architecture, ecology, economy

Prof. Miriam GusevichThe Catholic University of AmericaGUSEVICM@CUA.EDU

Economy Conference 2011 WSA Cardiff University

logos =study of

1873 Haeckel

e conomy e cology

+ +nemein =management

1580 household manage-

ment1835

science of economicsarchitecture

METAPHOR : structure, order

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: buildings, cities,

landscape, infrastructure

e conomy e cology

of worldviews (Weltanschauung) motivated by different interests

that value two different kinds of capital.

conflict

economic or financial capital

ecological or natural capital

Can Architecture help to reconcile the two?

e conomy e cology

tikun olamrepairing the world

creating wealth

creating human worlds

nurturingprotectingCREATION

is to work with care and generos-ity, humility and mindfulness.

is to build the Oikous (house) for human purposes.

is to bring the new gently into the old, embrace in-novation and miti-gate its potential for destruction.

Our duty

Our ultimate purpose is to make the world a better place.

tikun olam

Our path OUR TASK

Architecture embodies different kinds of capital

human capital =labor

social capital = community

ECOLOGICAL capital =the built environment

cultural capital = ART.

economic capital = • houses banks, stock exchanges financial services• enabled by finance: money for land, materials and labor. • as a factor of production • as a commodity in the real estate market.

Architecture as real estate has been transformed from an inherited patrimony to a commodity. This has democratized property owner-ship, making it easier for people to own their own homes. It has also opened real estate property to speculation. Real estate has be-come increasingly unreal, more abstract and volatile, subject to booms and busts.

real estate

The predicament is starkly evident today, after speculation in housing derivatives, a financial innovation that was meant to in-crease wealth and minimize risk, triggered a bubble and subsequent economic collapse.

The power of Architecture as economic capital has increased exponentially and threatens its multiple dimensions. Urban sprawl threatens ecological capital by mindlessly destroying habitats, social capital by segregating classes and undermining the public domain and cultural capital by negating intellectual, spiritual and artistic values.

Let’s “rebalance the ledger,” honour all forms of capital and limit economic capital as a means to serve more fundamental ecological, artistic and spiritual ends.

To illustrate Ti kku n O lam in prac-tice, I will present a proposal for the McMillan Sand Filtration plant, in Washington, DC.

M cM I LLAN slow san d fi ltrati o n plant

PHOTO CREDIT: ROBIN BUCK

is a hidden national treasure in our own backyard.

2.2 milesLincoln Memorial National Capitol

McMillan

2.2

mile

s

a gem in the emerald necklace part of the 1901 - 1902 McMillan Plan for Washington, DC.

North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue, NW.

Senator McMil-lan (Rep- Michi-gan) Chairman of Senate Park Committee 1901

President Taft declared it a na-tional memorial park in 1911.

HISTORY It is a grand public project of major historic significance and an exam-ple of sustainable technology with unique and ingenious technical fea-tures The project was a practical pub-lic health measure to provide safe drinking water. After extensive public hearings, Congress selected the slow sand fil-tration system because it was safer and more sustainable than chemical treatment and authorized funding for its construction (1901-1905). It eradicated typhoid and other wa-ter borne diseases.

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.

EngineersLieu-tenant Colonel Miller withEdward Dana Hardy and Allen Hazen

Architect Charles Platt

Sculptor Herbert Adams

design team

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY

1873: Washington City Tunnel. 1890: Smith Spring was dammed to create a new reservoir. 1901: tunnel extended four miles to meet the Reservoir 1905: Slow Sand Filtration Plant was completed.

The Washington Aqueduct System supplies fresh water from Great Falls in Virginia to Washington, DC via a complex underground infrastruc-ture. It was conceived by Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs in 1852; he completed the first stage in 1859.

Above, two long courts separate three lawns areas. Each court is framed by low walls with gated en-trances and punctuated by a row of cylindrical concrete silos. These are now covered with ivy and create a mysterious, surreal effect.

Between the silos are brick regula-tor houses and concrete sand wash-ers. Below the lawn areas is a vast, surprising and magical field of cata-combs filled with sand: 20 one acre cells each consisting of a grid of con-crete vaults.

sand storage bin

washed sand

sand injector

sand to filter

filter boat sand ejector

sand washer

washed sand

overflow to sewer

The slow sand filtration process was simple, safe and energy efficient. Fresh water was pumped from the reservoir to the cells, filtered by the sand to a collector pipe at the base.

Through gravity it was fed to the wa-ter main along the new North Capi-tol Street and distributed through the rest of the city. The used sand was washed, recycled, stored in the sand bins and pumped back to the filter cells.

filtration process:

Then Mayor Barry refused the of-fer and instead paid $9.3 million for the right to develop it as a shopping mall. War was declared. It has been in limbo since then, caught in a pro-tracted war between pro-park and pro-development coalitions.

The process was ecological and ef-fective but labor intensive. In 1985 it was replaced with a smaller rapid sand filtration - chemical treatment plant and the eastern half of the site was decommissioned. It was offered to the city for free as a park.

e conomy e cology

political conflict

“GROWTH MACHINE”

(Harvey Molotch)

CommunityPublic

Interest

City OfficialsDevelopersArchitects

MediaIntrinsic value

PRO-DEVELOPMENT PRO-PARK

Exchange value

option 1 : full renovation 1.1. OLMSTEAD JR. PLAN

limits : SITE CONDITIONS1.2. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE

COVERED CREEK: CELL DAMAGE AND RESIDENTIAL FLOODING

Plan at -4’

1.3. SITE STABILITY

SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION

MODERATE DETERIORATION

STABLE CELLS

Plan at -4’

option 2: full development 2.1. DEVELOPER’S PLAN - 2007 2.2. DEVELOPER’S PLAN - 2010

Lessard and Associates for McMillan Associates

EEK and Warren Byrd for Mc Millan Associates

option 2: full development

Lessard and Associates EEK and Warren Byrd,

2.1. DEVELOPER’S PLAN - 2007 2.2. DEVELOPER’S PLAN - 2010 2.3. ANALYSIS OF PLAN

LIMITED GREEN SPACE CONSTRUCTION ABOVE DAMAGED CELLS

Plan at +4’

religious fundamentalism market fundamentalism

2001 - The Taliban destroys the Buddhas of Bamiyan ,Hazarajat, Afghanistan

“Highest and best use” as an article of faith. Justifies destroying real history for fake historic “anywhere USA” style.

fundamentalism

uncovering the natural history

original topographyupper level mid level

low level with: creek area

Hypothesis: the buried creek is the source of structural damage and flooding downstream.

option 3: Our Mc Millan

• protects and reuses most significant historic features• reinterprets stable fabric as an u r ban far m above and bazaar below• the u r ban b each recovers the history and pre-history of the site • the u r ban n ei g h b o r h o o d makes it financially feasible

FARM PRODUCE fabove• Vegetable and fruit gardens• Orchards and vineyards• Grazing for pet farm• Butterfly gardens • Bee-keeping for honey production

FARM PRODUCTION and BAZAAR, ideal environment for• WINERY - wine• CREAMERY - milk and cheese• MUSHROOM cultivation• entertainement, boutiques, etcv...

URBAN FARMa feast for the senses

urban beach and water works

NORT

H C

APITO

L STR

EET N

W

Vertical gardens

Site under NORMAL CONDITIONS DROUGHT FLOOD

Flood control Rain gardens grow in the pergolas and gabion walls that re-interpret and recycle the damaged structure.

in the swales filter water through native wet-land plants and sand dunes.

downstream by unearthing the creek, recreat-ing the original topography and adding sluice gates.

north

cap

itol

first

stree

t

channing street

michigan avenue

MIXED USE MID RISE

low scale RESIDENTIAL

RETAIL

GREEN SPACE

urban neighborhood

.

Our proposal adds: cultural capital by pro-tecting the site’s artistic features and adding a new layer

ecological capital by re-specting the settlement an natural history, and creating the urban farm and urban beach

social capital by working with the community and restroring trust.

economic capital with creative uses and partnerships .The URBAN NEIGHBROHOOD can include the program in a third of the site.

We hope to save the site, open the gates to the public and fulfill

TI KU N O LAM: repair the world.

CONCLUSION

landmark.THANK YOU