference

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Photo by Alan Godfrey. All rights reserved.

CATEGORY 1: ENVIRONMENT Critical Climate Change impacts

Global climate is creating unnatural phenomena that has been manifesting in recent decades, making harmful changes within normal ecological patterns.

Floods are caused by longer and more intense rainfall episodes, saturated storm-water systems unfit for the rapidly-growing urban fabric, and the predominantly flat topography.

Droughts are becoming more frequent due to longer spells of no rain to refill aquifers during the winter, man-induced forest fires for agricultural lands, and increasingly lower water tables due to high demand. Higher wind speeds are no longer restrained to expected seasons; tree deforestation for infrastructural and agricultural gain, as well as rapid erosion due to exposed soils combined with flat topography exacerbate the issue. Finally, record-high temperatures during the summer can be both traced back locally and globally. Locally, the urban island heat effect induced by an increase of impermeable surfaces (especially heat-retaining materials such as asphalt) increase said temperature. Globally, the New York Times published an article assessing the gradual temperature increase throughout the world, with the ability to project expected temperatures in the future in a given city. In Santa Cruz, the average number of hot days per year (>90°F) was 97 in 1960; by the end of the century, this number is expected to rise, falling between 174 and 264 days per year.

floods

Flooded streets complicating city transporation after severe rainstorms. Jan. 2, 2018. Source: El Deber

droughts

Spells of drought affecting the agricultural and livestock industry, causing f ires. San José de Chiquitos. Aug. 1, 2018. Source: El Deber

higher wind speeds

Gusts ranging f rom 60-90km/ hr (37-55mi/hr) causing property damage. Oct. 16, 2018.

Source: El Deber

record high summers

Temperatures rising between 36°C-39°C (96°F-102°F) prompt a departmental heat wave alert.

Sept. 6, 2018. Source: El Deber Pinpoints for Public City Life

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DEPARTMENT SCOPE

Ecoregions in Santa Cruz, Subdivided

As a department, Santa Cruz is incredibly gifted with diverse flora, and fauna. Resting well beyond the feet of the Andes mountains, Santa Cruz comes in as the fertile, subtropical plains of Bolivia. To illustrate the ecological diversity found in this region, Bolivia has a total of thirteen ecoregions, where the department of Santa Cruz holds nine of these. Specifically, the city of Santa Cruz is located within the tropical savanna climate (characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons), and it’s known for its vibrant botanical colors in-season, generous produce palette, and warm temperatures throughout the year (25°C/77°F).

beni, bolivia

brazil

cochabamba, bolivia

KEY

chuquisaca, bolivia

Amazonic Forest Preandean

Yungas Forest

Cerrado Grasslands Chiquitano

Amazonic Forest Flooding Areas

Amazonic Forest Subandean

Pantanal Wetlands Flooding Areas

Gran Chaco Plains

Tropical Savanna Moxos Plains

Tucuman Forest

Dry Forest Chiquitano

Cerrado Grasslands Chaqueño

Dry Forest Interandean

paraguay 14

Part 1: Background

Amazonic Forest Beni & Santa Cruz

Cerrado Grasslands Serrano

Data source: Departmental Ecoregions.

Desaf ío XXI, CAINCO. 2017. Adapted graphic f rom source.

DEPARTMENT SCOPE

Ecoregions in Santa Cruz, Photographic Tucumano-Bolivian Forest

Chiquitano Dry Forest

Southwest Amazonia

Floods are caused by longer and more intense rainfall episodes, saturated storm-water systems unfit for the rapidly-growing urban fabric, and the predominantly flat topography.

Droughts are becoming more frequent due to longer spells of no rain to refill aquifers during the winter, man-induced forest fires for agricultural lands, and increasingly lower water tables due to high demand. Higher wind speeds are no longer restrained to expected seasons; tree deforestation for infrastructural and agricultural gain, as well as rapid erosion due to exposed soils combined .

Pantanal Wetlands Flooding Areas

Yungas Forest Interandean Dry Forest

Cerrado Grasslands

Gran Chaco Plains Chaco Serrano

Data source: Anopheles of Bolivia.

FrĂŠdĂŠric Lardeux, et. al. 2009. Adapted graphic f rom source.

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Photo by Davidson Luna. All rights reserved.

CATEGORY 2: ECONOMY Driving force powering the country

The unique combination of rich natural resources found in the region (such as natural gas, oil, and lumber), flat fertile lands, and the sub-tropical climate fit for agriculture year-round created a generous scenario for economic profitability in Santa Cruz.

Yet, in order for this to become a reality, the region needed to validate its worth for investment from the federal government in the early 20th century. A big reason Santa Cruz as a department became the economic and agricultural powerhouse of Bolivia is thanks to the urgent promptings drafted out by the Memorandum of 1904. After years of governmental neglect towards this region, a group of intellectuals congregated to write a memorandum to delineate the urgency and reasoning of highlighting Santa Cruz as an important catalyst for Bolivia and South America. The proposal asked to build a railway path that would integrate the eastern region of Bolivia with the west, thus strengthening the national trade and communication routes.

Eventually taken heed in 1915, the request was partially fulfilled by constructing the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz railway that stands until today (dissent arose over projects between Santa Cruz and other departments, but these requests were fulfilled later on).

agriculture

livestock

natural resources

entrepreneurship

No longer restricted to its geographic isolation, Santa Cruz’s higher placement on the map proved fruitful and beneficial for both regional and national growth, as seen today.

Photograph by Josh Withers, Source: Unsplash.com

Photograph by Annie Spratt, Source: Unsplash.com

Photograph by Zbynek Burival, Source: Unsplash.com

Photograph by Fancy Crave, Source: Unsplash.com

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RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE

Comparison between the beginning of the 1900s and today

Located in a geographically isolated area, Santa Cruz suffered many challenges posed by its natural circumstances. Bolivia itself is a landlocked country, and the city of Santa Cruz lies about 500 miles away from the nearest seaport (La Paz, the capital of the state, is 200 miles away). Furthermore, all navigable rivers that lead to the ocean are either exclusively located in neighboring countries or Bolivian rivers must eventually traverse through foreign territory (for instance, the Mamoré River merges in the north with greater Madeira River in Brazil). Access to nearby ports (such as Brazil and Paraguay) through rail transportation boosted the city’s role as the main economic engine of Bolivia as seen today. This, in return, allowed for greater exports and imports with the rest of the world, spurring demand and economic activity within the department and country.

brazil

peru

Guaquil

Ichilo Port

La Paz

Santa Cruz

Cochabamba

Suarez Port Mulatos River

chile

Potosí

Uyuni

Pacheco Port

Atocha

paraguay Tarija

Yacuiba

argentina

18

Part 1: Background

Built between 1900 & 1915 Future projects yet to be constructed Main rail transportation routes today Data source: Economy and Population.

Desaf ío XXI, CAINCO. 2017. Adapted graphic f rom source.

BOLIVIA’S BREADBASKET

Fertile soils and warm climate year-round yield varied produce for the nation and for export

Grains

Tubers

Vegetables + Fruit

Industrial Crops

Data source: Gobierno de Santa Cruz, Cultivos. 2018. Provincia Vallegrande, SoySantaCruz.com. 2003-2015.

Agricultura en Bolivia, Lio Gutierrez. Academia. Photos: Wikipedia Commons + Unsplash.

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Photo by Hans Luiggi. All rights reserved.

CATEGORY 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT With big jumps comes big responsibility

“Money-based indicators are obviously important, but it is also necessary to take into account the different deprivations and its superpositions, especially because of the high probability households facing multiple deprivations f ind themselves in a situation worse than the poverty measures based by income may suggest” (United Nations Development Program, 2010).

While the scope of this project will limit itself to the improvement of public city life, it is important to understand the city’s victories and challenges when it comes to human development. Being situated in a developing country (as defined by the United Nation’s Country Classification, 2014), Santa Cruz de la Sierra continues to struggle with meeting basic needs and necessary infrastructure to support the growing demand in different sectors of the city. Crucial elements for sustaining healthy living, such as quality education, adequate healthcare, housing and basic services (such as plumbing, electricity, clean water supply, and gas), and better employment opportunities are all linked together when it comes to diagnosing the vitality of a population. These big issues affect every household, and deeply impacts the collective city life.

quality education

Photograph by Santi Vedrí, Source: Unsplash.com

adequate health care

Photograph by Tbel Abuseridze, Source: Unsplash.com

housing + basic services

Photograph by Yan Viveros, Source: Unsplash.com

better employment

Photograph by Austin Ban, Source: Unsplash.com

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HUMAN DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS Based on the United Nations Development Program and National Statistics Institute, Bolivia VISUAL GRAPH

CITY OBJECTIVES

HDI employment opportunities

MP + UBN [quality] education

MP + UBN [adequate] healthcare

UBN housing & basic services

22

Part 1: Background

Data source: Components of Social Development,.

Desaf ío XXI, CAINCO. 2017. Adapted graphic f rom source.

City objective: promote the availability and creation of employment in order to support entrepreneurship and economic development.

City objective: to increase quality education indexes + access for the population.

City objective: to improve good healthcare access, esp. for children, including professional disponibility and infrastructure.

City objective: to reduce the quantitative + qualitative deficit in housing + ready access to basic services

Data source: Santa Cruz’s Challenges in the Social Sphere, suggested objectives. Desaf ío XXI, CAINCO. 2017

LINK WITH GROWTH

Why goals for improving quality of life in Santa Cruz matters

Determining human development factors need a multi-faceted approach, especially when it comes to city-wide assessment. The visual graph on the left combines two renown methods of grappling with these components: the United Nations Development Program (in dark blue and orange) and the National Statistics Institute, Bolivia (in light blue). CAINCO, in return, delineated four urgent, key objectives that Santa Cruz de la Sierra should prioritize in the remainder of the 21st century.

Why should steps be taken to improve and invest into human development? Many reasons come to mind, but the most immediate one is to respond to exponential population growth, both that has happened in the past decades and will be happening in the expected future. Explored in further detail in the next category, the rapid population increase in the last fifty years has placed great pressure on infrastructure and quality of life. While the indicator by Nobel Prize in Economics Amartya Sen points that cruceĂąos (Santa Cruz locals) have seen an improvement in living (1) a healthier and longer life, (2) gaining knowledge, and (3) creating an appropriate standard of living, there is still ample room for improvement.

It can be argued that the below-average conditions of education, healthcare, housing/ basic services, and employment opportunities may be a culprit to the ever-widening socio-economic gap between the wealthier and the more disadvantaged. Human development has had difficulty to keep up with population growth, but this very reason can become the urgent call for improvement in different departmental sectors.

World City Populations 1950-2035

Circle areas equal to population by year:

1950

1990

2015

2035

Santa Cruz’s Population in Context Comparable to current populations of Córdoba, Argentina (1.5mi); Quito, Ecuador (1.7mi); and Panama City, Panama (1.7mi) shown in grey circles.

Data Source: United Nations 2018 and Luminocity3D.org World City. Adapted graphic f rom source.

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Photo by Pedro Enrique Santos. All rights reserved.

CATEGORY 4: POPULATION Steady growth since the second half of the 20th century

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as a city, has undergone tremendous change in terms of city morphology, political influence, economic growth, and particularly, population. This change can be roughly categorized into three periods of time: the first half of the 20th century, the second half of the same century, and our current century (where departmental population is expected to reach five million inhabitants by 2050).

The first period of time was a time where population did not see any dramatic population increase, remaining predominantly rural in contrast to departments in the west (this stationary condition describes the population before the 20th century as well, where very slow increase occurred). In the second period of time, internal immigration spurred this number up (a third of this population growth between 1950 and 2001 is owed to immigration). The main attraction for this internal displacement was the perceived availability of job opportunities and need for work force in the department. This trend continued on into the 21st century, where the deparment of Santa Cruz stands as the number one destination for internal immigration.

pre-1900s: <160,000

1992: 1 million

2002: 2 million

today: 2.6 million

Looking at this from a spatial distribution perspective within the department, approximately half of the incoming population between 2001 and 2012 settled in the municipality of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, establishing the city as the fastest growing city in Bolivia.

Libertad Street looking north (downtown) in 1895. Source: Historias de Bolivia Blogspot

Santa Cruz grows at a steady rate and has retained its population since 1992. Source: Los Tiempos

Better tools to accurately estimate the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s census are not being followed by better inf rastructure needs. Source: El Deber

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With more than 3 million inhabitants today, Santa Cruz is the most populated department of the nation.â&#x20AC;? Source: El Correo del Sur Pinpoints for Public City Life

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A BRIEF HISTORY

POPULATION IN BOLIVIA

Of the department of Santa Cruz

Sociocultural entities that make up the department of Santa Cruz owe its heritage to both native ethnicities, Spanish settlement, and modern immigration.

Before Spanish colonization, this area was comprised mainly of nomadic hunters, while the rest were mainly sedentary agricultural groups.

The biggest groups were Chiquitos (between Paraguay River and Grande River), Chané (between Samaipata and Argentina’s border), and Chiriguanae.

Once the Spanish colonization started sweeping across Latin America during the 16th century, Ñuflo de Chávez founded this frontier colonial town as Santa Cruz de la Sierra on February 26, 1561 (named after the founder’s hometown in Extremdura, Spain). The stake was originally established in San José de Chiquitos (Jesuit Missions settlement seven hours away, still present today), moved to multiple places in the search of better settlement areas, and finally ended staying to today’s spot in 1595.

Yet, multiple challenges kept the town almost “off the grid” between the 16th and 17th century. Geographical isolation made it difficult to enter and leave; rain season floods, exacerbated by flatlands, made it almost impossible to reach the settlement; large unpopulated distances added to transportation; constant indigenous group attacks made this settlement unsafe than most.

From most to least populated

Nevertheless, Santa Cruz remained as a particularly important military post against natives from the lowlands and Portuguese conquerors. Furthermore, these struggles strengthened the self-subsistence economic nature of Santa Cruz in the years to come.

In September 24, 1810, Santa Cruz obtained its independence after a revolutionary movement to overthrow the Spanish crown.

Yet, Spanish military force recuperated control over the city, to which Buenos Aires sent Ignacio Warnes to help in the libertarian cause (who became governor of Santa Cruz in 1813). Bloody confrontations ensued, where the dispersal of realists (Spanish defenders) brought the opportunity to regain territorial independence, led by Coronel Mercado in February 14, 1825.

In the 20th century, Santa Cruz continued to fight boldly for greater economic and governmental sovereignty, marked by the historic 1957 civic marches for instance (this “Once por Ciento,” or 11% marches, demanded a percentage payment from petroleum earnings also known as “royalties,” i.e. the “prerogative or private and private exception that, by virtue of supreme power, exercises a sovereign one in its state”).

1st 2nd 3rd

26

Part 1: Background

Santa Cruz 2,888,474

4th

Potosí 871,909

7th

Tarija 517,749

La Paz 2,859224

5th

Chuquisaca 599,305

8th

Beni 445,870

Cochabamba 1,878,947

6th

Oruro 533,535

9th

Pando 129,765

Data source: Departmental Ecoregions.

Desaf ío XXI, CAINCO. 2017

INTERNAL IMMIGRATION WEB Between 1950 until today

According to National Statistical Intitute of Bolivia census (INE in its Spanish acronym) the municipality of Santa Cruz de la Sierra contains 1,686,000 people out of the total department population of over three million (2012 census).

In the metropolitan area surrounding the city, this includes the municipalities of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cotoca, Porongo, La Guardia, El Torno and Warnes, exceeding two million inhabitants.

As the graphs on this page show, a lot of it is attributed to internal switch from emigration to immigration in Santa Cruz. Additionally, it has been shown that the department has kept its population in recent decades more than ever.

2012 Data source: Population Growth Explained By Immigration.

Desaf Ă­o XXI, CAINCO. 2017. Adapted graphic f rom source.

1975

1950 Pinpoints for Public City Life

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METROPOLITAN LEVEL Impact and personal drive combined

A closer look into the elements that make up public city life and spaces became the highlight in the metropolitan-level analysis for this thesis. Using methods to capture the mood and atmosphere of places through collages, postcards, and GIS data analysis, a greater understanding of how to capture Santa Cruzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique vibrancy was explored. Finally, combining these observations with the national-level investigations informed the summary of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main challenges, delineated on the following page categorized in four areas.

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Part 1: Background

SUMMARY: MAIN CITY CHALLENGES

Environment

Periodical city-wide flooding (stormwater management) Uncomfortable hot temperatures (above 85°F) Urban heat island effect Urban tree deforestation Increasing impermeable surfaces Underusing native botanical palette

Economy

Lack of tourism investment Degraded historic downtown area (Gehl, 2018), affecting commercial activity Need for quality job opportunities, esp. for young professionals Need to bridge the gap between education and employment

Human Development

Population

Healthcare accessibility in all levels

Informal settlement (Gehl, 2018)

Car-driven city reduces dramatically the incentive for physical activity (walking, biking, leisure on streets)

Rapid population growth

Lack of quality education in all levels General sense of vulnerability in terms of street safety

Very few city-scale public spaces in relation to 1.2mi inhabitants Lack of varied opportunities for public (life) interaction Unmet basic services in further-away boroughs Suburbs that result in exclusion (Gehl, 2018)

Education, knowledge, safety, orderliness and cleanliness are the [main] attributes people desire for the city of Santa Cruz in the future.

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PUBLIC CITY SPACES

Typology of public spaces in Santa Cruz

As Santa Cruz continues to grow in the next few decades, increasing pressure is placed onto urban infrastructure and city life quality.

Using available data, this map demonstrates how public space is arguably under-serving the current population in terms of variety, quantity, and/or spatial availability. These categories were drawn from the Open Space Typology as a Framework for Design of the Public Realm, researched by Beverly A. Sandalack and Francisco G. Alniz Uribe. Some of these individual categories were slightly tweaked to fit the unique typology found in this cultural and morphological context.

The results were namely, the Square (the most traditional category of all, owing its familiar characteristics to the Spanish colonial heritage of the grid and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;plazuela.â&#x20AC;? This is the category where my thesis site lies in); the Streets (areas that have organically risen as places of commerce, hubs, and/or informal interaction); the Grounds (the most ubiquitous of all, predominantly activity- and sports-related areas, ranging from formal, athletic fields to children playgrounds in neighborhood parks); the Greens (the idea of a plaza with the added feature of intentional vegetation); the Fields (often-neglected but increasingly appreciated expanses of green, holding opportunity for day-time use and exploration).

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Part 1: Background

SUBCATEGORIES

According to type and activity

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METROPOLITAN LEVEL Impact and personal drive combined

As a side exploration, I took a class called “What makes a town?,” where we explored the stories, policies, and people that defined a town. Each person chose a town to study, and by the end of the semester to have a ten pairs of postcards. One side must be photographic, and the other, graphic.

As a way to communicate Santa Cruz’s vibrant social life, I overlapped three elements in each pair: a unique food scene, an architectural example holding said food, and the activities surrounding said food.

While this representation limited itself to the eight squares surrounding the historic September 24 Plaza, the project led me to capture the vibrancy of city life through collages. A fun, numerical fact is stated underneath each collage, and the reader is gently nudged to explore the restaurants.

This class allowed me to gain a wider perspective towards the question, what really makes a town? Many will give varied answers to this, but I discovered that, consistent across scale, cultural constellations, and history, stories are what make people call a place a town.

Postcard examples f rom the set of twenty. All borrowed photographs belong to their respective authors.

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Part 1: Background

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PART 1

PART 2

INTERLUDE PART 3

PART 2:

FRAMEWORK A thesis cannot be judged without intentionally giving the reader a way to frame the explorations and decisions made throughout the process. After realizing that the common theme threading through my analysis so far was people, I decided to apply two different frameworks that prioritized human activity and life, asking the question, what makes up a good, friendly city?

The first one allowed me to wisely choose a site through Urban Acupuncture, where the second one informed my decisions when creating spaces for human interaction to occur.

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Part 2: Framework

1810-1825

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, 1810-1825

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CITY SCOPE: URBAN ACUPUNCTURE Strategically choosing the f irst intervention

Urban Acupuncture can look, feel, and sound like many different things, but the one thing in common is the way it honors the human narrative that unravels within the metropolitan context. It is the human centered way of transforming the urban fabric by igniting key interventions that spark life across the city.

Originally coined by Spanish architect Manuel de Sola Morales in the late 1940s and further developed by Finnish architect and social theorist Marco Casagrande, Urban Acupunture became a way to meet community needs in a more immediate and sensitive manner. This flexible approach contrasted greatly with institutional methods of large-scale urban renewal interventions, shifting the paradigm of civic action of city-making. Casagrande defined Urban Acupuncture as an intervention in the living, breathing organism of the city, “a cross-over architectural manipulation of the collective sensuous intellect of a city. City is viewed as multi-dimensional sensitive energy-organism, a living environment. Urban acupuncture aims into a touch with this nature” (interview with Laurits Elkjær, 2010).

book reference

CITY AND BODY AS LIVING ORGANISMS

36

Part 2: Framework

The analogy between identifying key spots for medicinal acupunture in order to bring upon healing on an ill body is the same as diagnosing an ailing city. One must ask, where would simple interventions cause the most collective healing to bring this body back to life?

Ideas for the city

Varied outcomes

In the city scale, UA diversif ies change

Most recently, Jamie Lerner has implemented and written about this urban design approach in his book titled Urban Acupuncture: Celebrating Pinpricks of Change that Enrich City Life. He illustrating various short stories while pouring out lessons he learned during his role as a mayor in Curitiba, Brazil, along with observations made around the world. He states, “Good acupuncture is about drawing people out to the streets and creating meeting places. Mainly, it is about helping the city become a catalyst of interactions between people” (Jamie Lerner, 2003).

Traditional Planning Process

And so it follows, “the more cities are understood to be the integration of functions — bringing together rich and poor, the elderly and the young — the more meeting places they will create and the livelier they will become” (Jamie Lerner, 2003). This serves as a great precursor to Jan Gehl’s theories in Cities for People (which later became this thesis’ Site-Scale Framework).

City planning + design

Urban acupuncture action

DIVERSIFYING CITY INTERVENTIONS

The traditional process of creating change within the city typically involves bureaucratic steps that unintentionally limit innovation and even simple solutions. Urban Acupuncture offers a wider array of options, implying that not all successful stories required a bulldozer to make it happen.

In the most practical sense, Urban Acupuncture diversifies change within the city, decongesting the narrow and bureaucratic way of implementing solutions within the city-scape (from concept ideation, to planification, design development, and construction). It creates a refreshingly new and swifter alternative towards urban intervention, and the key word here is working with what makes up the story of the area. It goes far beyond than just community meetings, but Urban Acupuncture allows people to see change as an attainable possibility, empowering voices and stories.

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CITY SCOPE: URBAN ACUPUNCTURE More than one way of seeing intervention

One simple healing touch can not only restore that immediate spot, but with many others, also revitalize the whole body. Since Urban Acupuncture definitely draws parallels between traditional Chinese treatment against body ailments, interventions are meant to treat in a precise manners any dire ailments the city might be suffering from. Small pinpricks, when combined with intentionality, can bring about a big, positive impact. As Jamie Lerner puts it, “I believe that some medicinal “magic” can and should be applied to cities, as many are sick and some nearly terminal. As with the medicine needed in the interaction between doctor and patient, in urban planning it is also necessary to make the city react; to poke an area in such a way that it is able to help heal, improve, and create positive chain reactions. It is indispensable in revitalizing interventions to make the organism work in a different way” (Jamie Lerner, 2007).

Some seemingly imperceptible but important interventions enliven a city’s identity and experience, as seen in these examples, which include but are not limited to: the small but immediate respite Paley Park offers in bustling New York City; the bold gesture of Park Guell that breathes in artistic legacy into Barcelona; the iconic landmark that the Guggengheim gifts to the city of Bilbao.

What makes up a city goes beyond the physical, tangible qualities: a city is made up of day-to-day human experiences, vibrant vignettes, and sensations. People are at the heart of it, and this element is brought up high in the list of priorities when intervening with Urban Acupuncture.

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Part 2: Framework

Urban Acupuncture is the human-centered way of transforming the urban fabric by igniting key interventions that spark life across the city. This is the beauty of Urban Acupuncture: it does not always need a bulldozer to spark up a city’s urban life all the time.

Urban Acupuncture can be an appeal to the senses (music, smells, sights, touch, even taste!), architecture (big or small-scale), landscape (life that happens in between buildings, at the end of the day), various daily activities (particularly the rhythm of commerce, commuting, etc.), and/or people themselves (where do people like to gather, to people-watch, to linger, to chat, to stop for a moment and enjoy the outdoors?)

When all these things work together, it work towards bringing life back to areas that were once abandoned, neglected, or devoid of activity. As one of Jamie Lerner’s favorite quotes goes, “continuity is life,” and this can be reflected by the type of social and infrastructural reinvigoration Urban Acupuncture offers in the city.

ELEMENTS OF UA

architecture

landscape

people

f ive senses

commerce

transportation

Urban Acupuncture can express itself in various ways. It can be tangible, like a bridge, or intangible, like the sense of smell.

Source: Jamie Lerner’s Urban Acupuncture written by Jared Green on The DIRT, 2014. These images are not of my belonging.

Stories make up a city

What makes the book by Jamie Lerner so simple yet inspiring is the fact that every single chapter tells a story of a town. Each detail is described with incredible imagery, proving the point that stories make up the identity and vibrancy of a town. These stories express themselves in different ways, be it a historic architectural piece, a well-respected cemetery park spanning for many centuries, or simply the inexhaustible perseverance of a 24-hour convenience shop that has always offered a casual meeting spot around the clock. “One feature common to all good urban acupuncture is the imperative of preserving or restoring the cultural identity of a place or a community. So many cities today need acupuncture because they have neglected their cultural identity” (Jamie Lerner, 2003).

ALTERNATIVE SITES

Existing sites already set apart as “green space”

Economy Landmark

Up & Coming Business District

Ecology Leisure

Urban (Storm)Water Park

Ecology Recreation

Site Two: Business District plaza Av. San Martín, Barrio Equipetrol, Unidad Vecinal 11

Site Three: Parque Arenal C. Beni, Downtown, Unidad Vecinal 11

River Walk & Recreation Site Four: Ventura Mall Landscape Cuarto Anillo (4th Ring), Unidad Vecinal 11

After looking at alternative sites that held the promise of starting the domino-effect of healthy, public life, I chose twin plazas that held the Santa Cruz Municipal Library (called Student Plazuela) and the departmental Justice Courthouse (called Justice Palace plaza). The other options (listed on the left) were good candidates, but these two held great potential for reviving the part of the neglected portrait of Santa Cruz. As Jamie Lerner puts it,“a city’s memory is like an old family portrait. And just as we wouldn’t think of tearing up an old family picture—[we can reference the library and justice courthouse]—we can’t afford to lose this point of reference, which is so vital to our own identity” (Jamie Lerner, 2003).

OTHER PINPOINTS

Potential sites for this thesis that were not chosen but would instill powerful change were gathered through the combination of personal knowledge and envisioning their future potential.

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SITE SCOPE: CITIES FOR PEOPLE

Reconsidering what makes good public spaces in cities

“Something happens because something happens, because something happens...” (Jan Gehl, 2010). This principle wraps up the importance of human interaction, where the liveliness of a city is greatly influenced by the types of activities (whether it is social, performative, task-oriented, or others), and whether the environmental characteristics enhance this urban life to happen.

Toolkit: Measuring Public Life

On the left, a great toolkit developed by Jan Gehl is, namely, the Public Life Data Protocol. This granular method draws data to better serve a community’s or city’s ability in assessing, and informing decisions for public life. When assessing the nature of a site or a landscape, various questions are asked in order to better understand (1) behaviors and activities happening here and (2) what physical elements in the site are either hindering, encouraging, or remaining neutral towards these behaviors and/or activities.

book reference

THE SCIENCE OF PEOPLE WATCHING

Originally developed for the Municipality of Copenhagen and the City of San Francisco, the Public Life Data Protocol by Gehl Architects includes measuring public life within the city.

Source: Jan Gehl, Cities for People 2010. Gehl Institute + Gehl People, Public Life Data Protocol 40

Part 2: Framework

Something happens because something happens, because something happens...

The Lively City: Quality > Quantity The Relationship between Environment Quality and Human Activities

When assessing the success of a site, it is easy to assume that the more people use the site, the better. Gehl proposes something more: it combines both the number of users, and includes the amount of time users spend in public city space. “Life in city space as we experience it when moving about the city is a matter of how much there is to see and experience within the social visual f ield of about 100 mt (328ft)” (Jan Gehl, 2010). Movement, detail, speed, and activity all comprise this “social visual field,” constantly asking the question in the back of the mind, what is there to engage with? If a place is rich with positive stimulation (i.e. a human-scale-oriented environment), it becomes an engaging space. So, when creating spaces for people, it becomes a matter of inviting people to come (quantity) and inviting people to stay (quality).

physical environment high quality

physical environment low quality

Social Sustainability necessary activities

OUTDOOR QUALITY + OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

optional activities

social activities

“An increase in outdoor quality gives a boost to optional activities in particular. The increase in activity level then invites a substantial increase in social activities.” (excerpt f rom Cities for People, 2010)

Just as much a city needs to strive for environmental sustainability (energy, transport, etc.) social sustainability looks at bringing equal physical and social opportunities. “The city is seen as serving a democratic function where people encounter social diversity and gain a greater understanding of each other by sharing the same city space” (Jan Gehl, 2010). Designing for the human scale is crucial, as this is the level from which individuals experience city life. We can start from universal human activities: walking, standing, sitting, watching, listening, and talking.

Source: Jan Gehl, Cities for People 2010. Gehl Institute + Gehl People

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BRIEF SITE EXAMPLES Take-away Sites

Sandtorpark, Hamburg GER

These chosen project examples were related to my site’s conditions either through program or spatial conditions. The first one is Sandtorpark, located in Hamburg Germany. It had similar spatial conditions (park + plaza), showing design techniques to connect two open landscapes. Some of the applied principles were using a common material language, benefitting from outward-looking views, and being intentional with circulation.

The second project were the Library Parks in Medellin, Colombia. This concept had the most similar programmatic conditions as the municipal library in Santa Cruz. It successfully integrated libraries into the community, and the main takeaways were fostering open education by bringing communities together, how the presence of the libraries improve safety, and emphasizing on design equality.

The final site was City Centre Regeneration in Ballerup Denmark. Similar edge conditions (bus + pedestrian) were present to my site. Ballerup’s City Centre transformed bus stops to “waiting rooms,” inviting users into the plaza. Some of the applied principles were rethinking bus stops/mundane necessities and their role within the plaza, and finding ways to harmonize pedestrians with traffic.

Library Parks, Medellin, COL

City Centre Regeneration, Ballerup DK

Source: None of these photos, digital renderings, and plans are my own. All photos, digital renderings, and plans belong to their respective f irms/owners (i.e. the City of Hamburg; City of Medellín; C.F. Møller; Google Maps) 42

Part 2: Framework

Program Takeaways

PROGRAM FLASHCARDS A way of visualizing the potential programmatic elements (and the change of atmosphere these would bring with them) that

both the Library and Justice Courthouse Plaza could hold was by creating flashcards out of two program-rich projects: C.F. Møller’s Ballerup City Centre Regeneration and OMA + Rios Clementi Hale Studios’ proposal for Pershing Square in Los Angeles.

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PART 1

PART 2

INTERLUDE PART 3

INTERLUDE

SITE VISIT Despite being a local, I felt like I came back to Santa Cruz with a different pair of eyes, observing not only the behavior and daily activities that happened around the clock, but constantly asked the question, why? What are the hidden patterns? What draws people in? And so, I used ink and paper to pour out my musings, which deemed helpful as I came back to finish the second portion of thesis in the Spring.

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Interlude: Site Visit

1906

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, 1906

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OBSERVATION: TRAVEL SKETCHES One of the best ways to understand the life of a place proved to be through pen and paper

After asking for any recommendations as to what I should take home with me, many people suggested taking a sketchbook and make sketches of not only my site, but of different places found in Santa Cruz. Sketching Santa Cruz soon became like a cornerstone for me, because it has always been something I did during my college years in order to understand, represent, and see a landscape under a different light. With this at hand, I was able to break down different elements of every-day activities using color and ink.

book reference

CAPTURING ATMOSPHERE

46

Interlude: Site Visit

Sketch exploring atmosphere in a Spanish, colonial house by using color and ink. The low music in the background, twinkling lights lighting up the interior, colorful tree, and small tables around the perimeter of the courtyard created an inviting atmosphere for intimate conversations.

ACCUMULATING OBSERVATIONS

MonseĂąor Rivero Avenue is the cafĂŠ-laden boulevard that terminates at the Library and Justice Courthouse Plaza. Commercial and leisure passersby strolled along the edges of the boulevard, and the liveliest activity was tracked not by pedestrians, but by vehicles.

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FIRST-HAND DOCUMENTATION

Photographs of Municipal Library and the Justice Courthouse Plaza

Other traditional ways of documenting my site and city as a whole was done through photography, compiling the existing patterns and common rhythm found throughout the daily experience of Santa Cruz. Materials like brick and wood seemed to go happily together with terra cotta and off-white colors. Pops of color, especially seen in vegetation and market produce, would appear as visual accents. These became like exclamation marks sprinkled throughout the city, where people would just so happen to gather around the most.

BIG AND SMALL MOMENTS

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Interlude: Site Visit

Spanish, colonial architecture influences were unsurprisingly the most common language found throughout the city, where the red brick color (iron-rich due to the local geology) became the central colors that def ined the city. Lush vegetation colors were abundantly found too. First and second column: September 24 Plaza and Cathedral.

Third and fourth colulmn: Municipal Library

TEXTURES AND PATTERNS Ubiquitious in Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Botanical & Soil

Traditional Architecture

Common City Life Activities

Everyday City Elements

WHEN PEOPLE AND MATERIAL COLLIDE

Certain rhythms throughout the city could be picked up like background music floating in the city, and this music can be summarized by two ingredients: materials and people. It is important to take notice of these common themes in order to propose a design within a cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s context.

Source: all photographs found in Flickr, Unsplash, and Wikipedia Commons. All photographs belong to their respective owners Pinpoints for Public City Life

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PART 1

PART 2

INTERLUDE PART 3

PART 3:

DESIGN A big portion of the design process was constant iteration. Through sketching, hand modeling, diagramming, and brainstorming, different ways of stretching an idea was explored in the last part of thesis. Phases have been divided by main theme, with a total of four stages. Analysis and synthesis preceded these steps, informing lines and spaces.

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Part 3: Design

1947

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, 1947

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ANALYSIS: OBSERVATIONAL Jan Gehl’s Observational Approach

Using Jan Gehl’s observational approach of analyzing a place, I started to recollect what were identifiable characteristics of the site. After applying Gehl’s chart of High/Low Quality of the built environment with the High/Low Quality of outdoor activities within the site, I began to see that most of the existing interactions happened right along the street surrounding the plazas.

This is due to informal waiting spots for buses and taxis, and higher concentrations of passive interaction occurred under shade and plaza corners.

What was scarcely seen was people interacting outside of buildings (in a comfortable, willing manner beyond necessity, as found in waiting for transporation). This was due to the lack of intentionally designed micro-climates, both at the Library and Justice Courthouse Plaza.

This is an important element that must be addressed within the design, because Santa Cruz’s humid temperatures can reach over 80 degrees almost year round. I quickly realized that human interaction, while minimal, was still happening under these unpleasant conditions, and realized that higher form quality (such as intentionality in outdoor furniture, waiting transportation areas, better articulated interior courtyards and spill-out areas) would boost the usability and “friendliness” of both sites.

LIVE OBSERVATIONS Using the outdoor quality vs.

activities graph on the top right cor ner, the best performing areas were

informal meeting areas along highly

circulated streets (north to south

Monseñor Rivero Ave. + east to west 1st ring).

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ANALYSIS: TRADITIONAL

Traditional zoning and circulation approach

Scarce GIS data available made it difficult to create in-depth neighborhood analysis, such as zoning, demographics, and other governing laws that would affect future decisions made in this site. Nevertheless, I was able to combine both local knowledge (from interviews, site visits, and personal experience from living in this neighborhood for over ten years) helped compile a synthesized version of what makes this site from a traditional, analytical standpoint.

The main takeaways are: the twin plazas anchor Av. Monseñor Rivero, a casual boulevard bustling with cafés, restaurants, and mixed use infrastructure, creating a great opportunity for continuity. Fanning out on the western and parts of the eastern side of the site are residential areas,further supporting the reason for creating a gathering common space for neighbors, families, and visitors to come together. Other significant institutions surround the site, which include two neighboring hospitals and law-related businesses. Finally, the twin plazas sit right in between the 2nd and 1st ring, accenting the axial entrance into the historic downtown. In conclusion, the interesting mix of nearby commercial activity, institutional services, and residential houses (as well as the intersection of well-transited routes) creates an active neighborhood to implement a program-friendly public space.

DATA OBSERVATIONS

Using both personal, local knowledge coupled with available GIS data, a map was drawn out to determine types of activities occurring (commercial, residential, leisure, healthcare, etc.), and identifying the site’s influential location due to circulation patterns.

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ANALYSIS: NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECT Connectivity

These two sites have direct access to a good amount of hospitals, universities, and schools in less than half a mile. This creates an opportunity to link the programmatic elements of the Municipal Library with ongoing educational efforts. The Library Plaza, in return, can become a strong city symbol of celebration education and creativity. Museums are found in downtown, allowing a linear linkage with the parks.

Enrichment

The close proximity to El Cristo, a rotonda that has witnessed many of the city’s largest protests and manifestations, creates a dichotomy of two different ways of exercising democracy. The Justice Courthouse plaza seeks to give space for day-to-day democratic participation, broadening the meaning of it.

Sequence

Not only do the two plazas anchor the social boulevard in an immediate manner; the site is a bead of a bigger “necklace” going on, located at the crossections of city movement (around the city rings) and vertical journey through the city movement (from city ring to city ring). This causes great exposure to the public, adding a valuable bead into the sequence of city sequence.

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SYNTHESIS: MAIN CHALLENGES + OPPORTUNITIES For the Library and Justice Courthouse Plaza

Summer-like conditions year-round provide uncomfortable hot temperatures (above 85°F) No relationship between architecture and landscape due to massive character of brick and concealed entries High amount of impermeable surfaces, especially parking lots.

Beautiful, existing mature trees in both sites

Environment (EXPANDED DEFINITION)

Pedestrian unfriendly and poorly kept medians

Direct street connections to universities, schools, and hospitals (<1mile) Part of the restaurant/commercial boulevard sequence leading to the historic downtown entryway.

Proximity to medians provide future adaptation to alternative transport

Poorly defined bus and pick-up spots

Certain buildings facing park are inactive and miss opportunity to engage with park (esp. passive safety)

Severely underfunded municipal library and related activities Sterile, underutilized Justice plaza; unapproachable portrayal of govâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

Unsafe and poorly illuminated at night attracts crime Lack of outdoor, varied social interaction opportunities

Economy Human Development Population

Terminal point of the restaurant/ commercial boulevard can extend amenities Available space for future city-wide and neighborhood events

Programmatically robust opportunities for education, i.e. library Portray a more open, participatory governmental institution plaza Surrounded by a predominantly residential and mixed-use neighborhood Thriving, existing social culture

FOUR KEY GOALS Identifying more site-specif ic challenges

and opportunities based off of the city wide four key categories begins to f rame measurable problems.

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CONCEPT: DEMOCRACY + EDUCATION Theoretical side of the concept

While the Municipal Library and Justice Courthouse plazas contain two completely different programs, they both held an incredible potential in grounding the thesis’ concept on the principles both institutions symbolize.

The Municipal library beholds the idea of education, which, over the years, has unfortunately gone down a spiral due to neglect, lack of funding, and unsafe environmental conditions. This image, in return, affects negatively the view towards education in Santa Cruz, and it is a lament to say that this dilapidated identity accurately describes the state of education in Bolivia. On a similar note, the Justice Courthouse represents one facet of the daily practice of democracy, where legal issues amongst citizens are disputed in this building. Nevertheless, the architectural language (predominantly a post-modern Brutalist style) combined with the sterile landscape at its feet, communicates a type of rigid, restricted democracy. This is why the ideas of democracy and education needed to be elevated in this site, where, if you have both of these elements in a healthy state, can create a healthier society as a whole.

UPLIFT TWO VIRTUES

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Democracy, in dark sage, stands for the Justice Courthouse. It represents a civic plaza open for the expression of daily democracy, Education, in light blue, stands for the Library. It represents an intimate plaza open for the pursuit of knowledge + human interaction.

+

Be part of democracy

Discover human interaction

Democracy

Interaction

de·​moc·​ra·​cy | \ di-ˈmä-krə-sē

in·​ter·​ac·​tion | \ ˌin-tər-ˈak-shən

: government by the people especially : rule of the majority

: mutual or reciprocal action or influence

: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

: communication or direct involvement with someone or something.

Partake

Discover

par·​take | \ pär-ˈtāk

dis·​cov·​er | \ di-ˈskə-vər

: to take part in or experience something along with others

: to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time : FIND

: to possess or share a certain nature or attribute

: to make known or visible : EXPOSE

Democracy society

Education

CONCEPT: INWARD + OUTWARD Spatial side of the concept

Inward to Outward; Outward to Inward

Concept development

In order to carry the ideals of healthier democracy and education onto the site, a spatial order was needed. The idea behind the space-oriented concept is inward to outward; outward to inward. The existing conditions set both the Library and Justice Courthouse Plazas as two distinct entities, yet this division was neither desirable nor congruent with maintaining a strong communication between democracy and education. In order to link both of these spaces so both can be read as one, continuous experience, the line of focus was eventually channeled in an opposite manner, pointing towards its sister plaza. For instance, going outward to inward means funneling the Justice Courthouse’s civic openness towards the Library Plaza. On the same token, the inward to outward concept opens up the intimate, enclosed Library Plaza towards the Justice Courthouse’s civic plaza. These linked lines of vision tie both plazas to each other, providing a constant dialogue between the two.

All in all, the site’s concepts act like a double-sided coin, where one is ideal-based, while the other is environment-based. Summarized in one sentence, the concept means to create an invigorating city punctuation that fosters open human interaction within the backdrop of participatory democracy, and the discovery of education & cultural expression.

CONNECTION The main challenge was to allow both

plazas, dissected by a boulevard, to read

as one. Distinctions between both was

crucial in terms of program, yet funneling

communicating visions (and paths) tied ‘

both to become sisters). Dark sage is the

Justice Courhouse plaza; light blue, the Li brary Plaza.

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CONCEPT: GOALS + OBJECTIVES

Delineated for both the Library and Justice Courthouse Plaza

Environment Create more comfortable, exterior microclimates by: Integrating the mature, existing trees into sitting areas.

Extending shade through proposed architecture Address low architecture-to-landscape interaction by: Articulating main entrances according to existing needs (main exit/entries, expansive views, etc.)

Activating library’s colonnade by connecting detailed outdoor rooms and proposed buildings Recontextualizing the library’s facade as the main backdrop to the main square Broaden the programmatic potential of the large, impermeable parking lot by: Providing an alternative, well-vegetated festival space during after-hours/weekends Prepare the site for a more pedestrian-oriented / alternative transportation city by: Creating safe (traffic) medians for crossing between plazas Pleasant “waiting rooms” for bus 58

Part 3: Design

Economy Offer inviting, varied programs to attract and invite users to stay longer periods of time by: Proposing adjacent, complementing buildings to library, i.e. coffee shop, expanded children’s playroom, and study areas (group & individual) Extending the social boulevard atmosphere by providing seating areas adjacent to it.

Include varied seating areas for talking, resting, studying, people watching, eating, and stopping.

Support city- and neighborhood-scale events related to small businesses and tourism by: Providing program and space for fetes, festivals, and events to occur (esp. small businesses) Partner with Tourism & Culture Chamber to diversify economy

Human Development Fostering education and creativity through a socially vibrant library plaza by: Extending educational and cultural programs outdoors, esp. to main square (center of “happenings”) Rotating art and interactive installations around site paths, visible within and outside site.

Providing collaborative spaces for study and reading.

Distinguishing the Justice Courthouse as both an important (formal) and democratic (approachable) governmental site by: Softening the monumental architecture through secondary, shaded seating platforms cascading down main entrance.

Creating expansive vantage points while still creating a visual one-ness with the boulevard and library plaza

FOUR KEY GOALS

Population Improve site safety by: Ensuring good illumination is present in paths, shaded trees and sitting areas Keeping at least 10’ clearance from ground up to branches for existing trees Encouraging passive surveillance through programmatically active, open plazas (rooted deeper: social conditions) Slowing devices b/w plazas Sustaining accessible opportunities to encounter and interact others by: Adding a variety of human-scale, social spaces to encounter social diversity (through these two, unbiased institutions) Making flexible spaces for “the varied and complex city life” (through scale, nature of space)

Pulling these four categories f rom the initial, city-wide analysis with challenges and opportunities, the site can begin to respond to Santa Cruz’s diff iculties and be part of the solution.

CONCEPT: PROGRAM BREAKDOWN

Assessing relationship amongst individual program elements

A list of annual events was also compiled, thinking how part of the city program could be hosted within the park. A few unique events include but are not limited to: international events (including poetry festival, book fair, cheese and wine festival, etc.); dance and music events (including professional choreography organizations, folkloric dances, amateur bands, philharmonic concerts, etc.), artisan fairs (with a focus on either regional skill, entrepreneurial spotlight, female talent, etc.), gastronomic routes (including beekeeping products, sausage and preserves, in-season fruit dedication days, traditional plates festival of a given town, etc.), horticultural (orchid fair, cacti and succulent fair, etc.), holiday-related events (Christmas, Independence Day, Carnival, etc.) and art-related shows (fashion runways, expositions, live art event, etc.)

MAIN CATEGORIES

When the complete list of events occurring throughout the year in Santa Cruz, these six areas can work together towards city life vibrancy.

Food Ag/Hort

Music

Arts

Artisan Culture

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city of rings:

1: SETTING UP THE SITE Late Fall Engagement

The original main mission of the site was to “create a people-centered cross-section that reimagines knowledge, celebrates human interaction, and honors democracy in Santa Cruz through the Municipal Student Library.”

The adjacent Justice Courthouse plaza was initially disregarded, and I originally wanted to focus solely on uplifting the Municipal Student Library. I quickly realized that these twin plazas could not be severed during the design process, so after this stage I took in both sites for thesis.

In this stage, I was setting the site’s “stage” for ideas through city synthesis, and site context.

Yet, since this was right before I traveled to Bolivia for a site visit during Winter break, I didn’t feel right to begin pouring out design ideas without having a solid grasp of the reality of my site’s conditions, opportunities and constraints.

THREE CONTEXTS

The City Context demonstrates the most identif iable trait of Santa Cruz: its ring morphology. The Area Context gives major pointers for reference. The Site Context looks at surrounding zoning.

city understanding question:

city uniqueness question:

winter break research:

how would you read a new city?

what makes a place “iconic”?

any ideas for me to bring with to bolivia?

SITE QUESTIONS

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These were some of the questions asked during a day-long presentation. The suggestions helped def ining what I would explore during my upcoming site visit.

city context

in the vicinity:

twin plazas:

area context

site context City Icon: El Cristo Redentor Monument (25 ft)

2: anillo dos

Social/Mixed Use Boulevard: MonseĂąor Rivero Ave.

Site boundaries: Municipal Library + Justice Courhouse

1: anillo uno

North Downtown Entrance: Colonial, Spanish Architecture Pinpoints for Public City Life

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2: SKETCHING SPACE Late Winter Iterations

Coming back from visiting Bolivia and interacting with librarians, neighbors, passersby, artists, and even a historian, I felt a deep conviction to shift these neglected plazas into something beautiful for Santa Cruz.

Why is it important to fight for open, democratic public spaces? Because the opposite results in a segregated society: “Without public space, our society will shift into a polarized, privatized arena, dividing society into smaller target groups and segregating people along socio-economic classes. Public spaces are arenas for encountering difference, where we can learn to understand and tolerate the other, as well as participate and view the “theatres of everyday life” providing us with a picture of what makes up our society” (excerpt f rom CMG’s research titled “Democratic Public Space, 2017. Originally

by Shaftoe, 5, Arendt, Poposki, 713).

I was reminded of the reasons why these two sites are worth reimagining, and had an overflow of ideas for the site. This stage was a drawing-heavy one, where I was trying to get into the inner workings of the space through axonometrics, tilted plans, and web diagrams in order to expand (and exhaust) all the hovering ideas I had for the site. I knew I had to create a clear communication between the Municipal Library plaza and the Justice Courthouse plaza, as their existing conditions are devoid of any visual or physical link. Programmatic elements began to fall into place as well, where the library plaza was increasingly defined by more friendly and intimate opportunities for human interaction. The Justice Courthouse, on the other hand, began to take the form of an urban, civic plaza, taking advantage of outward views and the bold architectural language of the 300-foot building in the middle of the site.

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LEFT PAGE While thinking about

spaces that could offer increased building-landscape permeability, human interaction opportunities, and outdoor links with the Municipal Libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program, jumping between plan and a wordbased web diagram deemed extremely useful in fleshing out ideas quickly while recording the rest.

RIGHT PAGE Before jumping into the three-dimensional modeling method, drawing in axonometric improved decision-making by seeing how different elements began to come together on plan.

Furthermore, switching between different scales (vignettes, plan view, sections) allowed the necessary flexibility to explore given ideas.

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3: MODELING AS A TOOL Making as a way to explore space

The third phase was characterized by exploring the questions of proportion, space, and three-dimensionality. Sketching posed a certain limit when it came to this inquiry, which prompted me to create three different models.

The first model was a one inch = twenty feet complete model. This helped me analyze in a holistic, continuous manner, how seemingly isolated decisions actually affected the entire site’s flow and cohesiveness. Strips of color were used to differentiate use (green signified vegetated areas; pink, active-use hardscape; orange, main circulation areas for faster mobility; red, change of elevation). Furthermore, stepping into the world of modeling allowed me to engage even further with what type of experience was being put into place, as plan views and sections were preventing me from sensing these decisions.

THIRD SPACES

The Municipal Library needed greater permeability with the surrounding landscape, offering the opportunity for adjacent third spaces (permeable areas for interaction). The top two models (A1+2) depict the quiet Reading Room, and the top bottom models (B1+2) show the Canopy Room. This model does not include the proposed buildings supporting the Library.

BASE MODEL PLAN

This 1:20 scale model (6’x3’) quickly became the main method in which further ideas were tested and implemented. Color-coding areas, observing the effect the existing vegetation had on space, and simply making changes real-time sharpened design instincts, proportions, and overall flow

0

A1: Complete view of the Reading Room, northern side of the Library

0

20ft

B1: Complete view of the Canopy Room, southern side of the Library 64

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0

20ft

10ft

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3: MODELING AS A TOOL Justice Courthouse Terraced Space

The main flaws pointed out in the design were the contradicting conditions found in the Justice Courthouse “courtyard,” where seemingly monolithic gestures did not translate to the core concept of human-scale interactions and detailing. This can be evidently seen both in the scale shown on the plan and the model on the right.

Nevertheless, reflecting back I was heading towards the right track because (1) the library plaza was already predominantly defined by smaller-scale moments of conversation, interaction, and learning, while (2) the Justice Courthouse plaza was beginning to slowly translate the oversized, 300-foot building onto the feet of the flat landscape. A building with limited access points and lengthy walls created difficult circumstances for organic human interactions to occur, but it was a matter of subdividing these spaces further.

TERRACED SPACE

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C1: Complete view of the Inner Courtyard, at the feet of the Justice Courthouse building.

C2: The cascading platforms are meant to soften the Brutalist, 300’ high Justice Courthouse building, acting as ripples landing onto the landscape.

C3: First model exploring the terraced courtyard, along with spaces created due to slight elevation changes. Every slab is 2.5 steps or 1’-1/4” high.

C4: First model exploring the terraced courtyard, along with spaces created due to slight elevation changes. Every slab is 2.5 steps or 1’-1/4” high.

The Justice Courthouse needed to convey an open message of democracy, acting like an open invitation for people to take ownership of their civic plaza and linger. Since the existing conditions included a steep 15-step entrance on southwest side, the intent was to spread out the elevation change and transform it into platforms. These, in return, would form pockets of spaces for people to adopt as their own temporary place. The inspiration came after Hamburg’s hardscape plaza, Sandtorpark.

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4: HUMAN-SCALE INTENTIONALITY Potential for interaction

The main changes done in this final iteration were mainly fine-grain detailing in order for the entire plan to align itself with human-scale interactions expressed through education and democracy. The most problematic area, namely, the Justice Courthouse’s inner courtyard, was further subdivided into personable, friendlier spaces for people to gather and linger. Following the notion of creating inviting “micro-climate areas,” greater vegetation was proposed surrounding seating hubs. Furniture suddenly held the potential of being both playful and multifunctional, accommodating difference in elevation and directions in which people would be facing.

Most of the intimate spaces in the library plaza were maintained, and thus both plazas expressed human interaction within the city in two different methods.

PEOPLE ORIENTED MOMENTS

A: Going with creating islands of interaction hubs, two-faced furniture offered options to people watch on either side.

B: Seating variable one, where different resting spots play Scanned off of the withelevation CamScanner change.

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In order to create lively, small “hubs” of human interaction, furniture became a great way to place clusters or islands of leisure spots for people.

C: Seating variable two, where vegetation growing at the feet of the palm trees act as seat dividers. Corners are great spots for resting, as it provides good views.

D: The bubbling sprinkle fountain would act as a slight axial anchor with the formal Justice Courthouse entrance, as well as an interest point for pedestrians.

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Open Learning Plaza Democratic Civic Plaza a — Main Library. b — Library additions. Transparent, interior study spaces + other amenities c — Reading room. Quiet pocket park d — Great plaza. Main hardscape plaza e — Rest and interaction spots. f — Urban vegetation. Nature in the city immersion g — Interactive tech/art installations. h — Waiting rooms for public transit

i — Departmental Justice Courthouse ii — Parking plaza iii — International flags and bubbling fountain iv — Waiting rooms — Public transit stops v — Inner courtyard vi — Rest and interaction spots vii — Safe pedestrian crossing & park link viii — Cascading platforms with seating spots ix — Service Area Pinpoints for Public City Life

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4: HUMAN-SCALE INTENTIONALITY How it all comes together

Texture and Details Multiple, human-scale details have been woven into the fabric of the sister plazas, yet the best way to assess their success is tying it back to Jan Gehl’s guidelines for successful spaces: “Textures and Details: City buildings hold attractions for pedestrians walking slowly.

Appealing ground floors, [walls, and covers] offer texture, good materials, and a wealth of details.

Transparency: Walking in the city is enhanced for pedestrians if they can see [...] what is going on inside buildings. And that works both ways.

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Interesting

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or boring

5 km/hr - 3 mph

or 60 km/hr - 37 mph

To soften the intimidating Brutalist architecture unkind to the pedestrian, a bubbling fountain becomes the liaison of large + small scale. Source: Pinterest

Transparency

Mixed Functions

2 Open

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Varied

or uniform

To counteract the Library’s four-sided walls of brick, the proposed buildings will provide open-layout style study spaces, a children playroom, + a coffee shop.

Source: JJA/Bespoke Architecture

While all categories pertain to physical conditions, this category can extend to the programmatic flexibility of a place. If it communicates a sense of openness for dance, f ilm watching, or simply enjoying the weather, it is always a win.

Vertical Facade Rhythms

Appeal to Many Senses

Mixed functions: [Active programmatic elements combined with a f riendly, well-designed environment] provide many points of exchange between in and out and many types of experiences.

Appeal to many senses: All our senses are activated when we are close to buildings that provide interesting impressions and opportunities. In contrast, [monotonous columns along an impenetrable wall] do not inspire.”

4

Opening up the rigid Library atrium would bring in natural light, a stronger link with the landscape, and intricate shadows indoors. Source: Foster + Partners.

Vertical Facade Rhythms: Ground floors with primarily vertical facade rhythms make walks more interesting. They seem shorter too, compared to walks along horizontally oriented facades.

Scale and Rhythm: The 5 km/hr - 3 mph scale, [combined with human-scale experiences bring about memorable instances]. The 60 km/hr - 37 mph scale works for drivers on the move, but not for pedestrians, [as seen by the sheer scale of the 300’ building and entrance.

Scale and Rhythm

3

Vertical

or horizontal

The most challenging aspect of engaging the Justice Courthouse Building are the large expanses of concrete wall. To add interest and rhythm for the pedestrian experience, vertical gardens can bring life here. Source: VTN Architects Source: Cities for People by Jan Gehl, 2010. Originally f rom “Close encounters with buildings,” Urban Design International, 2006.

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Interactive

or passive

the Library solely offers an entry and an exit. Yet, by anchoring a Reading room and proposed buildings on either side, it suddenly activates the beautiful Spanish colonnades around the perimeter. Source: Dan Kiley, Dallas Museum of Art.

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Conclusion

FINAL REMARKS

Searching for urban vitality possibilities

What makes up a city really comes down to details we pick up from our immediate, human-scale experience. Fleeting sensations, visual vignettes, floating smells, snippets of daily life . . . these are the simple elements that make up the vastness and vibrancy of urban life.

Ultimately, my hope for this thesis is to offer the invitation of mutual, serendipitous interaction between two people that, at the end of their stay in the plaza, may end up learning a little bit more about each other.

They may come from different backgrounds, carrying their own individual story. Yet, the beauty of true public spaces is that it acts as an open milieu for city life to play out. Most importantly, I wanted paint a hopeful ideal that contradicts the gloomy outlook towards the future for Santa Cruz de la Sierra, showing that good initiatives can still happen in this city. Moving forward, I hope I continue to act upon my convictions as a designer, capable of becoming part of the solution for global issues arising in the 21st century.

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Important disclaimer: no photographs, digital renderings, or plans belong or are owned by self. Any photograph, digital rendering, or plan will state the source, author, and/or any other disclaimer that states that I am not the owner of said content.

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