Pop Up Greenhouse

High Fall, Pont De Rennes Bridge, Rochester

BFA Sophomore Studio 3

“Land acknowledgements are a stepping stone to honouring broken treaty relationships.”

— Selena Mills

Land Acknowledgement

Haudenosaunee (hoe-dee-no-show-nee) means “people who build a house.” The name refers to a CONFEDERATION or ALLIANCE among six Native American nations who are more commonly known as the Iroquois Confederacy.

The confederacy made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas were intended as a way to unite the nations and create a peaceful means of decision making.

Often described as the oldest, participatory democracy on Earth, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s constitution is believed to be a model for the American Constitution. (Text from haudenosauneeconfederacy.com)

The Wenrohronon or the Wenro People, were an Iroquoian indigenous nation of North America, originally residing in present-day western New York, who were conquered by the Confederation of the Five Nations of the Iroquois in two decisive wars between 1638-1639 and 1643.

Language: Wenrohronon was an Iroquoian language and thus was related to Susquehannock, Wyandot, Erie, and Scahentoarrhonon. (Text from Google)

The Seneca (/ˈsɛnɪkə/) are a group of indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people native to North America who historically lived south of Lake Ontario. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Haudenosaunee in New York before the American Revolution. (Text from Wikipedia)

SENECA (SEN-i-ka), or Onondowahgah, which means “People of the Great Hill.” (Text from americanindian.si.edu/)

Language : Onöndowa’ga:’ Gawë:nö׳ (Text from native-land.ca)

Image of Pont De Rennes Bridge (Google)

Occupants: Government & Public

Originally meant for cars, the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge was actually built as the Platt Street Bridge in 1891, an 858-foot-long, truss bridge.

The bridge was a useful and productive east/west passageway which for decades, provided the only place to catch a glimpse of Rochester’s iconic High Falls. The arrival of the railroad and heavy industrial development in and around the High Falls area had encroached on what had once been a public gathering space, situated at the falls.

The Platt Street Bridge was closed to cars in 1977 and re-opened as the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge in 1982. (Text from highfallsroc.com)

Recent History

After the defeat of Great Britain in the American revolution. Many native Americans, including the Iroquois, were coerced into giving up their land.

In 1780 land speculators Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham negotiated the purchase of 2.6 million acres from the seneca Indians.

By spring 1789, Ebenezer Allen's grist mill was completed, and he moved on to the tract, becoming the first resident of what is now Rochester. Eventually, the mill site was purchased by a group of Marylanders in 1803.

This group consisted of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Major Charles Carroll, and Colonel William Fitzhugh. In 1817 the Village Rochesterville was officially so named, and the City of Rochester was incorporated in 1834.

(Text from Rochester Public Library)

By 1950, the population of the city had grown slightly to 332,488, but Rochester was now only the 32nd largest city in the United States. During the 1950s, Xerox Corporation expanded as it exploited Chester Carlson's xerography patents. Xerox went on to become the world leader in xerographic imaging, designing and manufacturing many of its famous products in the Rochester area. Eastman Kodak continued to dominate the film and camera industry and was Rochester's leading industrial employer.

The population of the City of Rochester at the 2000 census was 219,773, down 33.9% from its peak in 1950.

(Text from Peck, William F. (William Farley), 1840-1908 History of Rochester and Monroe County)

Rochester 1838 (RocWiki)

Issue Impacting the Community

Rochester has been hit harder than the national average when it comes to job loss due to COVID-19
Rochester has had a net loss of nearly 52,000 jobs since March.
Hardest hit are the retail and hospitality industries: accounting for 50 percent of all jobs lost.
The good news is our consumer spending is back in the positive, but a lot of that money may be going to online giants like Amazon.
“All the motivations that led to the creation of ROC 2025 in the first place, slower job growth rate, less regional GDP growth compared to our peers, too little income growth, I think those all take on even greater urgency in the wake of the pandemic,” Stefko said. (Local expert.)
Rochester Downtown Development will be hosting two more events in the coming months: a vision for the future will be discussed in December, and rebuilding strategies will be discussed in February.

Snoway Days
All datas & Images from Bestplace.net — Snoway Days All datas & Images from Bestplace.net

Site Study

Statement

High Falls Pont De Rennes Bridge is a great sightseeing spot. By the weather pattern and the low employment rate in Rochester, people tend to move out of Rochester. I think this space is underestimated, and most people visit the space are the local citizen.
I propose to build a greenhouse at the High Falls Terrace Platform, which Located near the High Falls and the Pont De Rennes Bridge in Rochester, NY. Rochester is the second greyest city in the United States. In eight months of winter, some people suffer a lot from the winter limitations here. And seasonal affective disorder became a social and psychological problem that cannot be ignored. Having a greenhouse in the winter can bring some greenery to people's views and help mentally
The greenhouse can be the highlight of the sight of the high falls. It provides a situated space for people to relax and visit. The bridge itself and the greenhouse themselves are really structural, but the plants are soft and ductile.
I wish to gather the local community in the winter and propose an activity to do in the long winter. Also, the main goal is to help people with seasonal affective disorder and people feeling depressive in the period of time. The greenhouse is one publicity and educating the popular science to the community about the native plants in the New York States. And the environment can be the indirect stakeholder in this case.

Design Intervation

Issues, Needs & Local Condition:

Rochester is the second greyest city in the country, and it has a low comfort index. The sky is grey because of its location between The Great Lakes. Surrounded by water North and west. And the winds traveling from the lakes towards us with high levels of precipitation.

Some people suffer a lot from the winter limitations here. And the seasonal affective disorder became the social and psychological problems that cannot be ignored.

It’s more like 8 months of winter in Rochester. During that time you can’t walk anywhere or do any outdoor activities (except Skiing). It’s dark super early and everything closes early too. (You’ll go into a restaurant and no one will be there and it’s only 8 pm.) The sky is grey. While you’re stuck indoors it’s quite dark, that midway point where even if you turn on the lights it doesn’t help.

People aren't willing to stay in Rochester due low employment rate and the weather pattern. Depopulation is a big issue. If people keep leaving the city, this great place might become an "abandon city" in the future.

Low employment rate due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People need more jobs opportunity to live and the reason to stay in Rochester.

Seasonal Affective Disorder:

A mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year. The seasonal affective disorder occurs in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal.

Seasonal Affective Disorder:

A mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year. The seasonal affective disorder occurs in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal.

Direct Stakeholders:

Citizen of Rochester, Visitors of Rochester, Rochester Government

Indirect Stakeholders:

Environment & Animals.

Relationship to permanent surroundings:

The goal is to promote the high falls this amazing sightseeing spot. This application is to help the location get more maintenance and not be "abandon" by people.

Time Relation & How will it change over time:

The construction pieces can be reassembled like a Lego model. It can be removed and build up easily.
The materials of the project will be eco-friendly, such as rammed earth, wool, and wood. They can be decomposed easily and be the nutrients for the soil.

Why makes it temporary?

The project is designed as seasonal, which is supporting people on cold days and encourage people to come outdoor to see the landscape and enjoy nature. And this is not applicable for warm seasons. Furthermore, people might get tired of a single presentation. It's a good chance to let more people acknowledge the site and bring their ideas here and perform it to the people here.

Can it travel to other locations?

This program applies anywhere.
Most of the construction pieces can be re-assembled and reuse.
Most of the construction material can be recused or recycle.

Precedents/ Case Study

Sketches

Orientation:

In North America, the optimal orientation for a greenhouse is usually directly south or southeast, because in cold climates it’s important to capture the early morning sun. An east-facing orientation can work as well, especially if there is some glazing with southern exposure. In most situations, western orientation or exposure should be avoided because of the potential to overheat. (In regions where it’s cloudy for most of the winter, such as the Northwest, orientation is less important because the cloud cover diffuses sunlight over the entire sky.)

Length-Width Proportions:

A good rule of thumb is a 3:1 size ratio. The sun has a lot more time in the day to heat up space with a long east-west axis.

Roof Slope

At EcoSystems Design people always plan for a 6/12 slope to shed heavy snow loads, depending on the climate of the region. Because the greenhouse is warmer than the outside air, a layer of snowmelt often forms between polycarbonate glazing and snow, helping the roof to shed any snow of significant weight. (Related to the roof slope is the freeboard, the space between the lowest point of the roof and the ground. In areas with heavy snow, at least 3 or 4 feet is good to have so that snow won’t pile back up onto the greenhouse roof or obstruct any vents.)

(Resources from chelseagreen.com)