V E R N O NNATURE + MACHINE

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N AT U R E + M A C H I N ETABLE OF CONTENTS

TEAM PAGE

VERNON PAGE

READINGS

MAPPING

THE VERNON ARGUMENT

URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK

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8-9

10-21

22-31

32-33

34-59

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N AT U R E + M A C H I N E

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4When first presented with the task to design within the context of Vernon, California, the first assumption made was there is nothing you can do here. With a motto strictly industrial for a landscape architecture student those words mean no vegetation. Now with a growing field and expanding mind sets, Vernon opened the door for new passions and systems of resiliency that dont necessarily have to revolve around the all too common garden state of mind. Urban Design is a field that is not too familiar in our vocabulary but is highly on the rise for how architects of all nature see cities develop within their context.

NATURE + MACHINE

A R M A N D O S I L V A

The Landscape Architecture 402 studio sponsored by SWA Laguna Beach is the perfect symbiosis between visionary urban design and landscape architecture. SWA has led many studio discussions and reviews that have broadened the mindsets of our young student body. This studio has introduced me into methods of design where systems can develop to prolong the life expectancy of a given project, as well how to approach a design that relates to the sites context. For Vernon, the approach is completely different than anything I have ever taken on. The question of who to design for was the most confusing. With a population of 100 residents Vernon lacks community and for a good reason, Vernon is not a residential type of city. As a group of four we came to terms that this project was more about how a city can develop for the future and keep its strictly industrial nature. We do not aim at brining in people or creating a tourist attraction but rather developing an urban fabric that can function at all levels of industry. How can Vernon function as a symbiotic industrial city? This is the question we explored along with making this system move Vernon into becoming a healthy city and a machine that could ultimately better the environment.

My passion for industrial sites has developed over the past couple years. With projects like Gas Works Park in Seattle Washington and Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in Germany, the site of industrial complexes turned into community spaces has become attractive for myself. The skeletal system of how buildings and landscapes has always amazed me, now with the perfect opportunity in Vernon, I along with my group mates can begin to incorporate our passions and see how nature and machine can become one system that works for all humanity.

ManifestoAs society moves into the impending future of scarce resources, the demand to design urban metabolic systems will increase. Relationships between contrasting entities will no longer function solely but rather as symbiotic organisms. Cities will grow as these organisms adapt to their surroundings. Thus creating a relationship between nature and urban environments.

5NATURE + MACHINE

D E N I S E M U N O Z

6E A R N E S T L I T T L E

7J I M M Y T A

With visionary intentions within the sponsored studio by SWA, Vernon serves a potential in developing the future of urban consumption. We must understand the goods we consume and the metabolism of our city. Our consumption is the big factor taken into consideration for design. Designing for this urban fabric of industry, Vernon has a woven mat scheme of related industries. The goods we developed within Vernon are mechanical within the motive of production. What if we see the resiliency of the systems around us? As landscape designers, we see the systems and networks within the habitat humans have created over time. The urban fabric is understood that we can no longer see development from the ground up, but rather the reconfiguration of our systems and infrastructure. As a team, we seek the model of adaptable ecosystems. Our vision of developing new landscapes does not exist, as we must adapt to our future and urban fabric. The mechanical environment and the resilient ecosystems seek connections between the developments of the future.

I seek the nature and resilience within systems. The nature behind humankind is clear; we are part of the ecosystem. I prolong to find a calling for that connection between man and nature. While growing up, I was exposed to the world of aquatic animals and insects with fascination. Between the biological roots and graphic representation in landscape architecture, I embrace the world technology it has to offer. With my respect for manmade systems and nature, fascinate myself over projects like Oystertecture by Kate Orff. In addition, I see potential in biomimicry and systems that are created within landscape architecture or architecture. I seek the nature and technologies to create systems for our communities.

Vernon being a city solely industrial, it becomes a major factor to Americas production. The city has potentially grown for its industry and stays that way. As a result, it becomes a challenge to design for a city with a different approach in consumerism. The importance of Americas consumerism plays a big role in Vernons conversion of leftover products to a cities treasure of goods, Vernon is an important role to the county of Los Angeles and to other cities supplied by Vernon. The interest of goods behind factories must be understood by the interdependence of this system. Vernon helps clean and remove unwanted materials and recycle goods for a better living of urban America. With that being said, Vernon must be understood at the level of production and consumption.

8VERNONNATURE + MACHINE

Vernon nestled between downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Long beach made it the ideal city to become the central hub for industry in the Sothern California region. With an area of 5.1 sq mi, the city of Vernon is home to 46,000 workers and 100 residences making this an industry orientated community. What started out as a Sports Town in 1907 has emerged into a highly product and distribution based city, and this is highly due to its location and context. 8 miles north of the city sits Downtown Los Angeles and 20 miles south are the ports in Long beach, intersecting the eastern portion of the city is the Los Angeles River and freeways that surround the city include the 5,710 and 60fwy. This context gives the businesses the opportunity to efficiently distribute their products and makes exchange with other companies easier due to being located in or near the city. Because of the benefits that come with the location, the value per square foot has risen through the years making Vernon a more desired place to be when it comes to businesses.

Looking at Vernon as the industrial hub that it is, there is a certain atmosphere that is generated as one enters the city that moves you through its circulation as fast as possible. The transportation infrastructure is designed for trucks and rail roads, not for people, making it highly efficient for distribution to and from the industries that lay within the city. Some of the main industries include food service manufacturing, metalworking, and manufacture of glass and plastic equipment. Vernon is globally connected through the distribution of these good and it is said that In Los Angeles, everything that you touch has gone through Vernon-Marisa Olguin.

The current building typologies consist of tilt up warehouses; these buildings are found throughout the industries. These building types have a lifespan of around 100years; most of the main industries that are reaching the latter part of their life cycle include: steel U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel, aluminum

Alcoa, glass Owens, can-making American Can and automobile. Even though industry takes up most of the square footage of the city there is a small amount of public space, due to the lack of public space within the city limits, Vernon helps fund parks for the adjacent communities as an attempt to justify its industrial dominance. Even though they give to the adjacent cities, Vernon has recently been forced to comply with a higher number of residents to qualify for its city charter. As a result of its high industry, Vernons yearly revenue is an estimated $250,000,000 and its mainly due to its city owned utilities. With so much revenue coming in and out of the city, it has also faced legal discrepancies within its city which further emphasizes its focus on currency and stresses the importance its industrial stance. Vernon strives to keep its status as a city of industry and there are many workers and businesses that benefit from having a place like Vernon.

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READINGS

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MAPS, MAPPING,

MODERNITY: ART & CARTOGRAPHY IN THE 20TH CENTURY DENIS COSGROVE

*CARTOGRAPHY: the science or practice of drawing maps.

Mapping is conerncerned with the process and selection of specific documentation of a sites performance and spatial representation.

Mapping

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DECISION

COLOREMPHASIS

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PARALLELS

CARTOGRAPHYART

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*CARTOGRAPHY: the science or practice of drawing maps.

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PARALLELS

CARTOGRAPHYART

Urban mapping is a pictoral art practice that documents another performative art, the urban derive.

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PARALLELS

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GRAPHIC INTEGRITY

& MAPPING COMPLEXITYREADINGS FROM THE EXPOSED CITY

KEVIN LYNCHEMapping the image of a cityElements of cognitive mapping: path | edge | district | node | landmarkLanguage of symbols

RICHARD SAUL WURMANInformation architectOrganization of data & categoryMapping is thoughtful organization of geographic information using visual strategies to understand urban compexity.

NADIA AMAROSO

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KEVIN LYNCHEMapping the image of a cityElements of cognitive mapping: path | edge | district | node | landmarkLanguage of symbols

EDWARD TUFTEVisual integrity = Graphic truthMapping is designed representation of interesting dataSelective clarity + data selection

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DRAWINGS:THE MAP-

LANDSCAPESREADINGS FROM THE EXPOSED CITY

NADIA AMAROSO

Joseph R. Passonneau and Richard Saul Wurman, Urban Atlas: 20 American Cities

EDWARD TUFTEOne dimensional data mappingField of information graphicsData and mappingConcise mapping and information

RICHARD SAUL WURMANInformational graphicsUrban mapping and dataLogistic mapping and emphasized importancePrecise representation of data on mapsSpatially mapping data in two dimensions

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time

NADIA AMOROSOData appropriate mapping representationThird dimensional spatial mappingMapping through geo-spatial referencing

positive data

negative data

sloping data

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THEMAP

- ARTTHE WORKS OF JAMES CORNER

NADIA AMOROSO

McHargs site-analysis mapping concept endures today because it showed the potentialities to convey site information in layered categories and color coding. Nadia Amoroso

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Survey landscape accrued Taking measures across the American Landscape.

IAN MCHARG1 Dimmensional MappingNatural + Social Aspects of site - Vegetation - hydrology - soil structure - geology - morphology - sun and shade areas - erosion - areas of sensitivityMcHargian mapping.Lacks poetic flare to the modern eye.Potentials to convey site information.

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JAMES CORNER2 Dimmensional MappingVisual Architecture -selected + translated + organized + shapedMaps make visible what is otherwise invisible.Maps cannot depict everything.Metaphorical.Symbolic.Spatial Powers.Practical measures - scale + mathematical projections Poetic measures - artistic interpretations + cultural aspectsDynamic mapping.Logic + Creativity. Hidden Potentials.Ideas.Relationships.Possibilites.Eidetic.

The piece as a whole is informative and attractive; more than that. it is rich with information for the viewer to decipher- information that may entice the viewer to learn more about the site and about its recurrent phenomena. Nadia Amoroso

BurningsTaking measures across the American Landscape.

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THE AGENCY OF MAPPING:

SPECULATION, CRITIQUE & INVENTIONJAMES CORNER

LAYERINGSuperimposing various independent layers to produce

heterogeneous and thickened surface

DRIFTSSpatial ExperiencesDisrupting any form that may be interpreted as capitalist power increase public conscious and systematic everyday life

4 Thematic ways to practice Mapping

Richard Long: 7 day circle of ground

MAPPINGDynamic Experimenting with reality Constructs the unconscious Measures performance Past, Present and Future

Residential StreetsCommercial

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Velocity

Distance

GAME BOARDNotions of PerformanceShared working and competing surfaces to work together and play out different scenarios

RHIZOMES Connections of any pointNo beginning nor end, no hierarchy and accentual

TRACINGLiteral Alleged Competence Redundancies

Buildings Streets

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MAPPINGTRANSPORTATION

CONTEXT

DISTRIBUTION

SYNTHESIZED MAP

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MAPPING

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The city of Vernon is dependent on its network of transportation systems to thrive as an industrial city. The current transportation system relies on the links that connect Vernons distributive system to the neighboring communities and essentially, the rest of the world. At the local level, Vernons transportation infrastructure primarily serves trucks and trains, giving secondary priority to cars and other forms of public transportation. The distribution of these multiple forms of transportation are dependent on the capacity of these streets to determine the flows and density of traffic within the city.

Due to Vernons focus as an industrial city, there lies opportunity to integrate alternative modes of transportation into the city in areas where we can identify existing constraints between the disconnect and tension of transportive systems. Areas with higher traffic density (arterial streets) pose issues related to congestion, noise, smells, and emissions. Areas where railroad crossings intersect with street flow also cause heavier traffic conditions and are considered unsafe for pedestrian use.

TRANSPORTATION

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east 30th st

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In areas where transportation conditions minimize the efficiency of the city, we can identify opportunities to improve the quality and efficiency of these transit systems. At locations where we can identify voids, there is opportunity to occupy these infrastructure with multifunctional modes of transportation therefore no longer limiting the user interface within the city. As we take a look at neighboring communities within Vernons context, we can identify areas that could serve as potential linkages from Vernon to its neighboring communities.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

CIRCULATION PLAN

freeway

rail road

spur lines

arterial streets

collector streets

local streets

bike lane

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TYPES & FLOWS

north

east

west

south

east los angeles

commerce

maywood

bell

bellgardens

Huntingtonpark

south los angeles

downtownlos angeles

chavez ravine

3mi 2mi 1mi

LARiver

AlamedaCorridor

to portof long beach+ los angeles

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east los angeles

commerce

maywood

bell

bellgardens

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south los angeles

downtownlos angeles

chavez ravine

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LARiver

AlamedaCorridor

to portof long beach+ los angeles

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Vernons contextual transportation networks are unlike any other city. Two major railroad systems, the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, run right through the city of Vernon in a complex rail network that weaves in and out of buildings and narrow corridors. Many of these railroads are abandoned and some remain in use. The Alameda Corridor runs right adjacent to Vernon and connects Vernon to the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports. The rail system theoretically connects Vernon in a global scale of transportation. Further on, the 710 Highway runs right alongside Vernon, connecting directly southbound to the Long Beach port.

On a public scale, Vernons public transit is run by the LAMTA bus transit. This is the main source of public transportation in Vernon. The other major source is the blue line metro station that lies two blocks west of Vernons city limits. The bike lane ends in Vernon along the Los Angeles River. The bike lane continues north starting above Elysian Park. In conclusion the transportation system in Vernon is related highly to industrial usage. This fortunately connects Vernon contextually to many adjacent cities.

However this network is highly under utilized. Opportunity can be found in the rail system and the Los Angeles River to move pedestrians, products and goods in high efficiency as well create a relationship between both the Los Angeles River and Vernon.

CONTEXT

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contextual cities

vernon,ca

neighborhoods

railroads

highways

bike routes

metro (rail + bus)

rivers

abandoned rails

abandoned railyards 1. hobart yard

DISTRIBUTIONCONNECTION TO PORTS

VERNONS INDUSTRIES

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DISTRIBUTIONCONNECTION TO PORTS

VERNONS INDUSTRIES

DISTRIBUTIONWith the development of industry, we must understand where the goods come from to create the products we consume. As a result, Vernon is understood that goods are transported into the city through different scales, consisting of city scale, regional scale, and international scale. Vernon plays an important role in gather resources such as petroleum oils, animal by-products, and agricultural goods as well. With these resources, Vernon recycles goods and most easily obtainable resources for output to the city. The process behind developing these products for distribution becomes a matter of what are we shipping out to the cities and countries.

Vernon is the heart of distribution and the soul of distributing the goods we need, such as soap, detergent, fuel, fertilizer, and many more. These behind distribution goes beyond the production, but the necessity of these goods, which then fuels America as we see today. Something small such as where our soap comes from is vital to the metabolism of Vernon and the linkage between the city to many scales.

As we look at the types of goods produced within the boundaries of Vernon, it is a neighboring production site, which we can identify where our distribution comes from and the types of goods. Distribution is the input and output of our city; however, available goods currently in Vernon will change in the later future. The type of resources we seek such as petroleum oils, agriculture products, and recycled meats to create a city will soon change, thus seeing the potential in accommodating the alternate form of goods for Vernon impacting the greater network.

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SYNTHESIZEMost densities are found closer to main streets such as Alameda and Soto just to name a few. These patterns allow the viewer to perceive these concentrations and gaps as potentials for opportunities for design. In this map there is an emphasis on the Los Angeles River and how it connects the city to both Downtown and the Ports. This relationship is vital to the topic of distribution and the means in which goods are distributed which are trucks and trains. The Ports are also what connects Vernon on a global scale which is one of the traits that Vernon has. Meanwhile on a local and regional scale the map is displaying the significance of industry and how it is not only contained within those parameters of the city but trickles out to the neighboring cities as well.

This mass of industrialization that is shown in the section, indicates that the city creates a contrast in elevation changes that alters the way one moves and feels when in Vernon. In conclusion, Vernons overlapping systems are what make this city unique and understanding them allows for a deeper understanding of how it works and why. The foundation of this city is built upon these systems and at times they can be overlooked because of its contradiction to what people understand a typical city to be which has an emphasis on the residence but that is not the case here in Vernon.

Understanding the way Vernon works understands the layers in which the city is composed of and its relationship to its context. Understanding the systems and how they work together is important due to scale in which Vernon works; most cities do not have the influence that is evident in this city. By gathering the data that relates to transportation, context and distribution you start to notice the patterns that lay within the parameters of the city. When over-lapping these 3 systems there are certain areas that are concentrated with industrial activities and other areas that are scarcer.

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vernon,ca

railroads

arterial streets

collector streets

local streets

LA river

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THE VERNON ARGUMENTINTRODUCTIONAdhering to Vernons goal to thrive as an industrial city, our design philosophy approaches Vernons industrial footprint and attempts to adapt it to the rising demands of the future. By 2050, Southern Californias population is expected to increase by 62 percent. With increasing demands for goods and manufactured products, the city of Vernon remains an appropriate site for the future of industrial development. Our design approaches Vernon as a stage for industrial, environmental, and typological intervention through industrial symbiosis.

Our plan identifies that the current industrial grid that defines Vernon is successful at maintaining its status as a city solely for business. As citywide development begins to increase, urban development and industry will have to phase out their disconnected state of existence and formulate a program for coexistence. Our approach aims to integrate edge conditions between industrial development and its surrounding context. The city of Vernon reveals many opportunities to integrate multiple systems for a more efficient output. Understanding that Vernon is a major hub that operates at multiple scales of connection, the patterns at which transportation, distribution networks, and building footprints exist need to be integrated as a framework for efficiency.

The concept for our design framework emerges from the existing conditions of industrial systems and its relationship to infrastructural networks and edge conditions that define the city of Vernon. The edge conditions between industry and the Los Angeles River inspired the exploration of symbiotic relationships between the two, where we saw potential and opportunities that were not being explored. Our strategy for design proposes to release the tension between industry and water infrastructure, in which a new river morphology can exist. The framework for our design analyzes the potential to integrate the Los Angeles River and Vernons industries as a working system that focuses on increasing the efficiency and life expectancy of the industrial cycle. We aim to avoid the nostalgic image romanticized by advocates of the Los Angeles River and evoke a futuristic approach to industrial design methodologies.

The framework for our design explores defining a new typological system for Vernons industries in which a new fabricated model for industry will exist working in conjunction with the Los Angeles River and transportation networks. Identifying that Vernon currently services a large number of businesses, there is projected need for businesses to develop and increase. Our design proposes to consolidate industry by integrating and organizing each type where they can exist as an alternative system of production and consumption of each others waste products and other resources. Industrial occupation along the Los Angele River will provide the city with a source of power as well as an alternative connection to the Port of Long Beach. Our design philosophy engages the resilience of Vernons future and the connections between all the systems that define the mechanism of Vernon as a working city.

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THE VERNON ARGUMENT

CONTEXTUAL SITUATIONVernons location is an ideal region for an industrial city as it remains in close proximity to major freeways and railways that connect to the port and essentially links to the rest of the world. From above, Vernons city limit is outlined by the concrete paved infrastructure that defines Vernons grid. The building characteristics are defined by large-scale rectangular structures that house the working properties of the city. These tilt up warehouses offer opportunities to reconfigure the forms that are necessary for industry to thrive. Our framework identifies strategies towards approaching the future of Vernon and its relationship to its context and neighboring infrastructure.

The framework for design is influenced by Vernons unique disposition and regard for their industrial properties as they outline the streets and create an edge boundary for the city. The contextual relationship between Vernon and the Los Angeles River currently functions idle of one another. Our framework draws from the idea of the resources that can be allocated from the L.A. River and become of service to Vernons industry. Acknowledging that there are two separate networks of infrastructure (industry and the Los Angeles River), opportunity exists to integrate the two separate systems into one. These circumstances draw upon a unique identity for our urban design framework and a proposed typology for the citys industry to work in conjunction with one another as a distributive system.

34URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK

35URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK

Our urban design framework aims to consolidate industry into an integrated industrial symbiotic process that reorganizes the existing fabric into an organization of parts that posits a systematic process of distribution, consumption, and waste reduction between related industries. Identifying the existing conditions, our framework was inspired by the potential to occupy underutilized infrastructural systems like the Los Angeles River and identify soft spot areas where other strategies for design may be applied. Transportation infrastructure and alternative network systems are also programmed and integrated into the design framework to facilitate the new industrial typologies along the river and their connectivity to the region.

Industrial Typology DevelopmentThe development of industrial typology existing within and along the river aims to ratify the resources made available from the Los Angeles River. Our strategies for typological development of industrial businesses aim to reorganize larger industrial groupings that share responsibilities between resource distribution, allocation, and consumption of waste products. The forms of the industrial typologies resonate from natural river processes and their ability to pool, ripple, step, and run. Each typology will perform towards the needs of the industries, dependent on their necessity for water or energy.

Our urban design framework approaches the Los Angeles River with the intention of challenging it as a nostalgic amenity. Rather, it focuses on adapting industry and infrastructure to repurpose it for the resilience of industries future.

INTRODUCTIONDIAGRAMS

PHASING

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CONTEXTUAL DIAGRAMSThe Los Angeles River cuts right through Vernon. This massive piece of infrastructure is underutilized and serves no purpose other than storm run off during wet seasons. There is a great deal of opportunity in this area within Vernon and outside of Vernon.

Vernon

Long Beach

Canoga Park

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Vernon

Long Beach

Canoga Park

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CONTEXTUAL DIAGRAMSSoft Spots and rail spurs are open spaces of land that are often not utilized in Vernon. Rail spurs are found all throughout Vernon and weave in and out of buildings in a very complex system. Soft spots are not too common in Vernon but there are several vacant properties that are not being utilized.

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TILT UP WAREHOUSES

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TILT UP WAREHOUSES

L i f e e x p e c t a n c y a l l o w s f o r c h a n g e

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OCCUPY UNDERUTILIZED SPACE

Utilizes water in river to help with production

Industry moves to Los Angeles River

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Utilizes water in river to help with production

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adjacency to river allows for run off to collect during flood season

SOFT SPOTS + RAILROADS

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adjacency to river allows for run off to collect during flood season S y s t e m s c a n d e v e l o p f o r

p o w e r a n d c l e a n s i n g

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TILT UP WAREHOUSES

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R e c o n f i g u r a t i o n t o a l l o w f o r m a x i m u m e f f i c i e n c y

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VERNON

LA RIVER

EDGE CONDITIONS

DETACHED SYSTEMS

VERNON

LA RIVER

EDGE CONDITIONS

DETACHED SYSTEMS

DETACHED SYSTEMS

T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p c a n b e e x p l o i t e d i n o r d e r t o c o n s o l i d a t e i n d u s t r y a r o u n d a s o u r c e o f e n e r g y a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n

VERNON

LA RIVER

EDGE CONDITIONS

DETACHED SYSTEMS

VERNON + LOS ANGELES RIVER

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VERNON

LA RIVER

EDGE CONDITIONS

DETACHED SYSTEMS

VERNON + LOS ANGELES RIVER

50CONSOLIDATE

VERNON

EDGE CONDITIONS

LA RIVER

PROPOSALF A B R I C + T E C H N I Q U E = R E F O R M U L A T I O N

A n e w s y m b i o t i c s y s t e m w i l l b e c r e a t e d b y t h e m e r g i n g o f L o s A n g l e s R i v e r a n d V e r n o n . T h i s s y s t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n a m o r e e f f i c i e n t u s e o f i n d u s t r y b y b r i n g i n i n d u s t r y t o a p o w e r s o u r c e a s w e l l a s a g l o b a l c o n n e c t o r .

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80% INDUSTRY-20% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

50% INDUSTRY-50% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

20% INDUSTRY-80% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

80% INDUSTRY-20% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

50% INDUSTRY-50% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

20% INDUSTRY-80% MIX-USE(RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL)

NEW OVERLAY ZONES

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BUILDING TYPOLOGY

Collector

DissipatorGenerator

Distributor

Generator

I-710 CORRIDOR PLANCA HIGH-SPEED RAIL

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CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES

NEW PROPOSED LAYERS

EXISTING CONDITIONS

PROPOSED NET WORK PLANS

PROPOSED ROADS

HIGHWAYS

PROPOSED BUILDINGS

STREETS

NEW RIVER MORPHOLOGY

RAILWAYS

RIVER

54 MASTER PLAN 0 500 1000 1/2 mile 1 milenorth

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55MASTER PLAN 0 500 1000 1/2 mile 1 milenorth

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The city of Vernon has stood its ground as an industrial city for over a century. The city provides over 50,000 jobs and houses an estimated 1,800 businesses. The current economic contribution of Vernon to the city of Los Angeles provides over $310 million annually from the citys taxes. The future of Vernon functioning as a working system in conjunction with the Los Angles River provides a framework for the resilience of industries and economic development for Los Angeles.

The project Nature + Machine identifies the conditions at which Vernon can impact its industries and administer environmental contributions to help alleviate impacts towards waste development.

THE NECESSITY OF VERNON

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MAPPINGDesign Strategies

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MAPPING

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Proposed Existing

Due to Vernons highly industrial land use, they are motivated to increase their residential base to 150 people to maintain their city charter. With this number sure to rise in the near future, we have repurposed the abandoned warehouses with the intention of inhabiting people. This will create a new symbiosis of the neighborhoods and old industry. By creating this relationship between the two typologies, it gives the opportunity for Vernon to embrace the surrounding neighborhoods to keep their city charter while still staying true to the distinct identity which is the central hub for industry. In this new program, the warehouses utilize the existing building footprints while creating an entirely different space within the same area that not only promotes interactions amongst that specific parcel but with the adjacent buildings as well. This new network allows for a connection throughout the city that maintains the existing identity while allowing for new opportunities for the people and business of Vernon.

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Land Use

CirculationTRUCKS AND CARS

CARS

BIKES

PEDESTRIANS

RESIDENTIAL

ENERGY GENERATION

PARKING

SEASONAL WETLAND

COMMERCIAL/RETAIL

PUBLIC SPACE

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As people saturate the edges of Vernon, a new framework for development will begin to knit an alternative fabric for the city. In areas where the neighboring communities border along industry and the L.A. River, we plan to address this connection by adapting the current water infrastructure system into an industrial river park. The industrial river park is an adaptation of a work and play environment in which the landscape and infrastructure perform together as a machine providing open space for the nearby community while maintaining its purpose as a water infrastructure system. As a result of the industrial park, the Los Angeles River will undergo a modification of form and morphology influenced by that of a natural river system. The topography of the land and the building typologies will function as a mechanic process that allows nature to take its role at the site. Multiple areas for channeling and pooling provide the community with access to a waterfront recreational area, while serving as open space during drought seasons. The concept for the industrial river park redefines the boundaries at which the river and Vernon communicate. The relationship between the community and the L.A. River will be enforced as the symbiotic relationship between water and infrastructure that produces benefits for the city of Vernon. Through this connectivity, we can address the ecological relationship between nature and machine and their interaction between one another.

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With the development of Vernons industrial connection near the river and its surrounding context, industrial development is still a major component of Vernon. Towards the rail yard of Vernon, there is an unrealized connection between the river and the transportation. Industrial development of Vernon must be understood in the transportation aspect. The linkage between the transportation and industry is linked back to the water. Water becomes an important industrial factor for water dependent industrial production, such as cleaning systems for industry and a distribution of water. As a result, the building footprint must be configured to link back the dual relationship between the industry and the paths taken to create a better industrial environment. Building orientation being perpendicular to the river is a plus to the development of efficient transportation of goods and receives benefits from the river. In relation to the way finding through industry, water now plays a larger system of creating an infrastructural system to bring the industrial a better form of function, transporting goods and able to utilize the gray water that is brought to the industries from the Los Angeles River.

1000 200 70063.7%

6.4%6.4%11.3%

6.3%

3.9%0.2%

1 Residential

2 Industry

3 Dams

4 Vegetation

5 Steps

6 Gray water

7 Topography

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7

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1000 200 70063.7%

6.4%6.4%11.3%

6.3%

3.9%0.2%

1 Residential

2 Industry

3 Dams

4 Vegetation

5 Steps

6 Gray water

7 Topography

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

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As the industry moves into the water, the relationship between the waters and industry becomes connected. The nature within Vernon becomes the river morphology of cleaning, distributing, capturing, and generating the industrys needs. Currently, the industrial connection is lost and there is no use of utilizing the river. Industry seeks out to utilize the natural resources to create a better production level, connection with neighboring residents and reconnect the nature within the Los Angeles river.

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bandini blvde 37th st

e vernon ave

sevi

lle a

ve

soto

st

e 44th st

e 26th st

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T h e C u r v e

Site Plan

1. Industry2. Dam3. Roof Open Space4. Mounds5. Residential6. Collecting pools7. mix use8. Raised Pedestrian Walkway9. Piped Water Way10. Existing Street

Scale: 1=200-0

North

The Landscape Architecture 402 studio sponsored by SWA Laguna Beach is the perfect symbiosis between visionary urban design and landscape architecture. SWA has led many studio discussions and reviews that have broadened the mindsets of our young student body. This studio has introduced me into methods of design where systems can develop to prolong the life expectancy of a given project, as well how to approach a design that relates to the sites context. For Vernon, the approach is completely different than anything I have ever taken on. The question of who to design for was the most confusing. With a population of 100 residents Vernon lacks community and for a good reason, Vernon is not a residential type of city. As a group of four we came to terms that this project was more about how a city can develop for the future and keep its strictly industrial nature. We do not aim at brining in people or creating a tourist attraction but rather developing an urban fabric that can function at all levels of industry. How can Vernon function as a symbiotic industrial city? This is the question we explored along with making this system move Vernon into becoming a healthy city and a machine that could ultimately better the environment.

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bandini blvde 37th st

e vernon ave

sevi

lle a

ve

soto

st

e 44th st

e 26th st

1

2

3

6

4

5

7

8

9

10

T h e C u r v e

Site Plan

1. Industry2. Dam3. Roof Open Space4. Mounds5. Residential6. Collecting pools7. mix use8. Raised Pedestrian Walkway9. Piped Water Way10. Existing Street

Scale: 1=200-0

North

Vernon, Ca

L.A. River

Proposed Site

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Existing Proposed

Figure Ground of Landscape Solutions

Structures

Roads

Landscape

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Structures

Roads

Landscape

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Building ProgramOpen Space 10%Residential 20%Commercial 10%Industry 60%

Input and outputof water for structures

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Building ProgramOpen Space 10%Residential 20%Commercial 10%Industry 60%

Input and outputof water for structures