Michael McDowell '20 MArch Columbia GSAPP

A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CIVIC SPACES.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL

CONTENTS 2 16 28 44 50 64 74 76 94 98 100 106 112 122

RE-ORIENT MOMENTS OF TRANSITION WOLF INSTITUTE SEAHORSE EXCHANGE FARMING FOUNDATION MUSEUM OF WATER BORDERLAND CENTER FOR LAND MISUSE PLANT HABITATS SCHEELE’S GREEN MOMENTS OF TOUCH FOOD EXPRESS CIVIC THEATER SHIFTING CORNERS

A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

RE-ORIENT // urban cemetery in dumbo, ny // spring 2018 // critic: karla rothstein

Re(orient) is a space for interring, remembering and departing the dead.

The project re-imagines the natural burial process within an urban context in order to resolve environmental and logistical issues associated with other disposition methods. It addresses a broader need for nonsectarian sanctuary spaces while also presenting an acceptance of death as a natural process.

The project is organized and planned with ten year burial periods, resulting in a constantly evolving form that speaks to a cyclical understanding of life. A grid is established based on the proportions of the human body. The use of natural burial methods allow for vegetation to grow from the caskets, as the nutrients from the bodies are used to increase their growth.

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1.01 PERSPECTIVE FROM CEREMONY HALL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.02 (ABOVE) PERSPECTIVE INTO CEREMONY HALL 1.03 (RIGHT) LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.04 (ABOVE) SECTION MODEL 1.05 (LEFT) FOURTH FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.06 (ABOVE) EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE 1.07 (RIGHT) DETAIL SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.08 (ABOVE) PERSPECTIVE INTO HALL 1.09 (RIGHT) AXONOMETRIC

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.10 (ABOVE) GROUND LEVEL PERSPECTIVE 1.11 (LEFT) CONCEPTUAL MODEL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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1.12 TRANSVERSAL SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

MOMENTS OF TRANSITION // a housing project for the bronx, ny // fall 2018 // critic: daisy ames // with: xin qin

This housing project aims to provide a community for at-risk individuals of society who are in need of a home.

Through the use of the engawa as an architectural element, the project capitalizes on the liminal space between inside and outside to facilitate interaction, a key aspect that is lacking in many housing projects.

The users, incorporated from Rosanne Haggerty’s organization Breaking Ground, include the chronically homeless, low-income working adults, veterans, seniors, people with hiv/ aids, mentally ill, displaced youth and families. In analyzing both precedents and the needs of our users, we’ve created both temporary and permanent units for families and individuals.

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2.01 SITE PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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2.02 (LEFT) AXONOMETRIC 2.03 (ABOVE) DAYCARE FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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2.04 UNIT PLANS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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2.05 (ABOVE) UNIT MODEL 2.06 (RIGHT) UNIT OBLIQUE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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2.07 (LEFT) COURTYARD PERSPECTIVE 2.08 (ABOVE) UNIT PERSPECTIVE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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2.09 GATHERING SPACE OBLIQUE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

WOLF INSTITUTE // a wolf sanctuary in wyoming // fall 2019 // critic: jimenez lai

Wolves have been depicted as evil creatures for centuries. The Little Red Riding Hood, Dante’s Inferno, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf are just a few examples of how we are taught, from a young age, to believe that wolves are dangerous. However, research has proven that wolves are not only friendly unless provoked, but are vital to ecosystem diversity. This diversity happens through a process called a trophic cascade, in which the re-introduction of the apex predator allows for a number of environmental benefits to occur.

The Wolf Institute seeks to alter the common misconception of wolves, whilst creating a space that allows for the wolves to be re-integrated into their natural habitats and provide research into the resultant environmental changes. The project treats architecture and humans as creatures in order to provide a new type of environment that redefines our relationship with this mystic animal.

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3.01 RE-ACCLIMATION PEN PERSPECTIVE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.02 TAXONOMY OF SHAPES

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.03 (LEFT) WOLF SUIT 3.04 (ABOVE) PERSPECTIVE FROM DEN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.05 (ABOVE) ZOOLOGICAL TYPOLOGIES DIAGRAM 3.06 (RIGHT) RESEARCH CENTER SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.07 (LEFT) RESEARCH CENTER PLAN 3.08 (ABOVE) CARETAKER’S HOME PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.09 RE-ACCLIMATION PEN PERSPECTIVE II

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.10 (ABOVE) MASSING MODEL 3.11 (RIGHT) CARETAKER’S HOME SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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3.12 INSTITUTE OBLIQUE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

SEAHORSE EXCHANGE // a seahorse interactive portal for pier 25, ny // spring 2019 // critic: chris woebken

Seahorse Exchange is a proposal to monitor water quality levels in the Hudson river utilizing seahorses as bio-indicators. Coral like structures create a habitat for seahorses to latch onto. Monitoring devices placed on the pier allow for human to seahorse communication; with the intent of raising awareness about water quality.

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4.01 ABOVE WATER COLLAGE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

microphone allows users to communicate with seahorses led light provides a visual indication of seahorse activity

led screen provides text updates on seahorse activity speaker plays sounds made by seahorses during stress and courtship

coral like structure provides support for seahorses to create their habitat

hydrophone communicates with the interactive portal

led provide underwater visuals on seahorse activity

modularity allows for the system to expand

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4.02 (LEFT) BELOW WATER COLLAGE 4.03 (ABOVE) DETAILED AXONOMETRICS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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4.04 (LEFT) TRACKING DEVICE MODEL 4.05 (ABOVE) INTERACTION DEVICE MODEL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

FARMING FOUNDATION // an instute for water resourceful agriculture // spring 2020 // critic: juan herreros // with: yixuan cheng

The Farming Foundation seeks to improve the conditions of depopulation and water scarcity in the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara in Spain.

By providing a framework for a water efficent agriculture, the project redefines the economic model of the small town of Buendia; transforming it into an agricultural hub for the region.

Pre-owned greenhouse structures are utilized by attaching to existing structures, creating a new type of domesticity in which agriculture and living occur in parallel. At the larger scale, a production facility allows for the town to export agriculture that is produced through a diverse range of methodologies, including hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics.

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5.01 PROJECT AXONOMETRIC

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES. aquaponics lab shared garden aquaponics labBROWNFIELDS, shared garden aquaponics lab shared garden exhibition space

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rainwater harvesting system

residence

rainwater harvesting system rainwater harvesting system gathering space

residence residence aquaponics lab

street shading device aquaponics lab

hydroponics lab shared garden

street shading street shading device controlled light lab aquaponics exhibition space labdevice

hydroponics hydroponics lab lab shared garden rainwater harvesting system

rainwater harvesting system

residence

rainwatergathering harvesting space system

street shading device aquaponics lab

hydroponics lab shared garden

street controlled shading light device aquaponics exhibition space lab lab

5.02 (LEFT) SITE ANALYSIS 5.03 (ABOVE) TYPOLOGY STUDY

residence street shading device

hydroponics lab shared garden

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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5.04 SECTION PERSPECTIVE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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5.05 (LEFT) EXTERIOR COLLAGE 5.06 (RIGHT) DOMESTIC PLANS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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5.07 (ABOVE) AERIAL PERSPECTIVE 5.08 (RIGHT) FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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5.09 (LEFT) AXONOMETRIC II 5.10 (RIGHT) PERSPECTIVE FROM PRODUCTION CENTER

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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5.11 SITE SECTION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

MUSEUM OF WATER // a landscape proposal for corlears hook, ny // fall 2017 // critic: stephanie lin

Infrastructural land art redefines our relationship with water as inhabitants of the city. A series of excavated follies generate a relationship with the east river that is based on an awareness of water and geology.

In an attempt to discover different water flows and create a unique experience for the visitors, the excavations each have a distinct character akin to the landscape art of the 60s and 70s.

Yet, rather than replicate these precedents, the project adds a dimension of environmental awareness. As sea water levels rise and our cities continue to be built up, it is necessary to re-evaluate our role in the anthropocene.

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6.01 SITE PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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6.02 FLOOR PLAN 6.03 LONGITUDINAL SECTION

6.04 SECTION THROUGH PUBLIC POOL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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6.05 (LEFT) SECTION THROUGH BIO-REMEDIATION 6.06 (ABOVE) SECTION THROUGH MEMORY SPACE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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6.07 (LEFT) PERSPECTIVE FROM BIO-REMEDIATION 6.08 (ABOVE) PERSPECTIVE FROM MEMORY SPACE

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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6.09 TAXONOMY OF SPACES

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

BORDERLAND

2020

2040

// a bi-national proposal for the us/mexico border // spring 2020

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT CENTER

// critic: david moon BI-NATIONAL STREETCAR

Borderland is an envisioned future for the border condition at the U.S./ Mexico border. Pink shows the current condition at the border, in which different methods of surveillance are enacted. Blue represents a speculation for a future in which the sister cities along the border coalesce.

MIGRANT CAMPS

WATCH TOWERS ASYLUM SUPPORT CENTER

The Asylum Support Center intends to protect those who are crossing the river by providing legal support to those crossing the border. The Education Center provides learning services and the Nature Reserve restores the natural meandering of the river while also providing a safe haven for other species to migrate.

The border fence is dismembered, imagining a future in which nature is allowed to take ownership, re-creating its own boundaries that existed before the definition of the border.

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PATROL VEHICLES

AEROSTATS

UNITED STATES

NATURE RESERVE

7.01 BORDERLAND 2020/2040

MEXICO

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

CENTER FOR LAND MISUSE // a remediation proposal for newburgh, ny // fall 2019 // critic: nahyun hwang // with: kate mcnamara

Challenging the tabula-rasa approach to brownfield remediation, the Center for Land Misuse uses a toxic brownfield site as an archive of hazardous waste, a research center for new remediation techniques, and a place for remediation policy making.

The Center creates a new kind of park, not just scenic landscape, but an anthropo-senic landscape, to study remediation while exhibiting all parts of the process.

Through the study of different remediation techniques and establishing a relationship with different actors, the project seeks to rethink the future of contamination at the intersection of rural and urban environments.

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8.01 MODEL THROUGH CONTAMINATION

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.02 SITE PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.03 (LEFT) POLICY CENTER FLOOR PLAN 8.04 (ABOVE) RESEARCH CENTER FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.05 (ABOVE) WASTE SORTING COLLAGE 8.06 (RIGHT) WASTE SORTING PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.07 (LEFT) REMEDIATION CATALOG STUDY 8.08 (ABOVE) SECTIONS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.09 THESIS DRAWING

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.10 PROPOSED REMEDIATION METHODS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.11 PERSPECTIVE FROM RESEARCH CENTER

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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8.12 SECTIONAL MODEL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

PLANT HABITAT // a reflection space in an unknown location // spring 2020 // critic: joseph brennan, phillip crupi // with: xin qin

Plant Habitat is an exploration in ultra real graphic visualization and the exploration of different graphic techniques, including color, light and shadow and atmosphere. Through these exercises, the project seeks to provide a space for contemplation and ecological restoration within an anthropocenic landscape.

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9.01 (LEFT) INTERIOR RENDER 9.02 (ABOVE) EXTERIOR RENDER

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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9.03 APPROACH RENDER

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S CHEEL E’ S

Scheele’s Green is a study in utilizing graphic components to convey a story.

By compiling multiple sources together and overlapping contrasting sources, the booklet tells the story of the deadly pigment often found in Victorian wallpapers. The running header and decorations reference Victorian era book designs, whilst illustrations and reports on the dangers of the pigment are pasted on top.

98 A ND

PA R IS

GR EEN

IN

T H E

V IC T OR IA N

10.01 (LEFT) FRONT AND BACK SPREAD

10.02 (ABOVE) TYPICAL SPREAD

W

1

hen most people hear the word “arsenic” used in relation to the Victorian period, the thought conjures up tales of servants poisoning the food of their cruel mistresses and murderous villains using arsenic for their crimes. However, little known to many individuals of the time and arguably far more sinister; arsenic-containing wallpapers were poisoning people from within the extravagantly adorned walls of their very own homes. Herein, I explore the story behind this obscure, accidental killer and investigate how, despite neither the wallpaper manufacturers nor the government being willing to sacrice the huge prot arsenic brought in in-order to resolve this public health crisis, the media’s inuence over popular opinion helped to guide the general public to stop using such wallpapers and thus able to protect their health.

Scheele’s green (copper arsenite) is an intense green pigment discovered in 1778 by Karl Scheele, a Swedish chemist. Due to it being relatively inexpensive and its vibrant green colour, during the 1800s this shade became extremely popular in the manufacture of countless home goods ranging from ball gowns to curtains and even confectionery. So signicant was this such popularity that Victorian Britain was said to be ‘bathed’ in Scheele’s green. In 1971, when talking about green wallpaper, the British Medical Journal described it as, “to be seen in the majority of dwellings from the palace to the navvy’s hut”.

Jessica Charlotte Haslam October 1, 2013

Deadly decor: a short history of arsenic poisoning in the nineteenth century

GR EEN

// critic: yoonjai choi

12

OF

// fall 2019

Two skeletons dressed as lady and gentleman in “the Arsenic Waltz,” Etching, 1862. Courtesy of Wellcome Library, London.

U S E

// a booklet documenting a deadly color

workshops. “[Morris] thought because no one was ill in his house from the arsenic wallpaper, it must be something else that was causing the sickness,” the art historian Lucinda Hawksley said in an interview about her book Bitten by Witch Fever. That no one was sick seems extraordinary, but then again, many people had green wallpaper and survived. Napoleon was famously believed to have been poisoned by his wallpaper, though modern X-ray analysis has found that there was “enough arsenic present capable of causing illness but probably not death.” Still, arsenic was everywhere.

Bakers used arsenic green as food coloring, and some restaurants even added it to their drinks. In 1858, in the deadly Bradford sweets poisoning, twenty-one people perished from arsenic-laced hard candies sold by a local character known as Humbug Billy. Ten years later, UK legislators nally set limits on the acceptable amount of arsenic in food. Although there were shades of blue and yellow made through a similar process that also included arsenic, those dyes didn’t get quite the same bad rap as Scheele’s green or Paris green. “Green was a color that was always seen as the culprit, simply because it was so desirable at the time,” Hawksley said.

By the time European, British, and American governments got around to regulating arsenic, the vivid green wallpaper had already fallen out of fashion. Just as avocado green was the green of 1970s America, Scheele’s green feels like a relic of Romanticism. And while women continued to wear owers on their hats, the ower-making industry never quite recovered. Not only did the demand for fake owers fall off, but reforms of the twentieth century made it more difcult for ower makers to turn a prot. (Many of them relied on child labor to curl the petals, sew the owers, and do other tasks that required small dexterous hands.) In 2016, the Museum of London introduced an exhibit titled “The Lost Art of Flower-Making.” In a promotional interview for the show, one of the exhibit’s curators, Natasha Fenner, said that following World War I, women’s clothing became “much more streamlined” and the “elaborate decorations of the late Victorian period were seen as fussy and old-fashioned.” What was once a booming industry shrunk to a niche market. The last major ower maker of London was David Bloor, who was forced out of business after cheap foreign products began to ood the market. Like lead-laced whites and diarrhea-causing yellows, Scheele’s green is no longer a chromatic necessity; we have safer green to use (though not by much; more on that later). Yet the story of Scheele’s green has captivated writers throughout the decades. It feels emblematic of our worst consumerist tendencies—our desire to hop on board with whatever trend oats our way, even when we know it’s problematic, and our willingness to turn a blind eye to suffering, to focus instead on the beautiful object set before us. Our willingness to kill ourselves to replicate nature, rather than simply engaging with it.

So much has changed, and so little has changed. Flower makers have been replaced by Foxconn employees, working every day so that wealthy nations can have their expensive toys. Silk owers are no longer considered stylish; paper owers have stolen the crown for twenty-rst-century status bloom. Women still wear owers in their hair, but now they do it for music festivals, a space where reality is momentarily suspended and the regular rules of polite society don’t really apply. Beauty inspires us to replicate, but it also inspires a willful ignorance.

Green is still a complicated color. Pantone chose Greenery as 2017’s color of the year, and it was reported that the decision was intended to help sway the public towards embracing more eco-friendly trends and policies, an idea that I nd every bit as ludicrous as the reasoning behind picking Ultra Violet for 2018. (Political divisions will not be healed by more purple clothing.) Greenwashing is useless for so many reasons. Commercial greens are often made with pigment green 7, which contains chlorine and can’t be recycled or composted safely. Pigment green 36 also contains chlorine, as well as bromide atoms, and inorganic pigment green 50 is “a noxious cocktail of cobalt, titanium, nickel, and zinc oxide,” writes the design expert Alice Rawsthorne in a 2010 article for the New York Times. “Ironic, isn’t it?” the German chemist Michael Braungart adds. “The color green can never be green, because of the way it is made. It’s impossible to dye plastic green or to print green ink on paper without contaminating them.” Green has become greener, fake owers have become ever more convincing, but our unquenchable thirst for the false purity of an aesthetic Eden remains.

T HE

ER A

SCHEELE’S GREEN

A CO L L E CT I O N O F I T E M S D O CU M E N T IN G T H E H EALT H EFFECT S CAU S ED B Y

A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

MOMENTS OF TOUCH // a subway proposal for the east village, ny // fall 2017 // critic: stephanie lin

Moments of touch is an intervention that accenctuates the lack of touch in the metropolis. Located on 14th street and Avenue A in New York city, it serves as a new typology for subway access by putting people in close contact with each other.

The intervention is composed of thin delicate frames suspended between two layers of fabric, resulting in a structural system of compression and tension. The flexibility of the fabric itself relates to the concept of touch since the impact at one point of the fabric affects someone located at a different point, allowing people to be in contact with each other indirectly.

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11.01 STRUCTURAL STUDY MODEL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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11.02 FLOOR PLAN

11.03 PERSPECTIVE FROM PLATFORM 11.04 PERSPECTIVE FROM STREET

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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11.05 TAXONOMY OF SHAPES

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

FOOD EXPRESS // a food infrastructure network for newark, nj // spring 2019 // critic: craig schwitter // with: brenda lim, gabriel chan, hyung rok do

Downtown Newark will be at it’s finest with itsSupermarket forthcoming integration with / Retail Distribution Center Residential Condo Innovation Center / Classroom Train Station the Food Express Campus. Located on the Passaic Riverfront between the Newark Historic District and Harrison, the campus will serve as a food, entertainment and research hub that synergizes with Rutgers University, local art productions and surrounding commercial programs.

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Commercial / Rental Office

blx2002 Brenda Lim yc3353 Gabriel Chan hd2380 Hyung Rok Do Michael Mcdowell mam2540

12.01 (LEFT) CONCEPT DIAGRAM 12.02 (ABOVE) SITE AXONOMETRIC

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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12.03 (LEFT) TYPICAL SECTION 12.04 (RIGHT) TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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12.05 COLLAGE THROUGH COURTYARD

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

CIVIC THEATER // a performance space in brooklyn, ny // fall 2018 // critic: craig schwitter // with: timothee mercier, matt ninivaggi, adam susaneck

The Civic Theater provides a public amenity for Greenpoint through a series of stacked programmatic volumes. A focus on the construction details allows for the volumetric strategy to be communicated, as material continuity extends to the end of each volume. The stacking of the volumes also provides a number of publicly accessible outdoor spaces, generating viewpoints of the surrounding context.

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13.01 PERSPECTIVE FROM STREET

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

SYSTEM THREE: TRUSSES

BOX: Program Requirements

REMOVE BLOCK 1: Provides Main Access

SYSTEM TWO: CORES

REMOVE BLOCK 2: Provides Secondary Access

SHIFT BLACK BOX: Creates Access to Park and Terrace

SYSTEM ONE: COLUMNS

ROTATE DISPENSARY: Creates Second Terrace

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SHIFT FOH: Creates Third Terrace

13.02 (LEFT) MASSING DIAGRAM 13.03 (ABOVE) STRUCTURAL AXONOMETRIC

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

A

B

D

C

M E

G

F

H

I

A

J

C

B

M E

D

F

G

I

H

J

208' - 6" 182' - 7"

139' - 8 1/2"

39' - 8 1/2" 39' - 8 1/2"

54' - 4 1/2"

25' - 2"

19' - 5 1/2"

25' - 10 1/2"

31' - 6 1/2"

14' - 10"

8' - 0"

25' - 2"

19' - 5 1/2"

25' - 10 1/2"

18' - 0"

25' - 11"

18' - 0"

9 12' - 6"

WA2

WA2

WA3 W.C

8 2

AUDITORIUM LOBBY

WA1 WA3

WA1

WA1 WA4

WA1

W.C

13

14

178 SF

178 SF

WA3

WA3

WA3

WA3

12

1869 SF

WA4

WA2

15' - 6"

DISPENSARY

WA3

WA2

WA3

2348 SF

LOBBY

WA2

WA4

1

WA4

2787 SF

6 WA2 67' - 9"

PREP AREA

15

39' - 9"

WA3

WA4

5

WA2

WA2

AUDITORIUM

16 9197 SF

41' - 10"

20' - 4"

142' - 1"

WA4

UP

4

21' - 6"

WA2

BLACK BOX ThEATRE

PREP AREA

WA3

17

UP

WA2

WA3

3 1741 SF

3

W.C

6

W.C

123 SF

WA3

WA3

WA2 WA3

WA3

WA2

WA2

WA2

46 SF

5

WA3

12' - 0"

MECH ROOM

MECH ROOM

18

7

313 SF

45 SF

WA1

32' - 6"

2 WA1

4 2186 SF

WA3

WA1 WA2

20' - 6"

B.O.H

STUDIO

1st Floor

19 1132 SF

WA3

WA3 CHANGING ROOM

WA2

WA3 CHANGING ROOM

20 500 SF

21

WA2

455 SF

WA2

1 Project Number 55' - 1"

16' - 2"

0' - 0"

48' - 0"

//

63' - 4"

182' - 7"

Drawn By 182' - 7"

Checked By

1

03. Floor 1" = 10'-0"

A100 Scale: As Indicated

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13.04 (LEFT) GROUND FLOOR PLAN 13.05 (ABOVE) AUDITORIUM FLOOR PLAN

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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13.06 (LEFT) DETAIL SECTION I 13.07 (ABOVE) DETAIL SECTIONS II & III

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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13.08 EXPLODED DETAIL AXONOMETRIC

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

SHIFTING CORNERS // a transformable installation in nyc. // fall 2017 // critic: stephanie lin

Shifting Corners is a proposal for reinterpreting how we treat corner conditions within an urban environment. Rather than assume the corner as a solid moment, Shifting Corners rethinks it as a condition in which play becomes a part of the experience by allowing spaces to expand and close, depending on the light conditions, and act as an experiential sun-dial.

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14.01 PERFORMATIVE MODEL

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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14.02 (ABOVE) PERSPECTIVE FROM VOLUME 14.03 (RIGHT) PERFORMATIVE FLOOR PLANS

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIC SPACES.

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14.04 (LEFT) DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION 14.05 (ABOVE) SECTION THROUGH CORNER

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A COLLECTION OF SPECULATIONS ON ISSUES RELATED TO BURIALS, HOUSING, WILDLIFE, RURAL FLIGHT, WATER, BORDERS, BROWNFIELDS, GRAPHICS INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CIVIC SPACES.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL