Studio Projects
Revealing Urban Waters
- At various times in various places in West Philadelphia, the
ground has caved in, and houses, streets, and even entire city blocks
have tumbled into enormous holes. To most residents these are
mysterious and unconnected events, though some have heard rumors of
rushing rivers buried underground and shifting sands. If there is a
buried river, where does it come from and where does it go?
- Many streams once flowed across West Philadelphia. The largest
of these is Mill Creek, a stream that drains nearly two-thirds of
West Philadelphia. Its headwaters are outside the city in Lower
Merion, and it flows into the Schuylkill River south of Woodland
Avenue near 45th Street. The Mill Creek cut a deep valley across
parts of West Philadelphia and meandered and pooled in other
areas. The large, grassy bowl in Clark Park was once a mill
pond. In the late 1800s, Mill Creek was buried in city sewers.
Its streambed was filled in and roads and houses were built on
top, but it still flows beneath city streets. The steep valley
is clearly visible in places like 47th to 48th Streets between
Fairmount and Aspen and along 43rd Street from Walnut to Spruce
Streets. Mill Creek now carries the rain that falls on much of
West Philadelphia as well as sewage from thousands of private
homes and businesses. Yet to most people the Mill Creek is
invisible.
- Though Mill Creek is buried in a sewer, it continues to shape
landscape and life. How can the buried river be revealed and
rainwater celebrated so people feel and know the importance of
these urban waters?
- Scenario: this "ideas competition" is envisioned as the first
phase of a larger, long-term project to restore urban waters,
landscape, and community. Assume the sponsors are the
Philadelphia Water Department and a local arts organization.
They wish to integrate landscape art and urban infrastructure
planning to build public support for new public works.
Requirements for Submission
- All work (graphic and verbal) must be submitted on a total of 9
sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" paper (no more, no less). (This size fits
the scanner in the computer lab.) Include the following:
- A paragraph describing your proposal.
- Sketches showing specific features.
- Map of Mill Creek watershed showing the relationship between
your detailed sketches and the whole.
- Any other graphic material necessary to convey your
proposal.
- A self evaluation (use form below) must be submitted separately
with your proposal.
- All submissions must be received by 1:30 PM, Monday, September 9.
Submissions received after that deadline will not be considered
for review.
Review
- Reviews of work will take place in four stages: self evaluation;
peer review of several projects; review in small groups; and a
studio-wide review and discussion.
- Self evaluation: each student must complete a self-evaluation
form which will be read by others in the studio an guide peer
review.
- Peer review: each student will review the work of three other
students. This review will be completed in writing using the
form provided.
- Small-group review: each group of four students who have
evaluated each other's work will meet to discuss.
- One person from each small group should be designated to present
all four designs and evaluations to the studio at large. This
studio-wide review will take place on Wednesday, September 11
from 2-6 PM. The presentation of each of the smaller groups
should take no more than 10-15 minutes, leaving an additional 15-20 minutes for discussion for each group.
- By the following week your work will be exhibited on your home
page on the World Wide Web, where it may be viewed by the world
at large.
Designing Your Home Page
- Each of you will be responsible for designing and maintaining
your own home page using your e-mail address. (Note: there is a
limit to how large your site may be. While this will not be an
issue for this initial assignment, it will require careful
management in the future.
Skills
- E-mail: establishing address; sending mail
- Web authoring: scanning drawings; HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language); designing home page
- Navigating the World Wide Web
- Reflective practice: self-evaluation; peer review
Self Evaluation Form
- What aspects of your design are you most pleased with?
- What aspects of your design gave you the most trouble?
- What do you feel are the strengths of your design?
- What do you feel are the weaknesses of your design?
- What would you particularly like feedback on?
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Last Update: 8 January 1997
