Rosa I Soria

LA 402- Cal Poly Pomona Expanding the boundaries of landscape architecture. Analyzing landscape urbanism, its challenges and opportunities in present day situations.

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Film in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has been used and abused by the film industry. The city's 'generic' qualities allow for it to be whatever Hollywood wants it to be. But as downtown Los Angeles expands its residential zone, a new question arises. How does the film industry interact with the growing residential areas of Downtown LA? 

Earlier in the month of April, Sara Lorenzen, architecture professor from Cal Poly Pomona did a short presentation on LA's film industry and its role in this growing residential Los Angeles. In her presentation, professor Lorenzen touched up on issues like privacy and what filming means to residents of downtown.

Not only is it important to address issues of privacy, but from a political standpoint, it is important to address issues of policy/regulation and whether they favor one group over the other (i.e: the film industry over tax-paying residents.). 

Who should have VIP access to downtown Los Angeles: the film industry so they can pump money into the city, or the tax-payers?

To speak of the success of Los Angeles as an urban metropolis, is to speak of the success of the film industry in this city--  the two are completely interconnected in a sort of symbiosis of interdependence. 

http://re-street.com/

http://re-street.com/program/speakers/?subject=lineup&_year=2013&artist=1113

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8

The city as a living cluster. 

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OCHO

This vision Branzi has of an ever changing metropolis is relevant, and it, too is flexible enough to allow for additions or changes. One addition I consider to be useful is the integration of ecology in the urban context. It is critical to design spaces that are attractive and even more important, that they are functional. I feel a resilient network of ecology pockets would be ideal in the efforts to bring the ‘nature’ to the city.

Furthermore, this would serve as a network in the fragmented corridors in an urban setting. If blended in seamlessly into the cityscape, these ecological pockets could provide educational and cultural nodes with an ever changing flexibility that could adapt to future scenarios.

As our climate changes, and species are affected, it makes sense to integrate ecology on to the projects that are to be developed in the future. In recent years, there seems to be a move toward this ecological park, as an emerging typology. This does not have to be reserved for only parks, ecology is everywhere so it makes perfect sense to accommodate for something that is struggling to find its way even through dense urbanity. 

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NUNC EST SEMPER

When reading Andrea Branzi’s The Weak Metropolis I find one dominating theme; the idea of resilience and adaptability, and it reminded me a lot of the essay Legibility and Resilience, written by Julia Czerniak in the book Large Parks.  Branzi’s essay, as Julia Czerniak’s did, posits the option of allowing the metropolis (or any urban setting) to be resilient, open-ended, and left to user interpretation.

Branzi’s essay is short, but filled with this idea that the best decision to make in the design of an urban setting, is one that can be easily changed. The urban space should be able to accommodate the needs not of a past we left behind, and not of a future we yet don’t know, but rather, those needs of the ever present now. This is where change comes in. As people continue to adjust lifestyles, their needs change, and so should their dwelling place, in this case, the metropolis. 

Adding to this, I would say, would be the incorporation or rather, a heavier push of ecological practices as a response or a reaction to these suggestions made. 

Adaptation. Resilience. 

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X

interstice (noun)-

a gap or break in something generally continuous; a short space of time between events

anthropocentric (adj.)-

considering humans as the most significant entity of the universe

coerce (v)-

to dominate by force; to achieve something by force or threat

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UNSUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES

Something very important to note is the lifestyle of people. In first world countries, and particularly in the United States, people are accustomed to hot, running water, to nice air conditioning that will allow them to build, and live in the middle of a desert, or up high on hillsides. It is difficult to change the minds of individuals who work hard every day to earn money so they can consume more, that they should consume less.

Americans are used to eating fruits and vegetables they crave, when they crave them, regardless of whether they are in season or not, and completely disregarding the environmental impacts the transportation of such vegetables has on the environment.  They are used to taking showers that spend dozens of gallons for a mere fifteen minutes, and the environmental impacts do not seem to have a major influence on resource consumption.

Something that is often not taken into account, and where the real sustainability happens, is in the understanding of the water energy nexus. There is an inextricable liaison between water and energy consumption--  one cannot happen without the other.

In my 401 studio with professor Barry Lehrman, we explored this nexus in the context of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and the City of Los Angeles. It truly puts things in perspective. We analyzed and organized data that allowed us to dissect the water consumption of the great metropolis. Our findings were no surprise—Los Angeles is a thirsty city, and the downside is, this is affecting ecosystems miles away.

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HUMANITIES AND ECOLOGICAL URBANISM

Donald K. Swearer poses a very appealing remark—religion’s role in the environment. Often times, we believe that the humanities are detached from technical, or science oriented fields, such as landscape architecture, or anything dealing with ecology. However, we fail to realize that the built environment, cities, and resource use and management are all (heavily) influenced by culture. the way perceive the environment dictates how we use the resources available and affects how much we feel we are entitled to. If we pay close attention to the practices religions or mere cultural beliefs allow, and disapprove of, we can understand, and hopefully alter for the better, how societies use their resources.

This essay I found to relate very well to Martha Schwartz’s essay titled, “Ecological Urbanism in the Landscape.” This essay, just like Swearer’s essay, takes into account the cultural factor of societies. In order to influence sustainability, we must understand how people understand  the subject and manage it to be. Directly influenced to this, is the way people perceive the world around them, and that is when religion comes in.

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GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD PRACTICE

It seems that in recent years more and more people have become familiar, and even hyped up by this sustainability business. I think that is overall a good indicator that people are becoming more aware of the importance of preserving resources, and energy. This sustainability movement, however, seems to be full of good intentions, most of which are offset by poor execution. Many people believe that driving a hybrid car to work or school every day is better than driving a traditional gasoline-consuming vehicle. However, what they may not know is that fewer trips in a normal car may have a smaller impact t than generous trips in a hybrid. Energy may have an overall larger effect on the environment, than oil itself.

Consumerism. Often times people who strive for a ‘sustainable’ (whatever that word has been degraded enough to mean by now), are guilty of consuming more eco-friendly products, than people who consume regular resources, sparingly. There is a common and prevalent misconception that an excess of sustainable practice is still sustainable. This is not so. 

They are not to be blamed completely--  there is a lack of education on this topic. Sure the information is available to the general public via the internet, but it is either in is beginning stages, or the hardcore sustainability is often times too complex for those with no background in the subject, to understand on their own. 

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HITOSHI ABE [external lecture II]

I attended Hitoshi Abe’s lecture on Friday. There wasn’t anything too special, in my opinion, about it. He discussed space, and how users create, or control spatial relationships by dissecting a place through their movement. It is movement that defines a space.

He also talked about materials and how they alter a building—walls and angles create depth, or sometimes the allusion of depth. Hitoshi showed some examples of how material can be more than material in a building. He suggested materials become a decoration, and enhance the look of a building. Materials also add to the character of a building, this is achieved through weathering, or merely, by making adequate choice in material. Consequently, he went on to speak about form. He talked about how form is derived from geometry and distortion of it. A gesture of geometry creates form. 

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#TEAMPARADOX [external lecture I ]

On Monday of week ten, the first year landscape architecture class had their presentations, and I was a guest and participated in giving critiques. The installations were placed in the atrium, while the video presentations took place in the gallery. As guests, some of  my classmates and I got a chance to offer critiques on the video, and later, on the installations placed in the atrium. The faculty had some critiques about certain presentations, stuff that I woulnd’t agree with, but a critique nonetheless.

Overall, it was a good event that I wish we had done my freshman year. I think this final review was a good chance for them to meet other people in the same major and different years, and get input on how the program here works. The fact that first years are now taking into consideration basic construction principles, behavior and social interaction with their installation is definitely a step ahead of us. I feel this is a good indicator that the program at Cal Poly is finally steering in a better direction.

The projects themselves were fun to interact with, some more than others, and the students  were all very friendly and receptive of critiques and opinions. Some students have striking personalities which I found interesting because I can see some of my classmates in them. Related to this is the way the students within the program interact with one another. Having a large class, as they do, it’s interesting to see personalities steering people towards or away from others—this event was good reminiscence of my freshman year.

Here’s the picture I took with Cory, Katelyn and Tony. They represented paradox through their installation. Cory said something, that I thought was very good for him to realize; he said their team started out with the word paradox and later they realized their process was steering closer to the definition of a completely different word. I thought it was important to note because, I still have trouble letting go of my initial intentions, and visions for my projects, learning to detach oneself from a simple idea, can lead to greater things. I realize that. I just have a hard time putting it to use. 

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IX

affluence (n)-

abundant flow, abundant supply, flowing toward something

effluence (n)- 

something that flows out.

revamp (n)-

to renovate, to reconstruct 

Source:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

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EVEN

“The most critical design problem facing urban transformation is not the design of any particular building or neighborhood. It is the design of the city governance structure.”

                Gerald E. Frug

I found these essays to be somewhat redundant. They could be, and already have been summed up into the simple sentence: urban design challenges are not threatened by designer’s abilities, but rather by government regulations. That being said, I found the first essay sets a good start and when tied back to the rest of the essays, the sequence is articulate. As mentioned, collaboration is important, and it is important to note that collaboration in reshaping the urban setting should involve various design fields, fields dealing with cultural and social constructs, and most definitely, it should involve close cooperation with government agencies. Government agencies play a significant role on the reshaping of our cities, it is after all, government agencies that dictate how the city is distributed.

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DIFERENTE

It isn’t a matter of improving, period. It is a matter of evenly distributing the improvements made. Overall, the environment is everything that surrounds us, and a tree is as good an air filter in Rio de Janeiro’s Belo Horizonte as it is in the Rocinha favela. So what makes one have more ‘air filters’ than the other? Who determines where these environmental amenities should be located, and what give that ruling entity the power to make such decisions? Poor neighborhoods or cities should not be ‘taken care of,’ instead, they should be allowed more presence in the decision making process in such a way that it will benefit them as much as their wealthy counterparts. Money allocated by the government for the improvement of amenities and other environmental regulation should be equally distributed.

  Image Sources:

http://www.droversford.com/2013/01/rocinha-shantytown-in-rio-de-janeiro.html

http://www.skyscraperlife.com/city-vs-city/18543-belo-horizonte-brazil-vs-monterrey-mexico.html

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TOGETHER

Ecological urbanism encompasses various practices, and principles. Or at least it should. In attempting to restructure the urban setting, it is critical for disciplines, ideologies and even interests to collaborate and arrive at the most sound decision. We find that not only in this country, but in other places of the world, it is awfully difficult to have people with different interests compromise and arrive at a neutral solution. This is where the real restructuring should change first, and not in the physical reconstruction of cities and neighborhoods.

The importance of collaborating, and giving up some of our ideas and intentions for the sake of the best outcome, is what ecological urbanism needs in order to be successful and have an impact. The implementation and potential of ecological urbanism to be widespread through our cities, lies not on the tip of an architect’s pencil or on the loose sheets of an urban planning team, but in the city’s government policies and regulations.

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VII

iterate (v)- 

to repeat

stagnant (adj.)- 

not flowing; not advancing 

consensus (n)-

general agreement, judgement arrived at by most of the concerned

source:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

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ALGAS

student-produced

image credits:

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/origami-1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Oxnard_Skyline.JPG

http://img.wendmag.com/uploads/2011/10/Bikeways-550x412.jpg

http://www.greendiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/algae-biofuel_Z7Qru_24429.jpg

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/14/green-algae-exxon-mobil

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NOT FOR US

While policy may sometimes hinder good projects from being built, there are other reasons preventing this. Koolhaas mentions how important it is for building anything new, to take into account the site conditions and context. In yesteryear  this reasoning was dismissed, because it happens to place restrictions as to what one can or should do on a site.  This, as many believed, interfered with development, so designing with great awareness of site, was dismissed.

Restrictions are the most real thing. This isn’t to say on cannot, or should not evade them, but they are a factor to keep in mind when planning.  This idea of site awareness, combined with the marriage of engineering + politics, should, Koolhaas argues, be the answer to better planning and design suggestions.