Marigny Site One Mock Up

For my site i choose to look at two things, the amphitheatre in the front center section of the site and the volleyball court located at the back right of my site. Imidiately after staking out the area for the two larger amphitheatres located on my site, i discovered the two larger proposed performance areas are too large for the context of the site. After determining this i decided it best to look at the amphitheatre in the context of the road and how it would look facing traffic. Below are two renditions of the amphitheatre and its backdrop as well as the volleyball court in the back of the site.

2.005 (Photosynth)

I created this photosynth to show the placement of the various parts of the module along the levee wall. It shows the wall in context of the area around it, both on the street side of the levee and the river side of the levee.  After looking at the site for the module i determined that the park area right outside of the levee would provide the best place for public viewing. My first thought was Ellysian Fields, but this area proved to not have enough access to the water on the river side of the levee.

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=2386bec5-246b-4f42-814c-905a9c5caa11

Project 2.001 Investigate (Dune 4.22)

Dune 4.2

            Dune is an interactive landscape beside the river Maas in Rotterdam, NL. The public artwork utilized less than 60 watts of energy and is 60 meters long. It interacts with its visitors in sensing where they walk along the river in the form of sounds and motions, then displays the activities on its hundreds of LED lights. It creates a spectacular light display during the night and is a cutting edge way of meshing people nature and technology. The permanent display is an artistic work by Daan Roosegaarde. Dune 4.2 explores the human relationship to the urban fabric in a whole new way. (http://www.studioroosegaarde.net/) daan@studioroosegaarde.net

Project 2.001 Investigate (Materials and Technologies)

TRANSMATERIAL.NET   MATREIALS

Parabienta

            Parabienta is a green wall system constructed of a solidified soil base and a stainless steel wire framing system. The soil is formed from a unique polyster-blended soil compound that when heated creates a lightweight and sponge like material for the base of the plants. The soil is about 1 inch thick and supports many various types of plants that can be interchanged through the panels. The panels are then supported by a nutrient fed hydroponics system. The product is manufactured by the Shimzu Corp. and costs around $80/per sq. foot, making it one of the cheapest green wall products available. This eco friendly, low cost material is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, and has shown that it significantly cools the interior of building as well as mitigates high frequency noises. (http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/) (http://www.thegrowspot.com/ ”Ispichkin”)

Luna

            Luna is a glass building material that contains a phosphorescent chemical that retains light during the day and then glows for hours during the night. It is made from glass that is recycled from car windshields. It is made for both interior and exterior architectural applications. Luna is created by Architectural Systems Inc. of New York. (http://transmaterial.net)

Protrude, Flow

            Protrude, Flow was an exhibit set up at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid from July 26 to Oct 12, 2008. Created by Tokyo-based artists Sachiko Kodama and Minako Takeno. It uses magnetic fluid produced by dissolving ferro-magnetic micro-powder in a solvent such as oil or water. It then retains its magnetic properties even in the liquid state, making for some organic shapes that can not be produced with magnetic sand. The exhibit set up with this magnetic fluid then took viewers voices and projected the volume onto the magnetic forces of the liquid to create 3D forms. The magnetic fluid shown can be easily made at home using oil and magnetic tape. (http://www.kodama.hc.uec.ac.jp/project/protrude.html)

TECHNOLOGIES

Optical Radiation

            Optical radiation is defined as any wavelength range between 100 nanometers and 1 nanometer. This spectrum is further divided by the categories of ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation and infrared radiation. This range excludes ionizing radiation such as microwaves and radio frequencies. It can also be defined as electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the eye. Usually the instruments used in this field are used to find or sort things that may not be visible to the eye at first glance, such as heat sensory and metals under the ground. These instruments are quantum devices in which an individual photon produced a discrete effect. (www.eurofound.europa.eu)

Instruments:

Photodetector – sensors of light or other electromagnetic energy.

Infrared (thermography) – cameras detect radiation in the infrared range and project those images of the radiation. Infrared radiation is emitted by all objects near room temperature, according to the black body radiation law.

Proximity Sensors – a sensor that is able to detect the presence of nearby objects without physical contact. Sensors often emit a electrostatic or electromagnetic field that looks for a return.

Scanning Laser – uses polarized light to find thickness.

Interferometer (interferometry) – is the technique of diagnosing the properties of two or more waves by measuring their pattern of interference created by their superposition.

Scintillometer – device used to measure small fluctuations of the refractive index of air caused by change in temperature, humidity and pressure.

Fiber Optic Sensor – a sensor that used fiber optics as either a sensing element or to relay information from a remote sensing device.

(http://www.wikipedia.org/)

MySQL

            MySQL is a relational database management system that runs as a server to provide multiple user access to a number of databases. A number of high profile websites such as Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube use MySQL for data storage and logging of user data. The code for MySQL runs on C and C ++ code, and runs on a variety of platforms such as Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux. Linux is the preferred platform for running MySQL because its package management system allows for installation of code with minimal effort. MySQL was developed by Michael Widenius and named for his daughter My.

(http://www.wikipedia.org/)

LED Lighting Controls

            Controls LED light in either a red, blue, green, output or in a mono output. A variety of LED controllers are available.

CAD/CAM

            CAD/CAM is a term that means Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing, and is often used to mean a software tool that covers a wide variety of engineering functions. In a broader term CAx is used to describe the use of the computer to aid in the design analysis and manufacturing of products.CAD/CAM software uses CAD drawing tools to describe geometries used by the CAM portion of the program to define a toolpath to direct the motion of a machine tool that will then machine the exact shape of that which is drawn. The most familiar of these programs are AutoCAD and Autodesk 3ds Max.

(www.gsd.harvard.edu)

1.004 Model

The model I created for this project explores how the Marigny grid was influenced through the years, beginning in 1798 and moving through specifically chosen dates till now. The gray acrylic that is presented in the model represents the railroads  and explors how it changed from date to date as the model progresses upward to present day. The brown acrylic represents canals that have bisected the marigny and immediate area during the selected dates. Each of the piano wires that are passing through the panels that represent the selected dates are intersection in the roads of the marigny and bywater.

The model displays a fine curve from the earliest date till now of the amount of railroad lines laid out through the neighborhood. My assumption is that as the neighborhood grows more and more of these rail tracks will be disappearing to further create a complete curve of their existence. Also, in further study of this phenomena i have noticed that the areas that created the divisions within the neighborhood seem to still hold their division properties in their respected areas of the neighborhood well after they are gone. For example, on Ellysian Fields that street is still so wide that people tend to only cross if it is absolutely necessary because of the width of the street, where as in the inner fabric where there is not a division area people tend to walk around in the middle of the street.  The same divisions can also be read into by the upkeep of areas as you move along the neighborhood (Press would be a good example of this).

On a further thought about these division areas that may or may not influence me later i have decided that these areas need to be connected in such a manner as to create the same effect as the inner fabric of the neighborhood where people walk around freely, not constrained by crosswalks and vast expanses of road.

Site Observation 1.004

For the small-scale site observation i chose an area that is a division area of the Marigny to coincide with my hmodeling project that show how the railroads and waterways divided the Marigny into the sections that it is today. Although Ellysian Fields is no longer a railroad or waterway dividing the neighborhood I feel that there is still a significant change from one side of the long broad street to the other. The broadness of the existing street seems to divide the neighborhood subconsciously for the residents, and on a map divides the neighborhood for city planners.

I recorded about 120 various observations over a two and a half hour period on Ellysian Fields next to a nursery near the bottom of the street. Of these 120 Observations i divided these into ones that have a direct impact on the landscape (shown in larger text), and ones that do not have a direct impact or any impact at all. Then, i further divided these observations into six groups of effectees; people, animals, wind, natural phenomena, sun, and machinery.

Site Observation 0.003 (ceremony)

The Mardi Gras event is a celebration stemming from catholic origins that includes Fat Tuesday and in most cases the events leading to Fat Tuesday that involves eating richer and fattier foods before the beginning of Lent or Ash Wednesday. Over the past weekend i was able to go to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras celebration. Although many of my observations of this event were not in the Marigny, it gave me a good idea of what occurs, not only in New Orleans, but in the state of Louisiana during this holiday. The most interesting part of the celebration for me was the variety of costumes (not only in the parade) that were displayed in the event. When i asked Amanda what she thought of the event on the ride back to Baton Rouge, she thought that everyone on the street was really excited about the beads the floats handed out, and pointed out that the lady standing next to us during the course of the parade had brought bags to put the beads in with her. By the time the first parade was done she had collected enough beads and other novelties to fill two large grocery bags.

Composite Thoughts

I took a idea from an example that Brad gave us and used a series of circle symbols following my path through the marigny. After figuring out al the kinks and problems i encountered i have been able to stain the circle symbols in the color of the houses, using google street view to follow my path. (The Jpeg image provided may or may not show the color combinations on here.)

Project 1.001- Catagorize. Illustrate

Upon visiting the Marigny i found that the thing that interested me the most was the vibrant colors of the neighborhoods houses and the unique architecture that is represented in this old area of New Orleans. These colors reflect the history of the people who have resided in the neighborhood through the years. The diverse heritages of the people of the Marigny make this area unique, interesting and alive with tradition

My phenomena will be the unique colors of this area that is reflected in the architecture and homes of the Marigny. I will be focusing on the unique architecture and how it relates to the history of the place. The pictures will provide a taste of the Marigny on both the macro and micro scales as well as show some of the culture that is reflected in the art of the area.

(pictures to come later).

On The Images of the City by Kevin Lynch

In The Images of the City Lynch focuses mostly on the image formed by a city to an individual or large group of individuals who have a connection to the city, but only briefly touches on the images of a city from an outside observer. (The outside observer meaning one who has no physical or emotional connection to the city.) The outside observer is the largest group that forms a certain image of a city. I have realized during reading Lynch’s article that far too often the outside observer forms an image of the city based on its major problems or disasters. Leaving the outside observer with often not so favorable preconceived image of the city that stems from top media stories. For Example:

New York – 9/11

Chicago – Fire

Los Angeles – Smog

New Orleans – Katrina

Detroit – The failing american auto industry

Miami – drug traffic

As landscape architects we must see past these preconceived notions of a place and forget all outside world views in order to place ourselves in a city. To see the city in the eyes of the people who live there and experience them and the city anew. Only then can the landscape architect truly design something for the people who inhabit the area.