Seth TrotterSenior ProjectFall2008AdvisorBillAdams

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Seth TrotterSenior Projec tFa ll2008AdvisorBillAdams osteo[n]



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osteo[n]



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Table of Contents

osteo[n]

Préc is

Topic

Methodology

Client Profile

Site’s Contextual Rela tionships

History and Cultural Division

Context

Site Assessment and Ana lysis

Clima te Analysis

Program Description

Program Spa ce Summary

Program Data Sheets

Code Search

Planning Regulations

Interview/ Expert Witness

Annotated Bibliography

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9

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11

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15

19

22

25

29

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32

36

46

48

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Program Spa ce Summary

Program Data Sheets

Code Search

Planning Regulations

Interview/ Expert Witness

Annotated Bibliography

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32

36

46

48

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los angeles street eleva

upper level 1/16”=1’

plaza level 1/16”=1’



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primary steel structure secondary steel structure

olvera street elevationcivic mall elevation

ructure interior partitions carbon fiber skin



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olvera street view aerial view

walking street view



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101Pico

House

Plaza

N 101 Entrance

S 101 Exit

Fire House#1

AsianAmericanMuseum

S a n c h e z S t r

e e t

BiscailuzBuilding

MethodistChurch

La Placita

Los AngelesChildrens Museum

(former)

Federal Building

United StatesDistrict Court

Vickory BrunswigBuilding

MercedTheater

A l i s o S t r e e t

N A l a

m e d

a S t r e

e t

A r c a d i a S t r e e t

N L o s

A n g e l e

s S t r e

e t

N M

a i n S t

r e e t

W T e m

p l e S t r e e t

N S p

r i n g S t

r e e t





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Précis

I intend to create a mixed-use corridor that responds to the daily

rhythms of Ange linos and renews c om munity c onnec tions that were

sepe rated by c ity expansion.

The c ity of Los Ang eles is a vast a nd unique urban land sc ape.

Capitalistic endeavors have created large voids in the cities urban

fab ric , as a result, the c ity rem a ins inac c essible and too c ong ested .

A culture of car usage has been continually reinforced into the

residents of the Los Ang eles me tro reg ion. The c ity is in need of urban

spac es tha t p rovide ea sy, sa fe, interesting ped estrian p assagew ays

betw een the existing urban co res. The spac es nee d to ha ve p lenty

of public spaces that create inviting spaces yet that bring in a

va riety of dem og raphic s. The c onne c tion of Los Ang eles’ urban

cores with pedestrian friendly passageways would help break the

c ity aw ay from its c urrent d ep end enc e o n c ars and might just ge t

mo re Ang elinos outside.

The p rojec t will foc us on the rec lam ation of urba n spac es. The site

is loc a ted betw een Little Tokyo a nd the Pueb lo Distric t and wa s

chosen because of its adjacencies to these strong urban spaces.

The p rojec t w ill strive to m ake c ross c ultura l connec tions and strong

urba n c onnec tions in the c ity and betwe en the c ultural ce nters.



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The p rojec t p rop osition is loc a ted betw een the Pueb lo Distric t and

Little Tokyo. The p rop osition inc ludes the red esign o f the existing

Los Ange les Ma ll and the d evelopment of p ed estrian c orridor be -

twe en the tw o urban co res. The a rea betw ee n the Pueb lo Distric t

and Little Tokyo has bee n a ma jor d ivid ing line in the c ity since Los

Ang eles sta rted expa nd ing awa y from its origin, a c ity setup by the

Law o f the Ind ies, towa rds a p olyc entric ma in street c ity. The e xist-

ing Los Ang eles Ma ll co mp lex orig ina lly intended to link the Pueb lo

Distric t a nd Little Tokyo, but has only ad ded to the d ivision betw ee n

the two c om munities. The projec t proposes to c rea te a c orridor

tha t w ill crea te physic a l and c ultura l ties in the c ity o f Los Ang eles.

The spac es will have m ixed oc c upanc ies and will try to respec t the

historic and c ultura l c onte xt tha t is p resently emb ed ded within the

site. The c urrent site ha s bec om e a highly c ontrolled environm ent

tha t is shut o ff to pub lic ac c ess a fter 7pm; this p rojec t p rop oses to

create a spa c e that c an b ec ome a pub lic c orrido r that doe s not

nee d to b e c losed off to the pub lic during non-business hours.

Topic



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Methodology

The p rop osed site sits on a c ruc ial void within the c ity, thus

soc ial issues will be the d riving force fo r the architec tural

language. The p rojec t should express the two c ultures in a

d istinct a nd prom inent m anner, yet make significant cohesive

mo ves tow ards integ ra tion of the two urban cores. Since the

site is a lso w ithin the c urrent Civic ma ll, the move a way from

the c orner be ing ta ken a wa y must be a ddressed to m ake a

strong sta tem ent about the existenc e o f cultura l force s in a

politica l wo rld .

www.olverastreet.com

www.fotothing.com



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Client Profile

The C om munity Red evelopm ent Ag enc y of the City of Los

Angeles (CRA/ LA) is an organization ded icated to the red e-

velopme nt of the c ity of Los Angeles. Red eve lop ment areas

are established

• To foster job c rea tion and estab lish an environm ent

tha t w ill attrac t a nd susta in p riva te investment;

• to ma inta in and inc rea se the supp ly of housing for low -

and moderate incom e households;

• To renova te, remove or rep lac e de teriorated or d ilap i-

da ted struc tures.

CRA/ LA adop ts com prehensive p lans for red eve lop ment ar-

ea s. These p lans provide g uide lines and strate gies for rem ov-

ing p hysica l and ec onom ic blight a nd provide a vision, goa ls

and time tables for generating growth a nd new op po rtunities.

Red eve lop me nt p lans a re c rea ted with politic a l , business,

and com munity pa rtic ipation. The plans are the roa dm ap

for spurring growth, c rea ting new housing and imp roving the

qua lity of life and genera l we lfare of the p eop le w ho live a nd

work in and a round red evelopm ent a rea s.



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Downtown Los Angeles is organized into districts of programs

with rela tive simila rity. The p rojec t’ s site is located o n the

ed ge o f the Civic Ma ll. This Civic Ma ll is a fo rma l orga nization

of Government buildings, which maintains a strong linear axis

from the LA Department o f Wate r and Pow er (DPW) to the C ity

Ha ll. This axis is currently being m aster p lanned by Frank Gehry

to create green clad walkways and public space within the

c ity. The p rojec ts site is located south o f the c ity ha ll, therefore

is not a ffec ted by Gehry’s ma sterplan. How ever, the site d oes

lay within the c ivic c enter, in a minor Judic ial axis. As a result,

the project must address the Judicial axis of the Civic Mall.

But, prior to the c onstruct ion of the C ivic Mall, the build ing site

was the location of the historic Bella Union Hotel and the Los

Ang eles Sta r New spaper. The site is registe red a s a C A-656

and C A-789 Ca lifornia Sta te Historica l Landmark. Neither of

the registered structures exists anymore and are both marked

by two p laques on the site.

The landscape a rchitec t of the mall wa s How ard Troller, he

designed the site so tha t it a ddresses North Ma in Street in an

op en fashion, yet is c losed off to Los Ang eles Street . But even

the North Ma in Street e ntranc e is not c om plete ly visible from

the street, as a 3 foot elevation increase and landscaping

b loc k com plete view o f the plaza. As a result, the p laza is

almost completely unused outside of business hours, and is

c losed to the pub lic a fter 7pm eve ryda y. The projec ts interior

courtyards p rovide serene retrea ts to peop le w ho w ork in the

Site’s Contextual Relationships



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adjacent office towers, yet a re no t c om monly used by e ither

of the a d jacent e thnic c om munities; this dem onstra tes one o f

the ma jor failures of the existing site. The site houses a four sto ry

submerged parking garage for the public and the Federal

Build ing tha t the unde rground M all is connec ted to. Also on

the site is a fed eral judge’ s office, this is d irec tly ad jacent to the

ma in courtyard. The m all p rovides two ma in access points to

the Fed eral build ing d irec tly West: bridge over Tem ple Street ,

shopp ing street under Tem ple Street .

The site’ s ad jac enc y to the historic Pueb lo d istric t was severed

in the 1950’s by the construction of the 101 freeway, and

currently has a vast vac ant spa c e b etween the two programs.

Simila rly, the Fed eral build ing and o ther Government b uild ings

b loc k prog ram’ s ad jacenc y to Little Tokyo. These c om munities

have strong urban cores that attract consistent pedestrian

traffic yea r round . Little Tokyo has been the location of rec ent

urban redevelopment, including the addition of MOCA @

the Geffen, the Japanese-American Museum, and housing

deve lop me nts. These urban imp rovements have created a n

opportunity in the urban fabric for the connection of these

urban cores. The p rojec t will address cultura l and ide olog ica l

conventions that affect the site in attempt to address the

needs of the Civic Mall, yet providing a strong statement to

the com munity tha t Los Angeles is a multi-cultura l comm unity

comm itted to the development o f a strong urba n c ulture a nd

c ross-cultura l interac tion.



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City grow th is a na tura l p roc ess, fueled b y expand ing econo -

mies and pop ulation g row th; a c ities limit will only be restric t-

ed by boundaries imp osed upon the expa nsion. Historica lly

these b ound aries have c onsisted of c ity ga tes, topog raphic

fea tures, c lose rela tionship to resources, et c etera. Boundar-

ies p lay an imp ortant role in the shap ing o f a c ity, bound ar-

ies a llow for urbanization and c ent ra liza tion. Los Ang eles is

a unique c ity, esta b lished by the Spaniards using the Law o f

the Ind ies; the o riginal c ore o f the c ity was set up trad ition-

a lly (Ryan, 2006). Thus Los Angeles was orig inally a c entrifuga l

c ity (Ste iner, 1981) and muc h of the c ities orig inal businesses

and industry wa s loc a ted ad jacent to the p laza (Ryan, 2006).

As Los Ang eles was invaded by the United Sta tes in 1847, a

mixed use c ore continued to streng then the centric ity of the

c ities core, the Ang lo a nd Spaniard urbanization led to the

development of a c ity core that started develop ing c harac -

teristics of a “ Ma in stree t” (Ryan, 2006). Los Ang eles’ c entra li-

ty wa s subseq uently developed into a “ Ma in Stree t” c ity (Hise,

1996).

This point in history marks an imp ortant p art in the de-

velopme nt o f Los Angeles, the c ity fac es d ivergent trend s:

Westward Ang lo movem ent, Plaza oriented Hispanic. In

a ffec t, this trend dem onstra tes the first rac ia l comp artmen-

ta liza tion of the c ity of Los Ang eles. The Hispanic c om munity

continued to view the p laza a s a c entra l plac e of ga thering

and c om merc e. The Anglo co mm unity c rea ted a new busi-

ness c ente r that w as sep ara te and less inhib ited by the orga -

History and Cultural Division



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nization o f the c ities p laza . During th is transitiona l period, Los

Ang eles’ ec onom y wa s shifting . While C a lifornia is trad itiona lly

an agricultura l center, its agriculture w hich was 60 percent o f

the ec onom y in 1860, drop s to 30 percent by 1920 (Shevky,

1949). Agriculture was subseq uently rep laced by manufac -

turing and a large increa se in service industries and by 1920

constituted 40 percent of the ec onom y (Shevky, 1949). By

1940, ag riculture d ec lined to only 3 percent of the ec onom y,

ma nufac turing w as 27 percent and servic es we re 68 percent

(Shevky, 1949). Los Angeles’ sta rts to d evelop a strong sec -

tor of services, this is a com mon theme a mong c ities in the

West, as San Franc isco shares simila r percentage brea kdowns

during this period (Shevky, 1949). Co nversely, c ities suc h as

Pittsburgh, C leve land, and Cincinnati d em onstra te strong

industria l build up , and less em phasis on the deve lop ment o f

services, although services still co nstituted ha lf o f the ir ec ono-

my, and ag riculture rema ined a t a pe rcent of the ec onomy

(Shevky, 1949). The trend of a service based ec onom y has

continued as a m ainstay of the Southe rn Ca lifornia e conomy

to this day, and is evidenced by Ca lifornia ’ s spend ing hab its,

p lac ing its ec onomy a s the 7th largest ec onomy in the World

(Internationa l Moneta ry Fund).

In the 1940’s Los Ang eles had develop ed a strong

North-South axis of industria l develop ment, through com mu-

nities suc h as Boyle Heights, Huntington Park and Glenda le

(Shevky, 1949). At this time, another notab le trend can be

seen, the pop ula tion of Craftsme n, Ope rators and Laborers

wa s c onc entrated hea vily south of Boyle Heights and Cul-



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ver City, while professiona ls, c leric a l, dom estic and services

we re c onc entrated North of those c ities. The com munities

of Wilshire, Westlake and Hollywood had high percentage s

of the higher c lass of oc c upations. Simila rly, but slightly less

dense, com munities ea st of Los Ang eles conta ined a less

skilled population (see Fig _____). Develop ing a long of Los

Ang eles is a rural farming structure tha t w as the result of Los

Angeles dec line in agriculture. The c ities grow th c rea ted an

even larger dema nd on ag ricultural p rod uc ts, yet the ur-

banization o f Los Ang eles c rea ted less op portunities for the

onc e a griculturally ba sed ec onom y to p rod uce a griculture

(see Fig _____). The first ha lf 1900’s was a period when the

southe rn Ca lifornian sma ll tow n developed ; one o f the ma in

contributo rs to this grow th is the migra tion of Mid-West set tlers.

Befo re the Grea t Depression Iow an a nd Illino is fa rmers were

the largest migrant group , but d uring the d ep ression a n even

la rger group o f migrants went west, this group expa nded

to inc lude Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma (see Fig ____). The

migrants had tend enc ies to fo rm c om munities tha t resem bled

the “ Ma in stree t” typology and setup a lifestyle simila r to their

p lace o f origin. These c om munities we re genera lly not ra -

c ia lly d iverse, yet m ainta ined a certain am ount of d iversity

among soc ial c lasses (Shevky, 1949). These c ommunities d id

not develop w ith the idea that they were a pa rt of Los Ange -

les, but ra ther had idea s of c rea ting a new rura l life. As Los

Angeles expa nded these c om munities would subseq uently

grafted into the urba n struc ture o f the c ity.



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Com munities that developed around Los Ange les

faced strong rac ia l seg reg ation. Although Los Ang eles sta rt-

ed as a rac ia lly undivide d c ity, its divided de velop ment of a

“ Ma in Stree t” Ang lo c ity and a “ Plaza” Hispanic c ity led to

strong d ivisions. By 1940 the index of seg reg ation fo r ea ch re-

spec tive rac ial group wa s 17.81 Africa n American, 7.32 Asian,

5.84 Russian, 4.63 Mexican, 3.22 Ita lian, 1.34 Scand inavian,

1.22 Germans, 1.19 Canad ians, 1.03 Na tive Whites (Shevky,

1949). The A frica n Am erican, Asian, and Russian c om munities

we re the m ost seg reg ated , and the boroughs of Los Angeles

tha t exist today are as a result of these c om munities ta king

roo t. Although the M exican co mm unity was not the most

seg reg ated , they were how ever the m ost isolated from High

c lass soc iety. African Am eric ans had simila r numbers of High

class with other minority groups such as Asians and Italians

(Shevky, 1949). Groups suc h as the C ana dians, Ge rmans,

Scand inavians had evenly d istributed soc ia l sta tuses, with the

Russians having m ore low er c lass and the others having m ore

higher c lass populations (Shevky, 1949). Also, at this time the

po pulation of Los Ange les had be com e heavily Anglo Am eri-

can, as the p op ula tion wa s nea r 70 percent Ang lo (Shevky,

1949).



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Walking from Olvera Street

Context



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Site Assessment and Analyis



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Climate Analysis



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Annual wind co nditions

Spring wind c ond itions Summer w ind c ond itions

Autumn wind c ond itions

Winter wind c ond itions



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Annua l psyc hrometric c hart Winter psyc hrometric c hart

Spring psyc hrometric c hart Summer psyc hrometric c hart

Autumn p sychrome tric c hart



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Sun pa th diag ram



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Program Description

The p rop osed site sits on a c ruc ial void within the c ity, thus

soc ial issues will be the d riving force fo r the architec tural

language. The p rojec t should express the two c ultures in a

d istinct a nd prom inent m anner, yet make significant cohesive

mo ves tow ards integ ra tion of the two urban cores. Since the

site is a lso w ithin the c urrent Civic ma ll, the move a way from

the c orner be ing ta ken a wa y must be a ddressed to m ake a

strong sta tem ent about the existenc e o f cultura l force s in a

politica l wo rld .



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Program Space Summary





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Parking Retail Ofce

Commercial Live/Work

24000 22000

24000 18000x410000

Pedestrian Street

New Construction

Redesign

sq. t. sq. t.

sq. t. sq. t. sq. t.

Program Data Sheets



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Program OfficeRoom Rec ep tion Area

Qualitative Description Spa c e should be op en a nd relaxing,provide flexibility for c om pa ny log os

and signa ge. Ma terials shou ld reflec tupsca le o ffice spac e.

Area 200 sq . ft.Critical Dimension 10’ min d imensionHeight 15’

Number of Occ upants 10Floor Finishes Rap idly renew ab le wo od such a s ba mb oo

Wall Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd , Low -No VOC pa intCeiling Finishes Exposed structu re, lofted ceiling , Gyp , Low -

No VOC pa intHVAC requirements Nat. ventilation, Evapo ra tive C oo lerNatural Lighting Indirect

Artific ial Lighting IncandescentPower req uirem ents 110V

Communica tion req. Phone/ LAN/ WirelessWater/Sewer req. none

Other utility req . none

Clerical

Reception

Workstations

Offices

Break Room

Secretary

Head Office

Conference

Storage

Elec/ Mech

Restrooms

Program Office

Room Storag eQualitative Description Clea r op en spa c e w ith simple c onstruc tion

Area 150 sq . ft.Critical Dimension 5’ m in dimensionHeight 8’ m in dimension

Number of Occ upants 0Floor Finishes Concrete

Wall Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd , Low -No VOC pa intCeiling Finishes Exposed to structure

HVAC requirements noneNatural Lighting noneArtific ial Lighting Compact Fluorescent

Power req uirem ents 110V

Communica tion req. Phone/ LAN/ WirelessWater/Sewer req. noneOther utility req . none



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Program OfficeRoom Cleric al Spac e

Qualitative Description Spa c e should b e op en for ad ap tation andexp ansion. Worksta tions should havecollaborative workspaces and allow for

wo rkers to ha ve p rivac y, but no t be a ble tohide.

Area 250 sq . ft.Critical Dimension 10’ min d imension

Height 12’Number of Occ upants 5Floor Finishes Rap idly renew ab le wo od such a s ba mb oo

Wall Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd , Low -No VOC pa intCeiling Finishes Exposed structure, steel decking

HVAC requirements Nat. ventilation, Evapo ra tive C oo lerNatural Lighting Indirect

Artific ial Lighting Fluoresc entPower req uirem ents 110V

Communica tion req. Phone/ LAN/ WirelessWater/Sewer req. noneOther utility req . none

Clerical

Reception

Workstations

Offices

Break Room

Secretary

Head Office

Conference

Storage

Elec/ Mech

Restrooms

Program Office

Room Restrooms

Qualitative Description Sterile, rugge d ma terials tha t a re ea silyc lea ned . Clerestory windo ws.

Area 250 sq . ft.

Critical Dimension 8’ m in dimensionHeight 10’Number of Occ upants 10

Floor Finishes Ce ramic TileWall Finishes Ce ramic Tile, Green b oa rd

Ceiling Finishes Vapor-resisten t-No VOC pa intHVAC requirements Nat. ventilation, Evapo ra tive C oo ler

Natural Lighting ClerestoryArtific ial Lighting Flouresc entPower req uirem ents 110V G.F.C.I.

Communica tion req. noneWater/Sewer req. Toilet, Urina l (ma le), Sink

Other utility req . none



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Program OfficeRoom Mech/Elec Room

Qualitative Description 1 hour fire rating , simp le construction fo rhousing build ing system s

Area 150 sq . ft.Critical Dimension 5’ m in dimension

Height 8’ m in dimensionNumber of Occ upants 0Floor Finishes Concrete

Wall Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd , Low -No VOC pa intCeiling Finishes Exposed to structure

HVAC requirements noneNatural Lighting none

Artific ial Lighting Compact FluorescentPower req uirem ents 110VCommunica tion req. Phone/ LAN/ Wireless

Water/Sewer req. noneOther utility req . none

Program OfficeRoom Break Roo m

Qualitative Description Spa c e should b e ad jac ent to ba lc ony, berelaxing a nd ha ve c rea te a retrea t from thewo rk spa c e

Area 250 sq . ft.Critical Dimension 10’ min d imension

Height 12’Number of Occ upants 20

Floor Finishes Ce ramic TileWall Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd , No VOC pa intCeiling Finishes Gyp sum Boa rd, No VOC pa int

HVAC requirements Nat. ventilation, Evapo ra tive C oo lerNatural Lighting Slid ing g lass doo r

Artific ial Lighting Flouresc ent

Power req uirem ents 110V G.F.C.I.Communica tion req. Phone , LAN, WirelessWater/Sewer req. Sink, DishwasherOther utility req . Refrigerator

Clerical

Reception

Workstations

Offices

Break Room

Secretary

Head Office

Conference

Storage

Elec/ Mech

Restrooms



36


Code Ana lysis



37




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ZIMAS INTERNET 01/30/2008 City of Los AngelesDepartment of City Planning

Address: 310 N MAIN ST

APN: 5161010901PIN #: 132A215 156

Tract: P M 1982

Block: NoneLot: A

Arb: None

Zoning: [Q]PF-2D

General Plan: Other Public Open Space,Public Facilities

Streets Copyright (c) Thomas Brothers Maps, Inc.

existing varianceswithin the C ivic Ma llfor residentia l zoning

site



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Site Schemes



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The c ultura l cente r is on a n island in the south pac ific which is hom e to 28

different lang uag es. The lang uag es develop ed p artly be c ause of trade

routes but a lso b ec ause o f the num ber of sma ll island s in the a rea . There

wa s enough isolation for individual langua ge s to d evelop , but in time the

lang ua ge s have transferred from island to island . As a result the island s

are c ulturally diverse, the c ultural c ente r was an a ttem pt to rep resent the

diversity of the islands and maintain structures similar to the vernacular.

The b uilding is a low rise struc ture w ith con ica l she lls on the sou th-easte rn

expo sure. The build ing ha s a ma in c irculation axis, with the shells on one

side a nd “ villages” on the other. The shells a re for exhib its and me etings,

wherea s the villag es a re for the ad ministration. The b uild ing bloc ks d irec t

Northern light, but a llow s indirec t Southern ligh t to filte r in. The she lls

are created out of a wood called Iroko, it was chosen for its properties:

ma intenanc e, g lulam-ab le, ag ing p rop erties, resistance to termites, pric e.

Iroko w as shippe d from Gha nna, a nd it was forested from timb er that w as

planted to b e forested . A loc al wood wa s not selected be c ause all the

po ints c ould no t be met.

The shells are p laced fac ing the preva iling wind bec ause the island is hit by

hurrica nes. This p lac em ent g ene ra lly crea tes a low p ressure zone on top o f

the building, which allows for easy natural ventilation and depressurization

in a c yc lone. The build ing is expo sed on both sides to lag oo ns, which

ma kes the surround ing environme nt eve n mo re unstab le. In the shells there

are “chimneys” and throughout the building there are strategically place

windo ws which allow for optima l ventilation throug h the spac e. During

southern winds, air is allowed to pass through the building exiting either

through a co urtyard or the offic es, the c himney is c losed . During low wind

Tjibaou Cultural Center Noumea , New CaledoniaRenzo Piano



47


cond itions, the c himney is used to p ull hot a ir out the top of the building.

In a hurricane, the building is opened up to equalize the pressure shifts on

the roof.

The b uilding was c hosen b y me for its build ing ma terials me thod ology and

for cont rolling the inside environm ent . The siting o f the building ena b led the

build ing the ventila tion system to func tion prop erly. If the shells ha d b ee n

used to b lock strong northern light, then the p reva iling w inds wo uld p ut a

higher p ressure o n the roof, resulting in less effic ient ventilation. The a rc hitec t

ma de the d ec ision to inco rpo rated c ourtyards into the offices. By doing

so, the user on the inside w as given a n extra element of control by b eing

ab le to o pe n or close the o ffices to the ventilation of the building. Building

ma terials we re shipp ed in from oversea s, wh ichc rea ted p ollution. Yet the

island had limited resources, which made producing building materials

on the island no t prac tica l. The life cyc le of the wo od in the p rojec t far

exce ed s the environm enta l effec ts of shipping it in from G hanna. Anothe r

de c ision by the a rchitect wa s to c rea te a low rise struc ture, which b rea ks

from the vernac ular de sign o n the island. Yet c onc ep tually the sam e idea

is at w ork: a we ll ventilate d c himney type spa ce. The c ultural cente r is

an example of architecture that responds to the vernacular yet maintains

mod ernity and ac tively engag es the environment.



48


Interview: Brad Buller

Brad Buller wa s the hea d c ity p lanner for Ranc ho Cu-

cam onga for 19 yea rs, and planned Vic toria Ga rde ns, Cen-

tral Park, and muc h of the t ra ils and park infrastructure in the

c ity. The rea son I conta c ted him was tha t he has p lanned

Vic toria Ga rdens, which is one of the best suburban retail

outlets in Southe rn Ca lifornia . Ma inly I was interested in the

method ology of ped estrian flow and the p lanning dec isions

tha t were ma de. In the design of shop p ing c ente rs the lay-

out is inputted into a c om puta tiona l model and the spa ce

is ana lyzed . This data is used to c rea te spac es tha t free of

defensible spaces and other sa fety issues.

An interesting issue tha t I found out was tha t the c ity

of Ranc ho Cuc amonga wa s trying to g et the develope r to

c rea te housing over the shop p ing, but the d eve lop er push for

the sep aration, as they felt there was no m arket for the higher

density of housing . Also, the p lanning o f the shops wa s sec -

tioned o ff into zones, trying to c rea te a tiered shop p ing c en-

ter. The higher end shop s a re g roup ed tog ethe r on one stree t

and the younger shop s are on the o ther side. The spac e still

wo rks we ll, even tho ugh the stores a re c olla ted, which is simi-

la r to the c rea tion o f d istric ts within c ities.



49


Queensland University-Lecturer

Yasu Santo is currently a Lec turer at Queensland Uni-

versity of Tec hno logy in Brisbane, Australia . He is c urrently

resea rching c o-generative and interac tive a rc hitec ture.

The first time I ta lked with Yasu we c onversed mostly on

architec tura l interac tivity. Since I talked with him a t very ea rly

stag e in my projec t we c onversed abo ut wa ys of handling

inte rac tivity. The c onversa tion was help ful in refining m y goa ls

for the p rojec t, yet he agreed to ta lk with me a t a later da te

when I had more developed idea of what my projec t was

de aling w ith. Late r in the quarter I em ailed him a nd o pened

the d iscussion aga in. Yasu is interested in Co -ad aptive

space, which is a long the lines of wha t I wa nt to do. Co-

adaptive a rchitec ture takes live informa tion and sta rts inform-

ing the spac e tha t is inhab ited by the informa tion g iver. The

spa ce c ould reac t to the spec ific charac ter that is needed .

Although c o-adap tive a rc hitec ture is still in its entry sta ges in

architec ture, industria l designers and a rtists have b een ex-

p loring this sec tor for quite som e time now . He p ointed me

tow ards Cedric Price, who c rea ted “ the Ge nerato r House.”

This is a rule b ased ga me tha t c rea tes a rea c tion to input. It

follow s simp le rules and c rea tes an unsuspec ted outc om e. I

found this inte resting, as it is a basic fo rm of e nterta inment,

and can b e ea sily configured . From this rud imenta ry device

othe r mo re c om plex system s c ould be assem bled to c rea ted

giant interac tive games. These were of great he lp to me in

exp loring my thesis.

Interview: Yasu Santo



50


AA Projec ts Review 05/ 06: Experimenta tion. Architec tural Assoc iation. London, 2006.

This book p rovided information on va rious projec ts for rethinking architec tura l ap p lic ation. The p rojec ts within the book are va rious student projec ts from the Architec tura lAssociation in London, it reflec ts student wo rk from the e ntire enrollment o f the schoo l.It w as useful for insp ira tiona l purposes.

Blaser, Werner, and Piano, Renzo, 2001. Renzo Piano: Centre Kanak. Berlin: Birkhäuser.

Was the ma jor source tha t I used for my resea rch on the Centre Kanak. It p rovided mewith images and informa tion on the systems and siting o f the build ing. I used the d iagrams pub lished in the b oo k that were sent from Renzo Piano Build ing Workshop todem onstra te the app lica tion of susta inab le technolog ies. I a lso ana lyzed informationprovided to assess the merits of the p rojec t a s “ susta inab le.”

Gerrit Th. Rietve ld. 2G: Casas Houses, 30.40.

The b ook provided information and ima ges on Rietve ld ’ s wo rk. My p rima ry interestin the b oo k was the Schroed er house. The Schroe der house ha s spatial configurationstha t adap t to the users need s in a low tech fashion. The p rojec t is vital as a basis tounderstand ing wha t can b e ac hieved in a low tec h manor first b efore c rea ting som ething tha t is mec hanized .

Ho, Ca thy Lang. On Trac k for Summer. Mark # 6, pg 174-181. Feb / Ma r 2007.

This pub lica tion provided me with information on a joint student betw een Swed ish and

American schoo ls. The p rojec t is a summ er house set o nto a n abandoned ra ilroa dtrac k. Pic tures and d rawings we re used from this pub lica tion. The artic le providedinforma tion on how the p rojec t wa s funded and exec uted.

Hough, Michael. Cities and Natura l Proc ess: A basis for Susta inab ility. Routledge. Oxford ,1995.

It p rovided me with insight into data on the c ities of the wo rld and their relationship toa susta inab le soc iety. It was used as a referenc e in the formulation of my architec tura lideas.

Jacob s, Allan B. Grea t Streets . Boston: MIT Press, 1995.

Provided information on the d esign of Rom an stree ts and the layout of Med ieva lstree ts versus the Am erican stree ts.



51

Lynn, Greg. Anima te Form . Princeton Architec tura l Press. New York, 1999.

The book wa s used as an early resea rch tool and information on the last few yea rs ofarchitec tura l prec ed enc e. Particularly, I wa s interested in Lynn’s argum ent o f aship and a build ing, and how he sees tha t a build ing must interac t w ith itsenvironment, and c an d o so m uch in the sam e w ay tha t a ship d oes.

Mc Williams, Ca rey. Southern Ca lifornia : An Island of Land . Gibbs Smith. Utah, 1973.

The b ook was one of the key reinforc ing of m y knowledge on Southe rn Ca lifornia . Iused da ta from the book to unde rstand som e of the trends that ha ve hap pe ned inSouthe rn Ca lifornia as it ha s expa nded over the last one hundred yea rs.

Rahim, Ali. Ca ta lytic Forma tions: Arc hitec ture a nd d ig ita l design . Taylor & Franc is. Lond on,2006

Served as an insp ira tiona l book, the p rojec ts in the book dea lt w ith quite a few urbanissues tha t w ere releva nt to my projec t.

Silver, Mark. All-Over, Over-All: biothing and Emergent Composition. Architectural Design:Prog ramm atic C ultures, pg 72-81. Wiley-Academ y, Aug 2006.

Served as an informative source into the a rc hitec tura l p rec ed enc e o f the last fewyea rs. Dea lt with em ergenc e and g enera tive forms.

Images

Flickr Dig ita l Library. http :/ / fa rm1.sta tic .flickr.com/ 211/490649416_79663f5c06.jpg (Acc essedNovember 29, 2007).

Historic Downtow n Los Angeles Website. http :// ww w.historicdow ntow nla .com/ loc ation_ maps/Downtown_LA_Map.JPG (acessed November 12, 2007).

Map of Riga . http:/ / ww w.bd online.co .uk/ Pic tures/ 336xAny/w / g/ g/ Riga _ma p_2_rea dy.jpg(Acc essed Dec em ber 4, 2007).

Ord, E.O.C. ; Hanc oc k, Henry ; Hansen, Geo rge ; Banc roft & Thayer. Map Of The City Of LosAngeles. Los Angeles: Banc roft & Tha yer and W.H.J. Brooks, 1857.

Documents

Seth TrotterSenior ProjectFall2008AdvisorBillAdams