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| title |
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Ujamaa Square, New Orleans: Tectonic Bridge |
| students |
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Sean Brennan, Justin Powers |
| instructor |
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Mark Pasnik |
| date |
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Spring 2006 |
| school |
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Wentworth Institute of Technology |
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| subject |
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landscape, public building |
| site |
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Treme, Lafitte |
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| description |
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The contaminated soil is one of the largest
and most widespread problems the people of New Orleans face pointing us to the main focus of our design; we worked with
the landscape and answering the problem of how the community center can still function while remediation
is occurring. The inspiration for our landscape came through studying the work of
the Noguchi [a world renowned artist] and his contemporary interpretations of the playground.
Taking Noguchi’s ideas along with our own we transformed a basic idea into a matrix of raised safe
grounds to create outdoor occupy-able spaces while remediation is happening. The raised safe ground would
block remediation from occurring therefore these raised safe grounds would move over time.
The process of movement would prolong the remediation process but would also open up the much
needed outdoor spaces not only for the day-care center but also for the elderly apartment holders and
the Ujamaa activity center. Through our calculations we discover it would take 88% less soil to create
these raised safe grounds than it would take to replace all the top soil [another alternative for remediation].
For both the Environmental Lab and the Day-care Center we wanted to be as cost effective as possible
by using only local materials as well as standard lumber sizes for a module. The Environmental lab
would utilize the pre-existing two story house and one of the shotgun houses through the insertion
of a tectonic bridge between the two. The bridge would react to the movement of these raised safe grounds,
using them as a structural support while moving and adjusting to its new location. This tectonic
bridge would be put together in a kit of parts fashion, allowing even those with little construction
background to participate in its assembly. For the day-care center we wanted to not only provide
the children with as much outdoor space as possible but also utilize the new structure to gather gray
water for the remediation gardens. A thick concrete wall runs down the middle of the building organizing
the day-care center. This organizing wall also doubles as an aqueduct carrying the water to
the cisterns located underground on either end of the building. |
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school site |
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