Latent Margins: Eroding the static city./GSDMLA_Thesis18

Latent Margins: Eroding the static city

by Carlos Espinoza

As a result of strong immigration waves and a lack of proper urban policies, 9 million peruvians inhabit and work in expanding, low-income, water stressed coastal settlements. Their precariousness and vulnerability is partially caused by static notions of its urban framework. Expanding over the Lomas and desert ecosystems but neglecting their own systemic dynamism. Thus, this thesis will focus in the role of Landscape Urbanism, through the ecosystemical analysis of ground conditions as a point of departure to propose new urban strategies that mitigate and benefit from the social an environmental dynamics of its territory. The case of stufy is in Santa Maria ravine in the periphery of Southern Lima, Peru

Latent: Adjective

Quality or state, existing but not yet developed or manifest, hidden, concealed.

Biology

Lying dormant or hidden until circumstances are suitable for development

Both local subjects share the same territory but make use of different strategies to occupy it.The case of study is in Santa Maria Ravine in the periphery of Southern Lima, PerĂş. A territory where two ecologies overlapp: The non- planned settlements and the Lomas vimeo.com/279571151

The vegetal species that populate this area follows the pattern of a two main territorial processes: atmospheric condensation and rock sliding avoidance. In other words, where the wind blows the plants grow vimeo.com/279569774

On the other hand, villagers follow different criteria when deciding how to occupy the hillside. Land traffiking sets its criteria upon economic values, which does not consider ground conditions but materialize into abstract elements like cost effective terraces and roads.

As a result, the occupied territories often face the risk of rockslides and neglect other processes like the availability of water in the atmosphere.

Hence, the only way of accesing water is through unregulated water trucks services.

ROAD URBANISM Groundless planning criteria redunds in incoherent infrastructural elements that does not respond to territorial processes.

This is the way of populating the outskirts of Lima, relying in the road to get access to water and expand itself, among other services. vimeo.com/279606947

WATER AS AN INCENTIVE

Road Urbanism

Water Urbanism

Water infrastructure as an incentive

What if water availability is used as the main attractor and vulnerability as a discourage factor for occupying the land? Is it possible to guideinform land traffiking?

How to design resillient urban systems and adaptable infrastructures that respond to such shifting conditions?

WATER BEHAVIOUR. Understanding the role of each new urban element requires to analyze the behaviour of the liquid matter. Two categories where established, defining behaviours that may create an incentive and other as discourage factors , shaping the future and current occupation of the hillside.

NEW URBAN GRID- NEW LANDSCAPE The process of water collection, distribution and storage, re-tooled and created new urban elements. In order to consolIdate a new attitude with its territory , the new structures visualize, previously invisible, territorial phenomena, suggesting locals the importance of the Lomas towards water availability. This utilitarian relationship is the first step towards the promotion of ecological conservation between locals.

Year 6

Infrastructure and landuse shouldn’t be static. This is why the nature of both agents are conceived as transient scaffolds, adapting its use towards dynamic process and demand. Far from being a prescriptive proposal, the ones who define each use or multiple ones willl be the locals.

In this sense, the fogbelt can be inhabited, the stairs can be cultivated and infrastructures can be invaded. vimeo.com/279566677

The Fogcatcher Belt

The wall

The stairs

THE WATER URBAN SYSTEM Three elements compose the system.

Whereas the wall visualizes and mitigates rocksliding phenomena, the fog belt harvest the water and the stairs deliver it.

Year 1 ( PILOT)

The Fogcatcher Belt

Fog catcher web

Tree’s fog harvesting

Air well REFERENCES The three methods of fogwater harvesting deals with the condensation of atmosphericin different ways. Whereast the web uses the raschell mesh to build water droplets, the tree uses the concaivity of its leaf for he same purpose.

Lastly, the air well creates a difference of temperature with the outside, allowing water to condensate in the colder central pillar.

All of this examples are useful but are conceived in an isolated way and not as part of a bigger system.

Web catcher

6.25 lt/m2/day

Caesalpina Spinosa

2.5

lt/m2/day

Storage Catcher

5

lt/m2/day

FOGCATCHMENT BELT The fogcatcher’s four planes increase the adaptability of the structure to changing wind patterns between seasons and hours.

Furthermore, Its lightweight materials are designed to allow it to be dismantled when needed. The only permanent structure is its concrete foundations; hence, this allows to dismantle the mesh layers and use its foundations for other purposes like housing,etc.

Regarding its allocation, each unit requires a wind tunnel analysis of the territory, placing it in the areas where the wind goes faster. Thus, microtopography and other surfaces may be placed along with it for such purpose. vimeo.com/279565488

TheStairs

FALLINGWATER STAIRS The stairs are made of gabion structures, allowing further upgrades or the dismantling of its elements.

This structure not only transports water from the upper fogcatchment belt but also generates its own by incorporating raschell mesh surfaces in its rails. Hence, this process allows to repurpose the street to a multifunctional one where agricultural and recreational activities can occur besides offering accessibility. For this purpose the volumes and geometry of the urban framework should take in consideration the wind direction in order to promote the wind harvesting in the desired stairs.

vimeo.com/279565915

The wall

MITIGATION WALLS The gabion structure of the walls allow it to be repurposed or dismantled when needed. Despite the fact, this infrastructure responds primarily to mitigate the impact of rock slides, the modular way in which the structures are allocated allows it to be inhabited or to promote agriculture and to serve as a small pond for phytoremediation purposes.

Therefore, the multifunctional aspect of this structure allows it to respond to shifting social and environmental demands. Moreover, its varied benefits allows to pay itself through the promotion of economic and services like agriculture and water treatment. https://vimeo.com/279566254

Wall_Summer

Wall_Summer

Wall_Winter