Hydrology

New Hydrology: for the site underneath the Perkins road overpass I chose to battle the existing hydrology problems.  To do this I designed clear glass platforms that would be suspended underneath one direction of the overpass ; these would be hollow inside so that drainage water from the interstate could be filtered and stored before going into the rest of the designed system. This diagram shows the direction of storm water from its beginnings at the top of the interstate to its recirculation at the end back into the sytem.  This system would be closed (except for water used in irrigation) so that even during dry spells, water would be circulating through the design.

 

 

 

 

 Old Hydrology: this diagram shows the poor hydrology on the existing site.  Water from the top surface of the interstate pours down from drainage spouts.  This water pools underneath the interstate in potholes and other poorly graded areas.  It takes a long time for this area to dry out.  There are not many existing drains in street or under interstate.  The ones on the street drain well; the ones under interstate do not.  Hydrology is definitely a problem at the site.

Mock-Up

Pretty Colors and Textures

This last Friday we went out to the site to do a mock-up of our design for underneath the interstate.  We used chalk, tape, and stakes to mark out where important elements of the design would go; we also took measurements to find a good scale for the design.  In mine, I show the altering heights of the platforms I want to install under one direction of the interstate.  I also show the depth and length of the channel I wanted to have run in front of the platforms.  In doing this, I did realized that the extremely long length of the channel became monotonous and needs to be broken up in the design.  I also tried to show the extension of the street in front of George’s to accomodate parking that I have running along the underneath of the interstate entrance ramp.  Marking out the design really let me see my ideas come to life and it helped me to make decisions that will better and further my design.

Annotate

Going back to site again to observe the same area from which the perspective was drawn… This time I am hunkering down for 3 hours to observe existing conditions and changes that occur on the site.  The changes are shown as a timeline from 3:00PM ’til 6:00PM.  The existing conditions are represented embedded into the perspective drawing.

sketch:robot

 
I tried to find an interesting point of perspective at the Perkins road site that had nothing to do with the Interstate.  I looked around for a while and decided that this row of cement planters with bamboo plantings created a nice angle as well as a visual screen.  I thought it was beautiful and complex and I liked the way the view was layered.  Below are my attempts at a perspective sketch of the view in Autocad and also a panorama of a couple of other views I considered rendering. 

Photosynth

Susannah’s and my photosynth documents the area under the I10 overpass.  This area is specific to where we chose to put our installation from studio.  It is catacorner from LA Salon and behind the new construction area on Perkins.  In the photosynth we tried to show how the site feels open, airy, and full of sun.  These were reasons of choosing the site for our installation. 

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=4CB6F770-944E-4996-A631-C16669045EFD

Plantings Around Perkins Site

Cherry Laurel leaves, fruit and flower near the Parrian’s sign

Camellia japonica flower near Le Studio

artfully arranged foxtail ferns behind george’s and salon

purple foliage of loropetalum in front of parrain’s

dwarf palmetto, littleleaf boxwood, iris, and extra large weed by Parrain’s sign

spruce pine border planting near Roof Dr.

Sad looking oak saplings planted in front of Freedom Fuel

Yucca planted in front of Cottonwood Books and Bella Bella

Beautification Notice!!!

Architecture

Block to West of Perkins Road: includes Freedom Fuel, Cottonwood Books, Pinettas, and Bella Bella Boutique.

The front of the Cracker Barrel

Side of the Cracker Barrel

Back of the Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel and Freedom Fuel Pumping Station

Front of Bella Bella

Perspective of Bella Bella

Wearing away of paint on the cement entrance to Bella Bella

Pinettas and cottonwood books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Architecture 2

Block to the East of Perkins Road including the new construction area and also the closed-down Living Foods, and another small building with no business name.

 

 

The New Construction area

Drawing of what exterior will look like

Saving the old bones

Living Foods and other building

Back of construction area

Construction area offices

Construction area materials warehouse

Side of warehouse

Materials

Lots of cement, concrete, and gravel

                                      Small clumps of plant life among the pillars

                                                         Metal and cinderblock 

More cement, concrete, gravel, metal, and a little greenery
 
Wrought iron fence with primrose