the countdown begins!

This week every group is focusing on implementing feedback from the midterm review. The editing process is well underway as team members need to make decisions about what is working, and what final challenges can be tackled in the final weeks.

Community capital

On Wednesday, Lynne Manzo, a professor from the department of Landscape Architecture, spoke to our class. She is an expert on the human experience of public housing redevelopment. Through her research she has interviewed residents at High Point, Park Lake Homes, and is currently working on a project with the Bremerton Housing Authority. Her research found that although there is a very negative perception of public housing, the sense of community and mutual support present in some public housing would be "the envy of any middle class community".

For this project we have been asked to focus on urban agriculture at Yesler Terrace. There is the possibility that this focus could diminish the focus on the social aspects of this site and even worse that we could be experimenting on the poor. On the other hand- How can sensitivity to the community push our design of the urban agriculture? After all, urban agriculture is an active component of the community at Yesler Terrace today. Lynne asked us to think about "how we can minimize the disruption to the residents" at Yesler Terrace. Hopefully, our schemes will represent opportunities to carry over the sense of community which exists and offer a place for "more healthy living" that is exciting to the residents.

For more information on the community advisory board go to:

http://www.seattlehousing.org/redevelopment/yesler-terrace/committee/

Mid Reviews 2/22/10

Everyone worked really hard and produced a lot of work for Monday's Review. Described as a "quantum leap" from where we were two weeks ago, our work described more detailed ideas about the systems operating in our projects and the forms they might take. With more research and gathered data we tried to quantify projected numbers for things like: Agriculture square footage, food production, job production, FAR and captured rain water.

REVIEWS 2/8/10

Everyone worked really hard and did a great job this week! Here are some photos from Mondays reviews.

The Final Touches

On Monday, Feb. 8th the team completed the final touches on the site model for the presentations during class.

Assembling the Model

At long last, the contextual topographic model is done! After finally retiring the CNC router, students of the BE Lab used the laser cutter to cut building sections out of wood. The sections then had to be assembled with glue, faithfully relying on Brian Park’s number referencing system.

In the photo on the right, students are meticulously assembling multi-storied buildings before finally placing them in the topographic model.

Lessons from Germany

During this week and next, our three breakout groups are continuing to refine our site and building design ideas. As we continue to draw on case studies and sustainable design site planning literature, we could learn a lot from neighborhood and building plans in Freiberg im Breisgau in southwest Germany. (Please follow link to PDF bellow)

http://www.messe-freiburg.de/servlet/PB/show/1199617_l2/GreenCity_E.pdf

Suffice it to say that this ambitious city is trying to do it all - from solar panels and green roofs to pedestrian zones and transit improvements, the philosophy of sustainability has a ubiquitous grasp on Freiburg. While most of the neighborhood and site planning concepts described in Feiberg’s “Greencity” brochure (above) is already familiar to most of us, I think it is helpful to see an entire city successfully integrate such a variety of novel ideas.

If you follow the link: http://www.messe-freiburg.de/servlet/PB/menu/1182949_l2/index.html , and click on the “Environmental Training” and “Initiatives and Citizens Commitment” headings, you’ll see the value that the city places on galvanizing neighborhoods’ commitment to the city’s vision of sustainability. Similarly, Page 21 of the brochure describes how sustainability-driven designs and structures are being used as a context for environmental education.

How wonderful would it be if the new Yesler Terrace became a classroom for sustainable design and urban agriculture? A place where K-12 students and curious citizens inside and outside the neighborhood could whiteness and perhaps critique the eco-friendly integration of various land-uses? Built Environment students can see the full value of urban spaces like those in Freiberg thanks to their understanding of integrated systems. It would be wonderful if the new Yesler Terrace could help more people to adopt a systems understanding of modern human settlement.

Process, process, process

Talking it out.

Finally, enough site analysis. Now everyone is split up into their groups and can begin to design. Designing is a back-and-forth, iterative process even when you're doing it alone. Add to that a group of 5 or 6 people from different disciplines, and that's where the ideas really start flowing. Everyone is going at it in their different ways.

Some are starting to model masses on their site.


Others prefer to draw.

Finding inspiration
We all looked at precedents a couple weeks ago, but all three groups, now with a more clear goal in their heads, have gone looking for more precedents that more closely speak to their vision.

Housing terraced into a hill.

Via Verde, a cool public housing design for the Bronx

Some light reading
Via Verde, public housing
Micro-condos
Urban aquaculture, Will Allen style (video)

Routing Topos

Using the CNC router has proven to be more difficult than foreseen. After many unplanned revisions to the computer file, BE Lab students dutifully sit with the machine while it slowly cuts its passes. We hope it finishes tonight.

Urban Ag in the News

Interesting article published today in the NYT that speaks to the relevancy of this course:
In Portland, Going Green and Growing Vertical in a Bid for Energy Savings

Most of the building designs we have looked at in class are unfunded visions, so it is refreshing to see one that already has (environmentally-focused stimulus) money behind it (though McCain ranked it second on a list of the 100 worst stimulus-financed projects).

History of Yesler Terrace

Some of the members of the BE Lab gave a presentation on the history of Yesler Terrace today. Below is a summary of the information they found, and there is an annotated bibliography on the catalyst page. Look through it if you want more in-depth information.

Yesler Terrace History Summary:

The area known today as Yesler Terrace was originally inhabited by wealthy Seattleites wishing to distance themselves from the immediate downtown area. These citizens took advantage of the land that had been cleared for Henry Yesler’s mill and built a collection of mansions on the hill throughout the late 19^th century. However, after decades of dilapidation and the Great Depression, the once affluent Yesler Terrace area was identified as the worst slum area in Seattle. For a combination of reasons including frustrations of locals as they climbed the steep grade from downtown to the presence of eighteen brothels in the area, Yesler Terrace was for a time known as “Profanity Hill.” But this was to change thanks to national changes due to Roosevelt’s New Deal. In December of 1939, the newly created Seattle Housing Authority was awarded a bond of three million dollars from USHA, and it was decided that this money would be used to create affordable housing upon Yesler Terrace once the slum was cleared. By November of 1941, the first tenants were moving into Yesler Terrace, a 690-unit community on 43 acres.

Yesler Terrace was a milestone in low-income housing both for Seattle and the nation at large. For Seattle, it the first low-income housing community the city attempted. For the nation, it was the first racially integrated low-income housing community in the United States. The development faithfully served the community for many years, and by 1966 SHA had paid off the initial bond that was used to create Yesler Terrace. At this point the buildings were beginning to fall into disrepair, and a redevelopment study was initiated, but never implemented due to trying economic times in the 1970s. The greatest facelift the majority of Yesler Terrace buildings have seen over the years was a modernization in 1980 that included new porches, sidewalks, fences, and paint. In 1999, Seattle voters adopted a levy which dedicated $6.3 million to a new community center, which was completed in 2004.

Of course, one of the most important parts of Yesler Terrace is who lives in the community and is served by SHA. At its inception, SHA only accepted applications from U.S. citizens in family units, excluding both immigrants and single people. This trend has certainly been reversed, as in 2008 over 30% of the residents were non-U.S. citizens, and immigrant representation in the Terrace is sharply increasing each year. Also, ethnic distributions have changed significantly over the years. In its first year, 1941, 94% of the residents were white, 3.5% black, and 2.5% Asian. By 2008, 43% of the residents were Asian, 41% black, 12% white, and 4% Native American. Two of the most quickly increasing populations currently within Yesler Terrace are Somali and Vietnamese.

Feb 3rd “Inside the Farmers Studio” with Will Allen

Hi everyone - Here is the information for the discussion with Will Allen.

Urban Agriculture: Food Justice For All
“Inside the Farmers Studio” with Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power &
2008 MacArthur Genius Grant Recipient

Wednesday, Feb 3rd 7-9pm @ Mercer Middle School Auditorium
Address: 1600 Columbian Way, Seattle, WA

Carson, Jacobs, Fishman... Awesome!

Wednesday also brought to campus the renowned Robert Fishman. Speaking to a massive enthusiastic crowd, Fishman presented the seminal works of Rachel Carson and and Jane Jacobs, together in one piece: the Death and Life of Nature and the City. In drawing connections between two of the foundational works in environmentalism and urbanism, "Silent Spring" and "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", Fishman laid an important piece of groundwork, incredibly fitting for developing agricultural systems at Yesler Terrace.
Fishman explained the amazing similarities between the two pieces, especially their commitments to the celebration of complexity in life. Moreover, Fishman articulated that Jacob's vision of the city was dependent on Carson's vision nature, and that Carson's vision in turn relies on Jacob's city. This relationship between urban space and the natural world has become the basis for sustainable urbanism. These connections will be valuable concepts as we continue our considerations for urban agriculture on the Yesler Terrace site.

System Presentations

On Wednesday the 20th the matrices were unveiled! Four newly joined groups presented an array of different frameworks for comparing systems. Katrina Morgan visited as an always insightful guest reviewer.
Large steps were taken by the class in the development of the systems thinking that has taken place over the past week and a half. New concepts were introduced, as groups brought in important features such as time, people, and equity into their designs.
Also offered were the site plans and section s that incorporated two salient systems into their conceptual design. The group's presentations took large steps in synthesis and focus as well as considering the impact and outcomes of the relationships and their results. Additionally, forward thinking was displayed as some of the first discussions of future site components and design took place. The group's overall displayed a set of differing yet complementary paths as the project moves forward.

Competition can be good!

On Friday the 15th, we had guest speakers from Miller Hull, Weber Thompson, and Mithun present conceptual designs that had been entered into various competitions. All three had urban agriculture operations as central theme. While none of the projects have yet been built, competitions serve as an opportunity to push the envelope of design and possibility and stimulate imaginations and conversations.





Image credits in order:
Mithun
http://mithun.com/projects/project_detail/center_for_urban_agriculture/
Weber Thompson
http://www.weberthompson.com/eco-laboratory.html
Miller Hull
http://www.millerhull.com/htm/nonresidential/bumpercrop.htm

Harvest Green Projects

Hi - For those interested, here are the links to more information about the Harvest Green Project concepts that we presented in class.

Harvest Green 01 - Tower

http://www.formshiftvancouver.com/files/hmp25.pdf

Harvest Green 02 - Mod Pods

http://www.formshiftvancouver.com/files/winnersecondary.pdf

South Central LA Farm

Hey all,

I came across some interesting sources for my case study project, and think they are worth sharing. I'm working on the South Central Farm in LA, which is a really tragic story concerning the rights of underprivileged communities and cultural value. I know I won't be able to do this story justice in our short presentation time on Friday, so I thought I'd share.

NPR INTERVIEW > > > http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5160542
This npr interview is a bit outdated - it was done before the farm was taken from the farmers. You can read an overview of the whole story on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Central_Farm

There is also a fantastic documentary that came out in 2008/2009 called "The Garden," it's worth finding (Netflix should have it).

-Michelle

Sustainability

Katrina Morgan shared her experiences as a sustainability consultant with the class today. What exactly is sustainability consulting, you ask... According to Katrina, it's a grab bag including strategic planning, lots of facilitation and mediation, and networking. What's at work is a psychology change and underlying it all is a philosophy--see W.McDonough's Cradle to Cradle.

Katrina works from micro to macro scales and back again; she helps keep her clients focused on the impacts beyond the site itself. In her spare time, she seeks alternative funding for greening projects through grants and tax rebates. Her work involves education programs, public speaking, policy & advocacy work, and evaluation of existing buildings. She and other sustainability consultants are working at the intersection of the built and natural environment. They are on the cutting edge. Check out her company: Fermata Consulting LLC.

Site Visit

We took our first visit to the site, Yesler Terrace in Seattle, on Wednesday, January 6th. Groups of two or three students each walked a transect across the site to get a sense of the topography, proportions, land use, and to anchor the site in its urban context. Six systems were investigated along the transect: water, sun, ground, structure, waste & circulation.

What is Urban Agriculture?

We began the course by defining urban ag through poster-size diagrams/descriptions. Using notes taken during the presentations, wordle (http://www.wordle.net/) illustrates the conversation.