Intimate Cities
Alex Raher
06055313
B(Arch) Intimate Cities Manchester School of Architecture Richard Dargavel / Amy Handley
Intimate Cities
A
rchitectural design sets up rules for the construction of a building, the creation of form and the use of space within. Building blocks form the fabric of our society, the places we meet, inhabit and associate with every day. Architecture, there is no doubt, shapes our lives. Yet, the city has become static. Urban planning has been capitalistically defined, resulting in an ‘inactive’, un-intriguing landscape that people rarely interact with. The ‘Intimate Cities’ unit aims to address this detachment by rediscovering the ‘real’, the intriguing, the exciting and the pleasurable and developing strategies to re-establish these into city life.
‘rediscovering the ‘real’...into city life’ Animate. Thrill. Entertain. Tease. Enrich. Excite. Elicit. Vivacious. Alert. Pleasure. Alive. The possibilities for alternative programming in the city are endless: ‘Along an alley in the rear facade of a retail unit, a small recess, no more than 500mm deep houses a hugging station for passers by. It is a small affordance of space and simple program, but becomes a very rich activity amongst more complex elements of the city.’ ‘Alongside the hugging station is a platformed area, a ‘pause point’: where stories are shared and people can rest. Stop and remove themselves. Relax...away from the flow.’
“Modernity is dominated by the expulsion of the natural order. A residue.” Jean Baudrillard
‘A subtle doorway along an alley leads to the astrologist and fortune teller’s booth, where trade is good; and opposite, the flower sellers stall is equally successful due to its location beneath the mischief parlour and the influx of guilty consciences that pass by.’
Nathalie Aguinaldo’s project; Stripped Bare, an antiglobalisation study into the ‘real’ city, expresses concern that modernity has detached us from genuine spatial experiences. She worries that the simulated world will be all that is left to inspire and intrigue and proposes an alternative planning system that gives space to the repressed parts of the city.
The intimacy of her proposals are designed to “push the envelope of social interaction” and she uses the alleyway as a medium for development. I am interested in how this design philosophy can open new possibilities and re-intrigue people into seeing the world “through new eyes”.
“Irresistible, delicious reality.” Stripped Bare The objective is to find space for the individual within the city through a discovery and exploration of existing programs, inter-relationships between them and possibilities for architectural intervention.
Intimate Cities Archiving : Yellow Pages The Yellow Pages research intended to explore intriguing programmatic functions in the city. The catalogue is a database of everyday, noncorporate activities and professions that could easily be overlooked in the consumerist, fast paced city. The publication is such a great resource for unusual and exciting activity in the city because it is not limited to certain professions of users. Any company or service can advertise or place their details within, resulting in a highly rich, diverse collection of information.
The relevant programmes were compiled alphabetically and listed. This list began to develop into a fascinating compilation of potential programmatic activity that could be augmented through the city to provide a new experience for the urban user.
Intimacy in the city - programmatic potential
Aa Acupuncture Addiction Artist Centre/Studio Aquatic Centre Antique Auctioneers Astrologer and Horoscopes Abortion clinic Bb Baker Bamboo Merchant Blacksmith Butchers Blood Services Beauty Salon Body Piercing Books rare/second hand Bookmakers/Bookbinders Bunting maker Button/Buckle repair Cc Cake makers Cobblers Children’s Entertainers Cinema Carpet Seller Dd Dancing School Disco (mobile) Dog walker Dress maker Dry cleaners Detective agency Deli
Ee Escort Service Embroidery Engravers Entertainers Ff Farmers Market Florist Fruit Machine Film Studio Fish and Chips Fish Merchant/monger Furniture Repair/ restore Gg Golf (driving range/crazy/putt) Gym (street gym/green gym) Guerrilla gardens Hh Haberdashery Horse Slaughter House Hypnotherapist Hair Pieces Hostel (YMCA) Ii Ice Cream Parlour Internet Café Introduction Agency Iron and Laundry Service Immigration Advice Jj Juggler Job Centre
Kk Kissogram Karaoke Kinesiology Ll Label makers (signs) Landscapers Language school Laundrette Locksmiths Mm Martial Arts ‘Massage’ Parlour Medium (Spiritual) Music Tuner/repairs Nn Newsagent/Post Office Nightclub Oo Pp Paintball/combat Painters and Decorators Parkour Pawnbrokers Pests and Vermin Pet Shop Picture Framers Places of Worship Psychics and Clairvoyant Pub Peep Show Puppet Show
Rr Recording Services Reflexology Reiki Riding School Ss Sandwich Shop Sculptor Shows/Exhibitions Skateboard Stained glass Artist Sex Shop Tt T-shirt Printers Tailors Tattoo Remover Tattooist Toast makers Tobacconists Tours and Sightseeing Toilets Uu Vv Valet Service Ww Window Cleaner Wool Shop Xx Yy Zz
Can these programmes coexist alongside the corporate areas of the city or do they exist as micro cities independent to the flow of the general city life? They could act as an urban utopia for the intriguing, perverse and surreal. These are exciting possibilities that need to be spatially designed and integrated carefully.
Intimate Cities Archiving
The Yellow Pages research opened up rich possibilities for urban programming and presented us with a diverse mix of potential activities in the city. This research progressed into on site archiving and recording of how the city functions on a daily basis. Some of us listened, others interviewed, some followed and a few simply observed people in the city center. As a collective, we were able to establish a fascinating insight into the ‘real’ city, away from the corporate control, more concerned with residual, experiential zones.
“Architectural programs have become questionable...they must be replaced by masques - architectural allegories.” 125th Street 1
S T R U C T U R A T I O N
People
Object
Place
Program
Structuration is the way that people, objects, place and programs inter-connect and the relationships between them are what defines a particular experience of a space. Martin Heidegger theorises that “spaces gain authority from place, appreciated through human experience”, suggesting that things, or objects, can be placed in the world according to how humans use or interact with them. In terms of structuration, the stronger the relationship, the greater interactivity and connectivity between the two. For example, in a pub, there tends to be a distinct people-people connections, as it is a place to meet and socialise. Architecturally, these relationships are very important and I believe the urban environment has become detached from social interactivity. Architecture can be used as a tool to reallocate an affordance of space for the lost ‘social’ in the city. The city can be explored through the arousal of interest a person experiences within it and what catalyses this intrigue. The spaces between, the inactive areas and edge conditions that hold so much potential, the superfluous. This is where the melodrama of the city can be played out - an exciting, endless possibility
of program that can be enriched architecturally. The essay: 125th Street: Refiguring the feminine in the city by Peg Elizabeth Birmingham, plays on the idea of pleasure relating to the feminine, in the terms ‘plaisir’ and ‘jouissance’. She looks at ‘jouissance’ as the intriguing, perhaps even perverse elements of city life, at the edge condition, the boundary, the “disruptive edge of the feminine”. Activating the figurative jouissance is, as she explains, what will re-animate the city again. I believe the essay is relevant because it can easily allude to urbanism in Manchester. ‘Pleasure’ as an ‘architectural allegory’ can be simply what we lust or long after, but do not necessary need. Manchester lacks an area of space given to programming that is not profit focused, not corporately influenced, not the normal. The pleasure in our city will find its own space if we simply afford it an area to thrive. Once the program exists all it needs is an affordance of space. Manchester’s cultural diversity already shows an abundance of program, as was discovered in the previous research through the Yellow Pages - I believe it simply needs the space to be freed. The pleasurable city is not found within the conformist, planned grid, but in the residual.
‘re-allocate an affordance of space for the lost ‘social’ in the city’
1. Peg Elizabeth Birmingham, 125th Street
Intimate Cities Archiving
02
In the archiving process, I predominantly focused on discreetly recording sounds and noise alongside the atmosphere of spaces. We chose contrasting locations across the city to experience how, audibly, they differ. How sound enhances the experience of, often, an intimate space was analysed and recorded below.
PEOPLE PLACE OBJECT
The diagrams (right), explain the relationships between actors in each venue. The lines connect key relationships, with line size representative of its strength. The People:People relationships are shown by the size of the word itself.
Friday: 2.30pm
PROGRAM
Friday: 3.20pm
01 - The Pumpkin Cafe (Oxford Road Station)
02 - The Church Inn (Cambridge Street)
Till Change Hum of cooler fan Coins Mobile Phones Newspaper rustle Quiet background music Platform announcements (when door opened) Waiting
Swearing Loud voices Shouting Television Laughing Debating Games machine Drinks orders
PEOPLE - OBJECT OBJECT - PLACE
PEOPLE - PEOPLE PLACE - PROGRAMME
Transient place - acts as a waiting point for travellers.
Local pub with strong relationships between people and the place. Loud conversations, swearing and general laughter. Joking between customers and bar lady.
Very little people - people relationships/interaction. Very closed environment - acts as an escape from the noise of the platform.
PEOPLE - PLACE PEOPLE - OBJECT
Interesting conversations and strong relationships between the customers actually made us more relaxed and happy to be there. Strong actors in this place - one or two dominate the scene. Stage is simple but effective: bar, stools, tables.
red = key relationship
03
04
PEOPLE
PEOPLE PLACE
PLACE OBJECT OBJECT
PROGRAM PROGRAM
Friday: 4.45pm
Friday: 5.20pm
03 - Wetherspoons (Oxford Road/Portland Street)
04 - The Vine Inn
Ambient sounds Chatting Food being eaten Plate clearing Pint glasses clinking and hitting the table Conversations Murmurs Bar Staff
Quiet background music Chatting Itbox games machine Murmurs Laughter Transactions Door opening and closing Lunch break pints
PEOPLE - OBJECT
PEOPLE - PLACE
PEOPLE - PEOPLE
Very contrasting atmosphere to The Church Inn. Programme is very different - much more marketed and consumer based. Less intimate, less personal. People are very spread out, conversations are unable to be overheard. Very ambient sounds due to vastness of the pub. Difficult to create any inter-personal relationships with people or the place. Very generic/consumer driven.
PLACE - PROGRAMME
More consumer driven than the Church, but not to the extent of Wetherspoons. Quiet, relaxed atmosphere. Eclectic mix of customers - many people were on Friday lunch break here from work. Visually entertaining and had a sense of place through the atmosphere, but didn’t give a unique experience as somewhere like the Church Pub does. Actors are far less dominant.
Intimate Cities Archiving
06
PEOPLE
PEOPLE PLACE PLACE OBJECT
OBJECT
PROGRAM
PROGRAM
Friday: 6pm
Friday: 7.15pm
05 - The Hare and Hound (Shudehill)
06 - Mother Mac’s (Back Piccadilly)
Loud music Laughing Chatting Hen party Bar orders Cheers Glasses clinking Raucous groups Sounds of a Friday
Chatting Background music Laughing Ringtones Mobile phone conversations Arguments Television
PEOPLE - PEOPLE
PEOPLE - OBJECT
Loud atmosphere due to around 20 women on a hen party. Pub itself is very traditional, with elements of the furnishings clearly unchanged for over 20 years. Three areas of pub act as buffer zones for different activities - right side loud music and hen party, left side quiet, central area as a buffer and ordering area. Once ‘Hen’s’ had left, conversations were more audible. Many customers were older and knew each other well. Good people - people intimacy.
PEOPLE - PLACE PLACE - PROGRAMME
PEOPLE - PEOPLE PEOPLE - PROGRAMME
An intimidating pub from outside. Definitely targeted at local revenue and location/minimal advertising makes this pub quite unique. Once inside, however, the atmosphere is friendly and very Mancunian. Sounds generally come from strong conversations and actors and the scene is set by them. A sense of place can be noted here, as many customers seem very relaxed and at home here. Pub has a lot of history - uncovering these layers perhaps intrigues a little more into the true sense of place the people associate here.
“Place - a series of spaces connected by human emotion� 07
08
PEOPLE
PEOPLE PLACE
OBJECT
PLACE
OBJECT PROGRAM
Sunday: 11.00am
PROGRAM
Monday: 7.30am
07 - Koffee Pot (Northern Quarter)
08 - Smithfield Market
Quiet conversations Bacon sizzling Plate clearing Cutlery hitting ceramic Newspaper turning Till and change Delivery van Reversing beep Door swing
Fork lift trucks Reversing beeps Boxes stacking Men shouting instructions Sales bartering Laughing Conversations Sweeping Footsteps
PEOPLE - PEOPLE OBJECT - PLACE
PEOPLE - OBJECT
PEOPLE - PLACE - PROGRAMME PEOPLE - OBJECT
Breakfast at a busy time on Sunday. People are very relaxed, the place is very welcoming and sensually appealing - sight/smell/sounds - breakfast atmosphere.
Sights, sound and smell is very strong here. The market is busy, bustling and full of life. It is the engine of east Manchester that provides the supply route for fresh fruit, veg and meat across the city.
Intimate cafe, very popular. Key relationships are the actors working there and the set - very simple vending equipment - tables and chairs. People to people is strong but dominating the action is the people to object relationship as customers gather there for one thing only - a good Sunday breakfast.
Approachable actors are happy to talk and help. Energy of the vendors is inspiring, at such an early hour. Intimacy of the market is apparent -this is not a consumerist place - their supply does not reach supermarkets - it is for individuals and wholesalers. People to object and people to people strong.
Intimate Cities Archiving The narrative we discovered through the city sounds archiving was fascinating, as it was predominantly away from the corporate side of the city. The sounds, conversations and noises of the city all change as you traverse and in particular when moving states of shelter i.e. from internally to externally. Time of day, weather and day versus night also became a noise variable and a catalyst for different social interactions. Many areas did not need props to ‘set a scene’, often the actors within them were so engaged with their surroundings and the people inside that minimal objects were needed. Different actors certainly carried most weight in situations, particularly in the Church pub. The fact that we were out of our comfort zone forced us to engage with different social groups, forming new connections and engagements in the city we would not normally have experienced. Our route is shown below and right.
Ear Witness | Intimate Cities
Youth of today
Tow nH
murder
a ll
tre Cen ity |C
bell
Coughing filly,
YAWN CHEERS
GOLF
He deserves a medal
No manners who’s the filly Rustling
The Vine 16:00
chairs
Clinking
plates coughing
BIEN SUR
relentless
H
laughter
SCREECHING Weatherspoons Oxford Rd 15:00
TRAINS Clinking Cooler fan
Till shutting
yawn coughing ON PHONE laughter CHAIRS SCREECHING MUSIC announcements COINS RATTLE WINDOW PANE
The Pumpkin Oxford Rd Station 13:50 The Church Cambridge St 14:00
FUCK Nowt working hard week in hand Rum
Back St bookies,
Oh ay
10 : 1 NEVER MIND.. SHUT THE FUCK UP.. Thats not the fucking attitude to take mum Alright Jimmy
C
Have you finished?
Rooneys lost the plot
Pint O’ Carling
“........” [size of place]
[density of actors]
[sounds heard]
FOOTBALL
Pat butcher
Alright duck?
Cackling
Desperation
coughing we really enjoyed meeting you
Hare & Hound Arndale 17:00
relentless
MATE,
Whitney Houston
LINE DANCING See ya when I see ya..
what would you like?
MORNING How can I help? KETTLE Music
Boiling
PLATES
Deliveries
Koffee Pot Northern Quarter 11:00
SCRAPING
availability PRICE
HAM BEEF CHICKEN
chairs
Stories from the night before Banging
VEHICLES REVERSING
fish
Veg
beeping
laughter
CHEERS
Extraction Fan
Top side STEAK CHEERS Laughing
Clinking
Laughter
Mother Mac Northern Quarter 18:00
Thankyou My wife died at mother macs
Tapping relentless
TAXI
MUSIC
Ta
30 eggs £3
banging CLATTERING
SCREECHING
FRIDGES MEAT turkey PORK LEG
CLANKING
calling
DUCKS Frozen sirloin SHOUTING
20 chicken fillets £18
LOIN
chatting
everyday
KING PRAWNS 80-100 BOX rump tail
chit chat
Smithfield Market Beswick 07:00
Intimate Cities
Venice study trip: architecture biennale
Intimate Cities
Venice study trip: architecture biennale
The Venice Museum Sixty thousand people live in Venice permanently. Over 200 million tourists enter the city every year, an average of 55,000 people every day. The population almost doubles every day, simply because of tourists. There is obviously a huge market for tourism and this is apparent almost everywhere along the main arterial routes through the city. It is not until you step away from the mainstream and visit areas where the residents live, that the true beauty of the city emerges. It is hard to find residential areas that are not touched by tourism, the parts of the city to the West and North of the main tourist hubs have a higher density of permanent residents than areas nearer the center. Guido Martinotti, in the conference at the Biennale, remarked that “tourists never really see the city” referring to the superficial experience many travellers get in a city. They take a photo of themselves outside a building and that is then assumed they experienced, saw and went inside it. But this is not the case. To really experience something it must be touched, seen, entered, exited, traversed, climbed, smelt and heard. Its physical form is not the only trace of its history, there are layers of the city that are not discoverable at first glance, time must be spent there to truly understand it. This is what Heidegger would refer to in ‘Building Dwelling Thinking’2 as associations of place, of dwelling. We feel emotions like ‘homeliness’ because we associate a building or house as where we live or reside. This feeling of dwelling is not an instant or overnight occurrence, it develops over years and through many experiences within it. The city is an archive, it is layered with history and intrigue. Venice adapts over time, through changes in infrastructure, weather and use. There has been a sedimentation of the layers of the city with the surface only revealing a small portion of what it offers. The green oxidation of the copper rainwater downpipes (right) has over time slowly stained the brick wall and spread across the paving, visually playing on the idea of time weathering an object and the
effect it has on the city. This patination across the city gives an insight into what was there, what happened and what existed in the spaces. Bricks crumbling, plastered walls cracking and flood water stains on the pavement all add to the real city, parts of it you could not experience in a day, not as a tourist. Restless cities, by Michael Sheringham, 3 looks at how objective features of the urban landscape can be very personal and can create particular connotations. Street names and signs create certain feelings for an area and people associate with them. He also explains that the city is layer upon layer of compacted material and you “never know a city until you are totally lost in it”. The unarchiving of a city is not just an exploration into the past, but also ideas for the future, visions and experiences that are yet to come. Walking the city is ‘activating its urban grid’ and therefore to really experience we must first immerse ourselves in the ‘real’ city.
2. Martin Heidegger, Building Dwelling Thinking 3. Restless Cities, Michael Sheringham
Intimate Cities
Venice study trip: architecture biennale
Venice
The alleys of Venice are its arteries, directing the flow of people around the city and channelling their movement. These ‘avenues’ of movement lead you round the city on an apparent tour and continually open up into squares and public spaces full of vendors and shops. The city is extremely closed, non-porous and inaccessible, unless you are moving at ground level along the alleyways, buying from the shops or sightseeing at St.Marks. The compression and expansion of space is a continual experience as the city is traversed - movement is squeezed and almost impossible down certain popular routes until they spill out into the courtyards where movement becomes less linear. Each square has active frontages on almost every side, continually looking for sales. The
Manchester
‘tourist trap’ of Venice can be seen throughout the city, until you start to move away from the tourist hubs and out into the inhabited areas -the ‘real’ areas of Venice emerge. Manchester is a much more traversable city, clearly due to the completely different infrastructure. The city center is still relatively impermeable as a free, situationist thinker - a strong boundary condition exists between ares of the city, there is little permeation between zones and social groups. Perhaps this is an example of enclaving, different to the Venetian control on public space, but a control nonetheless.
Intimate Cities
Venice study trip: architecture biennale
Wayfinding has always been an art of the city, a necessity for successful navigation of the terrain. This is particularly relevant in Venice, where the labyrinth of alleys and courtyards can easily lose you for hours. The tourism focused city is quite efficient in navigating unsuspecting tourists along the most densely sales orientated routes and towards the large tourist attractions: San Marco, San Toma, Rialto bridge, Piazzale Roma. The routes are never the most direct, often you find navigation is circular, always leading from one point to the next and normally along the ‘spending avenues’. The interesting part to the signage leading to the main hubs in the city is that many have been graffitied with arrows pointing both ways leading to even further confusion and misdirection. Often, shop owners have spray painted onto the walls by their shops which direction to go, because they are annoyed with continually being asked which way to take. Locals are easy to spot, their route is direct and the speed of movement is much faster, they have an aim and a purpose. Tourists tend to meander, wander and relax because they are on holiday whereas locals who work there have a job to perform. The sensory experience of Venice is quite varied. Flooding often limits routes and navigation and the climate is quite unpredictable. The weather is a generator for tourism, for movement and for the experience of the city people have. Shelter is quite varied, most alleys are uncovered as are the square and piazza’s; therefore shelter can only be found in shops, restaurants and cafe’s. The tourist industry certainly does not complain when people are forced into vending spaces. The same is true of public space - it is controlled and regulated - San Marco Square has a sign restricting loud noises, ball games, loitering, sitting and picnicking. It is the ultimate corporate space, not interested in intimacy or affordance for the intriguing activities of a city but more focused on money and profit. It is difficult to find intimacy in the whole city due to its closed nature and the strict public control.
The city has a definite edge condition that is formed by strong boundaries, dividing it into districts. This non-porosity between buildings, squares, districts and people is what makes it a closed environment. Venice lacks connection and spontaneity. In our apartment we were told not to hang wet clothes out the window as it was not legal - the regulations and preservation of the ‘traditional’ image of Venice is ruining its charm and intrigue. The intimacy of the city is difficult to find, the most exciting space I found was in Margherita square, where there is affordance for different activities and where human interaction seems to be actively encouraged by the urban planning. Shops, cafes and bars trade all around this square, but you are not forced to navigate towards them, there is space to relax in the square and there is a market that offers produce not found on other areas of the island. Children play in the square and there is a general atmosphere of warmth, reality and intimacy.
Margherita Square
Intimate Cities Program exploration - Manchester Aa Acupuncture Addiction Artist Centre/Studio Aquatic Centre Antique Auctioneers Astrologer and Horoscopes Abortion clinic
Ee Escort Service Embroidery Engravers Entertainers
Kissogram Karaoke Kinesiology Ll Label makers (signs) Landscapers Language school Laundrette Locksmiths
Ff Farmers Market Florist Fruit Machine Film Studio Fish and Chips Fish Merchant/monger Furniture Repair/ restore
Bb Baker Bamboo Merchant Blacksmith Butchers Blood Services Beauty Salon Body Piercing Books rare/second hand Bookmakers/Bookbinders Bunting maker Button/Buckle repair
Gg Golf (driving range/crazy/putt)
Cinema (secret) Dd Dancing School Disco (mobile) Dog walker Dress maker Dry cleaners Detective agency Deli
Mm Martial Arts ‘Massage’ Parlour Medium (Spiritual) Music Tuner/repairs
Pp
Tt T-shirt Printers Tailors Tattoo Remover Tattooist Toast makers Tobacconists Tours and Sightseeing Toilets
Pause Point
Uu
Nn Newsagent/Post Office Nightclub
Hh Haberdashery Horse Slaughter House Hypnotherapist Hair Pieces Hostel (YMCA)
Oo
Paintball/combat Painters and Decorators Parkour Pawnbrokers Pests and Vermin
Ii Ice Cream Parlour Internet Café Introduction Agency Iron and Laundry Service Immigration Advice
City Interludes Carpet Seller
Performance space Pet Shop Picture Framers Places of Worship Psychics and Clairvoyant Pub Peep Show Puppet Show
Jj Juggler Job Centre Kk
1
city archive: images
3 4 5
6
Ss Sandwich Shop Sculptor Shows/Exhibitions Skateboard Stained glass Artist Sex Shop
Gym (street gym/green gym) Guerrilla gardens
Cc Cake makers Cobblers Children’s Entertainers
Rr Recording Services Reflexology Reiki Riding School
7
9 8 10
2
Urban
sports
Vv Valet Service Ww Window Cleaner Wool Shop Xx Yy Zz
1 Princess street, MCR 2 Canal street, MCR 3 Spitalfields market, London 4 Beneath Mancunian Way, MCR 5 Borough market, London 6 Nicholas street, Chinatown 7 Outside Moho Live, MCR 8 Faraday building, MCR 9 Piccadilly gardens, MCR 10 Chinatown, MCR
Intimate Cities Program exploration
Secret cinema The secret cinema sits in an enclosed space, but is still accessible publicly. It is dark, secret and intriguing and it is your senses that bring you inside, intrigue you to discover the event. Peep holes along the street frontage afford glimpses into the cinema and sounds radiate onto the street. The program is hidden, but it is the intrigue towards the unknown that draws people in, away from the boredom of their A-B route. The
program is multi-functional and adaptive, potentially responding to the activity within it to become a digitally interactive space. At night it could have more perverse functions, or simply act as an evening cinema, somewhere warm and interesting to spend a few hours.
Pausing
pause
rhythm of the city : slow the pace
pause
pause
pause
pause
Society today needs more interaction. We have lost our attchment with the tactile, the human, the social. The secret cinema aims to re-engage these within an urban setting.
LEVELS OF POROSITY
cinema
street
activation of opposing frontage
Stop. Rest. Pause. Observe. The brief is simple, allow space to do nothing. To think. To engage with your surroundings, enjoy the route, notice the people. Small interventions and affordances to remove yourself from the relentless ebb and flow of the city for a few moments. These ‘interludes’ in the city can be tactile and comfortable. The idea is that as they are used more and more, this becomes apparent through natural wear and tear. The beauty of the pause, is the greater its use, the more it active it becomes. Through wear over time, it moulds into the fabric of the city. A worker having a cigarette, a couple resting on a bench, a cyclist resting against a bollard reading a map. Pausing in the city is key to slowing the pace and appreciating our urban habitat.
Intimate Cities Program exploration Urban sports | Street Gym | back piccadilly
| urban sports area
The urban ‘gym’ can be multi-use, publicly used and easily accessible. The aim would be to site it away from the busy city, along the back routes and alleys, for example Back Piccadilly in the Northern Quarter. It could be adapted for multiple sporting activities and the street already affords space that can be adapted for this use.
Performance space | active frontages
Performance can be interpreted in many ways. The idea is to generate an experience, to enjoy a sensory exploration along the street, through music, dance and the arts. Space is provided for performers with storage behind - creating booths or pods that connect to the street frontage and engage the public. The spill out onto the street adapts the program, diverting the flow of people towards the performance, as La Ramblas street artists do in Barcelona.
storage pods connect to street active zone expands outwards performer can retreat or reveal
Intimate Cities
“those raucous pleasures...that are pushed to the edge of our cities�4
Open - day
Closed - night
Performance Activates the street and engages the city
dweller. The two typologies for the space here both play on the manipulation of a recess to accommodate program. The simplistic spatial requirements allow for transfer / relocation - perhaps even across the street creating mirroring programs and multiplied interaction.
4. Peg Elizabeth Birmingham, 125th Street
Intimate Cities Matrixing: methodology An urban narrative has been developed through exploration of the residual city, its users and the potential for architectural programming there. The program has been reinforced throughout as a key element of city life and the lack of intriguing programs has led to lower anthropological connectivity and interaction. Different potential programs have been discovered through on-site work, yellow pages research and discourse in group study regarding the unlimited possibilities of rich, diverse activities in the city. A few have been explored in greater detail, but now I want to step back to a city scale and focus on the connectivity within it. How do people associate and ‘place’ themselves with the landscape around them? Architecture has the power to influence the lives of humans, but can it be reciprocal? Of course, but the extent in which the user affects the space they occupy depends on the program and functionality of the design. Perhaps we don’t even need designers, leaving cities the affordance of amorphously defining our worlds. Would a randomly
planned city be so bad?
The collection of programs I have compiled explores intriguing, exciting, new, perverse, childish, playful and rich ideas for the city. If the city is to become autonomous, it needs a diversity of arrangement and affordance of space to small, exciting possibilities. It is this affordance that is key - the giving of space to free the possibilities of diversity in the city; an anti-corporate allowance to the forgotten excitement of the ‘real’ city. These studies explore how these programs can link and connect with one another, looking at similar functions, complete opposites and also ways of creating random scenarios that could generate richness.
Aa Acupuncture Addiction Artist Centre/Studio Aquatic Centre Antique Auctioneers Astrologer and Horoscopes Abortion clinic Arrivals Lounge Aviary Bb Baker Bamboo Merchant Barbershop Balloon flights Blacksmith Butchers Blood Services Beauty Salon Bicycle doctor Bike shed Bike hire Body Piercing Books rare/second hand Bookmakers Bookbinders Bunting maker Button/Buckle repair Cc Cake makers Cobblers Changing rooms Children’s Entertainers Concourse Confessional Checkpoint Charity shop Counselling room Contraceptive store Churches Chocolatier Cinema (secret) City Interludes Carpet Seller Circus Craft center Dd Dancing School
Disco (mobile) Dog walker Dress maker Dry cleaners Detective agency Deli Destruction room Departure lounge Disco Ee Escort Service Embroidery Engravers Entertainers Enjoying the weather Elderly/disabled playground Ff Farmers Market Fancy dress Fairground stalls Florist Fruit Machine Film Studio Fish and Chips Fish Merchant/monger Fortune teller Furniture Repair/ restore Gg Geneaology center Golf (driving range/crazy/putt) Gym (street gym/green gym) Guerrilla gardens Hh Haberdashery Herbalist Horse slaughter house Hypnotherapist Hair Pieces Hostel (YMCA) Hugging station Ii Ice Cream Parlour Ice skating Internet Café Introduction Agency Iron and Laundry Service
Immigration Advice Jj Juggler Job Centre Kk Kissogram Kissing booth Karaoke Kinesiology Ll Label makers (signs) Loitering Landscapers Language school Listening room Laundrette Light box Lunchtime auction Locksmiths Lost property Locker room Lunch club Mm Martial Arts Markets Magic show Meals on wheels ‘Massage’ Parlour Meeting room Mini post office Meditation Memorial Mischief parlour Missing persons Message board Medium (Spiritual) Music Tuner/repairs Muscle pen Nn Newsagent/Post Office News Cinema Needle exchange Nightclub Night shelter Oo Observing Pp Pause Point Passing of time Paintball/combat Parcel collection Painters and Decorators Parkour Picture framers Pub Playing cards Peep show Pawnbrokers Pests and Vermin Photo booth Photo wall Pregnancy testing Prayer Space Phone booth Puppet show Performance space Pet Shop Punch and Judy
Picture Framers Places of Worship Psychics and Clairvoyant Pub Public bathhouse Peep Show Rr Recording Services Reflexology Reiki Religious paraphernalia Reading Riding School Ss (un) Safe deposit Sandwich Shop Screaming booth Sculptor Strip show Speed dating Storytelling Shows/Exhibitions Skateboard Sitting (room) Shrines Stained glass Artist Sex Shop Strutting Soup kitchen Shoe shine Someone to talk to Smoking Cigarettes Surveillance Centre Tt T-shirt Printers Tailors Tea rooms Tanning room Tattoo Remover Tattooist Talking/ chatting Temporary detention Ticket agency Toast makers Tobacconists Tours and Sightseeing Toilets Transit lounge Uu Urban ecology Urban sports Underground press Vv Valet Service Video booth Ww Webcams Wandering/Drifting Watching (room) Window Cleaner Weatherman Wool Shop Xx Yy Zz
Intimate Cities Matrixing: similarity / dis-similarity The list of possibilities for alternative programming are exciting and diverse. They have been categorised into different social groups; businessmen, homeless, lonely, elderly, lovers, children and gamers. A narrative starts to develop as the programs are classified and certain types/genres of program become apparent. The similarities lie inside each categorisation and programs can be selected from within. In terms of opposites, or contrasting programs, I focused more on differential between the groupings,
businessmen
the homeless
the lonely
immigration advice newsagent deli pub sandwich shop bookmakers florist reflexology tailors tobacconists valet services film studio golf internet cafe massage parlour peep show sex shop delicatessen barbershop photo booth photocopying underground press tanning room surveillance centre webcams news cinema shoeshine transit lounge arrivals lounge departures lounge concourse checkpoint screaming booth weatherman smoking cigarettes international phone ticket agency internet room bicycle doctort safe deposit locker room bike shed changing rooms parcel collection meeting room mini post office lunchtime auction bike hire markets pause point
laundrette/dry cleaners toilets pub hostel peep show puppet show barbershop charity shop councilling room contraceptive store pregnancy testing clinic meals on wheels news cinema temporary detention punch and judy sheltering wandering/drifting sitting room watching observing loitering lost proprty missing persons left luggage soup kitchen night shelter needle exchange public bathhouse passing of time confessional mischief parlour destruction room listening room notice board (un)safe deposit kssing booth sex booth strip show message wall prayer space storytelling hugging station temporary kitchen food exchange someone to talk to temporary bedroom
pub blood services bookmakers florist picture framers reiki tatooist artists studio astrology/horoscopes childrens entertainers cinema mobile disco dog walker escort service fruit machine introduction agency kissogram massage parlour medium (spiritual) peep show puppet show exhibitions sex shop tours/sightseeing pet shop bar/cafe chocolatier newsagents barbershop photo booth hugging station fortune tellers shrines churches meditation message board city webcams news cineam shoeshine karaoke screaming booth ounch and judy magic show reading wandering/drifting sitting room watching room observing loitering
strutting smoking playing cards chatting soup kitchen night shelter kissing booth sex booth speed dating strip show message wall video booth photo wall prayer space storytelling lunchtime auction pet shop plant sale gardens hugging station someone to talk to secret cinema
for example, the category of homeless is particularly different to the children. Specific programs, almost randomly picked from each category can then be contrasted with one another creating a possibility of a rich experience within a space. Programs need not be similar to be beneficial to one another, in fact, I propose the opposite would be better. Too much similarity could lead to an enclaving of an area, as Mary Douglas suggests. The enclave then becomes bland and un-intriguing, rather than rich and exciting.
the elderly
the lovers
children
gamers
baker tailors hairpieces dog walker launderette/dry cleaner furniture repairs shows/exhibitions tours/sightseeing delicatessen chocolatier newsagents barbershop pause point charity shop second hand books herbalist shrines churches memorial hall someone to talk to enjoying the weather magic show reading sheltering observing loitering smoking playing cards talking and chatting religious paraphernalia passing of time geneaology urban ecology aviary mini post office prayer space hugging station flower show markets craft center temporary bedroom elderly/disabled playground breakfast/lunch club tea room
ice cream parlour florist cinema mobile disco dog walker introduction agency peep show sex shop delicatessen pet shop bar/cafe choclatier photo booth fortune teller shrines message board contraceptive store pregnancy testing clinic magic show wandering/drifting mischief parlour kissing booth sex booth speed dating video booth storytelling singles nights circus secret cinema
circus mobile disco cakemakers ice cream parlour cinema juggler pet shop puppet show dog walker chocolatier fancy dress agency magic shop dancing pet parlour fairground stalls karaoke punch and judy magic show playing cards storytelling childrens entertainers hugging station breakfast/lunch club temporary bedroom
pub changing rooms muscle pen bookmakers fruit maching golf gym juggler martial arts circus paintball parkour skateboarding playing cards ice skating destruction room
Opposing narratives
tai lo
ha
er ay pr
rs
dle nee
c ex
e ng
hu
g gi
n
ce spa
geneaolog y
secret c inema
mischief parlour
on i t a g st io lig e r
u
alia hern p a ar sp
ice skati ng
strip s how
Intimate Cities Matrixing: random connections Similarity or dis-similarity creates zones with related programs, even if they oppose each other in function. We live in an ordered society, bound by rules and planning constraints - this sterilises the city, losing any
The city needs to breathe again.
ambiguity or discovery for the participant. Perhaps this can be achieved through eclecticism, a mix of styles, a reshaping of the urban grid. Postmodernism attempted this break away from the clean, minimalist and cold modernist concepts but this could be taken further. Breaking away from the simulated city back towards the ‘real’. What if the ‘planned city’ became ‘unplanned’, random and liquid?
An arbitrary system is an enriching experience for the user, as a huge variety and diversity of function can be allowed and given space in the city. I have tested possibilities for randomly allowing programs to develop and extend into the city. The programs below are a select few from my extensive list that I believe offer the most potential for exciting possibilities in the city.
flower show markets message board recycling point circus speed dating bike shed pet shop parkour scribe storytelling someone to talk to photo booth notice board magic shop punch and judy wandering/drifting sex booth hugging station music repairs playing cards preaching urban aviary sculptor
urban sport needle exchange astrology/horoscopes fancy dress puppet show tattoo remover toilets fortune teller destruction room strip show (un) safe deposit introduction agency chocolatier cinema meals on wheels pregnancy testing clinic temporary kitchen locksmiths screaming booth music space books guerilla gardens shrines body piercing
smoking talking/chatting disco confessions observing\loitering tatooist changing room video booth golf range news cinema soup kitchen fruit maching performance stage lost property pawnbroker fish and chips mischief parlour peep show secret cinema bicycle doctor photo wall pause point hostel
ar avi
punch and judy
medium (spiritual)
o i ng b m a e r sc
oth
y
[ op
e sit po
s]
“Break from simulation...give space to the repressed”5
ou r p a rk
Methodology: The methodology was adapted from CHORA urban gallery, with the use of random ‘bean’ scattering to determine program choice and networking, working alongside a colleague of mine, Roxanne. The theory is based on conjoining actors (programs) to create networks within the urban fabric. Networks that would be impossible to plan systematically and if were, would be far less intriguing. The use of the beans creates possibilities of random selection, but also through colour coding, narratives can be traced across the city fabric as to who might use them and when. The narrative is what stitches the randomness together, weaving through the random planning and creating an intriguing, exciting, real experience.
Implementing the ‘bean’ concept with selected programs by randomly scattering the beans on the board. Beans act as catalyst for matrixing connections and networks.
“re-intruiguing...pushing the envelope of normal social interaction”5 5. Stripped Bare, Nathalie Aguinaldo
Intimate Cities Matrixing: random connections There are two types of networking that emerged from this methodology. A random narrative developed as the beans were scattered. We chose six different colours of bean, so this instantly created a link between the beans. The program that the bean landed on is matched to it and grouped as below. The random selection process has already led to a discovery of inter-linking programs that would not have been
The randomness brings out richness that is otherwise impossible to discover.
associated together unless randomly assigned.
PURPLE destruction room someone to talk to mischief parlour preaching shrines PINK screaming booth bike shed loitering pawnbrokers bicycle doctor WHITE hugging station locksmith scribe performance stage circus
Purple beans: hypothetical narratives: 32 year old, mildly schizophrenic abattoir worker, working in Preston escapes to the city to reinvigorate his mundane life. It is at the mischief parlour that he meets the woman of his dreams, but alas she turns him down‌ ‌.this rejection leads to psychological regression and he goes to vent his anger. The destruction room is no solace, so in an attempt to reconcile his soul he finds someone to talk to who turns out to be a man of the cloth. The preacher helps to calm him, control his anger and sends him onward with a positive outlook... ...until the fluorescent lights of the screaming booth start to entice him back....
The other level of networking came from a slightly different approach. We decided it had to be user focused, in relation to how the similar and dis-similar programs were developed. So, ‘pleasure’
was
used as a variable and a connector between programs. The level of intrigue, excitement, risk and even perversity of the program was explored and categorised into four groupings. The string was then mapped across the ‘bean-scape’ to start to visually and physically create networked narratives between the programs. The concept comes from study into 125th Street, by Peg Birmingham and her explanation of the french ‘Jouissance’ and ‘Plaisir’ as emotive
functions of the city.
ORANGE needle exchange parkour storytelling body piercing magic show GREEN guerilla gardens notice board urban aviary flower show tattoo remover YELLOW temporary kitchen message board photo booth fish and chips pet shop
Intimate Cities
The networking is based on levels of ‘jouissance’ within the program, how active it is and how animated the user become through its use. The most perverse, risky and experimental programs are mapped with the orange string, then down a few notches to green, yellow and finally hessen string is for the more innocent programmatic functions. The ‘jouissance’ graph is a visual annotation of how each string pathway connects back into the pleasurable experience of the city.
J o u i s s a n c e / p l a i s i r / i n t r i g u e / e x c i t e m e n t
b [green]
Highly responsive programmes, but with less extreme possibilities. Pleasure registers high on the scale and they engage the user through interaction rather than reaction. [preaching]
c [yellow]
[photo booth]
[guerrilla gardens]
[parkour]
[bike shed] [screaming booth]
Programmes on this level of the scale are more innocent. The potential user is wider spread but there are even overlapping programmes that register on the highest level as well as this, depending on the interpretation of use. [performance stage] [pawnbroker] [loitering] [shrines]
d [hessen]
The subtle, interesting, varied and pure programmatic intentions of the city. Jouissance registers low, however pleasure can still be high. Innocence does not mean boring, it still has a strong level of intrigue, but a different appeal. [preaching] [hugging station] [someone to talk to] [urban aviary] [storytelling] [pet shop] [flower show] [magic shop]
‘JOUISSANCE’ GRAPH
[mischief parlour] [loitering] [circus] [someone to talk to] [needle exchange] [destruction room]
higher
Intrigue and excitement is found and the programme responds in multiple ways dependant on the user. Could certainly incite fear in many cases. Reactive. Highest level based on programme activity.
lower
a [orange]
Intimate Cities
The methodology for exploration of random networks created fascinating results and inter-related program narratives. The use of pleasure as a variable allowed for a distinction of programs depending on their use and function, but there was still an overlap in that certain programs could have multiple function and be interpreted in different ways dependant on your perspective.
Networking potential
Jouissance et plaisir The article by Peg Birmingham, 125th street: re-figuring the feminine in the city ,is from The Edge of the Millennium (Susan Yelavich, 1993). This text is a metaphorical allusion to the city in terms of its pleasure, its excitement, its ‘jouissance’. The French word for pleasure is ‘plaisir’, relating to standard feelings of joy and warmth. However, jouissance is a word we cannot directly translate in English. It refers to the more extreme, the edge condition, the ‘real’ pleasures of life that are more perverse and intriguing. Birmingham explains the concept of a figurative versus a representative city, where we live our lives day to day and are ‘represented’ by necessities of life. The figurative city is when affordances are given to the more extreme, things we desire or lust after but do not necessarily need. It is here, at the site of jouissance that the city is most interesting.
The site of jouissance is the search for the real, the
un-simulated and the interactive. It is the basis upon which I have networked the narratives here, in a search for the ‘real’ city that has so much to offer if it is just given space to breathe.
Intimate Cities
4
00
Territorial exploration
piccadilly gardens
Networks A network is formed through each person or group in the city and communication and relationships between social groups creates a new map of the city based on identity and reality, an experiential landscape. An hypothetical narrative can be created in an urban context and this could be transferred into any city. The experience develops from linearity to a richer path of movement and the inter-connection between networks creates interaction between people. The ‘grid’ city is exploded and reformed through networking. It expands and contracts depending on its use and can morph into new shapes with the narratives punctuating its form, like a Wagnerian musical piece building up and down through crescendo and diminuendo.
00..
different city users navigating the city along their pathways
2
00
5
00
piccadilly station
Intimate Cities Territorial exploration Back Piccadilly, Manchester
3
00
piccadilly gardens
I have overlaid the random matrix pathways onto a section of the city - Back Piccadilly - in Manchester’s northern quarter, looking at how networks can be territorialised. This road is just set away from the main arterial route from Piccadilly station into Piccadilly gardens and is relatively disused and inactive. The new networks of movement start to form points of convergence, nodes that draw attention to the area and draw people in. The diverse mix of programs offer an exciting experience and the randomness starts to become more familiar and less sporadic.
5
00
back piccadilly
piccadilly station
Intimate Cities Territorial exploration A territory depends on variables. When, where, who and what people are using will (in)directly affect the occupation of an area and the activity it contains. The territory will contract, expand, move and morph with the city and should be flexible. The objective has been, throughout, to allow space for individual freedom and structuration - to create a more intimate city experience that focuses on relations and tactile experiences rather than consumerism or capital gain. The city has been territorialised and segregated through boundaries and barriers that restrict social interaction, create un-interesting urban narratives and restrict networking on a human scale. Sterile Rotterdam elaborates on this, explaining how the Dutch government have gentrified the city of Rotterdam, consistently restricting it and leaving no freedom segregation and super-control over public space.
for the city to breathe. This resulted in social
The variables I am using here to explore potential territorialisation are predominantly based around time. Time of day, day versus night and time of the year will all strongly affect behavioural patterns and the adaptation of city use. The territory is not a fixed entity. It cannot be if it is to adapt and be free for programs to attach to. The morphing of the territory is key to the integration of intimate programs into the city. If the foundations of its support cannot adapt, the program becomes rooted and sterile.
Morphosis of the boundary - different variables: Time of day Pleasure
Weather Work
User Place
Districts/communities Experience
Mood
Neighbouring programs
Intention
Journey
geneaology tailors
prayer space
secret cinema
needle exchange
The narrative weaves through the program and territory, like a loom, stitching together the fabric of the city. Alternate programs and opposing functions are suddenly connected via a narrative, it allows for social exchange that was not previously possible.
“Public space no longer represents the place for the confrontation of the differences and the creation of collective identities.....(it is now a) consenting realm where anyone who consumes is invited to be equalised�6 Matrices and territories development : theoretical discussion - ideas
Necessities : representation Desires: figuration
6. Sterile Rotterdam, Melisa Vargas Rivera
Intimate Cities Territorial exploration
piccadilly gardens
Movement and flow across the city. The commuter moves from A - B without experiencing any of the route along the way, head down, ipod in and phone at their ear. Sterile cities are the cause of this lack of interaction with our surroundings, so a new route has to be opened up for someone to explore. The flow is interrupted by bleeding points that allow diffusion of movement into residual spaces, with highly responsive programs activating the space and drawing the user in. A new territory, path, route and connection to the city is then established.
Different users of the city explore alternative pathways and directions as they navigate around. Territrories are created and adapted as the paths bisect each other dependant on the variables in play. tourist resident businessman homeless elderly
piccadilly station
Intimate Cities Territorial exploration
piccadilly gardens
Situationist / membranes Richard Sennett metaphorically explains the city in terms of a cell. Boundaries are considered cell walls, where nothing can permeate and it creates a very closed environment. He explains that if we created cities with borders, not boundaries, they would be more orientated towards a cell membrane, that selectively allows for porosity and affords a far greater integration of external and internal elements. The porous, traversable city works in conjunction with a situationists viewpoint of being drawn across a city through attractions of the terrain and experiences they encounter, rather than going along pre-determined routes. The ‘derive’ idea discourages fixed points or linear movement and I believe this can work to create a city in constant flux, adapting and reacting to its users needs.
Cell wall : non-porous
Cell membrane: semi - porous
piccadilly station
Intimate Cities 0600 0700
Bin collectors Deliveries Newspaper distributors
0800 0900
Commuters School Children Businesses
1000 1100 1200
Elderly
1300 1400 1500 1600
Business ‘lunching’ University students Street cleaners Shoppers School children home Commuters Street Cleaners
1700
Business close
1800
Business socialising
1900 2000
Homeless Lovers Lonely people
2100 2200 2300 2400 0100
Students Young professionals Smokers
0200
Drunk people
0300
Illicit activities
0400
Homeless
0500
Bin collectors
tourist resident businessman homeless elderly
Unemployed Short term visitors
1000 : 1200
2100 : 0200
Party people Leisure drinkers Lonely people Homeless 1300 : 1400
The flow of people across the urban landscape is a generator for program installation, with the territory determined by multiple variables. The allocation of space is casual and random, dependant on the patination of the city - the program can change over time. Looking at time of day as a generator, we can see clear distinctions between who might be active at a certain time, however, there is overlap between territorial zones and here is where the intrigue can be found. The excess, the superfluous, the residual - all these have space yet to be activated and with the right programming, will create a city of excitement away from the corporate. Freud said that repetition, experiencing something over and over again can become highly compulsive and enjoyable. The re-use of a highly exciting program could become an active part of everyday commuting for many people in the city and become a daily influence in their lives.
0300 : 0500
0600 : 0900
Day
Night
Intimate Cities Montage: methodology There is huge potential for alternative programming in the city, as I have discovered through an ongoing exploratory methodology. City archiving, recordings, mapping, matrices and territorial studies have built up situations and possibilities for the affordance of space to new narratives and rich experiences. The natural progression from these concepts is to afford space to them, to understand how they could stitch into the city fabric as opposites
to the socially exclusive. How can the small, intimate, secret be installed into a city of commodification and corporate control? A level of coexistence must be created, so that
both worlds can exist in harmony; the city relies on economic activity but there should be space allowed for softer, less profitable activities. Where can individual programs find space in the city, affordance of space for them is a good starting point - simply being given the freedom
to express in the city.
I have looked at montaging programs onto a physical scene in Manchester, exploring how they can create a structuration and a richness. The depth of the scene is what created so much intrigue, as can be seen in the work of Raymond Mason. I collaborated with two other colleagues here, because we attempted an ambitious project of a street cast of back piccadilly. The aim was to create a scale physical model of the background scene and to add a cast, set and props into it to build the depth of program and activity. I felt that to really understand how these alternative, obscure and exciting programs could mould into the city fabric, I needed to physically explore them, tactically, visually and kinesthetically. The casting is a 1:200 model of part of Back Piccadilly with some of Spear street branching off. We chose this section of the street as we saw the most potential for exciting new possibilities along here. Manchester city center
city nodes
back piccadilly
site - cast model
1
back piccadilly
1
Back Piccadilly : focus zone as residual space for program exploration
spear street
Intimate Cities Montage: precedent / opportunities /construction
Michel Houllebecq, The Art of Struggle:
The opportunity for alternative programming in the city is particularly apparent along Back Piccadilly. The street offers so much potential affordance in small, disused space and in the frequency of these spaces too. This model is a 1:200 representation of a section along the street that I thought was most relevant to the installation of programs, theories and ideas that I have developed all term. Coexistence alongside more corporate elements of the city is important, but to socially enrich the area with depth of programming whilst doing so. The idea with the model montage is to explore how programs can create interaction, how people use space, what makes something exciting and intriguing. The composition of the scene, the depth of field, the design for the end user is what makes a space reactive. The affordance of space for a new narrative.
Struck by the sudden impression / Of an inconsequential freedom / I travel serenely through stations / Never thinking of making connections
Selected programs to build into scene, based on research and exploration through archive, matrices and territories: the lonely businessmen children the elderly the homeless the lovers gamers
Film Studio Peep show Screaming booth Night Shelter Hugging station Secret cinema Someone to talk to Smoking Wandering/ drifting
Watching room Mischief Parlour Destruction room Juggler Storytelling Furniture repair Enjoying the weather Temporary bedroom
Bakers Message board Florist Puppet show Lunch club Magic shop Performance booth Flower stall
1 Georges Dudognon, Photographer, France, ‘Leon la lune’
3
1
2
4
5
2 Raymond Mason, Sculptor, 1969, ‘La depart des legumes au coeur de Paris’ 3 Raymond Mason, 1969, ‘La depart des legumes au coeur de Paris’ 4 Edward Hopper, Painter, ‘Sunday’
6
5 Georges Dudognon, ‘Comptoir’ (Bar/counter) 6 Raymond Mason, 1992, ‘Rue monsieur le prince’
Intimate Cities Montage: urban narratives - setting the scene
1
6
10
3 4
2
7 11
1 Businessman 3 Boy with balloon 5 Elderly lady 7 Suited man sitting 9 Eccentric lady 11 Homeless man
8
12
5
9
13
2 Juggler 4 Man smoking 6 Elderly man 8 Teenager loitering 10 Lovers sitting 12 Young girl
Multi layered spaces, intriguing programs, exciting possibilities. The stage is set for an exploration of the ‘real’, away from the simulated, generic city. The perspective is through the eyes of the business man who zones in and focuses on what he wants to see. The image balance would change, depending on the users perspective - we see what we want to see and focus on what attracts us. The businessman sees the auctioneer, the goods traversing the display belt, the intriguing openings and affordances in the facades that lead to the first floor mischief parlour, destruction room and screaming booths, whereas for example, a child might see the dogs in the background, the cinema projection on the wall and the interesting game on the auction belt. The multiple layers provide a stimulus for both extremes, through density, variety and spontaneity, but the perspective of the user is what determines the weight of each program. Spear Street
1 Walking the dogs 2 Casual man leaning 6
3 Elderly man going home with groceries
7
8
4 Auctioneer selling goods on conveyor 5 Businessman loitering 6 Screaming booth
2
7 Mischief parlour 8 Destruction room
1
3
4 5
Intimate Cities Montage: urban narratives - setting the scene 0600
Bin collectors
Deliveries
0700
Newspaper distributors
0800
Commuters
School Children
0900
Businesses
1000
Elderly
1100
TARGET / DESTINATION people move A - B quickly - have a job to do
Characters: Street cleaner Businessman Hotellier Dog walker Elderly lady Vendors Fruit and veg supplies
Scene 2 Characters: AMBLERS / NO SPECIFIC GOAL slower movement, less anxious to complete task in hand
Smoker Lovers Crazy lady Mother and child Elderly man Market stall (MG), night shelter above
Unemployed
1200
Scene 1
Scene 3 Characters:
Short term visitors
1300
Business ‘lunching’
University students
1400
Street cleaners
Shoppers
1500
School children home
Commuters
1600
Street Cleaners
CONSUMERS looking to purchase and consume corporate attraction, arterial routes
Businessman Student Elderly lady Lovers Scally Entering mischief, destruction and screaming parlours
Scene 4 Characters: DESTINATION SEEKING finish of day, traverse the city quickly, purchasing potentially
Street cleaner Schoolchildren Mothers Businessmen
Fortune telling (FG), Wig shop
Scene changes and emergence of new characters through the day FG = foreground
MG = middleground
BG = background
1
Market & baker(BG)
Market, street, barber (1), up ladder to watch film
Shoeshine (BG), Baker (BG)
School run (FG)
Confessional, mother and daughter (FG)
Flower stall (BG), Fruit/veg purchase. Hugging station (BG)
Dog walking, purchasing, smoking
Talking in street (FG), smoking
Mother and daughter at auctioneer. Screaming/noise above
Lovers relaxing. Man walking.
Auctioneer, lovers on sofa, leaving mischief rooms (guilty)
Auctioneer, market, secret cinema. Scally leaning.
Buying flowers. Hairdressing. Someone to talk to.
Hotel room stay.
Leaving city after staying at hotel. (FG) Chatting (BG).
Puppet show (BG)
Intimate Cities
1700
Business close Scene 5
1800
Business socialising
1900
Homeless
Lovers
2000
Lonely people
2100
Students
Young professionals
2200
Smokers
2300
Party people
Leisure drinkers
2400
Lonely people
PURSUERS looking for relaxation slower pace, enjoyment of city in evening
Characters: Businessmen Auctioneer Crazy lady Scally
Mischief time. (MG, rhs) Throughfare/route.
Scene 6 REVELLERS/ DISCONSOLATE late night excitement illicit activities real? closer human interaction in certain situations less in others - lonely hours
Characters: Student. Party goers. Homeless man. Middle aged woman.
Sitting room. (FG) Talking/ chatting.
0100
Homeless
0200
Drunk people Scene 5
0300
0400
Illicit activities
Homeless
RESIDUAL early hours, small interactions potentially highly reactive programs the waiting, sheltering
Characters: Homeless. Drunk man. The lonely. Bin collectors Smoking, resting.
0500
Bin collectors
Auction purchases. Mischief going on. Crazy lady talking out loud. (MG)
Destruction room (FG), reading notice board.(BG) Looking for love.
Market shutting down. (MG) Auction packing away.
Secret cinema started on 1st floor. (FG)
Storytelling. Listening from night shelter.
Down from secret cinema. Reading space. Theatre (BG)
Going up to hotel room. (FG) Night shelter.
Night theatre/performance.
Someone to talk to. Confessional (MG)
Up to night shelter to sleep. (BG). Secret (night) cinema (FG)
Up to cinema. Kissing booth.
Sitting room. Bin collectors.
Intimate Cities Montage: final scenes
People to people:
STRONG
People to programme:
STRONG
People to object:
MEDIUM
Place to program:
MEDIUM
6
10 10
11 12
2 1
7
8
17 15
13 14
16
4
9
5
3
1.25 pm
1 Man walking the dogs, goes via market for cheap sausages 2 Businessman on a lunch break, getting his shoes shined 3 Elderly man walking home after shopping at market 4 Confessional booth - round the corner from the mischief parlours 5 Auctioneer - lunchtime sales 6 Screaming booth 7 Mischief parlour 8 Destruction room 9 Fruit and veg, meat and fish market 10 Secret cinema - viewing platform and projection screen 11 Flower shop - hanging baskets growing produce 12 Night shelter - raised platform 13 Someone to talk to: seating area 14 Crazy lady - eccentric lady, feels at home in the diversity 15 Elderly lady at fortune tellers 16 Wig shop 17 Hairdressers - hair cut off goes down the pulley to the wig shop beneath to be made into fake hair for customers.
Intimate Cities Montage: final scenes
People
:
Actors
Place
:
Set
Program :
Narrative
Object
Set
:
8
8
8
7 11 9 10
6 5
4 2
3
1 1
1
6.55 pm
1 Resting area - someone to talk to and relax. Pause points. 2 Theatre - mobile performance stage 3 Man taking goods way from market, packing away. 4 Entrance to hotel 5 Fortune teller 6 Wig shop - hair coming down from hairdressers above 7 Hairdressers 8 Hotel rooms 9 Reading space 10 Climbing up to the secret cinema viewing platform 11 Secret cinema platform and route to locker rooms
Intimate Cities
utcher
esperation
you
MATE,
Whitney Houston
CING
what would you like?
MORNING How can I help?
hen I see ya..
KETTLE Music
Boiling
PLATES
Deliveries
Koffee Pot Northern Quarter 11:00
SCRAPING
availability PRICE
HAM BEEF CHICKEN
chairs
Stories from the night before Banging
VEHICLES REVERSING
fish
beeping
laughter
CHEERS
Extraction Fan
CHEERS Laughing
Clinking
Laughter
Mother Mac Northern Quarter 18:00
Thankyou My wife died at mother macs
Tapping relentless
TAXI
MUSIC
Veg
30 eggs £3
banging CLATTERING
SCREECHING
CLANKING
calling
DUCKS Frozen sirloin
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Smithfield Market Beswick 07:00
“[the] important thing is to equalize the field of pleasure, to abolish the false opposition of practical life and contemplative life” Roland Barthes 7
‘A
n irresistible, delicious reality’ as proposed by Nathalie Aguinaldo in ‘Stripped Bare’ is a luscious sentence. The irresistibility of reality must relate to a level of excitement that means a level of human engagement that is unprecedented. An ideally planned city, an urban utopia that excites and provides, a diversity of narrative; this is a fascinating idea and a worthwhile goal.
Hannah Arendt argues that we have become a self obsessed society, with a “capacity for consumption accompanied by an inability to judge”. The lust for constant entertainment in the city, has resulted in no authenticity or diversity, as we continually develop as a corporately controlled society. The way Arendt sees modern society is similar to Mary Douglas’ view that modern cultures are incompatible because their isolation and segregation. Social control has led to an incompatibility of societal structures, due to an enclaving of certain parts of the city and inactive urban planning. Saskia Sassen mentioned in her conference at the Venice Biennalle how, often, the further away from a city center you travel, the less tolerant different groups are of each other. She argues this is because in high density urban landscapes, humans interact more frequently with others as they live and work closer together. An urban landscape that gives space to the small, the intimate, the abstract; is what will help the city stitch its occupants back together again. If we are to look at the city through new eyes, we have to appreciate and respect its current form. The implementation of new programs in a city must be carefully considered alongside the power of the corporately controlled parts. A level of coexistence can be achieved, the programs just need to be integrated into space that is not already in use. This is in the residual parts of the city; the disused, under maintained, the inactive and away from the simulated. A human experience in the real city is not within virtual possibilities, but can be found in our active urban landscape, it is just an undiscovered reality waiting to inspire. The ‘Intimate Cities’ unit aims to develop strategies to do this. I have focused on reattachment and re-engagement, through a depth of programmatic installation and a level of excitement through the planning of spaces. Heidegger believes that to dwell, or to associate ‘place’, means for a person to be at one with the world, at peace. Place, is a ‘series of spaces, connected by human emotion’. Emotion, connection and peace within an urban landscape is the aim - no superfluous areas that reside in disuse -reactivate the unused space in the city, fill it with magic shows, shrines, hugging stations, kissing booths, message walls, storytellers and soup kitchens. Let the city be in flux, allow expansion and contraction, afford these programs the space to exist. Create a liquid city of randomness and richness. Let the city breathe the breath of the feminine, give everyone the opportunity of jouissance, of pleasure, of reality.
7. Roland Barthes, The Pleasure of the Text
Intimate Cities
Influences, texts, precedent and inspiration
Nielsen, Tom, Superfluous Landscapes, The Return of the Excessive Hannah Arendt - philosophy on Mass Society vs Mas Culture Mary Douglas - anthropological views on 4 classifications of society Raymond Mason - sculpture, portraits Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, Building Dwelling Thinking Georges Dudognon; French portrait photography Jean Baudrillard CHORA urban gallery Richard Sennett - borders and boundaries - lecture at Architecture Biennalle Situationist movement, France
References 1 Birmingham, Peg Elizabeth, 125th Street, from The Edge of the Millenium, Ed.Susan Yelavich, 1993 2 Heidegger, Martin; Building Dwelling Thinking 3 Sheringham, Michael, Archiving, Restless Cities ed. Matthew Beaumont & Gregory Dart 4 Birmingham, Peg Elizabeth, 125th Street, from The Edge of the Millenium, Ed.Susan Yelavich, 1993 5 Aguinaldo, Nathalie, Stripped Bare, MONU Magazine on New Urbanism 6 Rivera, Melisa Vargas, Sterile Rotterdam, MONU Magazine on New Urbanism 7 Barthes, Roland, The Pleasure of the Text
Alex Raher / 06055313
Intimate Cities
Richard Dargavel / Amy Handley