Imaginarium for a Just Transition - Graduate Architecture Thesis

IMAGINARIUM for a just transition caitlin senne

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................05 THESIS...................................................................................................................06 OBJECTIVES ..........................................................................................................08 HISTORY................................................................................................................10 CLIENT...................................................................................................................14 REGIONAL CONTEXT..........................................................................................16 LOCAL CONTEXT.................................................................................................18 SITE........................................................................................................................26 SPATIAL CONCEPT..............................................................................................30 TRANSECT.............................................................................................................32 PHASING PLANS...................................................................................................36 SITE SECTION.......................................................................................................50 TOWER DETAIL ....................................................................................................51 SITE WATER TREATMENT...................................................................................52 WALKWAY PROGRAM........................................................................................62 CASE STUDIES......................................................................................................78 SEVEN CORNERS COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE THE SCHOOLHOUSE PARC DE LA VILLETTE IBA EMSCHER PARK

SOURCES...............................................................................................................86

INTRODUCTION decades, climate change is a story we have failed to tell properly. So now, we “ For must tell a NEW NARRATIVE; one in which [people] are brave enough to dare to imagine the future we want to live in. We need to humanize this crisis, and reframe it as a social justice issue. We need to explore what it means to confront the climate crisis head-on, to move beyond fear and grief, and to harness the necessary optimism and imagination required to build the new world we so urgently need.

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EARTHRISE STUDIO

are in an IMAGINATION BATTLE. Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown and Renisha “ We McBride and so many others are dead because, in some white imagination, they

were dangerous. And that imagination is so respected that those who kill, based on an imagined, radicalized fear of Black people, are rarely held accountable.

Imagination has people thinking they can go from being poor to a millionaire as part of a shared American dream. Imagination turns brown bombers into terrorists and white bombers into mentally ill victims. Imagination gives us borders, gives us superiority, gives us race as an indicator of ability. I often feel I am trapped inside someone else’s capability. I often feel I am trapped inside someone else’s imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free.

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ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN: EMERGENT STRATEGY

evaluate risk socially, not rationally… we look to each other. Merely by “ Humans living your life as normal and not joining the climate emergency movement and

not talking about climate change. Just by living your life as normal you are actually contributing to this phenomenon of PLURALISTIC IGNORANCE.

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MARGARET KLEIN SALAMON

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THESIS

Collective imagination has the power to transform worlds. It takes the already potent impact of a singular imagination, and combines it into a multifaceted and brilliantly nuanced vision for a wholly inclusive, sustainable future. This project posits that physical space can play an integral role in supporting the creation of a collective vision rooted in place.

Inclusive local solutions to climate change are an essential component of a global shift towards sustainable futures. This project takes a local approach to climate solutions by situating itself within one of the most polluted sites within the United States: the North Portland Harbor. What once was a thriving system of wetlands that existed in reciprocity with Indigenous tribes, was transformed through a series of violent displacements that later included Chinese immigrant families and Black

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communities, into what now exists as a toxic Industrial Sanctuary. Nearby lowincome communities, people of color, and Indigenous people, and to a lesser extent, the entire City of Portland population continue to be harmed by the City’s priorities of Profit over People, evident in the continued privileged rights of corporate entities precariously occupying infilled, liquefiable ground.

This project positions itself within this Industrial Sanctuary in order to expand on the community driven coalition of the Braided River Campaign (BRC), an organization working to create “a grassroots conversation with local communities to envision a sustainable working waterfront that acknowledges culture, the climate crisis, systemic racism, and the health impacts of sacrificial zoning.” Situated between Forest Park and the Willamette River, the project exposes the stark contrast between the mindsets around each natural element. In order to shift mindsets about the river and the land around it into an approach of care and protection, this project acts as a physical and metaphorical connection between these two elements - spreading out as an armature of imagination and acting as an instigator for the patchwork reclamation of the larger space between them.

The design concept begins by transforming a small existing structure, a firehouse, into the primary office space for the BRC. In a phased approach, the adjacent parking lot is transformed into a café space for community gathering. An adjacent tower piques the imagination of passersby in the area, and encourages them to visit and interact with the various ideas being explored on site. Branching out from this site, an elevated walkway extends in both directions towards the river and the forest.

Spread out along this armature are additional moments of engagement towards a collective vision. The program elements along the walkway aim to infill vacant space and reassert human and non-human life, and access to the river and forest, from within the Industrial Sanctuary. This presence does not displace industrial use of the area, yet provides a branching-off point for its transformation into a more sustainable industry that makes room for natural access and reciprocal care with its surroundings.

Through this patchwork process of reclamation, the project piques the imagination for what is possible, creating engagement and support from a diverse range of people to create and enact a collective vision for the future.

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OBJECTIVES

1 ENGAGE

Bring awareness to and beyond the immediate residents and workers of the North Portland Harbor to engage with the idea that this sacrifice zone can transform to a more just and equitable space that serves those displaced and harmed by its creation and persistence.

2 GATHER

Bring together and facilitate conversation between community members, local organizations, field experts, local artists, and many more participants, with the common goal of envisioning and creating a just transition into a sustainable working waterfront.

3 AMPLIFY

Create a home for Braided River Campaign and other activist groups to join forces, building power between themselves and their surrounding community of St. Johns, Linnton, and beyond to envision their future on the waterfront.

4 ENVISION

Harness the power of architecture and imagination to raise awareness of a network/infrastructure and its implications at various scales, while demonstrating the possibilities of a sustainable future on the waterfront.

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HISTORY

“Before Guild’s Lake became populated by industry, Guild’s Lake and the surrounding areas were populated by Indigenous peoples, including Bands of Chinook. White settlers arrived in the Northwest Portland area as traders, including Peter Guild, whose property was appropriated for industrial purposes, namely sawmills, lumber mills, grain storage, railroads and docks.

The Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905 further spurred industrial development. Guild’s Lake and the surrounding lowlands were completely filled with soil by the 1920s to accommodate the industrial operations. During WWII, the Great Migration took place and many African American families moved to Guild’s Lake from the South. This community also had members from all over the country, composed of many different ethnic and racial groups.

These families resided in the federal housing project and worked at the shipyards along with other industries on the river.”

-Braided River Campaign

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HISTORY

“Shortly after the war, the Vanport flood of 1948 displaced thousands of families from the largest wartime federal housing project. Portland’s racist exclusion laws further exacerbated the displacement and pushed African American families to move to other neighborhoods in North Portland, including St. Johns, Albina, and Guild’s Lake. During this time, the number of large-scale industrial businesses grew in the Guild’s Lake area, ranging from chemical processing facilities to metals manufacturing companies.”

-Braided River Campaign “Just three years after the Vanport flood, in 1951, Guild’s Lake was declared an industrial area—the CEI hub—and families were again evicted to make way for the industries and fossil fuel infrastructure that exists there today.”

-KBOO interview with Sarah Taylor This brief history only begins to outline the environmental racism and injustice that defines the area. The goals of this project include recognizing this history while laying the groundwork for imagining a future that begins to repair this damage.

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CLIENT

Holding the line – Art by Henry Jokela

BRAIDED RIVER CAMPAIGN

towards a grassroots vision for the Willamette River MISSION: “Responding to centuries of industrial degradation and displacement in the Portland Harbor, the Braided River Campaign inspires, informs and advocates for an economic paradigm that centers environmental justice for historically marginalized people in the North Portland Harbor, from the Broadway Bridge to Sauvie Island. We are a group of community members, Willamette River advocates, environmental justice nonprofits and residents of North Portland and beyond. We are committed to working with the City of Portland and other government partners to create a community conversation and new vision for our future relationship with these lands and waters.”

In many ways, the clients of the Braided River Campaign and those who make up the organization are the clients of this thesis as well. This includes the neighborhoods of Linnton and St. John’s, as well as the people who work within the North Portland Harbor.

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REGIONAL CONTEXT

“The Willamette River stretches nearly 300 miles from its headwaters at Waldo Lake near Eugene to the confluence with the Columbia River in North Portland. The Willamette River Basin is the largest watershed in the state, covering more than 11,500 square miles.

Portland is at the lower end of the drainage basin and is the most urbanized part of the watershed. The city occupies only a small fraction of the river’s watershed, but the area is a critical gateway for the region’s fish and wildlife. The 17 miles of Willamette River that pass through the city are vital to many species, including native salmon and steelhead that rear in and migrate through Portland on their journey between the ocean and their spawning streams.”

-City of Portland When the magnitude 9.0 Cascadia earthquake hits, land along the Willamette river will undergo liquefaction. This process will likely spill cause spills among the oil tank farms and create an environmental catastrophe worse than the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010.

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W

ILL

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ETTE VALLEY

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LOCAL CONTEXT

ST. JOHNS NEIGHBORHOOD St. Johns houses many of the people who work within the North Portland Harbor fossil fuel hub. Beyond this, it experiences some of the most intense affects of air pollution, spills, explosions, and heat islands created by the heavy industrial uses along the river banks. This neighborhood, one who has been marginalized throughout history, is one who has some of the highest stake in the future of the North Willamette waterfront. If this area sees sustainable economic growth as part of a just transition away from fossil fuels, could avoid forces of gentrification that are already taking hold of the neighborhood. The neighborhood association has been advocating for such growth for decades, and they are well-positioned to use imagination in combination with local organizing as a tool to create this vision for the waterfront.

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LOCAL CONTEXT

LINNTON NEIGHBORHOOD Due to increasing oil transportation traffic and existing oil tank storage along the west banks of the Willamette, Linnton continues to experience detrimental health impacts.

This historically low-income and marginalized community bears the brunt of the negative impacts from fossil-fuel infrastructure that, in-turn, benefits areas across the state of Oregon, as well as the international corporations who run them. The neighborhood stretches between the Willamette and Forest Park. In a seismic event, Forest Park, and Linnton - which borders the park - is at significant risk of fire due to oil tank farm damage.

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LOCAL CONTEXT

INDUSTRIAL SANCTUARY The people who work in the CEI hub also represent a constituency that will be essential to building the vision for the future of this working waterfront. Their fossil fuel jobs will be evenutally lost in the global transition towards sustainable energy production and distribution. Their involvement in planning for this inevitable future is essential, and is one of the main goals of the Braided River Campaign and this thesis project.

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LOCAL CONTEXT

PORTLAND RIVER PLAN The City of Portland plans to adopt and implement a new River Plan for the Willamette River and adjacent lands that ensures a clean and healthy river for fish, wildlife, and people; maintains and enhances the city’s prosperous working harbor; embraces the river and its banks as Portland’s front yard; creates vibrant waterfront districts and neighborhoods; promotes partnerships, leadership and education; and emphasizes different objectives for the three reaches of the river.

This plan proposes trails that follow along the banks of the Willamette. This proposal will connect with these trails and follow the setbacks and environmental guidelines that the River Plan provides.

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SITE

THE FIREHOUSE This firehouse, located between NW Yeon Ave. and NW St. Helens Rd, is adjacent to Portland’s proposed new entrance to Forest Park. Making the firehouse a beacon could draw attention to the looming Forest Park fire that could occur when the Cascadia earthquake eventually strikes. The project will create awareness by drawing attention to the absurdity of the sacrifice zone while piquing imagination for what could exist beyond fossil fuels.

Heavy Industrial Zoning is defined as “areas where all kinds of industries may locate, including those not desirable in other zones due to their objectionable impacts or appearance. The development standards are the minimum necessary to assure safe, functional, efficient, and environmentally sound development.” -Portland Zoning Code

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ST

HE

NW

NW

KIT TR ID

GE

AV E

SITE

LE

NS

RD

HW

Y3

0

NW

NW ST NS

LE

HE RD

28

YE

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SPATIAL CONCEPT

CONNECTING THE FOREST AND THE RIVER

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N

500’

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N

RESIDENCY

THEATER /

RESIDENCY

RES. COMMONS

RESIDENCY

MUSEUM / GALLERY

HEADQUARTERS

500’

RESIDENCY

THINK TANK

LAB

RESIDENCY

RESIDENCY

RAIL STATION

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50’

HWY 30

NW

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ST H

ELE

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FIREHOUSE

PHASE 01

37

50’

HWY 30

UP

UP

NW

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ST H

ELE

NS

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COMMUNITY CAFÉ

PHASE 02

39

50’

HWY 30

UP

DN

DN

DN

NW

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ST H

ELE

NS

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TOWER / OFFICE

PHASE 03

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50’

HWY 30

DN

NW

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ST H

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TOWER / OVERLOOK COFFEE BAR

PHASE 03

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30’

5’

VEGETATED ROOF SYSTEM CORTEN STEEL TUBE, WELDED

COMPOSITE DECK CORTEN STEEL I-BEAM CORTEN STEEL STRINGER LIGHT GAUGE STEEL SUPPORT FRAME RECYCLED CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS FABRIC

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BIOSWALES

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BIOSWALES

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WETLANDS

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WETLANDS

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GREEN ROOF

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MUSEUM / GALLERY

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RESIDENCY

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RESIDENCY COMMONS

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THEATER / RAIL STATION

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LAB

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THINK TANK

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RESIDENCY

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CASE STUDIES

SEVEN CORNERS COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE Designed by Waterleaf Architecture and located in Portland, Oregon, houses five non-profits working in support of people with disabilities. The project was created as a model for what accessibility standards should be in the architecture and design industry. The 28,500 SF building contains an adaptive technology lab, coffee shop, three floors of offices, shared conference rooms, adaptive demonstration kitchen for the whole building, an event space, outdoor deck, and green roof, with all stormwater is handled on site.

This precedent informs the organization of the non-profit office space within this proposal, as well as how to make the building and overall project more inclusive.

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CASE STUDIES

THE SCHOOLHOUSE Designed by Rapt Studio in partnership with the Google School for Leaders, this space is intended to help executives develop the skill sets and mindsets needed to lead effectively in the 21st century. Located with Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, the project creates an adaptable learning space with movable elements at the core of its design. The basic layout of the space includes one large central area that can divide into three parts with mechanically raised curtains, and support spaces around the perimeter. Four large shelving units can also spin to change the focal points and shape of the learning space.

Break-out rooms, for participants to synthesize information and reflect on topics in smaller groups, allow users to tailor their personalities by using adjustable music, scent, light color, and temperature.

The Schoolhouse demonstrates how flexibility can play an important role in facilitating an open communication environment.

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CASE STUDIES

PARC DE LA VILLETTE Designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects as part of an international competition in 1982 to revitalize undeveloped land in Paris, France. Tschumi designed in opposition to the traditional mindset of park design, where landscape and nature are the primary elements of the design. Instead, Tschumi designed Parc de la Villette as a place of culture where “natural and artificial are forced together into a state of constant reconfiguration and discovery.” The structures or small gardens placed throughout the site act as a way for visitors to reorient themselves within the context, a reminder of their human scale within a vast open space.

Parc de la Villette informs the project through its understanding of how architectural elements can be placed in landscape in a way that has a compounding impact on those who experience them.

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CASE STUDIES

IBA EMSCHER PARK The International Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscher Park was developed in 1988 in order to create a transformation from industrial land use to one that creates more social, cultural, economical, and ecological benefit. It was treated as a “workshop for the future of former industrial areas” to improve living conditions for people living nearby.

Industrial buildings were repurposed and viewpoint structures were added as part of a network of paths, these elements employ the history of the site as part of its new use.

IBA Emscher Park informs the way this project intends to remediate some industrial landscapes and envision the future purpose of other industrial structures as new and greener forms of industrial production emerge. The strategy for integrating landscape and viewpoints that recognize the history of the site is especially prevalent.

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SOURCES Bernard Tschumi Architects. “Parc de la Villette.” Accessed December 6, 2020. http://www.tschumi.com/projects/3/.

Braided River Campaign. 2020. “Our Story.” https://braidedrivercampaign. wordpress.com/about/the-braided-river-campaign/.

Cetas, Elijah. 2020. “Reclaim this Land.” Center for Sustainable Economy. June 30, 2020. https://sustainable-economy.org/reclaim-the-land/.

City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. 2020. The River Plan North Reach: Recommended Draft.

The City of Portland Oregon. n.d. “Willamette Watershed.” https://www. portlandoregon.gov/bes/30938#:~:text=The%20Willamette%20River%20 stretches%20nearly,more%20than%2011%2C500%20square%20miles.

Earthrise. NASA. 1968. https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_ feature_1249.html.

Elijah Cetas, Braided River Campaign. Interview by Author.

“The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Updated Aug 30, 2016. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels.

Portillo, Andrea, and José Juan Barba. “The Emscher Landscape Park.” Metalocus.

November 10, 2015. https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/emscher-landscapepark#.

“The Schoolhouse.” Rapt Studio. Accessed November 10, 2020. https://raptstudio. com/work/the-schoolhouse/.

“Seven Corners Collaborative.” Waterleaf Architecture. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://waterleaf.com/portfolio/seven-corners-collaborative.

Taylor, Sarah. 2019. “Portland’s Sacrifice Zones.” Interview by Barbara Bernstein.

KBOO. April, 1, 2019. Audio. https://kboo.fm/media/72128-portlands-sacrificezones.

“What is Transition?” Transition Network. Accessed December 8, 2020. https:// transitionnetwork.org/about-the-movement/what-is-transition/.

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