Borrowing from the writings of James Rojas, Rasquache Paramétrico celebrates Chicanx Urbanism in a way that flattens discussions surrounding Euro-centric design hegemony
Rasquache - a Nahuatl term originally meant as derogatory has been redefined as a description of Chicanx Urbanism by urbanist author James Rojas. Cultural expression, spatial justice, and implementation of public services that cities have failed to provide to disenfranchised communities are some of the hallmarks of Rasquache Urbanism. By harnessing these visual sensibilities and scratch-built community systems, students will develop a Comprehensive Plan of ecological, cultural, and economic independence for residents of East and South Los Angeles. Students will use parametric tools to maximize the spatial and volumetric requirements for the optimal efficiency of measurable environmental systems. This studio aims to celebrate the Latinx vernacular of Los Angeles through parametric implementation of existing landscape systems. Successful projects will explore the intersection of socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and visual representational systems.
This studio will harvest the Southern California vernacular of Chicanx Urbanism to implement a comprehensive plan across several Los Angeles neighborhoods. This visual and cultural sensibility has the capacity to generate a positive ecological model for residents that have otherwise been forgotten by city planners and policy makers. Rather than focusing on the Euro-centric notion of individual ownership of land and property, this project will treat a neighborhood block as a shared space, co-owned by the residents of that block. Space will be maximized through parametric processes for the optimal generation of energy, water, food, shelter, etc. for the block’s residents.
This third-year undergraduate landscape architecture studio was written and taught by myself in the Fall Semester of 2020 at Cal Poly Pomona. It should be noted that this studio transitioned into virtual instruction and production during the first quarantine of 2020 as a result of the COVID 19 global pandemic.
La Monarcha
Jonathan Davila explores the infrastructural inadequacies of the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles while focusing on a handful of synanthropic species. His visual exploration of the Rasquache vernacular contributes to the final design intervention that aims to equalize access to food.
Rasq-Watts
My favorite part of the day is at the end when everyone comes home and gathers around. I can feel the warmth and love from the inside. I have seen different families throughout the years—so many happy and sad memories. Everyone leaves a mark that makes me who I am. I am the shelter that keeps them safe. The people decorate me, and they help me flourish. Every year I get old, but I am still hanging on. My family just installed this flat thing on top of me, they say that it is to capture energy from the sun. It is cool because I just do not have it, so do my other neighbors. Makes me look like I am from the future. Soon after, they installed rain gutters connected to barrels. They used that to water the white roses that they started to grow. My neighbors and I are having a completion on who can expand our flower garden faster. During the last round, she won. But no matter what new technology they install, they keep me, me. I am never bored. Last week, they gave me a cool new paint job; they called it limon verde and added plants. They keep me full of color. Growing up, my parents always kept to themselves. They worked hard and did not do much socializing. I guess that is why I do not do much socializing either. I try. Anyway, as I reach the front of my house, I see my neighbors outside talking and laughing. They always call me to come over, but I am not interested. Instead, I take a pulse and sit by the orange tree that our neighborhood planted. The aroma of citrus is calming. My mama always made me orange juice. The box stuff was too expensive. When it is time to harvest, I put a box with oranges for the neighbors. Others do that too. Some have limes, guava, or peaches. These rain barrels, they really help with watering the trees. The sun is setting, and today we have the famous LA pink sky. It is magical. Kids are playing, those little brown birds fighting within the trees. We have a basketball hoop that we use to play with our neighbors till late at night. The sun enters my room. The smell of Cafe de olla fills the room and wakes me up. My mamá yells, "ya levantate". Every Saturday, she sells tamales right outside our house, and we help. Come try them. You will not miss us. We are the lime green house a few houses down the Watts Towers. It looks like we might have rain in the upcoming days, so my papá cleans the gutters. We have this rainwater capturing system that my dad and neighbor build. They used some of the old gates to make a structure to put more solar panels. Okay, I must go. I need to help mama, then head over to the towers to create a new painting.
Alejandra Hernandez
La Casa Rosa de Lucy
Aracely Fonseca explores her design interventions through the use of non-traditional design representation in an effort for her story to reach a larger audience of non-designers
Rasquache Paramétrico
“Vita, Vita wait for me i want to go with you”
“Ok vamonos”
“Where are we going vita”
“We’re going to Dona Carmen's house, she's going to give us oranges that have been falling
from her tree”
“Vita look, it's a fish!”
“Where, Emi we’re on the street”
“On the ground look, and there's another one and look there's a butterfly”
“Oh Emi those are just shadows, come on lets keep going”
“But Vita look the butterfly is sad because it's far from its friend the fishy”
“De qué hablan” Doña Carmen asked
“Oh esta Emi, está hablando de las sobras del tejado”
“ aw que linda, here's the oranges, there's so many this year we don’t know what to do with them”
“I know I saw your hole street has the trees full with them”
“Yah were all trying to get rid of them”
“ Well thank you for the oranges, Emi and I love them we’re going to get going now, thanks again”
“Ok con cuidado, se van por la sombrita”
“Vita can I can an orange please”
“ Ok let's take a break, lets sit on the bench, ten aqui esta, don’t get dirty,”
“ Vita look the fishy is getting closer to the bird”
“ yah it looks like it is, it reminds me of home, Emi did I ever tell you where I grew up?”
“No Vita, was there fishes and butterflies there too?”
“Hahaha no Emi, I grew up in a small pueblito en una vecidad Doña Carmen was my neighbor.
She and I would play in the small patio around the lavadores, it was kind of like this, all the
people lived around and the moms would watch us from the windows as we played. Our favorite
thing to do was make up stories when they put up papel picado. I would choose the animal and
Carmen would choose the people. In our stories the people where too far away from each other so they used the animals in between to send messages”
“That's what the fishie is doing here too Vita! Its telling me it wants to go back to the sea but it can because its trapped in the shadow”
“Oh Emi que ocurrencias, come on let's go home”
“But Vita I don’t want to go yet! I want to see how the fishie and the butterfly finally meet”
“Ok Emi we’ll stay a little longer, you can play with the other kids and I’ll go talk to Dona Carmen in the meantime”
“Thank you Vita”
Elizabeth Zarate
