tulane school of architecture
Exhibition of Thesis Projects 2013-2014
a catalog of thesis projects created by the tulane school of architecture master of architecture candidates for 2014
tulane school of architecture
page 02
thesis class of 2013—2014
An Architectural Thesis Each of the Thesis Projects presented in this exhibition was developed in two consecutive courses over the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014. In the three credit fall course, students researched an architectural topic and developed a thesis able to be explored through design. Students entered the spring semester design studio course with a provisional thesis explored and elaborated through the design of a specific program and site. In both semesters, each student was guided by one of the following faculty members. John Klingman, RA
Favrot Professor of Architecture Thesis Coordinator
Errol Barron, FAIA
Professor and Richard Koch Chair of Architecture
Scott Bernhard, AIA Jean and Saul A. Mintz Associate Professor
Graham Owen, RA, OAA, NCARB Associate Professor of Architecture
Cordula Roser-Gray, AIA Professor of Practice
page 03
tulane school of architecture
Thesis Project Summaries Each of the thesis students below has created a one-page illustrated summary of their Thesis project presented on the following pages of this booklet: student Akerley, Daniel Amato, Evan Baker, Madison Bemis, Casey Borell, Andrew Bullock, Mary Catherine Carroll, Alison Carroll, Michelle Conques, Rachel Cox, Christopher Coyle Jr., John Creim, Libby Croft, Ray Cui, Wanhao Cumming, Sarah Diacon-Furtado, Natan Easley, Margaret Edwards, Gage Finan, Michelle Futagoishi, Miko Gauthier, Trenton Green, Emily Grossman, Elisha Haskell, Annelise Hauck, Drew Hearle, Ellen Jasinski, Emma Javadi, Bahareh
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page 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
location 32 L-06 34 36 L-13 L-03 11 L-05 10 L-14 07 17 L-01 20 19 L-09 L-12 37 25 31 35 L-07 06 26 L-02 29 24 L-17
thesis professor Barron Bernhard Roser-Gray Bernhard Klingman Owen Barron Roser-Gray Bernhard Barron Klingman Bernhard Barron Owen Roser-Gray Owen Bernhard Barron Roser-Gray Klingman Owen Roser-Gray Klingman Roser-Gray Klingman Bernhard Bernhard Bernhard
thesis class of 2013—2014
student Korndoerfer, Kristen Kovacevic, Elizabeth Lacroix, Beau Leach, Katlyn Longano, Melissa Luxner, Kate Mathieu, Gregory McDonald, Daniel Morris, Evan Mosby, Robert Mu, Kathy Namaky, David Nemitoff, William Ng, Tayson Palmadessa, Dennis Ryan, Kyle Satterlee, Sarah Schenker, Aaron Schmitt, Kevin Schuff, Katherine Shepard, Dorothy Skoda, Matthew Soomro, Alia Velle, Lucas Waterman, Jack Werner, Katie Xiong, Fan Zelenka, Meredith
page 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63
location 01 21 15 28 12 L-16 33 08 L-04 18 L-11 38 22 14 02 23 L-15 03 27 30 L-08 05 04 13 39 L-10 16 09
thesis professor Bernhard Owen Klingman Klingman Barron Owen Owen Barron Roser-Gray Owen Roser-Gray Roser-Gray Owen Klingman Barron Barron Roser-Gray Barron Roser-Gray Klingman Bernhard Klingman Owen Barron Klingman Bernhard Klingman Roser-Gray
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tulane school of architecture
Thesis Exhibit Plan
second floor of richardson memorial hall
10 11 12
09 08
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02 03 01 39 38
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06 36
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thesis class of 2013—2014
page 07
tulane school of architecture
animating the ananimate digital strategies for big architecture
Daniel Akerley
location
32
The New Orleans Convention Center properties upriver of the existing convention center have seen many proposed developments to fill the large empty lots. This proposal aims to extend the existing convetion center by adding convention space and an integrated film animation studio. The proposed building explores the use of animation software to produce a mass that has reacted to applied forces that morph the geometry of the masses and eventually are used to create the architecture in a site responsive way, just as animation characters are responsive to their surrounding forces. The animation software provides an outlet to produce a less stark building and a more organic form to help contextualize the scale of large projects while responding to site conditions. Description of the thesis project and site: Located along the floodwall of the Mississippi River, the site has a very strong relationship with the river. By elevating the spaces above the floodwall height the users get to experience the strong relationship the building and site have with the river while avoiding potential flooding. The building begins to act as a geometric extension of the existing convention center and then transforms into the organic animated form that houses the new convention spaces, animation studios, theater, and the other components.
page 08
thesis class of 2013—2014
Coastal Recuperation 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
Improving the health of low-lying coastal regions through elevation, access and ecosystem symbiosis location
L-06
Evan Amato
Description of the thesis issues or questions: This thesis project will examine the effects of future development and sea level rise on low lying coastal communities along the Gulf Coast. The design solution will seek to deploy a more sustainable means of inhabiting the coast while maintaining a high level of access to the beach and other important coastal attractions. The new area of development will focus, in particular, on the economic and ecological implications that are associated with building in fragile coastal watershed and beach environments. Description of the thesis project and site: The site stretches across Orange Beach, Alabama bordering Perdido Beach, Florida. The site was chosen because of its residential & resort development patterns, diverse and fragile ecosystems and its vulnerability to sea level rise and coastal storm events. The project’s program includes a series of interconnected, multi-use, residential developments, water reclaiming facilities and a comprehensive boardwalk system which houses artificial reefs, sea grass and sport fish nurseries while providing access to lagoons and barrier islands.
page 09
tulane school of architecture
Multi-Surface, Collective Purpose Reclaiming Urban Public Space in Hot Arid Landscapes, Phoenix, AZ
Madison Baker
location
34
The surface parking lot, disrupting the urban landscape The single surface parking lot produces defunct spaces within the urban landscape. Due to their mono-functionality and disruption of continued activity and vitality in downtown urban areas, these spaces can be reorganized to incorporate a multifaceted agenda providing important public amenities. This thesis investigates the topology of the urban surface by using the surface parking lot as a point of departure combined with methods of extreme water conservation. The mono-functional urban surface can be transformed to host a multiplicity of functions and be reclaimed as usable public space through the implementation of a multi-surfaced topography, environmental responses, and programmatic coupling. Coupling to promote programmatic efficiencies and activity The project is located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona where there is a large percentage of surface parking lots contributing to an absent urban vibrancy. The proposal aggregates the surface lots to a central site combined with multiple programs that respond to environmental context in order to create a thermally comfortable public space and civic hub. The building performs as a shade structure and a water collection center to create a micro-climatic public space to promote urban activity in the downtown area.
page 10
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Above the Flood Placemaking in Elevated Homes in the Flood Prone Urban Context of New Orleans
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36 26
Casey Bemis
Raised homes crea�ng voids in urban fabric: In an effort to individualize ood protec�on, houses around the city are being raised en�re stories above the ground with li�le regard for what goes on beneath them. Houses that are raised signicantly create voids in the urban fabric, contribute to a loss of porch culture, and push houses away from the street to accommodate large stairs effec�vely changing neighborhoods. With ood insurance costs rising, the nancial advantages of raising a house are signicant, but there is not yet an architectural or social advantage. Prefabricated structures in affordable home eleva�ng: The four goals of the project are individualized Flood protec�on, sustainability, placemaking, and affordablilty. Prefabricated structure are used to provide valuable porch space, water storage, elevated parking, and an off-grid bathroom while reducing the number of pilings that are required in eleva�ng houses. Each module supports the house above while only res�ng on four helical piles. The prefabricated module can be applied under any home and sa�ses all FEMA codes for enclosures below the base ood eleva�on. The result is a raised home with signicant savings in ood insurance while protec�ng the much needed porch culture of the city.
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tulane tulane school school of of architecture architecture
Cultivating Memory: Making the ephemeral tangible through neighborhood archives in the Seventh Ward, New Orleans
Andrew Borell
location
L-13
Posit the Architecture of Memory: The ephemeral choreography of the everyday defines people and place. Since memory relies heavily on physical objects, the link between memory and physical objects is the primary investigation of this thesis. By maintaining artifacts in close proximity to their points of origin, neighborhoods retain identity and strengthen place. Investigation into neighborhood specific archives: Working in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans the primary program of a neighborhood archive tests the idea of strengthening identity through memory. The site of Hunter’s Field in the Seventh Ward was chosen for its relationship to the elevated highway and the divided neighborhood created by this object. The decommissioned elevated highway acts as an attachment armature for the archive to preserve the object and strengthen the Seventh Ward’s identity.
One, two or three images helping to illustrate your thesis ideas and/or thesis project. In total, they must occupy this 4.5 x 2.53 space with .125” spaces between if necessary. The images may be in color, but be aware that the booklet may be printed in gray-scale.
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thesis class of 2012—2013 2013—2014
Embarking New Orleans
Making place for bodies in transit. location
L-03
Mary Catherine Bullock
Retro-fit Body Space Within a Non-Place or Airport Security : When traveling by air a person who desires mobility must compromise: bodily inconveniences for safety, privilege, motion, freedom or, rather the perception of these intangible objectives. Since 9/11, the inconveniences associated with safety have become a fact of air travel but the space provided for this fact has never been specific. Since its implementation, airport security has been increasingly amplified to the level of delaminating the body in the screening process. The space allotted for security in existing airports is residual circulation space. The retrofit security check point is essentially undesigned. Landing in the Central Business District : This thesis posits that relocating the airport terminal to the heart of the city it serves creates a new distribution of demands on the space. Architectural design can focus on the bodies that travel. This thesis rethinks the way bodies move through secure and “non-secure” spaces. It re-imagines the departure process and arrival sequence and through this questions the current standard of security practices and offers a new paradigm for the distribution of gateways to mobility within the city. By generating a new type of terminal in a central location, airport security becomes the “main event”, and so too, the terminal within the city of New Orleans.
page 13
tulane school of architecture
A Sentimental Typology Crafting sensual space through indigenous form
Alison Carroll
location
11
Reinforcing the spirit of place: Buildings that successfully provide people with a connection to human experience and the world are places that allow us to ‘dwell’: the building itself recedes to the background, becoming the blank slate upon which our experiences can be had, enhanced and strengthened. This thesis looks for an approach to this ‘phenomenological’ architecture through the genius loci. I believe that indigenous architectural principles can be used to inform a new program while quietly enhancing the existing context. A winery and lodge on the North Fork: The eastern end of Long Island has developed over the last 50 years into an important wine-growing region. The first of these wineries often took over old potato barns, over the years being renovated to provide more amenities for increasing tourism. Starting on a forested site, this design posits the planting of a vineyard as well as a comprehensive site strategy based on local farm typologies. The project seeks to provide the visitor with an authentic understanding of the genius loci, both as an architectural landscape that solidifies a strong sense of place and by providing contemplative spaces that evoke the intangible, emotional dimensions of our built environment within each visitor.
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thesis class of 2013—2014 2012—2013
Fortified Infrastructure Exploring Urban Agriculture Through Underutilized Transit Surfaces location
L-05
Michelle Carroll
Addressing Sustainable Food Infrastructure for the Future: In an increasingly urbanized world, concern has grown over how to sustain dense population growth in cities. One focus will be maintaining and upgrading essential infrastructure, including localized food systems. Architecture can play a valuable role in the implementation of these systems in growing cities by connecting what are otherwise disparate, small scale urban farms or community gardens to existing infrastructural networks. An approach explored in the thesis focuses on integrating urban agriculture strategies into existing city infrastructure (such as transportation) in way that is symbiotic. Exploring the Integration of Urban Farms with Transit Infrastructure: Proposed agricultural production systems strategically placed along an existing transportation network (in this case in Chicago, IL) have the potential to increase food access for citizens and encourage healthy eating habits, while at the same time increasing public transportation use and reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Focusing specifically on designing one new urban farm prototype that directly inserts itself into existing transportation infrastructure, this thesis will explore the ways that architecture can be used to create a mutually beneficial relationship between essential urban infrastructure systems, ultimately creating a more sustainable city preparing for future growth. m
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tulane school of architecture
Cultivating Space A productive urban landscape to discourage sprawl and promote density at the core
Rachel Conques
location
10
How can architecture designed to promote density and physical health be simultaneously present and absent to preserve urban green landscapes? This work investigates sprawl and the need for continuous productive urban landscapes in Lafayette, Louisiana. This region of the state has an extensive history of agriculture, yet the city’s current development trends are that growth continues to spread into unincorporated areas, toward rural towns and onto undeveloped farmland. Fragmented development patterns and segregated land use impact the viability of the agricultural land in the unincorporated parish, and as a result, threaten the food security of the inner city. The city has recently purchased an undeveloped, 100-acre plot of land that is centrally located with a quarter mile presence on a major commercial corridor. I propose a permanent farmers market, as well as acres for growing food to promote physical health and community involvement. This increased connection between consumers and food will strengthen community ties, and by providing a place for literal and metaphorical growth in the middle of Lafayette, I intend to foster an idea of density while discouraging sprawl.
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thesis class of 2013—2014
TULANE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
BRANDED TERROIR
Branded Terroir
Drawing from Site DRAWING FROM SITE VINEYARD ST.TAMMANY PARISH Vineyard St. Tammany Parish
location LOCATION
ATION Chris Cox
L14
L-14
L14
Chris Cox
Concept of Terroir: French wine Appellation “The concept ofd’origine terroir is at the base of the French wine Appellation d’origine model for appellation and wine laws contrôlée (AOC) system that has been the model for appellation and wine laws on that the land from which the across the globe. At its core is the assumption that the land from which the hat is specific to are thatgrown growing site. a unique quality that is specific to that growing site. grapes imparts falls under the description of terroir The amount of influence and the scope that falls under the description of terroir ndustry.” has been a controversial topic in the wine industry.”
Vineyard Design: eristics that the geography, In essence terroir isgeology a set of defining characteristics that the geography, geology ith the plant’s genetics, and climate of express a certainin-place, interacting with the plant’s genetics, express inhocolate,agricultural tomatoes, heritage productswheat, such as wine, coffee, chocolate, tomatoes, heritage wheat, sense of place is where great cannabis, and tea. This same expresson and sense of place is where great VineyardArchitecture Design is to stems link Architecfrom. The attempt in the Vineyard Design is to link Architece is inextricably linked tointhe ture to its land theterroir. same way that the Vine is inextricably linked to the terroir. ce wine be applied as architectural Can the methods and tactics used to produce wine be applied as architectural inspiration and design.
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tulane school of architecture
Bicycle Based Design Architectural mechanisms to reprogram the Lafitte Corridor in New Orleans
John Coyle
location
07
Bicycle based design is a lens to consider Architecture: This thesis explores the current paradigm shift in transit modes, and ways in which architecture can operate comparable to the bicycle. Technology that is transparent to its user, and a strong connection to the environment through layers of transparency and manually operated, sustainable systems supports this concept. Recognizing the increase in bicycle modal shares across the country, this thesis posits New Orleans as an emerging cycle city. As rates of cycling increase, architecture and design must respond in a way to support and promote expanding infrastructural networks. A network connecting outdoor spaces throughout New Orleans: A bicycle accessible trailhead building at the end of the proposed Lafitte Greenway is the vehicle in which the thesis is explored. A new welcome center, hostel and bike share program allow visitors to experience the city in a richer way via bicycle. Revitalizing this latent post-industrial landscape into a linear greenway serves as a model for converting former transportation networks into green corridors for both cyclists and pedestrians.
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thesis thesis class class of of 2013—2014 2012—2013
Reclamation + Reconciliation Transforming fragments of I-10 into assets for the community
Libby Creim
location
17
Issues of Blight and the I-10 Corridor: Blight is widespread in New Orleans and is ever more prominent in neighborhoods directly adjacent to the I-10 corridor. The interstate rips through these neighborhoods without concern for the existing block structure or building use, and it soars past residential and small commercial corridors, disrupting the areas with noise and debris. It is proposed to either entirely demolish a portion of the freeway, or to remove many of the on- and off-ramps in residential areas. However, a third option exists wherein fragments of the structure remain in tact, thus preserving the benefits of shaded outdoor space and access to the views provided from the tall structure. Seventh Ward Community Center: In neighborhoods struggling economically, creating a strong sense of community has often proved to be a major factor in stimulating growth and redevelopment. By integrating fragments of the interstate into a community facility through the utilization of the shaded space below and vantages provided above the structure, the alienating object which once destroyed the fabric of the neighborhood can be reclaimed by the community and transformed into a positive force in the recovery process. A site in the Seventh Ward presents itself as an ideal location to test this thesis.
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Woven Ruins Reclaiming Vacated Naval Barracks with Integrated NaƟve Ecology
Ray CroŌ
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L-01
Cultural IdenƟty and NaƟve Environments: The result of building directly over na�ve ecologies contributes to the erasure of a sense of that place, and ul�mately the iden�ty of urban dwellers. Within urban contexts, a separa�on between built and natural environments disables a dialogue. Through a mul�-layered approach to design, this thesis looks to reconnect the city as an open network of community spaces, engaging new rela�onships with lost na�ve ecologies. Reclaiming an Urban Ruin: An abandoned urban ruin adjacent to the Bywater neighborhood contains 1.5 million square-feet exis�ng complex is a subtrac�ve one. By carving away large areas of exis�ng structure, this project seeks to reclaim and also seeks to weave new public access to the site and river beyond is achieved, and na�ve plant species ac�vely restore contaminated land on site. The city of New Orleans is also in the process of construc�ng the Crescent Park that will effec�vely become woven through newly subtracted areas of this site, establishing a necessary connec�on between architecture and park atmosphere.
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thesis class of 2013—2014
tulane school of architecture
Sensing Information Redefining architectural experience and information gathering through the integration of multiple senses
Wanhao (Jessie) Cui
location
20
Critique of Ocular-centric Design: In this thesis, I began with the critiques of the ocular-centric design and the dominance of vision that flattens our urban experiences and causes detachment and alienation in the digital age, as well as the critique of the ocular-centric ideologies, meta-narratives and positivist ideologies that were guiding the design of cultural spaces in the 19th to the 20th century. The resulting architecture is efficient and mechanical, so is the learning and exploring experiences within it. Rethink the Typology of Museum with Integration of Other Senses: As a typology that is affected heavily by the Internet information system and is no longer considered as one of the main learning and exploring resources, the museum is chosen as the typology to study how the integration of smell, sound, touch, etc, as well as the decline of the impact of focused vision and perspective system in the design of the spaces. With the application of newly developed multi-sensory technologies in the architecture design, a new system and type of museum is designed to provide the visitors with a more integrated and personalized way to explore and learn the information contained in the building.
page 08
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tulane school of architecture
Unlocking the Urban Interior An urban strategy for improving safety and public health in blighted communities, Central City, New Orleans
Sarah Cumming
location
19
Description of the thesis issues or questions: In locations with many abandoned properties it is necessary to consider how future infill will occur to maximize lasting benefit to existing neighborhoods. This thesis explores issues of urban density and redevelopment as they relate to issues of crime and community health. The thesis proposes that architects can activate both city block edges and city block interiors in blighted and vacant inner-city neighborhoods to create a sequence of public “safe zones” that improve safety for pedestrians, promote walkability and catalyze further neighborhood redevelopment. Description of the thesis project and site: Central City presents high health risks and crime rates, concentrated poverty and excessive blight following a depopulation trend that began in the 1960s. This proposal reconfigures city blocks in Central City by reclaiming block interiors as public space, subsidizing the addition of camelbacks to existing shotgun homes to create an urban edge around public block interiors, and converting blighted and vacant NORA-owned properties into commercial and civic entities within the block. Activated city blocks are then linked to form a network of “safe zones” along well-lit and highly patrolled streets within the urban fabric. URBAN EDGE
URBAN BUFFER
URBAN INTERIOR
SIMON BOLIVAR
BLOCK ENTRY
IDEAL BLOCK SCENARIO
PUBLIC COURTYARD
RENTAL UNITS
Basketball Court Shading Gardening
DAYCARE CENTER
EXISTING CHURCH
EXISTING RESIDENTIAL
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BLOCK ENTRY
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BLOCK ENTRY MARKET
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JACKSON AVENUE
Safe Block Network
thesis class of 2013—2014 2012—2013
Legitmate Architecture 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
“Between the Legal and the Illegal lies the Legitimate” - Pedro Lasch
location
L-09
Natan Diacon-Furtado
Questions for/from a legitimate process: + Can architecture subvert power? + What does community mean when not speaking of place? + What is an architectural tool? + Can architecture respond to and enable differing group subjectivities? + Can overt architecture be covert and vice-versa? + Is this architecture? Focus on the margins: This thesis focuses on three communities in New Orleans as stakeholders in a new practice of Legitimate Architecture in the Central Business District: Vietnamese Residents, Hispanic migrant workers, and street vendors for second lines, Mardi-Gras parades and other cultural events. These three communities provide a sliding scale of geographic closeness, from the very tight knit and geographically close Vietnamese community, to the dispersed community of second line vendors, who are each tied to various neighborhood parade routes. Though these three groups vary in the amount of physical community closeness, all three consistently face lawmaking and government action on their communities without their involvement.
page 23
tulane school of architecture
A City of Vacancy Using a Field System to Transform a Deteriorating Urban Order
Maggie Easley
location
L-12
Creating cohesion in a failing order: Due to a decline in population and the devastation of Hurrican Katrina, New Orleans has become plagued by blight. A field system will introduce a new order to the deteriorating urban fabric while also making vacant properties productive to neighborhoods. The grid system will become apparent through the use of orchards, wetlands for water sequestration, and a community pavilion. Together these elements will create the cohesion that neighborhoods in New Orleans are currently lacking. Implementing a new system and changing land use: Using the Faubourg Delassize neighborhood to demonstrate the field system, vacant parcels have been identified to hold either a community orchard or wetland site. The system can be seen as a kit of parts that is dispersed throughout the neighborhood. The orchards act as satellite sites while the pavilion site, located at Seventh St. and Saratoga St., is an architectural manifestation of the field system. Together, these components create a whole that is greater than the sum of it’s parts.
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thesis thesis class class of of 2013—2014 2012—2013
River-City Reconnection Mediating public paths and private domains in order to reclaim the Mississippi River
location
37
Gage Edwards
Connecting street culture to the river: In order to expose and enhance the relationship between the urban fabric of New Orleans and the edge of the Mississippi river the distinction between built form and the connection to water must be investigated on an architectural scale, which in turn will reveal the power and value of the river to the city. Student housing, riverside lofts and a new public domain: As a means of exploring the public path from the city to the river and its relationship to the private domains along the river the proposal will focus on a single intervention in the Bywater district. In this case the expansion of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a school which is situated on the banks of the Mississippi. The expansion will consist of transformative private co-housing for students and faculty as well as public lofts for artists-in-residence and local families involved in the arts. Both components are built on the land closest to the river and will guide a public path through the site connecting city and river. This path will provide performance venues, cafĂŠ and market space, and public display for the arts.
page 25
tulane school of architecture
Urban Seam Encouraging the use of public transportation through street edge activation New Orleans, Louisiana
Michelle Finan
location
25
Neighborhood Deterioration: The erosion of the urban fabric due economic decline has in many cities left the public disengaged with its immediate urban surroundings, leading to deterioration and neglect of important neighborhood spaces. In New Orleans, the lack of organizational strategies along streets and intersections presents the opportunity to investigate solutions that address transportation infrastructure and street furniture alike, in order to introduce a cohesive system that fosters community vitality. Creating Cohesion: The introduction of a cohesive edge condition along St. Claude will link the disparate elements of the street and create added shelter, seating, and safety to the corridor, ultimately leading to the revitalization of an eroding neighborhood and an increased connection to existing citywide networks. St. Claude is used as a testing ground for a new typology of bus stop that incorporates program and adds amenity that does not presently exist, as well as consolidates urban furniture into one cohesive element. The prototypical section can be deployed on small properties and spaces in between buildings, creating density in the urban fabric.
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thesis class of 2013—2014 2012—2013
Still Space: Agnes Martin Pavilion, Houston, TX 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
Feeling Love from Architecture
location
31
Miko Futagoishi
An invisible architecture: “If you raise a lot of money, I will give you great, great architecture. But if you raise a really a lot of money, I will make the architecture disappear.” - Yoshio Taniguchi How does architecture disappear? Architecture disappears when an object within the space is elegantly framed by the building elements. Invisible architecture comes from an memorable experience with a multi dimensional orchestrated value. A designer’s thoughtful approach synthesizes architecture with natural elements, such as light, heat, water, wind, and building materials, and allows architecture to celebrate the behavior of human beings through quietude: still space. The expansion of the Menil Collection campus: The Menil Collection opened in 1987 to house John and Dominique de Menil’s art collection in gallery of diffused natural illumination. The vision of the museum’s design to be a place of meditation, silence, and contemplation. Cy Twombly Pavilion, Rothko Chapel, Byzantine Fresco Chapel and Richmond Hall are also part of the Menil Collection campus, which coexist with historic bungalow houses and large oak trees. The new Agnes Martin Pavilion enhances the vision and atmosphere of the campus ultimate experiences. The silent beauty within the Martin’s paintings are reflected in the new museum.
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Trenton Gauthier
locaƟŽŶ
35
Since vitruvius, western architecture has opposed impermanence: ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĨŽƌĐĞƐ ŽƵƚƐŝĚĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĨĞƐƐŝŽŶ͕ <ŝƚ ŽĨ WĂƌƚƐ ŝƐ ĐŽŵŝŶŐ ŽĨ ĂŐĞ ĂŶĚ͕ ŽǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ŶĞdžƚ ĨĞǁ ĚĞĐĂĚĞƐ͕ ĐŽŵŵŽĚŝĮĞĚ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĂů ƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ ǁŝůů ĐŽŵƉĞƚĞ ĚŝƌĞĐƚůLJ ǁŝƚŚ ĐƵƐƚŽŵ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĞ͘ dŚŝƐ ƚŚĞƐŝƐ ŝƐ ĂŶ ŝŶǀŝƚĂƟŽŶ ƚŽ ƚƵƌŶͲĐŽĂƚ͘ LJ ƌĞǀŝǀŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĨĂŝůĞĚ DĞƚĂďŽůŝƐƚ ŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ͕ ŝƚ ƐĞĞŬƐ ƚŽ ƌĞĐŽŶŶĞĐƚ ĚĞŵŽƵŶƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĂƚĞƌ ŚŝƐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĂů ŝŶŶŽǀĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞŽƌLJ ƐŽ ƚŚĂƚ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƐ ĐĂŶ ĐůĂŝŵ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƉůĂĐĞ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĨŽƌĞ͘ dŚĞ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚ ŝƐ ĂůƐŽ Ă ĐƌŝƟƋƵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ƐƚĂƚĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Ăƌƚ͕ ƐŚŽǁŝŶŐ ŚŽǁ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƐ ĐĂŶ ƌĞĚĞĮŶĞ ƚŚĞ ĚĞŵŽƵŶƚĂďůĞƐ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ĂŶĚ ƐƉĞĐƵůĂƟŶŐ ŽŶ ǁŚLJ ƚŚĞLJ ŚĂǀĞŶ͛ƚ͘ Prototypical redevelopment of the Stephens Garage: dŚĞ ŝŶƐƚĂŶƟĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚŝƐ ƚŚĞƐŝƐ ŝƐ ƐŝƚĞĚ ƚŽ ĂůůŽǁ ĚŝƌĞĐƚ ĐŽŵƉĂƌŝƐŽŶ ǁŝƚŚ ĐŽŶǀĞŶƟŽŶĂů ĐŽƐƚ ĐŽŶƐĐŝŽƵƐ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ͘ tŝƚŚ ŵŝŶŝŵĂů ĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶ ĐŽƐƚƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ^ƚĞƉŚĞŶƐ 'ĂƌĂŐĞ ŝƐ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ ŝŶƚŽ ƐĞǀĞŶƚLJͲƚŚŽƵƐĂŶĚ ƐƋƵĂƌĞ ĨĞĞƚ ŽĨ ŵĂƌŬĞƚĂďůĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ƐƉĂĐĞ͘ dŚŝƐ ƐƉĂĐĞ ŝƐ ƚŚĞŶ ďƵŝůƚ ŽƵƚ ƵƐŝŶŐ ĚĞŵŽƵŶƚĂďůĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ͕ ŐƌĞĂƚůLJ ƌĞĚƵĐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐƵŶŬ ĐŽƐƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƌŝƐŬ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞƌ͘ ĞŵŽƵŶƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ĞŶĂďůĞƐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ ƚŽ ƌĞĐŽŶĮŐƵƌĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƐƉĂĐĞƐ ƚŽ ŵĂƚĐŚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĞǀŽůǀŝŶŐ ŶĞĞĚƐ͘ dŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ͛Ɛ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂƌĞ ĨƌĞĞ ƚŽ ŵŝŐƌĂƚĞ͕ ĞdžƉĂŶĚ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ͕ Žƌ ĞǀĞŶ ŵĞƌŐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌƐ͘ ůů ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ ƵƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ ĂƌĞ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ƚŽĚĂLJ͘
page W ' 28 Ϯϴ
thesis class of 2013—2014
Manufacturing ConsumpƟon 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
Exploring the CommodicaƟon of ProducƟon Through Industrial IncubaƟon, Worcester, MA
Emily Green
��������
L-07
Producer/Consumer Schism: The current autonomy of factories has le� consumers unaware of how products are made. This is reinforced by a decentralized produc�on process where labor is invisible and products are consumed in spaces focused on the spectacle of architecture. Although it emphasizes efficiency, outsourcing labor is the ul�mate separa�on of producer and consumer. This illustrates the idea that, in a Post-Fordist economy, spaces are commodied by giving priority to the aesthe�c of a building over its use. Therefore, how can commodied space be used to bring manufacturing back to the public realm? Architecture of ConsumpƟon Brings Manufacturing Into the Public Realm: This project looks to the historic mill presence in New England as a means of encouraging the return of the tex�le industry through a coopera�ve label. The design explores methods of implemen�ng tex�le produc�on as a cultural industry in Worcester, MA. The reduc�on in autonomy of the factory created through transparency of processes in a space that is shared by produc�on and consump�on allows for goods and understanding to be created simultaneously. Through applica�on of a Post-Fordist spectacle of produc�on the interven�on can established a rela�onship between producer and consumer.
Raw Materials Deliver+Store
Creel Transfers Fibers from cones to section beams
Section Beams Storage
Slasher separates and Transfers Fiber from section to Looom Beams
LOOM weaves Fabric
Inspectors check for imperfections
15
'
34
'
44
Fabric Trimmed+Finished
' 20
44
15
'
Finished Goods Packed
15
'
Finished Goods Distributed
' 20
'
'
' 96
' 96 28
'
34
'
' 34
28
'
page 29
tulane ������ school ������ of �� architecture ������������
Contrastive Structures The Miami Marine Stadium Complex: the juxtaposition between new and old urban forms
Elisha Grossman
1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
��������
06
The contrast and dialogue between new and old structures: Instead of severing the memories attached to the stadium, there is a new potential to create an architectural dialogue between the revived stadium and a new innovative structure. The juxtaposition between the old and new will supply an original identity to the island and to the broader context in which it is connected. The rejuvenation of this modern 20th century stadium has the potential to reconnect itself back into the cities urban fabric. In the prevailing predicament of revitalization versus demolition, the revival of the Miami Marine Stadium is imperative due to its historical value to both native residents and visitors. Creating new structures to reanimate neglected sites in a dynamic urban setting: Through revitalization, derelict sites and structures can be preserved as a historical backdrop and/or component to new innovative structures. The site offers panoramic views of downtown Miami, unique natural landscaping, and an intimate experience with the ocean that Miami is known for. For a while, the young and modern city of Miami supported a large numer of private tourist attractions, including the Miami Marine Stadium. Now, with a energetic real estate market, the city is making an effort to rejuvenate itself culturally for the local and global visitors.
page ���� 30
2012—2013 thesis class of 2013—2014
Re-Surfacing Public Space 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
Bridging Urban Boundaries in Downtown New Orleans, Louisiana
location
26
Annelise Haskell
Reconfiguring Waterfront Public Space: New Orleans’s existence is dependent upon the Mississippi River, however residents and visitors of the city have limited interaction with it. Levee and flood wall infrastructure, industrial facilities, freight rail and public transit lines border the river, creating a challenging urban boundary that separates the public. By remodeling public transit and improving accessibility to existing waterfront attractions through the design of a new ferry terminal, New Orleans can more successfully overcome waterfront thresholds and feature meaningful public space in its urban core. This thesis seeks to introduce methods of infrastructural layering to erase urban edge conditions and provide unification to the city fabric. Canal Street Ferry Terminal Proposal: By providing a much needed mixed use waterfront and landmark in downtown New Orleans, this proposal will offer a variety of recreational, cultural and transportation amenities along the Mississippi River for tourists and residents alike. In addition to a reconfigured ferry terminal, visitors can engage with the waterfront and move freely between the aquarium and Spanish Plaza, therefore activating two important riverfront public spaces previously isolated.
page 31
tulane school of architecture
Fractured Cities: Stitching Communities Together Through Residual Space A Multicultural Arts Center and Skate Network in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Drew Hauck
location
L-02
Pushed to the fringe: Physical, legal, and social controllers currently push artistic and performance based subcultures from the public eye. The separation of these subcultures from society has created a negative connotation of their activities in the eyes of the general public â&#x20AC;&#x201C; establishing them as rebels. New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drainage canals can be reinterpreted as a vehicle to connect urban fabrics and enable more cohesion between stigmatized subcultures and the general public. The resulting designed interventions allow for a new understanding of these subcultures while simultaneously invigorating the surrounding corridor. Scarred urban tissue as a mode of connection: By viewing New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drainage canals as an amenity rather than solely a floodable drainage system, they can act as a catalyst to reconnect communtities divided by this infrastructure. With the canal as a stimulus for a new way of looking at skateparks, the city can be reimagined to incorporate a system of interventions that decentralize the mass of a single skatepark. Through a network of small scale spots incorporating hybrid design, the system allows for a widespread insertion of skateboarding while continuing the historical practice of spontaneous mobility by street skateboarders on found space.
page 32
thesis class of 2013—2014 2012—2013
More Than Dwelling Mediating privacy, porch culture, and communal living in New Orleans.
location
29
Ellen Hearle
Population Loss and Porch Culture: In many of New Orleans’ neighborhoods, the familiar array of shotgun houses indigenous to the area has been penetrated by vacancies, greenfields, and blight. As a result, the prevalence of the porch, which acts as a semi-private buffer that surrounds the perimeter of much of the city’s blocks, has deteriorated. This layer helps to produce a variety of transitions from public to private so inhabitants can adjust their relationship to the larger social environment. Translating cohousing, a type of social housing that originated in Denmark, to these neighborhoods can reinvigorate fragmented porch culture to foster stronger communities, encourage a cohesive identity for its inhabitants, and introduce critical density to spur redevelopment in a struggling neighborhood. Translating a European Mode of Dwelling: Cohousing in Europe occurs in cultural contexts of greater homogeneity than in New Orleans. The heterogeneous nature of New Orleans posits that the success of introducing cohousing to the city requires a culturally homogeneous user group; Teach For America. Located in Hoffman Triangle, the scheme aims to facilitate engagement between resident teachers and connect with the surrounding community by rethinking the porch threshold through layers of public, private, and semi-private space. Diminishing Populations = Loss of Porch Buffer
CHANGE IN POPULATION 00 - 10% Increase
25 - 35% Decrease
10 - 30% Increase
35 - 50% Decrease
00 - 15% Decrease
50 - 100% Decrease
15 - 25% Decrease
Cohousing Types
page 33
tulane school of architecture
Leveraging A Mass A Community Health Center focused on innovative, proactive and supportive patient engagement
Emma Jasinski
location
24
Changes in the space of healthcare Community scaled healthcare is fundamentally changing. Physicians are shifting from reactive solutions to proactive strategies in order to combat Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest public health issue, chronic illness. As a result, preventative medicine promotes lifestyle modifications and an innovative new service, group medical appointments. This team-based approach employs the knowledge of the practitioner amongst multiple patients as an effort to increase accessibility and capitalizes on the collective wisdom of the group. However, health centers are adopting group visits without appropriate spaces to practice. In order to elevate the proactive program, health centers need to create a fluid transitioning space that fosters scalable and clear neighborhood engagement. Leveraging an exsisting urban artifact New Orleans lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure is plaguing its population with poor health statistics, devastating neighborhoods like Central City. In order to secure a community presence, the health center leverages an existing piece of valued infrastructure within the community, a church. This urban artifact, Saint Francis de Sales, provides a ceremonious open space to adapt as the platform for group visits, establishing a sanctuary for people to heal.
H E A LT H C E N T E R
page 34
1
thesis class of 2013—2014 2012—2013
BOTTOM TOP An exploration of participatory place making and mapping, engaging neutral grounds in New Orleans
Bahareh Rana Javadi
location
L-17
Description of the thesis issues or questions:
This thesis seeks to link the informal and formal production of public space by demonstrating an architecture that curates participatory mapping and testing of spatial concepts in the city. In New Orleans, undervalued sites are identified, Deployed: Sunday 1/26 1pm investigated and invigorated through non-planned appropriations. However, such urban incubations lack sustainability without the momentum created through the support of formal frameworks. Bottom Top works to link bottom up actions and top down urban strategy through a user informed architecture that is specific enough to administer systematically and indeterminate enough to be appropriated.Deployed: Deployed:
P1
P1
P1
Deployed: Sunday 1/2 1pm
Sunday 2/ 11am
Sunday 1/26 1pm
visited: Description of the thesis project and site: Monday 1/27 2pm The program and design strategy for a Neutral Shop + Market is informed by a rooted, bottom up urbanism that propels the momentum of placemaking. The Deployed: Prototype Deployed: Sunday 2/9 program is broken down into permenant and imperminant components--where Sunday 1/26 Considerations: 11am 1pm the perminant building is a small business space to be shared and visited: easily adapted If it is too mobile visited: -->dissappear Sunday 2/ 1/27 between local business tenants. Imperminant concept units act asMonday physical mani11:20am 2pm If it is not mobile enough -->noone will use it -->noone will use it festations of spatial meandering on site. Units intend to crowdsource place-mapvisited: Thursdaylife 1/30 -Weathering (projected ping and making through deployment and use. TheDeployed: landscape of both span) neutral 4pmPrototype Deployed: Considerati -Potential to aggrigate Sunday 2/9 -Potential to aggrigate Sunday 1/26 ground and market plaza are treated similarily--where 11am both are elvated from 1pm If it is too mob -Visibility -->dissappear visited: visited: street grade, suggesting landscape as “stage” for the performance of users. -Speed of fabrication Sunday 2/9 Monday 1/27
visited: Monday 1/2 2pm
P1
visited: Thursday 1 4pm
Deployed: Deployed: Sunday 1/26 Sunday 1/26 1pm 1pm
2pm
P1
Deployed: Sunday 1/26 1pm visited: Sunday 2/9 11:20am
visited: Monday 1/27 2pm
Deployed: Sunday 1/26 1pm
visited: Monday 1/27 2pm
If it is not mob 11:20am -->noone will -->noonetest will us us -Try deploying at various points on site visited: visited: -Weathering (pro Prototype Thursday 1/30 -Potential to plug span) into Sunday 2/ 4pm Considerations: Deployed: larger larger structure structure or or existing existing visited: visited: -Potential to ag -Potential to 2/9 ag Sunday 2/9 visited: visited: infrastructure Sunday Monday 1/27 Sunday 2/9 Monday 1/27Deployed: Prototy 11:20am 2pm If it is too mobile Deployed: 11am 11:20am 2pm Deployed: Sunday 2/9Prototy Deployed: -->dissappear -Visibility Sunday 1/26
Sunday 1/26 1pm
If it is not mobile enough 1pm -->noone -->noone will will use use it it
Sunday 2/9Conside 11am 11am-Speed Conside of fabric
If it is t If it is t -->dissapp -Try deploying a -->dissapp points If on it site is n If it is n -->noone w Sunday 2/17 Thursday 1/30 Deployed: -Potential to pl -->noone visited: visited: w visited: -Potential larger structure 4pm Sunday 2/9 Thursday 1/30 Sunday 2/1 -Potential to to aggrigate aggrigate visited: larger -Weatherin structure Thursday 1/30 Sunday 2/1 4pm infrastructure 11am 4pm -Weatherin span) -Visibility Prototype span) Deployed: Deployed: Prototype Deployed: -Potential Sunday 2/9 Considerations: Deployed: Sunday 1/26 -Speed of fabrication -Potential Sunday 2/9 Considerations: 11am Sunday 1/26 visited: visited: 1pm 11am If it is too mobile -Visibilit 2/9 at various Monday1pm 1/27 -TrySunday deploying test If it is too mobile -Visibilit visited: visited: -->dissappear 11:20am 2pm points on site visited: visited: -->dissappear Sunday 2/9-Speed of Monday 1/27 Sunday 2/9-Speed Monday 1/27 If it is not mobile enough of 11:20am 2pm -Potential to plug intoIf it is not mobile enough deplo 11:20am 2pm -->noone will use it-Try visited: visited: larger larger structure structure or or existing existing deplo -->noone will use it-Try points on Sunday 2/17 Thursday 1/30 infrastructure infrastructure points -Weathering (projected lifeon 4pm -Weathering (projected life -Potential span) -Potential span) larger str Deployed: Deployed: Prototype larger str Deployed: infrastruc -Potential to aggrigate Sunday 2/9 Deployed: Prototype visited: Sunday 1/26 infrastruc Considerations: -Potential to aggrigate Sunday 2/9 11am Sunday 2/9 Sunday 1/26 1pm Considerations: -Visibility 11am 1pm 11:20am If it is too mobile -Visibility visited: visited: If it is too mobile -->dissappear -Speed of fabrication visited: visited: Sunday 2/9 -Speed of fabrication Monday -->dissappear 1/27 Sunday 2/9 -Try deploying at various tes Monday 1/27 11:20am 2pm If it is not mobilevisited: enough visited: 11:20am 2pm 1/30 If it is not enough -->noone willmobile use it -Try deploying points on site at various tes Sunday 2/17 Thursday -->noone will use it visited: points on visited: site 4pm visited: Thursdaylife 1/30 Sunday 2/17 -Weathering (projected -Potentialvisited: to plug into Thursday 1/30 Sunday 2/17 -Weathering (projected life span) -Potential to plug into 4pmPrototype larger structure or existing span) 4pmPrototype larger structure or existing Deployed: infrastructure Considerations: Deployed: -Potential to aggrigate infrastructure Sunday 2/9 Considerations: -Potential to aggrigate Sunday 2/9 11am If it is too mobile -Visibility 11am If it is too mobile -->dissappear -Visibility visited: visited: -->dissappear visited: visited: -Speed of fabrication Sunday 2/9 Monday 1/27 visited: (projected life -Weathering (projected visited: span) visited:
page 35
Deployed: Deployed: Sunday 1/26 Sunday 1/26 1pm 1pm visited:
Deployed: Deployed: Sunday 2/9 Sunday 2/9 11am 11am
visited:
tulane school of architecture
Reconciling Residual Space A Tactical Approach to the Central Critique of Public Housing
Kristen Korndoerfer
location
01
Description of the thesis issues or questions: The dense public housing of New York accommodates thousands of low-income residents but provides very little shared spaces for these families and communities. The only existing public spaces in these housing complexes are the shared grounds between them, which are, at best, a wasted space and, at worst, a safety hazard. What was once a programmed area, intended to be a park unifying the houses, failed in the absence of manageable spatial concepts and ordered relationships to the housing. This thesis proposes a series of layered interventions on existing residual space- promoting spatial cohesion, ownership, and manageable shared outdoor space. Description of the thesis project and site: This thesis addresses the issue of residual space in New York City public housing. The specific housing projects being addressed are the Wagner Houses found in East Harlem. Although populated with mature trees and 13 buildings, over 80 percent is residual space, thus allowing for great opportunity for redesign. Therefore, design will primarily address the existing site conditions with a more tactical approach, while addressing the street edge in a more strategic manner, implementing new program and form. Together, these approaches will help reconcile the issue at hand and transform the residual space into a unifying element.
page 36
thesis class of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2013
On the Horizon Creating a contextual refuge on the shifting Louisiana coast
location
21
Elizabeth Kovacevic
How can communities facing inevitable relocation remain intact?: As the Louisiana coast subsides and is flooded by rising sea levels, the area is becoming more vulnerable to intense floods and storms. While there is a levee surrounding the New Orleans metropolitan area, the communities outside of the leveeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s protection are exposed to the elements, making it too expensive and dangerous to stay. St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes are the areas that will lose the most land and where the land is vital to the local and national economy. An environmentally and contextually sensitive infrastructure will initiate the relocation of these populations, allowing them to remain in their communities while preserving their lifestyle and quality of life. A central hub to attract outliers just within the levee walls: The town center is near the most southwestern part of the levee along Louisiana 46. The center will provide support for the intended increase in population as the area fills in with relocating residents. The center will increase the disaster resilience by providing spaces that can educate the public about climate change, facilitating movement to outside the levee with a boat and automobile transit hub, provide economic support through agriculture and fishing, and help the elderly population stay connected. The community will be able to keep its sense of place with a constant connection to the land they have come from.
collage of existing site elements page 37
tulane TULANE school SCHOOL of OF architecture ARCHITECTURE
Adaptable Infrastructure Repurposing New Orleans’s Industrial Remnants
Beau LaCroix
LOCATION
15
The Opportunities of Infrastructural Decline: nfrastructure across the globe is both expanding and deteriorating. With little forthcoming investment in declining areas, infrastructure and associated industries are becoming a great strain upon cities. he large-scale existence of outdated and abandoned infrastructures contain the opportunity for new ways of thinking about revitalization. ighly reliant upon infrastructure networks, many industrial remnants have been left behind. ften requiring unavailable funds for revitalization, these remnants are an opportunity for a new strategy of rehabilitation that capitalizes upon their central locations and inherent material values. Repurposing a Remnant: ocated near the entrance to the ndustrial anal, the abandoned Poland venue wharf and warehouse have the potential for the large scale architectural intervention that the thesis envisions. t is situated at the end of the new rescent Park which connects the site to the rench Quarter. he site will also soon be connected to a new streetcar line running down Poland venue and terminating adjacent to the wharf. t is intended to create a “loop” between the rench Quarter and the site where pedestrians can walk across the park and return via the streetcar through the surrounding neighborhood. erving as the culmination to the park, the site has the potential to capture that activity and mediate its interaction with the city’s urban fabric. VACANT INDUSTRIAL SITES
IMMEDIATE SITE
WAREHOUSE INTERIOR
AUTOMOBILE
STREETCAR
RAILROAD
RIVER / CANAL
GREENSPACE
SITE
page PAGE 38 38
VIEW FROM SITE INTO PARK
thesis class of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014
Architectural Perception in a Digital Age New Orleans Film Institute: using physical and digital modes of visual exploration to define perception in a technological era location
28
Katlyn Leach
How do digital recording devices alter our perception of architecture? Modern recording apparatuses mediate the physical connection between the architectural environment and those who experience it. Digital cameras, phones, tablets, and other devices have become technological extensions of the human form. Therefore, the built environment is no longer viewed experientially through the human body alone, but captured in digitized moments, changing the perception of architecture from optical, sensory progressions to photographic or cinematic portrayals of space. Through consideration of sensory, optical, and digital perception of architecture, this proposal will fuse spatial experiences of both human and photographic means to embrace an architectural paradigm for an electronic era where digitization isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a substitute but a supplement for apprehending spatial reality. Film and perception in downtown New Orleans: A successful film captures the viewer and pulls him or her into the creative world, altering perception in order to captivate the audience. The New Orleans Film Institute will emphasize photographic and cinematic perception through theaters, galleries, and an education center. Located in an infill site in the Central Business District near Canal Street, visitors from the French Quarter will have maximum viewing, and perceiving, potential.
iPhone Viewing Limitations
Human Eye Potential Views
page 39
tulane school of architecture
RE-USE A study of appropriating + contextualizing industrial fragments
Melissa Longano
1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
location
12
How can found objects be repurposed to make architecture? Much of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste has inherent properties that are similar to architectural elements. This thesis explores ways that found objects can be repurposed to create an architecture of collage. Just as prefabricated columns and walls are integral to some structures, the combination of certain abandoned materials can create a building. In this way, these reused elements can be thought of as elements of prefabrication. By introducing local materials & architectural elements with historic significance, this seemingly placeless architecture becomes relevant to its site. The creation of a maritime museum and community center: New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hot and humid climate combined with the strong architectural history provides extreme conditions to test this thesis. Composed as a collection of industrial discards, this maritime museum & community center creates a type of hybrid machine, which ultimately provides services for the entire Bywater area. The structural system is largely made of shipping containers; oil drums create a ground surface; pallets shade the glazing system; and chain link fencing is adapted to become railings.
page 40
2012—2013 thesis class of 2013—2014
Market Resistance: Sustaining socially mixed communities on the City Fringe
location
L-16
Kate Luxner
Can Post-War social housing be reintegrated into the city? In London, many of the Modernist and Brutalist social housing estates built to usher in a brighter, more egalitarian future after World War II are now tainted by a history of social issues, including the 2011 riots. London boroughs have adopted a policy of regeneration: demolishing social housing in favor of mixedtenure housing that displaces original residents and decreases the amount of subsidized housing. With thousands of people waitlisted for social housing, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is one of the poorest parts of the country, yet its neighborhoods sit precariously balanced between the financial strongholds in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The market-driven expansion of these districts combined with “regeneration” policy poses a profound threat to the existing residential fabric of Tower Hamlets. Densification and Diversification of Existing Social Housing: Through the lens of Tower Hamlet’s Chicksand Estate, this thesis explores how the densification of social housing estates with the addition of mixed-tenure housing, civic and commercial elements can socially and economically benefit an existing neighborhood. Through the tactical response to isolating architectural elements typical of the majority of post-war social housing estates, this proposal aims to present a method for integrating estates into the urban fabric, while strengthening the existing community. Wrapping the Slab-Block
Wrapping the Slab-Block
Urbanizing the Super-Block
Wrapping the Slab-B
Urbanizing the Super-Block
page 41 Grounding the Tower
tulane school of architecture
New Orleans Athletic Club Implementing tactics of queerscape architectures as generators of social incubation.
Gregory Mathieu
location
33
Struggle for social and spatial dominance: Queer space- or altered structures of â&#x20AC;&#x153;othernessâ&#x20AC;? that mirror and subvert spatial and social norms- exist in direct opposition to the heteronormative structures that comprise the geographical and cultural landscapes of the contemporary world. The reallocation of formerly heteronormative space for purposes of advancement of the queer community has been the primary agent through which gender non-conformists have been able to achieve political and social gains. In a time when gender issues are becoming more visibly polarizing, the need for new forms of queer space are required to participate in the national dialogue to promote allied communality. Establishing alternate experiences in a liberationist structure: The chosen site of Loyola Avenue and Perdido Street in the Central Business District of New Orleans is directly next to City Hall- the paradigmatic structure of heteronormative dominance. By mirroring the axis that connects City Hall to Mahalia Jackson Theater into the site, it integrates the New Orleans Athletic Club into the political-civic structure as a point of rupture. The internal experience is then altered through queerscape tactics, embedding the architecture within histories, theories, and experiences of the queer community.
page 42
thesis thesis class class of of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2013
Architecture of Velocity A new urban park under I-610 New Orleans.
location
08
Daniel McDonald
Urban exploration through skateboarding: Architecture has traditionally viewed buildings a set of fixed objects. The experience of the skateboarder contradicts this, viewing architecture as a flow of actively engaging spatial experience. This outsider perspective provides an architectural critique of the urban condition; unconcerned with by traditional standards of architecture, instead preoccupied with the creation of fluid movement through space, following changes of surface and texture, reinterpreting and repurposing the urban fabric through this process. A new urban park in Gentilly, New Orleans: The site for this thesis exists as a residual space of existing I-610 and an adjacent railroad line. By providing a much needed hub for skateboarding and other recreational and cultural activity in New Orleans, this proposal would offer a variety of amenities and attractions for neighborhood, citywide, and regional visitors.
page page 43 43
tulane school of architecture
Synaptic Infrastructure Ameliorating the Effects of Infrastructural Techno-Commodities Through Anticipatory Development
Evan Morris
1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
location
L-04
The techno-commodity landscape: Embedded between the layers of steel and concrete of our world’s great dams lies the proclamation of our species’ unparalleled power over our environment–an immovable ideology of manifest control. Behind their gently curved facades, pools of our most precious resource assure us of a perpetual trickle of growth, abundance and prosperity. The proliferation of large dams over the past fifty years underscores a world wide growth paradigm contingent on outsourced resources and near sighted economics. As it so often happens, the very innovations that spurred us into the present are now the obstacles that threaten to keep us from our future. Anticipating a sustainable future still “in development”: As we begin to grapple with the accumulated external costs of clogging the worlds rivers, the proposed HidroAysen mega-dam project in southern Chile raises significant questions on the role of technology in the development of our built environment. Synaptic Infrastructure adresses the inevitable obselecence of large scale hydroelectric power and seeks to ameliorate its impact on existing social and environmental systems in Patagonia through the coestablsihment of sustainable forrestry practices, climate and energy research, and eco-tourism.
One, two or three images helping to illustrate your thesis ideas and/or thesis project. In total, they must occupy this 4.5 x 2.53 space with .125” spaces between if necessary. The images may be in color, but be aware that the booklet may be printed in gray-scale.
page 44
thesis thesis class class of of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2013
Urban Armature: A Generative Infrastructure Combating Desertification with the built environment - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
location
18
Robert Mosby
Implications of global desertification: The majority of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population is experiencing a steady increase, estimated to be 9.3 billion by 2050, This global population will be confronting issues of energy security, food shortage and water scarcity and wide spread climate change. The degradation of land around the world will uproot populations and force them to leave everything they know; moving their families and what belongings they have left to start anew in a foreign land. This mass migration will cause strain of already fragile resources and could potentially spur civil unrest if measures are not taken to help integrate and provide for these climate refugees. Generative urban armature for Dubai: Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is becoming a prime destinations for migrants looking for opportunities and will become even more attractive as the number of climate refugees increase and cannot sustain life in their country of origin. This investigation proposes a multifunctional infrastructure armature located in the under utilized urban corridors of Dubai. The implementation of this ecological urban armature into the rapidly developing middle eastern city will help combat desertification, alleviate pressure of desalination on the natural environment, and accommodate migrant populations.
page 45
tulane tulane school school of of architecture architecture
A STROLL THROUGH THE NIGHT MARKET Exploring the Potential of the Taiwanese Night Market as an Entrepreneurial Incubator for the Informal Street Vendor
Kathy Mu
location
L-11
Competition for Public Space: The informal street economy plays an integral part of the economic makeup of every city. While informal street vending fall outside the legal framework of city zoning laws, participants view street vending as a means of sustenance. Furthermore, because street vendors are dependent on pedestrian traffic, they usually congregate along crowded streets increasing congestion and concern for public safety. Although eviction has traditionally been the policy, governments have started to realize that this is not a viable solution. As street vendors begin to self organize, many governments are shifting from a policy of eviction to collaboration. Street Market as a Transitional Phase for Entrepreneurship: Using the city of Taipei, a city with a rich street market culture, as a case study, this thesis proposes to explore the potential of the Night Market as a space to incubate businesses. Programmatically, this Night Market would provide storage, production and meeting spaces, and vending space designed to maximize interpersonal relationships to support vendors so that they become less dependent on the street. While the Night Market is intended to be a permanent piece of infrastructure, street vendors would temporarily occupy this space.
page page 46 46
2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014 thesis class of 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2013
Ornament and Time Reevaluating Interface Through Responsive Architecture in New Orleans Central Business District location
38
David Namaky
The role of ornament and the effects of absence: What is the role of ornament in contemporary design? How does the presence or absence of ornament affect the relationship between buildings and their users? The past century has been host to some of the most stark innovations and transitions in architectural history. The effects of Modernism and the reactionary movements that followed have dramatically altered the built environment of virtually every industrialized city. One of the original pillars of Modernism was its seemingly reductivist approach to ornament and decoration. The effects of abandoning one of architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most universal features are still being realized and felt today. A responsive interface: This investigation asserts that active interaction, using digitally fabricated components, can foster a new and fundamentally contemporary relationship between buildings and their occupants. Utilizing dynamic building systems that respond to both environmental stimuli and also data driven by occupants, the project strives to re-investigate how we define ornament, and how it transcends mere decoration. The proposal stems from the renovation of a vacant and formerly ornamented building, who was damaged extensively by a midcentury modernist renovation.
page 47
tulane school of architecture
The Craft of Cultural Agency Through Material Translation and Spatial Power Empowering the Ethiopian Jews in Israel with a geographic center for culture.
William Nemitoff
location
22
Issues of Identity and Power: After 2000 years in isolation, the Ethiopian Jews were transplanted to Israel from an increasingly volatile situation. The community has struggled to adapt to contemporary Israeli society. While the Ethiopian Jews remains at the fringes of Israeli society, they are slowly moving toward the center. Power relationships are critical to agency. Applied to architecture, innovation in material technology can work to bring about change due to its positive association with power. Spatial hierarchy and power can be achieved through various techniques of siting and organization.
SPA TIA L
page 48
SPATIAL POW ER
POW ER
WESTERN WALL
SITE
A Geographic Center for Ethiopian Culture in Jerusalem: This new center of Ethiopian community, religion, and history will recall the geographic and societal past of the Ethiopian Jews and engage in the present. Located on the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem, the site currently hosts the celebration of the Sigd holiday. The siting of the project on the site shares the promenadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power relationships with the old city and the valley below. Jerusalem stone is the primary building material, acknowledging the context of the site and the community, while the structural system is a contemporary translation of an Ethiopian hut, a tukul, celebrating a strong African heritage.
thesis thesis class class of of 2013—2014 2013—2014
PROJECTION ORNAMENT 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
Altering Architectural Perception with Light Convention Center and “Night Light” Venue Pownal, Vermont location
14
Tayson Ng
The Architecture in ‘Architectural’ Projection Mapping: The intent of this thesis is to design architecture with this projection technology from the beginning, so it can become a intentional, integrated system of ornament. The projection mapped buildings will completely immerse the audience in a mapped environment, with emphasizes on altering the viewer’s architectural perception. Mapping is an advanced lighting technique that turns any physical surface into a video display. Visual artists are projecting onto structures and building façades, using them as their canvas. ‘Architectural Projection Mapping’ is the term commonly accepted in the mapping community. However, the video content often ignores its interactions with the architecture and urban fabric. Vermont’s First Public Convention Center: In Pownal, Vermont there is a 144 acre property with an existing racetrack and grandstand. The site is conveniently located at the Southwest entrance of Vermont, less than five miles to the border of Massachusetts and New York. Besides a few resorts and hotels that have large event spaces, the state does not have a public convention center. Generally, this program functions as an 8 to 5 building but with mapping capabilities, a day and night venue will exist.
page 49
tulane tulane school school of of architecture architecture
Landscaping Memories: Memorial Park and Cemetery Extension to the Chalmette National Cemetery
Dennis Palmadessa
location
2
Description of the thesis issues or questions: The spaces associated with death and dying provoke powerful memories and stir emotions. Cemeteries have the ability to take on a civic role and provide a place for contemplation as well as memorial. Current practices are increasingly shifting towards cremation and natural burials to deal with the internment of bodies. These methods, although more economical in many aspects, are not associated with the same sense of place. This thesis investigates landscape and architecture in the role of creating a place for memories in the modern age. Description of the thesis project and site: The site chosen for this project is part of the old Kaiser Aluminum Factory, once the largest aluminum producer in the world. Now the site is sandwiched between the “sacred”, the Mississippi river and Battlefield, and the “industrial”, the highway and New Orleans Port. Circulation through the site plays an important role in the program as one moves from the real world of the highway to the ethereal river.
Linear Grid of Existing Cemetery
Sectional Perspective page page 50 50
thesis class of 2012—2013 2013—2014
Parasympathetic Propensities Investigating a hyper responsive architecture
location
23
Kyle Ryan
A mediated architectural experience Our environments are increasingly comprised of intelligent systems used to measure the spaces and cities we inhabit. As technology becomes smaller and more robust, the hard matter of architectural space is beginning to be embedded with real time information. Additionally, as technology infiltrates our life deeper and more profoundly, we are beginning to view ourselves in new ways. Recent breakthroughs in the sciences show that the stimuli in our environments are restructuring and reengineering our physiological systems on a regular basis. These recent advances have led us to question the state of our built environment and its affects on our minds and bodies. Can we identify and draw out the invisible forces that make up our human bodies through a responsive architecture? Giving form significance Respiration offers visible insights into a person’s physiological processes. The act of breathing can be measured and then analyzed for patterns to determine emotional states. By connecting a person’s breathing to architectural space, desired emotional affects can be achieved. The thesis is investigated through the development of a systematic research method, a prototypical immersive environment and a Museum for Mediated Experience.
page 51
tulane school of architecture
Stay St. Claude Decentralizing New Orleans tourism to address the agency and development of neighborhoods in flux
Sarah Satterlee
location
L-15
Population shifts and community agency New Orleans was the fastest growing city in the country in 2012. While trendy new attractions invite a new demographic of people to developing neighborhoods, long-term residents confronted with rising rent and expensive home maintenance are at risk of being displaced. Additionally, the city had a recordbreaking tourism year, with 9 million visitors spending $6 billion. New tools like Airbnb.com make it possible for New Orleans residents to host visitors in their own space, spatially decentralizing tourism throughout the city. This thesis explores the potentials of utilizing the short term, temporary condition of tourists as a catalyst for resident controlled, long-term neighborhood development. Creating a micro-tourism district Stay St. Claude is a micro-tourism district that allows the addition of rear yard accessory dwelling units for short term tourist rentals. In addition to creating an accessory income stream for residents, there is potential for increasing long-term residential density. The architectural proposal explores questions of shared space, privacy, and the insider/outsider experience of the tourist. The units extend vertically, deracinating guests up and away from houses, containing them in the underutilized space at the center of the block.
STAY
ST. CLAUDE!
$109 PER NIGHT
LIVE LIKE A LOCAL!
$65 PER NIGHT
FREE WIFI!
page 52
$75
PER NIGHT
BIKE TO BOURBON!
thesis class of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2013
Community Encounter 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
A courtyard housing prototype of urban growth in Central City, New Orleans
location
03
Aaron Schenker
What kind of housing typology would contribute to the revitalization of Central City, New Orleans? Many New Orleans neigborhoods are plagued with blighted and vacant property. Natural disasters and lack of proximity to basic serives have exaccerbated a situation detrimental to sustainability of community. In a location where growth is stagnant, the revitalization of this area through a high-density courtyard housing development might be propsed. A new high-density low-rise housing development: This thesis proposes a courtyard housing developement on a vacant city block in Central City, New Orleans. The courtyard development has a communal focus and achieves total use of space. The private domain of individual dwellings is mediated by a complete pedestrian circulation system that permits a variety of cummunal spaces. The court-dwellings form a repititive framework with a pattern of open and closed space for maximum privacy and high density. A public courtyard at the core of the development provides a comfortable microclimate and a social space for the surrounding community.
page 53
tulane school of architecture
Back To The Yards: Providing a Permanent Framework for Impermanence Stimulating reinvestment in blighted neighborhoods of Chicago, IL by promoting temporary development
Kevin Schmitt
location
27
Mediating Blight in the Post-Industrial City: As the population of post-industrial cities like Chicago begin to densify and retract toward their center, outlying residential neighborhoods are left struggling to maintain their population and economic stability. The decline of industry paired with the recent housing crisis has left neighborhoods plagued with extreme blight and foreclosure. In many of these instances vacant land outnumbers vacant buildings preventing a rapid method of recovery. As opposed to utilizing the prescriptive measures of a master plan, this project embraces vacancy as an opportunity for tactical interventions that allow for dynamic, immediate relief and a projective vision for future commercial development. A Home for Mobile Businesses: Rising in popularity due to flexibility and relatively low start-up costs, food trucks have made their mark in several major cities across the United States. However, Chicago currently has numerous restrictions established preventing truck-based businesses from operating. This thesis envisions a replicable incubator that both shelters and legitimizes mobile businesses in order to activate a network of surrounding vacancies and drive investment into areas of untapped potential.
N
SKI
R ATO UB
INC
POPULATION CHANGE: 2000-2010 -10% or greater -5% to -9.9% -0.1% to -4.9% No Change 0.1% to 25% 25.1% to 100% 100% or greater
page 54
VACANT LAND <1000 500-1000 100-500 >100
EXISTING vs. PROJECTED TRUCK STOPS Existing Stops Projected Stops
PY
NO
CA
2012—2013 thesis class of 2013—2014
Reengaging the Urban Block A Strategy for Introducing Community Space to New Orleans’ Residential Seventh Ward Neighborhood
Katherine Schuff
location
30
A Holistic Approach to Neighborhood Revitalization: When areas are faced with vacant lots and buildings, separation from services, and a lack of quality public space, the accompanying decline in safety causes further loss of appeal. Interventions need to be made that will reenable the neighborhood unity that inhabitants struggle to maintain. This can be done by making block-wide changes that vary in scale and permanence, utilizing existing structures and empty spaces to immediately reinvigorate the streetscape. Considering the block as a whole allows the connection of individual lots, through the creation of community spaces shared by both visitors and inhabitants. New Typologies for the Seventh Ward: Formerly a prosperous Creole neighborhood, the Seventh Ward was seriously damaged due to both the I-10 Overpass construction and Hurricane Katrina. This project introduces a community center, library, and café to a typical block in the mostly residential neighborhood. The vacant lots and buildings found throughout the site are utilized to gradually introduce these new program typologies, interweaving with existing homes. Interstitial exterior space is allocated for a variety of activities, integrated with both new and existing buildings to create a strong connection between the site’s private and community uses.
N. CLAIBORNE
N.
RESIDENTIAL
ROBERTSON
PUBLIC FORMER PUBLIC N. VILLERE
ELYSIAN FIELDS
TOURO
PAUGER
FRENCHMEN
ST. ANTHONY
URQUHART
NEW COMMUNITY SPACE
HOUSES ADJACENT TO SITE, C. 1961 (HOME OF JELLY ROLL MORTON)
page 55
tulane school of architecture
Teaching Resilience In Changing Climates A didactic architecture encouraging environmental consciousness through everyday experience
Dorothy Shepard
1.5 inch by 1.5 inch gray-scale photograph showing your face.
location
L-08
Why buildings need to teach the right things: To achieve optimum resilience in a changing climate, every citizen needs to understand and be involved in an integrated network of resources and information. In an environment that communicates system processes as part of everyday experience, instead of masking them, a shared understanding of resource systems and their importance can form. A didactic architecture that exposes and communicates resource flows can teach new habits to building occupants for resilient resource consumption and maximize the value of a structure for a community. Where environmental resilience meets social resilience: The explicit learning environment of schools and the social networks associated with them position a grade school design as the ideal building type for most efficiently and effectively increasing a communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resilience. The Hollygrove neighborhood in New Orleans, bordered by two major drainage canals, has presented itself as a focal neighborhood in much of the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning for infrastructural enhancements. Therefore, a site along the Greenline--a reclaimed parkspace and infrastructural link--best suits the design exploration.
page 56
thesis ������ class ����� of �� 2013—2014
Reclaiming the American Dream Transit Oriented Development in Chicago’s Railroad Suburbs
��������
05
Matt Skoda
Best of Both Worlds: This thesis addresses the banality, physical & psychological isolation, unsustainability, and resultant population loss of America’s suburbs by exploring options of how to prevent suburban decay, improve quality of life, and engage the public realm by better utilizing existing infrastructure. “Millenials” are returning to cities, resulting in growing cities and shrinking suburbs. They originally flocked to the cities for job opportunities , but they stayed for economically viable lifestyles and amenities that come with living in a dense metropolis. With this new trend of people moving to cities, there is predicted to be an even greater lack of density in the suburbs. Re-establishing the Town Center: Located 15 miles outside Chicago’s Loop along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Line, Western Springs is a railroad suburb founded in the second half of the 19th Century. The design takes advantage of the ease of access to public transportation / the city while maintaining suburban characteristics such as privacy and the yard and eliminating the physical and psychological isolation of the existing suburban typology. The program is a mix of commercial, public, and residential uses that promote public transportation and pedestrian traffic as the main forms of circulation.
Typical Suburban Typology
Separate Components
New Typology
page 57 ����
tulane school of architecture
Reclaiming Place Utilizing Vacancy to Enhance the Lower Ninth Ward’s Ecological and Urban Identity
Alia Soomro
location
04
Placelessness in the Lower Ninth For a place to be endowed with identity, it should relate to the surrounding historical, cultural, and natural processes. Many of the rebuilding efforts in the Lower Ninth Ward do not reflect the context and can be deemed “placeless”. With the lack of density, amenities, and blighted lots, the area is reverting back to its “rural” beginnings: large areas of green space with scattered development. With the increase in new ecologies and wildlife in this area, it calls for a hybrid design approach that emphasizes ecological and landscape urbanism. Restoring the notion of place must work with the reintroduction of Bayou Bienvenue to the neighborhood. Revitalizing Vacant Lots Along Tennessee Street Due to the large amounts of vacancy and the placeless nature of the Make it Right houses, the design of this thesis focuses along Tennessee Street and its connection (or lack of) to the bayou. By targeting specific vacant lots that show traces of past occupancies, the proposed designs act as palimpsests and attempt to incorporate the past, present, and anticipate future uses. The interventions utilize a portal frame structure that is adaptable for different types of program. The sequences of the interventions culminate at the end of the street where it meets Bayou Bienvenue in order to establish the notion of place.
Conceptual physical model depicting grid as an organizational device page 58
thesis class of 2013—2014
MINIhattan A proposal for new density along Manhattan’s waterfront - and the extension of the Highline. location
13
Lucas Velle
Living on the edge - exploring density and programmatic variety on the waterfront. This thesis seeks to explore ways in which Manhattan can fully utilize its waterfront, as it steadily reclaims it from its industrial past. It seeks to understand how varying degrees of density and a beneficial variety of program (both public and private) along the perimeter of the city can richen the urban experience. Starting with the position that Manhattan’s waterfront is undervalued, can - by inhabiting the waterfront - we challenge the old paradigm of undervalue, one that says that water is cheap. Instead, can this new epoch realize a fuller potential for the urban existence, one that enjoys the harbor as an essential element - both to the city’s sustainability + livability . Site as catalyst for change: The thesis uses Pier 57, located off of 15th and 11th avenue, as a flagship to scrutinize a deeper potential of density and variety of program. This entails responsible density along the waterfront - both elevated, as a continuation of the Highline, and interwoven, as residential, commercial, and public elements. Finally the project offers an aquarium as the apotheosis to the project, which focuses on the mutual exchange between Manhattanites and their harbor.
One, two or three images helping to illustrate your thesis ideas and/or thesis project. In total, they must occupy this 4.5 x 2.53 space with .125” spaces between if necessary. The images may be in color, but be aware that the booklet may be printed in gray-scale.
- View of the site looking West from over the Hudson River page 59
tulane school of architecture
Experimenting with Tradition Testing Ground: St. Joe Brickworks Fabrication Lab for the development of new brick concepts Marigny, New Orleans, LA
Jack Waterman
location
39
How will evolving digital fabrication technologies affect historic crafts?: Public backlash to sterile modern concrete, glass, and metal construction has positioned brick, wood, and stone to return to the forefront of design. Traditional materials and methods of construction contain inherent cultural content and performative advantages. While seeking a bridge between historic and modern architecture, the trend toward high-craft and hightech production methods offers the opportunity to reinterpret traditional construction technology for design. The role of Architecture in the development of novel material applications: The St. Joe Brick Fabrication Lab acts as a showcase and testing infrastructure for novel brick digital fabrication concepts developed within the building. The building program exists within a lightweight structure surrounded by selfsupporting brick walls. Innovations from the lab are tested within these walls for particular characteristics including structural capability and weathering over time. Here, the defintion of a brick is extended to include changing modular sizes, novel materials, varying levels of openness, and digitally driven processes. This new path for St. Joe combines historic material expertise and contemporary design.
page 60
2012—2013 thesis class of 2013—2014
Transience And Permanence Reconciling needs for neighborhood stability and programmatic flexibility in New Orleans’ charter schools location
L-10
Katie Werner
How should we build when a school system becomes a system of schools? The existing built infrastructure of New Orleans’ public schools, imbued with edificial permanence, does not relate well to the changing needs of the charter-based occupants. An architecture that is permanent implies a defined, unchanging entity; yet, this concept is inherently incompatible with a system that is as prone to transience as that of the charter schools. Constancy, rather than permanence, must drive the design of new schools by allowing the variables associated with the charter school system to shift within a defined parameter; thereby, the school building instills order within an otherwise undefined system. Anchoring shifting occupants The design response for an incubator school, situated on the location of the now-demolished Hoffman Elementary School, attempts to connect to existing community programming of Taylor Park. “Core” elements anchor the school to the site by providing both community and educational programmatic spaces within a stereotomic structure. “Composite” elements stretch across the site in bars reminiscent of the original Hoffman school, constructed of a flexible architecture that defines an constant exterior envelope from which classroom spaces are altered independently.
page 61
tulane school of architecture
Permeable Urban Infrastructure The opportunity of Urban Mass Transportation to re-connect the disjointed city
Fan â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frankâ&#x20AC;? Xiong
location
16
A Return to Density Compared to the rest of the world, public transportation is vastly underutilized in the United States. Historically, suburbanization and our auto-centric culture caused Americans to cower away from urban density. On the other hand, recent settlement trends confirm that Americans show a renewed interest in the city. The ideas promoting this return to density are focused on creating a lifestyle that is environmentally, financially, and health-wise sustainable. Architectural opportunities exist at public transportation terminals to reshape the way we think about our daily commute. By creating permeable boundaries, architecture and infrastructure can re-connect disparate parts the city and support a new generation in search of both mobility and livability. New Union Station - Los Angeles, California As the second most populous city in the country, Los Angeles lacks the density of its peers; however, it currently follows the same trend as the rest of the nation, where a younger population show a renewed interest in urban density. The historic Union Station is located near downtown but is disconnected from the city. This investigation aims to increase connections from the station to adjacent parts of downtown. The New Union Station builds upon existing transportation infrastructure to re-connect the city.
page 62
thesis class of 2013â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2014
Diagnosing the Asylum Social reintegration-based mental health care for New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 7th ward community
Meredith Zelenka
location
09
Description of the thesis issues or questions: How can architecture address the simultaneously growing and converging instances of mental illness and homelessness present in New Orleans? How can reimagining the social construct of the asylum seamlessly integrate all members of society in an interconnected and cohesive way? The solution to mental illness is just as much social and environmental as it is medical, and the strong correlation between mental health and poverty presents the opportunity for an architectural intervention. Description of the thesis project and site: The proposal is located in the heart of the 7th ward on a block that was deemed able to be sacrificed by the city of New Orleans for the construction of I-10 in the late 1960s. With the recent revitalization of the area with the rebirth of the Circle Foods Store, the proposal addresses the site on several levels. Following the historic typology of the asylum, the building functions in three parts with a central administration unit. Where previous asylum typologies fall short is the lack of a social reintegration aspect, which is vital to both help patients become functioning units in their daily lives and also to help attempt to tie a broken community back together.
homeless shelters, crisis centers, rehabilitation centers, transition housing mental health clinics and support centers homeless congregation
page 63
tulane school of architecture