Cat on a Hot Green Roof Branner Travelling Fellowship Aplication

Branner Travelling Fellowship Aplication 2013 Cat on a hot green roof UC Berkeley l CED l Department of Architecture ƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐ͘&ƌŝĞĚŵĂŶ͛ƐĞǀŽĐĂƟǀĞĚƌĂǁŝŶŐƐĨŽƌ ^ƉĂƟĂůŝƚǇŝŵƉůǇŶŽƚŽŶůǇŝŶĨŽƌŵĂůŝƚǇĂƐƚŚĞƐŝŶĞ ƋƵĂŶŽŶŽĨƚŚĞĐŽŶƚĞŵƉŽƌĂƌǇŵĞƚƌŽƉŽůŝƐ͕ďƵƚ ĂůƐŽĂŶƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐŽĨƚŚĞƐŬǇĂďŽǀĞƚŚĞĐŝƚǇ ĂƐƉƵďůŝĐƐƉĂĐĞpar excellence͘ŶĚƚŚĞŶĂŐĂŝŶŝŶ ƚŚĞĞŝŐŚƟĞƐ͕^ƵƉĞƌƐƚƵĚŝŽ͛ƐƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐĨŽƌƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŽǀĞƌDĂŶŚĂƩĂŶ͛ƐƐŬǇďĞůŝĞĂĨĂƐĐŝŶĂƟŽŶǁŝƚŚƚŚĞ ƌŽŽĨͲƐĐĂƉĞƚŚĂƚŚĂƐƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚĂŶĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĞ ƐĐŚŽŽůĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞƐŝŶĐĞ͘ ƵƚƵƚŽƉŝĂŝƐĂĚŝƌƚǇǁŽƌĚ͕ŶŽƚďĞƚĂŬĞŶĐĂƐƵĂůůǇ The prehistoric settlements in Çatalhöyük, Anatolia, did not have any wall ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚƐĐŚŽŽůĐŽƌƌŝĚŽƌƐĂŶĚŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚƌĞǀŝĞǁ openings: the Neolithic woman would enter her home from an opening in the roof.1 ďŽĂƌĚƐ͘dŚĞƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐŽĨƚŚĞƐĐƌĞǁƐŽĨƚŚĞ Similarly, some Berber tribes in northern Africa still live in houses excavated in the ŐůŽďĂůĮŶĂŶĐŝĂůƐǇƐƚĞŵĂŶĚƚŚĞĞŶƐƵŝŶŐĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ accommodating desert soil.2 The roof and the ground plane in these two cases are ŝŶĞƋƵĂůŝƟĞƐŽĨƚŚĞůĂƐƚĚĞĐĂĚĞĂƌĞƐƚĂƌƟŶŐƚŽ synonymous and each enables and activates the other. Le Corbusier presumably ƐŚŽǁƚŚĂƚǁĞĂƌĞĞŶƚĞƌŝŶŐĂƉƌŽůŽŶŐĞĚƉĞƌŝŽĚ understood that, when he displaced the ground on Unité’s roof.3 Fast forward to ŽĨŐůŽďĂůƌĞĐĞƐƐŝŽŶĂŶĚĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐƌĞƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ͘4 the future (literally): the socio-political events of the sixties inspiring Archigram and dŚĞĮƌƐƚƐŽĐŝĂůŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚƐĂƌĞƐƉƌŝŶŐŝŶŐƵƉŝŶ Yona Friedman’s outright utopian urban proposals. Friedman’s evocative drawings ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐƚŚĂƚƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐůǇƐŚŽǁĞĚŐƌĞĂƚƚƌƵƐƚŝŶ for Spatial City imply not only informality as the sine qua non of the contemporary ƚŚĞĚŽŵŝŶĂŶƚĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐƚŚǇďƌŝĚ͘dŚĞƐĞĮƌƐƚƐŝŐŶƐ͕ metropolis, but also an understanding of the sky above the city as public space ŝŶƚŚĞƵƌŽƉĞĂŶƐŽƵƚŚĂŶĚƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐ͕ par excellence. Superstudio’s proposals for taking over Manhattan’s sky belie a ƚŽƉƉĞĚǁŝƚŚƚŚĞƌĂďƵƉƌŝƐŝŶŐƐ͕ƐƟůůƵŶĚĞƌǁĂǇŝŶ fascination with the roof-scape that has remained an architecture school favorite ^ǇƌŝĂ͕ŵĂǇďĞĂĐĂůůĂƚĂƌŵƐĨŽƌĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƐƚŽƚĂŬĞ since. ůŽŶŐĨŽƌŐŽƩĞŶĚƌĂǁŝŶŐƐŽƵƚŽĨƚŚĞŝƌĚƌĂǁĞƌƐ͘ But utopia is a dirty word, not be taken casually through school corridors and dŚĞƐĞĂƌĞƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐƚŚĂƚƌĞͲŝŵĂŐŝŶĞƚŚĞĐŝƚǇ Ǥ Ƥ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĂůŝŶƚĞƌǀĞŶƟŽŶƐƚŚĂƚůŽŽŬĂƚ system and the ensuing economic inequalities of the last decade are starting to ĐŽůůĞĐƟǀĞƌĞƐƉŽŶƐĞƐƚŽĞǀĞŶƚƐĂŶĚƚĂŬĞƚŚĞŵ show that we are entering a prolonged period of global recession and economic ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ͘dŚŝƐŝƐŶŽƚŝŶƚŚĞŶĂŵĞŽĨƵƚŽƉŝĂ͕ďƵƚŽĨ restructuring.4Ƥ ƉƌŽĨŽƵŶĚƌĞĂůŝƐŵ͘ ǤƤǡ dŚŝƐƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůǁŝůůůŽŽŬĂƚƚŚĞĐŝƚǇ͛ƐƌŽŽĨͲƐĐĂƉĞĂƐ in the European south and the United States, topped with the Arab uprisings, ĂǌŶĞƚǁŽƌŬŽĨŽƉĞŶƉƵďůŝĐƐƉĂĐĞƐ͘dŚŝƐŝƐŵŽƌĞ still under way in Syria, may be a call at arms for architects to take long forgotten ĂƉƉƌŽƉƌŝĂƚĞĨŽƌĐŝƟĞƐǁŝƚŚŇĂƚƌŽŽĨƐĂŶĚƌĞůĂƟǀĞůǇ drawings out of their drawers. These are proposals that re-imagine the city through ƵŶŝĨŽƌŵďƵŝůĚŝŶŐŚĞŝŐŚƚƐ͘tŝƚŚĂďŽŽŵŝŶŐŐůŽďĂů architectural interventions that look at collective responses to events and take ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶĂŶĚĂĚĞŵĂŶĚĨŽƌĞǀĞƌŐƌĞĂƚĞƌƵƌďĂŶ them further. This is not in the name of utopia, but of profound realism. dŚŝƐŝƟĞƐǁŽƌůĚǁŝĚĞ͘5/ǁŝůůůŽŽŬĂƚƚŚŽƐĞĞīŽƌƚƐ This proposal will look at the city’s roof-scape as a network of open public spaces. ĂŶĚĂƐƐĞƐƐƚŚĞŝƌƌĞůĂƟǀĞƐƵĐĐĞƐƐĞƐ͘DŽƌĞŽǀĞƌ͕/ ƪ ǁŝůůůŽŽŬĂƚƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶĂůĂŶĚŵŽĚĞƌŶƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐŽĨ heights. With a booming global population and a demand for ever greater urban ĚƌĂŝŶĂŐĞ͕ǁĂƚĞƌĐĂƉƚƵƌĞĂŶĚƌĞƵƐĞ͕ƌĂŶŐŝŶŐĨƌŽŵ density, the city of the future, elements of which we can see in some Asian cities ƚŚĞŽůĚĐŝƐƚĞƌŶƐƚŚĂƚǁĞƌĞƉĂƌƚŽĨĞǀĞƌǇďƵŝůĚŝŶŐ today, will grow higher and further away from the ground level, or plane of ŝŶƚŚĞĂƌŝĚŝƐůĂŶĚŽĨEŝƐŝƌŽƐŝŶ'ƌĞĞĐĞ͕ƚŽZĞŶǌŽ 6 reference for collective urban life. What if we understood the existing roofs of the WŝĂŶŽ͛ƐĂƌƟĮĐŝĂůŵŽƵŶƚĂŝŶŶĞĂƌEĂƉůĞƐ͕/ƚĂůǇ͘ city as constituting a new ground plane? I propose a network of public spaces on top and through existing buildings in cities with suitable building moprphologies, climate and relatively uniform building heights.This would not only open up the 1 Kostof, History of Architecture. city to the Ǧ ȋƥ 2 Subterranean dwellings in the plateau of – hell, buildings – purgatory, sky – paradise) but also enable the often Matmata. See detailed itinerary. sought after continuity over the ground by identifying and strengthening already 3 Le Corbusier, Towards an Architecture, 60 existing ǤƤ 4 I refer, among other publications, to analyses of the global economy in recent issues of the and well documented. The treatment of roofs with green or white paving Economist. Save the City, 01.07.12 reduces ơ ǡ 5 For news and reports, Green Roofs for worldwide.5ǡơ Healthy Cities <http://www.greenroofs.org> Ǥ ơ 6 For details on this project refer to the detailed itinerary. successes. Moreover, I will look at traditional and modern strategies of drainage, water capture and reuse, ranging from the old cisterns that were part of every Images (top to bottom): Le Corbusier’s sketch from Concerning Town Planning, Yona Fried- ǡǯƤ man’s drawing for Spatial City and Superstu- 6 near Naples, Italy. This is a proposal for a project of the urban scale looking for dio’s illustration for Continuous monument. details in the building scale. It is between these two scales that my optimism for Ǧ ƤǤ 1 Kostof 2 Troglodyte houses 3 What an unconvincing example! M E T H O D O L O G I E S Twelve months, twelve letters.1 For the duration of the Branner fellowship each month the department of architecture will receive a packet of material. It will be ǡƤ the city I am visiting through my own experiences of the place and the people. The rest of the material will include sketches, photographs, ephemera and drawings that explain the main premise of this project: understanding the city’s roof-scape as a network of publicly accessible open spaces. LITERATURE ƤǢ Ǥ2 Literature as a ǡǡǤ Ƥ at drama and poetry for examples of what the idea of “living on the roof” might entail. The project title’s reference to Tennessee Williams’s play A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof operates as as a method of inquiry, anchoring my research in the literary un- packing and re-thinking of social conditions. What if the cat stayed on the roof not out of necessity, but out of pleasure? I will explore the potentials of the proposed architectural and urbanistic idea through my own writing in the form of letters. I will send one every month back to Berkeley and that raw response to my encoun- ơ ͖͔͕͘Ǥ Ƥ ǡ ǯThe Production of Space and the work of Alain Badiou on the possibility of the occurrence of the Event.3 ETHNOGRAPHY dǁĞůǀĞŵŽŶƚŚƐ͕ƚǁĞůǀĞůĞƩĞƌƐ͘ &ŽƌƚŚĞĚƵƌĂƟŽŶŽĨƚŚĞƌĂŶ- I will be looking at the local conditions in each place I visit in order to focus my ŶĞƌĨĞůůŽǁƐŚŝƉĞĂĐŚŵŽŶƚŚƚŚĞ Ƥ Ǥ ĚĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚŽĨĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĞǁŝůů Ong’s work on global citizenship is particularly relevant here.4 ƌĞĐĞŝǀĞĂƉĂĐŬĞƚŽĨŵĂƚĞƌŝĂů͘/ƚ ǁŝůůďĞĂĚĚƌĞƐƐĞĚƚŽĂŶŝŵĂŐ- In response to questions about adequate time to conduct research and access the ŝŶĞĚůŽǀĞƌ͕ĂĮĐƟŽŶĂůĐŚĂƌĂĐƚĞƌ roofs, I intend to work with a system of stations – cities where I will move to for Ǥ Ƥ ǡ ĞŵďŽĚǇŝŶŐƚŚĞƐƉŝƌŝƚŽĨƚŚĞĐŝƚǇ in Asia, two in Europe and one in South America, I will work with research organiza- /ĂŵǀŝƐŝƟŶŐƚŚƌŽƵŐŚŵǇŽǁŶ 1 tions, primarily universities, in order to gain access to libraries and archives.5 These ĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞƐ ŽĨƚŚĞƉůĂĐĞĂŶĚ Ƥ the ĨŽůůŽǁƐ͘2 s3 and the ability to conduct research in the language. I speak Italian, German, French, Greek and English (in this ascending order). I intend to gain working knowledge of ĂƌĐŚŝǀĞƐ͘4 Portugese during my stay in South America. 5ĂĞƌŝĂů6ǌ By getting to know the space of the city and talk to local people I will work – walk – my way up to the roofs. DOCUMENTATION Ƥǡ form of maps, photographs and the collection of ephemera, I will visit places of Ƥ Ǥ - 1 See appendix ture interventions on roofs. 2 I refer here to discussions in Jill Stoner’s Literature of Space seminar (Spring 2012). Also: Stoner, Toward a Minor Architecture. The primary mode of documentation for these projects of the building scale will be 3 Badiou. Being and Event. in the form of sketches that I will translate to scale drawings. I will work primarily in 4 Ong, Neoliberalism as Exception: Muta- section, as a tool to understand both architectural detail in the construction of roof tions in Citizenship and Sovereignty. structures and gardens and the way the network of roofs can be inhabited. 5 For details on those organizations refer to the detailed itinerary. I am not interested in the aerial perspective, as I believe my project lies between 6 There is an uncanny relationship between the popularization of the aerial perspective 6 the creative abstraction of the map and the human concrete-ness of the section. and war. Vidler, “Air War and Architecture”. 1 I T I N E R A R Y / S C H E D U L E Fall 2012 During thesis seminar, I will prepare my proposal for a network of public spaces on ƪǡ ǡ categorizing the interventions that I will subsequently develop during and after my travels for my thesis presentation in Spring 2013. ȋ ǡ ƥȌƤǣ Hong Kong, Matera, Athens, Sao Paulo. During Fall semester I will travel around the Bay Area and go on a short trip to New York to look at notable examples of occupiable roofs and urban networks as I iden- tify them in my thesis research. New York falls outside the geographical scope of my travels during 2013, but will provide a rich background for my inquiry. Oakland Museum of California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco The Highline, New York Urban Greenery, New York On the road: 2013 l Breakdown of sites by date,

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