http://www.facebook.com/album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.
Superfund Process
16 years ago
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thesis Travel
Currently, I am traveling in the Balkans for 2 months, with two weeks in Prishtina for specific meetings and site work. Photos of the travel can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2603698&id=12401542&l=e6cd511c84
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2617541&id=12401542&l=627666bd41
http://www.facebook.com/album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Travel
The travel component of my research is starting to take shape. The largest development in this occured last week when I was awarded the Schlossman Research Grant to help fund my trip. I am very excited and appreciate it very much; it has allowed me to really extend my travel and get to places I may not otherwise have. The trip will be July 1-August 9; during this time I'll be in Kosovo, as well as Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania. Can't wait!
*The public exhibition of our Thesis proposals will be this Friday, May 1, 10-noon. More info to follow!
*The public exhibition of our Thesis proposals will be this Friday, May 1, 10-noon. More info to follow!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thesis Committee
It's official! I have a Thesis committee!
Advisor: Mark Jarzombek (SA+P Associate Dean; HTC Professor)
Reader: Adèle Naudé Santos (SA+P Dean; Design Professor)
Reader: Alexander D'Hooghe (Design Professor)
Advisor: Mark Jarzombek (SA+P Associate Dean; HTC Professor)
Reader: Adèle Naudé Santos (SA+P Dean; Design Professor)
Reader: Alexander D'Hooghe (Design Professor)
Design Assignment
To clarify and condense our Theses into something concrete, the Thesis prep group was given a funny assignment. Andrew (Scott, Thesis prep coordinator) asked us to write our Thesis as if it were a studio brief. It, like everything else, is just a draft and subject to MANY future revisions, but I thought I'd share it here.
******************************************
Design Assignment
Conceptual Context:
In recent years, societies have been homogenized from trends toward Globalization and consolidation. These trends have been advancing both economically and structurally. Today, there is a reaction against the notion of globalization is a positive and inevitable trend going forward. Fallout from the current global financial meltdown is an example of this. A new model of operation, both economically and socially, will be needed for the discipline of architecture.
The discipline of architecture is inextricably linked to these trends. In the global condition, architects operate as metaphorical tourists, traveling to new countries with each project. Often, architects often have little knowledge of the locality in which they operate. When top architects operate in this manner, as ‘archi-tourists’, they produce literal tourist destinations. This tourism produces a false identity for their localities.
Addressing new possibilities for the relationship of global and local through the lens of tourism can become a model for the future of practice. The project takes a context which has a direct confrontational relationship between global and local and addresses this relationship through architecture. Specifically, this project seeks to empower the local in this relationship. How can localities, which have in recent architectural history been subordinated or ‘exoticized’, re-assert agency in the architectural process? Beyond how this relationship is defined, what architecture would be produced in this redefined relationship?
Design Assignment:
The critical project to address this question is located in the new nation-state of The Republic of Kosovo. As it currently stands, Kosovo has declared Independence and is partially recognized as the newest Nation-State. The last several decades of Kosovo’s history has been at once tumultuous and defining for its identity. Kosovo has a complex relationship to the global; global powers have governed, policed, and financed the state for over a decade. In this sense, Kosovo has many similarities to a post-colonial state.
In recognizing that this global connection is essential to Kosovo, the new country needs to use this international presence to address the redefinition of global-local and satisfy its own pressing need to establish the legitimacy of its new government. The project will therefore be a capital complex for the government of Kosovo, opportunistically funded and provided by international presences within Kosovo.
The project will be designed for two separate programs removed from each other in time. The international presence, defined by UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) will provide a network of structures for an international expo introducing Kosovo to the world order through tourism. This global act is inherently subverted: a rule-set for design and construction of the expo will ensure that the architecture is intended for the local program of the capital complex.
The uneasy alliance between the two programs will necessitate a redefinition of both. The global expo, through the design rules, will have to address locality in an unprecedented way for world expos. The capital complex is forced to address its own contingency and reliance on the global presence within its boundaries. The capital complex also cannot be idealized as in historical precedent; in dovetailing with a highly public and touristic program, the architecture will have to redefine the government’s relationship to its constituent public in terms of integration and transparency with the urban context.
Physical Context:
Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, is the location of the project. The specific site is to be determined by the student relative to their scheme, whether they operate in one location, disperse throughout the city, etc: the whole city is fair game.
The project will operate on 2 scales
o Urban: The student will first develop a scheme for the location and integration of the expo complex will be developed at an urban scale.
o Architectural: the student will then develop--to a high level of architectural development--a small number of specific buildings in the site. Ideally, this would consist of two buildings within the program. These components of the project serve as rule-set “tests”
Process of Inquiry:
1. Spring Semester
• Prior to the beginning of the studio, the students will organize to collect all necessary research and documentation relative to the program and site.
2. Summer Travel
• The Studio will travel over the summer for site investigation within Kosovo.
• Students will define their site strategy in order to collect all necessary site documentation
3. Fall Semester
• Assignment 1: Urban scale Scheme
• Assignment 2: Architectural Rule-set and project tests
o Testing and revision will be a repetitive process throughout the semester.
o A majority of the fall studio will focus on this component of the project.
Issues addressed during the design
• Urban scale issues
o Connectivity to the city fabric at large
o concerns of infrastructure
o relationships of disparate elements of the program
o issues of transparency and security in complex plan
• Architectural scale
o hybrid design and alterability between programs
o re-definition of building typology in terms of transparency and accessibility to the public.
******************************************
Design Assignment
Conceptual Context:
In recent years, societies have been homogenized from trends toward Globalization and consolidation. These trends have been advancing both economically and structurally. Today, there is a reaction against the notion of globalization is a positive and inevitable trend going forward. Fallout from the current global financial meltdown is an example of this. A new model of operation, both economically and socially, will be needed for the discipline of architecture.
The discipline of architecture is inextricably linked to these trends. In the global condition, architects operate as metaphorical tourists, traveling to new countries with each project. Often, architects often have little knowledge of the locality in which they operate. When top architects operate in this manner, as ‘archi-tourists’, they produce literal tourist destinations. This tourism produces a false identity for their localities.
Addressing new possibilities for the relationship of global and local through the lens of tourism can become a model for the future of practice. The project takes a context which has a direct confrontational relationship between global and local and addresses this relationship through architecture. Specifically, this project seeks to empower the local in this relationship. How can localities, which have in recent architectural history been subordinated or ‘exoticized’, re-assert agency in the architectural process? Beyond how this relationship is defined, what architecture would be produced in this redefined relationship?
Design Assignment:
The critical project to address this question is located in the new nation-state of The Republic of Kosovo. As it currently stands, Kosovo has declared Independence and is partially recognized as the newest Nation-State. The last several decades of Kosovo’s history has been at once tumultuous and defining for its identity. Kosovo has a complex relationship to the global; global powers have governed, policed, and financed the state for over a decade. In this sense, Kosovo has many similarities to a post-colonial state.
In recognizing that this global connection is essential to Kosovo, the new country needs to use this international presence to address the redefinition of global-local and satisfy its own pressing need to establish the legitimacy of its new government. The project will therefore be a capital complex for the government of Kosovo, opportunistically funded and provided by international presences within Kosovo.
The project will be designed for two separate programs removed from each other in time. The international presence, defined by UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) will provide a network of structures for an international expo introducing Kosovo to the world order through tourism. This global act is inherently subverted: a rule-set for design and construction of the expo will ensure that the architecture is intended for the local program of the capital complex.
The uneasy alliance between the two programs will necessitate a redefinition of both. The global expo, through the design rules, will have to address locality in an unprecedented way for world expos. The capital complex is forced to address its own contingency and reliance on the global presence within its boundaries. The capital complex also cannot be idealized as in historical precedent; in dovetailing with a highly public and touristic program, the architecture will have to redefine the government’s relationship to its constituent public in terms of integration and transparency with the urban context.
Physical Context:
Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, is the location of the project. The specific site is to be determined by the student relative to their scheme, whether they operate in one location, disperse throughout the city, etc: the whole city is fair game.
The project will operate on 2 scales
o Urban: The student will first develop a scheme for the location and integration of the expo complex will be developed at an urban scale.
o Architectural: the student will then develop--to a high level of architectural development--a small number of specific buildings in the site. Ideally, this would consist of two buildings within the program. These components of the project serve as rule-set “tests”
Process of Inquiry:
1. Spring Semester
• Prior to the beginning of the studio, the students will organize to collect all necessary research and documentation relative to the program and site.
2. Summer Travel
• The Studio will travel over the summer for site investigation within Kosovo.
• Students will define their site strategy in order to collect all necessary site documentation
3. Fall Semester
• Assignment 1: Urban scale Scheme
• Assignment 2: Architectural Rule-set and project tests
o Testing and revision will be a repetitive process throughout the semester.
o A majority of the fall studio will focus on this component of the project.
Issues addressed during the design
• Urban scale issues
o Connectivity to the city fabric at large
o concerns of infrastructure
o relationships of disparate elements of the program
o issues of transparency and security in complex plan
• Architectural scale
o hybrid design and alterability between programs
o re-definition of building typology in terms of transparency and accessibility to the public.
Revisions, revisions, revisions...
Here's a revised abstract. 'Revised' is used loosely, because it has already changed a bit since this was written. It is the most recent description, written for a Midterm Review we had last Friday:
******************************
Architecture’s Grand Tourism:
The Redefinition of Locality in a Global Discourse
Thesis Abstract:
In recent years, societies have been homogenized from trends toward globalization. The discipline of architecture is inextricably linked to these trends. In the global condition, architects operate as metaphorical tourists, traveling to new countries with each project. Often, architects often have little knowledge of the locality in which they operate. When top architects operate in this manner, they produce a false identity for these localities. Today, there is a reaction against the assumption that globalization is a positive and inevitable trend. A new model of operation will be needed for the discipline of architecture.
This project takes a context which has a direct confrontational relationship between global and local and addresses this relationship through architecture. Specifically, this project seeks to empower the local in this relationship. How can localities, which have in recent architectural history been subordinated or ‘exoticized’, re-assert agency in the architectural process? Addressing new possibilities for the relationship of global and local through the lens of tourism can become a model for the future of practice.
The critical project is located in the new nation-state of The Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo has a complex relationship to the global. In recognizing that this global connection is essential to Kosovo, the new country needs to use this international presence to address the redefinition of global-local and satisfy its own pressing need to establish the legitimacy of its new government. The project will be designed for two separate programs removed from each other in time: a world expo and national capital complex. The international presence will provide a network of structures for an international expo introducing Kosovo to the world order through tourism. This global act is inherently subverted: a rule-set for design and construction of the expo will ensure that the architecture is intended for the local program of the capital complex. Although the global is exploited for the gain of the locality, the uneasy alliance between the two programs will necessitate a redefinition of both.
******************************
Architecture’s Grand Tourism:
The Redefinition of Locality in a Global Discourse
Thesis Abstract:
In recent years, societies have been homogenized from trends toward globalization. The discipline of architecture is inextricably linked to these trends. In the global condition, architects operate as metaphorical tourists, traveling to new countries with each project. Often, architects often have little knowledge of the locality in which they operate. When top architects operate in this manner, they produce a false identity for these localities. Today, there is a reaction against the assumption that globalization is a positive and inevitable trend. A new model of operation will be needed for the discipline of architecture.
This project takes a context which has a direct confrontational relationship between global and local and addresses this relationship through architecture. Specifically, this project seeks to empower the local in this relationship. How can localities, which have in recent architectural history been subordinated or ‘exoticized’, re-assert agency in the architectural process? Addressing new possibilities for the relationship of global and local through the lens of tourism can become a model for the future of practice.
The critical project is located in the new nation-state of The Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo has a complex relationship to the global. In recognizing that this global connection is essential to Kosovo, the new country needs to use this international presence to address the redefinition of global-local and satisfy its own pressing need to establish the legitimacy of its new government. The project will be designed for two separate programs removed from each other in time: a world expo and national capital complex. The international presence will provide a network of structures for an international expo introducing Kosovo to the world order through tourism. This global act is inherently subverted: a rule-set for design and construction of the expo will ensure that the architecture is intended for the local program of the capital complex. Although the global is exploited for the gain of the locality, the uneasy alliance between the two programs will necessitate a redefinition of both.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
First Formal Proposal Transcript
Architecture's Grand TOURISM:
the re-emergence of localities within a global discourse
Architecture is ever engaged in a type of colonization. Similar to historical empires exploitation of colonial economies, architects seek to exploit. The way in which architects operate onto foreign locations is opportunistic: many will build wherever a commission emerges with a large enough price tag. The locations of these aggressive insertions are by no means passive victims in this pattern: many cities solicit and compete to create large commissions by top designers in their own backyard. As architecture has a longstanding and complex relation to both power and identity, this practice of competition between localities through architecture is long established.
Due to increasing globalization, this practice has become more commonplace and accelerated in recent years. Today, cities from Denver to Bilbao to Dubai to Beijing are all in competition to create the next architectural tourist attraction. Many world-famous architects now build each project in a different country and are therefore by no means experts on the cultures for which they create. In their rush to erect the next literal tourist attraction, architects have become a version of tourists in themselves—and not as a conscientious eco-tourist. However much they may protest that they are giving back to the communities in which they build, practitioners use emerging economies as their experimental playgrounds and push their own agendas to extreme levels.
This phenomenon represents what can be termed Archi-Tourism. The question asked by this thesis is if it is possible for architecture to come into a culture as a responsible tourist, without profoundly mangling that identity which initially attracted it? And, if so, would this constitute a more desirable relationship of the locality to a globalized architectural practice? This thesis proposes that a healthy relationship between the culture of locality and the Archi-Toursit is not only possible, but urgently necessary in the growing trend of hyper-locality in today’s culture. This new locality manifests itself in trends from local food production systems to micro-finance economic models. It can be argued that the current world financial situation will accelerate this trend, making this search for a new model very timely.
The critical project to investigate this proposal has two requirements: 1) That the site be a neutral and defamiliarizing location, preventing the architect and critic from operating on preconceptions and cultural platitudes; and 2) That the program bring into direct confrontation both the international and globalized elements of architecture with its more specific, cultural and identifying role. The vehicle to address these issues will be a design project for a Worlds Fair or World Exposition which will be subsequently repurposed into the National Capital Complex for New Nation of Kosovo. Historically, the Worlds Fair represents the ultimate condition of architectural tourism, while a National Capital building represents a an important architectural component for identity and the coalescence of a culture. As the newest Nation-State, the population of Kosovo demonstrates a strong desire to forge a national identity. This unique circumstance of global cultural context, site and program is poised to re-imagine the role of the Archi-Tourist.
the re-emergence of localities within a global discourse
Architecture is ever engaged in a type of colonization. Similar to historical empires exploitation of colonial economies, architects seek to exploit. The way in which architects operate onto foreign locations is opportunistic: many will build wherever a commission emerges with a large enough price tag. The locations of these aggressive insertions are by no means passive victims in this pattern: many cities solicit and compete to create large commissions by top designers in their own backyard. As architecture has a longstanding and complex relation to both power and identity, this practice of competition between localities through architecture is long established.
Due to increasing globalization, this practice has become more commonplace and accelerated in recent years. Today, cities from Denver to Bilbao to Dubai to Beijing are all in competition to create the next architectural tourist attraction. Many world-famous architects now build each project in a different country and are therefore by no means experts on the cultures for which they create. In their rush to erect the next literal tourist attraction, architects have become a version of tourists in themselves—and not as a conscientious eco-tourist. However much they may protest that they are giving back to the communities in which they build, practitioners use emerging economies as their experimental playgrounds and push their own agendas to extreme levels.
This phenomenon represents what can be termed Archi-Tourism. The question asked by this thesis is if it is possible for architecture to come into a culture as a responsible tourist, without profoundly mangling that identity which initially attracted it? And, if so, would this constitute a more desirable relationship of the locality to a globalized architectural practice? This thesis proposes that a healthy relationship between the culture of locality and the Archi-Toursit is not only possible, but urgently necessary in the growing trend of hyper-locality in today’s culture. This new locality manifests itself in trends from local food production systems to micro-finance economic models. It can be argued that the current world financial situation will accelerate this trend, making this search for a new model very timely.
The critical project to investigate this proposal has two requirements: 1) That the site be a neutral and defamiliarizing location, preventing the architect and critic from operating on preconceptions and cultural platitudes; and 2) That the program bring into direct confrontation both the international and globalized elements of architecture with its more specific, cultural and identifying role. The vehicle to address these issues will be a design project for a Worlds Fair or World Exposition which will be subsequently repurposed into the National Capital Complex for New Nation of Kosovo. Historically, the Worlds Fair represents the ultimate condition of architectural tourism, while a National Capital building represents a an important architectural component for identity and the coalescence of a culture. As the newest Nation-State, the population of Kosovo demonstrates a strong desire to forge a national identity. This unique circumstance of global cultural context, site and program is poised to re-imagine the role of the Archi-Tourist.
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