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UNIT FIVE Student Work Catalogue 2012-2013
SUPERNATURE
UNIT 5
SUPERNATURE PEDRO FONT ALBA // BRUCE IRWIN // JULIA BACKHAUS
As
urban populations increase in density and number, and the scope and geometry of agriculture grows correspondingly, human contact with the natural world is rapidly superseded and remade. This was our starting point: An observation that in the metropolis ‘nature’ is visibly overwritten by human systems and can only be apprehended as a prior state, an enhanced replacement, a hybrid condition, or at times a resurgent rebellious wildness. This is the ‘Supernature’ we proposed to examine and within which we found space to work. Our case study was New York City, which we visited at the end of November. New York City is often described as the paradigm of 20th century metropolis, the ultimate demonstration of human domination of nature, a Cartesian triumph of commerce and aspiration over and on top of geography and geology, flora and fauna. In the 20th Century New York City represented polar positions of modernity and obsolescence, progress and rampant and destructive capital systems, has swung from periodic abundance and excess such as during the 1920’s and 1980’s, to fiscal and political stalemate and population flight, as in the 1930’s and 1970’s. These positions can be read in the artefacts of our time: from the cinema, song, and poetry of the Roaring Twenties, or the fantasies of Urban Jungle, isolation, and a mega-prison island of dystopian films of the late 70’s and early 80’s. And yet the very same systems of transport and distribution, property grid and money, cultural production consumption that made New York City the main hub and principal port of North America continue, funnelling food and energy and circulating and clearing away water, waste, steam, power. Within New York there exists scope for examinations of our topic both micro and macro, from labyrinthine water and waste and transport systems down to the subtle and the shifting foraging strategies of bees and foxes within the built environment. Potential areas of investigation would range from food production and systems of cooling, preservation and distribution, to the technological and architectural strategies for managing crises of weather and fire in vertical neighbourhoods. In a built system, the management of risk may be an unavoidable topic. The city is also a place of intense cultural production, and the representation [and thus our beliefs] of nature is correspondingly a palimpsest of celluloid and digital fragments. City parks have a prized history in human culture and inevitably would form a part of an investigation into our idea. The urban park may represent an idea of a previous state, of ‘pure’ nature, or it may self-consciously conflate ecologies, combining for an enhanced super-experience, a ‘better-than’, idealized moment of a natural history. In the near future gene research promises enhanced tree species that might light our city streets with an arboreal glow, or suck carbon emissions more rapidly from the air, becoming more actual ‘green lungs’. In a game of spatial compensation and transferral, we dot our cities with green voids, to indicate ‘breathing room’. Central Park represents an idealised nature, highly constructed, though with the specific design intent of re-imaging an absent or historical natural condition. Construction photos of the installation of Central Park reveal the degree of manipulation and artistry at work in this apparent wild space within the grid. SUPERNATURE
01 INTRO
New York offers a rich catalogue of the phenomena we are referring to as ‘Super-nature’. A built GRID surface covers almost the entire island of Manhattan, replicating (in vertical section) the ground, and taking its place functionally and apparently. In places this layering of built grounds is revealed or can be seen; in places, nature reasserts itself, and this reassertion has sometimes become the basis for new public space.
Surrogate Landscapes Project 1 invited research and speculation from afar in advance of our study journey. Students were asked to select an instance of Supernature within the boundaries of New York and to construct a three dimensional investigation of their findings. They were given one dimensional constraint, X = 30cm Y = 60cm, and asked to construct a supporting metal frame. The completed models were then assembled into a propositional city grid.
Urban Ecologies At the start of Project 2 we visited New York, the object of our speculations. Along the rivers and rail lines, underground, and along we sought instances of our topic. We identified the changing waterfront as an ideal place for our proposals. Until recently New York harbour was the site of intense industrial processing and shipping, and is now undergoing rapid transformation, from industry, to fallow post-industrial abandonment, and finally to a kind of production-less rejuvenation as up-market housing. Hurricane Sandy had recently struck the city, and we focused or investigations on some of the areas of the city directly affected by the storm, particularly the East River, Red Hook, and Coney Island waterfronts. Our project proposals focused on these areas, both for their on-going programmatic transformations and as a place of interface with larger climatic conditions. 02 INTRO
Our proposals embrace and anticipate a wide range of possibility for production and distribution, urban agriculture, cultural creation, health and housing, botany and commerce within the changing city. We would like to acknowledge and thank our jurors through the year for their generosity of time and dedication towards our students: Izaskun Chinchilla, Margaret Bursa, Clara Kraft, Johan Hybschmann, Paul Legon, Wei Fan Liang, Lola Ruiz, Laura Allen, David Roberts, Nuria Alvarez, Francisco Gonzalez de Canales, Mark Breeze, Isaac Cobo, Carlos Jimenez, all provided very valuable insight into the work widening our vision on the subject and providing exciting suggestions for design opportunities. Many thanks also to Andrew Best and his Buro Happold colleagues for technical tutoring.
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PROJECT 2
SITE LOCATIONS
2. Bushwick Inlet 4. Williamsburg Waterfront
03 YEAR 3
3. Navy Yard
1. Coney Island
1. Tahora Azizy 2. Hannah Bowers 3. Helen Siu 4. Alexia Souvaliotis SUPERNATURE
TAHORA AZIZY tahora.azizy.10@ucl.ac.uk
04 TAHORA.A Battery Park Hurricane Sandy Memorial Global sea level is rising due to global warming exposing the southern tip of Manhattan to storm surges from the Atlantic. The proposal envisions a park landscape of elegant engagement with rising water levels. By lowering the ground level at the tip and inviting in tidal waters simulating the effect of a real flood everyday the project aims to remind people of a bigger problem they are facing. Floating platforms are built over the sea that rise up and down with the water level some which become isolated and some connected creating opportunities to engage and enjoy the beautiful view out to the sea and the statue of Liberty. As water enters through channels carved out of the ground it fills in gaps within the landscape causing the pattern of the land to change depending on the water level. A
second layer garden elevated off ground level is also implemented to be used once water takes over the land. The proposal also involved techniques to slow down the speed of a future flood by excavating large pits into ground further back in the site and creating storm surge barriers break down big waves.
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PROJECT 1
RISING WATERS
05 TAHORA.A
SUPERNATURE
TAHORA AZIZY tahora.azizy.10@ucl.ac.uk
06 TAHORA.A
Russians’ Community Housing The plans to change Coney Island's image to an all year around entertainment spot that consisted of plans for new types of housing, gave the opportunity to propose a scheme for a building that served the needs of an aging community. The ambition was to provide a retirement home specifically aimed at the large Russian community living within the area by incorporating elements from the Russian culture and architecture at the same time encouraging independence by creating individual dwellings and social interactions by catering communal gathering spots and by allowing the public to use parts of the building along with the elderly. The purposed scheme intended to form a familiar environment for the elderly by controlling light, sand and views to the surrounding area. Bearing in mind the elderly's health the building UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
RUSSIANS’ COMMUNITY HOUSING
encouraged exercise by incorporating elongated pathways, ramps and allowing pets to occupy the house along side their owners, which is also proven to be beneficial for elderly by bringing about a sense of companionship, purpose and lifting depression.
07 TAHORA.A
SUPERNATURE
08 TAHORA.A
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PROJECT 2
RUSSIANS’ COMMUNITY HOUSING
09 TAHORA.A
SUPERNATURE
HANNAH BOWERS hannah.bowers.10@ucl.ac.uk
Master Plan: The Chrysler Beeline
BEES THIS WAY
10 HANNAH.B
BEES THIS WAY
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PROJECT 1
THE BEELINE
The Chrysler Beeline: Bus Stop Hive
Honey combs
Brood combs
PLAN
LONG SECTION (RIGHT)
Coloured recycled polymer sheets
Aromatic plants
Alluminium planters
Smoke bellows
Smoke control pipes
TAXI
Laminated wooden framework
Laminate wooden bench seat Steel footings
1:20
Centrifuge system to collect and filter honey
Water pump for hive irrigation system Gray water recycling system LONG SECTION (LEFT)
FRONT ELEVATION
LONG SECTION (LEFT)
The Beeline The project seeks to explore a means by which encourage the bees of New York city and in doing so create a supernatural episode of coloured flavoured honey unique to New York city. The project is based on research into two episodes of ‘super nature’ namely the Misofication of Manhattan exploiting the unique terroir (flavors) of New York and the Red Hook Bees whose natural process of pollination and honey production was superseded by the unnatural due to the proximity of the urban environment in which they live. The project combines the realities of bee perception in order to guide the bees across the city using a coloured and scented route. The bees are presented with different sensory instances in order to guide them along a specific path and therefore controls their intake using artificially flavoured pseudo flowers. This in turn will result in a urban hive of honey with a specific flavour unique to the ‘Beeline’ route it is harvested from.
SHORT SECTION
LONG SECTION (RIGHT)
SHORT SECTION
flower nectar feeders, scented bilboards and urban hive. The project aimed to identify how such a supernatural instance could be devised using control and manipulation of natural processes to create a unique supernatural phenomenon.
The project takes the form of a master plan exploring the different ways of guiding the bees and defining in detail the pseudo SUPERNATURE
11 HANNAH.B
HANNAH BOWERS hannah.bowers.10@ucl.ac.uk
12 HANNAH.B
Bushwick Inlet Mulberry Forrest The Bushwick Inlet Mulberry Forrest proposes the introduction of sericulture into the urban fabric of New York city. In 1623 King James I of England attempted to boost the economy of Great Britain by compelling tobacco planters in Virginia, USA to stop cultivating tobacco and instead invest in the rearing of silk worms. He intended to use the raw silk to supply the silk factories of Great Britain and boost the country’s failing economy. I propose an intervention that uses the Bushwick Inlet, Brooklyn as a platform for contemporary comment on the historic action. The project seeks to explore the possibilities of this urban sericulture by combining the seasonal rhythms of nature with those of the city. The silk farm requires a Mulberry forest that will be harvested for its leaves and provide nutrients to the silkworms throughout the year. The silkworms will UNIT 5
then be reared in nurseries taking into consideration the specifics of the New York climate and the optimal environments required in order for them to grow. The silk cocoons can then be gathered and processed using a series of different methods in order to obtain silk yarn, the silk yarn is then processed by the public into cloth or threads and the mulberry fruit used as a natural dye. The Bushwick Inlet Silk Farm is designed to be a ‘productive park’ containing a positive feedback loop as all waste products from the various activities within the park can each be recycled and reused as compost. The composting process not only creates an exothermic reaction, the heat from which provides the required environment for the silkworms to thrive but will also be used to feed the soils of the mulberry forest and so the cycle continues.
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PROJECT 2
BUSHWICK INLET MULBERRY FOREST
13 HANNAH.B
SUPERNATURE
14 HANNAH.B
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
BUSHWICK INLET MULBERRY FOREST
15 HANNAH.B
SUPERNATURE
KATIE CUNNINGHAM katie.cunningham.10@ucl.ac.uk
16 KATIE.C
Gowanus Bay Mussel Diving Facility Starting with the human, adapted and created water systems supplying New York which have unintentionally become thriving marine habitats, I looked into New York’s history to find connections between Human habitation and the adapting marine species. This initial research lead me towards New York’s History as an ‘Immigrant City’ and its significant industrial past. This eventually brought me to bio-invasive marine species, which have strengthened in New York’s waters as a result of globalization within shipping. My final concept is a pier designed to attract Zebra Mussels - a very common bio-invasive species – to breed and colonise within man made re-enforced forms which could be manipulated into Architectural shapes symbolic of foreign styles ready to be incorporated into the city as symbols of its cultural complexity or exported. As a byproduct of this function the water surrounding the pier is especially clear,
UNIT 5
and the Mussels presence attracts other foreign species thus creating the effect of an open water aquarium.
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PROJECT 1
MUSSEL ARCHITECTURE
17 KATIE.C
1
2
3
SUPERNATURE
HELEN SIU helen.siu.09@ucl.ac.uk
18 HELEN.S
Oyster Filtration Terminal Gowanus Canal was once a busy cargo hub before the decline of domestic shipping in the 1960s. It was a home to factories, warehouses, tanneries, coal stores, and manufactured gas refineries during New York's rapid industrialisation. Wastewater sanitation was not properly addressed then to handle these industries. The canal became extremely polluted as a result. This project proposes to clarify Gowanus Canal by reintroducing oysters into the UNIT 5
local ecosystem. Oysters are natural biofilters and used to be abundant in New York's estuary. However, as the water got more polluted and invasive species were introduced, the population of oysters fell rapidly. The proposal involves the local residential community by distributing oyster nursery allotments and also provides a canoe rental service in order to increase public waterfront access and boost the existing industrial tourism.
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PROJECT 1
OYSTER FILTRATION TERMINAL
19 HELEN.S
SUPERNATURE
HELEN SIU helen.siu.09@ucl.ac.uk
20 HELEN.S
Mycelium Foam Formwork-Casting Facility Navy Yard Industrial Park was once an active military base, serving as a naval ship yard from 1806 to 1966. Today, it is a cityowned industrial park rented out to multiple (green) manufactures and businesses to create and retain New York's industrial jobs whilst promoting sustainable products. Located on a pier of the industrial park, this project proposes to upcycle wood waste in the park by manufacturing environmental mushroom formwork for concrete. Mycelium (plural mycelia) is the root of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thraeadlike hyphae. Mycelia's network-like structure has been employed as a bonding agent to bond agricultural waste in the shape of the growing container to produce mushroom foam, a plastic alternative. The fresh mushroom foams are dried to UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
MUSHROOM FORMWORK FACTORY
21 HELEN.S
SUPERNATURE
become a foam-like solid. The end product is biodegradable, insulating and flame resistant. The proposal creates two polarized microclimates passively to facilitate the production process. Mushroom foams are grown in the basement with irrigation channels, creating a dark, damp and warm environment; the drying process occurs in towers with trombe walls to utilise New York's abundant sun. The public is invited to 22 the building to participate in the production HELEN.S cycle through spore printing, mushroom harvesting. The building also provides a concrete play-scape and a mushroom restaurant overlooking the Manhattan skyline.
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
MUSHROOM FORMWORK FACTORY
23 HELEN.S
SUPERNATURE
ALEXIA SOUVALIOTIS alexia.souvaliotis.10@ucl.ac.uk
24 ALEXIA.S
Ash Park, Roosevelt Island
‘this is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke...' The Great Gatsby Roosevelt Island is a narrow island in the East River of New York City, situated between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Over the last 35 years it has been using one of America's only automated vacuum waste UNIT 5
management systems, where rubbish is transported in underground tubes from the residential towers to the collection center before being shipped off to out-of-state landfills. The problem with the system is that it is has surpassed its expiration date and so a new, more sophisticated system needs to be installed. My proposal deals with the demand for an upgrade of this system as well as creatinga a sustainable environment where all of the island's waste is re-used in some way.
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PROJECT 1
FROM TRASH TO ASH
25 ALEXIA.S
SUPERNATURE
ALEXIA SOUVALIOTIS alexia.souvaliotis.10@ucl.ac.uk
A. CARFLOAT BARGES
01. Supermarket Food from Manhattan 02. Restaurant Food from Manhattan
B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I.
SORTING BOTTLING SMOKING [super]MARKET [super]CAFE [super]DINER MEALS-ON-WHEELS DRYING
I.
I.
26 ALEXIA.S
DRYING
01.
fixed solar drying panel detail. with roof access, people can walk along the rows of panels and collect the dried fruits and vegetables
02.
B. F.
G.
E. C.
H.
D.
E.
[super]MARKET
H.
MEALS-ON-WHEELS
market stalls with preserved food made in building
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PROJECT 2
WILLIAMSBURG [SUPER] FOOD BANK
City Harvest Foodbank, Williamsburg
'If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world' J.R.R. Tolkien
Located on the previously industrial Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn, the food bank proposal deals with the problem of food waste in today's society. Up to 40 per cent of food is thrown away in America, because of over-ordering, expiration dates,
27 ALEXIA.S
SUPERNATURE
and deformed fruit and vegetables. Most of this comes from supermarkets and restaurants. This food could be salvaged, however, and used to feed the food insecure population of America, and more specifically New York. Brooklyn is one of the poorer boroughs of New York, with little access to fresh produce. Hence, the proposal aims to transport excess supermarket and restaurant food from Manhattan to Williamsburg, where it can be displayed in a new market area and also preserved further so that it is not wasted. The food is reused in every way possible: cooked, dried, bottled, frozen, and 28 ALEXIA.S any scraps or bad food can be composted and reused in that respect. This food is given away using the food stamp system already in place, and also gives people a place to come together as a community, making them aware of the severity of the food waste problem.
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PROJECT 2
WILLIAMSBURG [SUPER] FOOD BANK
29 ALEXIA.S
SUPERNATURE
30 YEAR 2
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PROJECT 2
SITE LOCATIONS
2. Bushwick Inlet 4. Williamsburg Waterfront
31 YEAR 2
3. Navy Yard
4. RedHook
1. Coney Island
SUPERNATURE
1. Muzhi Chen 1. Karen Ko 2. Maggie Lan 2. George Courtauld 2. Carolyn Wong 3. Anqi Yu 4. Huynh Nguyen 5. Jaemin Kim 5. Aviva Wang
MUZHI CHEN muzhi.chen.11@ucl.ac.uk
Fire Escape After the Great New York Fire, the city implemented fire escape and sprinkler systems as part of the building code. This project proposes an alternate fire escape for a typical 5-storey residential apartment model in New York. The proposed fire escape forms a second skin to the building. The space between the two layers of the faรงade can be used as both balcony and emergency circulation. It allows easy access from any window for people inside which is crucial when a fire is in or blocking the corridor and the exits. In addition the outer faรงade forms a vertical garden. It provides shading for the building protecting it from being overheated in summer and creating an insulation layer in winter lowering heat loss. The planters are designed to require minimal maintenance in terms of watering as they harvest rainwater. The planter is balanced by the weight of the plant and water and when the amount of water exceeds a certain amount, the planter topples and pours the excess water away. The weight of the plant will then turn it back to the original position. This is how the amount of water each plant receives is controlled.
32 MUZHI.C
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 1
FIRE ESCAPE
33 MUZHI.C
SUPERNATURE
MUZHI CHEN muzhi.chen.11@ucl.ac.uk
34 MUZHI.C
Coney Island Fire Station The project is located at the seaside of Coney Island, New York, which is known for its beach and amusement parks. The “Dreamland Fire� destroyed this area in the past but now it hosts the annual firework festival. As a response to the contrasting use of fire in the area, the project proposes a fire station with a firework stage for the event. The fire station contains a garage for 3 fire trucks and storage space for the equipment, living space for 18 fire fighters, meeting room and reception for administration, a gym for both the fire fighters and the public, training ground for fire practice and a fire stage for the annual firework display. It responds to local emergency calls, educates school children about fire safety and conduct protected firework shows. Efficiency is key and has been considered throughout the design, as there are only 3 fire trucks. In respond the main part UNIT 5
of the building is split into 3 sectors containing essential spaces oriented to the corresponding fire truck. As usual fire poles near the dormitory rooms and gathering spaces allow the fire fighters to get down to duty as quickly as possible. The structure in training ground combined simulation of residential fire, rollercoaster rescue and subway accidents. The firework stage is also installed on the top of that structure, kept relatively apart from the rest of the building surrounded by sand and water channels as its a potential fire hazard. Water is one of the most important features in the building design. Rainwater is harvested in the curved rooftop and brought across the site via water channels. It washes away the excess heat from the building and acts as a barrier against fire. The vertical garden design of project 1 is also implemented on the building as a façade.
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PROJECT 2
FIRE ESCAPE
35 MUZHI.C
SUPERNATURE
GEORGE COURTAULD georgecourtauld8@aol.com
36 GEORGE.C
Jamaica Bay Confiscated Species Menagerie The proposal is a facility to take on, and encourage the growth of plants and animals that have been confiscated at JFK airport, New York City. The model is a proposal for a site situated in the bay/ marsh land to the south of JFK airport and to the East of Manhattan. The key concept was collection and isolation. Currently all objects are incinerated, many confiscated items would still need to be incinerated, therefore the incineration tower is at the heart of the project, creating a microclimate UNIT 5
to encourage the growth of tropical plants. The idea for the facility is to expand and grow like an organism with the temporary quality of scaffolding adding an interesting line of investigation. This model is envisaged to be one of many as more and more plants and animals were brought into America. Each would differ depending on requirements, yet this model is designed to only cater for birds (parrots), monkeys and tropical fish, three famous and interesting examples found at JFK confiscation.
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PROJECT 2
AN ORGANIC CITY
37 GEORGE.C
SUPERNATURE
GEORGE COURTAULD georgecourtauld8@aol.com
38 GEORGE.C
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PROJECT 2
NORTH AMERICA’S SEED POD
Bushwick Inlet Seed Bank and Arboretum The site is an inlet in Williamsburg opposite Manhattan, once an important ship building location for New York City the site has remained empty for many years. The proposal for the site is a seed bank/vault, with necessary facilities; laboratories, drying rooms, preparing rooms, dock, etc., surrounded by and embedded in a local market and seed library. The seed bank would be a collection of the interesting multi-national seeds collected at JFK and the market would be a release valve for the Project 1 facility, selling on flowers, animals, confiscated foods etc. A seed bank is where seeds are safely protected against a catastrophe, but also a facility to research genetic diversity and work to restore plants 39 to their natural habitat. With Sandy very much in mind but also a focus on global GEORGE.C warming and rising sea levels as a whole, the project has been designed to factor in the rising sea levels. The final outcome of this project is a multi-layered design, with the market and floating arboretum being the first (and perhaps metaphorical sacrificial skin) getting closer and closer to the vault with various mechanisms to protect the seeds against catastrophic events hitting the East Coast, North America. The project aimed to be an attraction for tourists and New Yorkers, an interesting place to visit, but a facility with a purpose, to protect the flora of North America.
SUPERNATURE
JAEMIN KIM jaemin.kim@ucl.ac.uk
40 JAEMIN.K
Lost Stream Manhattan is surrounded by water; but rarely any ponds and streams are to be seen within the city apart from the lake in Central Park. This is due to the Indiscriminate Development of humans in New York City, the change in land shape and streams and ponds being covered by man-made structures. The only fresh water supply Manhattan receives is from Croton Lake through old and new aqueducts. However a lost stream still flows under the Empire State Building. Therefore the aim of this project is to show this hidden stream above the ground to inform people UNIT 5
about the destruction of the environment. The new stream through several kinds of water devices will flow on the Empire State Building and visitors can go into the stream, which is installed, on a scaffolding structure on the north part of the Empire State Building’s facade. Visitors will see the pumped water from the remaining stream under the Empire State Building, and the water will flow through several water devices representing the lost streams of Manhattan.
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PROJECT 1
LOST STREAM
41 JAEMIN.K
SUPERNATURE
JAEMIN KIM jaemin.kim@ucl.ac.uk
42 JAEMIN.K
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PROJECT 2
GOWANUS FLOWER MARKET
Gowanus Flower Market My site is located next to the St. Smith station and will not only work as a Garden Centre but also as a passageway with a pleasant journey environment to Lowe's market (across the canal from my site). The Gowanus Canal area in Red Hook is a really industrial location and the condition of the canal water is really bad. Moreover, it sometimes overflows from sewage, resulting in foul smells. As a result, many residents in this area want to have a clean and nice environment with more green spaces. Therefore, this area is chosen as a Superfund site by the U.S. government. Many local organisations are also encouraged to clean up this site. Since the Superfund project started, there are many people attempting to have their own garden at home to have better environment. However, there is not many flower shops and garden centres in the area. Therefore, it would be good to build a Garden Centre & Flower Shop and the site has a good advantage of location. (Next to subway station, The Lowe's market's car parking area can be shared with the Garden centre visitors.) The Garden Centre will create a pleasant
smelling environment through the use of display gardens and flower beds, and a reed beds system will purify the canal water to use for growing plants.. The design of the building is going to have strong directivity from the north-west side (which is a huge residential area and subway station) to Lowe's market and will block the south part (a scrapyard factory) and the north part (a massive railway structure). This building will not only contain a Garden Centre department such as flower beds area, flower and seed shop, tools and accessories shop, packing and delivery area, but also a cafe, a library about flowers and gardening books for visitors and workers around the Gowanus Canal.
SUPERNATURE
43 JAEMIN.K
KAREN KO karen.ko.11@ucl.ac.uk
44 KAREN.K
Capture The Invisible Nature The site is chosen on Queens-Boro Bridge in Manhattan. It is Inspired by the Aeolian harp string instrument, which captures the natural wind sound through string vibrations. The project proposes two pedestrians walkways for passers-by on the bridge to experience the music played by the wind. The new walkway constructed through the middle of the bridge is formed by a harp forest. The geometry is designed in a particular way for the pedestrians to hear a range of different musical notes due to the various lengths and densities UNIT 5
of the harp tubes. Depending on the wind speed and the direction, sound waves travel through different harp tubes, which vibrate at different frequencies. The music generated by the wind can be experienced by the pedestrians through the journey. A new side walkway is also designed with a balustrade. A facade of panels are flipped by the wind to create an illusion and constant new pictures of the view to the Manhattan side of the bridge. It captures the wind movement which is another way to capture the invisible -Wind.
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PROJECT 1
CAPTURE THE INVISIBLE IN NATURE
45 KAREN.K
SUPERNATURE
KAREN KO karen.ko.11@ucl.ac.uk
46 KAREN.K
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PROJECT 2
CIRCUS PERFORMANCE CENTRE
Circus Performance Centre The site is located by the side of the beach on Coney Island, once famed for its world class amusement arcades, now partly derelict and deserted. A local non-profit organization ‘Coney Island USA’, seeks to revitalize the community from which it takes its name, attracting international recognition and visitors while providing low-cost services to a mass working class New York City audience. The proposed performance centre is run by this organization to provide a bigger foundation for their normal daily performances. It will also offer circus skills teaching for the local community. 47 As the building site is the location of the KAREN.K Annual Mermaid Parade Opening Ceremony, it will also cater for the floats and make up preparation. Inspired by walkabout theatre (a form of street theatre), audiences have more freedom rather than being forced to watch the show until the end in a particular sitting place. It focuses more on the interaction between the performers and the audience and the informality of the performing atmosphere. It will be a much more brief exchange and on a one to one basis. Interaction with the audience and architecture are an absolute essential. The design language is all about engagement, flow and velocity. The form of the building is inspired by the famous wooden roller coaster next to the site. The main structure of the building (trusses) are designed to be climbable for the performers, so the building itself is integrated into the performance.
SUPERNATURE
MAGGIE LAN maggie.lan.11@ucl.ac.uk
48 MAGGIE.L
2
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Shadow Theatre. Subway Tunnel - Long Section 1:50 5
UNIT 5
1
Street Level Entrance - Subway
2
Access to the Theatre - Underground Passage
3
Shadow Theatre Seating
4
Shadow Theatre Set Stage
5
Backstage of Shadow Theatre
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PROJECT 1
SHADOW THEATER
Shadow Theater
'The Metropolis strives to reach a mythical point where the world is completely fabricated by man, so that it absolutely coincides with his desires.' Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York Dark, derelict and forgotten the tunnels of New York become a labyrinth of secluded and unique atmospheric spaces. As the city that never sleeps lies above. Man has built New York into an urban metropolis, like trees in the rainforest everything is constantly growing. Forgotten is the land that exists below. Forgotten is the landscape, the trees, the fields that nourished the land. 49 In the tunnels, the shadows strive. Reigniting MAGGIE.L the luscious landscape through light and shadow, creating a mythical and mysterious representation of the lost idyllic landscape that once surrounded New Amsterdam.
SUPERNATURE
MAGGIE LAN maggie.lan.11@ucl.ac.uk
East River Secret Cinema Studio
'Film; it can be curious, classic, ordinary, your hands. romantic. Cinema is to me the most beautiful In a world where everything is exaggerated fraud in the world' and clichĂŠd, the Film Studios, provide a Situated in New York at the epicentre of cinema, Cine 23\\ Film Studios, redefines the film making, cinema-going experience. The blurred lines between audience and actor create an immersive theatre experience. Reigniting the passion in film, the cinema brings the experience of actor and audience in synergy with each other, never defining the line. As a spectator you enter into a space filled with the luxuries of a film star, pampered and dressed in character. 50 You become free to roam the studios. Who MAGGIE.L are, who you become? The choice is in
minimalistic and simplistic approach to film, with reliance to visual suggestions, audio and audience interaction. The film studios become a space for imagination, where everyone's experience is different and unique. Never repeated, never replayed. To revitalize the timeless experience of cinema-going, where the going was as important as what you were seeing. The experience is rounded off with a tour around Manhattan on the Cinema Barge, as an audience of cinema lovers enjoy a classic film.
1 : 200 I SO M E T RI C V I E W
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UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
CINE23\\ FILM STUDIOS
51 MAGGIE.L
1 TO 200 SHADOW PLAN
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1 TO 200 NO R TH ELEVATI ON
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SUPERNATURE
HUYNH NGUYEN h_nguyen278@yahoo.co.uk
52 HUYNH.N
Green Point Oil Soil Reclamation Park Greenpoint is located along the Newtown Creek in New York City, known as the most polluted industrial area site in America. This is partly due to the discovery of the oil spill by ExxonMobil in 1978 that has resulted in many impacts on the local neighbourhood. Specifically, the area along the creek has been heavily contaminated many layers underneath the earth’s surface, contaminated drinking water and vapour intrusion from the petroleum chemical have negative health effects. For the first project, I am proposing a ‘park in the air’ that sits on top of the oil spill area. The project would take place in stages, where the first stage is to excavate the exitsting contaminated
soil and transport them up to the above park structure. Stage two is where the phytoremediation process takes place, which utilises plants such as alfalfa, cotton grass and red clover to decontaminate the soil. The plants are planted in beds, some are hung or suspended from the grid while others are interweaved into the follies in the park. The park serves as an observation deck that allows visitors to look below where the excavation takes place, while enjoying a view of Manhattan.
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 1
GREEN POINT OIL SOIL RECLAMATION PARK
53 HUYNH.N
SUPERNATURE
HUYNH NGUYEN h_nguyen278@yahoo.co.uk
54 HUYNH.N
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
URBAN AGRICULTURE FACILITY
Urban Agriculture Facility The site is currently the East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In the 1900s, it used to be part of the largest rail-marine terminal in Williamsburg. The terminal played an important role in import and export of commodities in the area, especially refined sugar and other metal products. Nowadays, due to the shortage of food in New York City, I have decided to build a facility that would allow on-site food and vegetable production to serve the local community. The design is a community park for New Yorkers to learn about ways of integrating green plants into urban context. Urban structures such as the fire escape (Soho) and vertical gardens would be integrated into the structures. High yield agricultural methods such as hydroponics and aquaponics would be employed to maximize vegetables production. The project mainly consists of hydroponics and aquaponics growing facilities, where vegetables are produced. The product would then be transported in series of moving storage stalls along the rail tracks to the restaurant and farmer’s market for consumption. Since the site has a very rich and significant history in rail service, the design is orientated around the existing rail tracks that have been buried under a layer of concrete. The tracks would be integrated into the design as a method of transporting a series of movable allotments around the site.
SUPERNATURE
55 HUYNH.N
AVIVA WANG yiren.wang.11@ucl.ac.uk
56 AVIVA.W
Skyscrapper Windscape Refuge This project proposes conceptual wind parks in triple height refuge floors in skyscrapers in Manhattan, New York City. More than 50,000 years ago, there was a piece of 300-meter-thick-ice sitting on where Manhattan now sits. Later this ice glacier crushed, melted and washed away the soft soil layers and left behind only hard rock bed which becomes the solid base for Manhattan concrete jungle. I started with the supernature observation that man-made skyscrapers are echoing the natural ice glacier, and located my site at the refuge floors where interior, controlled zones open up to windy, unprotected air. From that I developed my own interpretations of the meanings for ‘refuge’-the refuge wind park should provide a resort, a shelter and a state of safety.
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 1
SKYSCRAPER WINDSCAPE REFUGE
57 AVIVA.W
SUPERNATURE
AVIVA WANG yiren.wang.11@ucl.ac.uk
58 AVIVA.W
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
RED HOOK BRICK WORKSHOP
Red Hook Community Brick Workshop This building is sited at waterfront in Red Hook in Brooklyn, and it is a place where the local community can annex their own land through making clayware from local red soil. Red Hook is a floodplain consisting of a special red soil after which the area was named. It was the worst hit area during Hurricane Sandy, but issues like illegal industrial use of land have make Red Hook community a well-organized and united group of residents that fights against any undesirable situations. Government regeneration plan for this area encourages community events organized by local artist groups, and thus the proposal is a building for the community in which local artists run 59 workshops and give art classes on forming AVIVA.W and firing of clayware e.g. potteries and bricks, made with locally excavated clay, as local red clay is ideal for making bricks and potteries. The spaces within the building are arranged according to the making process of the clayware, and the design of its basement workshop allows for water to flow through to the sacrificial clay pit without severely flooding the main building. The construction of this building itself would become a longterm community event, achieved by local residents using bricks baked in the first kiln built on site. This building is made with dense brick vaults which dissolve into light timber roofs. Apart from bricks and timber, other forms of clay such as adobe and ceramics are used in structural details.
SUPERNATURE
JESSICA WANG jessica.wang.11@ucl.ac.uk
60 JESSICA.W
Banana Vending Taxi Stand This project deals with instances of ‘supernature’ in New York City. The output of this project is a constructed surrogate landscape illustrating a unique banana ripening system. The scope of the first project revolves around bringing tropical fruits into New York City. Due to the increasing awareness of rooftop farming and controlled environment farming in the city, I decided to design a way to enhance nature by allowing greater accessibility of tropical fruits. I specifically looked into banana ripening in new York because through research I found that UNIT 5
there are very particular ripening facilities set up nearby the city in order to meet the demands of banana consumption by New Yorkers. The concept of an artificial banana tree that imitates the banana ripening centres then came into picture. Through producing numerous development and experimental models, I have come to design a final model that illustrates a banana vending machine that can be installed near the New York underground steam outlets in order to collect steam for banana ripening (heat). The machines allow the unripe/green bananas that are imported to New York
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PROJECT 1
BANANA VENDING TAXI STAND
61 JESSICA.W
to be stored inside the container. A key element to ripening bananas is ethylene gas. Therefore, the vending machines also have an ethylene gas generator connected to the pipes, allowing ethylene gas into the banana containers which aid to speed up the ripening process. As inspired by the London cabman’s shelter, I aim to design a shelter-like atmosphere around the banana vending machines, providing bananas, and warmth (from the underground steam) for taxi cab drivers and the general public. The banana vending machines are
distributed along 5th avenue in Manhattan as I personally realized that 5th avenue has the largest amount of steam outlets which contribute to the ripening of bananas and create a particular artificial warm atmosphere for people to experience while buying and eating bananas from the vending machines.
SUPERNATURE
JESSICA WANG jessica.wang.11@ucl.ac.uk
62 JESSICA.W
Green Point Juicery Following the concept of the banana vending machines in New York City, the building will serve to be a facility where tropical fruits are imported, ripened, stored and made into juice. It is a public building integrated with a park, providing an artificial yet natural experience to visitors. The building is sited in Transmitter Park located in the Green Point area in New York City. The park was recently reopened after reconstruction. So far, the park hasn’t attracted much attention due to the surrounding industrialized area. Therefore my second project will be integrated and sited next to the park. The project will ultimately create a ‘new’ grove that contributes to the trend of bringing nature into the city and the ideology of consuming UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
GREEN POINT JUICERY
healthier/organic food products. People come to this building for the purpose of buying fruits and juice, moreover experience getting lost in an artificial forest as well as enjoying the view of Manhattan. The main structure of the building will be supported by the individual fruit ripening and storage trees. Subsequently the inclusion of the machines designed in project 1 aid to create a forest/grove like center for visitors to experience the artificial nature. The building has a large open space and specific areas are determined by the location of the interior ripening trees. The flooring is also meant to create diverse topography to create seating/resting areas and to recreate the natural forest ground. Since the building is all about the “experience�, there is also a fruit lake where people can see the juice making process from washing the fruits to ripening in the trees and lastly being made into juice.
SUPERNATURE
63 JESSICA.W
CAROLYN WONG carolyn.wong.10@ucl.ac.uk
64 CAROLYN.W
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 1
GLOWING FIREFLY PAVILION
65 CAROLYN.W
Glowing Firefly Pavilion A shelter for locals during emergency blackouts in Manhattan, the design consists of panels that replicate the skylines of New York City, and is lit by bioluminescent trees. When not in use as a shelter, there are firefly gardens and a bioluminescent tree nursery to visit, and visitors can take home small jars of fireflies.
SUPERNATURE
CAROLYN WONG carolyn.wong.10@ucl.ac.uk
66 CAROLYN.W
Childern's Nature Camp Nature is brought into this summer camp in a deserted park on the post-industrial edge of Brooklyn, creating a rural retreat in the centre of an urban metropolis. Fireflies envelope the cabins in which the children stay, creating an artificial starry sky for the children to gaze up at during the night. A Manhattan grid inspired playscape of climbing frames and platforms allows for urban based orienteering games. The dining hall provides a space for cooking classes with stepped seating framing the Manhattan skyline from across the river. In the water there are a series of swimming pools of varying depths for different ages of swimmers, and a canoeing area surrounded by several 'treasure islands', submerged
retreats away from the urban surroundings, that are only accesible by water. Finally, to encourage community engagement and interaction, and to promote the local city farms, the building's folding facade opens seasonally to create a market to sell products to locals, visiting children, and their parents.
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
FIREFLY EAST RIVER SUMMER CAMP
67 CAROLYN.W
SUPERNATURE
ANQI YU anqi.yu.11@ucl.ac.uk
68 ANQI.Y
Snakehead Fish-o-Mat The Northern Snakehead fish is a type of biological invasion in New York. The government tries to solve the problem by selling the fish to Chinatown because it is common for Chinese to eat this type of fish. In this project, by reusing the abandoned pneumatic tube system in NYC, this type of fish can be delivered from its habitat to a food desert area in Manhattan. Following the Chinese culture, the fish will be kept alive during the transporting process. This injection of ethnic fish to food desert will potentially result in culture regeneration in this particular area. UNIT 5
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PROJECT 1
SNAKEHEAD FISH-O-MAT
69 ANQI.Y
SUPERNATURE
ANQI YU anqi.yu.11@ucl.ac.uk
70 ANQI.Y
East River Fish Farm and Market The building is a live fish market which sits on a pier at the edge of Navy Yard, Brooklyn, which is regarded as a food desert by local residents. The fish comes from the fish farms surrounding the market through a fish ladder which allows them to swim up instinctively with counterflow. Inside the market, there are fish channels, which are connected with the fish ladder and fish stalls. In this way, the fish in the market will be kept alive until it is sold to guarantee the freshness. There is also a sushi bar with views of Manhattan for people to dine and socilaize in the market.
UNIT 5
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PROJECT 2
EAST RIVER FISH FARM & MARKET
71 ANQI.Y
SUPERNATURE
72 UNIT 5
[Students] Year 3 Tahora Azizy, Hannah Bowers, Katie Cunningham, Helen (Oi-Yee) Siu, Alexia Souvaliotis Year 2 Susan (Supichaya) Chaisiriroj, Muzhi Chen, George Courtauld, Jaemin Kim, Karen (Kar Tung) Ko, Maggie Lan, Huynh Nguyen, Aviva (Yiren) Wang, Jessica Wang, Carolyn (Hoi Yiu) Wong, Angel (Anqi) Yu.
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http://unit5bartlett.wordpress.com/
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