Brooklyn,USA

Fast forward to the year 2100. New York, along with Phoenix, Beijing, Sao Paulo, Manila, and many more of the world’s most populated cities, is irrevocably changed.  Much of the earth’s great middle swath is subject to droughts, wildfires, and desertification, while increasingly frequent super storms plague coastal areas, destroying precious agricultural lands by bringing seawater far inland. Where in the world shall we live, and what will our built environments be like?  The study envisions design solutions for a planet that will be more densely populated, subject to an array of environmental challenges, and significantly warmer, by an average of 4°C.

In the 2100 world the book envisions, most of the earth’s population has moved poleward, now inhabiting compact megacities.  Some, like Troll Antarctica, are new, while others like Moscow, Vancouver and Johannesburg have been redesigned and retrofitted as hyper dense settlements.  These megacities are paired with the now largely uninhabitable extraction cities of the middle swath that now house smaller scale populations of temporary inhabitants.  To accommodate the needs of a world population of 10 billion, the new compact megacities feature technologies such as clip-on architecture and high tech vertical farms while the old, extraction cities have become outposts that are being recycled and used for manifold purposes including renewable energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration.

How can we change our way of life to be more in keeping with natural systems and processes? Climate change unquestionably represents the biggest challenge to the continued presence of humankind on this planet, not to mention the many other species currently at risk. Managing and attempting to limit the effects of global warming should be our biggest priority, marshalling our collective will, energies, and creativity toward the achievement of a common goal. Although the work is speculative, its premises are supported by the latest climate research and predictions, while the design solutions proposed build upon existing and emerging technologies.  The future the book envisions is dystopian but the work is utopian, in that it sees the best in human potential rising to the occasion. 2100 serves not as a prediction, but rather as a warning and a call to action.  It offers architecture’s response to climate change’s most challenging scenarios with design solutions that suggest the profound adaptability of the design field to meet environmental challenges in the future. Through 2100: A Dystopian Utopia, Vanessa Keith and StudioTEKA visualize possible design solutions to suggest the profound adaptability and possibilities of the design field to meet environmental challenges in the future. The issue is framed by noted sociologist, Saskia Sassen, with her preface and advocacy of “delegating back to the environment”.

Book is available as UR3 of Terreform’s Urban Research series: https://www.urpub.org/books/2100

Interviews, Lectures and Podcasts on 2100:

Landscape Architecture Magazine Interview: https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2017/05/11/thrive-or-survive

Metropolis Magazine Interview: https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/2100-dystopian-utopia-book-studioteka/

Modelo Blog Interview: https://medium.com/design-manifestos/design-manifestos-vanessa-keith-of-studioteka-3960a94fc1e0

Alan H. Ryder Distinguished Lecture, Carnegie Mellon: https://vimeo.com/276498726

Peter B. Collins Podcast: https://www.peterbcollins.com/2019/03/07/in-depth-interview-vanessa-keith-offers-blueprints-for-2100-life-on-earth-will-be-very-different/

WFPL Interview with Bill Burton: https://wfpl.org/dealing-with-climate-change-as-an-architect/

Studioteka Project Team:
Vanessa Keith,Joana Barros, Natalie Bellefleur, Silvia Cadelano, Lisa Cepisul, Eileen Chen, Pablo Dominguez, Michelle Fowler, Zakiya Franklin, Matthew Fung, Taylor Harper, Cheolyong Kim, Katelin Kutchko, Michelle Lavin, Sangyun Lee, Yoon Kyun Lee, Soo Youn Lim, Chenyang Lu, Umberto Plaja, Romel Ragasa, Simona Regolo, Qi Shen, Phillip Song, Charikleia Soupalika, Stefan Stanojevic, Rob Stupay, Youyi Wang, Alex Wilson, Wen Wu, Wenxin Yang, Li Xia and Luxia Yin

Nuuk, Greenland

Manila, Philippines

Manila, Philippines

Wellington, New Zealand

Kufra/Ajdabiya, Libya

Moscow, Russia

Phoenix, USA

Vancouver, Canada

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Troll, Antarctica

Ross Island, Antarctica

Johannesburg, South Africa

Beijing, China

Tynda, Russia

Nuuk, Greenland

Manila, Philippines

Manila, Philippines

Wellington, New Zealand

Kufra/Ajdabiya, Libya

Moscow, Russia

Phoenix, USA

Vancouver, Canada

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Troll, Antarctica

Ross Island, Antarctica

Johannesburg, South Africa

Beijing, China

Tynda, Russia

Competition Entry, 2014. The new Guggenheim museum in Helsinki connects the city with the sea, bridging local and international scales and connecting Helsinki’s past with its future. Building upon the evolution of Helsinki’s shoreline, we adopt a vocabulary which incorporates a series of folded interconnected planes and volumes which embrace city and harbor, thus fostering the import and export of local and international culture and exchange, and embracing the city’s new and prominent international vision. The building sits upon a wooden promenade, which forms a grand public gesture along the harbor side of the museum, activating the site with outdoor concerts and guerrilla theater events, as well as café, restaurant and retail space.

The city entrance sits at the northern end of the site, and is accessed by way of a covered indoor/outdoor passageway which can be opened completely to the elements during the warmer months, and which also connects to the harbor side of the building. The northern entry is flanked on one side by the museum shop, while the other side is the main museum point of entrance. The northern entrance opens upon a large public lobby containing ticketing and information, as well as a generous open flexible space, suitable for exhibitions, gatherings, and events, which can also spill out into the large outdoor plaza.

The permanent and visiting collections are accessed from the lobby by way of a gently sloping ramp, which loops around the entrance hall with an adjoining stepped area that boasts a view of the entire harbor. Accessed by way of the lobby’s grand ramp, the elevated outdoor exhibition space affords visitors breathtaking views toward the city and the sea, as well as connecting directly to one of the museum’s exhibition galleries. The outdoor observation deck sits above, also connected to a third gallery level. The exhibition spaces on both the second and third levels can each be separated into two distinct spaces. The observation deck can also be used for mounting outdoor exhibitions. Thus the project has a lot of spaces which are flexible and multipurpose in nature, being suited not only to the display of artwork, but also to conferences, and public and private gatherings and events.

The form of the building responds to solar angles, as well as to parameters related to program adjacency and access to light and views, as well as levels of activity and acoustical concerns. The roof is supported by a criss cross wooden waffle structure, as well as a series of monumental columns, also clad in wood. The volumes of the building’s programs are enveloped in translucent, transparent and opaque panels, which form a gradient from entirely permeable to entirely opaque depending upon the needs of each space. The building’s structural skin is revealed through the panels, creating a dramatic glowing volume which provides a cultural beacon on the harbor. From the roof, two arms reach out toward the sea, in a culminating gesture that represents the harmonic union of opposites and a symbol of the city’s emerging status as an important international cultural destination.

Competition Entry, 2011. The new opera house in Busan connects the mountains with the sea, bridging local and international scales and connecting Busan’s past with its future. Building upon the evolution of Busan’s shoreline, we adopt the vocabulary of the harbor pier as a reference for the import and export of local and international culture and exchange. The result is a conceptual knot: two becoming one.

Project Team:
Vanessa Keith, Cheolyong Kim, Dongsuk Lee, Michelle Fowler, Simona Regolo, Nicholas Reiter, Xiao Chen, Tiffany Jin, Haeshin Park

The building sits upon a landscape plinth, or ribbon, which forms a grand public gesture surrounding the opera house, activating the site with outdoor concerts and theater events, a public pool, yacht club and marina, urban parkspace, cafe, restaurant and retail space. The undulating planes of the ribbon transition three dimensionally to create both interior and exterior spaces. The opera house has two primary access points located at either end of the ribbon. The city entrance sits at the edge of the new island and is accessed by way of a ramp which also connects to the plinth, while the seaside entrance is accessed by way of a protected marina and a pedestrian bridge which ties back in to the city. The city entrance opens upon a large public lobby containing an open performance stage, the volumes of the opera and multipurpose theaters, two restaurants, a bar, gift shop, exhibition space and a multimedia music library. The outdoor amphitheater and public pool/recreation space can be accessed from the lobby by way of a gently sloping ramp, which joins a stepped seating area with a view of the entire harbor.

Accessed by way of the lobby’s grand staircase, the balcony level affords visitors breathtaking views toward the city and the sea, as well as overlooking the activated gathering space below. The plinth level sits above, linking the two major theater spaces, a 2,000 seat performance venue for opera and a 1,200 seat multipurpose arena with the outdoor space of the ribbon. At the crown of the theater complex sits the special events level, here envisioned as a space containing a VIP lounge, high end restaurant and banquet hall with stunning 360 degree Busan city views.

The facets of the knot are enveloped in translucent, transparent and opaque panels, the placement of which are dependent upon program as well as elevation. The building’s structural skin is revealed through the panels, creating a dramatic glowing volume which provides a cultural beacon on the harbor. A series of gently shifting columns move up and through the building, while internally, the volumes of enclosed spaces reflect the building’s dramatic form. At the plinth level, two arms reach out from the knot to connect to the ribbon, in a culminating gesture that represents the harmonic union of opposites and a symbol of the city’s emerging status as an important international cultural destination.

Competition Entry, 2009 — Honorable Mention. A highly contested site in a formerly industrial zone characterized by crumbling factory ruins, artist workshops, immigrant families and an influx of former Manhattanites, the Gowanus is subject to the ever-present pressure of development and outward expansion.  The formulas of old, luxury high rise waterfront condos and the eventual displacement of a thriving artists’ community, have thankfully been put to bed by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.  One may now ask, what’s next for the Gowanus?

Project Team:
Vanessa Keith, Ana Sucena, Dongsuk Lee, Kyungyoon Song, Nanna Wulfing, Matt Standeven, Belinda Jolly

Project Collaborators and Advisors:
Achva Benzinberg Stein, FASLA, Jerome Balas, Jessica Marvin, Murali Nallamothu

The vibrancy of this site, and its industrial past, were a source of fascination and interest to us.  In a world which is increasingly interconnected, there is no longer a ‘somewhere else’ to which our problems may be exported.  The locations of pollutants in the area were mapped in plan and section, and a strategy emerged.  What if, rather than trucking the toxins elsewhere, we were able to incorporate the renewal and remediation of the site into a series of structural and streetscape devices?

Site contaminants, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and HM (heavy metals), were analyzed and classified according to their chemical properties and location on the site, and programs were linked to each category.  They were further broken down based upon scale, flexibility of space, materiality, activity level, ability to mix with other programs, location in section, and density.  BTEX programs, for example, were those we classified as light and highly volatile, like the gallery/bar, artists’ live/work studios, some of the exhibition space, and the environmental research and development.  This strategy, which resulted in design moves such as placing the lecture hall at the top of the building, also allowed us to find commonalities between programs that we may not have considered otherwise.

Our project emphasizes public space for the community, a YMCA with a twist: art spaces, plus community spaces, plus research spaces.  The main building, located to the North along Fifth Street, combines space for art with an environmental research and remediation program, including offices and research labs, which makes the project economically sustainable.  We were intrigued by the concept of industrial symbiosis and the notion that the site’s industrial legacy could be transformed into an amenity for local residents.  By incorporating site remediation within the program and structure, the project serves as a demonstration of a new locally focused strategy.

The ground floor contains both the digital and analog workshops, which serve the artists’ level on the second floor.  The first floor, accessed by way of a stair/ramp/seating area which faces Smith Street, contains the gallery/bar and additional exhibition space for the environmental program, located on the third and fourth floors.  Environmental research and development labs as well as a lecture hall, library, media lab and offices complete this portion of the building, which is capped by an occupiable green roof open to the public.  A wetlands park serves as the entry to the site, along which are placed artists’ live/work studios to the South, culminating in a gym and wellness center with a boathouse for kayaks and rowboats that is a much needed amenity for local residents.  The placement and scale of built elements on the site has a direct relationship to the locations of the most highly contaminated areas, where direct access to the ground would be problematic.  Remediation devices cleverly merge with parkscape elements and playfully dot the site; a long bench is also a biopile, a streetlight or a swing doubles as a bioventing device and even the structural columns incorporate a heavy metal stabilization system which works deep within the ground.

The project, thus, is an art factory of the post-industrial age.  Artists, community residents, and scientists mingle in a project which has the potential to become a hub for economic and environmental renewal, innovation and the fusion of both halves of the brain:  in short, a new Silicon Valley deep in the heart of Brooklyn.

Project published in Mark Magazine ,issue #25:

http://www.mark-magazine.com

Also published in the Architect’s Newspaper, Honors section:

http://www.archpaper.com

Our proposal links the ring path to the changing phases of the moon, registering a change from white to blue which moves around the island over the course of each lunar cycle.  

The site concept sketches deal with ideas which emerged from a reading of Micrea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane, in which the author discusses the emergence of society as pockets of order within a larger chaos. The prison, then, is an attempt to remove dangerous disorderly elements from within society at large to a place where they may be contained: chaos within order. Sketches: Vanessa Keith, Marsh Kriplen, Carlos Soubie.