flux city project #3

After speaking with professor Niall Kirkwood, a minor adjustment was made to the overall scheme. Instead of agriculture directly feeding off of the canals that cut through the site, a secondary canal peels away from the main ones in which water will undergo a series of constructed wetlands within which water is cleansed. The issue of salinity and pollution in the water is the main hurdle in proposing agriculture for this site, but a hybrid system of water cleansing plus rainwater mixing will help create a solution suitable for crop growth.

Urbanism on the site will primarily be buildings adjacent to or over the canals of the site. Buildings adjacent to the canals will actually help shade the water, helping to prevent overgrowth of algae in the water (algae water is not suitable for agriculture because due to the depletion of oxygen). A building catalog will consist primarily of the types that react/butt against the canal.

One issue that hopefully I can resolve soon is how the highway interfaces with the construction on the site. The highway over the southern shoreline is lower than anticipated.

In general, the overall productive ecological system is figured out, I will now need to dive in and work on the details (plant/crop types, zoning, phasing, seasonal patterns/changes, building distribution). In particular, I would like to have a planting pattern decided since that is very conditional on the quality of the water, the amount of sun it receives, and its growing season.

The issue of food production and urban agriculture is not new in landscape architecture and one that I have been interested in since my days at Wash U.

flux city project #2

The project's logic is generated by 2 primary natural conditions:

1.  Drainage Patterns - inherently tied with the terrain of the site, natural drainage lines inform how water will be channeled through the site. Different scales of canals and agricultural fields result from this optimization of natural runoff. In essence, the system is combining typologies of agriculture and channeling.

2.  Sun/Light - when programming for agricultural productivity, sunlight is the second key element (next to water). Sunlight affects the orientation of crop fields, and the density of fields. When deploying buildings on site, shadows cast from the buildings creates consequences/opportunities. Building typologies may morph in terms of how light washes off rooftops, reflects off surfaces, and programmatic needs.

Perhaps a 3rd ecological condition? Maybe later, these are a 2 big ones.

Due to the different scaled densities of the fields, suggestions can be made on the types and mixes of crops grown in the fields. Should it be a mono-culture? Or utilize inter-cropping?

flux city project #1

Chris Reed  -  dooon't stoss believin'

Inspired by the writings of Andrea Branzi concerning manipulable and ever-changing urbanism, I am proposing an agriculturally based community with a re-programmable surface. By creating channels, brackish water may be brought through and utilized as an irrigation source. This water would have to be treated and mixed with groundwater or rainwater depending on the water salinity and its nutrient content. The web of irrigation channels acts as not only of a way to farm the land, but also acts as a social device by activating public space and seeding the construction of new residential and industrial (agriculture) buildings. 

The location is on Willets Point, a floodplain in the heart of Flushing Bay in NYC. As far as I know, there aren't any residential buildings on this site - only auto repair shops and the House of Spices (mmm...Indian). One thing to note is that residential homes on floodplains will be more expensive because of the added cost of flood insurance. The highway interchange that weaves around the site acts as a buffer between the site and the rest of the city, and finding a way to better connect with surrounding neighborhoods is worth thinking about. The proximity to LaGuardia Airport creates noise and ground vibrations on site, and also places strict building height restrictions.

Critical at this early stage of the project is setting up the key questions that will guide the project and prevent distractions. What are the fluxing conditions that drive the agricultural ecology? Sun, wind, precipitation, distribution, flooding? What site factors should be taken in account, what should be set aside? Soil, the interchange, topography, LGA? The ecological demands take precedence over urban development. 

Sunshine.....Celery Stalks!