The New Ohlone Park

After brainstorming, we decided to sketch the new park:

A sketch of the entire new park.

A sketch of the new playground.

A sketch of the new dog park.

The dog park includes:

• 7300 sq. ft. small dog park
• 32600 sq. ft. large dog park
• Fencing around both parks
• Dog bone paving remains but now as a gathering area
• 9 benches in large dog park and 2 in small dog park
• 3 picnic tables in large dog park and 1 in small dog park
• Platform seating in both parks
• 3 human/dog water fountains in large park and 1 in small dog park
• 3 dog waste stations in large dog park and 1 in small dog park

We also made some changes to the small and crowded community garden.

We included a compost waste area, more seating areas, and space.

We also wanted to include move all the sports fields to the same area and add more light.

Here is an outline of the overall plan.

We also decided to add a community center where the neighbors can have both casual and formal events.

Floor plan of the community center.

3D model of the community center Sumi made on AutoCad.

Close up on 3D model.

Assigment 3: The “is” condition of Ohlone Park

We examined the current conditions of Ohlone Park in order to make a new plan that will suit its needs. The following image demonstrates the demographics:

The following image demonstrates the original condition of the park:

We then came up with a list of concerns for the area:

• lack of maintenance (sidewalks, playstructure, sports area, grass)
• lack of connection between different areas
• no large group area
• no bathrooms
• more structures for youth
• more structures for elderly
• maintenance and grooming of large grass areas
• keep relaxing atmosphere

Then we decided on the changes we wanted to make to this area:

• Park welcoming to all social classes
• Connection to the health conscious community
• More contribution to food gathering areas (picnic tables, bbq pits, community areas)
• eco friendly, compost
• incorporation of more efficiently used green areas
• age diversity
• culture diversity

PROJECT 3: Gourmet Ghetto Rebuilding + Brainstorm

Jumping into project 3, we identified two goals that we wanted our renovations to achieve:

1. To improve the lives of both the rich and the poor.

2. To incorporate all of our individual cultures: American, Chinese, Korean, and Mexican.

First, we brainstormed what features of our individual cultures play a big part on the health and happiness of their societies, and if these same features were present in American societies as well.

Right away, we thought of the widely used exercise parks in Asia that are often called “the asian secret to longevity.” Seniors often spend hours here in the morning stretching or exercising their muscles. It helps for both inner and outer heath. We wanted to bring this to the older citizens living in the residential areas of the gourmet ghetto.

Article: http://www.livescience.com/1965-chinese-secret-long-life.html

Next, we noticed that music played a huge role in the culture of the Gourmet Ghetto, but there were not many public areas to perform. For the low-income individuals, it is impossible to get invited to perform in restaurants without an already stable career in music. Korea has many areas specifically for individuals of all walks of life to come to perform, share music, and earn an income. We want to bring this to the Gourmet Ghetto as well.

We also picked out two areas where we can start these projects:

The run-down park on Haste

Northern Shattuck intersection across from Safeway

We also started our presentation!

The Collage: Gourmet Ghetto

Today we completed our collage. We wanted each layer of the collage to symbolize the different historic changes of the neighborhood North Shattuck Berkeley. Our collage consists of 4 stacked layers. The layers (starting from the bottom to the top) represent the following:

The first layer:

Geography. This layer outlines the boundaries within the neighborhood.

The second layer:

History. This layer represent historic structures and includes mainly images of homes.

The third layer:

Changes. This layer highlights a period of revolution through images of renovations and modern structures.

The fourth layer:

Attractions. This layer highlights the point of tourist attraction in the neighborhood: a main street known as Shattuck Ave. Here, you will find business cards from popular places in this street.

The fifth layer:

Beauty and age. The neighborhood has been through a period of racial tension and brought together by cultural arts. We wanted to include a symbol that represents this in this layer. We chose an elephant pendant we got from a local shop. The pendant is vintage yet beautiful. Similarly, the neighborhood has had a revolutionary past but its love for food and art continues to grow.

Final outcome

Close up of the top layer

Side view

Another side view

Post Midterm

Yesterday was the day of our midterm. To prepare for our midterm we made a folder in Google docs. Here, we made a 4 documents: one document for each question and another document to post images. On Sunday night we met on Skype to discuss our final plan for the midterm.

We came to the midterm prepared and feeling confident. The following are some images of our midterm:

Midterm question #1 answer

Midterm question #2 answer

Midterm question #4 answer

Midterm complete

Aftermath

A Study of Gentrification in Berkeley

Click to access Gentrification-Report.pdf

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_27881861/berkeley-residents-grapple-building-boom-and-gentrification-issues

http://www.dailycal.org/2014/03/14/clarifying-gentrification-repercussions-bay/

DAY 3: Food, Houses & Interviews

Our goal for this visit was to interview people in the neighborhood and try a new restaurant. In our interviews, we asked different people walking around the neighborhood to describe the neighborhood using one word. We interview 7 people, all from different social classes and ethnicities.

Our first stop was Taste of Himalayas for some lunch. This restaurant is known for their delicious Indian and Nepalese cuisine.

Mural inside

Taste of Himalayas facade

Chicken curry

Then we stopped at Philz Coffee:

We ordered the famous Iced Mint Mojito Coffee!

Then we moved on to our interviews. Everyone who we interviewed had positive things to say about the neighborhood. We found it interesting that a man selling produce at the Farmer’s Market told use he found the neighborhood beautiful and profitable. He mentioned his sales were high because the neighborhood’s inhabitants are mostly wealthy and enjoy organic produce.

These gentlemen are two of our interviewees.

As we were walking back to the car, we noticed there were also some renovations taking place:

Renovations at a local elementary school.

Remodeling of a home.

After our visit we headed back to campus area to discuss our future plans. Overall, we feel we had a very productive and joyful visit. We met a lot of kind and interesting people.

Assignemet 2 Inspiration: Images of Berkeley in the 1960s

Shattuck Avenue

March against police brutality

DAY 2: North Shattuck Exploration + Art

July 8th was our second visit to assigned neighborhood. Our goal for this visit was to try a new restaurant in the neighborhood and look for art.

Our first stop was Gregoire, a tiny French restaurant in Gourmet Ghetto. They’re famous for their potato puff balls:

Next, we searched for street art and found only one mural:

Then we looked for art shops, galleries, etc.

Picture taken from Local Interior Shop

Picture taken from Local Jewelry Shop

Picture taken from Local Gallery

Picture taken from Local Gallery

Picture Taken from Local Gallery

Picture taken from Local Gallery

Picture taken from Local Galley

Picture taken from Local Gallery

Key Map of our Trip to “Gourmet Ghetto”_ July 7th 2015