this is it

Open Source: Infrastructural Transparency in Suburban Public Spaces of Semi-Arid Regions



Situated on the semi-arid plains of the Mojave Desert, Los Angeles yet boasts the greatest population of any county in California, as well as a reputation as the cultural and economic hub of the West Coast. The story behind this growth and prosperity is actually intertwined with the process of constructing an infrastructure that could physically transport the single most-important life-giving substance to the region: water.

Los Angeles is dotted with the ghosts and current manifestations of water-related infrastructure everywhere: the concrete channels of the LA River, chain-link fences that demarcate the boundaries of storm drains, the ever-present LA Aqueduct on the horizon of the San Gabriel Mountains and accompanying your drive on the 5 freeway. At a distance or from a car, these structures often simply recede into the gritty urban fabric of the city. The question is how do they function 40 miles outside the city center, in the context of a tree-lined suburban landscape?

Spanish-style missions and typical terra-cotta roofed construction were the historic architectural response to the semi-arid climate of the region. What are the descendants of this desert typology in Los Angeles today? Is there an architectural language that is appropriately informed by regional climate issues and honors local traditions that can replace the blank-slate approach towards planned communities today?

The notorious subtext of Los Angeles is that of its sprawling suburbs and the anonymous neighborhoods that compose them. In a popular culture of increasing individuality and alternative leisure experiences, what is the role of the traditional public common? Is there space for public space in Suburbia?

SITE
The site is sandwiched between Saugus High School and a Church of Latter-day Saints, running adjacent to a portion of the LA Aqueduct and storm drain system. It includes a footbridge spanning 200 feet, a field of about 900 square feet and about 20,000 square feet in and along the storm drain.

PROGRAM
A redesign of the site to interface with established institutions, surrounding residents as well as the city at large will be the purpose of this intervention. An emphasis will be placed on education and public awareness about water-related infrastructure, reflecting of semi-arid climate of region through architecture, and bringing people together in a suburban culture of privacy and distance. Potential elements include a playground, outdoor ampitheatre, water education museum, a skate park, a better interface for car parking and gardens with native flora.

TIMELINE
January - Site visit, continued research of precedents and history
February - Site analysis and preliminary designs; Pin-up #1, #2
March - Design development; Pin-up #3, #4
April - Continued design development and final production; Pin-up #5, #6
May - Final Review

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chinatown. Directed by Roman Polanski. DVD. Paramount, 1974.
Gumprecht, Blake. The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death and Possible Rebirth. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.
Joy, Rick. Desert Works. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.
Krieg, John C. Desert Landscape Architecture. Boca Raton: CRC, 1998.
Macedo, Joseli. ”City Profile: Curitiba.” Cities. 21 (2004): 537-549.
Reed, Peter. Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2005.
Shower. Directed by Zhang Yang. DVD. Sony Pictures, 1999.

finally.

Aqueducts and storm drains are a critical element of suburban infrastructure of southern California. Essentially, they bring in water when we need it and get rid of it when we don't.

However, there is definitely a stigma to their presence. They are engineered, not designed. Their linear nature has the power to divide neighborhoods and sterile public spaces.

hence...


Above, a portion of the LA Aqueduct next to Saugus High School (my alma mater) in Santa Clarita, CA. A church is situated on the other side of the aqueduct.

My plan. Design a community public space that serves students, the residents of Santa Clarita at large and remakes the image of the aqueduct in the city.

suspiciously empty...

Welcome to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Santa Clarita, CA.

12+ lane parking entrance and small-intestine-looking water slides pictured above. Looks like the satellite image was taken before the park opened or in the middle of a massive resurfacing of the parking lot, since there are zero cars (odd). Newhall Land and Farm (corporation that basically owns the city) is busy at work developing the lower left corner as well, I see.

I'm hugely intrigued by the sheer amount of infrastructure that is obviously required to pull something like this off. Is it even possible to retrofit another sort of function to a place like this? Is my exploration better off in an abstract semi-arid environment or within a site like this?

tangents, but also interesting

california water wars

sprinkler systems + a greener lawn than your neighbor's

semi-arid flora and fauna

desert architecture... where did it go.

as for the notion of climate sensitive constructs.... the preposterous-ness that zoos and aquariums exist at all. honestly.

photo dump and a return to my roots, in hopes of clarity

Concerns raised by my recent trip to Rotch: 90% of books related to water-related architecture featured...beach houses, more or less. It's either that I'm just bad at choosing search terms, or there really isn't a good survey of water-related architecture out there...or at least at MIT.

I resorted to a Google search at a certain point and in the midst of sorting through too many hits, this one struck me hard.


Probably because I remember my 11th birthday party being held at a water park just like this one in sunny Socal. Fond memories, but I also had to recall the virtue of my 11th grade history teacher who refused to water his lawn because "you shouldn't have grass in the desert." It wasn't a long stretch to begin asking questions about the appropriateness of what I knew to be just one of many such water parks in the LA area, especially after more Google hits of pictures like this:


Bleached rocks at Lake Powell, where spring water levels are just two-thirds their normal level.

At a point in time when I felt that my interest in residential waterfront architecture was hitting a dead end, I'm finding that adding another constraint to the same scenario -- climate sensitivity -- is bringing a new level of meaning to me. How to live in symbiotically with water in a climate that will always be at odds with it? I am also finding that public/civic spaces are actually much more interesting to me than residential when it comes to exploring this idea, because of the opportunity to celebrate a commodity and a resource, not just systemize a method of its consumption.

So then, a quick outline of my latest ideas and some inspiring photos should do it. Comments welcome =)

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what interests me and why
how a water park is not the water-infused equivalent of a regular park
is there a way to enjoy water in a climate-sensitive construct in an environment that is at odds with its existence?

what I plan to do
a new model for a the water park
not the wet version of an amusement park, but rather a new model for a recreational landscape offering amenities, comforts and gathering spaces that water, a foreign element in arid climates, can bring.
possible site: the Hurricane Harbor in my hometown, where I had my birthday 10 years ago. (irony!!)

how I will do it
redesign of the water park
exploration of the water play
an environment in which water is valued, enjoyed and refreshed

why it matters that I do what I plan to do
how water can be used, enjoyed and valued appropriately in desert climates
relevance to water shortage issue
importance of regional architecture -- addressing resource problem through architecture, as well as technology

questions about this plan, even as i plan it
yes, water is scarce in CA, but then again, cali has the most coastal real estate of a single state in the US. surfer culture, beach houses, boardwalks...it's all there. my argument that water needs to be explored and designed into the environment only holds for non-beach areas...does this make sense?
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Diller Scofidio + Renfro's Marine Exploration complex at Governor's Island in NY


Hurricane Harbor, Santa Clarita; bad site plan detail


water play, not park.