Tropic of Charlie

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- Christopher Alexander

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Hydrantis



Typical
Flooded


0% to the Ocean!                                           0% to the Ocean!                                          0% to the Ocean!                                 


Students | Charles (Charlie) Allen, Henry Chu,  Artem Panchenko, & Ricardo Rodriguez

Course | M.S. Design of Cities Studio  1

Faculty | Eui Sung-Yi

Site | Irwindale, CA

Program | Housing for 250,000 + Supporting Infrastructure

Area | ~ 400,000,000 SqFt

Time |  2021


     As a Master of Architecture student, I had the pleasure of joining SCI-Arc’s Master of Science in the Design of Cities’ primary studio 1 (of 3). It emphasizes the opportunity that layering and the inter-relation of complex urban systems have, to produce compelling urban design. Borrowing from many of the formal strategies of the faculty’s firm, Morphosis, a formal assemblage is married to the types and demands of program to produce a pseudo-architectural urban design as it may pertain to unique instances like the City of Irwindale, in Los Angeles County. Here an area roughly the size of Manhattan Island has been mined and only minimally developed for any other purpose. Similarly, the reason this parcel provides such lucrative mining is that it marks the place where the San Gabriel River fans out from the mountains above, distributing eroded gravel with each rainfall over the history of geological time. The course asked students to research key components of a proposed urbanism and relate them to the site. This would produce an argument upon which the students would build their Urban Design proposal as a justifiable and buildable “solution” or answer. The course culminated in a final review with Thom Mayne (Design of Cities Program Coordinator) as a juror, and Sir Peter Cook as a guest juror.
    

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Final Renders