a call to action

( C ) 1CALL TO ACTION

A CALL TO ACTIONHumanitarian Design;

Design for social good, Design for the other 90%

C1 STUDIO - CD101D - Make Your Case (Lyceum Fellowship Studio)Instructors: Todd Lee, John Pilling

SPRING 2013( C ) 1

CALL TO ACTION

East Boston is often better known in a more negative light. The harbor side is just now recently being developed and getting the at-tention it deserves. It was once referred to by our Mayor as “Boston’s Last Frontier.”

The area has been fighting a long battle against the (now inevitable) new Casino, which is not be what this neighborhood needs. With the plague of Logan Interna-tional Airport next door, the neighborhood has not been on the most desirable list of places to live or visit.

Across the Harbor

Relationship East Boston has to Boston, Identifying bridge connections in red.

The Boston Harbor separates East Boston from the Boston’s downtown and adjacent towns. Unlike Cambridge, which is located across the Charles River north of Boston, East Boston does not have any bridges the visually connect us to the heart of Boston.

The physical separation gives a sense of isolation and distance, many Bostonians have never even ventured their way through the our Tunnels or by Blue Line to enjoy the views, the history and strong cultural gems that this small neighborhood boasts.

ENGAGING LOCALLY

Based on the 2012 Lyceum Competition, which was to be a six week project. Within that time we were to flesh out a program of action— not a fully developed architectural solution, but rather a framework for ongoing architectural investigation that was to pave the way for future travel and the work that would have been financed through a generous award for those granted top three in the nation. The submission was to bear social, economic, environmental, and humanistic sensitivity and ambi-tion, with the goal of empowering people in smart and sustainable ways without merely enforcing power structures.

I chose to focus on the neighborhood of East Boston. It is a culturally rich and economically poor neighborhood that deserves more attention than it currently holds. First assignment was to find a local area to focus on.

Competition Details

Reputation of the Area

Protests against the Casino Neglected old docks Close flying planes overhead


Transportation has long played a role in the shaping of East Boston.

The Development of Logan International Airport has helped to make Boston accessible to the en-tire world, located right in East Boston’s back-yard. However travelers often do not stay in the East Boston area nor do they find it on their list of must see places in the area.

The ferries were the most important means of transportation between East Boston and Boston proper until the construction of the trolley tun-nel in the early 20th century. They continued to be heavily used until about mid-20th century. The North Ferry accommodated only passen-gers, while the South Ferry could accommodate both commercial traffic and passengers. Ferry service ended in 1952.

Today a several small water taxis service the wa-ter transportation needs and are not predomi-nately used. Main access to the area by the resi-dence is made via train. To reach the area by car the tunnel is free of charge on the way to East Boston, but for non-residence it costs cars 3.50 to return through the tunnel. This is in large part due to the airport.

To East Boston

Water taxiThe Tunnels The Blue Line Airport

Airport Station

MaverickStation

SITE

People’s Ferry Line.

North Ferry (Date unknown, apx. 1940)

ENGAGING LOCALLY

CALL TO ACTION

Like the majority of the residence and tourists of this area, I had no idea of his-tory of the site that I am about to share with you. It is a sad story of neglected history, the deterioration of a historic structure and the current misuse of a historically significant site.

Located on the waterfront of the Boston Harbor, just outside the active ship yard, where the famous Clipper Ships were constructed, sits an empty aban-doned parking lot. The site was once home to an elusive but critical part of not only Boston’s history but the history of The United States.

This was the place where hundreds of thousands of immigrants from around the world first set foot on American soil. However, The Immigration Station did not qualify for the Historical Preservation list after decades of neglect and was recently demolished. Today the site which belongs to the people of Boston, is sadly misused as car and boat storage for the city.

SITE ANALYSIS

Immigration Station processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants between years of 1920s - 1940

After WW1 it was used as a prision to contain people who were deemed potention threats to America. After that the place held a dark presence and was closed for decades.

After years of neglect, the building was actually used as a Feral Cat Sancuary

Histori-cal Society refused to give the building Historic Signifi-cance due its condition it was Demolished in 2012

The Site is currently being sued as Car / Boat Storage for Massport

Site History

When coming across this particular site I found on the water front of East Bos-ton, I narrowed in my search and found significance in connecting the site’s history with the current dynamic of the area.


Today East Boston is the home of numerous points of interest, from historical sites to newly developed public parks and integrated art exhibitions. Still the area lacks a sense of identifi cation and attraction to the countless tourists and local residence in and around the greater Boston area.

The site I had chosen is located along a developing green way that East Boston Neighborhood Association and the City of Boston has began to establish. The ar-eas located on the map below at key markers 1, 2 and 3 are often missed by local green way users. The shipyard separates the green way and even with their ef-forts of displaying local art the passage still does not engage enough people to continue on the green way to the end.

I believe that creating a community engaging program at the location of the old immigration center it can help to claim that area of the water front as public area.

East Boston Green way

SITE ANALYSIS

65

43

CALL TO ACTION

SITE ANALYSIS

The site also boosts a magnificent view of downtown Boston’s skyline.Beautiful sunrises and sunsets can be enjoyed over the harbor.The activity of the air, turns into an air show.

Site


SITE ANALYSIS

CALL TO ACTION

Defining the Area

Forming a Case

There has been a significant change to the migration and influx of Latin-American and Hispanic Immigrants in the United States in the Past 10+ years. Where in 1990 there was a heavy concentration of new residence in the South Western part of the states, today we are seeing a strong pres-ence of Latin-American and Hispanic-American residence in the north east.

A lot of neighborhoods claim to be diverse, but East Boston is the real deal. East Boston has always been a neighborhood of immigrants and in recent years it has become home to people from all over South and Central America as well as South East Asia, Haiti and Eastern Europe.


Census Borough chart above shows the population change in East Boston over the past 10 years.

Over the past three decades the racial and ethnic composition of Boston’s population has significantly changed.

In the 1920s there was a strong presence of Irish and Eastern Eu-ropean immigrants, the area was booming with immigrants ac-cessing the area through the Immigration Station. In the 1970s, the area became primarily Italian-American, and this was the first time in Boston’s history where the ethnic population was relatively stable for more than a few decades. In 1980, 70% of Boston’s population was white, non-Hispanic. By 2000, Boston was a majority-minority city with the city’s non-white popula-tion making up over 50% of Boston’s population

Immigrants have been an important part of Boston’s population growth over the last 30 years. Boston’s foreign-born population has grown at a faster rate than that of the state and nation over the last two decades

Today, East Boston is a mix of ethnic diversity with immigrants from Latin American and Latino/Hispanic-Americans currently forming the majority of the population.

Map shows countries that the current immigrants in East Boston migrate from

Immigration in East Boston

Bar graph tells population ratio of predominate countries currently residing in East Boston Are

“First by sea, now by air; East Boston is the landing and settling grounds for countless immigrants.

The historic significant places tell how many new Americans began their lives here but as stories fade the neglected sites have crumbled.

I demand for significances for the area while resisting the stresses that threatens to displace the community.”

FORMING A CASE

Summary for Competition

CALL TO ACTION

The strong culture of East Boston’s resi-dence is present throughout its neighbor-hoods. The corner stores and restaurants that line the street are a physically rep-resentation of the new growing diverse community.

The markets tend to reflect the diversity of the residence, with markets featuring specialty foods from various cultures and resturants featuring food from around the world.

The map to the right shows how densely located some of the markets and res-turants are. However, often the small markets serve as main food resources for many residence. I could not believe it when I found a part of East Boston indi-cated on the National Food Deserts Map.

A food desert is an area where communi-ty members do not have proper access to healthy food choices.

Existing Culture in Food

Lack of assessable nutritious food is a problem for under-served and minority communities. With the growing population of Latin and Hispanic residences in the East Boston area, my concerns focused on the disproportionately affects of poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment in the Hispanic communities. They are more likely to receive emergency food assistance than their white, non-Hispanic peers and less likely to receive SNAP benefits.

FORMING A CASE

According to the USDA, An estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food in-secure at least some time during the year in 2012, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The change from 14.9 percent in 2011 is not considered statistically significant. The prevalence of very low food security has been unchanged at 5.7 percent.

Food Issues - National Problem

Food Issues - In Minority Communities


My goals of the project were to help to stimulating local business, that are inde-pendently owned by local East Boston community members.

I would like to see an intervention that help to gain recognition to the area, also to the help gain recognition and popu-larity to the culturally strong markets that are located in the area.

East Boston can have the opportunity to be as popular, if not more than the shops and restaurants in the North End that are located just across the Boston Harbor. Which I personally found are a group of small Italian restaurants that primarily employ Hispanic Americans in their kitchens.

East Boston needs a place for it’s resi-dence to develop self-sustaining and profitable food-related businesses that will create sustainable, permanent jobs in the Boston-area food industry;

America needs to start teaching our-selves about food. There is a need to overturn traditional concepts of treating poverty,

There is potential for a place to encour-age the local community to feel and fos-ter a sense of belonging while creating a living interactive monument to hope and possibility. A place to celebrate commu-nity with local purpose, grow local busi-nesses and reclaim public spaces.

Goals of the Project

FORMING A CASE

Site

CALL TO ACTION

Foot Print of the

East Boston has been the poorest community that is found within close proximity of the downtown Boston area. Recently construction for five large high end resi-dential condominiums has began. The presence of these condos will likely play a part in radically changing the economic shift in the area’s future.

But what does this mean for the existing residence and how will this affect the local businesses?

A place is needed that can help tie together the cultural strength of the area and resist forces of gentrification that may force the small immigrant community out to make way for the more financially stable and effluent residents of Boston.

Future of the East Boston

FORMING A CASE


FORMING A CASE

CALL TO ACTION

TAKING A STANCE

Data presented in the Boston Public Health Commission’s Health of Boston report routinely demonstrates that Boston’s Black and Latino residents experience higher levels of chronic disease, mor-tality, and poorer health outcomes than White residents.

Providing nutrition supervision to people from diverse cultural background can be both challenging and rewarding.

Food choices, which can be very personal, are influenced by cul-ture. For many culture-specific foods are closely linked to their families and strong feelings of being cared for and nurtured.

The Food Pyramids to the right show how the diets differ depending on the cultural adaptation of each food group consumed differ in their portions.

Traditional Americano Lunch Traditional Latino Lunch

Nutritional Diversity


TAKING A STANCE

China

EcuadorGuatemala

Kuwait Mali

USA

Different kitchens styles from around the world

I believe that one of the best ways to help people get out of their comfort zones and try and experience different dishes and cuisines is to help them understand it. Not everyone in the world eats the same. It is one of the beautiful differences we hold and share with each other. Understanding that our bodies, due to our genetic make up, require a certain nutritional balance is very important things to remember when acclimating lifestyles to a new life in the United States.

Culture and Nutrition through Cooking

CALL TO ACTION

INTERVENTIONINTRODUCING

THE UNITED STOVESof East Boston

A CULINARY PROCESSING CENTER

The Community Kitchens can service to help start business, strengthen existing businesses by featuring a particular menu item in the area, introduce new the new effluent community and tourists to the foreign ingredients that are found in the markets in the area, give a space for the residence to teach the community healthy meal options.

The spaces will be available to the public to rent to help start and establish their own restaurant, or for individuals or groups to hold a cooking classes to teach other member’s of their community different culinary dishes of their cultural background while sharing stories and advises from their own experiences to share real authentic ethnic cuisines and the story behind the food to food lovers.

I believe it will serve as an inviting was to help people get out of their comfort zones and try and experience different dishes and cuisines is to help them understand different cultures. It can also help to educate the public about different nutritional needs and teach working class and financially struggling residence simple affordable meal options.

By providing spaces for everyday cooks to become the instructor to teach a skill of a simple or complex dish to someone, who may have never tried before, can help to bring people of varies cultures together to embrace each others cultures and cuisines and the stories and people behind them.

Addressing Food Related Issues with Cultural Significance

Rendered image of the culinary space on the site over looking the Boston Skyline


INTERVENTION

• Overturn the traditional concepts of treating poverty and malnutrition while giving a the community something they can feel part of.

• Develop new, self-sustaining, and profitable food-related businesses that will create sustainable, permanent jobs in the Boston-area food industry;

• Encourage the local community to foster a sense of belonging

• Create a living interactive monument to hope and possibility

• Celebrate Community with local purpose

• Grow Local Businesses

• Reclaim Public Spaces

Goals of the Project

The program will help unlocking the potential of local small markets and restaurants to introduce their products and the benefits of acculturated eating habits to Boston residence, tourists and the local community. It will provide a place of common ground where all individuals can interact around similar interest of creating and consuming more healthy and diverse meal options.

Revealing the identity of the community:

The program intends to enhance the well established character of the gastronomic diversity of the neighborhood by rescuing the original historical immigration heritage of the site and utilizing the visual connections from and to the Greater Boston area and serve as a landmark that connects the undefined the path of the East Boston Green way.

Demographics have always been indicators of availability of quality goods. I would like to see a place where the potentials of diversity are exploited,

and a landmark created that will reveal the history of America’s promise as a nation based on diversity, dignity and unity.

Program Concepts

CALL TO ACTION

Conflict Kitchen

PRECEDENT STUDIES

Also located in Pennsylvania, this project inpired me greatly in how it was able address contraversial cultural conflicts through the use of a temporary store front and take out window. The Conflict Kitchen, was a tymporary culinary / social experiment creation of Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski, in Pittsburg, PA. They worked to reformats the pre-existing social relations of food and economic exchange to engage the general public in discussions about countries, cultures, and people that they might know little about the countries they feature. Each month they transformed the same store front, takout window, to feature different cultural cuisines from various countries that the United States is in conflict with. Their temporary store front project has come to an end however in 2013 they plan to open a sit down restaurant.

As part of the competion we were ask to find inspirational from other parts of the world in order to gain inspiration for our projects. If awarded a winning prize we were have the opportunity to travel there to understand how these other projects have been executed.

Conflict Kitchen being transformed from one cultural cusine to another

I was proud to begin my study in my home state of Pennsylvania, where an amazing group called Philabundance, located in Philadel-phia, has established a new way at looking at distributing food to those in need in a dignified way. They work directly with the Center for Hunger Free Communities, an organization that is committed to finding solutions based on science and human experience. I would use their established methods to engage with those who have experienced poverty as a full partner in developing my research.

Philabundance

The Community Food Center (CFC) is Philabundance’s choice-model food pantry and was created in 2009

Travel Plans -


Culture KitchenCulture Kitchen was created in San Francisco, where designers Abby Sturges and Jennifer López, aim to “create a forum for culinary and cultural exchange, showing that much more than food gets made in the kitchen”. They con-nect local food lovers to immigrant women, to learn to cook authentic, ethnic cuisine from the “experts”.This project had also come to an end, they now offer cultural meals to be packaged with video tutorials and infor-mation about the foods and the cultural realvance of the dishes.

While researching possible financial support that might be able to be obtain to make my project a reality I came across the USDA’s Hunger-Free Communities Grant. It was their 2010 receipiant that caught my attention. A community owned Mexican marketplace was established after receiving the Grant from USDA, I was inspired how they focused on administering culturally relevant nutrition campaign. The location was in a small neighbor-hood named Chamizal, in Central El Paso, Tx., and is considered to be one of the poorest urban areas in the nation.

USDA’s Hunger-Free Communities Grant

PRECEDENT STUDIES

CALL TO ACTION

Site Scheme 1 - The Covered Bazaar

This arrangement allows for the multiple difference venue to be included all in one structure. Each venue would be accessed from a central covered interior passage way. This would create the best environment for explor-ing the space in colder weather.

This option also takes over the entire site, taking away from the public outdoor green space.

A second story might be added to this structure for roof top sitting, or office spaces for business development opportunities.

SITE STRATEGIES

First step to conceptualizing our architectural intervention was to develop three scheme that would accomplish our programmatic goal with three different approaches on how the architecture would respond to the pro-gram and the site.

The concept was to have a site that could serve various culinary venues. Each venue would been to act independently while still being part of the whole. The site offers beautiful views of Downtown Boston’s Skyline at its far end. Each scheme would have to find a way of bringing the users through the entire site to enjoy all the spacial possibilities.

Developing Schematic Ideas


Site Scheme 2 - Road Side EatsThis scheme is based on the relationship that restaurants have with travelers and the road. The site will be an extension to the existing pedestrian traveled path of The East Boston Harbor walk. The main feature of this layout would be that path and the venues would line up along it.

The goal of this scheme is to keep the traveled path close to the water’s edge. The continuous string of structures would create an enclosed plaza in the center of the site. The plaza space would serve well as community gathering space, events such as live music or other cultural events can occur in the open space.

The arrangement forces the visitors to pass along each venue, giving each an equal opportunity of exposure. By lining the different venues close to each other, a larger shared control space can accommodate multiple venues.

Concerns are that the interior plaza area will be affected by the “back of the house” affect if all venues face the surrounding path. The heights of the structures will be restricted to allow better views, openness and connection to the rest of the site for the plaza area.

SITE STRATEGIES

CALL TO ACTION

The pedestrians get to experience and walk around the individual stands and enjoy the nature of the site as much as the structures on it. It allows for more of an out door experience and as a whole creates a cohesive environment that would be comprised of the different and changing restaurants, shops and open kitchens.

The uniqueness of each venue gives units a strong sense of individuality, creating a tapestry of all the different venues coming together to create a whole. I began by allowing the individual structures to be places on a grid, giving the site rigid grid of internal pathways which to meander up and down.

The plan layout allows for a centralized control space to be located between four ven-ue fronts. Space between the structures could allow for seating areas. Each structure can have its own features, allowing for multiple programming options for each one.

Site Scheme 3 - The Open Market

SITE STRATEGIES


Through much of its history, Boston has been a center for importing goods from around the world. From the cargo ships that enter the harbor every morning to the air cargo planes that come in and out of Logan Airport through out the day. Unfortunately the United states is cur-rently importing massive amounts more than it exports, these shipping container which the goods are transported in are often abandoned. An estimated 800,000 shipping containers abandoned annually by the mari-time services.

Sustainable design practices would be applied by using old shipping containers as a building module for the proposed project, and reclaiming them from the stacks of useless containers that are present.

MATERIAL EXPLORATIONS

A few configurations that can be created using the linear shipping containers as a building module.

Precedence Studies

Wahaca Container Resturant, LondonContain Homes, by KalkinsTommy Hilfigure Pop up Store Store, Berlin

Several commercial and residential project have been beautiful constructed using shipping containers as their exterior and interior structure. The possibilities are endless with this Lego block like module. A combination of placing the module into multiple arrangements and also opening up the structure allows for countless configurations of space and dynamic possibilities.

Significance to the Site

CALL TO ACTION

The container structures are slightly modified to obtain the in-sulation, durablility and finished look of an inhabited structure. In order to better understand the finisheed dimensions and the abilities of the material I located and studied the following details from manufactures who specialize in transforming these contain-ers into inhabitable structures.

MATERIAL AND STRUCTURE

Roof Detail Wall Detail Floor Detail

C-Channel Container Structure

Corrugated Metal PanelsMetal Tube

Frame

Container Doors

Foundation Detail at Edge of Structure Foundation Detail at Container Connection Point

Details


Connection Plan Detail

Connection Detail Section

When opening up the sides of these structures certain considerations need to be made to maintian structure integredy.

Connections and Structure

MATERIAL AND STRUCTURE

Connection Details

CALL TO ACTION

The Roadside consisted of half dozen different types of configurations were created and arranged along side the path way. Each configuration of containers allows for different opportunities. Each structure would have it’s own kitchen, of various sized, some would allow for indoor seating, others had spaces next to the structure for outdoor seating. The structure were placed at a distance apart from each other allowing more access and visual freedom to the central plaza in the middle. Units furthest from the water would have two or even three floors, allowing upper seating areas to overlook the structures in front of them. A centralized common structure would be placed in the center, housing rest rooms, storage and offices.

The Bazaar was created on a much larger scare, using primarily 40’ length storage containers. The units come together to create a large structure. I had broken the structure in two, to break up the massive structure also allow visitors to entered or exist the structure from the middle. I kept the building two stories high through out, and created several large glazed transoms connecting the two sides with second floor pathways in between them which together created the cover central artery of the bazaar.

The Market Place became the most dynamic of the scheme. I arranged the individual venues in a separated puzzle like pattern. This gave each venue the ability to carry its own design while still re-sponding to the adjacent venues. It works to enhance the uniqueness of the project and symbology of different types coming together as a whole. It also allows for further growth and changes that the development can take on in the future.

Schemes with Building Module

PLAN DEVELOPMENT

Roadside

Bazaar

Market


PLAN DEVELOPMENT

Roadside

Bazaar

Market

CALL TO ACTION

FINAL PLANS

1

Open Market PlaceIn the end I felt the layout for the open market place scheme worked the best. It has a dynamic eclectic feel to it that best represents the coming together of multiple diverse cultures. The structures are respond to each other creating open areas for moments to gathering, sight seeing, dining or viewing into the large opening of the culinary areas.

1. ROOM FOR FUTURE EXPANSION2. EXISTING BUILDING TO REMAIN3. PUBLIC REST ROOMS AND ME-

CHANICAL STORAGE SPACE WITH ACCESS ROAD

4. WATER FRONT DINING AREA5. WATER TRANSPORTATION 6. HARBOR WALK

12

3

4

5

6

Rendered view of how units come together at the entrance

Rendered view of the entrance


FINAL PLANS

Cooking Class Module

This is a typical layout for a unit that accommodates large group cooking classes. It holds a center work island, several wall ovens, refrigerators, storage, a small dish washing area, accessible rest room and indoor and outdoor dinning areas above.

First Floor Second Floor

Wash ware

Rest Room

Ove

ns

Storage

up

Refr

iger

ator

s

IndoorDinning

OutdoorDinning

CALL TO ACTION

Cook and Sell Module

Typical layout for a unit that accommodates a small space to cook, an area for customers to pay and to watch and learn how the meal is being prepared, and a retail area to sell already prepared dishes.

Cooking Show Module

Typical layout for a unit that accommodates an area where one can come in and giving a cooking show to a small group of people. Also can be used to make and sell small dishes for customers to come in and eat at the counter or covered outdoor dinning area.

Starter Restaurant Module

Typical layout for a unit that accommodates a larger kitchen to serve a chief who is trying to start a restaurant of their own. Holds a professional kitchen, ware wash area and a service counter that over sees a small dinning area.

* Rest rooms for these types of modules will be centrally located for public use.

FINAL PLANS


View from an inside pathway, into one of the venues.

FINAL PLANS

CALL TO ACTION

Harbor Side View

The brightly colored containers, would serve as a strong reference point of the area from the other side of the harbor.

Tall flag poles would serve to identify the chang-ing cultural cuisines that are being offered and also reflect to tall ship masses that are present in the ship yard. Example photo of tall ship masses in the sky line International Fair, Bogota Colombia

Harbor Side View

FINAL PLANS


Harbor Side View

Day of splendorday of plenty

the harvest weighs heavy on my lap.

Open doors my friendsdoors and windows

invite everyoneinto my home.

Give them all bread, shelter.Don’t scare away the doves

if they fly down.

-Rosario Castellanos

FINAL PLANS

a call to action

Documents

east boston area

neighborhood of east

boston harbor

shaping of east boston

harborrelationship east

boston proper

boston accessible

actioneast boston