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EARTH STUDIO, SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CALI-BAJA

Urban Design Studio III , 2026

Columbia GSAPP, M.S. Architecture and Urban Design Program

Teaching team: Iñaki Echeverría & Gabriel Vergara - Coordinators,  Geeta Mehta Adriana Chávez, Akemi Sato, Lidia Ratoi ,Associate: Dutt Patel 

 

EN

This studio explored notions of soft infrastructure as they impact the environmental, social and economic systems for the Cali-Baja binational region, a transboundary territory between Mexico and the United States.

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Its two major cities - San Diego and Tijuana - form a continuous metropolitan conurbation with an estimated population of 5.6 million people. Defined by a constant flow of people, goods and services across the border and a shared ecosystem composed by rivers, estuaries and coastal landscapes, the region functions as a unique bio-cultural system increasingly strained by the presence of hard infrastructures. The border wall and its associated surveillance apparatus, for example, not only constrain human mobility but also disrupt the way ecosystems function. These hard physical barriers cause localized habitat destruction by interfering with hydrological flows, fragmenting ecosystems and disrupting wildlife migration patterns. In addition, other forms of hard infrastructures - such as for car oriented transportation, fluvial control systems involving channelized rivers and streams and large-scale industrial complexes - exert additional pressure on both the ecological functioning and social fabric of the region.

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Collectively, these infrastructures operate within a global framework of commodity and capital flows that exploit local conditions of inequality and the vulnerability of underserved communities affected by economic and political turbulence as well as environmental changes. Functioning largely in a mono-functional manner, they exacerbate and reproduce environmental problems across the border. For instance, deficiencies in Tijuana’s sewage systems result in high levels of water pollution in Imperial Beach in the U.S. Conversely, discarded materials, trash and waste from California are partially reused locally in Tijuana, where they are reintegrated into local circular economies.

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STUDIO REPORT

EARTH STUDIO, LANDSCAPES OF REPAIR

Urban Design Studio III , 2025

Columbia GSAPP, M.S. Architecture and Urban Design Program

Teaching team: Kate Orff - Coordinator, Emanuel Admassu, Sebastian Delpino, Geeta Mehta, Lucas Coelho Netto, Gabriel Vergara, Associate: Shrey Patel 

 

EN

Exploring the Energy Transition & Urban Design in Brazil + Chile:

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This studio explored how the race to decarbonize is driving landscape change and urban design practice in the electro-digital age. The shape of energy is changing the shape of our cities. The relative abundance of cheap, subsidized oil in the past century has shaped settlement patterns of self-devouring growth, locking in carbon dioxide emissions at dangerously high levels and imperiling life on planet Earth (see Petrochemical America, 2012).

 

We explored the supply chain of metals and elements powering the energy transition ( lithium, copper, zinc, manganese) alongside the resultant urban and environmental changes in mining and built patterns. We also explored landscapes and spaces in the wake of fossil fuel extraction, including former oil refineries, well sites, and processing plants.

 

With our academic partners, we not only studied the negative impacts caused but also how and where potential positive investments and urban patterns can take shape on the ground in the form of community benefit agreements and urban design scenarios. The Studio developed bold concepts for retrofitting existing urban patterns to be less carbon-consumptive and for moving toward new forms of urbanism aligned with a more just energy transition.

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STUDIO REPORT

THE ALL NEW NEW LONDON TOWN 

LDAR 2204 ‐ Constructed Landscapes , 2024

Rhode Island School of Design, Landscape Department

Instructors: Gabriel Vergara, Jacob Mitchell

 

EN

Many American cities today face the complex legacy of large-scale development and massive infrastructure construction of the latter 20th century. The so-called Urban Renewal program, which was heavily invested in infrastructure—primarily focused on the development of highways—aimed to improve poorly developed areas. The efforts however, often ended up displacing some of the most vulnerable residents of cities. Urban Renewal programs frequently created or reinforced spatial segregation of residents along race and class lines and led to fragmentation of many neighborhoods.

 

This study focused on New London, a city heavily impacted by urban renewal. Located in a deep-water port, New London has historically had a significant relationship with its river. In the 19th century, it was a national center for the whaling industry and, in the 20th century, a prominent site for the maritime defense industry. Today, the city faces a long-standing urban and economic stagnation that seems not to have recovered from the urban renewal era.

 

Through a critical reading of the city's history and the events that have shaped its current urban form, this study seeks to reimagine downtown New London. We delved into the composition of new works of urban design (landscape, architecture, and programming) aimed at restoring and revitalizing the public life in the city and its economic prospects. To do this, we examined the potential of a series of open lots and their opportunities for restoring the urban fabric and creating a continuous pedestrian experience, formed by a network of open public spaces, programmed buildings, and other urban amenities intended to nurture street life and pluralism in New London.  

PALACES OF CARE STUDIO 

Taller de Proyectos Interdisciplinar VI, 2023

Campus Creativo UNAB

Instructors: Gabriel Vergara, Guillermo Muller

 

EN

The “Palaces of Care” Studio is a continuation of the inquiry into the role of social infrastructure in the urban context. The studio focuses on understanding social Infrastructure as a critical urban and architectural piece that fosters and facilitates connections among diverse groups of people.

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The Palaces of Care Studio responds to Eric Klinenberg’s book “Palaces For The People.” The studio encourages students to design spaces that bring “luxury” to the public, aiming for students to envision built environments that foster equity and social well-being.

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This year, UNAB requested to frame all Interdisciplinary Studies VI under the theme of feminism. In response, we focus on social infrastructure from a gender perspective and analyze its role in different forms of care.

 

The studio is divided into three different units or assignments. In the first part of the studio, students conduct  fieldwork through site visits, video exercises and interviews with relevant actors and users, they develop a spatial narrative of the social infrastructure on the Storymap platform. (LINK TO STORYMAPS >>>)

 

In the next unit, students develop a 'Graphic Essay' and site analysis based on the information collected in unit one, through this exercise they  establish a problem, a framework for action, and possible project triggers. 

 

In the third unit, each student explores a specific architectural response to the social infrastructures investigated. Drawing on the lessons learned, students propose spatial actions such as addition, expansion, maintenance, and restoration.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES STUDIO

Taller de Proyectos Integrador V, 2023

Campus Creativo UNAB

Instructors: Gabriel Vergara, Guillermo Muller

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EN

In his book “Palaces for the People”’ Eric Klinenberg investigates social infrastructures and their function as shared spaces that facilitate connections among people who may not typically interact. The studio focuses on understanding social Infrastructure as a critical urban and architectural piece that fosters and facilitates connections among diverse groups of people.

 

By delving into neighborhoods and urban pieces of the fabric of Viña Del Mar students design spaces that bring “luxury” to the public. The studio aims for students to envision built environments that foster equity and social well-being. 

 

The studio is divided into three different units or assignments. In the first part of the studio, students conduct  fieldwork through site visits, video exercises and interviews with relevant actors and users, they develop a spatial narrative of the social infrastructure on the Storymap platform.  (LINK TO STORYMAPS >>>)

 

In the next unit, students develop a 'Graphic Essay' and site analysis based on the information collected in unit one, through this exercise they  establish a problem, a framework for action, and possible project triggers. 

 

In the third unit, each student explores a specific architectural response to the social infrastructures investigated. Drawing on the lessons learned, students propose spatial actions such as addition, expansion, and restoration.

RETROACTIVE LANDSCAPES STUDIO 

Taller IV & V: Territorio y Paisaje, 2022

Campus Creativo UNAB

Instructors: Gabriel Vergara, Sebastian Villagran

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EN

The ‘Retroactive Landscapes’ studio introduces students to the intricacies of the urban environment and its ecological variables, taking a multispecies perspective that connects all relevant actors within the city’s ecosystems.

 

In the initial assignment, the studio focused on different ecosystems within the Marga Marga basin. Through temporal mapping, students analyze and spatially visualize the territorial variables of: hydrographic, topographic, ecosystem, and urban dynamics. Overlaying these variables enabled them to pinpoint specific study sites.

 

In the subsequent assignment, students identified intervention strategies. They create time-based maps and videos depicting the territorial dynamics previously analyzed on-site. Each student also explored and speculated about new interactions between human and non-human actors relevant to the site.

 

Finally, each student critically examined and designed trans-scalar urban landscapes in response to ecosystem dynamics. Through retroactive proposals, students generated their own reflections and ideas, resulting in a diverse range of projects. These projects encompassed activities such as sediment management, dune and stream restoration, habitat creation, and the development of community spaces.

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LINK TO STORYMAPS >>>

Gabriel Vergara | Architecture & Urban Design

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