Spring 2024 Portfolio _ Lydia Rosenthal

PORTFOLIO Lydia Rosenthal B.Arch, Cal Poly, 2024

OPEN ARMS LIBRARY Winter / Spring 2022 Prof. Stacey White

Collaborative work with Katherine Neuner San Diego, California, USA Located in the underserved Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego, Open Arms Library exploits the intersections of environmental and social sustainability to create a lasting, welcoming addition to the community. As part of a new law school campus, we had to be particularly aware of the area’s tense history with institutional impositions. To create a welcoming yet private environment, interactions between users are encouraged on the ground floor and in outdoor space, but controlled through separate circulation and curated views on the upper floors.

Studio Prize Winner

F6

F5

F4

F3

F2 Student support F1

Daycare Library Law clinics

The Open Arms Library is part of the broader California Western School of Law relocation within San Diego.

The school has a particular emphasis on providing legal services to underserved and migrant populations.

As the new Barrio Logan neighborhood contains a significant migrant population, this new location was seen as an opportunity for improved outreach. The Library, sitting at the border with the neighborhood, was an ideal candidate to house community programming, including pro-bono law clinics and a community daycare. The daycare and law clinics not only improve “town-gown” relationships, but may contribute to student success. According to data from

the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, only 33% of single parents graduate within 6 years, but access to reliable child care improves graduation rates three times over. It was important that the building massing reflect our social goals. Assigning each program to a distinct volume maintains privacy and security, and allows the building to be clearly legible from the street. It also facilitates the scale transition from the low-lying residential areas to the denser campus block. The L-shaped form also engages the street more directly while creating sheltered green space for the campus community.

Law Library Stair

Bus

Vegetation

The expansion of public transport into the campus area better connects the divided area

0 sq.ft to 5500 sq.ft

Bicycles Increased and convenient bike parking reduces carbon emissions and caters to students

Pedestrians

UP

UP

Public functions and a porous ground floor encourage flexible circulation for all pedestrians

UP

Children’s Library

UP

Our site mediates the residential and university boundary. In an effort to increase transparency and access, the ground floor is porous and intentionally non-hierarchical, inviting all users in with public programming, such as a cafe and children’s library.

Entrance + Cafe

UP

Plantings on site are native to the area. and engaging to the senses, increasing occupant health by engaging biophilia

Wooly Blue Curls

Western Redbud

Sky Lupine

Pride of Madeira

Blue Fescue

California Milkweed

Yarrow

Lavender

Cape Weed

Cleveland Sage

California Mock Orange

Lamb’s Ear

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K

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butterfly gardens

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view to San Diego Public Library

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passive convection through experiential stair

K 16TH C

DAYCARE A. cafeteria B. classroom C. play room D. storage E. active play F. children’s library G. roof playground H. theater LIBRARY I. group study J. conference pods K. breezeway L. reading room

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RAINWATER CAPTURE A. roof membrane B. downspout filter C. cistern D. filters E. uv light disinfection F. carbon filter G. potable water tank I. water heater J. chlorine tank K. drinking fountains, sinks L. greywater

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Benchmark 31.2

2030 Target: 22.2

20.0

g

10.5

Predicted EUI

3° RING

Winter 2022 Prof. Nanni Grau Berlin, Germany What will life look like, three degrees warmer?

This project focused on a renovation of an existing apartment complex at Mehringplatz, Berlin, imagining how architecture and urban form can be adapted to not only survive, but thrive on a warming planet. The project covers strategies at the urban and architectural scale, and aims to improve the passive thermal and ventilation performance. Throughout, a focus on adaptability, light-weight intervention, and connection to outdoor space was of particular import.

TRAFFIC CALMING To limit non-resident traffic and protect the privacy of the community, commuter bicycle and car paths will be rerouted outside of the interior ring.

WIND TUNNELS

DENSIFY

Yellow indicates partial demolition of existing walls to allow for the prevailing winds to pass through the urban complex. Community gardens in these spaces will unite the community.

The red areas indicate places where open space in the ground floor will be filled with new programs. In these areas, additional floors will also be added to densify the complex further.

URBAN STRATEGY Developed in collaboration with Franka Marxer and Ramona Friedrichs.

The Mehringplatz residential complex was designed by renowned German architect Werner Düttmann in the 1960s. Although quite radical for its time, the design has proved less successful than anticipated. Its repetitive structure is characterized by covered throughways which are underutilized and unwelcoming. The central grassy area is similarly little-used, and primary pedestrian traffic consists of commuters walking through the complex to reach a subway station. The ring orientation means that many apartments have poor orientation, and are either too hot or too cold throughout the year.

GREEN CORRIDOR

FACADE SHADING To protect the southern exposure in a warming climate, a system of balconies and arcades will extend the living space and provide adequate shade. These may also begin to affect building circulation.

The rewilding of the local park and nearby river will protect from the heat and provide a barrier against more frequent flooding events.

REMODEL TYPOLOGY A 2 Bed, 1 Bath

REMODEL TYPOLOGY B 1 Bed, 1 Bath + Studio

REMODEL TYPOLOGY C 3 Bed, 1 Bath

Minimal intervention in the existing floorplan improves ventilation and offers increased flexibility in the living spaces.

One bedroom apartments enable a greater diversity of lifestyles. Both receive southern and northern exposure, and can be cross ventilated.

Densification of the existing apartments can also be achieved through an additional bedroom abutting the balconies.

ARCADE STRATEGY Each apartment may extend onto the new arcade, which provides additional living space, shading possibilities, and instant connection to outdoor space.

COMMUNAL FLOORS Remodel and extension typologies are flexibly and diversely arranged in order to promote intermingling between residents. Spaces that were opened for the urban wind tunnels host community gardens, while the rerouted circulation emphasizes connection to outdoors.

WIND’S EYE

Fall 2023 Prof. Dale Clifford Collaborative work with Xander Bergey, Eloise Hides, and Morgan Miller Surrending control to nature allow us to understand our world in novel ways. “Wind’s Eye” aims to create a viewing portal controlled by the wind itself. The bent-wood “weather vane” takes its form from airfoils, and spins freely about the tripod. Users are invited to take a look in the direction of the wind, and follow the instrument as it rotates. Even the slightest shifts in wind direction force a change in perspective. Wind is typically a power that we harness for our own goals and desires. The chance to submit to its whims for a change subverts expectations in a fun way.

PLATZ 89

Summer 2023 Prof. Thomas Neumann Munich, Germany Platz 89 serves the needs of many disparate groups – including seniors, young families, and students. Sited on a prominent corner in a quiet neighborhood, the project offers intimate, appropriately scaled building volumes housing meeting and living spaces.

Beyond these safe and solid anchor points, the space in between is full of airy spaces for spontaneous use or friendly conversation.

Platz 89 aims to invite users into an exploratory and open mindset.

Residential District

PEDESTRIAN

BIKE

VEHICLE Preservation of existing park, invitation at corner

Division of community vs. residential, public facing

Appropriately scaled volumes, “village” organization Commercial District

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STRUCTURE A B

Structural system consists of a combination of self-supporting CLT walls, and mass timber frame systems. Mass timber was chosen for its carbon sequestration abilities, as well as its friendly impression in this neighborhood. Two CLT volumes are elevated, necessitating a hybrid system. Circulation spaces exist between or outside the volumes, giving them an airy quality, with abundant glazing. Privacy was a concern for student apartments - there, the circulation corridor is pulled out from the volumes, with individual “entranceways” leading to each apartment.

A B D

CIRCULATION E

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FLOOR 3

A. Group room B. Workshop C. Gymnastic room D. Music room E. Lounge F. Gardens G. Terrace H. Student apartment

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ROOF Waterproof Bitumen Membrane Mineral Wool Insulation max 200 mm + 250mm Moisture Barrier (PE Film) 175 mm Cross Laminated Timber

WALL 36 mm Cement Fiber Eternit Wave Panels or: 19mm Larch Siding 2 x 30/60 mm Steel Batten Weather Resistent Barrier 20 mm Fiberboard 150 mm Wood Fiber Insulation 125 mm Cross Laminated Timber

FLOOR 20 mm Wooden Floorboards 20 mm Fiberboard (for sound insulation) Installation Level / Wood Framing 95/45 mm 175 mm Cross Laminated Timber

CONSTRUCTING ELEVATIONS The simple, friendly facade organization gives the buildings a human, approachable scale, and helps them blend into the neighborhood.

Subtle interlocking patterns between materials lend texture and visual interest and help indicate underlying structural organization.

BIO-BASED BUILDING

Research - In Progress Prof. Angela Bracco and Prof. Clare Olsen Cal Poly is working to develop a curriculum focussed on bio-based, natural materials and wall assemblies.

To help establish this, I work with a faculty-student team to test different materials and projects that could be included in the curriculum. This involves gathering/harvesting, and forming the materials.

1 Parts Hemp Hurd 1.5 Parts Binder

2 Parts Pozzolan [Ca(OH)2]

5 Parts Lime [CaCO3]

1 c. Water 2 c. Flour 1 tsp. Salt

Avocado Pits, Boiled

Reclaimed Wood Scraps

SMALL SCALE TESTING

ON-CAMPUS THATCH (Current Project) Harvesting, lashing, and drying locally sourced reeds for use as a facing material on a straw-bale wall assembly. Hands-on involvement in sourcing materials builds greater appreciation for them!

100g Water 20g Gelatin 10g Corn Starch 5g Charcoal 100g Oyster Shell

WASTE STREAMS Thesis - In Progress Prof. Dale Clifford

15m

Duffins Watershed

Don Watershed Humber Watershed

ry

unda

10m

Bo City

Rouge River Watershed

Mimico Watershed

Lost Rivers

Garrison Creek/Sewer

5m

As climate change upends ecological systems, and human activity becomes increasingly inextricable from our environment, it is difficult to identify what constitutes the “natural.” In his essay Environmental Philosophy After the End of Nature, philosopher Steven Vogel argues for accepting this condition, and embracing “an environmental philosophy without nature would thus find its normative foundation in an appeal to self-knowledge and self-recognition, not in an impossible return to a nature beyond or before human practice.” The new, post natural world will be one where we understand our impact and consider our actions before, during, and after we take them. Toronto exemplifies the tension between the natural and the artificial. The city converted many of its ancient rivers into sewers to combat rampant pollution, filling their ravines to build new neighborhoods. These “river-sewers” still flow today, hovering between the natural and the artificial - collecting storm runoff along their ancient watersheds, yet otherwise divorced from the water cycle and their habitats. The greatest harm may be the illusion that no harm has been done. Residents live in ignorance of the ghostly river under their feet. This breeds a general disregard for the complex relationship between the city and its natural systems, putting the community at risk to repeat its same mistakes out of ignorance. The largest of the river-sewers, Garrison Creek, will serve as a site for this intervention. This sewer is remarkably large and perhaps the most obvious on the city surface. A series of waste treatment stations transmit the subterranean history to the larger community, using architectural form which balances artificial perfect geometry with more natural, amorphous forms.

This project suggests that, by engaging with the sewerage system directly and processing its waste transparently, locally, and accessibly, residents will be encouraged to understand the history of their place and question the balance between the natural and the artificial in the city.

20m

Toronto, Canada

Etobicoke Watershed

5m

Garrison Creek Sewer

10m

15m

20m

25m

30m

A

A

++ +

View of Other Stations

+ +

+ +

2.5m

2.5m

View of Other Stations

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A

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A

+

View to Baseball Fields

Greenhouse

Slant Emphasizes Edge of Old Ravine

Wastewater Station + Outdoor Recreation

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2.25m

Slant Emphasizes Edge of Old Ravine

Wastewater Station Low Profile At Street Level + Outdoor Recreation

B ++

+

View to Baseball Fields

Greenhouse

CamScanner

CamScanner

Harbord St. Bridge Exposed Cavernous, Cathedral Experience

B

2.0m

2.25m

+ + B+ +

C

1.75m 1.5m

2.0m

+ + +

CamScanner

Harbord St. Bridge Exposed Cavernous, Cathedral Experience

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B +

C

+ + +

Low Profile At Street Level

Wastewater Station + Buried Bridge Exhibit

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To Playground and Wading Pool

Wastewater Station + Buried Bridge Exhibit

C

D

Framing Street

To K-12 Schools

Wastewater Station + Childhood Education

CamScanner CamScanner

+ + +

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Inhabitable Screen (for Animals and Humans!)

Framing Street

1.25m

To K-12 Schools

1.75m

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+

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+

E

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C

Wastewater Station + Habitat Restoration

1.0m

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+ 1.5m

Ravine Remnant Restored

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Wastewater Station + Childhood Education

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F

Communal Gathering

0.75m

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E

0.5m

E

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0.5m

0.75m

1.0m

To Public Pool Facility

CamScanner

ork ort Y e To F rical Sit to His

Wastewater Station + Habitat Restoration

Ravine Remnant Restored

Lake View

F 0.25m

CamScanner

Compact Footprint

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0.25m

1.25m

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1.0m

Careful mapping revealed the traces of Garrison Creek within downtown Toronto. A series of thoughtfully located “stations” can engage this linear path and connect to their surrounding community. This reanimates the creek within the city, without disrupting established communities.

CamScanner

Inhabitable Screen (for Animals and Humans!)

Wastewater Station + Public Water Facilites

URBAN INTERVENTIONS

To Playground and Wading Pool

1.25m

1.5m

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CamScanner

+

F

1.75m

Interpolating Slope

2.0m

Wastewater Station + City Ecological Archive

FORM FINDING Iterative hand drawing and sketch modelling in search of a scalable, symbolic form that can be used for multiple interventions in the cityscape.

9.5’

10’

10’

10’

10’

10’

9.5’

4’

6’ 6’

8.5’

18’

21’

6’

4’

32’

6’

6’

6’

37’

6’

6’

8

5 10’

4 5

8’

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6

CONCEPTUAL SECTION RAVINE MACHINE

11.75’

3.5’

3

7

2

This “Ravine Machine” in Trinity Bellwoods treats 1’’ = 10’ sewer waste, using it to recreate habitats.

1. EXISTING SEWER LINE 2. SOLID1.SETTLEMENT ExistingTANKS Sewer 3. EQUALIZATION TANKS 2.

Solid Settlement Tanks 4. ANOXIC TANKS 5. CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS Tanks 3. Equalization 6. AERATED LAGOONS 4. Anoxic Tanks 7. DISPERSAL FIELDS / REWILDING 8. HABITAT 5. SCAFFOLD Constructed Wetlands

6. Aerated Lagoons

LYDIA ROSENTHAL 7. Dispersal STUDIO CLIFFORD, WINTERFields/Rewilding 2024

8. Habitat Scaffold

24.5’

14.5’

28’

6’

20’

25.5’