Permaculture

•’PERMACULTURE’ is a word that was originally coined in the mid seventies by two Australians, David Holmgren and Bill Mollison, to describe the design system pioneered as a response to what they, and many others globally, saw as serious challenges to the survival of all of us. Originally derived from the words ‘PERMAnent agriCULTURE’, permaculture has gone beyond it’s roots in looking at strategies to create sustainable food growing methods to become a worldwide movement encompassing all aspects of how we as human beings can live harmoniously in relation to our Earth and it’s finite resources- A PERManent CULTURE. Permaculture now probably has as many defintions as there are practitioners, but one that is particularly useful might be- "CREATING SUSTAINABLE HUMAN HABITATS BY FOLLOWING NATURE'S PATTERNS"

Tryptique

Arquitetura de Emocões

Looking back at my project proposal - Creating Spaces of Storytelling in Community

The way cultures tell stories shapes the nature of their physical surroundings. Architecture is not only about building physical structures, but also about letting spaces come to life and tell their own stories through the dynamic interchange of people, culture, and ideas. For my Fulbright project I propose to work in Udaipur, in India’s western state of Rajasthan to research how the act of storytelling can inform the architectural design process and be used as a tool to get people involved in imagining, dreaming, and creating the future of their communities.

Storytelling within the built environment happens in various forms ranging from murals to live performances to cinema. As an American, I have a different understanding of how public and private spaces relate to the telling of stories than many other cultures around the world. India, for example, is a rapidly emerging T.V. society, but the way Indians watch T.V. is different from the way Americans do. In the United States, there is a strong emphasis on individualized spaces whereas in India, especially in rural regions, watching T.V. becomes a very social activity and families will often invite friends and neighbors over to watch a show. I am interested in how communities can engage in the act of telling their own stories as a way to exchange knowledge, and how this new form of collaboration and sharing can influence how spaces are designed and constructed. Storytelling has the capability of bringing together different generations and stimulating imagination, creative thinking, and dialogue.

My decision to work in the city of Udaipur is based on the fact it is home to the Shikshantar Learning Center and the West Zone Cultural Center, which are two organizations that I hope to work closely in collaboration with. Shikshantar was started over 7 years ago by Manish Jain, Vidhi Jain, and Wasif Rizvi and has been active within the community of Udaipur by hosting dialogues, developing learning parks, and offering children and families festivals and workshops on creative expression and cooperative games. I met Manish in 2007 when I attended a gathering of Berkana Learning Centers. The Berkana Institute forms partnerships with a diversity of communities around the world in response to the current global crisis. It believes that problems can be tackled by working with the wealth and wisdom already present in the people, traditions, and environments of communities. Shikshantar’s ideological foundation is built on the concept of Swaraj, or rule over oneself, and is a call for people to lead and create their own models of development that are holistic, pluralistic, sustainable, collaborative, just and anticipatory. My hopes are to work with Shikshantar and learn how they engage people in community collaboration and action in challenging outdated systems and patterns of behavior.

The Indian Government created the West Zone Cultural Center in 1986 to help preserve India’s rich cultural heritage in the face of a rapid trend towards westernization. The WZCC is part of seven cultural centers throughout India and contains facilities for the development of traditional folklore, performing arts, visual arts, and tribal artforms. It strives to create links between cultural institutions ranging from the local to national level. The WZCC will be another institution that will act as a mentor to me by providing access to the region’s colorful folklore and rich tradition of craftsmanship as well as connections with local communities.

My architecture education over the past five years has prepared me in many ways to initiate and carry out a project such as the one I am proposing. I have been trained to envision what is possible and to translate these ideas into drawings, models, and physical forms in order to communicate to others. I am well versed in computer programs and concepts needed to design structures as well as compose visual and written materials. Another set of valuable skills I have acquired is an understanding of the functional aspects of building such as ventilation and water systems, structural behaviors, and how light and climate act on buildings.

By participating in Fulbright I hope to act as a cultural ambassador and in doing so provide a fresh perspective to inhabitants of Udaipur as well as gain a rich understanding of how people in Udaipur and India tackle problems at a variety of scales. The project I am proposing will be about exchanging knowledge and skills, as well as building something alongside the community that stimulates cultural sharing and strengthens local connectivity.

Green Soup

Inspired by a soul-nourishing weekend at Eliane and Naninho's house. Soup, family, friends, music, booty-shakin', fire, ♥.

1 large yellow onion (250g)
2 tablespoons (30 ml.) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 large sweet potato (12 ounces; 350 g)
1 large leek, white and light green parts (5 ounces; 140 g)
1 bunch spinach (8 ounces; 225 g)
1 large bunch green chard (12 ounces; 350 g)
3 tablespoons (30 g) chopped fresh ginger, plus more to taste
2 cups (500 ml) good-tasting vegetable broth
2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper

sprouted lentils

cilantro, sprouted lentils and green onion for garnish

* adapted from Green Soup with Ginger

Mari's Birthday Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups organic flour
1 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp coconut oil

1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

*adapted from the Best Chocolate Cake Ever Recipe

a small story of love

Let me tell you a story

of a small group that gathered together at Ana's house

on July 19th

to share

and remember

and dream on

the sparkle in their eyes...

makes it all worthwhile

and Vila Pantanal shines brightly on

what was said and planned

was not spoken through a microphone

nor to a large audience

but the words that were spoken were true

and moved more than mountains

among inspiration, agreements, worries, and hopes

we celebrated what is being born

Deixo te contar uma história
de um pequeno grupo de pessoas que se reuniram na casa de Ana
no dia 19 de julho
para compartilhar
lembrar
e sonhar

o brilho nos seus olhos ...
faz tudo valer a pena

e a Vila Pantanal continua brilhando

o que foi dito e planejado não foi anunciado através de um microfone
nem para um grande público
mas as palavras que foram ditas eram verdadeiras
e mais do que montanhas moveram

entre inspiração, acordos, preocupações e esperanças
comemoramos o que está a nascer

Family Tree

because I'm obsessed with hands... and cities

LOOP - BIG's LOOP CITY from BIG on Vimeo.

The Poetics of Possibility, Dreaming a home

One Word

“One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?” (Author: Gwen Bell)

2010
Transition
Completion, New Beginnings, Continuation. I began my year in Brazil at my aunt's farm - Fazenda Bom jardim. Returned to San Fran to complete my last semester at CCA. Graduation and completion. And then a new beginning, moving to Santos to work at Elos. Continuation of working towards bringing different areas of my life closer together; Spirituality, Sustainability, Architecture; North and South America. Becoming more of a connection and bridge. My aunt and uncle visiting the U.S. for the first time. Generation Waking Up in Colorado and Rodrigo visiting the U.S. for the first time. Moving to Brasil, getting to know São Paulo, spending more time with my family here.

2011
Liberation
Letting go of all that is holding me back, all that has accumulated but doesn't serve a purpose any longer, all that is stagnant, all that needs to be healed so that I can be free to experience new and wonderful things. Becoming lighter and at the same time ever more centered and grounded. Having a space to call home. Letting go of fear and allowing new energy and dreams come to fruition. Abundance, creativity, travel, and sharing. Clear communication, true friendship, and wild enjoyment. Magic.

Sublime

In October of 1717, Dom Pedro de Almeida passed through the town of Guaratinguetá on his way to Vila Rica, a gold-mining town. Since he was the governer of São Paulo and Minas Gerais at the time, the residents of Guaratinguetá decided to host a feast in his honor. They sent the men down to the nearby Paraíba river hoping to catch some fish to please Dom Pedro de Almeida. Unfortunately it was not fishing season and the men had little luck catching any fish. The fishermen were desperate and began to pray. They continued to cast their nets, but still no luck. They cast their nets one final time in desperation and to their bewilderment pulled something quite heavy to the surface. It was a statue of a body with a missing head! Alarmed, they cast the net once again and what did they catch? The statue's head! They cleaned the statue up to discover it was a black version of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Suddenly the statue's weight increased and it became so heavy that the men couldn't move it from it's resting place on the boat, so they wrapped it in cloth and tried their luck at fishing once again. Suddenly they began to catch fish. Not just one or two fish, hundreds of them! There were so many fish the boat almost sank. And this is how the first miracle of Our Lady of Aparecida happened.

Uma Casa Muito Engraçada/ A Very Funny House

This was one of my favorite songs to sing when I was little:

Era uma casa
Muito engraçada
Não tinha teto
Não tinha nada
Ninguém podia entrar nela, não
Porque na casa não tinha chão
Ninguém podia dormir na rede
Porque na casa não tinha parede
Ninguém podia fazer pipi
Porque penico não tinha ali
Mas era feita com muito esmero
Na rua dos Bobos
Número zero

There was once
a very funny house
it didn't have a ceiling
it didn't have anything
no one could enter
because there was no floor
no one could sleep in the hammock
because there was no wall
no one could go pee
because there was no toilet
but it was built with much care
on Fool's Street
number zero

Benke

Beija-flor me chamou: olha
Lua branca chegou na hora
O Beija-Mar me deu prova:
Uma estrela bem nova
Na luminária da mata
Força que vem e renova

Beija-Flor de amor me leva
Como o vento levou a folha

Minha Mamãe soberana
Minha Floresta de jóia
Tu que dás brilho na sombra
Brilhas também lá na praia

Beija-Flor me mandou embora
Trabalhar e abrir os olhos

Estrela d’Água me molha
Tudo que ama e chora
Some na curva do rio
Tudo é dentro e fora
Minha Floresta de jóia

Tem a água
tem a água
tem aquela imensidão
tem sombra da Floresta
tem a luz do coração
Bem-querer!!!

* Essa canção é o nome de um curumim do povo Kampa e é dedicada a todos os curumins de todas as raças do mundo

translation:

Hummingbird called to me: look
White moon’s time has arrived
The ocean’s kiss gave me proof
A young star
In the light of the forest
Strength that comes and renews

Hummingbird of love take me
Like the wind took the leaf

My sovereign mother
My jeweled forest
You who gives light in the darkness
Also shines there upon the shore

Hummingbird sent me away
To work and open eyes

Water Star splash me
All that loves and cries
Disappears in the curve of the river
Everything is inside and out
My forest of jewels

Is the water
Has the water
Has that immensity
Has the shade of the forest
Has the light of the heart
Wishing well!

I remember my mom playing this song at home when I was little. It brings tears to my eyes. At the School of Warriors Without Weapons 2007 I met the man the song was written about- Benke. He showed up as if out of nowhere and brought his wisdom and stories to teach to the group. At Bioneers later that year, I got to be one of the youth who hosted the 13 indigenous grandmothers. My grandmother was Maria Alice from the Amazon. Her daughter was also there and I later found out that she knew Benke well.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for

A time to fully step into ourselves.

I find myself back in the Triangulo Mineiro region, in the state of Minas Gerais where I spent a year of my life in 2003-04. Last time I was here, 8 months ago, I wondered when I would return again, thinking it wouldn’t be for at least another 3 years. And now here I am, looking back in awe at the series of events that brought me back so much sooner than I had imagined.
Since arriving in Santos, on July 31st, I have been staying at Thais and Fabio’s apartment in Vila Belmiro, home of the famous Santos Futbol Stadium. I met Thais in 2007 during the School of Warriors Without Weapons. She was a Warrior in 1999 and had been working at Elos since then. I have been learning a lot from her each day- her willingness to take on what needs to be done, whatever the cost, how she sees the world as fully hers to be molded and transformed, her ruthless revolutionary spirit and fearless leadership, her embodiment of the belief that she can and will make a difference, her strong will and persistence in pushing for justice and the best possible world- no exceptions. I have been observing and absorbing.
I have also been noting synchronicities - It’s amazing how the smallest details and alignments assure you that you’re exactly where you need to be. Before I started staying at Thais’ house, she and her in-laws had planned a trip to Minas Gerais including a stop in Prata, a town of 27,000 where I was the first exchange student and lived for a year. What are the odds? Thais’ in-laws, Eneias and Rita, have good friends that live on the exact same street where I lived, and are good friends with my host-mother Eloisa.
Visiting Prata with Thais has made me look at the town in a new way. I have been trying, more and more each day to face the world with open eyes, an open heart, and a strong back- to truly be awake to what is happening, noting what has made me feel numb in the past, and allowing myself to open up to feel and sense.
What I heard during my visit this time: The school is falling apart. A little boy lost his father on his birthday- his father was on a motorcycle and got stuck between two cars and then sucked under one of them. In another car accident, a woman was decapitated. “Mother, what is happening to the people of Prata?” All the men do is drink. Drugs, people’s homes getting robbed. You’d think in a small town, it wouldn’t be like this. Tim’s cell phone got stolen the day I arrived. “Prata doesn’t move forward.”
It makes me feel uncomfortable, hearing these stories because I don’t know how I can help, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be shared, shouldn’t be talked about.
I am also becoming more aware of the media’s influence on the people here, especially of the image we as Americans put out. I want to show people here that my American side is different from the images of America they see in music videos, in the messages from the mainstream. I’m tired of the two sides of me competing.
So I am realizing and I am learning. Learning more about the walls of separation I have built to defend myself, loving and letting them fall away, not in shame, but in loving liberation- to become a warrior without weapons, a rainbow warrior, a warrior of the heart. Learning to be transparent, truthful, learning each day how to become more humble, and how to love in others and in myself what I fear in myself. I am learning how to love my fears and let them be transformed.

Sharing a Meal

Cooking a meal for a group of people makes me appreciate all the care and love that goes into food, from earth to plate. It makes me appreciate all the recipes passed down to my grandmother, to my mother and aunts, and now to me. I cooked a meal for 16 today at Elos! I couldn't have done it without the help of Simone who was a superpower and was always ready help and to keep things moving. During times like these I feel humbled and grateful for the nourishment I receive every day. At the table were Andre, Andreia, Carla, Dimas, Gilson, Laura, Marina, Mariana, Mariana, Paulo, Rodrigo, Simone, Thais, Val, and Zelia. mmm. Lots of emotions during preparation! I've never had to cook for a group of this size! I'm glad I pulled it off (with the help of many others, of course) and was able to share a few of my favorite flavors.

Sharing a Meal

Menu
Gazpacho
Mango + Watercress Salad
Puchero (Garbanzo Bean Soup)
Escarola Pie

Strawberry + Cream desert

Andreia Marques

shoulders & turns - the belle game (hd) from jeffrey zablotny on Vimeo.

I saw this on Andreia's blog and liked it. It has some things in common with my balloon project :)

Amanda Hughen

♥

My notebook from 2007

Mitakuye Oyasin

"all my relations"

Aho Mitakuye Oyasin... All my relations.
I honor you in this circle of life with me today.
I am grateful for this opportunity to acknowledge you in this prayer...
To the creator, for the ultimate gift of life,I thank you.
To the mineral nation that has built and maintained my bones and all foundations of life experience, I thank you.
To the plant nation that sustains my organs and body and gives me healing herbs for sickness, I thank you.
To the animal nation that feeds me from your own flesh and offers you your loyal companionship in this walk of life, I thank you.
To the Human nation that shares my path as a soul upon the sacred wheel of Earthly life, I thank you.
To the spirit nation that guides me invisibly through the ups and downs of life and for carrying the torch of light through the ages, I thank you.
You are all my relations, my relatives, without whom I would not live. We are in the circle of life together, co-existing, co-dependent, co-creating our destiny. One, not more important than the other. One nation evolving from the other and yet each dependent upon the one above and the one below. All part of the Great Mystery
Thank you for this life.

Clearing

I'm having sudden urges to purge
To burn.
I have too much stuff collected over the years.
Something about burning old plots and models feels so liberating
Hopefully it will clear the way for new growth and possibilities

Manon

Those arriving upon Manon from afar will see a gleaming city with five spires stretching like fingers into the sky. It seems as if it is a city which never stops growing; a sleepless city. At any given time of day or night, one can observe a hustle and bustle of movement and production. Elevators, pulleys, and stairs draw people in work attire up, up, up into office buildings and factories. It is said that the city itself is trying to reach something just beyond its grasp, and yet it keeps on reaching.

Beyond the outskirts of the city lie five great lakes, from which all of Manon's water comes. The citizens of Manon believe that thousands of years ago a great hand from above pressed itself into the contours of the land and left an imprint where rivers and streams gathered to form the five lakes. From these fingers flowed agriculture, grids, irrigation, and Manon's prosperity.

But as Manon's spires grow up into the heaves the lakes begin to shorten and the water supply dwindles. The Manonians, however, are determined to see their great city keep growing. They do not glance down from their offices so high at the vanishing lakes. All they see is the sky and to them the future is bright.

(Studio I)

Um começo

Era uma vez um lugar onde as criancas viviam em uma cidade caverna...
Tinha sido uma cidade bonita antes, mas com o tempo foi sendo abandonando por seus moradores que se cansaram dela e foi pouco a pouco se desmontando e se tornando umida e escura.

Foi neste tempo que chegaram as familias dos meninos que viviam no escuro. Como toda crianca, eles brincavam eh claro, mas no escuro mesmo. Talvez nem sabiam que tinha a claridade para brincar.

Um dia um grande vento soprou, e neste vento chegou o Indio da grande floresta. Ele perguntou para as criancas: "Porque eh, criancas, que voces brincam nesse escuridao tao pezado? Na minha terra as criancas brincam na luz do grande pai sol com todos os bichinhos e as plantas da nossa terra mae."

Mas as criancas ficaram confusas pois nunca tinha visto bichos e plantas e nao pudiam imaginar como era esta terra de luz. Vendo a confusao nas caras das criancas, o Indio decidiu dar para cada um delas sementes de esperanca.

"Planta estas sementes e cuidam bem delas e cuidam bem delas e quando elas creceram elas vao trazer luz para voces brincaram."

E com isso o vento forte voltou e carregou o Indio embora.

as time melts into a jar

midpoint to nowhere
I'm half way there
In my dreams I have seen
this so-called no-man's land
and it fills my mind with emptiness

A melancholic cloud floats by
in the opposite direction
maybe he's going somewhere
maybe to alphabet land

As I wait for the time
to come the clock tick tocks
unwinds

I fly a kite
and like fishing
I try to catch a bird

(a poem found in my drawer)

Invisible Cities

The Great Khan's atlas contains also the maps of the promised lands visited in thought but not yet discovered or founded: New Atlantis, Utopia, the City of the Sun, Oceana, Tamoe, New Harmony, New Lanark, Icaria.

Kublai asked Marco: "You, who go about exploring and who see signs, can tell me toward which of these futures the favoring winds are driving us."

"For these ports I could not draw a route on the map or set a date for the landing. At times ll I need is a brief glimpse, an opening in the midst of an incongruous landscape, a glint of lights in the fog, the dialogue of two passersby meeting in the crowd, and I think that, setting out from there, I will put together, piece by piece, the perfect city, made of fragments mixed with the rest, of instants separated by intervals, of signals one sends out, not knowing who receives them. If I tell you that the city toward which my journey tends is discontinuous in space and time, now scattered now more condensed, you must not believe the search for it can stop. Perhaps while we speak, it is rising, scattered, within the confines of your empire; you can hunt for it, but only in the way I have said."

Already the Great Khan was leafing through his atlas, over the maps of the cities that menace in nightmares and maledictions: Enoch, Babylon, Yahooland, Butua, Brave New World.

He said: "It is all useless, if the last landing place can only be the infernal city, and it is there that, in ever-narrowing circles, the current is drawing us."

And Polo said: "The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension; seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of the inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space."

reSOURCES - tapping the net

Pachube
Visual Digital Media- CCA
Future Cities Lab - my teacher Jason K. Johnson's site
Design Reform
Real Time Rome/Roam

Transmissions

Origins of Halloween

"The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth."

Curiouser and curiouser!

“"The time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings”

"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat. 'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
'You must be,' said the Cat. 'or you wouldn't have come here'"

“It [the Cheshire Cat] vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.”

Decisions

It is from a place of deepest intention that I have decided not to do thesis. I want to focus on creating my proposal for going to India in 2010. In a way I see that year as being my thesis year because I will be able to give it all my attention instead of juggling so many things at once. This was a hard decision for me because the program seems like it's going to be pretty amazing this year. When trying to decide, I desperately wanted a voice to come to me and say "Yes" or "No", but no voice came and I had to keep going back and forth. In the end I think the decision I made was the right one. I don't like who I become when I'm so stressed out, it hurts me and my relationships and I want to honor my limits and live in a more balanced way. Take things one step at a time.

WIKIPEDIA

I am starting with site. I have chosen the Tenderloin because it is a place where crisis is visible. A crisis that may dwell hidden in other parts of the city, but here it is apparent and tangible. It overcomes the senses, is concentrated, and is almost suffocating. It has been a place that has experienced crisis for much longer than this current economic crisis.

What is the role of architecture in a time of crisis? In a time of slowdown and limitation?

My goal at this point is to research the history and origins of the Tenderloin and how it has changed over time. I want to understand this neighborhood as a living, breathing entity with an evolutionary story to tell.

It is decided.

Even though I had already decided a while ago it is now certain, there's no pretending it might or might not happen - I am doing thesis. I met with Antje yesterday to make sure the Lab and Seminar classes fit into my schedule and still allow me to graduate on time- and they do. I'm thinking about taking 18 units this semester and 12 next semester, we'll see how that plays out. I'm in for an intense semester. CBD, work, application for fulbright, thesis lab and seminar, pro practice, and a literature class. Hopefully I can take it.

Now I actually need to start doing some research and time is running out...
It's hard not to want to try and incorporate my whole life's belief and philosophy into this project, but I think being focused is important. But first of all is the research. I'm trying not to jump to far ahead at this point, trying to let the learning and process guide me.

And where to really start? I have so many vague ideas about what I want it to be about...
Some things I'm interested in:

The crumbling of old, outdated systems and the emergence of new building systems, network typologies, social interactions.

Process of growth and decay.

Looking beyond the built environment at intangible systems of information flows and connections.

Community involvement. How architecture and design can engage the public in a way that's not as sterile and boring as a panel discussions and meetings. something more upbeat and interactive.

The importance of the architectural process as a tool for creating exchange, experimentation and interaction, not just used to create an end product such as a building.

Places in crisis, places of change, places on the edge, volatile places, dynamic spaces.

small scale - big change

mapping.

Life is precious

Fuck it

fuck expectations
fuck caring what other people think
fuck thinking I am the solution

It's so fucking disgusting
all this sugar coating
makes me want to vomit

fuck caring if other people think I'm scary
fuck suppressing my emotions
over and over
and trying to bend to others wishes and wills

my heart is on fire
and I'm going to let it burn
and I don't fucking care

fuck being afraid that I am responsible for people's problems
and for all the fucked up things in the world

fuck the urge to sensor this because it says fuck so many times

fuck
fuck
fuck

Some thoughts

I believe we are living in a critical time, soon to reach a climax point. Something big is going to happen- is already happening all around the world. Breakthroughs, realizations, resistance, friction. It is uncomfortable, it is a great pressure – as if we have reached the bottleneck and are being squeezed.

One of the questions I want to explore in doing a thesis is how architecture can help seed changes that so desperately need to happen. Change in how people are treated, how people treat the environment, how we build and maintain our cities, and how each individual goes about their daily lives. Because whether we like it or not, everything we do sends ripples of effects and reactions into the world. There is no such thing as neutral. Simply living means you have an impact.

I see the Tenderloin as a microcosm of the world. It is rich in cultural influences, because its inhabitants and store-owners include people from all walks of life and all parts of the world. All these influences and lifestyles are brought together in one of the densest neighborhoods in San Francisco.

The Tenderloin is also one of the poorest and most notorious areas in the city and is perhaps “the last frontier in SF’s ever expanding gentrification trend”(1).

In Santos I learned from Rodrigo and Edgard that if you want to make real change happen, you have to tackle the darkest places. Only when you understand the history and complexity of those places, can you move toward building in a way that truly helps people and the planet. Covering up scars doesn’t work- it just creates more scars.

But in an area such as the Tenderloin, which is so dense, what does it mean to build? What do people need the most there, in terms of physical spaces? How can I do a project that is perhaps small, but creates a large impact, or perhaps starts a chain of events?

My most recent influences have been Lebbeus Woods and Samuel Mockby’s Rural Studio. I want to find some way of combining the philosophy and work of both within my thesis. I like the total immersion into community that Rural Studio demonstrates, and at the same time, I find Wood’s writing and speculations about more grand ideas and trends just as critical to our time.

Explosion

Another Manhole exploded today,
this time at 4th and Market.
I wonder what's happening underground-
seems suspicious to me...

Fire

Last night I decided to erase all the old pictures from my camera and take it to work today. As I walked down O'Farrell to go get lunch in the Tenderloin I noticed the sky was filled with smoke. The site was kind of spectacular with the cathedral all hazy and monolithic in the background. As I approached, the smoke seemed to get even more black and I could actually see the billowing red flames. At first I thought it was a car fire. I wanted to get closer, but this man started running down the street yelling to get away because it was going to blow up. I decided to get lunch where I was and watch from a distance.

Apparently it was an underground fire caused by an electrical explosion. The flames were shooting out a manhole and it took firefighters at least 30 minutes to control it.

Talk about volatility - literally. It reminds me of a dream I had last year where downtown San Francisco caught fire. The cause, however, was entirely different. It was so vivid that it inspired me to write this poem:

I dreamed... (August 1st, 2008)

I dreamed of fire-
San Francisco
up in flames
from rage
in the hearts of youth.

a molotov cocktail
thrown to the sky
in feverish passion
twice up,
then twice
crashing down
into flames.

a moment of worry
a moment of confusion
of feeling lost

what is fire?
why does it burn?

fire is chaos
that brings about balance

Lebbeus Woods Drawings for BCJ

Drawings done for BCJ by Lebbeus Woods back in the day.
Awesome!

Tenderlointreon Article - May 1st, 2009

Perception 1 - May 6th, 2009 2:00 p.m.

Walked up O'Farell street from Market. Felt things change at Mason st from shopping district to Tenderloin.

Sat and ate lunch at Larkin and O'Farell in children's park on a busy corner. There were no benches or places to sit. Probably for fear of the homeless sleeping there. The whole park is fenced off. People of all sorts walk by and look in.

Across the street is the New Century Theater, the sign reads:

$5 AMATEUR SHOW
EVERY SUN 9 PM
75 NAUGHTY HOTTIES
OPEN TIL 3 AND 4 AM

I feel uncomfortable and out of place. The traffic is noisy and I'm not looking forward to the walk back.

A child's laughter, however, seems to break the tension. Makes me wonder what life is like behind the facades and sidewalks that smell of piss.