Port of Green Bay - Foreign Trade Zone - 22’ Navigational Depth - 16 Acres Available Property
Traverse City Har - 18’ Navigational - Within 2 miles o - 100 Acres Open
Port of Milwaukee - Foreign Trade Zone - 26’ Navigational Depth - 32 Acres Open Property - Within 0.5 miles of existing Ferry Terminal
Muskegon Harbor - 16’ Navigational - 40 Acres Open P - Contains TransTerminal
Port of Chicago - Foreign Trade Zone - 27’ Navigational Depth - 3000’ berthing space - 100 Acres Available Property
Port of Indiana - Foreign Trade Z - 57 Acres Availab - 28’ of Depth
Work.
This is the portfolio of Aaron Spiering. The works presented within are considered products of a summation of multi-disciplinary references; some architectural, some cultural, and some fictional. They are presented here as a series of brief manifestos that, once aggregated, result in a single body of work.
Outliers.
City Mouse.
Typologies.
Ground.
References.
A teaser for a new urba/suburban model hybridizing a rural landscape with a dense city block. pages 4-5
The introductory manifesto to City Mouse/Country House. Basic concepts both formal and intellectual are discussed. pages 6-7
A brief typologic discussion showing the differences between the units and their location within the block. pages 8-9
The lower level plans are shown here. Both the ground and second floors are shown, consisting mainly of the garage units. pages 10-11
An interlude showcasing cultural research related to the project. The research highlights an attitude carried out through the design. pages 12-13
Roof.
Platforms.
Landscapes.
Visions...
App.Urbanism.
The upper level plans are shown here. The third and fourth floors plus the upper geography are visible. pages 14-15
A cutaway section of the block reveals the physical relationships between the units. An explanation of the block as a primitive. pages 16-17
A final look at the geography provided by the block, and a recognition of it’s potential for various contexts. pages 18-19
An image for a new urbanity in Chicago’s downtown. A visual introduction to App Urbanism. pages 20-21
The introduction to the concepts behind App Urbanism, including the problems at hand, and an initial discussion of types. pages 22-23
Choices.
Assistants.
Components.
Layers.
Stages.
An examination of the educatorium’s program, plus a further breakdown of the three types present. pages 24-25
A case study used to estract architectural elements for deployment in the educatorium. pages 26-27
Diagrams describing the formal logic behind the project. A reinforcement of the conceptual backing, and images of deployment within. pages 28-29
A detailed section drawing accompanied by photographs of an earlier massing model. pages 30-31
Images from the interior of each use type, side by side with a plan drawing of the twenty second floor showing the location of the photos. pages 32-33
Plans.
Heights.
Collectives.
Konectdoche.
Outbursts.
The ground floor plan along with a catalog of plans for each level including the roof plan. pages 34-35
A description of the fluid paths through app. urbanism, illustrated via elevations of each facade and an interior photo. pages 36-37
Final rendering of the educatorium on site above Union Station in Chicago. pages 38-39
An introduction to the issues at hand, along with a proposal of reconciliation that comes about via performative, political, and informative registers. pages 40-41
A description of the 21st century phenomena of rapidly growing cities. The potential for growth of the island is demonstrated. pages 42-43
Hordes.
Cities.
Booms.
Fictions.
Mechanisms.
The movement of people across the globe is discussed. Including the colonization of the island, as well as the planet’s transient populations. pages 44-45
A case study of existing transient cities. The results of the study are primitive diagrams used to colonize and organize the island. pages 46-47
An introduction to initial populations of the island. Immigrantion numbers are presented along with a strategy for connecting them in the interior. pages 48-49
Conceptual and formal origins are presented as a series of imaginary precedents. The island is a product of narratives put to real performance. pages 50-51
A case study of architectural mechanisms that could be used at specific moments within the project. pages 52-53
Table of Contents.
2
Aaron Spiering MArch Spring 2012 University of Illinois Chicago acspiering@gmail.com aaroncspiering.com
Alloy.
Displacements. Replacements. Transitions.
Post-Nothing.
An image collapsing the A look at site location and information presented in the as plans for the eventual previous chapters. It is an expansion of Konectdoche alloy of citizens, narratives, across Lake Michigan. and data collection. Also, plans for a transition pages 54-55 from mainland to island. pages 56-57
The final formal A final reinforcement arrangement of the of ideas culled from island, conceptual and the research; political, colonizational reprecussions,cultural, organizational, and the fluid nature of informational, the island’s interior. geographical, and fictional. pages 58-59 pages 60-61
An introduction to the conceptual ideas behind both the technical and narrative approaches to the project. pages 62-63
Absurdities.
Holes.
Genealogy.
Plans.
Matter.
An absurd back story for Post-Nothing as well as precedents for the use of fiction in architecture. pages 64-65
A discussion of the organizational and infrastructural uses of the voids. A case for their functionality. pages 66-67
A case study of similar projects from architectural history. Further evidence of the projects legitimacy. pages 68-69
Documentation of all plans of Post-Nothing, from first through fifth floor, plus a roof plan. pages 70-71
An explanation of the projects structure as derived from discussions with engineers. pages 72-73
Sections.
Crowds.
Leaves of Mass. Growth.
Section drawings along with interior photographs. Visual cues to the building’s interior. pages 74-75
A final image describing the connections between the building’s interior, and immediate exterior. Evidence for the potential of Post-Nothing. pages 76-77
An introduction to the digital formalist project for United Colors of Benetton, located in Tehran. pages 78-79
A description of symbiosis between building envelope and building interior. pages 80-81
Curves.
Flows.
Masses.
Mind the Gap. Barrios.
A case study of formal explorations. Investigations into curve drawings, and their translation into thickened surfaces and 3D models. pages 84-85
An explanation of circulation patterns in the project, and the central void uniting all the spaces. pages 86-87
A final image reinforcing the idea of the project as being wholly united; top to bottom, inside to outside. pages 88-89
An introduction to the A further discussion of residential project for the project as gap filler/ Barcelona including a site creator. Also, a description plan revealing it as in the of the character of the city gap between neighborhoods. in regards to the project. pages 90-91 pages 92-93
Plans.
Precedents.
Site.
Motion Pictures. Broad Sides.
A continued explanation of the various types of gaps in the project, and their relevance mainly visible in plan drawings of several scales. pages 94-95
A case study of housing projects from around Europe. Organizational strategies were extracted. pages 96-97
A few words as to the importance of site, as well as context to Mind the Gap. pages 98-99
A discussion of precedents in film, and how elements from these films were deployed within the dwelling units. pages 100-101
Interiors. Several views from the interior of the project, along with a description of how the form creates enclosure. pages 82-83
A final image of the project from the broad avenue of the modern side. A final reinforcement of the concepts behind the gap. pages 102-103
3
As a solid mass draped in a landscape it is a geographic oddity no matter where it is sited.
Pop forms describe a neighborhood for those wanting both urban density and rural greenery.
4
Outliers.
The new block type is an initiative towards modern, hybridized styles of living.
5
An open landscape + urban/suburban hybrids = A Country House for the City Mouse.
6
City Mouse/Country House. In the 80’s the suburbs were one thing, and the city was another. In the 90’s that same phrase could still be used, but the meaning was different. The fluid definitions of these two places is at the heart of City Mouse/Country House. The initiative was to create a new block type; one that takes into account the changing perspectives on urban and suburban, and to hybridize the two. Starting with a clear pop sensibilityfig 1 the country house builds up into a single, rural landscape which provides the suburban lawns for the various houses packed into the mass.fig. 2 The houses bear similiarities to existing urban, suburban, and exurban types City Mouse/Country house references the yurt,fig.3 the yaodong, common in China,fig.4 terrace housing,fig.5 and the typical Los Angeles dingbat house.fig.6 Following contemporary patterns of settlement, country house for the city mouse creates a block of varied housing options at a city-like density that maintains openess. Neighbors live on top of each other, but don’t even know it. Welcome Back Shermer High Professor Paul Andersen Fall 2011-Spring 2012
fig.3
fig.4
fig.5
0 5’ 10’
20’
40’
fig.1
fig 6 fig 2
7
Typologies.
The geographic oddity that is Country House for the City Mouse blends four housing types into it’s mass. As part of the landscape, these types fit together like strata in a ground sample. In order to be both a single, solid block, and an alloy of distinct residential types the differences from one to the next are of immediate importance.
Single Room Cabin. Tiny houses nested into the terraces, atop the landscape.
Terrace Apartments. At the top of the mass, split level apartments with outdoor patios.
8
Garage Apartments. Two story, single family homes, at the bottom of the mass, with parking spaces underneath.
Penthouse Apartments. Organized around light wells, and stacked three high from top to bottom.
9
0 5’ 10’
20’
40’
Ground.
10
40’ 20’ 0 5’ 10’
0’ 5’ 10’
20’
40’
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References: A Case Study
12
Like the changing relationships between city and suburb, differences between pop and high art are fluid too. These pages are part of an exploration into that idea, and how that informs a populations interaction with their environment, and creates a disseminated urbanism.
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley, 1957 Elvis begins his recording career and brings rock ‘n’ roll to the masses. The popularity of the music would create an ambivalence to earlier styles. American pop culture would never be the same.
DNC Protests, Abbie Hoffman, 1968 Abbie Hoffman becomes the architect of protests at the Democratic National Convention. The ensuing Yippie movement would create a reverence for the 60’s as the nation embraced a shift in values.
Fire Painting. Yves Klein, 1960 Kleins fire paintings are considered some of his more visceral and spiritual work. The raw power and emotion of this projects serves as a counterpoint to the more intellectual work in his oveure.
Sa Pobla, Gracia, 2010 Gracia, an affluent neighborhood of Barcelona, annually holds a festival where locals dress as demons and run through the streets with torches. It is a night to spend as savages rather than their normal, cultured selves.
Leap Into the Void, Yves Klein, 1960 This image was intended as a denouncement of NASA’s attempts at space exploration. Klein was demonstrating his ability for solo lunar travel. The leap is an affirmation of his difference.
The Redneck Games, Mac Davis, 2010 These games were begun in response to the 1996 Olympics. Davis founded the event to reinforce the idea of the redneck. Unlike the Atlanta Games this is a celebration of what makes southerners different.
Glitter Bombing, Gay Rights Activist, 2011 This phenomena has been occurring in rsponse to anti-gay politics. Groups organize when targeted politicians schedule public appearances. Here, Newt Gingrch is bombed at the Minnesoata Family Council.
Statue of Liberty, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, 1886 This statue is a long standing icon for immigrants to the USA. Groups from all over the globe passed by as they were welcomed to their new home. Here, the statue looks over New York Harbor, greeting new visitors.
Pruitt-Igoe, Charles Jenks, 1968 In this demolition, Charles Jenks declared the death of Modernism. The housing project was seen as proof of the failure of a movement. With the onset of PostModernism, the end of a lengthy era had arrived.
Bank of England, John Soane, 1788 In his proposal, the architect rendered the building in a state of decay. The images was intended to demonstrate an immortality. By shrinking the timeline the banks monumental importance was suggested. 13
14 0 5’ 10’
20’
40’
40’ 20’ 0 5’ 10’
Roof.
0’ 5’ 10’
20’
40’
15
figure 4. figure 3.
figure 2.
figure 1.
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Platforms. Pop is the language of City Mouse/Country House from its graphic roof plan, to its all-for-broke landscape, to its cartoonish interior. It is an excersice in absurdity that obsessively explores density and difference; a geographic oddity hybridizing city living with suburban ideals and rural retreats. The interior is pieced together precisely in order to fit together all types across the plan. At the lowest level, making contact with the ground are the garage units.fig.1 With two to four bedrooms apiece, and parking underneath these are most similar to single family homes. At the outer edges are the terrace apartments.fig.2 These split-level units contain a semi-enclosed area underneath the public space on the green roof. Centered around the lighwells are the penthouse apartments.fig.3 These are stacked three high from top to bottom and contain the cores. Above all else are the tiny cabins,fig.4 single room units resting on the landscape as if they are rural homes resting on a public lawn for an entire neighborhood with access to and from the street. As Aesop’s fable serves as an allegory for different tastes, the Country House for the City Mouse is, too, a primitive for contemporary, hybridized styles of living. In this neighborhood the City Mouse gets all the creature comforts of his cousin’s rural abode while maintaining the density and activity of his metropolitan home. It’s a pop formalism those who want it both ways.
17
Landscapes.
18
19
20
Visions...
The cities buildings can be divided by use. Like apps, specific programs can be directly accessed.
21
fig.5
22
App. Urbanism.
fig.1
This studio addressed the issue of contemporary public space through the development of a complex program on an urban site. As a design and research problem, the thrust of the studio was towards the precise translation of rather abstract cultural forces and practical demands. The assignment was to develop an educatorium building of one million square feet in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, directly above the Union Station train platforms. Chicago, 9 AM.fig.1 Just like every morning millions of people crowd into downtown. Many are seeking the same types of experience, but in this mess commonalities are hard to decipher. There relationship to the city is like ours to the web.fig.2Unregulated movement between syndicated episodes. There are three issues at stake: •Program is Syndicated. •Circulation is Chaotic. •Browsing is Search based. But today we are spending more time in fewer places. We go where we want for what we need, and leave when we are fulfilled. It’s an urban organization based on apps. The educatorium is App. Urbanism in miniature. fig.3 Everything can be found under one roof.fig.4 Live, work, study, play, travel! Each sector with direct access. Get where you want when you want.fig.5 •Program is Subscription based. •Circulation is Direct. •Browsing occurs through Links.
Architecture + the City Professor David Brown Fall 2010
fig.2
?
fig.3 fig.4
?
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dormi t ori e s h e a l t h c e n t e r examro ms support bar restaurant
health center
graduate apartments
health center
dining hall class rooms supportinfo. dining hall study zones mail dining hall l i b r a r y library support class rooms dining hall study zones library
l i b r a r y examro mslibraryexamro ms restaurant library
lounge class rooms barcoffee student center support
clas roomsauditorium col ection auditorium exam ro ms
graduate apartments
academic offices faculty apartmentsstaf lounge
faculty apartments sports center lab fitnes ro ms office
restaurantcinema lockers cinema retail bar coffeejuicelab barretail sgamiuperngmarcentkeetr fitnes ro msretail officesrofeficteabar i l c i n e ma book store gaming center officegaming center storage restaurant retail officesretailrestaurant bar office restaurant retail offices retai l coffee receivngoperations bararienstaurant a za tr
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reataonil
st t i
pl
Choices. Program was the driving force behind the form. Initially separated into categories of Live, Work, Learn, and Play, the list of required programs was lengthy.fig.1-6 Included was a million square feet for a university, apartments, restaurants, a library, a sports complex, cinemas, retail, and much more. The Apps. came next. After a use analysis, Each program was placed into one of three categories; Coming + Going, Sticking Around, and Browsing, each one defined by an average length of time for which they are used, and each one having its own system of access. The building was effectivley split into three.fig.7 Coming + Going These areas are reserved for those with a specific purpose. Included are exam rooms, the health center, and cinemas. The majority of users intend to come in, take care of business, and get out. These spaces are attached to elevator cores for quick access from the street. Sticking Around Here are the more private programs such as apartments and classrooms. These users spend the majority of their time in the private area manifested in as a single shape existing within the buildings perimeter. Included is a secondary public space with limited access. Browsing Large public programs fill in as browsing space. More clearly mimicking the existing condition, these areas form a continuous vertical public space, with shopping, eating, watching, and more. At street level, this space begins with an exterior rampr from the plaza down to the train platforms.
fig.1
fig.2
fig.3
fig.4
fig.5 fig.6
25
Assistants: A Case Study
Looking for help with several design issues, a genealogical study was done. Several projects were studied, and elements were co-opted.
John Hancock Center SOM Programmatic zones are kept distinctly separate. Elevators bypass undesired spaces for direct access.
Seiyaku Women’s Dormitory SANAA Private program exists between two types of public space. On one side a large mixing area, on the other a sort of front yard.
A corridor supplies discreet access into the space. If it were to instead pass directly through it becomes a building within a building.
26
3D Garden MVRDV The outdoor, elevated landscapes are reconsidered as private spaces rather than public. They are attached to the interior, but separate.
Yokohama Port Terminal FOA Inside is a public space for those who come with aticket, but the outside is a space for any and all. Semi-Public Space.
Private Space.
Public Space.
Tre Grande Library OMA Private areas are arranged in space, punctured by a grid of elevators. In between is the open, public areas.
27
fig.2
fig.3
fig.1
Components. Site Situated along the Chicago river, adjacent to the loopfig.1 the educatorium is surrounded by a large plaza.
Access A grid of coresfig2. is aligned along the perimeter of the tower. This allows easy access from the street.
Coming + Going These private areas behave like apps. Contained in hermetic cubesfig3., they have direct connection to the ground, and the train station below. Users have access similar to a subscription.
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fig.4
fig.5
Sticking Around Ostensibly a building within the building, these areas remain privatefig.4, while maintaing a connection to the rest of the building, allowing its inhabitants to use the building how they want.
Browsing A series of rampedfig.5 floor plates, the browsing area is a continuous public space from the rooftop restaurant down to the trains, and public plaza below.
Skin Wrapped in an unchanging facade, the three buildings within the educatorium are recognized as one.
29
30
3. 1.
Layers.
5.
2.
4.
In section the Coming + Going sections are seen as densley packed cantilevers1 punctured by elevator cores2. Sticking around is characterized by it’s glass encasement3, and the browsing area by its ramped floors4, and snaking escalators5. At left, a study model on site.
tickets
31
32
fig.1
fig.2
Stages. The twenty second floor contains two auditoriums in the browsing area.fig.1 Class rooms including a student loungefig.2 are in the Sticking Around portion. And in the Coming + Going section there is a large scale exam room.fig.3 At right Images of these areas point to their corresponding location in plan.
fig.3
33
Floors 33-R
Floors 28-32
Floors 23-27
Floors 18-22
Floors 13-17
Floors 8-12
Floors 3-7
Coming + Going Sticking Around Browsing
34
Floors G-2
Plans.
The ground floor contains access to the trains below, the plaza outside, plus retail and restaurant space. The private space holds the receiving area as well as building operations. At left is a catalog of all plans.
35
The apps are made up of the private programs, accessed directly as if via a subscription.
Heights. App. Urbanism is a search for continuous, yet clearly defined spaces. All three types within the educatorium conform to this. The browsing space is most clear; bound by the facade and connected via ramps. Sticking around too has clear limits as it bends through the interior, and the spaces within are connected as a single building. The apps that make up coming and going are continuous as well. they meet the ground with direct access, but also, they move along the building’s perimeter in a continuous flow, as seen in the elevations.fig.1
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Browsers move fluidly through the residual space of the apps. Each space remains linked with the others.
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A series of collectives are created by app urbanism. The chaos of the street is abandoned for life in the clouds.
Collectives.
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App. Urbanism suggests a way to interact with the city that meets the new expectations of the post-web world.
39
3.
2.
4.
40
fig.1
konectdoche. On a planet of exploding populations people are on the move like never before. Cities are popping up and expanding at a heretofore unprecedented rate. These cities are drawing populations not just from hermetic localities, but from the globe as a whole. Their respective cultures are not to be combined as if in a melting pot where everything is boiled down to a single, homogeneous brew, but rather as an alloy; a place where contradictions and correlations can react together as if in a gradient. This is Konectdoche; an island city, located in Lake Michigan, serving to connect individuals to the global community and the world back to each of its inhabitants. The city is a unit made up of parts derived from the whole. Konectdoche, like any city, consists of an infinite amount of layers.fig.1 These layers form a primitive; a set of principles that, when applied to specific constraints, makes up the island. This form generating machine is pregnant with the potential to accommodate all types of programmatic, organizational, and political strategies. This island is a synecdoche. The images at left demonstrate where in this machine, one can find continuous interiorsfig.2, ferry terminalsfig.3, neighborhood centersfig.4, and all of the constituent elements of Konectdoche.
The city operates at multiple levels.
The interiors have various relationships to the cores.
Regions have different relations between fixed and free space.
Offshore Cities Professor Lluis Ortega Fall 2011
A collapse of information represents Konectdoche.
41
3.
At nodes typical layouts collide with each other. They are forced to adapt while at the same time they begin to share free space. It is likely that commercial centers would arise in these collision spots. Free Space. Fixed Space.
Infrastructural Corridors.
4.
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fig.2
Outbursts. Places across the globe are playing host to rapidly densifying populationsfig.1. In China, India, central Africa new cities are being built at inconceivable ratesfig.2. As these cities modernize, and industrialize, they also globalize, bringing in hordes of new citizens from outlying regions. Citizens with their own expectations and problems. Konectdoche is in a position to accommodate these types of population outbursts. The phase displayed at left is merely a part of a whole that expands across the lake. As such, the model is capable of growth3. The north end is already elevated above the water in preparation for the next phase. Inside, these fluid populations are free to move into spaces that accommodate them best, whether they intend to settle in permanently, or Konectdoche is merely an ephemeral host. And as this city is a transitional entity so it has transitions within it as well4. Here is where populations collide.
fig.1
Projected Fastest Growing Cities to 2020 Rank
City
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Ghasziabad Sana’a Surat Kabul Banako Lagos Fardabad Dar es Salzam Chittagong Toluca Lutumbashi Kampala Santa Cruz Luanda Nashik Kinshasa Nairobi Dhaka Antananarivo Patna
Population 970,000 1,747,000 5,390,000 3,586,000 1,809,000 7,938,000 1,055,000 2,498,000 2,580,000 785,000 1,140,000 1,420,000 1,595,000 4,799,000 1,620,000 8,200,000 3,130,000 7,940,000 1,403,000 1,800,000
Country
Growth
India Yemen India Afghanistan Mali Nigeria India Tanzania Bangladesh Mexico Congo Uganda Bolivia Angola India Congo Kenya Bangladesh Madagascar India
5.2% 5.0% 4.99% 4.74% 4.45% 4.44% 4.44% 4.39% 4.29% 4.25% 4.10% 4.03% 3.98% 3.90% 3.90% 3.89% 3.87% 3.79% 3.73% 3.72%
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TRANSIENT CITIES EXIST ACROSS THE GLOBE.
LIKE AIRPORTS, THESE CITIES ARE HUBS.
Hordes. Waves of people are moving en masse from region to region. Unlike the nomads of the Sahara, or the Khan’s Golden Horde, these groups aren’t in a permanent state of flux, but they move from point to point for varying degrees of time. Many of the transient cities presented here are in some way refugee camps, but this point is incidental to the fact of their temporality. This impermanence is built in to Konectdoche. Various transient cities have been identified as fitting for particular rates of growth along with a typical organizational for the colonization of Konectdochefig.1. Thus, as the population varies, so does the ground.
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Of course, the most prolific of transient city types would be the airport. Urban or rural, destitute or wealthy, air travel has adversely affected the way we live. With the ability to move, people, products, food, armies, etcetera, everything is connected by a day’s travel. The entire globe has become a transient city, with airports as the hubs. This is not different from methods in which Konectdoche operates. Each component has a central corridor2 containing rapid transportation, ostensibly connecting every person in Konectdoche to every region within the ground. Chief points in the hierarchy are not defined by centrality, but by degree of fraternization with the whole.
fig. 1
Colonizing Types by rate of growth less than 50% 50% to 100% 100% to 150% 150% to 200% more than 200%
Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridor. 2.
Infrastructural Corridor. 2.
Free Space.
Infrastructural 2. Corridor.
Free Space.
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Transient Cities: A Case Study For the purposes of an investigation in to the ground system of Konectdoche, transient cities have been defined as non-permanent settlements established for various, non-endemic populations. In the course of the research, it was recognized that there is a definable correlation between the average length of time that a resident spends in the city, and the ratio of fixed to free space. These ratios have been manifested as the diagrams pictured at left. The white space represents free, open areas, and the black relates to fixed, or private space. The more ephemeral a population, the more free space. These diagrams, aggregated and proliferated, provide the make-up of Konectdoche at the architectural scale.
Presidio, San Francisco Years: 1906-1908 Population: 16,000 Duration of Residence: 1-2 years Type: Grid After the 1906 earthquake several relief camps were set up in the cities parks, the largest being in the Presidio. The interstitial space between cabins became playgrounds and community spaces. Most of the cabins were relocated along with the families upon reconstruction of the city. Deployment: Long Term Temporary
Abu Dahi, Chad Years: 2003-Present Population: 18,000 Duration of Residence: varies greatly Type: Polycentric, Expanding Temporary cities are set up throughout southern Sudan to provide shelter for those fleeing violence. The dwellings are arranged in the camp around supply points, creating a polycentric layout. Residents come and go constantly, making population statistics difficult to compile. Deployment: Fluid, Unstable
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Askar, West Bank Years: 1948 - Present Population: 30,000 + Duration of Residence: 63 years Type: Permanent Askar was one of a number of refugee camps founded in the West Bank of Israel to house Palestinian refugees. Over the course of its existence it has grown from a collection of tents to a contemporary city. Deployment: Stable populations.
Dejima, Nagasaki Years: 1641-1853 Population: 150 permanent Duration of Residence: 212 years Type: Fortress Dejima was created by the Japanese as an island city to house the Dutch traders, and localize foreign influence. The island, accesible by a gated bridge was permanent home to about 25 traders, and their families. When a ship was in harbor it became home to a larger population. Deployment: Stabilizing
Superdome, New Orleans Years: 2005 Population: 26,000 Duration of Residence: 7 days or less Type: Open When Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, many who were not able to leave the city were housed in the Superdome. With unkown numbers flowing in, the stadium floor was left open, with spatial configurations determined by the residents. Deployment: Unstable, Exploding
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Large corridors contain transportation networks transversing the island.
The citizens are connected via this network.
fig. 3
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fig.1
Foreign Born Population Growth Lake Michigan Area
Booms. Population booms are occurring along with, and sometimes resulting as en masse migrations. Those who have found their way to the Lake Michigan area have been targeted as the first potential citizens of Konectdoche. Certain demographics of the foreign born population here has, in some cases, increased by 1,000% over the last 20 years. Scattered about, these people are living in contiguous, yet disconnected space. Once on Konectdoche, they will be reconnected, in a physical sense, with their compatriots, while simultaneously forming attachments to transient populations from all places.
Far East Middle East/ India Central America Canada
Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
+0-50% +50-100%
+100-150%
+150-200% +200%
fig.2
Foreign Born Population Growth Over the Last Ten Years Lake Michigan Area Northwest Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
Northeast 746 122 397 544 292 1012 0 0
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
3,113
1272 1101 6685 1327 1005 1861 266 187
+526 +979 +6,288 +783 +713 +849 +266 +187
+71% +802% +1,684% +144% +244% +84% -----
13,704 + 10,591
+340%
9,158 5,764 32,639 2,553 5,509 10,659 3,217 2,503 72,002
+102% +155% +265% +104% -7% +27% +16% +174% +70%
West Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
Southwest
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
124 0 73 1878 456 771 0 0
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
3,302
70 79 578 1,997 195 606 135 51
-54 +79 +505 +119 -261 -165 +135 +51
-44% --+692% +6% -57% 44% -21% ---
3,711
+ 409
+12%
8,901 2,048 21,912 2,823 1,234 1,558 384 1,099
+5,068 +1,278 +17,078 +15 -1247 -2,851 +313 +1,099
+132% +166% +353% +0.5% -50% -88% +440% ---
39,968
+ 21,936
+122%
6,474 4,029 20,381 3,149 3,052 6,742 796 2,979
+2,849 +1,605 +12,233 +15 -1270 -1,100 +179 +1,816
+79% +66% +150% +0.5% -29% -14% +29% +156%
47,602
+16,619
+54%
East 4,524 2,263 8,941 2,465 5,937 14,628 2,762 914 42,434
106,711 56,421 274,682 12,237 64,077 115,081 18,827 10,338 658,374
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
+4,634 +3,501 +23,698 +88 -428 +3,969 +455 +1,589 + 29,568
146,496 +39,785 102,812 +46,391 542,250 +267,568 13,504 +1,267 55,667 -8,410 166,317 +51,236 38,758 +19,931 22,162 +11,824 1,087,966 +429,592
+37% +82% +97% +10% -13% 44% +106% +114% +65%
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
3,833 770 4,834 2,808 2,481 3,235 71 0
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
18,032
Southeast
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
3,625 2,424 8,148 2,842 4,322 7,842 617 1,163
Far East Middle East Central America Canada Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
30,983
756,238
1,264,953
+508,715
+67% 49
50
Fictions. Debt is owed to a great many precedents both real and imagined. As a starting point the Ewok villagefig.1 on the make-believe planet of Endor was selected as a mode of ground consolidation. This was chosen in part because of it’s limitless ability to bridge gaps between points, not unlike the Oakland Bay bridgefig.2. The nodes were given a hierarchy based on degree of connectivity rather than localityfig.3. Endless, boundless, and pervasive, Konectdoche is preceded by a great many imaginations, one of which being SuperStudio’sfig.4. The ground was formed in this same way. First connecting points, then multiplying, establishing hierarchy, and finally pervading it’s own interiorfig.5. And in it’s desire to join disparate parts there is a likely antecedent. It wouldn’t be completely unfair to describe Konectdoche as some sort of pacifist Death Star; that ultimate generator of schisms and conflictfig.6.
1.
2. 3.
fig.5
4.
6.
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Mechanisms: A Case Study Details can be the hardest to define. In a search for architectural specificity it is necessary to examine existing projects for information and ideas. These precedents are looked at as specimens; studied and investigated for any pertinent intelligence contained within. The intentions of this case study were to extract architectural specifics from these projects that contained pre-existing corollaries with the transitional diagrams, combine them, and deploy them in Konectdoche as if they were an alloy. The most useful information was culled from the following projects; (counter clockwise from below) CCTV by OMA1, Marina City by Bertrand Goldberg2, and Walden 7 by Ricardo Bofill3, and the deployment in Konectdoche4.
4.
In this diagram it is possible to see the vertical connections of space, pervasive free space as void, and sprouting from central hubs.
1.
CCTV by OMA. The building is a loop closing in on it self. It contains continuous spaces, both public and private, that adapt to the geometry of the overall loop. In plan these private areas appear as boxes. The white space around them is assumed to be public, or free areas.
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3.
Walden 7 by Bofill. The building is a series of vertical tubes separating and rejoing. Below is a study model with voids as free space. This space is consistently located centrally with frequent approaches to the periphery.
2.
Marina City by Goldberg. A series of petals attached to a shared central core. this act of sprouting was studied in the model at left.
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Collapsing all information, Konectdoche is as complex as any city.
The void, as in the model at left is the free space. More or less left open to change with the masses.
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Alloy. Colored pink, the infrastructural network runs consistently through the island. These narrow lines make up the ground; a simple series of bridges.
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Traverse City to Green Bay 120.6 miles
Muskegon to Green Bay 124.8 miles
Chicago to Milwaukee 79.8 miles
Milwaukee to Muskegon 83.1 miles
Michigan City to Chicago 38.3 miles
fig.5
fig.6
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fig.1
fig.4
Green Bay Population: 104,057 Area: 54.3 sq. mi. Density: 1,916 ppsm
Traverse City Population: 14,674 Area: 8.7 sq. mi. Density: 1,686 ppsm
Traverse City
Green Bay
Great Lakes Charter Region USA
Far East Middle East/ India Central America Canada
Dominant Foreign Born Populations
Western Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe Africa
Musekegon Population: 38,401 Area: 18 sq. mi. Density: 2,133 ppsm
Milwaukee Population: 594,833 Area: 96.9 sq. mi. Density: 6,138 ppsm
Milwaukee
Muskegon
fig.2 Port of Green Bay - Foreign Trade Zone - 22’ Navigational Depth - 16 Acres Available Property
Michigan City Population: 31,479 Area: 23.1 sq. mi. Density: 1,362 ppsm
Chicago Population: 2,695,598 Area: 234 sq. mi. Density: 11,519 ppsm
Michigan City
Chicago
Port of Milwaukee - Foreign Trade Zone - 26’ Navigational Depth - 32 Acres Open Property - Within 0.5 miles of existing Ferry Terminal
Displacements. The boom in foreign born population is occurring across the USA. The Great Lakes regionfig.1, like the rest of the country, is playing host to an ever changing mosaic of demographics. Initiated off Chicago’s shoreline, Konectdoche will proceed to grow to accommodate these citizens. Points of contact are located within an hours ferry ride to major citiesfig.2 evenly distributed along the shore. Ports containing ferry terminals, and foreign trade zones with existing customs infrastructure have been identifiedfig.3. HaveTotal been identified. Foreign Born Population: 17,200 Each city will act as an exit point for the displaced citizens of the surrounding regionfig.4. The resulting map appears at rightfig.5. Below is Konectdochefig.6 on site. Total Foreign Born Population: 89,000
Port of Chicago - Foreign Trade Zone - 27’ Navigational Depth - 3000’ berthing space - 100 Acres Available Property
Ferry Terminals
Foreign Trade Zones
fig.3
North West Shore Traverse City
North East Shore Green Bay
West Shore Milwaukee
Total Foreign Born Population: 1,202,000
Available Land
East Shore Muskegon
South West Shore Chicago
South East Shore Michigan City
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3.
1.
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fig.2 Colonizing Types by rate of growth less than 50% 50% to 100% 100% to 150% 150% to 200% more than 200%
Free Space.
fig.4
Infrastructural Corridor.
Replacements. With location decided, the task has come to determining where precisely on Konectdoche the citizens will be replaced. Each module is understood to be accommodating of a different typical layout. To maintain fluid relationships between the types these modules are arranged on linesfig.1, the summation of which results in the island. The organization of the island progresses as such; The base line holds the least stable populations. Those growing at a rate of 200% or morefig.2. On this line are located terminals, and other large scale programs such as hospitalsfig.3. Aggregating upwards, each successive line accommodates groups of citizens growing at slower and slower rates, always connected back into each otherfig.4. At the top, where the most stable populations are quarteredfig.5 the lines become fractured, and flows occur between fixed populations, and citizens amidst dynamic transitions.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Spa
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Space.
fig.5
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Located near ports of large cities and towns, the island of Konectdoche remains connected to the mainland in spite of its separation.
Transitions.
The island’s offshore condition allows itself to be divorced from political, formal, and contextual constraints of the city. It is a place for fluid instability.
60
The citizens of the island transistion from an existence of contiguity without continuity to something quite the opposite.
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Post-Nothing. This studio finds its basis in a return to techniques central to the discipline of architecture; models, plans, and sections. These methods are used to explore aspects of the project including form, quantity, scenario, and, of course, concept. The assignment, in which no site was given, is a five story mat office building. This project is imagined to take place in a future where cultural assimilation has become of the utmost importance.Visitors circulate up through columns extended to the ground and emerge into an open landscape organized by massive posts. Movement through the floors sticks near the perimeter of these cylinders, allowing the visitors to stay on the periphery of the programmatic zones, and determining their own level of involvement. Simultaneously, by keeping the walls round there are no dead ends or corners to hide in. They must, at some point involve themselves in the program. Their inevitable interactions with the office workers will assist in their assimilation into a Post-World.
Take Five Professors Penelope Dean Andrew Moddrell Ryan Palider Spring 2010
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Absurdities. fig.1
Sam Jacob has written that architecture, like Wile E. Coyotefig.1contains a raging desire combined with a capacity for innovation, yet still finds it’s goals beyond possible.* Answers, he says, can be found by embracing the absurd. Post-Nothing has, at its root, an absurd story used to justify its absurd form. In that spirit... It is the future. The global population had become accustomed to an automated life style. A pre-programmed existence. But now things have changed. The robots their lives had revolved around have ceased operating. No warning, they simply stopped working. Dead in their tracks. Done, kaput. Now they lay in piles in our yards, on the sides of our streets, in the alleys of the city. The more industrious of the population have begun collecting the parts, using what’s available in a suddenly lo-tech world. The rest are fucked. Wallowing in their own inertia and paranoia, never knowing who’s out there, what’s next, why now? Welcome to life in the Machine Parts Age, a world freed from mechanization. The robots are gone. It is Post-Nothing.
This is by no means a unique foray into the absurd. Architects have referenced Blade Runner ad infinitum for years.fig.2 The work of Lebbeus Woods often finds itself on the border between architecture and science fictionfig.3 and, infact, he was credited as a consultant on the Gilliam film, 12 Monkeys.fig.4 Jimenez Lai of Bureau Spectacular bases most of his work off of comics he does beforehand.fig.5 And of course, no mention of the absurd would be proper without paying homage to Jorge Luis Borges,fig.6 that grand innovator of architecture plus fiction. This all comes out in the concept for Post-Nothingfig.7, a gathering place for people getting used to a world without robots.
fig.2
fig.3
fig.4 fig.5
* ACME, Log 22, Spring/Summer 2011 fig.7
labrynthine interior.
peripheral circulation.
fig.6
continuous space.
public territory.
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Post-Nothing as a place for social + cultural reconciliation.
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fig.1
Holes. All of Post-Nothing is organized around the voids.To the rightfig.1 the formal process is revealed as subtractive operation, where the holes are dropped into a mass. Below, program and circulation adapt to the form. All movement from floor to floor occurs fig.2 inside one of the three posts that reaches the ground, where the retail sections are located. fig.2
Program. Restaurant.
Office.
Lobby.
Retail.
Circulation.
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Genealogy: A Case Study Post-Nothing is a matt building, flat and expansive, necessitating perforations for light access. It is one among many buildings of this nature. Presented here are just a few that fit into the same family tree.
Archizoom No-Stop City This experimental matt building demonstrates how a very regular office layout can exist within and amongst peculiar forms.
Toyo Ito Sendai Mediateque Ito’s library contains large tree like tubes piercing each floor. They contain mechanical and electrical infrastructure as well as circulation.
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SANNA Rolex Learning Center This single story building gains light and outdoor access via the egg like punctures through the interior.
Le Corbusier Venice Hospital Corbusier’s hospital is one of the first matt buildings. Characterized by low, deep floor plans, they are well suited to many types of program.
BIG Greenland National Gallery of Art There is a simplicity to BIG’s diagrams that conveys both formal and conceptual intent with a great deal of clarity.
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First Floor.
Second Floor.
Third Floor.
Fourth Floor.
Fifth Floor.
Roof.
Plans.
The fifth floor contains a restaurant1 along with the office space which covers the other levels. Three posts reach the ground and contain stairs, elevators, and wet areas.
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fig. 2
72
Elevations.
Matter. As an exploration into structure, the studio consulted with structural engineers. The discussion resulted in the idea of three points of contact with the ground, and the remainder of the building being thought of as a massive truss, hovering over the site. The posts were then divided between structural and nonstructural which became glazing. A wireframe model was made fig1. to further the understanding of the buildings supportive system.fig.2
fig. 1
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32’
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Sections. Interior views reveal the complex and unique spaces within Post-Nothing. Above are office spaces on the first and fifth floor. The section cuts at left demonstrate how the stair cases occur within the thickness of the three posts that meet tne ground.
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Crowds.
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Underneath Post-Nothing is a vast public space, connected to the interior with views through the post holes.
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leaves of mass. Leaves of Mass is an exploration in tectonics. Utilizing organic geometries, each surface is connected to all the others, establishing a symbiotic relationship within itself. Although concrete, the project has a fluidity to it, an ability to adapt, and to take over. It inhabits its site with total autonomy. Inherent in the system is the capability for expansion and change in multiple directions. An objective of the course was to explore new possibilities in geometry through contemporary techniques including animation software. The brief was for a real competition on a site in Tehran, asking for the design of an eight story multi uses building for the clothing retailer, United Colors of Bennetton.
Control Professors Paul Preissner Laura Fehlberg Julie Flohr Fall 2009
N
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1.
4.
First Basement
Fourth Floor
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Ground Floor
Seventh Floor
Origin.
Bifurcation.
Growth.
Proliferation. fig.2
Growth.
fig.3
Growing inward, the exterior services gives way to the surfaces on the interior. The branches that make up the structure1. Bifurcate and form leaf like plates.fig.2 Proliferating along the facade, the floor plates are derivedfig.3, each featuring a central void, around which circulation occurs.4
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fig.1
Origin.
Interiors. The surfaces on the interior are a product of those on the exterior creating a sort of interior picturesque landscape similar that is at once a part of the facade. The same branching logic that creates the floors also creates the enclosure.fig.1 The system encompasses the entire site, top to bottom, inside to outside.fig.2
Branching.
fig. 2
Enclosure. 83
Curves: A Case Study A precept of the studio was that the animation software, Maya, would be used for geometric exploration. The following is a series of curve studies, that were then transformed into thick surfaces in anticipation of an architectural project. At left and below are two drawings from the series that would lead to the Tehran project.
Below, left: This drawing began as a single node. When proliferated it’s periphery stretched and distorted to create a surface. Directly below is the thickened version where the landscape is replicated underneath as well.
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This drawing looked to create a surface through line density. The thickened model failed in that it simply replicated the surface without continuing the experiments with density.
Below, the curve drawing attempted to create emergent forms by overlapping shapes. While the drawing has potential, the thickened surface again attempts a one to one translation rather than continuing the investigation.
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fig. 1
Flows. The masses of people move through the building fluidly. Select stretch downwards to reach the floor beneath.fig.1 Circulation is part of the same system making up the mass of the project. Each ramp reaches inwardfig.2 creating a spiraling path around an atrium in the center.fig.3
fig. 3
fig. 2
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88
Masses. As a multi-use building hordes of people are meant to be accomodated. This accomodation occurs via the deployment of a singular, autonomous system of branching, delivering some real weight to the site.
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Mind the Gap.
View of Gracia
View of l’Eixample
Barcelona Studio Professors Xavier Vendrell Josep Ferando Bramona Sergi Serrat Spring 2011
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View from the gap.
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fig. 1
Barrios. They say nature abhors a vacuum. Well, so does the city. Barcelonafig.1, one of Europes densest cities, was surrounded by a vacuum before Cerda came alongfig.2. He was charged with the planning of a modern city to infill between the old medieval walls, and it’s satelite towns, a space formerly left completely unbuilt as a defense measure. Barcelona, as it is now presents to us the stark contrast between it’s winding Gothic corridors, and the broad avenues of the grid. We find ourselves in the gap between the two. Set in between the barrio of Gracia and the modern area of l’Eixample, this project finds itself on a unique site in the city.fig.3 Containing fifty residences of varying sizes the building has the responsibility of bridging the gap between the two wildly different neighborhoods; one old, the other new, one posh, the other proletarian. Gracia with modern shops packed into ancient buildings,fig.4 l’Eixample with modern buildings in modern spaces.fig.5 Mind the Gap consists of four towers based on top of a double height slab the two sides are brought together by exploiting the types of gaps already prevalent in the city, i.e. the chamfered corners serving as gates to each block, and the crooked splits that make up the old quarters. These public spaces are replicated within the site; bridging the gap between the contemporary and the old, not unlike that architect did with Parc Guell so many years ago.fig.6
fig. 2
fig. 3
fig. 4 fig. 5
fig. 6
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Circulation
fig. 1
Interior Circul
5.8
6.4
4.2
Living 5
4.3
Bedroom Strg. 1.5
WC
Dining
Circulation
1.0
Strg. Bedroom 5.8
5.8
WC Bedroom
Strg.
Lndry.
6.4
4.2
Kitchen
Strg.
Visual Lines
4. 2.6
5 4.3
1.5
3. 1.0
2.6
1.0
2.75
5
2.7
5.8
2.
3.0
2.6
3.05
5
3.7 2.9
1.45
1.0
4.3
1.0
8.1
2.6
6.65
2.75
0 .5m 1m 2m
5
6.8
Living
5
1.2
3.0
3.05
Strg.
Bedroom WC Strg.
6.65
1.45
1.0
Dining
Lndry.
Kitchen
4.3
8.1
Circulation 0 .5m 1m 2m
Interior Circulation
Living Bedroom Strg. WC
Dining
Circulation
Strg. Bedroom WC Bedroom
Kitchen
Strg.
Lndry.
Strg.
Visual Lines
0
0 1m 2m 4m
94
5m 10m
1.0
4.3
4.3
Living Strg.
Bedroom WC Strg.
Dining
Lndry.
Light Boxes
Kitchen Circulation
Interior Circulation
Plans. At every scale the plans are arranged around gaps. A the scale of the city, the gap is between two very distinct neighbor hoods. At the scale of the project itself this gap happens within. The four residential towers are located around public spaces occurring at various levels.fig.1 The units contain multiple gaps as well. The entrances are positioned in a shared public gallery that opens to the air.2 Inside, the two units are separated by a superthick wall containing storage.3 And the private areas are hermetic boxes surrounded by public “gaps.�4 From the site plan to the bedroom the project is organized around continuous public space.
Living Bedroom Strg. WC
Dining
Circulation
Strg. Bedroom WC Bedroom
Kitchen
Strg.
Lndry.
Strg.
Visual Lines
Aggregation Aggregation
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Precedents: A Case Study Case studies of existing housing projects, both in Barcelona and abroad, was performed. Most attention was focused on the units organization rather than any formal study.
Jose Antonio Coderch Barceloneta Barcelona, Spain This small building utilizes angular walls and multiple doors to make the unit feel larger than it is.
scale 1:150
scale 1:150
scale 1:100
scale 1:400
VidalPonsGaliana Torre Julia Barcelona, Spain Although the units are small in this home for the elderly, the building is organized in communities, devoting much floor area to public space.
scale 1:150
scale 1:150
scale 1:100
Ground Floor
scale 1:400
Communal Space Collective Space N
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Individual Space
0
1m
2m
5m
Alison + Peter Smithson Robin Hood Gardens London, England Each unit has access and views to the public space situated between the two buildings. Also, circulation space doubles as a front yard.
Bedroom Office Office
WC Retail
Bedroom
Living Room Living Room
WC
Kitchen Kitchen Lnry.
Lnry.
Lnry.
Kitchen Kitchen Lnry.
Bedroom Strg. Strg. Bedroom
Living Room
Bedroom WC WC Bedroom
Living Room Retail
Bedroom WC WC Bedroom
WC WC
Bedroom Strg. Strg. Bedroom Retail
Retail
Lnry.
Living Room
WC WC
Living Room
Kitchen Kitchen
Lnry.
Kitchen WC Strg. WC
Bdrm. Bedroom Bdrm.
Circulation
Living Room
Lnry.
Eduardo Soto de Moura Apartment Building Maia, Portugal The units are pushed to the exterior of the building with an internalized circulation path. The path is a sort of gap around the private areas.
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2.
98
Site. Where context has been important to every project in this archive, Mind the Gap pays attention to site like none of the others. Due to it’s unique position in the city as well as its place among the neighboring buildings with which it shares party walls, site has gained importance. The elevation from the l’Eixample side reveals a consistency with the roof lines.fig1 At steet level, the entrance to the gap mimics the chamfers found in Cerda’s Grid.2
fig. 1
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fig. 1
Motion Pictures. fig. 2
These apartments are just as indebted to a group of films as they are to any urban or architectural references. Ever since Gary Cooper took on Ayn Randfig.1 Architecture and movies have been obsessed with each other. Mind the Gap is no different. The hermetic private spaces are derived from the obsessive worker of Pi.fig.2The vertical communities were inspired by the doomed residents of Delicatessen,fig.3 as seen in the free space surrounding the confines of the towers.fig.4 And then there is the shared gallery. Two strangers live in a single home in 3-Iron. Once compiled, all the characters fig.5 of the towers are set in motion.fig.6
fig. 3
fig. 4
fig. 5 101
From the l’Eixample side, a continuity with the neighboring buildings is registered.
102
Broad Sides.
A public space is created, bridging the gap between two neighborhoods.
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Aaron Spiering acspiering@gmail.com aaroncspiering.com
UICSOA Aaron Spiering acspiering@gmail.com MArch Spring 2012