description

Over a year after Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast, the studio will explore one of the possible futures of New Orleans. Rather than follow the immediate and significant home-building efforts by many community groups and universities, we will focus our efforts on the urban scale -city assemblages rather than individual parts.

The term neutral ground, a median turned public space, is unique to New Orleans. The first example arose when the plans to build a 171' wide canal never materialized on Canal Street. The resulting land was understood as the neutral territory between the French and the Americans. This unique hybrid, from canal to public space, provides insights for new design scenarios, which benefit from the joining of cultural and natural constituents.

The studio will focus on hybrid infrastructure as means for rebuilding the city. In particular, we will investigate water infrastructure -systems of canals, walls, levees, wetlands, gates/pumps and corresponding BFE's (base flood elevation)- with a capacity to support diverse programs such as transportation, housing, public space, institutions and commerce. Arising out of flood concerns, our work will necessarily employ the section as a means of structuring land, water and people.

Building on the information and regional analysis developed by the UTSOA Venice Biennale team, the studio will and move quickly into design propositions for three basic conditions within the city -the lake, the river and the basin. Selected products of the studio will contribute to the ongoing discussion of the future of New Orleans through exhibition and, potentially, publication.

work

The studio will consist of three types of work: Workshop, Site and Problem. The Workshops will investigate specific issues -community, water and housing- in a condensed manner. These short studies (1 week) will provide a body of common knowledge to be tested in the more comprehensive Problems. The Problem -a 'mixed-use' design for a site in New Orleans- will explore multiple design concerns at various scales. The Site is a group effort to comprehend the city through a required fieldtrip and other contextual studies.

Workshops 30%
Site 10%
Problem 60%

prerequisites

Open to Architecture and Landscape Architecture students eligible for advanced design.