Mid term learning portfolio ARCH103

ARCH  103  JERRY  LUM  LEARNING  PORTFOLIO  BY:  LUKAS  ARIAS  

Ice  breaker:  This  ice  breaker  was  I  a.empt  to  explore  how  the  ground  quietly  communicates  to  the  pedestrian  by  changes  on  texture,  size,  color.      

Week  2  and  3  City  Image  by  Kevin  Lynch  

During  week  2  we  were  introduce  to  Kevin    Lynch’s    five  principals:  nodes,  landmarks  ,  paths  districts  and  edges.  These  five  elements  are  the  foundaJon  in  which  the  urban  environment  is  perceived  and  navigate    by  the  individual.  

During  the  massing  process  ,  I  created  a  district  that    honor  Lynch’s  four  principles  and  creates  a  vibrant  district  

•  Nodes:  they  are  primarily  points  of  conjuncJon    in  which  we  usually                  found  high  concentraJon  of  people  and  for  this  same  reason  nodes  are                  important  actors  that  bring  vitality    to  an  area.  •           since  humans  are  naturally  a.ract  to  water  In  this  first  I  a.empt  to  create  an  interesJng    node  by  placing  a  fountain  or  landmark.                            

This  district  model  is  base  of  Japan  town  in  SF.  While  making  this  model  I  became  more  aware  of  the  choices  an  urban  planner  is  confronted  with,  and  how  so  many  quesJons  arise  right  aOer  a  choice  is  make.  Keeping  the  vitality  as  a  main  value  helped  me  give  direcJon  to  my  design  choices.    

Landmarks:  they  are  usually  tall  structures  that  are  visible  from          the  distance  and  from  all  direcJons          

•   two  very  tall  buildings  were  placed  at  almost  opposite  extremes  of  the  district  from  each  other  to  enhance  navigaJon.  These  two  buildings  have  also  very  disJncJve  shapes  that  make  them  easily  recognizable.  Landmarks  can  become  world  known  icons  that  can  promote  a  city  or  district  like  the  GG  bridge  or  Empire  State  building  

•  An  smaller  landmark  was  place  on  plaza  to  increase  the  a.racJveness  of  the  node  as  well    as  become  more  of  a  local  landmark    

•  Landmarks  and  nodes  are  place  not  too  far  from  each  other  to  make  the  journey    through  the  district  more  interesJng    avoiding  large  monotonous  blocks  

Path:  Routs  along  which  the  observer  moves,  e.g.  streets,  walkways,  transit  lines,  canals,  railroads,  etc.    I  believe  paths  and  more  precisely  walkways  are  the  most  influenJal  of  the  five  principles.    its  qualiJes  set  

the  tone  of  the  over  all  experience  by  being  the  constant  element    the  individual  would  interact  with.  An  urban  area  can  have  vibrant  nodes,  strong  edges,  memorable  land  marks  but  if  the  sidewalks  are  dirty  a  clu.er  and  mobility  is  difficult  our  a.enJon  will  be  focus  only  on  navigaJng  paying  li.le  a.enJon  to  anything  else    

I  was  inspire  by  Japan  Town  ample  side  walks  and  pedestrian  only  areas;  these  kind  of  qualiJes  are  definitely  important  to  invite  people  to  walk  which  would  energize  the  district  an  would  promotes  commerce  

•  In  this  parJcular  area  I  decided  to  create  a  tree  barrier  between  the  pedestrian  and  the  cars  to  create  a  more  sense  of  safety  and  tranquility.    

•  The  threes  would  also  give  the  drivers  a  sense  of  speed  make  them  more  cauJous,  in  the  other  hand  trees  could  block  visibility  between  drivers  an  pedestrians.  I  believe  the  key  is  to  have  enough  distance  between  trees  and  chose  a  variety  of  tree  that  has  longer  trunks    

•  Edge:  linear  elements  not  used  or  considered  as  paths  by  the  observer.  They  are  the  boundaries  between  two  phases,  linear  breaks  in  conJnuity:  shores,  railroad  cuts,  edges  of  development,  walls.  Edges  may  be  barriers  or  seams,  lines  along  which  two  regions  are  related  and  joined  together    

Edges  were  a  parJcular  element  I  was  not  aware  of.  By  analyzing  Geary  st  I  realize  the  drasJc  impact  of  a  wide  street.  The  velocity  of  the  traffic  and  the  difficulty  of  crossing  Geary  make  this  street  a  clear  boundary  that  creates  two  different  areas.  I  duplicate  the  effect  of  Geary  st  on  my  model  to  get  clearer  sense  of  it    

•  A  “green”  boundary  right  in  the  middle  of  the  district  was  place  that  not  just  divide  two  areas  but  also  serves  as  an  transiJon  and  leisure  area  where  people  can  relax  and  enjoy  a  piece  of  nature  

•  Green  areas  are  vital  for  a  healthy  urban  environment.  We  designers  have  the  responsibility  to  reestablish  the  balance  with  our  natural  environment      

District:  large  secJons  of  the  city.  Successful  districts  create  an  idea  of  “inside  of”    they  are  recognizable  as  having  some  common,  idenJfying  character  that  enhances  a  sense  of  belonging  and  ownership  to  the  residents  making  the  residents  more  responsible  about  the  well  being  of  their  environment  

Parts  of  Japan  Town  has  a  very  disJncJve  character  base  mostly  because  of  its  Japanese  inspire  architecture  and  eateries.  Even  thou  I  tried  to  copy  some  of  the  main  aspects  by  using  similar  massing  is  hard  to  achieve    or  give  character  to  the  model  without  going  in  to  more  detail    

Week  4  Edward  TuOe’s  Six  Principles  for  the  Analysis  and  PresentaJon  of  Data;  Daniel  Willingham’s  Process  for  Pursuing  Truth    

Density of the nodes base on accesabilty

that an observer can enter and which are the intencivefoci to and from he or she is traveling

quantities and qualities of the paths and acces ways

For this case study we will combine three areas

all these three are next to each other and connect by Market street.This distrisct is the biggest city hub where multipleforms of traveling colide, bringing density and thereforevitality to the district

Bay area Bart systemThe Bart is probably one ofthe best formof transportation in the bay. moving an average of366.000 pasangers a day during the week daysand 330.000 during the weekends.As we can see in the map above shows four major Bartlines cross the Downtown along with three underground stations

Downtown San Francisco Bike routes Dispite the topography of the city, SF is concider by Bicycling.Com

As we can see in the map above SF’s Downtown is crisscross by bike lanes and using Market street as an axis

San francisco major Highways

As is shown in the map above the Downtown is the ending point of the interstate 80 which cross the country from east to west.Approximetly 280.000 vehicles move accross the east bay bridgeevery day. Downtown It is also located along highway 101 and the I-280

Downtown san francisco bus, trains and ferry mapthis map shows how three modes of transportation that intersect Bus, ferry, Muni and the Cal-tran they all have major stations in the district, bringing passangers from all

The graphic of the SF “great down town” is showing the population by day and night. This district is the area that holds more density than any other part of the city. making it the biggest node

Bart

BicycleBUS

Sidealks and streets

From macro to microat minor scale.

In here we can see nodes within a node.These three nodes are part of the “great downtown”and they also have their own access and path ways

node

By: Lukas Arias

- +Density

+

-

Means that peopleuse in and outof downtown

ACCESING THE NODE

Since  what  make  a  “node”  is  actually  the  density  more  than  the  physical  properJes,  I  tried  to  have  a  deeper  understanding  of  density  so  I  came  out  with  a  Hypothesis.  I  stated  that  density  depends  on  the  quality  and  quanJty  of  the  paths.  This  presentaJon  is  an  study  on  the  paths  and  accessibility  and  how  they  influence  the  node  I  also  applied  TuOe’s  principles  in  order  bring  my  theory  across      

Conclusion:  the  node’s  density  and  therefore  it  vitality;  is  directly  influence  by  the  access  channels.  High  density  is  usually  found    on  nodes  that  are  intercept  by  major  freeways,  easily  access  by  public  transport,  and  when  pedestrian  and  bike  routes  are  spacious,  well  define  and  safe  automobiles  

Week  5,  2/11-­‐2/17:  Oscar  Newman,  Defensible  Space  &  the  utopian  city    

Utopian city:Applying succesfull urban design principlesconcepts and starategies to create a vital city Major transportation arteries

bicycle route

bus route

light rail

Subway

parking areas

Creating density through diversity

Residential

public

commercial

o!ces

library

school

auditoriumurban garden

High density is created through multiple acces ways andparking spaces makes the district more attractive to morepeople

High activity mix areas like commercial, residential, hospitals ,schools, public areas, o!ces, libraries are surround by green spaces make the districta major hub while keping the balance betwen the natural and the build environment

Connectivity and multiple elevated pathways

These color lines shows all non conventional path that are exclusive for pedretians making the city a littleunpredictable moving away from conventional grid cities.These paths break the block in to smaller section allowingthe pedestrian create its own favorite path

these color lines represent all the elevated path ways that give the citya distintive character, the elevated plathforms along with the walkable green roofs creates a new ways to experience the city

nodes, landmarks and edges

the city is connected by a major central node in whic most of the commercial activity is located

A 360 degrees visible tower is located in one of the far cornershelping "nding the way

the water edge de"ne the boun-dries of the city

Distintive character

The city can be experincefrom multuple dimensionlike the under watertrain station or fromone of the many elevatedwalkable green gardens,giving the city a uniquefeeling

ARCH103BY: LUKAS ARIAS

First  iteraJon:  Utopian  city  

•  In  the  second  iteraJon  I  add  a  Jtle  which  helps  with  the  overall  vision  •  I  placed  all  the  plan  view  data  next  to  each  other  to  keep  conJnuity  in  the  way  the  

informaJon  is  presented  •  Larger  elevaJon  images    along  with  visual  references  with  locaJon  that  help  to  improve  

the  locaJon  in  the  model  

City  Strata  was  inspired  by  another  student  who  also  was  exploring  the  idea  of  elevated  pathways  where  people  could  move  free  form  vehicle  traffic.  I  decided  that  I  wanted  to  push  that  idea  as  far  as  I  can  without  thinking  much  on  the  achievability  or  possible  “mistakes”  of  the  to  project  later  reflect  on  it.  However  I  tried  to  achieve  a    the  set  of  values  dictated  for  the  utopian  city  project  and  adding  the  idea  or  goal  to  achieve  a  super  connecJve  city  

•     

Conclusions  Pros  and  cons  of  city  strata  pros    •  City  strata    was  designed  to  fully  uJlize  the  roofs  of  the  buildings  and  treat  them  as  public  space  this  would  create  a  very  

disJncJve  district  where    pedestrians  can  experience  the  city  from  above.    •  That  is  walkabilty  from  roof  to  roof  through  a  series  of    glass  bridges    would    accentuate  the  feeling  of  being  above  ground  

which  is  something  unusual  for  a  city  •  Since  the  city  has  so  many  different  layer  pathways  and  the  blocs  are  small,  the  individual  would  be  able  to  create  their  own  

routes  making  the  city  less  predictable  and  therefore    more  fun  to  walk  •  AddiJonal  green  area  and  green  roofs  would  increase  posiJvely  the  vegetaJon  raJo  air  quality  and  temperature  Cons  •  crime  might  be  able  a  problem  due  to  the  lack  of  ownership  of  the  roof  pathways,  only  few  people  on  tall  buildings  would  be  

able  to  watch  the  elevated  pathways,  It  would  be  hard  for  a  vicJm  to  escape  a  potenJal  dangerous  situaJon  due  to  the  high  of  the  buildings  and  the  the  few  possible  escape  routes  

•  Commercial  acJvity  would  be  limited  to  ground  level  only  so  the  pedestrian  flow  would  decrease  at  ground  level  which  will  affect  negaJvely  the  commercial  desirability  

•  Too  many  pathways  with  not  enough  density  would  make  feel  the  district  more  empty  than  an  average  one  •  Maintenance    of  the  public  roof  sibng  on  private  buildings  might  be  difficult  to  organize    

• Parking  areas  are  close  to  building  entrances  promotes  safety  • Entry  ways  serve  only  six  families  facing  the  inner  outer  streets  that  gives  the  residents  a  sense  of  control  • Residents  have  close  view  of  the  streets  which  promotes  safety  • Building  entrances  are  juxtapose  with  the  city  streets  • Small  green  areas  with  benches  outside  the  walkup  entrances  increase  the  sense  of  community    

CreaVng  defensible  space  

Mid  term  conclusion:    •  During  Arch102    I  began  to  understand  the  definite  role  the  site  has  and  how  influences  the  

design  process.  Arch103    is  been  working    on  deepening  that  understanding  and  heightening  the  sensibility  of  the  complex  urban  environment.  However  I  find  very  difficult  what  set  of  values  should  I  choose  and  promote  since  there  are  so  many  variables  that  could  influences  the  design  choices  but  I  believe  choosing  these  values  will  get    easier  once  the  program  get  introduce  

•  I  really  enjoy  the  introducJon  to  urbanism  and  I  would  had  enjoyed  if  we  could  have  explore  other  theories.  like  other  students  had  menJon  perhaps  we  spent  too  much  Jme  on  Lynch  principles  but  I  guess  sJll  can  go  on  my  own  and  research  other  approaches  

•  Like  I  menJon  above  the  urban  environment  has  start  to  unfold  and  I  found  this  very  interesJng  and  entertaining.  What  was  invisible  has  become  very  relevant,  walking  through  SF  has  become  an  opportunity  to  quesJoning  why  the  things  are  the  way  they  are  what  were  the  possible  problems  the  designers  had  to  solve  and  what  they  could  have  missed.  I  am  really  curios  how  far  this  re-­‐discovering  of  the  city  might  take  us  ,  however  I  can  see  myself  starJng  to  applying  the  same  analysis  to  the  infinite  realms  and  complex  systems  of  nature  which  ulJmate  holds  the  keys  of  building  a  true  healthy  and  sustainable  build  environment  

•  Thank  you  Jerry  

•  I  know  you  like  bullet  points