Contents
01 Write and Rewrite Coastal Geography Designing a new public landscape in Port of Los Angeles
02 Corridor in Motion TI Freeway Replacement
03 Sense of Broadway Relink Lincoln Heighcature Resource
04 Layers of Time Culture Public Landscape Renovation
05 Sacrifice, Dead and Revive Rescue the Missing Culture Landscape in Turpan Basin
06 Self-sufficient East Los Angeles Sustainable Community
07 Other Works
Write and Rewrite Coastal Geography Designing a new public landscape in Port of Los Angeles Landscape Architecture + Urbanism Thesis Instructor: Sarah Cowles 2nd Academic Year, Graduate
Coast is the physical meeting point of ocean and land. When the two things meet with each other, some intensity of encounter is set up. Climate change will result in sea level rise. It provokes changes in geography. How can landscape architecture shape these new geographies and at the same time protect or modify those under threat? Here in Los Angeles, one place to understand and test these ideas is Port of Los Angeles, where historically, geography has been identifed, named, modifed, replaces, erased and created by natural process as well as human activities. The shape and pattern of coastal line reveal the dramatic change once happened here. Eroded escarpment, artifcial beaches, structured port, abandoned factories, all the unusual geographies are telling the story of the interaction between human and nature. And in the scenario like erosion and sea level rise, the land will be exposed to ever-lasting change (land use, performance and accessibility, etc.). Landscape has great potential to mediate the historical geography process and future condition. The project uncovers the historical geography movement in the port to understand the logic of human and nature interactions. According to the site research, some of them are now waiting for new landscape form to confront the current land use dilemma or future extreme scenario. Recreation place like 22nd street park and Cabrillo Beach are at risk due to the rising sea level. Sunken city though quite popular as a secret adventure still has safety issue. Several types of geography evolving process which could enlighten the future landscape method are found in this area. New port urban geography which could tolerate the ongoing change is then written here.
cliff geography character
Rancho Parlo Verdes
filled for transportation and storage.
houses were built next to the cliff
refinery industry and oil tanks
Land slide ruined the paradise
transformed transf d into a park.
sunken city un-touched by regional planning
22nd street park Reclamation+transform
Sunken City Erasing
Union Pacific railroad
Railroad
industry use
Breakwater
reserved area
Cabrillo beach
open spaces
open space
Terminal Island
In the future scenario of sea level rise, part of the land near the main channel are going to be submerged. The once reclaimed geography is going to be erased.
disappear
reclaimed again
Main Channel Reclamation+transform
Cabrillo Reclamation+Transform
Main Channel Reclamation+Erasing
Terminal Island Reclamation+ Erasing+ Reclamation
Unusual Geography Process Historically geography movements in port of LA could be categorized into several types (show the historical process diagram and image) By tracing the historical process, we learn how landscape could be shaped in the future to encounter the ongoing movement.
a.reclamation
In this scheme, I magnify the disturbance on sea water (both physically and chemically) by aqua vegetation.
In this scheme, I visualize and control the erosion. By building retention wall on some part of the cliff, the protected and exposed segments perform quite different.
b.erasing
c.transformation
In this scheme, I play with the abandoned industry infrastructure. Some industrial area will disappear due to flood.
In this scheme, I go through the industry infrastructure which dominant the port in the future by a trail.
Extremely Scenarios Interventions Historical Text Map
In this scheme, I measure the historical and future topography and elevation movement in the port by a trail.
Geography Interventions By tracing the historical process reclamation/ erasing and transformation, we learn how landscape could be shaped in the future to encounter the ongoing movement. a. Refill (lift the land to protect it from the sea level rise) b. Sacrifice (transform vulnerable area into new aquatic geography) c. Measure (create trail to present the change of geography) Sacrifice
Refill
refill the rock base of tidal pool to protect habitat
refill the land to protect vulnerable area which has significant function.
Sacrifice some flooding places to create temporary aquatic open spaces.
Measure
Create trail in the same level as the original elevation in the reclaimed places.
San Pedro Coastal Public Open Space and Circulation Accessibility of landscape architecture work is quite essential in the busy urban area due to the complex land use issue. The project links the port and the city with new circulation geography and visual connection. It also takes the future condition into account thus the circulation and urban space are resilience to the ongoing process.
1�=1500’
Create trail in the same level as the original elevation in the erased sites.
Create armature to indicates the original level of eroded beach.
Create slope to introduce the sea water into the once reclaimed places.
Sunken City
Cabrillo Beach
New Circulation Geography
New Recreation + Hydrology Geography
Reproduces the missing geography of Sunken city by a lifted walkway in the same elevation with the historical land. Create new recreation on the sunken city with the new topography.
Introduce horizontal retention grid to catch the sand from erosion and save eelgrass habitat.
Onsite Material Palette The project engage the onsite material and arrange them carefully to help present the topographic intervention. The tectonic details make the new geography cohesive to the site culture.
San Pedro Tidal Pool New Habitat Geography When the sea level rise, the higher intertidal zone and lower intertidal zone will be submerged into sub tidal zone. And due to the structure of cliff, it is hard for the upper level creation to find new habitat. Habitat geography lost in this area. The land level of tidal pool is lifted to meet the ongoing habitat aquatic condition need.
+4’
0 refilled land
remained mount
sacrificed marsh hland & p plank p path
Sections of Circulations
22nd Street Park New Circulation + Vegetation Geography Sunken trial to measure the historical land level once the ocean and also fell the lifted geography which is create to encounter the sea level rise. Native planting community + coastal species indicate the historical difference in land use.
Self-sufficient East Los Angeles Sustainable Community Academic Project | Group Work with Jiaying Mu Instructor: Kyle Konis 1nd Academic Year, Graduate