BMW i. Sustainable Neighbourhoods Project.

UCLA

September: The Results

UCLA's concept projects focused on the ways in which existing infrastructure and space could be reused and reinterpreted for more community friendly and inclusive activities. Wesley Chou and Andrew Levy's 'ptree' concept is a piece of public art, a forest of LEDs installed in the district's existing foliage in order to demarcate a welcoming new space that extends out into the surrounding area, increasing footfall and pedestrian safety. The ptree is powered by stored electricity, charged through a piezoelectric system that takes the kinetic energy from pedestrians and cars during the day time. After dark, this energy is released in a friendly blue glow, crime-reducing illumination that pulses in tune with the newly vibrant neighbourhood. At the heart of the installation is the Mother Ptree, a new community focus. The energy generation is dovetailed with an iPhone app that illustrates personal community involvement. Takumi Akin's Ecocinema is a plan to reinvigorate Westwood's now moribund cinema culture with a combination of new rooftop screens and green roofs. Gabriel Noguez's BMW i Park is a proposal for a new urban park in the heart of Westwood, an outdoor multimedia space that acts like an open air community centre, a place of digital and physical connection.

August: The Development

UCLA's student teams represented a broad mix of cultures and nationalities, from Mexico to Tokyo to New Jersey. Led by tutor and artist Professor Rebecca Mendez, the students' work on the Sustainable Neighbourhoods project focused on kick-starting root-and-branch regeneration in Westwood, the district where their campus is based. Initial research paved the way for the development of several conceptual projects, which together represented their desire for increased pedestrian traffic, better integration between students and residents and to bring a richer cultural life for the area.

June: The Research

Student teams at UCLA, Design Media Arts are focusing their research strategies on Westwood Village, LA's vast commercial centre just north of Wilshire Boulevard. 'Westwood as a microcosm of the City, with many of the problems of the wider city.' Three key areas have emerged, starting with the need to improve pedestrian mobility and simultaneously using the dynamic movement of 60,000 people to power a visualization of the area's daily flows using piezo electronics to harness electric power. Like the rest of the city, Westwood is highly autocentric, subjecting public transport to congestion and making it difficult and dangerous for any burgeoning bike culture. By bolstering the latter's community spirit and strength in numbers, one research group is exploring how a 'bike bus' could be started to increase the safety of cycle commuting. Finally, the animation at street level is addressed by a team seeking to make small-scale interventions in empty storefronts, opening up façades to street level activities. Central to these proposals is the role of UCLA, which could potentially reanimate community and culture by integrating elements of its many programmes with the community, from a Music Department Café to a non-profit writing and tutoring centre for local children. As personal transportation evolves and the relationship between the private car and the street starts to take on different characteristics, it is existing city centres such as Westwood Village that stand to gain the most from new technologies and new approaches to planning and design.

April: The Brief

UCLA's student team is being overseen by Profesor Rebeca Méndez, who works in the University's department of Design / Media Arts. Mendez is widely exhibited and has extensive experience of multimedia work that looks at cultural expression and how it relates to location and place. Her own experience of moving from Mexico City to Los Angeles - with stints in Iceland and the Mexican jungle - have informed her approach to working in and teaching about design, culture and environment. UCLA's DMA program is broad in scope, encouraging students to hone their critical skills using a wide palette of materials and research. Located at the Richard Meier-designed Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center on the northern fringe of UCLA's vast campus, students live and work in the heart of the one of the world's most motor-centric and socially progressive cities. The project is being run through Mendez's Brand Lab scheme and is focusing on Westwood, the home of UCLA, examining the district's myriad complexities, as well as one of its defining characteristics - transitory students. 'My hope is that the students, through their interventions, are able to instill in its population--from senior citizens to visitors to students--an understanding that for a community to be sustainable, each one of its members needs to be responsible in participating with, and caring for, their community, no matter how temporary their stay might be.'

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