Redefining The Energy Of The Landscape

Along Wheeler Avenue in La Verne, meets a diverse group of infrastructures; commercial, industrial, residential, transportation, recreational, electrical, and water. With the number of electronic devices involved and surrounding our daily lives, the concern about the health affects from these devices has been increasing in equal measure. On a larger scale, electrical lines carry higher power currents and therefore would have a larger concern about affecting the surrounding communities. These distribution lines are woven through our built environment. The project studies and communicates the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the distribution lines in a more visual manner representing the power lines; glistening lights that pulse across the landscape overhead, just as the distribution lines surge above us. The project also creates a landscape that fosters the interaction of the community and awareness of the habitats. The created landscape includes the use of private and open spaces to foster active use and awareness. The objective of the project is to create a system of connecting areas that perform as ecologically conscious spaces amongst the surrounding urban environment. The integration with the existing urban environment promotes engagement with the landscape through a series of locations that offer distinctive experiences. The design incorporates the notions of preservation, restoration, and innovation to create an environment that encourages education and engagement. These notions are carried throughout the project by restoring wildlife habitats and through the use of urban agriculture. The notion of preservation is evident in the landscapes using vegetation native to the region. The areas used for generating electricity from solar panels and social gatherings advocates the innovative functions of the landscape. The project uses a series of areas that have specific purposeful principles to create an overall multifunctional landscape.

Connecting EMF Detector Sensor to Project Site

After testing and adjusting the EMF Detector Sensor to the best of my ability, I had become proficient in soldering and somewhat understanding programming code. I had begun to research various ways to connect the sensor into the landscape and understanding the unseen flows that surround and weave through the landscape. I searched through a variety of articles, maps, thesis’, and official announcements to find that what would best implement electromagnetic field sensors in the landscape with the current electrical infrastructures would be to focus mainly on the transportation of energy by distribution lines and from there study ways to combine the transportation of energy with the create of it by means of solar panels, both panel paving and large scaled panels. The attached image illustrates my study of electrical generation throughout California and combining the information with the amount transported through my landscape.

Seattle to Build Nation’s First Food Forest

http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/02/21/its-not-fairytale-seattle-build-nations-first-food-forest

I found this article about an organization in Seattle that is helping create a food forest, similar to one of my multifunctional spaces using urban agriculture, to make a seven-acre plot of land into a park planted with hundreds of different kinds of edibles: blueberry and raspberry bushes; trees, including walnut and chestnut, apples and pears; pineapple, citrus, guava, persimmons, and lingonberries; herbs; and more. This food forest will be open to the public to harvest freely just as I had designed in my project; contributing to the community welfare. The concept of a food forest encourages urban agriculture and is about the concept of permaculture, which means it will be perennial and self-sustaining, like a forest is in the wild.

First Time Building Sensor

The first time attempting to put together a sensor was intimidating because I had no real experience with connecting wiring and using technical parts such as resistors and computer chips. I had swapped my computer hard drive recently with assistance, but I have never done anything that needed to be wired in specific ways. It seemed to be intimidating because it appeared so technical and requiring a knowledge that I had little to none about. However, after doing research for my own sensor and looking up what different parts do, when asked to put together a sample sensor in class, it seemed to be easier than I thought. Once configured, my group mates and I managed to alter and adjust the speed of the lights.

Article of Norman B. Leventhal Park in Boston Awarded ASLA 2014 Landmark Award

http://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2014/10/07/an-alternate-park-universe/#more-6002

The Norman B. Leventhal Park is located in Postal Office Square in Boston, Massachusetts. I found it to be significant to our project because it addresses the surrounding community needs and creates a space inviting to be occupied throughout the year. The design has made a significant impact on the surrounding civic realm by creating a landscape that allows the people from the financial district to go outside and enjoy a natural setting from the urban environment. The design took a small (1.7 acre) space and created a landscape that invites people to occupy for more than lunch time breaks. A developer of the early 90’s saw an old parking structure as a negative connotation for his recent developments in the square and decided to make underground parking with a park on top. One of the design ideas was to design the park as if it had always been there, which influenced the use of certain material such as brick and granite. The article addresses how the designers still work with redesigning areas that are affected by the surrounding conditions, such as the newer buildings shading over areas and decreasing light through the space. I think that the article articulates the process and describes the reasoning behind the design decisions well.