Issuu

Thesis

for the 21st century plaza

Author: Eliott Moreau Advisors: Ammar Eloueini // Cordula Roser Gray 01

recyclagepostede tri selectif

Collapsing Narratives vision

1. Thesis Preperation (Fall 2021) the project as a thesis the thesis as a project thesis roadmap precedent studies Collapsing Urbansim thesis statement thesis abstract Plaza Analysis history of the plaza definition of the urban plaza contemporary context The City Underneath the City history of the plaza definition of the urban plaza contemporary context A Local Plaza a. history of the plaza definition of the urban plaza contemporary context Thesis as a Methodology new methodology

b. compositions 8. Bibliography pg.pg.pg.pg.pg.pg.pg.4182232384858 Table of Contents 02

This thesis is the result of the 2021-2022 Thesis Studio at Tulane University School of Architecture. The following work was developed between October 2021 and May 2022.

Constantinos Doxiadis Minoru Yamasaki Ramses Wissa WassefFaras Cathederal TheWallmakersNubianVault Diébédo Francis Kéré Bill Dunster | ZEDfactory “Laurie” BakerCharles Correa Le Corbusier AlisonTangePREVIKenzoJaneJacobs&PeterSmithsonSir Ebenezer Howard Elemental Interstellar Lab | EBIOS EarthshipFrançoisAntoineBiotecturePiconHartogAbdelhalim Ibrahim Kenneth Frampton PeterB.V.ZumthorDoshi Zeynep Çelik Alexander Michael Meredith PopulistEkisticismModernismNubianRevivalismNubian-Byzantine P.M. Nubian Revivalism P.M. Nubian Revivalism Afro-Utopic Pragmatism Critical Enviromentalism Vernacular IndigenismRegional Humanism Populist Modernism RadicalUrbanAvante-GardeMetabolismMarketUrbanismNewBrutalismCooperative Socio-Urbanism Radical Neo-Liberalism Martian Anarcho-NaturismVernacularDigitalCriticalismCriticalHistoricismCritical Ekisticism Towards a Critical Regionalism MaterialRegionalExpressionismHumanism Neo-NaturalismProvencialism New Gourna Village Hassan Fathy Hamed Said House New Baris Village Fathy House Dar al-Islam Foundation Before193019401950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Beyond ARCH 5980 Part 1/1.b.1 George, Nicholas Moreau, Eliott 09/21/2021 morning activity in the public plaza the project as a thesis analyzing the work of Hasan Fathy Thesis Preperation (Fall 2021) 04

Before193019401950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Beyond ARCHITECTUREANTOWARDS DOCTRINESUFITOINTRODUCTIONANINFLUENCENUBIANUNIVERSITYATARCHITECTURE FUADKINGOF ANDMANSOURA EXHIBITIONCAIRO CONTEMPORANEITYFUTURETHEOFCITY SETTELEMENT:THEINHOUSEARAB FUTUREANDPRESENTPAST THEWITHINDWELLINGS SETTELEMENTURBAN ANDMANSOURA EXHIBITIONCAIRO ARCHITECTUREOFHEAD CAIROARTS,FINEOFFACTULY POORTHEFORARCHITECTURE VILLAGESTWOOFTALEAFORMTHROUGHSTRENGTH REGIONALISMCRITICALATOWARDSNATUREWITHDESIGN MEDALGOLDUIA DEATHFATHY’SHASSAN Constantinos Doxiadis Minoru Yamasaki Ramses Wissa WassefFaras Cathederal TheWallmakersNubianVault Diébédo Francis Kéré Bill Dunster | ZEDfactory “Laurie” BakerCharles Correa Le Corbusier AlisonTangePREVIKenzoJaneJacobs&PeterSmithsonSir Ebenezer Howard Elemental Interstellar Lab | EBIOS EarthshipFrançoisAntoineBiotecturePiconHartogAbdelhalim Ibrahim Kenneth Frampton PeterB.V.ZumthorDoshi Zeynep Çelik Alexander Michael Meredith PopulistEkisticismModernismNubianRevivalismNubian-Byzantine P.M. Nubian Revivalism P.M. Nubian Revivalism Afro-Utopic Pragmatism Critical Enviromentalism Vernacular IndigenismRegional Humanism Populist Modernism RadicalUrbanAvante-GardeMetabolismMarketUrbanismNewBrutalismCooperative Socio-Urbanism Radical Neo-Liberalism Martian Anarcho-NaturismVernacularDigitalCriticalismCriticalHistoricismCritical Ekisticism Critical Regionalism MaterialRegionalExpressionismHumanism Neo-NaturalismProvencialism New Gourna Village Hassan Fathy Hamed Said HouseTalkha Primary School New Baris Village Fathy House Dar al-Islam Foundation WWII WAR ON IRAQ & AFGHANISTANGULF WAR WWI BRITISHOFOCCUPATIONEGYPT REVOLUTIONEGYPTIAN RISE OF THE SOCIETY OF MUSLIM BROTHERS IN EGYPT REVIVAL OF THE SOCIETY OF MUSLIM BROTHERS IN EGYPT ARAB-ISRAELI WAR INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT EMERGENCE OF ARAB SOCIALISM REVOLUTIONEGYPTIAN UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTIONON CLIMATE CHANGE PROTOCOLKYOTO PARISACCORDSCLIMATE POSTWAR HOUSING CRISIS MATERIAL SHORTAGE RISE OF FACISM GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS WAR ON ISLAM IDENTITY-BASED REVIVALISMS REJECTION OF COLONIALISM ARCH 5980 Part 1/1.b.3 George, Nicholas Moreau, Eliott 10/05/2021 synthesis - activity in the public plaza The first spatial diagram of the sequence tracked Fathy’s important works in comparison to related architecture movements of the time. As a flow diagram, it compares these movements and ideas within a idealogical proximity to Fathy’s work. In order to map this within a two dimensional field, the ‘ideas’ were seperated between vernacular architecture and the model of a new village, providing a large network of influences and timelines. 05

The collective housing model nuage adapts like the metamorphosis of the clouds into a system of light clt frames. Modular housing units are customizable, and accessible through walkways under the same influence of the frame. The cloud floats above a built topography, digging a trench in between the housing units and the surface. It may then be populated by various community functions such as an amphitheater, a market, parks, or playgrounds. All the while, individuals passing through may experience the floating frames above their heads, light, yet dense, like a cloud. Modular aggregations of units for collective housing will increase urban metabolism with a democratic approach to homeownership and accessibility to shared spaces.

collective housing studio ; 2nd year the thesis as project tracking my own work 06

This project has three main goals, first is to hybridize civil infrastructures to create a more resilient network. Second is to reinterpret street hierarchies with superblocks to promote pedestrian mobility and claim the street as public space. Third is to hybridize building programs to introduce civil infrastructure as social infrastructure. The productive superblocks adopt resilient infrastructure systems with microgrids. These are independently produced and managed systems that allow the superblock to avoid the city’s private partnership models. This way, citizens may produce, regulate, and distribute their resources in a democratic manner. The remunicipilization and self governacne of energy generation, transmition and distribution will reduce consumption. Hybridized pograms and infrastructure within a local, decentralized network can produce more efficient systems. The ownership of infrastructure will reduce consumption and democratize urban systems.

future of urban ports ; 4th year 07

yamuna river project ; 4th year Nilothi’s rapid urban growth was developed without formal planning and infrastructure. Untreated waste is accumulated in open drains and brought to the Najafgarh and supplementary drains, the leading pollutants of the Yamuna River. Inserted as nodes, or public spheres, localized waste and sewage treatment facilities form an independent system to claim ownership and democratize public infrastructures and urban occupation. This project demonstrates the design vision for decentralized public infrastructures within dense urban settlements as a strategy to democratize public space. Decentralizing infrastructures in informal settlements creates a resilient network of public spaces and amenities, inviting a sense of ownership of their urban space.

Recreative Landscapes attempts to address the challenges of waste management infrastructures in urban settlements with a decentralized methodology. With a local scale treatment and engagement of public space, the dense urban settlement can grow in a holistic manner in the future metropolis. Using gray and green infrastructure in retrofiting strategy, the city’s management systems can be undetstood as public amenities and encouraged as spaces to occupy in the dense city. The simultaneously civic and infrastructural space demostrates a productive landscape as a recreational and social one: a holistic example of social and civil growth for urban settlements.

addis ababa river reserach studio; 5th year 09

THE URBAN MODEL REPRESENTATIONHYBRIDITY GARDEN CITY RECONSTRUCTING THE GRID SUPERSTUDIOMONUMENTCONTINUOUS-KOOLHAUSDELRIOUS NEW HAUSSMANNYORK-UNDERGROUNDPARIS CAPSULE TOWER CENTRE POMPIDOU ROMAN MODELTHE GRID THE OWNERSHIP OF SPACE NARRATIVE AND SPECIFICITY A VISION OF THE FUTURE PLAN VOISIN RECONSTRUCTING THE BLOCK SOCIAL AND CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURES LA VILLETTE -TSCHUMI BARCELONA WALKING CITY ATELIERNICHOLASWOWBOWCLAUDELEDOUX CEDRICSEMPEPRICEEVALEROIKURODA,ALDAYJOVERKAJIMAMADE IN TOKYO foucault rennerkarlﬁscherclaude lorenzedward duguit marxkarl harveydavid kant Eliott ARCHMoreau5980Part 3.b LYNCHKEVINLYNCHKEVIN MEREDITHMICHAEL ROSSIALDO NORMANCARRIEJENCKESCHARLES LERNERJAIME JACOBSJANE BUSQUETSJOAN FRAMPTONKENNETH

mapping influences

After looking at my previous projects, I was tasked to map my own work and influences, how they have developed, and how they may inform my thesis decisions to come. The influences listed above can be divided between three catagories: hybridity, urban model, and representation. The composite of experiences and previous works does not only present architecture works, but philosophy, art, and engineering as I have been adament about the power of cross disciplinary research in the architecture field.

public pockets - urban collectivism contact engineeringtulaneprofessor size and design basic energy system implement renewable technologies energy modelling analysis produce nal site visit literature - made in tokyo, paris commune, urban acupuncture, monu urban narratives, right to the city, messy urbanism, image of the city, the capital, subculture theory, social life of small urban spaces ... representation - atelier bow wow narrative, eva le roi ambiguity, cedric price dimensions sempe narrative, nicholas ledoux grandure, bow wow details ... literature and research - energy modelling so ware, solar applications, vertical urban wind harvest, geothermal sources, application of energy sources ... demographics socioeconomicsand site history - village, commune, gentri cation local surveys / interviews municipal ReinventerstructureParis/15 min city understand local community local programs and needs track change of neighborhood demographics over time history of Paris commune collective housing in France the street as a blank template reconstruct roadmap list potential programs and implementation strategies for tactival vs. permanent urban identifydesign sub-sites for speci c building programs de ne street heirarchy site plazastreetmapsectionssection construct narrative for collective urbanism Eliott ARCHMoreau5980 3c explore precedents on building local narratives ‘shared ownership’ diagram paris energy municipalinfrastructureenergy distribution and organization site basephotos,documentationsketchesmapwithprograms,dimensionsand tra c basepatternsdiagrams draw plaza program and occupation - hybrid - substation - public amenities draw plaza program and occupation - substation - public amenities street ambiguity - shared street programs. construct scenarios (temporary and permanent) - integration of local scale within larger city scale construct narrative drawings - tell a story through the site and its renewed identity design substation infrastructure design deployable solar and wind energy systems analytics of potential thesis paper in English and in French reinforce multidisciplinary approach to urban design de ne street program - typology - shared occupation integrate urban block spaces as holistic application of resilient social infrastructure geothermalsolar/wind potential identify other solutions substation capacity energy consumption retro t of existing transmition design criteria to reduce consumption and produce on micro-scale january february march april - may thesis roadmap. december 2021 11

researchdocumentationpaper

research design engineering winter break de ne parameters re ne expectations

masterplannarrative the collectiveplazaspacesthestreet

les grands voisins ; collective living image credit: Atelier Moustier, Les Grands Voisins

Les Grands Voisin was a project lef by three major charities to convert an old disused hospital in Paris into a protective center for vagrants. The project was an experimentational living formula for temporary tenants and the Paris public. It was a type of village, open to all. On the ground floors, several bars, restaurants and bakeries created commerce for the site, which came back to the association for public housing. As a visitor, this was the best place to get a drink and hang out, as the events and spaces dedicated to the public were very friendly.

project references . urban methodology 12

Denny Substation, NBBJ Architects ; hybridity image credit: NBBJ Architects

The substation responds to both the material needs of the city’s growth, but also to the connection of technology and social life. Celebrated as an icon to urban power generation, the substation invokes a new role for urban infrastructure that encourages interactions between different urban systems.

The Denny Substation represents a physical merging of public infrastructure, architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture. It aims to create a symbol of pride for the city of Seattle and the natural region that powers the city.

Dogma’s drawing styles became a big influence on how merging perspectives could translate from the paper to the idea of the project. The series of compositions from ichnogaphia cella describe a narrative through a dense and flat drawing, providing a key for the user to explore each part and draw their own conclusions on the work.

ichnographia cella, dogma image credit: dogma

drawing references . design methodology 14

The Dalston Hub: a Vertical Market is a project by Elliott Afoke, a student at Oxford University. The hub was designed as a response to disappearing locality in Dalston due to gentrification and displacement. As a resilient center of commerce, the vertical market is selft sufficient and creates the vibrant atmosphere known to Hackney. As a partially retrofitting project, the proposal explored reusing materials, which have lived previous lives, to invoke a sense of belonging and narrative to the market.

the dalston hub, Elliott Ng Chan Kya Afoke image credit: riba architecture, elliott afoke

drawing references . theoretical framework 16

The Manhattan Transcripts. Bernard Tschumi image credit: Moma Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan transcript develop a langauge of events and activity to document the city. He translates a sequence of scales to project a built environment that expresses the city in a new way. From a single event, time, and place, the narrative of the city takes on a reality not driven by rationality and planning, but rather through perpspectives. This technique has expressed an alternative method to critique the city and its functionality, driven by different parameters and with different goals to be superimposed as a composition of influences. By his definition, the city is a collage of perspectives, scales, and timelines that cannot be reduced to one domain as it decifered.

An Attempt at Exhuasting a Place in Paris image credit: Wakefiled Press

George Perec’s experimental documentation and mapping of the city caught the eye of many urbanists as a method to visualize the public plaza. Documenting the mundane everyday moments revealed patterns of occupation and use that cannot be described by simple programming. This document represents the specificity and exhaustive nature of urban life: constant, simultaneous, and multiscalar.

“There are many things in place Saint-Sulplice; for instance: a district council building... three cafes, one of which sells tobacco and stammps, a movie theater... a newstand, a seller of pious objects, a parking lot... A great number, if not the majority of these things have already been described... My intention was to describe the rest: that which is generally not taken note of, that which is not noticed... which has no importance.”

After the thesis preperation semester, understanding the themes of a thesis and my own work’s theses, I began to develop the ideas for a proposal. I decided that I wanted to explore something that I had not previously had the chance to study, the configuration and typology of a public space or urban artifact. Since most of my previous research was based on understanding collective occupations of urban space and systems, I had not taken the time to critically examine the composition of the city. I set out a goal to create a definition of the plaza. I did not seek to define is falacies, or successes, but to state my own observations and create a typology of the space. At first, I did not know if the result of the study would be a project, an essay or a drawing. I did not either realize what my thesis statement would become, as I tried removing myself from previous assumptions in order to discover the plaza in a new, perhaps more experiential way. As a Parisian, I had grown up surrounded by reknowned and magnificent plaza spaces. The social life surrounding this icon interested me as a user as well as a designer. In my thesis development, I quickly realized that analyzing such a typology would involve an approach driven by narrative, a new design methodology for me. With the goal to define the plaza set, I wanted to project a series of conditions I found important to the future of urban developments onto it. Influences by my previous work on integrating civil infrastructures to civic functions to democratize public spaces, I found it important to introduce local energy production as a condition for the contemporary plaza. Further on in my research, reocurring themes of scale and time made me question the productivity of the new plaza, leading to an analysis of their contemporary role as factors of urban life. exploring the history, composition, identity, and potential future of the plaza 18

Sempe ou la Derision image credit: Telerama 19

Collapsing Urbanism a vision for the century plaza Statement

The contemporary urban plaza presents the opportunity to define a new model of urban production. An age of global information networks should be reflected in the public plaza, creating dialogues between cultures and lifestyles. The city node and icon responds to socioecnomic trends, offering to reconcile modes of urban generation. Exposing and integrating these programs to dispell the technocratic vision of urban systems will demonstrate the plaza’s role as a catalyst for social and material production.

Thesis

21st

Thesis Abstract 21

The 21st century, described by the information revolution, has dictated a new definition of interaction and scale. A conversation can simultaneously happen between people one meter and 1000 km apart. The plaza can respond to this dichotomy by resolving a space working at simultaneous scales to integrate the city as part of a global connected network of cultures and lifestyles. As a data hub of perspectives, the plaza must act as an open and transparent server for information and knowledege. Today, this includes an exposure of isolated and technocratic systems such as energy production, waste management, and other public resources. Merging infrstructural or materially productive programs with civic functions will create a holistic space where people may be free to learn, share, and express their visions of the city space. Breaking the ground plane and extracting underground infrastructures additionally provides a new space for the plaza to aggregate its programs. Without a linear path or clear order, the scales and narratives of the city are forced to interact with one another to create a dynamic space. As a spatial and formal icon, the plaza manifests itself as an image of the city. Monuments and grand parks are immediately identifyable, collaging the character of the city as a series of snapshsots. The plaza of the 21st century could continue to deliver as a visual icon, focusing instead on the narratives of its residents, projecting a lifestyle, and accurately producing the image of the city. Composing these narratives, this thesis aims to create a methodology to identify and design the contemporary plaza as a space for material and social production, generating more diverse perspectives and cultures in the city.

The urban plaza is constructed with superimposed programs and activities. A space for social and material production, the plaza responds to its socioeconomic contexts to represent lifestyles of the city. Following its lineage, the public icon demonstrates themes of exchange, power, demonstration, and adaptability. What does the contemporary plaza represent in a globally connected society?

trade centrality nobility event symbolic icon rational imperial circulation expansion demonstrativeproductive voidurban free localmarket debate resolution political antiquityexclusive medieval renaissance industrial modern Mapping the historical lineage of the western plaza demonstrated patterns of influence relating to the events and societal structures of the time. The Greek Agora was a place for conversation in commerce. The Renaissance Piazza expressed planning, wealth, and prosperity, while the Modern Plaza symbolized power, expansion, and protest.... studying the plaza 22

material production social production e urban plaza is the result of a material and social productive space in unced by contextual conditions relating to the production of material goods and resources relating to the production of knowledge, culture, and social interaction

The public plaza can be described as a space for material and social production responding to its contextual conditions. Material production refers to goods, materials, and resources, while social production describes knowledge, culture and emotions. In the city, the plaza is a meeting point for larger systems of production, forcing interaction and socioeconomic generation. Throughout its timeline, the plaza has proven a common lineage of production whether it be through commerce, demonstration, extravagence, or order. Responding to its contextual heritage, it is a beacon of the city’s history and identity. 23

circulation monument event underground Place de la metropolitanNationplaza

The metropolitan plaza like Place de la Reunion can be catagorized by three main types: the circulation plaza, the monument plaza, and the event plaza. The circulation plaza serves as node for cross city ciruclation and situation. It is a point that defines major circulation and organizational axies in the city. The monument plaza represents the image of the city. Through icons visual statements, the plaza exposes societal or political agendas of the time. The event plaza defines the activity of the space. Influenced by surrounding programs and organized celebrations, it takes the form of a canvas for social interaction. 24

centrality void production

materialsocial relatingperspectivesrelatingattheand

SquarelocalSaint-Médardplaza

The local plaza like Square Saint-Medard can alternatively be organized by three more conditions: centrality, void, and Centralityproduction.referstothe organization of the local plaza as a transition between the district and the Voidneighborhood.describesthe plaza as an intentional absence of built structures, resulting in an open space to decongest the dense city. The plaza serves as a place for production. Introducing a socioeconomic factor, the plaza allows surrounding businesses and programs to encroach into it.

The urban plazareflects the overlapping elements of the city. Amassed, yet distinct, the plazaresponds to an urban organization influenced by patterns of circulation. The resulting space becomes a void, occupied by events and monuments to project the image and life of the city. Although it historically presents a symbol of power, the plaza is iconofied by its centrality and ‘freedom’. A beacon for the city’s spatial recognition, the plaza serves as an adaptable space in which urban activities may start to encroach. As a result, the scale of the plaza becomes hybridized between the city, the neighborhood, and the individual. 26

The access and consumption of information in the 21st century proposes a curiosity and responsibility towards the urban environment. Global networks of data sharing have changed how we interact with the environment around us. The values of scale, time, and communication have never been so vague. With changing perspectives and lifestyles, exposing hidden systems promotes a transparency between citizens and the functional components that construct their surroundings. The plaza reveals a new opportunity, that of a holistic socially and materially productive urban model removing technocratic seperation of urban components.

contextual

plaza networkcirculationparis plaza monument localundergroundplazaplazaplaza circulation connection monument undergroundconnectionconnection newtork of plazas The plaza types are scattered accross the city, forming a robust netork of situational nodes. Paris is a city constructed through axies framed by its plazas. situations

plaza networkcirculationparis plaza monument localundergroundplazaplazaplaza circulation connection monument undergroundconnectionconnection network of plazas - scale of communication Media and communication technologies no longer keep the circulation of the city as a linear path. Instant connection worldwide has expanded the role of the plaza as a node and centrality. How can the 21st century plaza respond to new definitions of scale and communication? 29

The current energy production and distribution model in the Parisian region the city as its center point.

regional energy production

carbon footprint on the parisian territory - 80 % energy consumption on the 50territory%renewable energies in the territory’s consumption locally renewableproducedenergy 100 % 20 % local energy production Alternatively, a local production model could lighten the load on larger systems and reduce energy loss during transportation. The city of Paris proposes a 20% local energy production for the city by 2050. 31

The condition of developing underground infrastructure has a long history in Paris. The city was built on large limestone quarries, creating an extractive relationship between the constructions of the surface and the materials of the underground. The city also developed important series of tunnels which later became the catacombs. Imposed as a utilitarian space to avoid the spread of disease from corpses, the catacombs became a symbol of ‘the dark city’ of Paris; a necropolis existing directly under the flamboyant lifestyle of the city. During the Hausmannian reinvention of the city in the mid 1800s, the Parisian underground recieved new roles of infrastructure to organize sewage systems and similar treatment infrastructure. Quickly, the subterrain expanded with the metro, tunnels, and small scale occupation to develop a full network tied to the city’s function. The underground became an alternative ground plane, with a seperate experience of time and scale in the city.

the underground plaza The City Underneath the City 32

underground network old plazastransportationquarries/centers newtork of plazas - underground 33

parisian surface and underground The existing dichotomy between the surface of the city and its underground network reveals a complex relationship between spatial conditions and timelines. When the surface is breached, the experience of a shopping mall or metro station becomes isolating, without ture reference from the familiar open skies and dense built environment. Seperated from from reality, the underground constructs its own timeline and scale to rebuild connections with the city above. One enters the metro at Place de la Nation, walks down 3 flights of stairs, follows 150 meters of weaving tunnels, walks down 3 more flights of stairs, waits 2 minutes for a train, spends 14 minutes on the train (or 4 stations), gets off, goes up 5 flights of stairs, and walks out at the Arc de Triomf without ever recognizing their spatial transition across the city. 34

breaking the underground If the city is experienced as activites and interactions, how can the underground and surface communicate to generate new expressions of urban lifestyles?

The seperation between the surface and underground creates a dynamic transition from one to the other. A utilitarian space, the underground often functions at a different scale to the ground. In an attempt to bridge the two, the planes are stretched like a string to force points of high tension. These moments can be understood as nodes of acitivity, citculation and interaction. What will happen if we let go?

Boom! The planes collide and break apart. What is now the ground plane? The underground? Blended, the two no longer have clear seperation or distinction. As a result, their programs and identities are exposed to one another and to the urban dweller. xx 37

place de la reunion - charonne A Local Plaza place de la reunion, paris XX 38

The village has a history of collective ownership and was one of the last places to fall during the massacres of the Paris Commune. Its history is still celebrated and its ideals are shared in a social setting (this year marks the 150 years of the commune). The diverse neighborhood has a mix of ethnicities, incomes, and employment positions which creates a dynamic environment.

A historically working class village, Charonne was integrated within the city of Paris in 1859. Its factories, industrial works, and dense housing models allowed for a diverse growth of the neighborhood. Today, it is one of the last remaining ‘local’ neighborhoods of Paris, as it is far in the east and not frequented by many non locals.

charonne / place de la reunion site documentation image credit: archives de Paris

0 25m 50m place de la reunion plan 40

Building20Heights-2oors-4oors 4 - 9 oors 9 + oors 0 25m 50m place de la reunion height map 41

0 25m 50m Activity Morning grocerypharmacycafeschoolstore / bakery park / plaza Activity Afternoon plaza / groceryrestaurantparkstore Activity Evening plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park Activity Weekend plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park Activity Evening plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park

synthesis - activity in the public plaza

mapping activity

The plaza can be described by the programs and activities that occur in and around it. In the case of Place de la Reunion, the space was activated mostly by local activities (schools, cafes, weekly markets...). Each program has a different influence on how the plaza functions and how it will be occupied during different times of day. When the timelines are superimposed, it is revealed that the plaza is a completely activated space.

Activity plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park25m

Activity Morning grocerypharmacycafeschoolstore / bakery park / plaza Activity Afternoon plaza / groceryrestaurantparkstore25m 50m

50m Activity Weekend plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park 43

Evening

kindergarden cafe/brasseriecafe/brasserie supermarket bakery pharmacy schoolmiddel green space pedestrian bi-weekly market music festival Activity Morning grocerypharmacycafeschoolstore / bakery park / plaza Activity Afternoon plaza / groceryrestaurantparkstore Activity Evening plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park Activity Weekend plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park Activity Evening plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park

synthesis - activity in the public plaza Drawing the plaza’s activities in axonometric further reveals which programs play an important role in its occupation. These surrounding programs are isolated at certain times, but respond to the network of events around the plaza

Activity Afternoon plaza / groceryrestaurantparkstore

Activity Evening plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park

/ bakery

Activity Morning grocerypharmacycafeschoolstore park

/ plaza

Activity Weekend plazagrocerybarschool/restaurantstore/park

process design - february 46

urbainesrenouvlables bains publics process

design - march 47

program axonometric social / civic program formal : energy education center, public baths informal : market, concert, bars, sitting space material / infrastructure program formal : solar slope, wind turbine, geothermal plant informal : charging stations, market, informational interactive screens energy program the local production of energy, in line with Paris’ 2050 plans will create a dialogue between residents and their infrasstructure systems. It will engage the public to be responsible for a collective improvement of the urban environment. (material ---- social) public baths program a historical and iconic reference for social engagement, the public baths represent a feature that will liven the local plaza beyond its traditional functions. (social ---- social) energy education program cataloguing and sharing the possibilites of urban energy production will de ne a precedent for similar research throughout urban environments. (social ---- material) new ground extendingplaneunderground, the void, unprogrammed space questions scales of inhabitation and comfort. the events engage the programs to encourage interaction between di erent perspectives of the city and its future. (social / material)

energiesdeseducatifucentre

The previous attempts at a project creating a 21st century plaza were unsucessful. As the semester went on, there was a lack of translation between the idea of a project, and its realization. The scale of interventions left large voids, unprogrammed and underwhelming. I reflected on my analysis and understanding of how a plaza was composed hoping to understand where my design efforts failed.

The analysis had concluded that the contemporary plaza superimposed narratives at different scales and timelines to demonstrate the life of the city. As such, the thesis should reflect this analysis and present itself as a methodology to understand and project the ideas of the plaza. This led to a series of collaged scenes exploring the components of urban life, individually activated, but existing simultaneously in the plaza.

Thesis as a Methodology redefining the expectations of the thesis

This time of reflection reminded me of conversations I had with my professors the semester prior about the methodology of thesis proposals. Failure is expected, and often encouraged as a learning tool, and in my case, as a way to define new goals. Instead of designing a plaza through traditional methods, the 21st century plaza could be explored through a series of activities, narratives, and scales. Defining a new lexicon based on specific events and objects in the urban plaza forced different interpretations of the space.

Objects and Activites of the Plaza sun vendingcurbfountainfestivalshadeguttertreesfruitstandmachinemonitorscafechairs bank atm water charginglaundromatfountainportsbenchblanketashtraynewsstandgrati geothermal chute trash can cafe steamstepswatertablespipes/stairslamppostchimneybeehivefootballpitch communalmetrorecyclingmarketwagonmailservicebakerygardenlibrarybathhousepublic exhibitioninfrastructurestreetscapespacevegetationparkrecreationspacecommerce 49

MEDIATEQUECENTRE activating the plaza 50

synthesis - activating the plaza 51

activating the plaza 52

recyclagepostede tri selectif synthesis - activating the plaza

recyclagepostede tri selectif 55

MEDIATEQUECENTRE 57

I would like to thank my thesis advisors Ammar Eloueini and Cordula Roser Gray for helping me parse out the complexities of this thesis proposal.

I would like to thank the city of Paris for being dope.

I would additionally like to thank dean Inaki Alday, Margarita Jover, Ruben Garcia Rubio, and Irene Keil for their help throughout my education at Tulane University. Their expertise, wisdom, patience, and kindness played a huge role in shaping my interests and thesis presentation. I hope to continue my research at The Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design (Delft University of Technology) for which I have to thank these professors for.

I would like to thank my parents, brother, sister, and grandparents for their continuous support in my interest in urban design.

Finally I would like to thank my fellow t hesis students. I spent five years working with a wonderful group of talented people who inspired me everyday. I hope them the best as they start their careers. Cheers.

Ackgnowledgements

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