Whole Systems Design for the Old Rainier Brewery turned Artist Community

Selina M. Hunstiger

Whole Systems Design for the Old Rainier Brewery turned Artist Community:

cultivating food, culture, and community through a re-design of the Rooftop Network

Whole Systems Design for the Old Rainier Brewery turned Artist Community: cultivating food, culture, and community through a re-design of the Rooftop Network

Selina M. Hunstiger

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Master of Landscape ArchitectureUniversity of Washington

2010

Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of Landscape Architecture

University of Washington Graduate School

This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a masters thesis by

Selina M. Hunstiger

and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final

examining committee have been made.

Committee Members:

___________________________________________________

Julie M. Johnson

___________________________________________________Ben Spencer

Date:__________________________________

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a masters degree at

the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying

of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with fair use as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Any other reproduction for any purposes or by any means shall not be allowed

without my written permission.

Signature ________________________

Date ____________________________

University of Washington

Abstract

Whole Systems Design for the Old Rainier Brewery turned Artist Community: cultivating food, culture, and community through a re-design of the rooftop network

Selina M. Hunstiger

Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Julie M. JohnsonDepartment of Landscape Architecture

A post-industrial fabric stitched with skeletons of structures sits abandoned. Once a rhythmic,

percussive soundscape, now only hints of this history are present. It is time for a remix, an old

track to be scratched with new, innovative, inspiring marks. It is time to incorporate a record of the

past with the present. Vacant rooftops are the perfect canvas to re-integrate a musical undertone

back into these forgotten spaces. Through the integration of systems, urban ecology, arts and culture,

this post-industrial landscape will become a fantastical dreamscape.

The Arts Brewery, housing Tullys roasting plant and artist owned live/work spaces is smashed up

against Interstate 5 in the industrial district of Seattle. It is a unique post-industrial complex

with multi-tiered rooftops. In this experiential book I offer a score for these rooftops as a catalyst

for transition of vacant rooftops into a network of multifunctional imagined, fantastical spaces.

This book dictates feelings, sounds, movement, and spatial relationships. It seeks to inspire

choreography set on a scene, and plays whole notes overlaid with melodic strings. It incorporates

verses of words rhythmically recited. It offers a tune, with complex layers of intertwined harmonies.

It sings a song with the hope its ideals and visions will inform the re-design of other post-

industrial spaces.

Abstract

LIST OF FIGURES ii

INTRODUCTION 1

PART ONE: THEMES AND INSPIRATION 7 introduction to themes 8 three themes 13 systems integration 17 urban ecology 23 arts and culture 29 variation on themes 35 score 36 inspiration 39 design questions 43

PART TWO: SITE 45

introduction to site 46 site analysis 50

PART THREE: DESIGN 67

concept: score 69 characters: rooftops 73 voice 79 beat 89 rest 99 chord 109 bass 119

OVER TIME 129

REFLECTION 135

ENDNOTES 140

BIBLIOGRAPHY 143

PRELUDE:

an instrumental work intended to precede a larger work1

FIRST MOVEMENT: THEME AND VARIATIONS

theme: a complete, self-contained part within a larger musical work.2

variation: a compositional procedure in which a theme is stated and then altered in successive statements. This is a melodic idea used as a basic building block in the construction of a composition.3

SECOND MOVEMENT: STAGE/SET/SPEAKERS

THIRD MOVEMENT: PERFORMANCE

instrument:mechanism that generates musical vibrations and transmits them into the air.4

CODA:

the last part of a piece, usually added to a standard form to bring it to a close.5

ENCORE:

an audience request that the performer(s) repeat a piece or perform another.6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMPOSITION

i

fig. 1: Authors first score .................................................................................................................................................ixfig. 2: Urban Nest ..................................................................................................................................................................1fig. 3: Abandoned structure, Seattle, mid 1990s. ..................................................................................................................2fig. 4: Abandoned Structure, New Orleans, 2008. ...................................................................................................................3fig. 5: Live in Music .............................................................................................................................................................4fig. 6: Pieces thrown in the air .......................................................................................................................................... 7fig. 7: Sneak peak ................................................................................................................................................................ 11fig. 8: These three themes ................................................................................................................................................... 13fig. 9: Solar water pump, Bullocks Permaculture Homestead, Orcas Island, WA. ............................................................... 17fig. 10: Multiple stories with functions stacked .............................................................................................................. 19fig. 11: Systems integration diagram part 1 ...................................................................................................................... 20fig. 12: Systems integration diagram part 2 ...................................................................................................................... 21fig. 13: Patch of green ........................................................................................................................................................ 23fig. 14: Diagramming change ............................................................................................................................................... 25fig. 15: Urban ecology diagram part 1 ................................................................................................................................ 26fig. 16: Urban ecology diagram part 2 ................................................................................................................................ 27fig. 17: Degenerate Art Emsemble, Life is Art, (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasart) ................................... 29fig. 18: Greensboro performing arts, (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizitinc) .................................................... 30fig. 19: Wabi-sabi aesthetic................................................................................................................................................ 31fig. 20: Art and Culture diagram 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 32fig. 21: Art and Culture diagram 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 33fig. 22: These three themes of mine. ................................................................................................................................... 34fig. 23: Score as a mark ...................................................................................................................................................... 36fig. 24: Movement notation, (source: http://www.dancenotation.org). ................................................................................ 36fig. 25: Dance and music notation, (source: http://www.davidbrassrarebooks.com/). .......................................................... 36fig. 26: Abstract score, (source: http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com). ............................................................................... 36fig. 27: Abstract note score, (source: http://paulrucker.com). ........................................................................................... 37fig. 28: The thread ............................................................................................................................................................... 39fig. 29: Authors journals .................................................................................................................................................... 40fig. 30: Happy, abstract score, (source: http://lizmeredith.files.wordpress.com). ............................................................. 41fig. 31: Marcy Kentz, Drawing from Life, 74. ..................................................................................................................... 41fig. 32: Jacobs/Campbell Dance on Harlem rooftop, Lindsey Thoeng, (source: flickr.com). ................................................ 41fig. 33: How? diagram. .......................................................................................................................................................... 42fig. 34: Behind the scenes ................................................................................................................................................... 45fig. 35: Arts Brewery buildings and pipes .......................................................................................................................... 46fig. 36: Site exploration ..................................................................................................................................................... 47fig. 37: Site context ............................................................................................................................................................ 48fig. 38: Arts Brewery rooftops ............................................................................................................................................ 49fig. 39: Waiting in the parking lot.................................................................................................................................... 50fig. 40: Site Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 51fig. 41: Materials on-site ................................................................................................................................................... 53fig. 42: Site with larger context, (source: Google Earth) .................................................................................................. 54fig. 43: Building occupants ................................................................................................................................................. 56fig. 44: Circulation ............................................................................................................................................................. 57fig. 45: Sound travels .......................................................................................................................................................... 58fig. 46: Crescendo from rooftop to freeway ........................................................................................................................ 59fig. 47: Water main and lateral lines, (source: Washington State Geospatial Data Archive) ...........................................60fig. 48: Path of water.......................................................................................................................................................... 61fig. 49: View west from the Arts Brewery rooftops ............................................................................................................ 62fig. 50: View east from the Arts Brewery rooftops ............................................................................................................ 63fig. 51: Existing rooftop conditions and interior function ............................................................................................. 64fig. 52: Play ......................................................................................................................................................................... 67fig. 53: Hand of the artist .................................................................................................................................................. 69fig. 54: Score revisited ....................................................................................................................................................... 70

LIST OF FIGURES

ii

LIST OF FIGURES

fig. 55: Physical layers, layered with layers of information .......................................................................................... 73fig. 56: Five Rooftops .......................................................................................................................................................... 74fig. 57: Five rooftops and their vertical relationships ................................................................................................... 76fig. 58: Voice ...................................................................................................................................................................... 79fig. 59: Freeway music ......................................................................................................................................................... 81fig. 60: Voice Rooftop poem .................................................................................................................................................. 82fig. 61: Night concert .......................................................................................................................................................... 83fig. 62: Screens blend in with the Jungle in the background .......................................................................................... 84fig. 63: Sliding platforms and sound screens ..................................................................................................................... 85fig. 64: Voice site plan ....................................................................................................................................................... 86fig. 65: Systems from an axonometric view ......................................................................................................................... 87fig. 66: Beat ......................................................................................................................................................................... 89fig. 67: Rhythm of Rooftop .................................................................................................................................................. 91fig. 68: Beat Rooftop poem ................................................................................................................................................... 92fig. 69: Greenhouse and garden beds ................................................................................................................................... 93fig. 70: Cycle of garden beds .............................................................................................................................................. 94fig. 71: Human and water circulation ................................................................................................................................. 95fig. 72: Beat site plan ......................................................................................................................................................... 96fig. 73: Systems from an axonometric view ......................................................................................................................... 97fig. 74: Rest ......................................................................................................................................................................... 99fig. 75: A green tapestry blankets the rooftop .................................................................................................................101fig. 76: Rest Rooftop poem ..................................................................................................................................................102fig. 77: Rest Rooftop mounds, looking west ........................................................................................................................103fig. 78: Rest Rooftop, looking north ..................................................................................................................................105fig. 79: Rest site plan ........................................................................................................................................................ 106fig. 80: Systems from an axonometric view ........................................................................................................................ 107fig. 81: Chord ...................................................................................................................................................................... 109fig. 82: Sounds like water .................................................................................................................................................. 110fig. 83: Chord Rooftop poem ................................................................................................................................................ 112fig. 84: Water, light, sound sculptural tubes ................................................................................................................... 113fig. 85: Pulling the chord .................................................................................................................................................. 114fig. 86: Chord site plan ...................................................................................................................................................... 116fig. 87: Systems from an axonometric view ........................................................................................................................ 117fig. 88: Bass ........................................................................................................................................................................ 119fig. 89: Magic carpet .......................................................................................................................................................... 120fig. 90: Holding sound ........................................................................................................................................................ 122fig. 91: Bass experience ..................................................................................................................................................... 124fig. 92: Bass site plan ........................................................................................................................................................ 126fig. 93: Systems from an axonometric view ........................................................................................................................ 127fig. 94: Over time ............................................................................................................................................................... 129fig. 95: the Jungle hops over the freeway ........................................................................................................................ 130fig. 96: Reflection .............................................................................................................................................................. 135fig. 97: Storyboarding ........................................................................................................................................................ 139fig. 98: Final say ............................................................................................................................................................... 142

Note: all figures created by author, except as noted.

iii

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you music, art, and dance without you this would not have been possible. Thank you friends for your smiles, hugs, positive criticism and reminding me to breathe. Thank you mama for your continual support, love, encouragement, and for the many hours of hanging out with indigo while I worked on this book. Thank you Indigo Miel for your sweetness, patience, and your constantly happy nature. Thank you Julie M. Johnson and Ben Spencer for encouraging me to follow a unique thesis format, for pushing me to constantly think of multiple ways of putting images and words together, and for making sense of my thoughts after many, many, many sleepless nights.

+ K. Wimble and Mikey Ninja you are amazing computer genies I can always count on ya to answer my random questions in a split second. thank you...

v

DEDICATION

for Indigo Miel. catch your dreams.

conquer your fears one day at a time.live in music.

fly.fig. 1: Authors first score

vii

1INTRODUCTION:

PRELUDE

an urban nest, perched up high nestled in the

concrete jungle,

lets fly.

fig. 2: Urban Nest

2slowly, slowly I turn the car right onto a street

with no defined lanes, an extra wide street lined

with colorful freight containers and no traffic.

Railroad tracks embedded in the concrete dance

between road edges. There are no sidewalks and no

people but, there was something magical that spoke to

me. Learning to drive in this neighborhood, led to my

fascination, and obsession with defunct, crumbling,

abandoned landscapes. As a teenager I thoroughly

explored my neighborhood of vacant lots, abandoned

houses, structures eaten by vines and vegetation gone

wild. I captured these landscapes in photographs.

The process of photography, the mystery and intrigue

in exploration of these sites with a medium full of

surprises in the processing and developing of film

was all part of the thrilling experience. I spent

high school in abandoned spaces and darkrooms.

PRELUDE

fig. 3: Abandoned structure, Seattle, mid 1990s.

3This obsession continues to this day, 15 years later. I have explored similar landscapes all around the

world and still am incredibly inspired by these spaces. My heart beats strong when I pick up my camera

and just think about exploring every hidden piece of these sites. I feel like a detective, trying to

understand the history of the space. Every shot is a hint at uncovering the secrets of the past. I seek

to capture the sublime, the everchanging essence of the space, to reveal layers of history and expose

the underlying beauty and the imagined.

fig. 4: Abandoned Structure, New Orleans, 2008.

4fig. 5: Live in Music

5i live in music is this where you livei live here in musici live on c streetmy friend lives on b avenuedo you live here in musicsoundfalls round me like rain on other folkssaxophones wet on my facecold as winter in st. louishot like peppers i rub on my lipsthinkin they waz liliesi got 15 trumpets where other women got hips& a upright bass for both sides of my hearti walk round in a piano like somebodyelse/be walkin on the earthi live in music live in it wash in iti cd even smell itwear sound on my fingerssound falls so fulla musicya cd make a river where yr arm is &hold yrself hold yrself in a music

-Ntosake Shange7

i live on c street

7PART ONE: THEMES AND INSPIRATION

FIRST MOVEMENT: THEME AND VARIATION

if these pieces have a specific place they belong

lets throw them in the air and see where they land.

fig. 6: Pieces thrown in the air

8Constant sounds, layers of sounds, a symphony of industry. Each hummmm, bzzzzzzz, clang is evidence of

a machine or a hand working to complete a piece of the puzzle. Each sound is proof of the birth of a

creation with a unique function that is part of a system, one piece of the whole. This is the rhythm

of a working landscape. Is this current landscape working?

I am interested in post-industrial landscapes as a stage for systems to dance across, establishing

creative, diverse interactions. Supporting ecosystem functions and re-designing urban systems to

act and interact holistically will begin to heal the wounds opened and reopened by our toxic ways.

Ecology needs to have strong presence in this urban setting. It is the key to the healing process.

Designing with these elements as a foundation encourages innovative design solutions and offers an

exciting opportunity to make imagined landscapes a reality.

INTRODUCTION TO THEMES

Concrete, grey, low, flat, large, expansive industrial warehouses. Grey ground, grey sky. Hard, stable, strong, sturdy structures dominate the landscape. Smokestacks emit plumes of toxic gasses, wafting upward, slowing dissipating to become one with the cloud particles.Clang, clllaang, cheeechee.. cheee heee... grrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnnd clangg clangg clangg

9My topic is important because finding diverse, creative ways to design with the whole systems

approach has potential to create efficient, resilient, adaptable, flexible, long-lasting systems.

Systems integration in the context of post-industrial facilities is a concept that has been discussed,

but there are not many examples of successful project design and construction. There is not one

specific way to design a whole system. Some research has been conducted and experimental sites

containing green design solutions have been constructed, but understanding these complex systems

and their relationships is at the root of sustainable design and I dont feel we have achieved this

yet.

Post-industrial warehouses are works of art, an aesthetic that reflects our industrial history. These

significant structures are composed of strong, durable materials, which reflect the massive presence

and materiality of industry. Because of the collapse of many industrial markets we now have many

vacant warehouses that would take more energy to tear down than to adaptively reuse as affordable

housing. Many of these recently abandoned structures should be adaptively re-used as affordable,

creative, cooperatively owned live/work spaces. These warehouses are places full of opportunity for

building and strengthening communities. Because of the scale, previous function, and form of these

structures many have flat rooftops that are structurally sound and able to bear heavy loads and are

accessible. The rooftops should be used as functional, magical, dreamscapes, offering inspiration,

systems integration, and green space amongst a vast, cold, grey, monotonous, industrial landscape.

Rooftops offer a different perspective, enhancing the storybook, fantastical quality, and essence of

post-industrial spaces.

Systems (energy, water, food, waste, etc...) should be well integrated with each other and the

surrounding landscape. Functionality of these systems should be stacked to support one another,

making the network function more efficiently as a whole. Feedback loops should be built into the

design so, if one system fails the entire network will not crumble. They should be resilient and

adaptable. Systems are likely to change their flow, temperature, and load overtime. In order to

maintain a resilient system it is crucial to respect, highlight, and strengthen complex relationships

involved. It is important to look at landscape design and place-making holistically and recognize

10

that all things are connected. Not only are energy, water, waste, vegetation, animals, and humans

involved in systems but equally beneficial and often overlooked are art and culture. Art and

cultural exchange through food, cooking, performance, music, and dance, is a basic need and should

be an integral part of in flexible, adaptive, whole system design solutions, management of resources

goods and services.

In the field of Landscape Architecture it is necessary to be able to communicate with a diverse group

of people. The ability to communicate visually, verbally, and in writing is essential but, equally

invaluable is having knowledge of the language of movement, ecology, cultures and to be open to

alternative forms of communication. I believe knowledge and ideas should be accessible and expressed

in an appropriate language, which for me is in the experiential, visual, poetic nature. Therefore my

final design proposal and thesis are in a book format that is legible and accessible to a wide range

of people and not restricted to an academic audience. I see this book as a piece that will inspire,

provoke curiosity, and act as a catalyst for innovative, whole system designs.

11

fig. 7: Sneak peak

13

THREE THEMES... THEMES AND VARIATION...

AND INSPIRATION...

systems integration:

whole systems design

urban ecology:

landscape urbanism

arts and culture:

performance, art community, experience in space

fig. 8: These three themes

14

systems integration: whole systems design

Systems integration involves connecting systems,

figuring out what holds them together and

supporting these relationships. This term is

commonly used in the fields of engineering and

information technology as the bringing together

of the component subsystems into one system and

ensuring that the subsystems function together as

a system. It is the process of linking together

different computing systems and software

applications physically or functionally.8 The end

goal is the creation of a more efficient system.

In landscape architecture, systems integration

involves complex systems relationships

incorporating multi-dimensional relatioships that

are in many cases are fluid and unpredictable. It

seeks to integrate human-made systems in symbiotic

relationships with natural systems. In landscape

architeture taking a whole systems approach to

system integration requires an incredibly diverse,

multidiciplinary design team composed of social

and natural scientists, engineers, planners,

designers, and artists.

urban ecology: landscape urbanism

Urban ecology is the interaction between

organisms in an urban or urbanized community,

and their interaction with that community.9

Supporting urban ecology throughout the design

process leads to healthier and better managed

communities.

This approach in landscape architecture is

strongly tied with the concept of landscape

urbanism, which involves the fusing of

landscape and city. It acknowledges the need

for adaptable and resilient design catering to

dynamic processes.

15

arts and culture: performance, art community, experience in space

Art can be defined as, the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that

influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range

of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography,

sculpture, and paintings.10

Culture can be described as the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which

constitute the shared bases of social action.11

In landscape architecture arts and culture are essential components in determining modes of communication.

Knowledge of arts and culture is a useful tool for effectively communicating design intent as well as

designing sites that reflect and support all the groups involved. The underlying goal of design is to

create an experience on site which encourages cultivation and growth.

17

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION:

whole systems design

The air smells moist, crisp, fresh, dewy. Pine needles

dust the forest floor, vine maple, snow berry, salal,

oregon grape, and oxalis coat the understory and

cover the ground. Green everywhere, birds chirping,

insects creeping and crawling on bark and logs. As

I walk in the forest I observe an ecosystem that

appears to be flourishing. Vegetation with healthy,

deep green foliage, fluffy layers of organic matter

blanket the forest floor in various states of

decomposition, insects feed on soil.

What is the secret to this healthy ecosystem?

fig. 9: Solar water pump, Bullocks Permaculture Homestead, Orcas Island, WA.

18

WHOLE SYSTEMS DESIGN:

permaculture as a foundation

One approach to systems integration and whole systems design is permaculture, which is a set of

techniques and principles for designing sustainable human settlements. The word, a contraction

of both permanent culture and permanent agriculture, was coined by Bill Mollison, a charismatic

and iconoclastic one-time forester, school teacher, trapper, and field naturalist, and one of his

students, David Holmgren. Mollison says the original idea for permaculture came to him in 1959 when

he was observing marsupials browsing in the forests of Tasmania and jotted in his diary, I believe

that we could build systems that would function as well as this one does.12

Permaculturalists focus the design of relationships and interconnections between plants, animals and

humans. We all live and operate in social systems that are inextricably linked with the ecological

systems in which they are embedded; we exist within social-ecological systems. Changes in one

domain of the system, social or ecological, inevitably have impacts on the other domain. It is not

possible to meaningfully understand the dynamics of one of the domains in isolation from the other.13

Interconnections are what turns a collection of unrelated parts into a functioning system, whether

its a community, a family, or an ecosystem.14 Stacking functions and designing with use of multiple

stories, are two techniques used in permaculture design that I have chosen to employ in my approach

to whole systems design.

Whole systems design involves integrating systems so their functions or unique qualities support one

another rather than functioning as individual systems. This method of design seeks to optimize the

whole rather than strictly focusing on the parts. It seeks to close the loop within itself. Resources

are cycled, reused, and recycled back into the web creating a closed loop therefore eliminating waste.

waste = useful, beneficial, resourceful

19

FOOD COMPOST WATER (GRAY, BLACK) ENERGY HUMANS ANIMALS PLANTS KNOWLEDGE ART CULTURE

MULTIPLE STORIES

An ecological garden has many layers, from

a low herb layer through shrubs, vines and

small trees to large understory, each layer

contains diverse species, which may include

varieties for food and other human uses,

wildlife plants, and flora for building

soil and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Together the layers provide diverse

habitat, many products, and plenty of visual

interest.15

STACKING FUNCTIONS

Everything in nature has more than one

function which makes it function very

efficiently. For example a shrub doesnt just

cast shade. It feeds winter-starved birds

with its berries, offers shelter, mulches the

soil with its leaves and blocks the wind.16

Whole systems design is multifunctional.

Functions are stacked, meaning they are

layered in a way which they support other

systems. These qualities are beneficial to

other species.

BERRIES =

food for humans and animals

LEAVES =

compost, food and shelter for insects

NITROGEN FIxING PLANT =

Supports ecosystems processesprovides shelter

TREE =

habitat, protection from the elements, wood for building and heating

ROOTS =

break up compacted soilcontrol erosionfacilitae nutrient cycling

fig. 10: Multiple stories with functions stacked

20

relationships. multifunctional.

palimpsest. interrelate. complex

connections. symbiotic. mix.

metabolize. join together.

assimilate. network. support.

overlap. integrate. layer.

relationships. multifunctional.


connections. symbiotic. mix.




palimpsest.

interrelate.

complex

connections.

symbiotic. mix.

metabolize.

join together.

assimilate.

network.

support.overlap.

integrate. layer.

relationships.

multifunctional.

overlap. integrate. layer. palimpsest. interrelate.

complex relationships. multifunctional.

connections. symbiotic. mix. metabolize. join

together. assimilate. network. support.


connections. symbiotic. mix. metabolize. join together.

assimilate. network. support. overlap. integrate. layer.

fig. 11: Systems integration diagram part 1


connections. symbiotic. mix. metabolize. join together. assimilate. network. support. overlap.

integrate. layer. relationships. multifunctional.

growth. people. diversity. continual flow. Integrate, relate, permeate.

systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.17

-Sim Van der Ryn




support.overlap. assimilate. network. support.

support.overlap. assimilate. network. support.

integrate. layer.





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integrate. layer.

relationships.

multifunctional.





connections. symbiotic. mix. metabolize. join together. assimilate. network. support. overlap. multifunctional.

connections. symbiotic. mix. metabolize. join together. assimilate. network. support. overlap. multifunctional.

integrate. layer. relationships. multifunctional.palimpsest. interrelate. complex

integrate. layer. relationships. multifunctional.palimpsest. interrelate. complex

systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.systems behave in ways far more complex than their individual part.

21

fig. 12: Systems integration diagram part 2



integrate. layer. relationships. multifunctional.

Imagine the natural world and the humanly designed world bound together in intersecting layers, the warp and woof that make up the fabric of our lives. Instead of a simple fabric of two layers, it is made up of dozens of layers with vastly different characteristics.19

-Sim Van der Ryninner-city, vacant, unused spaces, feeding the city, diversity of people, diversity of crops, maximum planting in minimum space, urban agriculture, rooftop veggies

A water Hyacinth and a flourishing

mat of duckweed and Azolla float on the

surface. Underneath, the root hairs of the

hyacinth constantly strain the water for

nutrients, providing a home for various

microorganisms. Decaying organic matter

accumulates on the bottom, forming a kind

of park for the playful water fleas and

detritivores. Elsewhere, copepods swim in

their characteristic herky-jerky fashion,

tiny amphipods roil about, and snails

slowly sweep the sides of the jar. Hundreds

of species interact in this microcosm,

their natural histories crisscrossing in

a tiny world structured by roots, detritus,

air and water.18 -Sim Van der Ryn

23

URBAN ECOLOGY:

landscape urbanism

If I get down on my hands and knees I am able to

see a blade of grass sprouting in the crack of

the sidewalk, growing from a small collection, a

gathering of soil particles that have accumulated

from dust and grime that happened to settle here.

Here in a sea of grey hardscape a single piece of

green growing, a sign of life.

Rust, peeling paint, corrosion and decay are evidence

of industrial materials, history slowing being eaten

away. Marked by weather. Marked by humans. Marked

with secret spottings of green growth.

The places in between, interstitial, underused,

leftover, forgotten, void, between buildings

merging with vegetation and ecosystems. A symbiotic

relationship between buildings and nature.fig. 13: Patch of green

24

Resilience is the capacity of a system to undergo change and still retain its basic function and structure.20

- Brian Walker and David Salt

If we design for the long-term with flexibility

and adaptability as key components, a post-

industrial skeleton, combined with innovative

systems integration, the result should be a

magical, inspirational, and curious, seamless,

porous landscape for all creatures. Resilience

thinking is about seeing the systems within the

social-ecological system that were all a part

of- as one interlinked system. We are all actors

playing a role in that system.21

- Brian Walker and David Salt

LANDSCAPE URBANISM:

post-industrial landscapes as a canvas.

Urban landscapes especially underutilized patches of cities should be woven into the urban fabric.

These spaces should be accessible to people, animals, and as locations of resource harness and use.

There is so much potential for these empty spaces to become part of the existing fabric and this is

an opportunity to pioneer the rethinking, reworking, recreating the current concrete landscape,

hardscape into a new redefined vision of landscape. We need to continue exploring and creating

integrated, diverse options for establishing and increasing the relationship between city and forest.

This dichotomy should be less green and grey and more of a gradient of systems relationships each

supporting specific site situations. From groundplane to vertical, to elevated experience.

EMPTY SPACE = OPPORTUNITY = POTENTIAL

symbiotic relationship = support system = more resilient

25

economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative options to c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . economical, a v a i l a b l e , alternative

construct. deconstruct. existing structure. technology. materiality.

reuse. recycle. reinvent. reframe. rework.

history revealed. adaptable. resilient. flexible. fluid.

fig. 14: Diagramming change

26

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Picture the city as a forest, living, breathing, growing, supporting community.

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Significant potentials of landscape urbanism: the ability to shift scales, to locate urban fabrics in the regional and biotic contexts, and to design relationship between dynamic environmental processes and urban form.23 -James Corner

organization of urban settlement and its inevitably indeterminate economic, political, and social futures.22 -Charles Waldheim

contemporary landscape urbanism practices recommend the use of infrastructural systems and the public landscapes they engender as the very ordering mechanisms of the urban field itself, shaping and shifting the

organization of urban settlement and its inevitably organization of urban settlement and its inevitably organization of urban settlement and its inevitably indeterminate economic, political, and social indeterminate economic, political, and social

contemporary landscape urbanism practices recommend the use of contemporary landscape urbanism practices recommend the use of infrastructural systems and the public landscapes they engender as the very infrastructural systems and the public landscapes they engender as the very infrastructural systems and the public landscapes they engender as the very

the urban field itself, shaping and shifting thethe urban field itself, shaping and shifting the

fig. 15: Urban ecology diagram part 1

27


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Even those who have included the city in ecological equation have done so only from the perspective of natural systems (hydrology, air-flow, vegetational communities, and so on). We have yet to understand cultural, social, political, and economic environments as embedded in and environments as embedded in and symmetrical with the natural symmetrical with the natural world. The promise of landscape world. The promise of landscape urbanism is the development of a urbanism is the development of a space-time ecology that treats all space-time ecology that treats all forces and agents working in the forces and agents working in the urban field and considers them urban field and considers them as continuous networks of inter-as continuous networks of inter-relationships.25 -James Corner

Cities and infrastructures are just as ecological as forests and rivers.24 -James Corner as forests and rivers. -

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Referring to horizontal surface or ground plane.These surfaces constitute the urban field when considered across a wide range of scales, from the sidewalk to the street to the entire infrastructural matrix of urban surfaces. This suggests contemporary interest in surface continuities, where roofs and grounds become one and the same; and this is certainly of great value with regard to conflating separations between landscape and building.27

-James Corner

Even those who have included Even those who have included the city in ecological equation the city in ecological equation have done so only from the have done so only from the perspective of natural systems perspective of natural systems (hydrology, air-flow, vegetational (hydrology, air-flow, vegetational communities, and so on). We have communities, and so on). We have yet to understand cultural, yet to understand cultural, social, political, and economic social, political, and economic

fig. 16: Urban ecology diagram part 2

29

ARTS AND CULTURE:

performance, art community, experience in space

I step into the sea of darkness. I can feel the

presence of others but, cannot hear or see anything.

I feel the bouncy, rubber floor under the soles of my

feet as I silently, slowly step into position. Bright,

hot lights blast on, blinding me and everything is

clear. The music begins and I move across the stage

my body fully extended, costumed in smooth, silky,

scarves. I am dressed in character, giving all I have

within. My insides are exposed and vulnerable as

I present my interpretation of the choreographers

vision. My body is an instrument.

I am one with the music, one with the other dancers.

I feel completely present, completely hypnotized by

the movements we have rehearsed time after time.

I am complete. fig. 17: Degenerate Art Emsemble, Life is Art, (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasart)

30

fig. 18: Greensboro performing arts (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizitinc)

PERFORMANCE, ART COMMUNITY, ExPERIENCE IN SPACE:

I am a dancer. I am a musician. My body is my instrument.

If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing.28

-Zimbabwean proverb

We are all unique individuals. We are all an integral piece of systems thinking. Our unique qualities

as individuals are strengthened when we come together as a community. When we interact with each other,

we exchange knowledge through creative expression and encourage, imagine, celebrate, dream.

3131

fig. 19: Wabi-sabi aesthetic

The evidence, marks, and traces of natural processes are ever present in post-industrial landscapes

and utilizing wabi-sabi in the re-design of these landscape highlights the beauty of systems

interaction and evolution as part of the on-site experience. This aesthetic finds the beauty in

imperfection and acknowledges the perfection of imperfection. Imperfection involves the viewer

in the process by allowing him/her to complete images in his/her mind using imagination.29 This

aesthetic finds strength in using natural processes such as degradation, attrition, corrosion and

contamination, to make its expression richer.30

In Landscape Architecture multi-sensual components on-site creates a more holistic experience for

the participant. This connection of body to space allows a deeper connection to the environment and

each other.

We have different ideas of beauty and are attracted to spaces we find aesthetically pleasing. Therefore

the aesthetic of place is important to our experience, desire to interact with, and establish a relationship

with place and each other. Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic that creates a distinctive feeling containing

a sense of mystery, equates beauty with the imperfect, incorporates a variety of material qualities,

and allows one to question time by bringing the viewer to the present. I feel this aesthetic not only

celebrates the history of place as well as provides a record of time, allows and appreciates change but

also reminds the participant to be in the moment.

The sense of self, strengthened by art and architecture, allows us to engage fully in the mental dimensions of dream, imagination, and desire.31 - Juhani Pallasmaa

32

fig. 20: Art and Culture diagram 1

Harnessing interior artistic energy, bringing to the exterior. exposure.

A peculiar landscape beauty can be found on contaminated sites, such as Landschafts Duisburg-Nords yellow moss A peculiar landscape beauty can be found on contaminated sites, such as Landschafts Duisburg-Nords yellow moss A peculiar landscape beauty can be found on contaminated sites, such as Landschafts Duisburg-Nords yellow moss atop slag heaps, or its forest of birch trees and its thickets of willow and butterfly bush colonizing atop slag heaps, or its forest of birch trees and its thickets of willow and butterfly bush colonizing atop slag heaps, or its forest of birch trees and its thickets of willow and butterfly bush colonizing contaminated railroad right of ways.33

-Elizabeth Meyer

Public spaces are firstly the containers of

coll ective memory and desire, and secondly

they are the places for geographic and social

imagination to extend new relationships and

sets of poss ibility.32

-James Corner

33

fig. 21: Art and Culture diagram 2

imaginative. fantastical space. creative. dreamscape. wabi-sabi. flexible gathering and performance space. nooks. shoots and ladders. mystery. unexpected. hidden. sensual. surprise. tune. music. movement. rhythm. repetition. rhyme. syncopation. harmony. orchestra. musical score. dance. expression. experimentation elegance. performance. perspective. poetry.

What might happen if that experience of beauty within risk caused a collectivity of individuals to act differently in their everyday

lives?34

-Elizabeth Meyer

Landscape urbanism sugg ests a

reconsideration of traditional

conceptual, representational,

and operative techniques. The

poss ibilities of vast scale shifts

across both time and space,

working synoptic maps alongside

the intimate recordings of

local circumstance, comparing

cinematic and choreographic

techniques to spatial notion,

entering the algebraic, digital

space of the computer while

mess ing around with paint,

lay, and ink, and engaging in

real estate developers and

enginee rs alongside the highly

specialized imaginee rs and poets

of contemporary culture.35

-James Corner

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fig. 22: These three themes of mine.

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VARIATION ON THEMES:

score

These three themes of mine:

systems integration

urban ecology

art and culture

are not stagnant.

They sing, dance, have rhythm, tonality, movement.

They overlap, intertwine, nest, stack, and relate to

each other in many fashions.

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SCORE:

where whole systems design, urban ecology, post-industrial landscapes, art, culture, and

community join forces.

fig. 24: Movement notation, (source: http://www.dancenotation.org).

fig. 25: Dance and music notation, (source: http://www.davidbrassrarebooks.com/).

Score can be defined as a mark, notch or incision on a surface.36

Score is refered to in music as the written form

of a composition for orchestral, vocal parts or

for a specific instrument.37 It is the notation of

a musical work or for dance.

Scores are the process leading to performance.38

It is the script, a foundation for the performance.

I envision a score as much more than a notation form that

visually describes the relationship between instruments and how

the sounds these instruments will be performed.

This is the first layer.

The first mark.

The first score.

fig. 26: Abstract score, (source: http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com).

fig. 23: Score as a mark

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Systems (water, energy, waste, etc.) are among the instruments that a score might orchestrate. The

performance of these systems is a piece of art, a poem, a composition. What if the compostition is

a landscape? How does the concept of a score translate as a design tool? According the Lawrence

Halprin, scores ... allow the activity itself to generate its own results in the process. They

communicate but do not control. They energize and guide, they encourage, they evoke responses, they do

not impose.40

What does this relationship look like? What possibilities are there?

on scores. environments and people can be scored together in a choreography of motion.41

fig. 27: Abstract note score, (source: http://paulrucker.com).

39

INSPIRATION:

the thread I continue to tug with increasing

interest.

Books, drawings, photos, maps, poems, music,

conversation, facial expressions, layout, design, the

guy next to me rocking out with his headphones on.

The glass of tea steaming in front of me. The corner

of a page I tore off from a math assignment in

seventh grade. Perhaps everything is an inspiration

or leads to an inspiration, therefore it is an

inspiration to inspire.

Maybe the real question is what doesnt inspire?

fig. 28: The thread

40

fig. 29: Authors journals

41

fig. 30: Happy, abstract score, (source: http://lizmeredith.files.wordpress.com).

fig. 31: Marcy Kentz, Drawing from Life, 74.

fig. 32: Jacobs/Campbell Dance on Harlem rooftop, Lindsey Thoeng, (source: flickr.com).

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fig. 33: How? diagram.

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DESIGN QUESTIONS:

things to consider and reconsider... HOW?

How do I create a well integrated whole system

designed rooftop network?

How can I celebrate the interior function of the

building in the exterior space?

How do I design a multifunctional, fluid, flexible

space?

How do I design rooftop landscape, which encourages

discovery, mystery and imagination?

45

PART TWO: SITE

SECOND MOVEMENT: STAGE/SET/SPEAKERS

lets explore behind the scenes.

fig. 34: Behind the scenes

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INTRODUCTION TO SITE

Dance, movement, body as an instrument, form of expression.

I grew up dancing, choreographing; sounds, words, movement, costume, performance.

5, 6, 7, 8... you get 5 counts of 8 for your solo,

then Ill lift you while Nicholas finishes lifting Carly on 1, 2.

Overlapping movements, a series of counts, beats, subtlety followed by flamboyance of movement. Every

dance has a theme, story, attitude, lighting, and music that heightens the awareness and the intention

of the choreographer. Costumes, facial expressions, and make-up help to strengthen and emphasize the

choregraphers intent. This enabled me to look at life as a theater, stage, set, complete with a soundtrack,

costumes, and rhythm. I see daily life as a musical theater, full of inspiration, humor, and fantasy.

Dance led me to experience the Arts Brewery.

fig. 35: Arts Brewery buildings and pipes

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The first space inhabited in the transition of the old Rainier Brewery into artist live/work spaces was a

Capoeira (Brazilian art/dance/fight/way of life) Studio. I had been training with this Capoeira school for

a couple years prior to moving into this new space and when we became the first group to set the tone for

this newly developed arts community I couldnt have been happier. We danced inside and out on the rooftops.

Id fantasize about dancing between rooftops and designing a rooftop network that would be a dreamscape

complete with the freeing, feeling, of flying that Capoeira embodies. I dreamt of enlivening the unique

stacking structure of the roofs with vegetation, performance space, and creating a magical landscape that

encompassed the feeling I got from dancing, hearing music, gardening, and exploring abandonned structures

and sites. The sensation of hitting the right combination of musical notes, harmony, a chord that makes

you body melt with sweet satisfaction. A beat you feel deep in your soul as if it were an internal rhythm.

A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A

voice smooth as satin, with lyrics that speak your mood so accurately you just have to sing along at the

top of your lungs. A rest or pause in music that leaves you eagerly anticipating the next sound as well

as content and appreciative of the break that allows you to appreciate sounds even more intensively after

experiencing silence.









that makes

you feel deep in your soul as if it were an internal rhythm.













and sites. The sensation of hitting the right combination of musical notes, harmony, a

you body melt with sweet satisfaction. A














you feel deep in your soul as if it were an internal rhythm.
















































chord that makes that makes

A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A A bass so strong it booms through your body with a vibration that makes you feel one with every tone. A

beat you feel deep in your soul as if it were an internal rhythm. you feel deep in your soul as if it were an internal rhythm.

top of your lungs. A rest or pause in music that leaves you eagerly anticipating the next sound as well top of your lungs. A rest or pause in music that leaves you eagerly anticipating the next sound as well

voice smooth as satin, with lyrics that speak your mood so accurately you just have to sing along at the voice smooth as satin, with lyrics that speak your mood so accurately you just have to sing along at the voice smooth as satin, with lyrics that speak your mood so accurately you just have to sing along at the voice smooth as satin, with lyrics that speak your mood so accurately you just have to sing along at the

fig. 36: Site exploration

48

SITE, Sight, sighh h T.

The Old Rainier Brewery, Tullys roasting plant, also known as the Arts Brewery is a smattering of

buildings; tall and narrow, short, wide and windowless to spaces completely enveloped in natural

light. This building complex is smashed up against interstate five, on the edge of the Industrial

district of Seattle.










This former brewery is in the process of being converted into live/

work spaces, recording studios, performance spaces, and offices

for non-profits. When completed the Arts Brewery will be Seattles

largest artist community. The spaces are rent to own in which

the renters/owners have signed a 15-year lease agreement with

the intention of creating a cooperatively owned facility, which

supports an artist community. There are several buildings all

with roofs at different elevations. These spaces currently serve

different functions and could become a common link and green space

amongst a neighborhood filled with toxic waste, large boulevards

catering to semi trucks, and disjointed populations. I see the

rooftops as potential for strengthening a mixed-use community- as a

multifunctional space, where people can cultivate food and culture.

fig. 37: Site context

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fig. 38: Arts Brewery rooftops

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SITE ANALYSIS

This complex is huge, I say to myself as I wait in the parking lot for the site manager to let me in the

building to access the rooftops. The series of buildings towers above me from the parking lot below. The

freeway makes itself known by voicing a rhythmic cliiinankk chorus of cars singing as they bounce over

metal joints holding together the massive interstate. The freeway is elevated approxemately 20 feet off

the ground and is remarkably close to the Arts Brewery. Getting to some of the rooftops can be a bit of a

maze. Several are potentially publicly accessible, while others are strictly for the building residents.

We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on

the tallest rooftop in the complex.

We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on We enter the building, ride the elevator to the last stop, exit on the roof level, open a door and we are on

waiting in the parking lot

This complex is huge, I say to myself as I wait in the parking lot for the site manager to let me in the

building to access the rooftops. The series of buildings towers above me from the parking lot below. The

freeway makes itself known by voicing a rhythmic cliiinankk chorus of cars singing as they bounce over

metal joints holding together the massive interstate. The freeway is elevated approxemately 20 feet off

the ground and is remarkably close to the Arts Brewery. Getting to some of the rooftops can be a bit of a

maze. Several are potentially publicly accessible, while others are strictly for the building residents.

fig. 39: Waiting in the parking lot

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fig. 40: Site Analysis

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PROCESS: site exploration

I explored the Arts Brewery through on-site observation-

In my journal I took notes about my experience

on site. After allowing my rooftop experience to

percolate I reviewed these notes and wrote poems

reflecting the current nature of the roof combined

with my future design vision.

I took visual notes through diagramming system

flows.

I experienced the site through the act of

photographing the network of rooftops.

Photographing the various spaces helped my to zoom

in and out of various scales and visually explore

connections between spaces.

In recordin

Whole Systems Design for the Old Rainier Brewery turned Artist Community

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