images_tenochtitlan and chinampas

Tenochtitlan is an Aztec City built on a lake, an island city. Its agriculture was based on chinampas, "narrow, rectangular beds or platforms, which are constructed by alternating layers of lake mud and thick mats of decaying vegetation (cespedes) o ver shallow lake bottoms, or in marshy zones" (Calnek 105). For more information about Tenochtitlan, click here, or for chinampas click here.

image_loftboat book

images_floating home book

These cartoonish images begin to show some of the necessary systems and infrastructure for floating homes and living on the water.

images_houseboat book

proposal_11.19.2009

water, water everywhere.

abstract
The world’s sea level is rising. This is an undeniable fact. Sea level has been rising at a rate of 1.8mm per year for the past century, and has increased to a rate of 3.1mm/year from 1993-2000. Global warming is not a threat in the distant future, but rather threatens the present with its continuous gradual increase in water. Its damage has already begun. In fact, the populated island of Lochara was swallowed by the rising sea level in 2007. This is only the first in an ever-increasing trend.

Moreover, the threat does not limit itself to the distant islands off the coast of Papa New Guinea, but rather threatens every place of habitation in close proximity to a body of water. Given that water takes up two-thirds of the Earth’s surface, and most urban areas were settled on water for ease of trade and transit, the threat becomes gargantuan in scale. It does not limit itself to Amsterdam, Venice, and New Orleans, but the majority of cities everywhere.

This begs to question an alternate mode of living. Engineering technologies will always pose methods of keeping water out. Their scale and vigor can increase to combat some of the most grueling flooding conditions. However, what happens if the problem is simply restated? If instead of keeping water out of habitation, people can inhabit water. This thesis poses an urban condition on the water. In this thesis, water plays the paradoxical role of both the enemy and the only hope for survival. In its manifestation, the design poses a functional way of living on water, but hopes to also emphasize the beauty and playful nature of water. Water in all its ferocity still remains sublime. As the most threatening substance, it is simultaneously of utmost beauty.

context
In order to begin to propose a new method of living on water I have been studying precedents and their relationship to water. I have been looking at the following projects:
-houseboats
-IJmeer
-Lochara
-Seuthopolis, Bulgaria
-New Orleans
-ARO’s New York
-Guy Nordenson project
-Human habitation always occurs in the most unstable places.
-Humans have a history of living where they should not, and a history of facing natural disasters.
-Many cities already are water cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Bangkok. However, none of them are dealing with the conditions of water in innovative ways. Traditional building typologies are applied in brutal climates.
-If one looks to the past—many innovative ways of looking at the merging of water and architecture.
Examples: Islamic cities-Fes
Mughal temples-Alhambra
Indian cities-Agra
Roman aqueducts
Bath houses
Mills of Crete
-in the past was a celebration of architecture and water
-modernism forged water into its utilitarian role and it became increasingly privatized and hidden in pipes
-revival of celebration of water begins to be seen in the 80s
-see blog for more info: www.mchristodoulides.blogspot.com

design proposition
For my thesis I propose a new way of living on water. The entire city must be rethought. Water should be considered at a multiplicity of scales, from the larger network to the scale of the person. In its threatening nature, I hope to also realize its playfulness. For my thesis I propose designing a city for the flooded condition of water that performs both functionally as a mode of survival, and expressively as a celebration of water.

image_IJmeer

IJmeer is a lake outside of Amsterdam that is the construction site of a new district. With the inevitable problems of flooding, yet lack of land in Amsterdam, this project hopes to create a new place for living. It reclaims seven islands with dredged sand, provides 18,000 single-family homes as well as apartment buildings, schools, office complexes, city parks, and beaches, for 45,000 residents. This community also includes more than 200 floating homes. For more information, click here.

image_disappearing island

The island of Lochara is the first populated island to disappear due to rising sea levels. It unexpectedly beat the Cararet Islands off of Papua New Guinea. A dozen islands in this area, home to 70,000 people, are in danger of becoming submerged. Global warming is already affecting where people can and cannot live. For more information, click here.

A game that simulates these flooding conditions suggests using different forms of concrete block as a preventative measure of the rising sea level. The image above shows the Dolos form. For more information about concret barriers to rising sea level, read this blog.

(thanks, Matt!)

research_houseboats of sausalito

Living on water is not a new phenomena. In particular, people have inhabited houseboats. On a trip to Point Reyes last weekend, I noticed the houseboats I had always been inquisitive about as another potential source for thesis information. The book, Houseboats: Aquatic Architecture of Sausalito by Kathy Shaffer, documents the houseboats I often see from the road. One thing that is particularly interesting about these floating communities is that they came to be largely due to the post WWII housing shortage. Since San Francisco exists largely due to infill, the water already had plotlines anticipating its conversion to land which was sold in mid 1800s.

images:
the top image shows Sausalito and its houseboats. The bottom two images show a particular houseboat and its change in position in accordance with the changing tide.

lessons:
The houseboats show how inhabitation already exists on the water that is already a hybrid between boat and house. This exists to varying degrees. The reason it began in the Bay was due to a pressing need for housing...which would exist in an eminent flooding condition as well. These houseboats create tight-knit communities.

image_michael phelps

swimmer michael phelps submerged in water. image from outside magazine.

image_waterworld

image_new orleans flooded

Images from national geographic's website.

image_bulgarian city in a lake

This ancient city was built in the middle of a lake, but actually below water level. "Seuthopolis, in Bulgaria...was discovered in 1948. Six years later, a dam was destroyed and it was covered in water, ending up at the bottom of a huge lake. Now, the city is being unearthed." For more info: click here.

(thanks, Zoe!)

proposal_11.14.08

WATER DISASTER > WATER CITIES

Abstract

The year is 2108. The polar ice caps have melted. The sea level has risen. Water has invaded every major city along the east coast. A network of cities that had been developed along fault lines to enable trade and transit 300 hundred years ago now stands inundated by water. The same water which provided these cities sustenance now threatens their existence. The American megalopolis lays drowning and gasping for air. Buildings are entirely submerged; windows have popped out of their sills. The ground is out of reach. People cannot stand, they can only swim. What happens now?

But water in all its ferocity still remains sublime. As the most threatening substance, it is simultaneously of utmost beauty. In this scenario water plays the paradoxical role of both the enemy and the only hope for survival.

Context

-New Orleans

-ARO’s New York

-Guy Nordenson project

-Human habitation always occurs in the most unstable places.

-Humans have a history of living where they should not, and a history of facing natural disasters.

-Many cities already are water cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Bangkok. However, none of them are dealing with the conditions of water in innovative ways. Traditional building typologies are applied in brutal climates.

-If one looks to the past—many innovative ways of looking at the merging of water and architecture.

Examples: Islamic cities-Fes

Mughal temples-Alhambra

Indian cities-Agra

Roman aqueducts

Bath houses

Mills of Crete

-in the past was a celebration of architecture and water

-modernism forged water into its utilitarian role and it became increasingly privatized and hidden in pipes

-revival of celebration of water begins to be seen in the 80s

-see blog for more info

Design Proposition

For my thesis I propose a new way of living on water. The entire city must be rethought. Water should be considered at a multiplicity of scales, from the larger network to the scale of the person. In its threatening nature, I hope to also realize its playfulness. For my thesis I propose designing a city for the flooded condition of water that performs both functionally as a mode of survival, and expressively as a celebration of water.

making_analog1

ping-pong balls placed in plaster mold.
each pour of plaster was rendered visible through paint, charcoal, or graphite.
solid plaster was then cut into even sections to reveal variations in pours and holes.
what is its relevance? still unsure.
ping-pong balls are submerged. sedimentation...etc.etc
something hidden being revealed.
an interest in texture.
will continue to make...

image_aro city of the future entry

These images come from ARO's City of the Future entry. For more information, click on the link to their flickr page. Their competition entry posits that with rising water levels, lower-lying parts of Manhattan will entirely flood, necessitating a new way of living on water. They propose "vanes" as a mechanism for building on water. These will be the future's version of the skyscraper on the flooded streets of Manhattan. Transit may occur through hybrid airships.

research_venice: city on water

Venice, the famous city built on the water, has been paramount in discussion for all other cities that deal with water. It is the marker of success. Everyone references it. On p144 of Venice, the Tourist Maze, Davis and Marvin state, "Venice remains the ultimate realization of this particular urban vision: so much so that no one would ever think to call it 'the Amsterdam of the Adriatic.' Rather, it is other cities that are, or aspire to be, 'the Venice of the North,' '...of the East,' '...of Asia,' and finally, '...of California,' which is, of course, simply Venice, California.' However, this city is an old model, constantly struggling against rising sea levels to preserve its museum-like presence.
In Venice, Against the Sea, John Keahey references Professor Rinaldo on p 261 as saying, "Venice is like a person trying to run forward [by] looking backwards: “[look at] how good we were; how great we were!” Venice is trapped between a huge past and no future." This implies that Venice's relationship to the water is an outdated model. It was revolutionary in its implementation, but currently struggles just to subside. This poses the question that I hope to explore for my thesis: what is the city built on water of the future?

images:
The above images show flooded conditions of Venice, and the ever-present threat of rising sea-levels and sinking land. The map pairing shows the outline of Italy and its change over time. The first image is 1 million years before the present; the second image is 20,000 years before the present. The other map shows the network of waterways existing in Venice.
The final image is taken from a design proposal from a Masters in Architecture student from a UC Berkeley thesis in 2001 by Paul Thomas Haas. The proposal suggest mitigating the changing tide levels by providing a levy which changes height by floating higher according to the changing tides.
Rather than preserving cities, I am interested in entirely rethinking their existence on the water as Venice once did.

lessons:
Venice survives by continuous maintenance. Current mechanisms of surviving are threatened by a worsening condition of rising sea levels. What is a new mode for co-existing with water?

image_venice: city on water

Images from Venicexposed.
Dreamy convergence of architecture and water in this historic city.

image_new orleans flooding

national geographic

proposal_11.06.08

WATER DISASTER > WATER CITIES

Abstract

Global warming poses a threat to the world in which we live. Scientists agree that the average temperature of the Earth is steadily increasing. In the last century alone the average temperature has increased 0.6 degrees Celsius around the world (National Geographic). Ice caps of Mount Kilimanjaro melted, and coral reefs are disappearing. The biggest threat, however, lies in a dramatically rising sea level. In 2004, it was noted that the oceans raised 4 to 8 inches. The biggest fear is if Greenland’s ice sheet was to melt. If this occurs, the US eastern seaboard faces a grave threat. The cities conveniently located on ports for access to water, transit, and trade, will face devastating effects. Traditional forms of habitation will no longer be feasible. This thesis begins on the premise of a disaster on the scale that sea level raises to a level that cities cannot survive. It necessitates a new way of living—a way of living on water. In this scenario water plays the paradoxical role of both the enemy and the only hope for survival.

Context

-Human habitation always occurs in the most unstable places.

-Humans have a history of living where they should not, and a history of facing natural disasters.

-Many cities already are water cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Bangkok. However, none of them are dealing with the conditions of water in innovative ways. Traditional building typologies are applied in brutal climates.

-If one looks to the past—many innovative ways of looking at the merging of water and architecture.

Examples: Islamic cities-Fes

Mughal temples-Alhambra

Indian cities-Agra

Roman aqueducts

Bath houses

Mills of Crete

-in the past was a celebration of architecture and water

-modernism forged water into its utilitarian role and it became increasingly privatized and hidden in pipes

-revival of celebration of water begins to be seen in the 80s

Design Proposition

In the case of Agra, six geographical scales of the role of water exist in the city fabric, beginning at the internal garden water system, and stretching to its regional water system. All of these were highly designed. For my thesis I propose designing a city for the flooded condition of water that performs both functionally as a mode of survival, and expressively as a celebration of water.

research_daidalos: mills of crete

Another Daidolos journal article studies the mills of the island of Crete. They describe the efficient low energy use of moving water through this ancient system to support the running of mills. The system is still operational today. It is a relatively simple system that uses the natural topography of the land and small rotating mechanical parts for this infrastructure.

images:
Show technical drawings describing the operation of the mills. It also shows water moving through the system and how with time it has merged with the landscape.


lessons:
Water has simple physical properties that can help to provide power through its movement.

research_environmental design: water + architecture

These images come from the Environmental Design Journal, on a particular issue that studies the relationship between water and architecture. This resource is valuable as it examines primarily non-western examples of water and architecture. Many of the examples come from Islamic traditions, as this culture values water as it "means life". The Ottoman empire adopted its relationship with water from its exposure to Islamic culture. Water and its treatment in these culture is religious and symbolic.

images:
Show examples of the use of water in India, and the Ottoman Empire. In particular, the treatment of water at multiple scales in Agra becomes interesting. Water exists as a treatment at a larger scale and becomes further investigated at smaller scales. "Six geographical scales of analysis are pertinent for understanding the roles of water in the landscape: a-internal garden water systems; b-the landscape context of individual gardens; c-garden complexes along the Yamuna River corridor; d-the urban water system at agra; e- urban centers along the Yamuna and its tributaries; and f- regional water systems."
lessons:
Water as network. Water to be manipulated at multiple scales.

research_daidalos-water issue 2

images:
These images are also collected from the Daidalos journal issue on water. These tend to be more celebratory of the experience of water. Complex structures for water parks and swimming facilities. They romanticize the conditions of water. They also begin to deal specifially with the intersection of building and water. The photographs towards the end of the post deal with containing water through building. The water becomes part of the sectional experience of the building.

lessons:
Water use for recreational purposes. Water contained within architecture.