Abstract
This paper explains the construction and culture of the Forestiere Underground Gardens in California. Forestiere built the structure at a time when people sought ways of evading severe climatic conditions. The purpose of the study is to describe the construction of the Forestiere Underground Gardens, the civilization, architecture and culture at the time. The research also explores the factors that led to the building of the gardens. It also examines how a modern underground structure would appear. It is evident that the gardens belong to the ancient Roman architecture. The Forestiere Underground Gardens use and reflect local materials and traditions.
Introduction
The Forestiere Underground Gardens lie in 5021 West Shaw Street in Fresno area, California. The gardens are about 40 years old. Baldasare Forestiere is the man responsible for building the gardens. He was an immigrant from Sicily. He was a Silicon refugee who moved to the United States in the year 1901 to avoid the tyrannical rule of his rich father. The gardens comprised of pathways, courts, and grottos that provided shelter to people who fled from harsh environmental conditions. This paper describes the construction and civilization of the Forestiere Underground Gardens. The study evaluates the ancient architecture and how Forestiere built the gardens. The research makes comparisons with modern architecture. The paper uses different ancient plans, and literature to draw a comparison between the architectural prototypes.
The culture and civilization of the Forestiere Underground Gardens Forestiere constructed the Forestiere Underground Gardens during the civilization of ancient Roman architecture and religious tabernacles. Roman arches, columns, and domes built the tabernacles. Mr. Forestiere borrowed architectural ideas from the ancient Roman construction designs. Ancient Roman architecture created room for the promotion of new building styles. The Romans emulated the actions of their ancestors who made similar architectural formats. They wanted to work hard to produce new skills and improve on what their forefathers had created. The subject matter of Roman architecture involved the development of the standards of living of people in ancient times and solution of different problems in the society. Roman architecture thrived in the society during Forestiere’s earlier years, and he drew a lot of inspiration from the designs. Various attributes in the society like riches, population growth in towns and harsh climate compelled the Romans to design new types of architecture. The Romans wanted to make life easy for others. They responded to every societal challenge with new architectural designs. For instance, they used vaults and arches as a response to the need for improvement of the power of the structures. This necessity to increase the knowledge of buildings by the Romans spread throughout the world. Leaders across the globe adopted most of the skills of ancient Roman architecture.
Construction materials made it easy for the Romans to attain progress in the construction sector. For example, Forestiere built the Forestiere Underground Gardens in California to address the challenge of unfavorable climatic conditions of summer and winter. The gardens provided an escape route for heat during the summer and for the extreme cold during winter. In addition, Forestiere built the gardens during the age of the tabernacles. Romans built tabernacles as unique places of worship. Tabernacles were common structures thousands of years ago during the ancient Roman architecture. They were among the most common buildings at the time. They were popular sacred resorts. The building of tabernacles was common between 1864 and 1875. Most tabernacles stood the test of time despite the difficult situations in which the builders constructed them (Lancaster 15).
The layout of the Forestiere Underground Gardens was a classical representation of vernacular architecture. This form of construction had a basis on localized needs and raw materials. It also reflected local traditions. The Forestiere Underground Gardens used locally available materials. The gardens were an inspiration of ancient tombs. The structure also used natural lighting by allowing inlets in the pathways. This architectural design evolved due to transformations in culture, history, environment and technology. It was reminiscent of high artistic content related to police architecture.
The society
The construction, design and overall impact of the Forestiere Underground Garden succeeded in symbolizing and reflecting the society of the times. The lasting influence and overall impression of the gardens can be attributed to the fact that, in many ways, the garden was a symbol of American mentality. People always sought ways of avoiding the harsh environmental conditions of the summer and winter seasons.
The construction of the gardens
Forestiere’s underground exploration introduced an unprecedented architectural masterpiece in the world. It was a different invention after the traditional catacombs that he had grown seeing as a teenager. Pathways and arches dominated the Forestiere Underground Gardens. The stone-walls provided stability for the landscape of the gardens. They also added to the beauty of the construction. The interior of the garden illuminated the structure with natural lighting from courtyards and grottos from the radiations of the earth’s surface. This point brought out the difference between the catacombs and the gardens. Forestiere built the current structure without a master plan. He conceived the idea of the gardens in the course of building it. He came up with the ideas and implemented the design of the structure. This perspective was a unique application of architectural skills (Forestiere Historical Center 1).
Forestiere constructed the building to counter the hot summers that had negative effects on the Fresno area. The structure drew inspiration from the ancient Roman mausoleums that Mr. Baldasare had grown knowing. He built the structures by excavating the hardpan layer present in Fresonian soils and creating a rare underground construction. The structure comprised of several units like kitchens and bathrooms.
The structure included beautiful walls, archways, and lawns. These structures were reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture. The archways and courtyard designs allowed the penetration of natural light into the structure. The gardens contained complex pathways that covered a distance of 10 acres in each area.
The builder made excavations for the construction of the building through stones mixed with other conditioners. Forestiere employed natural manure like sand to prepare the underground lawns and orchards in the set up. One of the interesting facts about Forestiere is that he had no formal education. He only drew inspiration from his observations of the ancient Roman buildings in his native country. This fact gave him the experience to construct the underground gardens.
Tools and labor
Forestiere used simple tools for his building. He employed farming tools to build the underground gardens. The main task was to excavate the hardpan to make way for the structure. He dug, chipped and carved difficult hardpan soils for about 40 years (1906-1946). He performed the majority of the work during his spare time. He had the determination to proceed and realize his dream. He did not stop. He got the inspiration to continue his impressive work. His hard work was successful, and he planted different types of fruits in various locations.
Materials used by Forestiere
The Forestiere Underground Gardens were permanent structures. The construction used solid, heavy, and durable materials. He developed these materials from wall excavations to improve the durability of the structures and the stability of the underground gardens. The builder employed labor intensive techniques to construct the gardens. He made extensive excavations on the hard pan soils to create space for the landscapes of the structure. The age of vernacular architecture was the most accurate form of addressing human needs. Forestiere utilized hand-made hardpan materials he had dug to complete the preparation of the ground. This aspect was essential in leveling the landscape of the gardens (Forestiere Historical Center 1).
Design
The pattern of the garden assumed the form of the ancient catacombs. Forestiere allowed for the illumination of natural light into the gardens. He succeeded by carving skylight patterns in the underground part. In addition, he managed to link rooms and courtyards with pathways where people would visualize other segments of the structure from their rooms. This idea led to the creation of vistas within the structure. Forestiere built the gardens by including three basement levels. He constructed the first stage up to a maximum of 10 feet deep. The design enhanced smooth drainage of water from the upper to lower chambers of the underground compartments and pathways. Forestiere created the rare design in order to increase the stability of the structure and control water.
The design of the underground gardens allowed the building to have physical laboratory air currents. This idea helped to accelerate the air and create drafts. Forestiere designed the components to be narrow with a view of slowing the speed of air. He structured the passageways in slanting positions, and others took the form of curves. This fact allowed for the spread of cool air along the corridors. It also helped to send warmth to a different section of the garden.
The conical shape of the skylight light in the residential quarters was also necessary and unique. It allowed for the flow of air by allowing warm underground currents to rise and out of the opening quickly with the cool air remaining below the ground of the gardens. Forestiere adopted the Venturi Concept that was popular at the time. This application enabled the underground gardens to maintain temperatures through air circulations. In addition, the walls of the underground living chambers possessed curved shapes that resembled up-side down containers. This aspect allowed for extra support to the underground garden (Forestiere Historical Center 1). Members of the Forestiere family were in charge of running the structure through the Forestiere Historical Center.
The garden
Forestiere managed to plant trees at various points of the gardens. Most of the trees contained fruits. The fruits blossomed within two weeks. The role of the underground fruits was to protect the structure from frost. Forestiere thought that planting fruits of diverse varieties underground would be valuable in eliminating ice from the structure. Mr. Forestiere was an uneducated builder and took about 40 years doing most of the excavation and landscaping of the structure.
A number of trees stood above and below the maze units. This view was valuable because the trees produced food inside the structure and acted as “insulators” against heat from the environment. Vines and branches began to show canopies which shielded people from severe environmental conditions. Forestiere knew that the earth acted like a natural insulator from the weather. This fact made the gardens cool in summer and warm in the winter. The vegetation in the garden became a perfect hiding place from the harsh climatic variations for the garden’s visitors.
In terms of spiritual artistry derived from the Roman Catholic Church, Forestiere’s design of the garden reflected biblical numerals and graphics that were symbolic of God throughout the paintings and diggings of the structure. The presence of the numbers “three” and “seven” in most of the rooms of the structure provided evidence of this account. In addition, tree grafts and plant shapes in the structure also portrayed the biblical “numbers”. Forestiere used these designs to convey a spiritual message about the setting of the structure. He built a chapel that linked the gardens to the seven entrances of the structure and the underground grapevine. The grapevine held a stem with 3 branches that penetrated through the stone fence. Forestiere built the Trinity Courtyard or Central Patio in a triangular design. Three trees and other plant varieties surrounded the Trinity Courtyard. The central part of the gardens supported an ancient grapevine that held three branches. The grapevine bore good fruits despite being 100 years old. The conservationists mainly preserved it for religious arts (Forestiere Historical Center 1). The shape of the underground gardens contained a special acoustic effect that prevented noise made by echoes.
A contemporary perspective of the Forestiere Gardens
The Forestiere Underground Gardens of contemporary times would be different in diverse ways. The building would involve contemporary technology (Yunker, 34). Architects, designers and structural engineers would introduce many changes to Forestiere’s work if his structures were to be rebuilt in contemporary times. The US government would lay down measures, protocols, policies, and procedures to be adhered to by the owners of the construction site before the actual work starts. The state would involve many departments before the actual building of structures like site drawings, architectural designs and other environmental, economic, legal and social policies. In modern architecture, the gardens would be built using complete architectural plans. Mr. Forestiere would have to present floor, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and landscaping plans for certification by relevant authorities. The designers would print these plans on many hard copies and maintain electronic copies for reference during the actual building of the structure.
However, similar underground gardens would be built with the help of various experts. Only skilled professionals would take part in the construction of modern Forestiere Underground Gardens. Qualified planners would approve the site requirements for the structure. An architect would draw the floor plans, elevations and roof. An engineer would create the mechanical, electrical and drainage plans and designs for the strength of the structure. A quantity surveyor would draft the costs for the project to create room for financial planning (Wenz, 38). Modern environmental regulations would require approvals for the construction of every stage of the structure. The planner would approve the building to allow for progression. All the mentioned regulations did not exist during Mr. Forestiere’s times when he created the structure. He created the structure alone without taking consideration of its environmental effects. Mr.Forestiere’s construction would require competitive bidding for a contractor to undertake the building work. It would require the company with the best reputation to win the tender for building the structure. In addition, other subcontractors for different elements like electricity installation, landscaping or interior design would also be appointed on a competitive basis.
The construction of the gardens would begin from the basement. The contractor would use heavy machineries like tractors to dig and reinforce the foundation according to the floor plans. The contractors would use concrete to strengthen the foundation of the gardens. They would select a foundation that correlates with the soil types. The hardpan would be effective in supporting the structure. The foundation would cover a big part of the ground. In addition, iron rods would be used to reinforce it. Pipes would be fixed to allow for perforation and prevent the collapse of walls. The engineers would use reinforced concrete rather than hauling solid blocks of sandstone. The structure would use metal brackets in the basement walls to enhance its strength. The floor would be made of steel girder and concrete. In addition, builders would construct columns on the basement to support the floor. Steel would be used to fasten the roof of the gardens. Steel arches would be used to support the roof.
The arches would be used to add strength to the roofing material. Modern architecture would avoid wooden shingles. Tar roofing paper would be placed first. This aspect would give the structure a pleasant look. The necessary fire protection, electrical wiring, and ventilation ducts would be installed before fixing the ceiling.. A modern underground garden would have a similar shape and apply the use of modern technology. Electricity would enhance the lighting in the gardens to improve on visibility. A soundboard would be installed to reduce echoes throughout the gardens. In addition, engineers would install a modern sound system throughout the structure to improve communication of users within the building (Slaton 20). The original tabernacle lacked all of these components at the time of its construction.
Conclusion
The Forestiere Underground Gardens of California were without doubt a sight to behold. It was a resort where people would escape to during extreme weather effects. This essay examined the course Forestiere took to build the gardens. However, Forestiere’s structure contained a majority of the features of a good design like strength, skylight and water. The drainage of the structure was also efficient. The landscaping of the gardens, pathways, and rooms were fascinating.
The vernacular system is not common in modern architecture. Its advantages comprise of reducing energy costs and improving the sustainability of a building. Many of the fruits in the garden are about a century old but still continue to bear fruits. The garden also contributes to the aesthetic nature of the structure. The paper explains that there would be differences if a similar underground garden would be built today. This study gives tribute to Mr. Forestiere for inspiring many architects in contemporary times. The research acknowledges the fact that Mr. Forestiere symbolizes the raw talent that is prevalent in the society today. The society must recognize the rare architectural abilities in the youthful generation. This fact can only be realized in schools through the promotion of arts and design as compulsory subjects.
Works cited
Forestiere Historical Center 2013, Forestiere Underground Gardens. Web.
Lancaster, Lynne. Concrete Vaulted Construction in Imperial Rome, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.Print.
Slaton, Amy. Reinforce Concrete and the Modernization of American Building 1900- 1930. Baltimore, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.Print.
Wenz, Peter. Take Back the Center: Progressive Taxation for a New Progressive Agenda, Massachusetts, USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012.Print.
Yunker, James. Economic Justice: The Market Socialist Vision, Maryland, United States of America: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.Print.