http://www.rahulyshah.com Rahul Y Shah Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:31:43 +0000 http://www.rahulyshah.com en http://www.rahulyshah.com/Zambezi-River-Interrelationships http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Zambezi-River-Interrelationships Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:31:43 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 2526728 <img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane01_o.jpg" data-mid="12753210" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane02_o.jpg" data-mid="12753211" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526728/ZambeziMopane03_o.jpg" data-mid="12753212" border="0" align="left"/>A plot examining the complex relationships between the mopane tree, mopane worm, termites, Tonga people, ebb and flow of the river between Victoria Falls + the Kariba Dam before and after it’s construction on the Zambezi River. The mopane tree thrives on the flooding and flowing of the Zambezi river while the mopane worm, a prime source of food for the native Tonga people, lives amongst the tree's branches. After the construction of the Kariba dam, this flooding and flowing of the river has been disrupted, allowing termites to infest the trees and therein creating a cascading impact to the tree's health, worm's habitat, Tonga's food source and home. This plot graphically examines this elaborate set of relationships through a series of seasonal sections. In collaboration with Mike Goetz, Ryan Watanabe, and Matt Henrikson. http://www.rahulyshah.com/Contracted-Nest http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Contracted-Nest Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:11:34 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 2526706 <img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest01_o.jpg" data-mid="12752983" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest02_o.jpg" data-mid="12752984" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest03_o.jpg" data-mid="12752985" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest04_o.jpg" data-mid="12752986" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest05_o.jpg" data-mid="12752988" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest06.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest06_o.jpg" data-mid="12752989" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest07.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest07_o.jpg" data-mid="12752990" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest08.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest08_o.jpg" data-mid="12752991" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest09.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526706/contractednest09_o.jpg" data-mid="12752993" border="0" align="left"/>A team of designers develop a complex three dimensional object that exists purely in computer models and 2D drawings. A system of directions is organized and handed off to another team of designers to be construct the object that has previously only existed in the computer. In collaboration with Mike Goetz, Ryan Watanabe, Matt Henrikson, + Saba Hamadi http://www.rahulyshah.com/Hunts-Point-Community-Center http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Hunts-Point-Community-Center Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:18:21 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 2526587 <img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-3.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-3_o.jpg" data-mid="12751961" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-4.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-4_o.jpg" data-mid="12751963" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-5.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-5_o.jpg" data-mid="12751964" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-6.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-6_o.jpg" data-mid="12751966" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-7.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-7_o.jpg" data-mid="12751969" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-8.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-8_o.jpg" data-mid="12751971" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-9.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-9_o.jpg" data-mid="12751973" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-10.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-10_o.jpg" data-mid="12751975" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-11.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-11_o.jpg" data-mid="12751977" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-12.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-12_o.jpg" data-mid="12751980" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-13.jpg" width="640" height="470" width_o="640" height_o="470" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-13_o.jpg" data-mid="12751982" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-14.jpg" width="640" height="458" width_o="640" height_o="458" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-14_o.jpg" data-mid="12751984" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-15.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-15_o.jpg" data-mid="12751985" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-16.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-16_o.jpg" data-mid="12751988" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-17.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-17_o.jpg" data-mid="12751989" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-18.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-18_o.jpg" data-mid="12751990" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-19.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-19_o.jpg" data-mid="12751991" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-20.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-20_o.jpg" data-mid="12751992" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-21.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-21_o.jpg" data-mid="12751994" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-22.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-22_o.jpg" data-mid="12751997" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-23.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-23_o.jpg" data-mid="12751998" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-24.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-24_o.jpg" data-mid="12751999" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-25.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-25_o.jpg" data-mid="12752000" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-26.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-26_o.jpg" data-mid="12752002" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-27.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-27_o.jpg" data-mid="12752003" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-28.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-28_o.jpg" data-mid="12752006" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-29.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-29_o.jpg" data-mid="12752008" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-30.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-30_o.jpg" data-mid="12752010" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-31.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-31_o.jpg" data-mid="12752012" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-32.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-32_o.jpg" data-mid="12752013" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-33.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-33_o.jpg" data-mid="12752016" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-34.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-34_o.jpg" data-mid="12752017" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-35.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-35_o.jpg" data-mid="12752020" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-36.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-36_o.jpg" data-mid="12752021" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-37.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-37_o.jpg" data-mid="12752023" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-38.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-38_o.jpg" data-mid="12752026" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-39.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-39_o.jpg" data-mid="12752027" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-40.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-40_o.jpg" data-mid="12752029" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-41.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-41_o.jpg" data-mid="12752031" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-42.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-42_o.jpg" data-mid="12752033" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-43.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-43_o.jpg" data-mid="12752036" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-44.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-44_o.jpg" data-mid="12752038" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-45.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-45_o.jpg" data-mid="12752039" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-46.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-46_o.jpg" data-mid="12752041" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-47.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-47_o.jpg" data-mid="12752043" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-49.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-49_o.jpg" data-mid="12752044" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-51.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-51_o.jpg" data-mid="12752046" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-53.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload11.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/2526587/IntegratedStudio_CommunityCtrBoathouse-53_o.jpg" data-mid="12752048" border="0" align="left"/>Hunts Point, Bronx, New York is a budding community where redevelopment and a social center are becoming a pressing issue. This proposal utilizes a concept of a series of systems working in a parallel, linear form allow their adjacencies to complement each other and use their innate attributes to create passively conditioned environments. Public and private programs are divided by a wetland as adjacent and expandable event and classroom spaces speak to the community and environment's influence in the campus. This project is a combined efforts in folded paper, ceramic,and ferrocement experiments, site visits and Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting student, Kyle McGahan, and Masters of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Mauricio Zermeno. Awards: Selected for Parsons Archive (Fall, 2011) http://www.rahulyshah.com/Masterplan-Housing-in-the-Bronx http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Masterplan-Housing-in-the-Bronx Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:21:42 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 1392649 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan01_o.jpg" data-mid="6849483" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan02_o.jpg" data-mid="6849484" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Masterplan03_o.jpg" data-mid="6849485" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan01_o.jpg" data-mid="6849495" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan02_o.jpg" data-mid="6849496" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan03_o.jpg" data-mid="6849497" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan04_o.jpg" data-mid="6849498" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Plan05_o.jpg" data-mid="6849499" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section01_o.jpg" data-mid="6849503" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section02_o.jpg" data-mid="6849504" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section03_o.jpg" data-mid="6849505" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section04_o.jpg" data-mid="6849506" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section05_o.jpg" data-mid="6849507" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section06.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section06_o.jpg" data-mid="6849508" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section07.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section07_o.jpg" data-mid="6849509" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section08.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Section08_o.jpg" data-mid="6849510" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective01_o.jpg" data-mid="6849511" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective02_o.jpg" data-mid="6849512" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective04_o.jpg" data-mid="6849516" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/1392649/Perspective03_o.jpg" data-mid="6849514" border="0" align="left"/> Details coming soon... Awards: Selected for Parsons Archive (Spring, 2011) http://www.rahulyshah.com/Research-Writing http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Research-Writing Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:40:17 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 930930 BAROMETRIC CAMPS As the year of 2011 draws to a close, it is more apparent than ever how quickly things can change in this fast paced and often, transient, state of affairs. On the 11th of March, a 9.0 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan, created a destructive tsunami which obliterated coastal cities and towns of Japan. May 2nd, infamous terrorist, Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by a team of the United States Special Forces Unit. From August 29th through September 5th a group of artists and musicians participated in an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance at the Burning Man Festival in the desert of northern Nevada. On September 17th a protest movement against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption, and the undue influence of corporations began in New York City. These events were spurred, facilitated by, necessitated, and automated by, to put it generally: camps. The superficial differences between camps of disaster relief, terrorism, hedonism, and demonstrative autonomy are clear. One would find it difficult to compare the intentions of an installation artist of the wooden man effigy at the Burning Man Festival to those reeling from having run from the destruction of their coastal Japanese home. However, through the study of camps, patterns emerge which determine a hierarchy of primal human understanding and necessary order in the communities and spaces we develop in relationship to the culture which created it and the organization it spurs and defines. The purpose of the Burning Man Festival is to camp. The festival provides a venue for the simple objective of camping as the event’s source of interest. Physically, as it exists today, it is a full blown nomadic city. Its diameter has expanded to one and a half miles and is laid out in a two thirds circle with nine concentric semicircles in its interior. The remaining third of the desert playa serves as the main communal space, a sort of human fabricated playa within the natural playa. Clock time and degree based coordinates orient participants and locate themed camps. Main axes occur at each half hour spoke (Hailey, 132). The Burning Man event is governed by ten principles, which are radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. It is through these ten principals that the community of a camp takes on a wholly different experience and develops itself into an experiment of congregation. One way of looking at the experience is identifying that it is very self focused in that every goer is self reliant for supplies and provisions as well as how the expression of how one chooses to set up their campsite is a physical manifestation of a personal expression; however these campsites are only activated through the other participants of the festival and therefore it is the combination of distinct individuals that form the idiosyncratic community of Burning Man. Burning Man would not exist as the extraordinary community of amalgamated artists and musicians if it were not for the lack of rules which is core to the gathering’s eclectic expression. The concept of decommodification greatly influences the community’s structure and dynamic by allowing participants to behave “more free and not restrained, they are generally more kind to one another, and more understanding & accommodating of basic human needs and desires.” (Goughary Interview). “Outside of Burning man, there’s a constant feeling of self restraint and wariness. Almost every act we carry out in everyday life is a direct result of monetary involvement. We need to make sure we don’t overextend our budget at the bar, grocery store, gym, car dealership, and as a result people may not be open to random acts,” of kindness (Goughary Interview). This primal, less competitive and less materialistic doctrine of the Burning Man experience closely relates to progressive philosophies akin to humanism and is manifested purely because of participants agreed upon statute and entrance into a planned temporary community. The “Occupy Wall Street” protests have sparked similar demonstrations across the world. These protests occur in major cities in public places where, often, it is perfectly legal to occupy. The notable difference of these groups of protesters is the length of time that they have chosen to congregate in the these public spaces. While it is difficult to describe the mission statement of those participating in the protest, it is simply the occupation that defines a social climate that demands a conversation of address. It is through the peaceful disruption which this type of camp establishes against the orderly context of a major metropolitan city that an unignorable presence jars the attention of those with whom the participants of the camp wish to instigate dialogue. The presence of a camp of this type is a reflection of a portion of society that is dissatisfied with another portion of society. It is for this reason that the contrast of those occupying the camp to the surrounding context is absolutely critical in order to establish recognition. Camps of control and necessity are also often a very transient society. Short lived and highly trafficked, camps are a sort of community’s timeline in fast motion. Mining camps are an excellent example of how a camp can remain small, probing for extraction opportunities, and die; or how it can sprout into a full blown city. Today, the finely tuned economics of profit margins and negotiations with government and landholders limit the generation of camps like this but it is important to recognize their history and how camps of this type are finely tuned mechanisms of analysis and production. The typical mining camp lasts approximately twenty four months, a relatively long duration for camps. This length of time determines some of it’s occupants habitation as more of a residency than a transient footprint of necessary positioning for temporary control. It is because of this timeline based in the nature of the typology of this camp which determines a level of development closer to that of what is required of town/urban planning; the mining camp falls between the temporality of camping and the assumed longevity of a residential town. These mining camps which have a longer life can be referred to as permanent accommodation camps. They are more geographically remote and therefore it is the threads of communication and physical accessibility which are a critical aspect to their development. The Diavik diamond mining camp (1991-Present) in Canada’s Northwest Territory relies on access via the Ice Road which is reconstructed annually and provides ground transportation links from February to April while for the rest of the year, access is only permissible by plane. Given the climate of Northern Canada, the camp has a relatively insular appearance to the outside. Twenty prefabricated metal modules are connected to link the major buildings. These arctic corridors carry all utilities including drinking and heating water, a separate water sprinkler line, sewage, power, and communications. The corridors also provide heated, well-lit walkways for workers going to and from work at the plant site, and protection from the harsh Canadian winter. Proximity to Lac De Gras provides a source of drinking water while a small power plant, sewage treatment facility and boiler plant infrastructure service the program. It is this contemporary camp that demonstrates a progression in social change and prioritization of goals as compared to the predecessors in the mining camps of Appalachia which were controlled through racial and ethnic distinctions via the geographic separation of dwellings. Camp clusters at Trammel Mining Camp (1917) in southern Virginia dictated a social and economic stratification in the narrow, sloping valley of McClure Creek. Segregation was typical of mining camps during this period. However, the modularity of the prefabricated barracks did not add an aspect of hierarchy in accommodation nor did their siting. It is through this social evolution and understanding of human equality and the goal of the camp, shared by all, that transformed the planning and organization of the it in order to further organize the efforts and develop the camp for the benefit of production as well as habitation. Camps of necessity do not occur by choice, or force but somewhere between autonomy and control. Camps of planned necessity are for displaced populations and while the aim of the developer of camps like this has the best of intentions in providing security and provision of services for a community, the implementation can conflict with traditional settlement patterns and ways of living rooted in cultural traditions. The jarring effect of a natural disaster on the family unit with the possible loss of loved ones and home is only exacerbated by a living condition unsympathetic to cultural tradition. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has a standard and guidelines for addressing the planning methods of camps, limiting refugee camps to twenty thousand and allotting each person four and half square metres of sheltered space and forty five square meters of overall space. These allotments are equivalent to a maximum area of a square with each side more than a half mile long. It has been determined that the size and population densities of emergency camps exceeding these criteria make modules of communities difficult to maintain. Realities of geographic feasibility, environments that increase the spread of disease and unsafe juxtapositions with conflict areas or irreconcilable host populations further complicate the development of successful camps like this. Response to a housing need after a natural disaster often leads to the discussion of prefabricated or modular units. The Khrushchev apartments (1961) of the Soviet Union were modular and could be arranged quickly and easily but they could not adjust to function. The system was closed the moment the design left the drawing board and the product left the warehouse. Jean Prouvé’s prefabricated housing (2006) nods at these concepts and that of low budget mass produced housing that is transportable. However there are too many components which make the construction difficult or inaccessible to local people’s skillsets. It is an insensitive, contextless design which forces an impersonal understanding of how to live in and between homes. Camps which provide a safe place, shelter, care, and even a new permanent home after a natural disaster are an excellent opportunity to experiment and further develop new ways of working with a delicate community after such a circumstance. Taiwanese architect, Hsieh Ying-Chun has developed a system for rebuilding communities ravaged by natural disasters. Having traveled and studied the smaller towns of East Asia, Ying-Chun has an understanding of how these, often remote, communities live and work together. These communities are very self reliant in the first place, and often, many people are familiar with the construction trade as a way of building their own homes. Using this intimate understanding of how the community works within itself, in combination with the interest of a quick and economical solution in the restoration of public and private infrastructure, Ying-Chun can more easily communicate with the public. Using a modified balloon frame structure, Ying-Chun communicates the entire design in a series of ten drawings or less; a similar graphic vernacular to that of the local carpenters. This break away from traditional communication methods of contemporary architects indicates a recognition of where the evolution of architectural design techniques and process takes a few steps back and branches into a simpler yet more effective way to encourage community involvement and burgeons making a solution, personal. The key element behind Ying-Chun’s ideological framework is the physical skeleton of lightweight steel which allows for an open system. From this open system, the community works together to develop a vernacular for a new community using local materials and construction techniques. Local wood, metal and even stone rubble left from ruins are used as building materials. Ying-Chun’s designs are never complete; it is the understanding of the evolving prototype which allows combinations of previous iterations to develop through the flexibility. It is through the flexible design that encourages a broken community to participate while reducing the budget of construction due to the use of local craftsmen, material and industry. While the steel structure, rubble, timber and roofing are all very real and tangible elements and literally necessary for the redevelopment of a community, it is the attitude that Hsieh Ying-Chun’s ideologies bring along with the material understanding that creates a new temporary to permanent camp. Understanding of a culture and the way that people work in their own social circles is what creates a successful reparation operation in times of need. Additionally, it is the nature of the work that an evolution of design can take place. Working as a design-build practice, Hsieh Ying-Chun explores the development of camps with each iteration and on site visit, furthering comprehension of local cultures, materials and communities. Camps are the current and historical root of human dwelling and community making. The reasons for development range from autonomous protests, anarchy, gaming, exploration, hedonism and holiday; to military control, mining, and training; to necessary shelter, evacuation, refugee and survival. It is for this reason that the continued survey of camps is incredibly pertinent for studying physical development as a function of culture and society as a whole. Camps provide the barometer of human evolution. Works Consulted "2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 15 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. . "Burning Man." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. . "The Diavik Diamond Mine - Infrastructure." The Diavik Diamond Mine. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. . Goughary, Coleman. "Coleman Goughary's Experience of Burning Man, 2011." Telephone interview. 16 Dec. 2011. Hailey, Charlie. Camps: a Guide to 21st-century Space. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2009. Print. "Hsieh Ying-Chun - Talk + Discussion." Hsieh Ying-Chun - Talk + Discussion. Dongia Gallery at 25 E. 13th Street, New York. 11 Nov. 2011. Lecture. Sniderman, Zachary. "AOL Names Top 11 News Stories That Shaped 2011." Mashable: US + World. 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. . "What Is Burning Man?, First Timer's Guide, Ten Principals, F.A.Q., Environmental Statement." Burning Man. Black Rock City, LLC, 9 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. . REIMAGINING NEW YORK’S CONTEXT - A CRITICAL CALL FOR EVALUATION Urban centers are overpacked, overbuilt, and densely and immensely infatuated with their own “big idea.” As few structures take up more than half a city block, it is hard for one to lay claim to its visual or environmental impact amongst the urban fabric. Given the realm of the great and expanding context of the city, even the grandest of architectural works have a limited hand in igniting the paradigm shift for which today’s generation of architects are striving. That fact alone is retrospectively one of the biggest shortcomings of recent architectural history; that the realizations made by humankind’s most influential designers and thinkers concerning architecture, energy use, site and global impact of megastructures occurred nearly 100 years after available sites of this scale were developed. In other words, architectural development was in many ways too much, too soon. If ecologically minded designers of today could develop from the ground up an entire block in Midtown Manhattan amongst a context uninjected with any widespread and overarching goals, the form it would take would be much different from those developed in the 1930s and 40s. However, the form of New York is an absolute product of the boom of industry, technology, and arrogance ignited in the 1900s; insensitive, pretentious and planning for nothing but human financial gain. The megastructure is nothing but a money making machine, a huge missed opportunity in being a multifunctional system of human and environmental processing and interaction. The infrastructure of New York is a dated crust of veins and ventricles, which is a disservice to the buildings, the harbor, and the community. Fifty percent of the time that it rains in New York, the sewage system is overwhelmed and forced to divert this overflow to combined sewer overflow outlets which dump untreated human sewage into the rivers and harbor of New York City. Telecommunication lines need to be serviced every week of the year and cooled with nitrogen to avoid an overheated meltdown due to the claustrophobic line chases underneath the surface of the city. Every single scrap of space has been claimed with “necessary” infrastructure, each element only furthering the difficulty of the others to do their jobs completely efficiently. While the development and demands of the people and buildings of New York have increased over time, the infrastructure has remained relatively unchanged. Any extra that a building would demand from this dated system is compensated for within the building itself, but never facilitating or alleviating the strain which it contributes to the already overburdened network. New York is one of the world’s largest experiments, a veritable playground of architectural expression. Grand, expressive, passionate, poignant and powerful, the architect who earns a project amongst this trophy case of modernization has little reason to access the greater system at work in this metropolis. So far removed from any hint of the natural, why should it be considered in this context? While any architect who has earned the honor to design within the illustrious City of New York surely has a mind to at least slightly consider context, the only one apparent is the city itself. All other remnants of natural symptoms have been capped, glazed over, and ignored with the thickening crust of urban infrastructure meant to serve humankind alone. Greater ecological systems at work here have long been on the back burner in the consideration of the designers and their projects in the metropolitan landscape. This ideology has been correlated with development since the implementation of the grid in 1811. While it is extremely utilitarian, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is sensitive to the changing topography and condition across the island. It is this sort of ignorance and forced implementation that doomed the mindset of the designer in the early 20th century. Since the birth of the elevator, architecture has risen to a completely different kind of playing field. The game changing technology of the elevator pushed the buildings of New York upward to the sky with little remorse for the implication of what was happening on and in the ground below. Even the interior of the building was subservient to what the overall form meant for humankind: achievement, greatness and the physical manifestation of man’s dominance over the environment. Man was born into nature, but evolved to such ingenuity that he came to the definition of “nature” as something separate from him, and the creation of one’s own environment of glass, steel and planning similarly entrenched this distinction. So became a world of deep interior spaces, lit with electricity, creating a social space so unlike anything that had ever existed. These types of spaces multiplied in congruence with the flourishing of grandiose skyscrapers, deepening people’s displacement from public spaces. The typical monolithic treatment of skyscrapers intimidates the public at the most important moment of intersection: the sidewalk. Scaleless and inapproachable, the skyscraper forces the public’s interaction simply because it is inescapable, never stimulating public spaces. Architecture in this modern world has spurred all kinds of fantastic technology. Sensational structural capabilities of today are taken advantage of in so many ways within the showcase of New York City. Through the lens of conservation, the architects of yesterday flaunted these technologies purely for the sake of being ostentatious. “Pay no mind to the embodied energy of massive amounts of unique pieces of glass and structure,” says the “most eloquent” works of architecture. These do not exist for nature, but for man. The architect of yesteryear shows no restraint in the form which is simply for serving man. The lens of contextual investigation by these architects is nothing but a pinhole of understanding in the system. Insensitive to their surroundings, the only context that is reflected in these works is the fellow unsympathetic mass of buildings that scab the once permeable ground. The gestural poetry embedded in the big architecture of New York is indeed beautiful. However, this beauty is only that from a retrospective ground. The definition of what makes a building beautiful must be reexamined. Architectural styles have evolved from civil formalism to eloquent prose that speaks to contemporary social change, and occasionally ekes its way into addressing environmental aspirations. The consideration of scale of each project must be redefined. The site has its legal edges which define public and private space, where electricity lines run and where the sewer main is located, but it is the understanding of a system of lines much larger that must be surveyed in the development of architecture along with these legal lines. The connections between buildings and networks that exist must be questioned and not accepted as regiment. Analyzing social structure and advocating progressive social relationships is important, but the discipline must expand and contend with the unseen impact of each individual intervention, no matter what the scale. This redefinition of architectural “beauty” must be recognized by not only the industry, but also by the public, by investors...by the world. If New York City in 1811 was the big experiment, we have just recently entered the second round of evaluation and testing. Designers then were given, more or less, the huge open slate of the grid. This framework provided a system of organization that could freely develop its own context as there was nothing to work around other than the grid itself. Today, architects and designers are forced into a rich urban fabric of new and old structures, all addressing different demands of modern society. The framework of the grid has been filled out but it is not without it’s idiosyncrasies. Moments where two systems of planning logic collide create awkwardly shaped plots, gaps, and seemingly unusable spaces. This is a situation that we cannot criticize any longer, however the importance of knowing the arguments against the efficiencies of this built environment is essential in developing new interventions of intelligent systems. These intelligent systems must consider a wider breadth of disciplines than any architectural precedent: Water: Perhaps the most important element on earth. The exclusion of the consideration of this valued element could cost humans everything. The paradigm shift associated with the attention to water will drastically change all new construction. Rising sea levels and the increased intensity of storms dictates that architects absolutely cannot continue to develop ground floors of structures in high risk areas the same way. While this sensitivity will change the dynamic of street life, the cost of this certain risk is too much to ignore any longer. Analysis of watershed and the building’s water use will require intense collaboration between architects, landscape architects, ecologists and engineers. The scale of this analysis extends far beyond the legal limits of the site reaching upriver, up the topography and even upstate. Understanding of sewers and relationship to building systems must be questioned and reexamined. Taking strain off this system is crucial for all new construction. Landscape: This is no longer simply an amenity but a necessary element of integration for a successfully considerate project. Landscape will no longer be viewed as simply “green space” or a planted roof, but as the living breathing system that is designed bio-mimicry. Allowing this breathing to fuel design decisions from the very beginning of design phases will reinforce the essential integration of architecture and landscape. Buildings: The scale of the available undeveloped plots are comparatively tiny to that of the early 20th century and the large sites are few and far between. This smattering of emerging sites will only take up a small percentage of buildings amongst the well established urban fabric. However, their change will incrementally shift their effect on their neighborhood into a snowball of undeniable environmental plateauing. This will spread like a positive virus to every awkward, wedge-shaped lot, and seeking opportunity in the most obscure moments of the infrastructural jungle of the city. Hugging the edges of the river, seeking protection under overpasses and thinning to the absolute limit of the narrow leftovers of colliding urban planning, a structure in these locales previously deemed a simple “building” will define and deserve the term of architecture. No longer will reverence be appropriated to the expressive starchitect but instead realigned with architecture that does so much more for the way that people live and interact with each other and the larger systems at play in our evolving environment. Reactant to necessities of light and conscious of the ebb and flow of human behavior, this architecture is no longer determined by the architect, but is a product specifically committed by the site alone. The equation of humans, buildings, and natural elements is a problem only solvable by an architect who is facile enough with all of the principals and their foreseeable trajectories to determine a design’s place amongst the context. In one way, the benefit of the downfall of the social condition created by the skyscraper is that it has evolved into a necessary evil of modern society. Space for business to transpire is absolutely necessary and it is what has fueled these fresh concepts. The lessons demonstrated to us from the overbuilt crust provide case studies of what methods cannot be repeated. It is now the responsibility of these concepts to fill in the gaps, both physical and figurative, to make up for the public spaces lost in the travesty of the overbuilt city. The implementation of this concept to new development will be as stealthy as the corruption that has lead us to the need for this paradigm shift in architectural sensitivity. Interventions will likely not be made on every block, and historical districts will retain their integrity, but through the introduction of these positive nodes throughout the city, beneficial change will arise. STORM SURGE BARRIER - A CRITICAL EXAMINATION + HYPOTHESIS FOR THE FUTURE OF NYC Given the complexity and amount of variables that influence the effects of a storm surge, New York City must develop a multifaceted defense to storm surges. Using the existing framework of the PLANYC 2030 strategy, the New York City Government and Department of Planning will play a major roll in advocating and implementing this objective. Even with the defensive potential of a storm surge barrier positioned at The Narrows, this solution seems shortsighted considering both the economical and environmental cost of its construction (A proposed cost of 6.5b for the barrier at the Narrows (NY). 17m. a year in operating costs alone at the Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier in the Netherlands). A storm surge barrier is a “too much, too late” approach to rising sea levels and increasing storm strengths. Given the “ too much, too late” approach, the Storm Surge team proposes an incremental design for the city’ s defense again storm surges: adjust the very fabric of our ground level infrastructure in order to preempt the destruction of an occupied first floor and basement levels. Moving the ground level program of all the structures that are in high risk areas to the second or third floor is one of the lowest costing ways to prevent this disaster. Other smaller scale interventions at crucial moments in the City will subdue flooding which is the best we can expect at this point. The benefit of incremental design and retrofitting is that it doesn’t place a reliance on one single move. New York cannot afford to go on with “business as usual” and a paradigm shift concerning the effect of nature on our city, must occur. It is from here that we can rethink our city one block at a time, creating a community of more environmentally prepared New Yorkers. With all of New York’s five borough’s population on the rise in every aspect, New Yorkers have no choice but to take action concerning storm surges and rising seas on the edges of five boroughs. With programs of the maritime industry, housing, wetland preservation, big city infrastructure (ex: waste water treatment plant), water transport, public access, and climate change response, competing to control development in these vital affected areas, the inclusion of all programs (strategized in coordination with PLANYC) paired with a combination of fortified edges and constructed ecology will be part of the way to live with these new environmental conditions. Constructed ecologies are relatively the least traditional of design solutions to a problem like this but it is important that the public and future designers recognize the power of nature. Working with it to develop tidal estuaries and oyster barrier reefs will subdue storm surges at the edges of the five boroughs without the need for heavy infrastructure development. With waterfront public spaces being something that every New Yorker experiences, it must be recognized by everyone from the general public to designers through the highest officers in the gov’t. that integrated design interventions within the fabric of the city will help with adaptation to the future storms, this is a group effort that everyone needs to be aware of as it will affect all. This raises the significance of the public’s essential participation in pushing for the restructuring and re-envisioning of the edges of the harbor, a catalyst for retrofitting the city. Is it essential for designers to educate and work with the public. We suggest these alternatives: 1 - PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR DESIGNATED AREAS ABOUT WHAT TO DO SPONSORED BY NYC GOVERNMENT AND DISTRIBUTED THROUGH ADVERTISEMENTS AND LOCAL TELEVISION NEWS AND RADIO 2 - WHEN SEVERE WEATHER IS APPROACHING: PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT EVACUATION PROCEDURES BY POLICE PATROL, RADIO, AND LOCAL TELEVISION. 3 - ZONING REGULATION CHANGES FOR FIRST FLOOR OCCUPATION IN DESIGNATED AFFECTED AREAS (Existing Structures + New Construction) The owner will be responsible for retrofitting the equipment or facilities in high-hazard areas (according to FEMA’s scope of work for protective measures). 4 - CONTRACTED RETROFITTING OF GROUND FLOOR IF OWNERS REFUSE TO VACATE THE GROUND FLOOR (Owner would be responsible for this expense) 5 - USE OF NO LONGER USED SUBWAYS TUNNELS AS DRAIN RETENTION DURING STORM SURGE. RETROFIT FOR THE ACCEPTANCE AND CONTAINMENT OF THE STORM WATER WOULD BE NECESSARY. 6 - RAISED WALKWAY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SAFE EVACUATION OF AFFECTED AREAS. (It is the designer’s role to determine the new urban landscape that would result from raised walkways in collaboration with its pedestrian users.) CONCLUSION: While a storm surge barrier and vegetative barriers appear to be good options, in theory, measures of this magnitude will become outdated and only increase greenhouse gases which will only accelerate what the project is trying to prevent. Instead, understanding how to transform the infrastructure that already exists can allow those involved in government, planning, designers and the general public to retrofit, inform and live more intelligently. Through this incremental process, it is possible to maintain an adaptive and responsive stance to climate change and our constructed and natural environment; “[making] present a state of the world that does not (yet) exist.” PROGRESS - TODAY vs YESTERDAY The definition of “progress” is different depending on what sort of lens one looks through. According to J.B. Bury, progress “means that civilization has moved, is moving, and will move in a desirable direction.” In the eighteenth century, progress was synonymous with refinement, polish, and civility in contrast to crudity, barbarity, and rudeness. Progress was often linked with such things as mechanization, technical innovation and replacing forests with factories or housing developments. As time goes on, we continue to look at the concept of progress in physical infrastructure, the social relationships they reflect, as well as the social issues we collectively consider to be more civil. However, the definition of “progress” has changed over this period of time and a reconsideration of the impact of how we have and will use the word must be reviewed. One perception of progress is based in the idea that there is a destination; a final place of betterment that the process of “progress” will lead us. This mindset determines a place which is always in some way, shape, or form a stage that is superior to earlier ones. However, this perception of a superior destination is a completely one-sided comprehension. There is always a cost to progress; how can a “better” place be better for all when sacrifices, whether they be financial, environmental, or experiential, have been made? Whether the cost is the investment of a developer, the fabrication of materials, pollutants from the energy used to construct a project, or even possibly the homes of people, plants or animals, there is always a cost to progress. It is through this lens that the idea of “progress” is never absolutely beneficial. It comes down to a game of weighing the cost and benefit of “progress” to determine whether or not a project is actually positive. If things are improving, that means the environment which we lived in was previously inferior to the one which we inhabit today. How can we make the extremely bold assumption that immediate “progress” means that things are better? “Progress” exists alone in a time where we can assess the impact of something on a grand scale. It is only from the perspective of 20, 50 or even 200 years later that we can assess what has brought us to a place of advancement and therein: progress. For example, only relatively recently have we started to understand the impact of the Industrial Revolution on today’s society, well after its initial trickle had started. “Progress” is a completely retroactive noun and should not be used in any other way. It is a term that can only be used in the process of evaluative reflection. To use the term “progress” in the middle of a process is a presumptuous way of describing the outcome of a project; after all, all projects of the built form are a collection of (hopefully) educated hypotheses that informed the operations. These operations are the physical manifestation of an experiment that can only truly exist on a human scale. The reactions of visitors to the project cannot be dictated by the designer, but only hypothesized if people will treat the space as the designer had intended. In this respect, the term “progress” could be used to be the goal, but it cannot be deemed the project itself. After all, the final candidate for the cause of change is human activity itself, never a building. The word “progress” is a product of marketing, of sales, of putting a positive light on development. A “line” of products lends itself to a concept of undeviating growth in describing itself; each product improves on the previous and offers features previously unexplored or combined. However, is any sort of actual “progress” a linear process? It is the iterative process, evolution, and innovation which is especially prevalent in the developmental methodology today. The means and venues by which advances can be made today are hugely different than even 30 years ago. New forms of communication, collaboration and exploration are intertwining, constructing a new ground for evolution to stand on. As today’s world changes, the term “progress” is also transformed into a whole new kind of implication. Since the late 1990s, the rise of the Internet has changed the world of combined media models and the way that we share ideas. Through the lens of the Internet, the term “progress” has morphed into a network of opportunities in shared communities where everyone draws from related and easily accessible resources. In the case of the Internet, a community where anyone can participate, and their contributions are encouraged and invited, is created. In venues such as Wikipedia, an immediately current and wide scope of subjects are available and provided by people around the world, constantly. Users who understand overarching principals of the greater concept of databases like these can submit their own work, and it is through this facility that a greater overall understanding and far reaching breadth of data can be aggregated, examined and edited. In effect, the Internet will radically change how “progress” can be achieved because it has been decentralized from the urban hearts of education, industry, and business, and is now not a product by one, but by all who can access the World Wide Web. These new relationships between participants on a worldwide scale could be understood as the “art” of cyberspace platforms. It is now possible to see the synthesis of progress more easily through the lens of the Internet. This was also the time during which there was an explosive increase in international art exhibitions. The most important characteristic of international art exhibitions is their massive scale. Such exhibitions enable visitors to view the works of one hundred or more artists in a single visit. The convenience of this arrangement brings together many figures from the art world, which encourages participating artists to invest themselves in their submissions, thereby increasing the overall quality of the event. While international art exhibitions often have a theme, the scale of the exhibition and the number of participants inevitably broadens this theme due to the extensive variety of media. However, this variety is hugely influential in being a catalyst for cross disciplinary pollination. Experts in a huge array of fields, all deeply invested in their own work, being exposed to other virtuosos creates a dynamic awakening never before experienced in recent history. The combination of the Internet and international art exhibitions has a major impact on the definition of “progress”: the hyperbola effect of the advances facilitated by these two modern day phenomena shortens the timeline previously deemed necessary for proper assessment of the appropriation of the term “progress” to many disciplines. Intelligently designed and widely researched hypotheses result in experiments that can be executed much more quickly while the aggregation and assessment of data is expedited. This expanding ground determines a new, shorter, timescale on which the term “progress” can be assessed and reassessed, promoting evolution. WORKS CONSULTED Nannerl O.Keohane, “The Enlightenment Idea of Progress Revisited,” in Progress and its Discontents, ed. Gabriel Almond, Marvin Chodorow, and Roy Harvey Pearce (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982). http://www.rahulyshah.com/Lomo-Photography http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Lomo-Photography Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:02:35 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 921059 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740001_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="1545" height_o="1024" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740001_o.jpg" data-mid="5369770" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740004_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="1545" height_o="1024" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740004_o.jpg" data-mid="5369774" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740005_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="1545" height_o="1024" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740005_o.jpg" data-mid="5369776" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740008_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="1545" height_o="1024" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740008_o.jpg" data-mid="5369778" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740013_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="1545" height_o="1024" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/78740013_o.jpg" data-mid="5369784" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481526069_1800835_42531548_5168172_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481526069_1800835_42531548_5168172_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417455" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481560999_1800835_42531552_363266_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481560999_1800835_42531552_363266_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417457" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481565989_1800835_42531553_4636907_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481565989_1800835_42531553_4636907_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417459" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481570979_1800835_42531554_47815_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481570979_1800835_42531554_47815_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417461" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481600919_1800835_42531560_8373459_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481600919_1800835_42531560_8373459_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417463" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481605909_1800835_42531561_8022021_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/23670_724481605909_1800835_42531561_8022021_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417464" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459886259_1800835_43352796_1813378_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459886259_1800835_43352796_1813378_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417465" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459911209_1800835_43352800_4074424_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459911209_1800835_43352800_4074424_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417466" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459986059_1800835_43352811_1949546_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746459986059_1800835_43352811_1949546_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417469" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746460055919_1800835_43352816_1450850_n_640.jpg" width="640" height="424" width_o="720" height_o="477" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/921059/30872_746460055919_1800835_43352816_1450850_n_o.jpg" data-mid="4417470" border="0" align="left"/>Chromogenic Photgraphy shot with Lomo Fisheye Camera http://www.rahulyshah.com/Highline-Market http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Highline-Market Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:50:38 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 904380 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/context.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/context_o.jpg" data-mid="4330081" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/AerialModel_14.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/AerialModel_14_o.jpg" data-mid="4560419" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress04_o.jpg" data-mid="4570582" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress03_o.jpg" data-mid="4560393" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModelProgress01_o.jpg" data-mid="4560394" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/DiagramComparison.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/DiagramComparison_o.jpg" data-mid="4330083" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/SECTIONFINAL.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/SECTIONFINAL_o.jpg" data-mid="4330091" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/01_plan.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/01_plan_o.jpg" data-mid="4330094" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/02_plan.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/02_plan_o.jpg" data-mid="4330095" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/03_plan.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/03_plan_o.jpg" data-mid="4330097" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/04_plan.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/04_plan_o.jpg" data-mid="4330098" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel06_14.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel06_14_o.jpg" data-mid="4570525" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel04_o.jpg" data-mid="4560427" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel03_o.jpg" data-mid="4560432" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/PhysicalModel01_o.jpg" data-mid="4560434" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective01_o.jpg" data-mid="4330100" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective02_o.jpg" data-mid="4330101" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/904380/Perspective03_o.jpg" data-mid="4330103" border="0" align="left"/>Shopping in New York is largely about the attraction of a street front presence. The site along 19th street, adjacent to the highline has seventy linear feet of street front given the datum of the existing context. Given the demands of the relatively large, market program, the project bends the storefront facade into the site and up towards the highline; creating one hundred eighty feet of storefront and a court between these two buildings which intersect at the pedestrian connection to the highline. Building I is dedicated to the market program, while building II serves the market both programmaticly with the dock and offices. It brings life to the food with a cafe, exhibition kitchen and private dining room. At an urban scale, building II provides a canvas of media, viewable from the highline, street, and court. Professor: Andrew Bernheimer http://www.rahulyshah.com/Other-Works http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Other-Works Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:50:49 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 906119 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork17.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork17_o.jpg" data-mid="4339620" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork18.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork18_o.jpg" data-mid="4354829" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork19.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork19_o.jpg" data-mid="4354827" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork01_o.jpg" data-mid="4339311" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork02_o.jpg" data-mid="4339314" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork03_o.jpg" data-mid="4339316" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork04_o.jpg" data-mid="4339317" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork05_o.jpg" data-mid="4339318" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork06.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork06_o.jpg" data-mid="4339319" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork07.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork07_o.jpg" data-mid="4339320" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork08.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork08_o.jpg" data-mid="4339322" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork09.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork09_o.jpg" data-mid="4339323" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork10.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork10_o.jpg" data-mid="4339326" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork11.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork11_o.jpg" data-mid="4339327" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork12.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork12_o.jpg" data-mid="4339329" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork13.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork13_o.jpg" data-mid="4339330" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork14.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork14_o.jpg" data-mid="4339331" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork15.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork15_o.jpg" data-mid="4339332" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork16.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906119/OtherWork16_o.jpg" data-mid="4339333" border="0" align="left"/>Fall 2007 - Present Chandelier Photos by D. Marino http://www.rahulyshah.com/AIA-Renewal http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/AIA-Renewal Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:04:08 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 906033 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA01_o.jpg" data-mid="4338562" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA02_o.jpg" data-mid="4338563" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA03_o.jpg" data-mid="4338565" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA04_o.jpg" data-mid="4338566" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA05_o.jpg" data-mid="4338567" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA06.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA06_o.jpg" data-mid="4338568" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA07.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/906033/AIA07_o.jpg" data-mid="4338570" border="0" align="left"/>Initiated by the American Institute of Architects (Washington DC), the goal to meet the challenge of carbon neutrality by 2030 has led to the re-interpretation of the existing courtyard and the area of interface between the institution and the public realm. Through the strategic insertion of ecologically performative program elements, efficiently networked with the site’s complex social agenda, Landworks Studio’s proposal seeks a more unified experience for the campus, the existing garden, historic AIA Headquarters building, the adjacent historic Octagon House as well as adjacent streets. Sculptural form optimizes the interface between proposed and existing landscape systems and social opportunities through bioretention, living walls, constructed wetlands, which will treat storm and gray water, as well as vertical plantings. http://www.rahulyshah.com/Master-Planning-in-Kazakhstan http://www.rahulyshah.com/following/rahulyshah.com/Master-Planning-in-Kazakhstan Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:14:58 +0000 Rahul Y Shah 905806 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau01.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau01_o.jpg" data-mid="4337675" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau02.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau02_o.jpg" data-mid="4337677" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau03.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau03_o.jpg" data-mid="4337678" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau04.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau04_o.jpg" data-mid="4337681" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau05.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau05_o.jpg" data-mid="4337685" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau06.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau06_o.jpg" data-mid="4337688" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau07.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau07_o.jpg" data-mid="4337689" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau08.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau08_o.jpg" data-mid="4337691" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau09.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau09_o.jpg" data-mid="4337692" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau10.jpg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/73071/905806/Aktau10_o.jpg" data-mid="4337694" border="0" align="left"/>Koetter Kim & Associates were commissioned to design the projected 11,000 acre expansion to the New City in Kazakhstan. Several iterations of the design were explored through a series of models. I was on of the main directors for the construction of these valuable models.