g n i e s z k a
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Stage 6 Portfolio
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The Studio - Archiving the City: Athens and the Athens of the North
The studio investigates the themes of archiving and mapping, using them to ‘interrogate the urban environment’. The brief suggests utilizing the cities of
Edinburgh and Athens, including the similarities and contrasts between them as project generators.
ARCHIVING a process of COLLECTING, ASSEMBLING, and ACCUMULATING ... ... able to communicate, direct and influence opinion through: CLASSIFICATION, ORGANISATION DOCUMENTATION and ORDERING
MAPPING a representation of an INTERPRETATION of reality... distinct from descriptive tracing... generative, enabling.
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Design Thesis - Reflections on Identity This thesis was inspired by the rich socio-cultural and historical context of
18th century pro-Union attitudes in Scotland saw the country as an
The project explores the views towards Calton Hill from the city as well
its setting, using the City of Edinburgh and, more specifically, Calton Hill
intellectually and culturally strong individual part of the empire, contributing
as the experience of viewing the city of Edinburgh from the hill summit.
as project generators. The thesis originated from the process of mapping
to the multi-faceted identity of the united whole rather than being forcefully
An
Edinburgh through image, time and space, utilizing popular 19th century visual
dominated by its English counterpart. As unionism became transcended by
This has been supplemented by the creation of spaces for introversion
entertainment/early virtual reality devices such as panoramas and dioramas.
nationalism, attitudes changed to reflect an increasing desire for independence,
and learning, encouraging reflection to seal the fleeting images within
Edinburgh’s unique topography, which allowed the cityscape to be viewed in
both cultural and political. Scotland started to be portrayed as unique
the mind and attach beliefs to the impressions through introspection.
its entirety from above, together with the city’s historical association with the
and individual in opposition to, rather than as a part of the United Kingdom.
Drawing inspiration from the complete plans for the National Monument;
visual spectacles of Panorama and Camera Obscura, inspired this approach.
The rising popularity of romanticism and invented highland traditions
the lookout together with the Parthenon superimposed onto the site plan
The Panorama Method was patented in 1787 by Robert Barker, who painted his
were used to promote cultural distinctiveness in the hope of achieving
act
immersive landscapes from the summit of Calton Hill. The hill was also
political autonomy. The new identity harked back to the pre-union
styles - Neoclassical and Scottish Baronial – have been linked by a symbolic
the first home of Maria Short’s Camera Obscura, which was instrumental in
times, using a romantic vision of Medieval Scotland (as portrayed in the
bridging of the National and Nelson Monuments, achieved through extending
Patrick Geddes’s urban planning work. The Camera has since been moved to a site
literary works of Sir Walter Scott) as its template. Over time, the site has lost
the subterranean element of the scheme between the two structures.
near Edinburgh Castle and remains a popular tourist attraction to this day.
some of its symbolic meaning in favour of becoming a populist tourist site.
The hope is that doing this will highlight the symbolism of the two styles: the
outward-looking
as
catalysts
for
viewing
the
platform
building
offers
massing.
a
The
pensive
two
prospect.
predominant
Unionism vs Nationalism, without assigning ideological precedence to either. After mapping the city from the three different high points of Calton Hill,
Calton Hill is highly visible within the landscape of the city, a semi-rural
Salisbury Crags and the National Museum of Scotland roof terrace (a substitute
oasis within an urban setting. Today the hill is predominantly a tourist
The National Monument has unwittingly become a picturesque ruin,
for the Castle Hill), Calton Hill was chosen for the location of the project.
landscape; a pleasure ground filled with what might appear as picturesque
not through destruction but because of its incompleteness. One associates a
follies to the uneducated eye. The project aim was to revive Calton Hill as a political
monument with the imposition of certain ideals or ideologies - an object,
landscape and bring attention to the multitude of meanings contained
admired from distance which can be toppled and replaced. Currently, when
within its structures. This was realised through the creation of a new
visiting Calton Hill, many tourists interact directly with the monument
- its visual prominence within the city
structure, which will utilize the tourist draw to inform and engage the public,
by climbing onto the structure despite the obstacles of fencing and the tall
- its link to the aforementioned visual spectacles,
encourage reflection and in turn, spark inquiry. The building will become
podium. The lack of steps and slippery surfaces do not deter the determined
- its significance in relation to the Athens of the North myth
an archive of its setting, providing a change of perspective through framing
and the structure becomes inhabited despite its intended aloofness. The project aim
- its historical role as a politically charged commemorative landscape
structures and views around them, thus highlighting their history and purpose.
was to create a building rather than a monument, an accessible democratic
The journey formed through the building therefore aims to change the perception
structure which can be inhabited and that inspires inquiry through
The site is filled with monuments aimed at selectively reinforcing certain
of one’s surroundings - both the physical realm and the social, political and
inhabitation. Through curating the building user’s experience, the project
collective memories chosen by the structure’s creators, thus promoting a
historical context.
aims to educate by promoting personal enquiry without the imposition of
The Calton Hill site was chosen because of:
dogmatic teaching. By encouraging the public to reflect on the identity of
specific set of ideas through the commemoration of individual achievements and making Calton Hill a physical archive of political visions. Two predominant
The
Edinburgh
their setting, the place of reflection brings the lost political dimension
architectural styles vie for attention on the hill’s summit, namely Neoclassical
and Athens, and Edinburgh’s constructed identity as the Athens of the
back to the hill without regulated political activity actually taking place there.
and Gothic Revival (or Scottish Baronial). The two revivalist styles carry
North. The emphasis is on constructed, because the theory exploits natural similarities
The building invites its user to look beyond invented traditions and think for
within themselves differing ideas about the hill’s purpose and identity and,
such as topography and the location of the satellite port to then make and
themselves. It is democracy at its most spontaneous - freedom of thought
by extension, carry the competing ideas of Unionism and Nationalism,
enhance further connections between the two cities. The subtext was to promote
intensified by dramatic space, setting and the journey through the building.
making them identifiable with the city and the country the hill represents.
Edinburgh’s Enlightenment achievements and to seal its image as a significant
new
structure
will
explore
the
links
between
part of the Empire. The intention is to highlight the contrasting views of Scotland as both part of the Union and as an independent autonomous
For detailed information on Calton Hill see:
entity. Through orchestrating a journey and experience in the heart of the
McKee, Kirsten. Calton Hill : And the Plans for Edinburgh’s Third New Town.
elevated landscape, the visitor and inhabitant of the city are encouraged
For myth and invented Scottish traditions see:
to view the structures on and around the hill in a different light and gain
Trevor-Roper, Hugh. The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland.
an increased knowledge of their surroundings and the meanings they carry.
Chapter 2 in Eric Hobsbawm and Ranger, Terence, eds., The Invention of Tradition, 2012.
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Project Location - Calton Hill, Edinburgh
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Leith Port
Calton Hill
Castle
Salisbury Crags
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The City of Edinburgh - Topography - Three Hills Cradling the City
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The Castle Hill
Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags
Calton Hill
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The Invention of Panorama: Robert Barker, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, method patented 1787
Top: Edinburgh From The Crown Of St. Giles, Robert Barker. Source: Edinburgh Virtual Environment Centre Š City Arts Centre Bottom: Panorama of Edinburgh from Calton Hill, Robert Barker. Watercolour version of Barker’s first full Panorama is dated 1792. Source: Edinburgh University Library Special Collections
Close up fragments of the above panoramas - left to right: The Castle, Calton Hill, Leith.
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1793 The Leicester Square Rotunda purpose-built to display Robert Barker’s panoramic paintings. Aquatint by Robert Mitchell, 1801.
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Mapping - Panoramas, dioramas and the exploration of Edinburgh through image, time and space.
Edinburgh diorama, incorporating 2013 and 2019 views of St James Shopping Centre.
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View from Calton Hill towards St James Shopping Centre, 2013.
View from Calton Hill towards St James Shopping Centre, 2019.
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Athens of the North
Charles Robert Cockerell and William Playfair. The (Uncompleted) National Monument on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, from Southwest (1825 – 1829).
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Charles Robert Cockerell, Transverse section of the National Monument, 1822.
Calton Hill - Political Landscape or Pleasure Ground?
1815 CALTON JAIL Archibald Elliot
1718 OLD BURIAL GROUND
1700
1776 OLD OBSERVATORY James Craig
1750
1818-22 1825-6 CITY OBSERVATORY PLAYFAIR MONUMENT W.H. Playfair W.H. Playfair
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1766 NEW TOWN James Craig 1707 ACT OF UNION
1792 PANORAMA Robert Barker
1825-9 ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL Thomas Hamilton
1844 POLITICAL MARTYRS OF 1793 OBELISK Thomas Hamilton
1850
1900
1791 BRIDEWELL PRISON Robert Adam
1745 JACOBITE RISING
1815 SCREEN WALLS Archibald Elliot
1934-9 ST ANDREW’S HOUSE Thomas Tait
1968 Royal High School (RHS) building abandoned
1998 The Scotland Act (Devolution and Creation of Scottish Parliament)
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2018 The Collective
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HOME RULE CONSIDERED 1998 Democracy Cairn 1831 DUGGALD STEWART MONUMENT W.H. Playfair
1816-9 REGENT BRIDGE Robert Stevenson
1777 HUME MONUMENT Robert Adam
A site of imprisonment
1830 BURNS MONUMENT Thomas Hamilton
1807-16 NELSON MONUMENT Robert Burn
Completed by Thomas Bonnar, 1814-1816.
1885 Creation of Scottish Office (administrative devolution)
1826-29 NATIONAL MONUMENT Cockerell and Playfair,
Designed 1823-1826, built 1826-9.
A social equaliser, as demonstrated by the hill being used by washerwomen.
1970s Scottish Assembly RHS proposals (ended by 1979 devolution referendum)
2004 Scottish Parliament building
2015 - ? Hoskins/Murphy Royal High School Planning Battle
2018 St James Centre demolished
A site of Unionism/Nationalism 13
Design Thesis - Reflections on Identity: A Place for Reflection
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The Lookout A Pensive Prospect
The Lyceum A Reflective Refuge
The Bath House A Sentient Sanctuary
Exposed viewing platform (outward-looking)
A public gathering place enabling intellectual training and social interaction,
Secluded Steam Baths (inward-looking)
A Place for Reflection
The Lookout 360° Viewing Platform
The Lyceum Library and Exhibition Drum
The Lyceum Foyer and Garden
The Subterranean Bath House
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Calton Hill - Architectural Context
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Context Plan
Private Gardens City Observatory (The Collective)
Playfair Monument National Monument
Old Observatory
Duggald Stewart Monument
Democracy Cairn Nelson Monument
Old Calton Burial Ground
ool gh Sch i H l a ) ld Roy House t The O n e m Parlia (New
Hume Monument
St An drew Gove
’s Ho use
rnor ’s Ho use
0
20
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Context and Setting Governor’s House (formerly part of Calton Jail)
Duggald Stewart Monument
Nelson Monument
Old Observatory
St Andrew’s House
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National Monument
Democracy Cairn
City Dome
The Old Royal High School (New Parliament House)
Burns Monument
Regent Terrace
Design Process - Bridge’ and Panorama
A symbolic bridging of the National and Nelson Monuments will highlight the symbolism of the two styles: Unionism vs Nationalism, without assigning ideological precedence to either.
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Restoration - the ruin altered - Neues Museum by David Chipperfield Architects
The National Monument: ‘A Ruin in Anticipation’ (Hollis, 2010) In terms of my attitude towards refurbishment, I support thoughtful alteration rather than imitative restoration. I believe in creating a clear but not aggressive contrast between old and new elements. I believe that any new additions should be distinct without the destruction of harmony of the whole, allowing the building’s layers a history to be read by its inhabitant. During this porject I was inspired by David Chipperfield’s restoration of the destroyed Neues Museum in Berlin. Instead of replicating the original exacly as it was, the architect used the lost form as a template and recreated it using new materials and simplified details.
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The Reflective Refuge - Design Process
‘...somewhere to view the city from (and) somewhere for the city to view towards.’ (McKee, 2018)
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The Reflective Refuge - Selected Option
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The Bath House - A Sentient Sanctuary
Level 0 - Piano Nobile
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Basement level
The Bathing Ritual - The Classical Bath
Frigidarium
Tepidarium
Laconium
Caldarium
Water basins to be placed in each of the warm rooms.
5 - 20 째 C Cold Room Plunge pool
30 - 40 째 C Humidity 20 - 40% Warm and Dry
38 - 45 째 C Humidity 10 - 20% Hot and Dry (similar to sauna but less hot)
40 - 47 째 C Humidity up to 100% Hot and Humid (steam room)
Modern hydronic system to be used, similar to classical hypocaust.
This bathing sequence has been inspired by the classical baths of Ancient Greece, further developed by the Romans. For information on the history of bathing please refer to "The history of baths as buildings" timeline found at http://www.mnep.gr/en/visit/the-bath-house-of-the-winds/in-the-bath-a-trip-to-the-body-and-the-soul/
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Level 1 - Library drum and reading rooms
Level 1.5 - Reading room mezzanine 32
Level 2 - Exhibition and research space
Level 3 - Panoramic viewing platform 33
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g n i e s z k a
F l i s
Stage 5 Architecture Portfolio
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Stage 5 Semester 1 Architecture Portfolio ARC8050
Stiftskaserne MuseumsQuartier Point of Entry
Esterhรกzypark
Mariahilfer Strasse Point of Entry
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Memory Against History The brief proposes that ‘Vienna trades on its past, selectively conjuring up usable ghosts of the dead as a way to project its continued cultural significance’ and package itself for consumption. The project aims to challenge the spectacle of cultural tourism and commodity fetishism, placing experience above aesthetics. It does it through challenging modes of production, utilising defamiliarization to avoid reproduction. Drawing on Freudian principles, the brief suggests that Vienna has repressed the memory of the Holocaust and the repressed always returns with catastrophic results. The normalisation of the towers fuels this repression and the process needs to be disturbed to halt yet another catastrophe. The aim is to make Vienna confront its history by making the Flak towers visible and to allow them to fulfil their role as witnesses and reminders of the Catastrophe. The hope is that by confronting its uncomfortable past, Vienna will also confront its uncomfortable present, in particular the current political shift towards the far right, and the catastrophe of WW2 might not repeat itself. The aim is to replace repression with sublimation and awareness, to express anger through radical art, which radical architecture becomes part of. Questioning the possibility of poetry after Auschwitz, Adorno demonstrated the failure of Western civilisation and the impossibility of continuity. He did not, however, see silence as an option, but believed that any new form of expression which does not recognise the existence of the Holocaust would be a false reproduction. In the spirit of the thinker, this project seeks radical alternatives of architectural expression by critically engaging with the city and acknowledging its uncomfortable past. Only through the creation of architecture motivated by social purpose rather than economic or aesthetic drives we can move towards a constitutive utopia. The motivation for this proposal is therefore social and political. The trap of formalism which caused the failure of the neo-avant garde can only be avoided by critical engagement with context and history. The greatest part of this semester was spent working collectively on the symposium and the group visibility strategy with work on individual interventions commencing only after the interim crit. The collective work was present with us during all presentations, including the final crit to highlight its generative influence for the individual work. Although my intervention takes a very different form from the group strategy the motivation remains the same. The idea of ‘cut’ although expressed differently, is present in both the collective and individual proposition. Freud’s free associative method became a source of inspiration and method for the design, initially expressed in the sponge painting experiment. Whilst the final decisions about the shape and type of the intervention were a conscious response to site and context, the intuitive feeling for the need of a cut through the city and elevated perspective provided a drive for the project to develop.
As a response to the brief and group strategy, my intervention proposes a cut through the city in the form of an elevated walkway linking the pair of the Flak towers to each other and piercing the cultural heart of the city. The physical cut which will break through the multiple barriers which separate the carefully controlled image of the city of dreams from its uncomfortable past. By linking the towers to the Museumsquartier and the Innere Stadt, one assigns equal importance to the dark history of the city, placing it alongside the cultural achievements of the fin he siècle, which the city brand chooses to currently promote at the expense of ignoring all layers of Vienna’s history. The apparatus makes the towers visible by creating a disturbing cut through the protected city fabric, drawing attention from the controversy of the proposition as much as through the visual axis it creates. Yet the apparatus cannot fulfil its purpose without the question of the tower’s current uses being challenged. As the two towers are the only pair which is extensively utilised for commercial and military purposes, one would struggle to make a case for the tower’s re-purposing on purely economic basis. As the motivation for the project goes beyond the functional and aesthetic but focuses more on the social, historic and political, the use I propose for the towers is a Museum and documentation centre, with spaces to accommodate radical art and politics - a use that recognises their past. Adolf Loos challenged the material and aesthetic falsity of the Ringstrasse, likening Vienna to a Potemkin City. Vienna continues to embrace Potemkin facade, continuing to look towards past for comfort. A disturbance in the historic city fabric is necessary responds to preclude creating a false sense of continuity. My intervention’s aim is also to challenge deception, despite any comfort it might bring. The challenge comes in several guises. Firstly, Vienna’s constructed image is challenged to incorporate the city’s darker pasts into the collective memory. Secondly, the preservationist principles are challenged by making a large-scale, intrusive intervention into UNESCO protected urban fabric, including piercing the façade of the formal Imperial Stables currently housing the entrance to the Museumsquartier. Finally, the walkway apparatus will have an uncompromising but contemporary appearance, clearly in contrast to the historic fabric it will pierce. It will use black steel and have an almost utilitarian appearance, expressive of its determined aim. The construction would be clearly readable, reminiscent of a piece of infrastructure and in spirit of material honesty.
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Flak Towers in Vienna
Vienna has a distinct urban form. The Innere Stadt forms a compact cluster bordered by the Donaukanal to the North East and surrounded by the grand boulevard of the Ringstraße. The Ringstraße itself was built to replace earlier fortifications and military glacis and is one of the defining features of the city. The ring can be seen as a barrier containing the greatest concentration of buildings and institutions deemed most culturally significant and fit to appear in tourist guides. It holds the defining images of the city and contains its spectacle.
Esterházypark
Stiftskaserne
The brief deals directly with the memories of the catastrophe by engaging with its physical witnesses - the Flakturme. The Flak towers were anti-aircraft defence structures built rapidly during WW2. There are 3 pairs of Flakturme, each consisting of the G-tower (combat tower) and L-Tower (command tower): • Arenberg Park (2nd generation design) • Augarten Park (3rd generation) • Stiftskaserne military complex and Esterházypark Park Haus des Meeres Aquarium (3rd generation)
I’m looking at the Stiftskaserne and Esterhazy Flak towers. The Stiftskaserne in particular has a unique location closest to the RingStrasse and the historical and tourist heart of the city, yet it is the most invisible, enclosed within the tall walls of the urban fabric. The Stiftskaserne tower is fully utilised by the army and access and information are limited. Photography is prohibited within the military complex. It is visually and physically cut off from all city spectators. The Aquarium tower at Esterhazy Park is the only tower currently accessible to the public. Current use of the L-tower as aquarium, and the expansion plans, which make the war monument look like another generic capitalist office skyscraper, fully secure it within the neoliberal experience economy and deny its the role of a witness. Current military function, whilst one cannot argue that it relates to the tower’s previous use, removes the flak from public life, and collective consciousness. The remaining towers are either abandoned or have limited use with no public access.
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Innere Stadt
Augarten
Arenberg
Arenbergpark command tower
Augarten command tower
Esterhรกzypark command tower
Arenbergpark gun tower
Augarten gun tower
Stiftskaserne gun tower 51
Group Symposium For the symposium, our group created an immersive installation designed to elicit an emotional response. The installation acted as an unconventional cognitive map, representing our impressions of the sites through abstract artwork combined with sound and projected video which linked the memories of catastrophe to present day events and the shift towards the far right. To view symposium video follow: https://vimeo.com/307866507
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Groupwork, including symposium work, on display during the final crit.
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Group Masterplan Visibility Strategy EVENT A catastrophe is the result of society disregarding smaller events. These smaller events if ignored culminate to a breaking point. This has been shown throughout history. We are confronting these smaller events. The degree to which a place confronts its history correlates to the return of the repressed. CUT (site of intervention) The people of the Vienna dictate the placement of the interventions through their actions. It is a data driven act whereby instances of hate crime are flagged as the next site for an ‘intervention’. WOUND (physical intervention into the city fabric) The wound is a disruptive mechanism that is situated within daily life. It allows for a bodily understanding, providing an intensity of perception. The anonymity of the object creates a shared experience. In the essence of Rachel Whiteread, the direction is to give absence a presence, without violating the memory of loss. The emphasis does not lie on the intervention, but rather the experience. The wound is a mnemonic device. The wounds may not directly reference the flak towers but make the towers visible by linking present to past. SCAR (lasting effect) The scar is a lasting mark on the city as interventions will accumulate over time and stand indefinitely. Their abstract anonymity means that they are neither monuments or memorials. Instead the scars act as disruptors, moments of aesthetic shock. By making the event perpetually present, they act as a warning. Acknowledging the repressed they act as a form of resistance.
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Group installation, including symposium and process work, on display during the interim crit.
Attitude. Boldness. I have produced a series of sponge paintings before the symposium which I have then allowed to be shredded and reassembled for the symposium installation. I have also attempted to create a larger painting as a reproduction to be displayed as part of the installation.The sponge paintings represent a boldness of attitude which influenced my design approach. By using a mode of representation freed from convention they influence the approach towards the design of the intervention in the urban fabric. By allowing the drawings to be tools rather than display pieces, to be shredded and reassembled presents an alternative approach to dealing with historic cityscape. By painting with an unfamiliar and imprecise medium one also relinquishes some control and makes reproduction impossible.
Ink on A1 newsprint. Painted using a fibre cement sample.
Ink and acrylic paint on A1 newsprint. Painted using a sponge.
Oil paint on A1 newsprint. Painted using a dishcloth.
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Visibility Studies The visibility studies began as a an exercise to establish whether the other pairs of towers were visible from the viewing platform on top of the Aquarium tower. Although the towers were hard to spot as they blend in with the greyness of their surroundings, they are not impossible to spot once one knows where to look. What started out as a black outline drawn around the shape of the distant tower to make it appear visible on the photograph developed into a 3D study highlighting which objects stand out on the photographs. This exercise inspired me to think about the city from a different perspective, elevating the eye-level above the rooftops and looking at the urban fabric with fresh eyes. This in turn inspired me to think of my intervention as an elevated walkway.
Plan of Vienna with buildings emphasised in visibility studies highlighted in red. 56
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Proposed Walkway Infrastructure My proposal links the Flak towers to the city and to each other. The walkway acts as a physical cut which will break through the multiple barriers which separate the carefully controlled image of the city of dreams from its uncomfortable past. The strategy utilises the existing break which links the Hofburg to the Museum Quarter through the Heldenplatz and Maria-Theresien-Platz which houses Naturhistorisches and Kunsthistorisches museums. The cut then continues along this axis to further link the city to the G-tower by means of a walkway apparatus which cuts through multiple layers of buildings [MQ (former imperial stables) baroque suite, former winter riding hall and Kunsthalle]. The disturbance in the urban fabric continues as the apparatus continues toward the L-tower, soaring above the buildings surrounding the Mariahilfer Strasse (Vienna’s longest shopping street), reminiscent of a massive piece of infrastructure. By linking the towers to the Museumsquartier, one assigns equal importance to the dark history of the city, placing it alongside the cultural achievements of the fin de siècle, which the city brand chooses to currently promote at the expense of ignoring all layers of Vienna’s history.
B
A B
A
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0
10 m
Section B-B, the walkway sails above the buildings to connect the two towers
3rd layer enclosing Stiftskaserne tower
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0
2nd layer
1st layer enclosing MQ Stiftskaserne tower boundary
MQ Kunsthalle
MQ Winter Riding Hall
MQ Courtyard
MQ Barocke Suiten
10 m
10 m
Section A-A, 1:1000, The walkway pierces multiple layers of buildings
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Stiftskaserne
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Esterhรกzypark
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ARC8051 Tools for Thinking Essay
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Stage 5 Semester 2 Architecture Portfolio ARC8052
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Spectres of Vienna: Excavating the Repressed The brief proposes that ‘Vienna trades on its past, selectively conjuring up usable ghosts of the dead as a way to project its continued cultural significance’ and package itself for consumption. The project aims to challenge the spectacle of cultural tourism and commodity fetishism, placing experience above aesthetics. Only through the creation of architecture motivated by social purpose rather than economic or aesthetic drives we can move towards a constitutive utopia. The motivation for the project is therefore social and political and the trap of formalism can only be avoided through critical engagement with context and history. The aim is to make Vienna confront its history by allowing the Flak Towers, high-rise anti-aircraft concrete defence structures built rapidly during the Second World War, to fulfil their role as witnesses of the Catastrophe. The hope is that by confronting its uncomfortable past, Vienna will also confront its uncomfortable present. Over a century ago Adolf Loos challenged the eclectic historicism and the material falsity of the Ringstrasse, likening Vienna to a Potemkin City. Today Vienna continues to embrace this illusion, looking towards past for comfort and capital. In prioritising economic rather than sociocultural needs when formulating its attitude towards the past, Vienna is inadvertently guilty of selective forgetting. This is troubling, especially in the political context of the shift towards the far right, where turning away from yesterday’s troubles might cause problems of the future to go unnoticed. A disturbance in the historic city fabric is necessary responds to preclude creating a false sense of continuity. The normalization of the six Flak towers over the years reflects how the memories of the Second World War did not fit comfortably with Austria’s official narrative and, once its complicity has been acknowledged, with the narrative created by the tourist industry. Thus, the Flak Towers play a part in the theatre of Viennese memory politics, enabling uncomfortable past to be covertly acknowledged yet outwardly denied. The flak towers are both witnesses and products of the Second World War, but adaptive reuse has changed their meaning. If we perceive the towers as symbols of that time in history, denying their memory is the same as denying the memory of the Holocaust. Austria has made some attempts at confronting its past through re-establishing the Jewish Museum and through Rachel Whiteread’s Judenplatz Memorial. This, however, might be seen as a reflection of a global trend rather than attempt for direct confrontation. Notwithstanding the motive, any attempt at confronting uncomfortable past is nevertheless eclipsed by the image projected by Vienna’s heritage industry. The refusal to confront uncomfortable history is reflected in the urban fabric, and both denials, semiotic and physical ultimately fuel each other.
The pair of Flak Towers I chose to work with is closest to the heart of the city and its heritage industry. One might argue that this physical proximity created a danger to the constructed narrative. The possibility of confrontation through quarantine and myth still exists in the other pairs of towers but the Aquarium and Stiftskaserne towers’ method of adaptive reuse, where their past is acknowledged in passing to remove mystery yet removed to the background as to not draw attention to itself, prevents storytelling and denies their witness role. In fact, such normalising treatment might act more in the interest of facilitating forgetting than full repression might, and forgetting runs the risk of repeating. The idea of a ‘cut’ continues to be present this semester. The physical cut which will break through the multiple barriers which separate the carefully controlled image of the city of dreams from its uncomfortable past and acknowledges all layers of Vienna’s history. This semester the cut will pierce the building as well as the city, forcing the Flak towers to confront their own history. Freud’s free associative method continued to be a source of inspiration and method for the design. Whilst the final decisions about the shape and type of the intervention were a conscious response to building and context, the intuitive feeling for the need of a cut through the city and elevated perspective provided a drive for the project to develop.
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Building Intervention My semester 2 work develops the semester 1 proposal through focusing on the internal use and experience within the two Flak towers. The journey leads through the Stiftskaserne Flak tower, which becomes The Uncomfortable Memory Archive. The witness travels through the archive tower, being able to see but not touch the artefacts held within. The theatricality and strategies of an archeological display are at play. The aim is to reintroduce a sense of ruin, lost through current adaptive reuse, and therefore to allow for storytelling and encourage enquiry. To gain access to the information one needs to make an active effort to obtain it, this is in hope that information which is not easily handed over will be less easily forgotten. A conveyor book delivery system is integrated into the walkway which delivers specifically requested books to a top floor reading room within the aquarium tower.
Uncomfortable Memory Tower, formerly Haus des Meeres Aquarium -
Tower to be stripped back to structural elements, side extensions removed. Lay-in grid ceilings, commercial tiles, artificial rock and similar removed to expose original concrete. To be filled with temporary exhibition spaces which address uncomfortable memory, including but not exclusive to Austria’s complicity in the Holocaust. Rooftop restaurant to be replaced with a parasitic reading room extension. Some of the larger aquarium tanks to be retained as counterpoint to exhibits, traces of previous adaptive reuse and protest against selective memory. Main circulation shaft and services to be reused. Reintroduce a sense of ruin and labyrinth, simulate and subvert splinter protection access routes. Walkway connection to Archive Tower.
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The 3rd walkway which spans between the two towers soars above the city fabric, visually and physically connecting them to each other. As one’s viewpoint becomes elevated and the axis focuses one’s gaze, the city dissolves beneath and the concrete monsters draw you in.
Archive Tower, formerly utilised by the Austrian army - The witness to be engulfed by and simultaneously denied access to the memories held within.
- Uncomfortable memories might be glimpsed but never fully exposed in order to encourage active enquiry and prevent forgetting.
- Purpose of the tower is to house an archive but also to provide a transitory experience of passing though, where the journey aims to elicit a sense of mystery and menace, making one both uncomfortable and mesmerised and Encouraging constant enquiry. - The archive will collect material dealing with the subject of uncomfortable memory, including but not limited to Austria’s role in WW2. Some book-stacks may remain visibly empty, encouraging to be filled over time. - The tower can also house the Archive of the Jewish Community of Vienna, which is currently not accessible to the public. - Tower to be stripped back to structural elements and pierced by blackened steel walkways multiple times. - Void to be created within though cutting the floor-plates. - Main circulation and services shaft to be reused. - Reintroduce a sense of ruin and labyrinth. - Walkway connection to Aquarium Tower.
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Walkway construction and materiality I imagine the structure and materiality of the proposed walkways to have a similar raw industrial look to the work of Gunther Domenig at both Nuremberg Documentation Centre and National Exhibition Carinthia in Huttenberg (images on the opposite page). The gap between the new and the old construction is another important detail.
Domenig Nuremberg
The gap - detail of beam hovering over the existing, Carlo Scarpa
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The Uncomfortable Memory Archive
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The Void
Scale comparison.
Holocaust Tower
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Jewish Museum Berlin.
Assembly chamber.
Flak Tower. Height: 47m
Palace of the Assembly Chandigarh.
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The journey experience - passing through the void - The witness to be engulfed by and simultaneously denied access to the memories held within. The tower of memories becomes a ruin one is able to see but cannot touch. - Uncomfortable memories might be glimpsed but never fully exposed in order to encourage active enquiry and prevent forgetting.
Ground level.
Level 0 1 : 500
Level 2 1 : 500
Level 2 access bridge leading from the MuseumsQuartier walkway affords glimpses of the pierced void and inhabited wall.
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Non-structural walls are removed but one still feels a lingering sense of enclosure before approaching the newly created void.
Level 2
Level 4
One only gets to experience the full scale of the void and the walkways piercing it as one moves closer to the centre and looks up.
Level 4 1 : 500
As one moves round the concrete circulation stack, the second walkway and platform become more clearly visible.
Level 4.
Inaccessible empty spaces hover next to the suspended walkways.
On might step off the walkway onto the platform to access the circulation stack or continue on towards the dead-end.
As one moves through the circulation stack one gets glimpses of the vast space but is permitted to only move up towards the final walkway. Access to book-stacks is purposefully denied.
Where the floor has been removed openings are filled with expanded metal mesh screens, allowing glimpses but not access to the dark and dangerous empty spaces. 77
Level 4 1 : 500
Upper levels.
Levels 6 & 7 1 : 500
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Proposed cuts strategy As the floor-plates span from between the external walls and the circulation stack it might be necessary to introduce some additional vertical supports after the void openings have been made. Whilst some floor-plates might be able to cantilever, for others steel columns might be incorporated in between the bookshelves.
Existing 1:500
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Concrete to be removed highlighted in red.
Proposed void.
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Level 0
Level 2
Level 4
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
1 : 500
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1 : 500
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Level 4 1 : 500
Level 5 1 : 500
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Uncomfortable Memory Tower, formerly Haus des Meeres Aquarium The original and the existing
Dashed red line indicates where significant sections of structural wall have been removed over time.
The circulation routes within the original tower had a more labyrinthine quality to allow for splinter protection (red).
Originally, in order to access the staircase leading up to upper levels one would have to step outside onto the platform (red).
Over time alterations have been made to simplify access for visitors (blue route).
The proposed
The proposed distorts the original labyrinth experience by encouraging a route through the retained Atlantic tunnel aquarium. Newly inserted expanded metal mesh screens would block access but not vision in other directions making it possible to read the building’s history through texture.
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The walkway will cut off the access to the existing staircase which becomes a ‘ruin’. The circulation is diverted into the radar shaft where a new steel staircase is inserted. The existing 150 litre tank is expanded so that the witness is fully trapped inside the thick walls with the water and sharks creating a sense of unease.
Alterations can be traced in changes in texture visible where concrete has been cut.
New staircase
Visual depicting the proposed atmosphere within the forbidden staircase. A ‘ruin’ which can to be seen but not accessed.
Forbidden staircase
Proposed section. New staircase inserted into the radar/shark tank shaft.
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Haus des Meeres Aquarium - The Existing Experience
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Traces of the original building and atmosphere
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Stripped back existing
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Section North South 1 : 500
Section East West 1 : 500
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The found object and the (g)HOST building: cuts and texture
Found object - handmade lavender soap - colour - texture.
Flak tower - cutting exposes aggregate - smooth shiny surface - texture.
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Flak tower - wall fragment juxtaposing smooth cut texture and formwork marks.
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The Catalyst
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Catalyst iterations / roof extension concept
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Roof Extension Concept Model
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Reading room parasite model photographs
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Esterhazy Park Flak Tower / Haus des Meeres Existing Elevations
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Esterhazy Park Flak Tower / Haus des Meeres Proposed Elevations
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Aquarium proposed strategy Uncomfortable Memory Tower, formerly Haus des Meeres Aquarium - Tower to be stripped back to structural elements, side extensions removed. - Lay-in grid ceilings, commercial tiles, artificial rock and similar removed to expose original concrete. - To be filled with temporary exhibition spaces which address uncomfortable memory, including but not exclusive to Austria’s complicity in the Holocaust. - Rooftop restaurant to be replaced with a parasitic reading room extension. - Some of the larger aquarium tanks to be retained as counterpoint to exhibits, traces of previous adaptive reuse and protest against selective memory. - Main circulation shaft and services to be reused. - Reintroduce a sense of ruin and labyrinth, simulate and subvert splinter protection access routes. - Walkway connection to Archive Tower.
1. Retained Atlantic tunnel. 2. Conference room 3. Retained 300L double height shark tank. 4. Walkway access and remote book delivery system. 5. Forbidden staircase ‘ruin’. 6. Command rooms ‘ruins’. 7. Enlarged shark tank and new circulation within the radar shaft. The rest of the spaces will be a mix of temporary exhibition spaces, multimedia rooms and support spaces. I imagine that many of the services, support spaces and some rooms in the current aquarium might be reused and adapted to suit the scheme, however, as no detailed layout of the existing is available the plans here are only indicative.
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