re. weave. a proposal for the los angeles historic state park graduate landscape architecture studio, spring 2010 school of architecture, university of southern california robin abad ocubillo
Instructor: Gerdo Aquino Juorors: Julia Czerniak Adrian Geuze Robert Harris Ying-Yu Hung Mia Lehrer Travis Longcore Michael Maltzan Janet Owen Driggs Simon Pastucha Alexander Robinson
30%
Diet / Physical Inactivity 70%
25%
50%
ages 12-19 15%
overweight
40% overweight
10%
0%
0%
1980
$100k +
Firearms
$80 - 100k
2000
$60 - 80k
Drug Use
20%
ages 6-11
5%
Alcohol
Motor Vehicles
30%
10%
farm / farmer’s market
Tobacco
60%
20%
obese
obese
1980
2000
$40 - 60k $20 - 40k
Child and Adolescent Obesity
Overweight and Obese Adults
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). “National Health Examination Survey” and “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). “National Health Examination Survey” and “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” National Center for Health Statistics
- $20k
Causes of Premature Death National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (2001). “Obesity and Other Diet-and-Inactivity Related Diseases: National Impact, Costs and Solutions.”
oranges AUSTRALIA 8,600 mi
blueberries NEW ZEALAND 6,800 mi
garlic CHINA 7,300 mi
grapes, raspberries CHILE 5,900 mi Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA) (2008).
bell peppers NETHERLANDS 6,000 mi
tongva villiage of yangna SUBSISTENCE pre-1769
el pubelo de los angeles SUBSISTENCE HORTICULTURE 1769-1848
ranchos and farms MAIZE and WHEAT 1821-1890s
CATTLE 1848-1860s
VITICULTURE and SHEEP 1860-1930s
CITRUS 1890-1930s
OIL, INDUSTRY, REAL ESTATE 1940s-present
“Certified Farmer’s Markets in Los Angeles County” farmernet.com, retrieved 1/31/2010 “Median Income in Los Angeles by Zip Code” realestate.aol.com, retrieved 1/31/2010
rice THAILAND 8,200 mi
asparagus Peru 4,200 mi
tomatoes MEXICO 1,200 mi
LOS ANGELES
agriculture history
wheatfield . agnes denes
south central farm
detail section B . river channel . scale 1”:500’
trapezoidal channel profile deeper and steeper riverbottom excavation irregular riverbed profile shifts every season
modern fill floodplain
historic grade
cathedral high school
modern grade
detail section A . slope . scale 1”:500’
Zanja
approx. elevation of Tongva Village
open space
st. peter church
hills / bluffs
cut present grade of Broadway Blvd.
residential cultural light industrial roadway railway
modern fill
watershed
buried Zanja Madre river
present Metro LA right-of-way
flood plain
site section . scale 1”:1,500’ 500”
400”
300”
200”
2050 1950 1850
first impression sculpture
A
n c
metro gold line
warehouses and railyards
site inventory + analysis
solano canyon
broadway bridge
spring st. bridge buddhist temple
LASHP
downey rec. center
women’s bldg
Gumprecht, Blake (1999). The Los Angeles River. Baltimore: The Hopkins University Press. p59
cathedral high school
lincoln heights
st. peter church
main st. bridge
conservation corps nick’s cafe
warehouse district
warehouse district river
Gumprecht, Blake (1999). The Los Angeles River. Baltimore: The Hopkins University Press. p72
B
photo: Frederick Foto Service (date unknown). Los Angeles Public Library Historic Photograph Collection
The act of weaving is one of humanity’s most practical and spiritual arts. The technology of textiles is a legacy passed between generations; and the loom itself is an artefact of artistry, industry, and love. A strong and beautiful weave can be made from the coarsest scraps or the finest threads; or both. Woven fabrics wrap newly born babies and cushion aerial performers when they fall from the sky. When human flesh is injured, the seams of our skin are stitched back together. When deep in thought, it is said that one’s brows are knit. Weaving is also a sacred ritual; rendering patterns and designs evolved through the centuries, which sometimes tell parables, histories, and myths. Cloth connects us to our cultures, loops us with a sense of belonging and sews the strata of our society into legible seams. Just as an analysis of tapestry can reveal our ancient and primal origins, the science of ecology studies webs of relationships. These natural networks cradle and protect us, challenge and nurture us, stretch in times of stress and contract to fit humanity’s ever-changing form and feelings. A weave is where vectors overlap, conjoin, and mesh into a multi-dimensional venue for fulfilling our hopes, visions, and dreams of sustenance.
(c)irculation (o)pen space
(cu)ltural (h)abitat
(ra)il (s)tormater / (ri)ver
(c) (ra) (cu) = human (o) (h) (r) = productive
productive = metabolic / food forest (o) (cu) = interpretation / ritual
metabolic = filtration food forest = picnic / recreation / relaxation ritual = volunteerism / harvest / worship / gratitude
explorations in
form and circulation
explorations in
form and circulation
34 5
productive parks
cultivating / community
310
535
heritage horticulture
320
330
340
stormwater storage
310
345 5
34
333
floodplain // food
335
325
290
5
300
31
295
5
30
340
26
gastronomic activism
5
30
290
0
305
283
335
riparian freakologies
0
30
305
325
288
320
economic self-sufficiency
297
330
30
315
0
C
310 298
305
agriculture urbanism 300
300
5
29
re-making local markets 5
29
295
295
325
0
30
294
progressive polyculture
288
B
283 288
5
31
5 30
265
295 282
29
5
295
29
5
0
30
288
288
281
A
295
275
300
280
5
29 5 29
279
285
278
277
29
0
295
276
275
274 260
273
272 271
0 29
re. weave. grading plan
280
re. weave. site sections
350” 350” 340” 340” 330” 350” 330” 320” 340” 320” 310” 330” 310” 300” 320” 300” 290” 310” 290” 280” 300” 280” 290” 280”
Commercial Development
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff
Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Bosque - Parking Lot
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
Commercial Development
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff
Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Bosque - Parking Lot
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
Commercial Development
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff
Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Bosque - Parking Lot
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
site section A . scale 1”:20’
350” 350” 340” 340” 330” 350” 330” 320” 340” 320” 310” 330” 310” 300” 320” 300” 290” 310” 290” 280” 300” 280” 290”
Chapparal Bluff
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Chapparal Bluff
Grand Walk
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
280”
Chapparal Bluff
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Chapparal Bluff
Grand Walk
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
Broadway Greenstreet
Chapparal Bluff Historic Zanja
Metro ROW
Chapparal Bluff
Grand Walk
Meadow
Zanja
Promenade
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Meadow
Zanja
Sidewalk
site section B . 1”:20’ Chapparal Bluff
350” 350” 340” 340” 330” 350” 330” 320” 340” 320” 310” 330” 310” 300” 320” 300” 290” 310” 290” 280” 300” 280” 290” 280”
Broadway Greenstreet
Stormwater Storage
Historic Zanja
Pool
Metro ROW
Waterfall
Deep Pool
Promenade
Meadow
Sidewalk
Broadway Greenstreet
Stormwater Storage
Historic Zanja
Pool
Metro ROW
Waterfall
Deep Pool
Promenade
Meadow
Sidewalk
Stormwater Storage
Historic Zanja
Pool
Metro ROW
Waterfall
Deep Pool
Promenade
Meadow
Sidewalk
site section C . 1”:20’ Broadway Greenstreet
the park
weaving neighborhoods, watersheds, habitats and open spaces of the surrounding areas, the park stitches together a long gap in the urban fabric. the main axis and tree groves refer to historic rail alignments, figuratively and literally pointing the way towards downtown. a landbridge connects the solano canyon with the park and neighborhoods below, facilitating circulation and flow of water.
the grand promenade
ten yards wide and nearly a mile long, the grand promenade passes through agricultural fields and a picnic bosque in the southwest (pictured in the foreground), meadows and orchards; finally ending in the cultural forest of sycamores and willows that embrace the los angeles river. the broadway bridge presides over the the head of the promenade like a crown, itself forming another overlook for viewing the landscape.
the grand walk
a broad walkway slopes gently up the chapparal slope, connecting the low meadows, bosques and food forests with a lofty overlook. thus the park frames a vital pedestrian link between Broadway and Solano Canyon above with the new neighborhoods below.
solano canyon watershed approximately 120 acres from ridge to ridge, the solano canyon watershed opens directly onto the park. at an average local rainfall of 14 inches, solano canyon captures up to 48 million gallons annually. given a runoff coefficient of .74 and immediate first-flush infiltration of .75 inches, almost 35 million gallons of stormwater becomes availble to supply the agricultural program. a subgrade cistern with a 32 million gallon capacity excavated under the foot of the canyon stores water during the year. overflows supply a shallow infinity pool perched above the park, emitting stormflows down a waterfall into an open retention pond. a system of wiers around the pond regulate the flow of water into surrounding irrigation ditches. further south, a vernal pool grassland in the centre of the meadow further animates the rainy winter and flowering spring seasons. finally, a wide grassy corridor forms the backbone of a neighborhood storm, grey, and blackwater treatment strategy.
cornfields community center + farmer’s market
adaptive reuse of the historic womyn’s building and warehouse provide a venue for a community center hosting educational programs, a coop organic restaurant and farmer’s market, seed bank, art galleries and other public spaces
the
upper orchards
surround a length of the grand promenade near the bridges and cultural forest
grand promenade
the orchards, fields and bosques
gestures southwest to downtown as it passes over waterways and pools, through
sycamores and willow groves spread below the iconic beaux-arts bridges at broadway and spring street. oriented on the same axis as the grand promenade, the groves echo historic rail lines and frame the view towards downtown. only one portion of the forest is accessible to visitors, otherwise serving as protected habitat.
bridge overlooks + cultural riparian forest