Blossom - Community Garden & Pavilion
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Transcript of Blossom - Community Garden & Pavilion
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RISD Department of Architecture
Architectural Design
Spring 2011
Proposal designed and constructed
by 72 RISD students under the
guidance of the following faculty:
Silvia Acosta, Coordinator
Adrienne Benz
Hansy Better
Jawn Lim
Enrique Martinez
Jason Wood
Wilbur E. Yoder
Project Made Possible by:
Mr. Louis Yip, Pui-O Corporation
Donors:
Mr. Louis Yip, Pui-O Corporation
Luke Charitable Foundation
RISD Department of Architecture
The Pawtucket Foundation
Material Donations:
JR Vinagro Corporation
Heritage Park YMCA
Special Thanks To:
Chinese Christian Church of Rhode Island
Sharon Partridge
Thomas Mann
Aaron Hertzberg
Douglas Hadden
The Pawtucket Times
Wilbur E. Yoder
4
INTRODUCTION
The Rhode Island School of Design gives first year
architecture graduate and sophomore undergraduate
students a unique opportunity to design and build a
structure at full scale in the Architectural Design studio.
The course teaches analytical thinking and building
through the material act of construction, allowing
students to explore the relationship between drawing,
modeling, and building.
The semester is organized around a single project
with two interrelated phases. The first phase involves
the exploration, organization, and definition of a
proposal within a specific site. Students develop site
analyses and conceptual investigations to inform the
design process. The second phase teaches through
material studies, detailing and full-scale construction.
Architectural elements are integrated into the given
site, culminating in a fully articulated built structure.
The semester requires an enormous amount of
discipline, communication, coordination and teamwork.
Working collaboratively, students combine their
individual skills to solve complex architectural issues.
7
SITE
This year, the studio was asked to construct a
community garden and public event pavilion at 333
Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Located
a short distance from downtown, 333 Roosevelt Avenue
has the potential to engage the Pawtucket community.
The area is influenced by the close proximity of City Hall,
William E. Tolman High School, the Sandra Feinstein-
Gamm theatre, and Slater Mill, leading a diverse group
of visitors to the Roosevelt Avenue site.
333 Roosevelt Avenue brings together three distinct
groups: the Chinese Christian Church of Rhode Island,
the Heritage Park YMCA: Early Childhood Education
Center, and Roosevelt Community Housing. Integrating
the divergent expectations of these groups became a
determining factor in the design. The intervention sites
itself on the available green space, simultaneously
addressing the needs of gardeners and visitors.
Prior to the intervention, the site consisted of a small
community garden, used by elderly members of the
Chinese Christian Church of Rhode Island, with a
clearing in the trees adjacent to the Blackstone River. A
parking lot separates the pavilion site from the garden.
8
PROPOSAL
Architectural Design is the first course in the
Department of Architecture studio sequence
in which students are expected to work
collaboratively. Working in six assigned sections,
the studio began with seventy-two individual site
proposals. As the construction phase of the studio
neared, the seventy-two projects were compiled
into eighteen, and then six, which were presented
to representatives of the constituent communities
for feedback, leading to the final design.
To develop the final proposal, the studio worked
via a series of twelve-hour charrettes to compose
a master plan and project timeline. The built
proposal began with a set of construction
drawings, scale models, and detailed studies that
were then brought on site to use as a working
reference. The proposal and construction
represent the combined efforts of seventy-two
undergraduate and graduate students. The
studio emphasized material considerations of
construction and detailing of the final design
through drawings and full-scale mock ups.
11
To develop the final proposal,
the studio worked via a series
of twelve-hour charrettes to
compose a master plan and
project timeline. The built
proposal began with a set of
construction drawings, scale
models, and detailed studies
that were then brought on site
to use as a working reference.
16
The proposal and construction represent the combined efforts of seventy-two undergraduate and graduate students. The studio
emphasized material considerations of construction and detailing of the final design through drawings and full-scale mock ups.
21
CONSTRUCTION
Full-scale fabrication gives students the
opportunity to develop hands-on skills
and gain practical experience. Such
a project necessitates a constant and
flexible exchange of ideas, an efficient and
collaborative design process, and a strict
construction schedule. With only six weeks
to complete the project, management
has become an integral part of the studio
experience.
Responsibilities were divided between
construction, model building, design
details, and drawing documents. With
such strict deadlines, teams needed to
react quickly and creatively to issues as
they arose. Challenges like these provide
the real world experience that solidifies an
understanding of the relationship between
design and construction.
22
Ease of construction and maintenance were
a major consideration in the group proposal,
not only due to the challenges of coordinating
a large group of students, but due to the
condition of the site itself. With a significant
elevation change and a ground composed of a
combination of contaminated soil and infill, the
site required extensive preparation.
Continued drawing and model making efforts
were necessary throughout the construction
process. Once site preparation was complete
and construction began in earnest, members of
the drawing and model-making teams had to
outpace construction teams in the production of
documents and the resolution of details.
23
Throughout this process, the design evolved in
response to details that required an understanding of
the entirety of a full-scale structure.
Maintaining a fluid line of communication between
drawing, model-making, building and observation
has been an essential challenge of the construction
process. It has also necessitated that every student be
a conscious participant, continually integrating direct
experience with an awareness of the entire project.
25
Construction of the garden and community space tested
every facet of the architectural imagination. It provided
a crash course in the team-based challenges involved
in executing a project from a preliminary design to the
built environment. In this way, it models many of the
challenges of the architectural profession, and has thus
proved to be an invaluable learning experience.
28
The process of construction was one
of teamwork and cooperation between
students. It was that collaborative effort
that allowed for the development of
solutions when confronted with a problem.
30
Many elements of the design presented unique challenges during
construction and demanded new sets of solutions.
36
Presentation by Harley Nalley, Margaux Fischer, Camila Morales,
Kyle Kiser, Eugenia Yu, and Jessica Luscher.
Selected Quotes:
Harley: When we first started the project, all we knew is that
we had a lot of 2 x 6’s to work with. Some people may have been
skeptical. After all, how much can you do with a 2 x 6? Well, let me
tell you something. There’s a whole lot of jelly in those donuts.
Harley: So what is this site like? We have a river with heavily treed
banks running through an industrial city. The natural world and
the constructed world converge. But, though a human construct,
is industry not natural? By nature, people embrace growth. We are
opposed to the idea of loss and decay. We want to create a sense of
communion with our neighbors and with the world around us. We
want to operate efficiently and amiably with one another. We want
to be constructive.
Margaux: Our mission was to create a dynamic space for these
communities to meet, to learn and to play together. The more
we talked with the people around the site, the more we realized
the potential for our intervention—the Kindergarteners needed a
space to graduate, the Church deacons wanted to hold meetings
outdoors, the daycare teachers wanted a space to eat lunch.
FINAL REVIEW
38
Margaux: Soon the programmatic components took hold, more than just a garden,
we needed a large outdoor gathering space for friends to meet, we needed a
promenade for children to play, and perhaps as a testament to the communion we
were looking for, we needed a long table for families to break bread together.
Camila: The garden orientation was strategically placed as to take full advantage of
the sun orientation and allow for the growth of a variety of Chinese vegetables that
are used weekly for a communal meal. This north-south orientation quickly began to
dictate the direction of the grain of the garden.
The garden was designed as a multi-purpose structure that would house not only
the planting beds but also have an open aired pavilion that would allow for rainwater
collection, tool storage as well as gathering moments where the community could
enjoy the ‘fruits of their labor.’
Kyle: Just as the program is meant to enhance community, each element is meant
to hold a community of functions to better facilitate the complex intersections of
program prevalent in the garden
Eugenia: In our consideration of layered use, the lattice of columns are more than
a structural necessity—they are a programmatic gain. They are frames as well
as curtains—dividing space, shielding space, defining space. While holding space
between a roof and a floor. This continuity lives in the form of our work. Not one of
us could perform anything on site without the action of someone before us. The roof
needs the roof joists, the roof joists need the roof beams, the roof beams need the
columns, the columns need the floor beams, the floor beams need the concrete
forms, the forms need the ground. For us, we need the rock ramp and the floating
table. Each is an element and a connection.
39
Jessica: Compared to projects done solely in studio, the project we built here has a much higher degree of reality. Suddenly, our structure
went from model to full scale, you can walk through it. We realize how much detail goes into one joint. We have built something for a
community; we have interacted with and gotten feedback from people who are not architects, but people will be directly affected by our
work. This is not simply about designing something interesting, but about making something meaningful that will be used by a group of
people, something that is permanent, that will evolve over time and be added to by others in the future.
Jessica: We learned to articulate our ideas, to make connections, to listen, and discuss options with an open-minded, proactive
approach. Working with others and discovering where you stand within a group, and then realizing that you can influence that position,
is an incredibly important part of being a designer; our synergy as a studio allowed the 70 first years to accomplish what a twelve person
advanced studio could not.
42
Throughout the design and construction process, we had
the great privilege of working closely with the Chinese
Christian Church of Rhode Island and Heritage YMCA.
Since the initial site visit, we immediately understood the
incredible potential of this proposal, and every day since we
worked to produce a project that we can be proud to share.
The care and consideration that have gone into the design
and construction of the garden and community pavilion at
333 Roosevelt Avenue ensure that it will serve a diverse
group of users for years to come. We greatly appreciate
this opportunity to implement the design proposal at full
scale. RISD hopes to continue its relationship with the city
of Pawtucket as the Architecture Department continues to
develop its design-build program.
We acknowledge the generous support and contributions
made by Mr. Louis Yip, The Pawtucket Foundation, The
City of Pawtucket, Sharon Partridge and the Hertiage Park
YMCA, and the Congregation of the Chinese Christian
Church of Rhode Island. Your donations have been
instrumental to the completion of the project. It has been
an invaluable resource to have such engaged and interested
supporters. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Students of Architectural Design
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
44
Kuzina ChengBeau JohnsonLissy KingDan LasterJeong LeeJessica LuscherFarhan MianMarisa PazJessica Shimazu Karl SippelNatanial ViceKun Wu
Royce Bixby Sifan Cheng Carlos GamezMelissa HauserGiles HoltDongseop LeeEdward MeadSusannah Stopford Peeraya Suphasidh Mykel Terada Eugenia Yu
Jeana Antle Julia BowlinLuna Chen Benjamin CrockerAlex DiazDinithi IddawelaBurce KaradagNicholas MooreHarley Nalley Andrew Salter Yuan Sun Nicole Wiznitzer
Alexander DaleMaryam DashtiBrett DunnamJulia FlorenzJungmin KimJacob MillerAdam MolinskyCamila MoralesMyunggeun SongShalini VimalBurgess Voshell
Sam AndersonAndy BahariEliot Bassett-CannJim BogleSheri FabianMargaux FischerElias GardnerDan Jiao Myn KangSonny LeeElizabeth RossiterClaire Watson
Mariana Botero Dodo Chiang Max DehnePeter DurrantWilliam JohnstonCatherine KaoKyle KiserKi Bbum LeeJohn McCampellJulie Sylvester
Jawn LimSilvia Acosta
Enrique MartinezAdrienne Benz
Jason WoodHansy Better
RISD Architectural Design 2011