BRIGHTFIELDS

The first master's design studio was based in the Dayton neighborhood in Newark. We were put into teams by Justine Shapiro Kline, our studio professor and assigned topics based on our preliminary research interests at the beginning of class. This is the first time I would know the meaning of team effort. Apart from the group work, there was important base work to be done for the class, for which students volunteered happily. 

We began by modelling our site on GIS(Geographic Information System) and Rhino, two software's that I was unfamiliar with but eventually got a hang of. The semester was structured in a way that we get plenty time for research in the beginning, create a narrative for our future goal, work at a larger scale to understand the context of the site, which would transition into familiarizing ourselves with the site, discussing various stakeholders and precedents; the knowledge of which would help us design and work towards our stated goal.

Our group - The Data and Energy Group, as the name suggests were looking at internet data, electricity, gas and solar energy. For a Mumbaikar, data collection(and by data I mean resources for study material) means going to the BMC(Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) office 5 times and failing to find any data, tracing maps from google earth or web search materials to find any relevant article. However the process here was easier because of well archived data and source availability. We were able to find statistics, interactive maps and create a map of present conditions of Newark.

Newark is densely commercialized in its downtown district, meaning big companies are situated here and thus has a better structured Data and Energy domain. We mapped out empty pockets i.e. data deserts where internet data was inaccessible either due to its expensive rates or its low speed. On the other hand, Newark is also facing Heat Island issues due to new developments and decreased area of green space per user. The next step was to create a future goal that would assist us in deriving a design narrative. We mapped zones that lacked energy and data distribution and discerned that Dayton fell under these zones.

The Seth Boyden Houses - our site in Dayton, is an abandoned housing complex currently used by squatters and homeless people. One of the initial collective observations during the site visit was to propose a rehabilitation or retrofit project for the abandoned housing complex. However a different approach to design thinking was enforced. This new creative thinking would focus on designs generated by different topics distributed to groups viz. Agriculture, Water, Data & Energy, Mobility and Natural Resources. Our design focused on programs for different kinds of stakeholders. There would be four programs that would enable people to embark on energy careers regardless of class, education and economic status, etc.  The Brightfield included a School, Training Center, Housing and Manufacturing + R&D. 

We developed a set of Toolkit of sustainable ideas they included Solar panels and their types, Green corridors, Kinetic Tiles, WiFi Hotspots, Energy Parks and Energy to heat conversion stations. Each of which would merge into the four programs of Brightfields.

The Green New Deal brings to light the changing climate, its impacts and affects. As we adapt to the change we realize that standard education is no longer the only requirement. More so, in 2050 basic knowledge about sustainability, solar power and green energy will become a necessity. 

The school building sits in two parts, divided by green spaces - courtyards and terrace gardens. A student drop off lane is offset from Dayton street into the school site on the west. A stepped gallery pierces the school blocks off the center to create large public space. The school is zoned in private spaces which are the classrooms, public spaces such as the courtyards, café, exhibition space and semi-private spaces which are common spaces and the library.