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So, last week was the intensity of the studio I remember from last semester. Although a large amount of work, I love doing it and have no problem staying up til the wee hours of the night to create something beautiful and that I’m proud of.
I felt my model was successful, though needed more textures to portray my ideas of materiality and spaces. Also, creating the model helped me understand that I need more thought into what actually happens with my “urban wetland” and how this translates to the culture and ecology of New Orleans. The comments given to me were great and I like the idea of the wetland rising and falling with natural cyclical fluctuations.
This weekend I sat down with Frank and his wife Mary, which gave some enlightenment to my project. Mary was speaking of “volume” as opposed to “point and line.” This informed my design in the way of creating this wetland as an integral part of the Louisiana landscape. So, I’m looking for design and aesthetics in ecology. Perhaps my new “grove” really becomes a type of cypress forest. And the movements I make, begin to make more sense with the land, and without some esoteric idea that I’m stamping onto the land. Who cares what I think? What about what the land thinks?
I am interested to see the history of the park and land to infuse interesting bits of information into the park (as well as, of course, the history of Hurricane Katrina). Dreiseitl did an interesting job in Tannery Springs by using old steel from the railroad in his design. I would like to somehow merge my urban wetland with the memorial of Katrina. Create both of these as one- where people can reflect yet also celebrate the lives and memory in a positive environment.
Now for the rest of the park??
We all hopped in the car to head to New Orleans for our first site visit with a community. It was rainy and cold, yet that would not stop our first meeting with the caring citizens of Burbank Gardens. It was eye opening to say the least. There are many constraints placed on the design, which I am normally not used to. In the past, I worked in an office with private clients with a lot of disposable income. Here, we are dealing with a public park, with a limited budget, and preconceived design ideas held by the neighborhood. I suppose this is understandable due to the nature of the design project. Just new for me.
After a bit of site analysis, we met with the community to learn more about their desires. A memorial area, a pavilion, playground, place for aging citizens, a baseball field, community gardens? Many ideas were discussed. It made me immediately think of how to program this park in a way that it can be useful to everyone and across the whole “playing field,” if you will. he he It seems it needs to be flexible, first. Second, it needs to work, and beyond that, attract people to a beautiful place, one which they never knew could exist. Setting a precedent for other parks in New Orleans would be nice too, no?
I am very excited for this semester and what it will bring. I am interested in park design and have had little, if any exposure to it. Also, I am interested in designing for hydrologically challenged areas. Is this an appropriate term? I shall find out this semester. 
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In the beginning, Brad created the blog. Okay, well for us. This is my first post just to get the ball rolling. I will be chronicling my semester as I work through each design studio for my second semester of my MLA. Kewl.
