Towards a New Democracy

TOWARDS A NEW DEMOCRACY

Architecture Senior Thesis Studio Doug Jackson 2012-2013 California Polytechnic State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design Copyright 2013 Andrew M Wright All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owner. All images in this book have been reproduced in accordance with licensing procedures.

Errors or omissions will be corrected in future editions.

ANDREWMWRIGHT andrewmwright@me.com www.andrewmwright.com

CONTENTS THESIS MANIFESTO PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

ABSTRACT THE NEW DEMOCRACY MARCHING ON WASHINGTON MEMORIALIZING THE COMMON

02 04 10 16

ARCHITECTURAL EXECUTION

UNIT 01

DESIGN STUDIES CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW

22 26

DEMONSTRATION

38

UNIT 02 OBSERVATION

46

UNIT 03 PRESENTATION

62

AGGREGATION

78

ADDITIONAL CONTENT SHOW PROBE VELLUM EXCLUSIT WORKS CITED

92 102 114

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THESIS

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ABSTRACT If the rhetoric is to be believed, democracy in America has stood the test of time as a shining example of rule and governance by the People. This very notion of “the People”, however, supposes a singularity, a democracy run only by the majority. This thesis argues for a realignment of what democracy truly means, and hopes to reposition it as an all-inclusive plurality of ideologies and beliefs, effectively changing the singular concept of the People to the pluralized concept of the Multitude.

An effective democracy is an avenue of discourse between a constituent body and the sovereign power they elect into office. This dialogue between parties exists substantially on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., known for its rich history of political demonstration by the public.

Architecture’s role becomes one of augmentation and facilitation of this dialogue, in such a way that amplifies the messages and supersedes the temporary architectural apparatuses used by these events for decades. A successful facilitation will serve as a platform to amplify the voice of the Multitude.

The final step is monumentalization; a preservation of the multiplicity of ideologies that permeate the Multitude. With this preservation comes a fleeting permanence; subject to the ebb and flow of ideas and beliefs as they grow, compete and evolve, but always existing as irreducible parts of a greater whole. Architecture, through explorations in mobility and kinetics, can come to embody both the facilitation and preservation of this political dialogue, and effectively make apparent and relevant the voice of The Multitude, the foundation of a new democracy.

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DEMOCRACY OF THE MULTITUDE

PART 1

THE NEW DEMOCRACY

Democracy in the United States is broken. It exists under the pretense that the will of the People is fully and truthfully represented and carried out by the actions of the elected sovereign body. This notion is challenged first by the fact that this will is only that of a majority of the voting constituents, and more importantly by the fact that this singular ideology then becomes the implied will of an entire constituent body. The reality is that a population can never truly eliminate difference and speak with one voice1, and that this consolidation of thought is an abstraction of unity that is not truly representative of all those it claims to represent. This thesis argues for a reevaluation of what democracy means; an approach that encapsulates the plurality and diversity of an entire population.

Important distinctions must be made in the matter of defining a constituent body. Typically this body is referred to as “the People”, a phrase that permeates the rhetoric surrounding the legacy of democracy in the United States. The notion of The People is defined by unity and singularity; the idea that the nation’s population stands and rules with one voice, through the avenue of democracy with which they elect and maintain a sovereign body. As stated, this singularity is in contradiction to the actuality of a constituent body’s multiplicity of beliefs. Instead, speaking as the People a population is reduced to one voice, one belief.2 While this may imply unity, it betrays the very nature of those it seeks to unite.

This discrepancy begs for a reevaluation of how a population is defined. One may be inclined to apply the term “the Masses”, as it implies less of a singular body and acknowledges the existence of differing ideologies.

However, the essence of ‘The Masses’ is indifference;

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THE PEOPLE “The People” forgoes ideological differences and condenses a population into a unity and singular identity, based on the will of the majority.

THE MASSES “The Masses” is characterized by indifference, submerging all differences of a population into homogeneous noise.

THE MULTITUDE “The Multitude” is pluralized, consisting of all internal differences that may never be reduced into a singularity or unity.

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all differences are submerged and drowned in the masses.3 Defining a population as such does not amplify these differences, instead it lumps them together as homogeneous noise, creating a group embodied not by the nature of its different ideals but merely by the fact that the differences exist.

Instead the People should be redefined as “the Multitude”.

The notion of the Multitude is built on the idea that “the ontological conditions of society are defined by a common fabric, which is not fixed and static but open, overflowing and continually constructed in lapidary fashion by the accumulated energies and desires of a population”.4 The Multitude is not a singularity; it is a plurality “composed of innumerable internal differences that can never be reduced to unity or a single identity”.5 The Multitude’s very nature as an ever-evolving, heterogeneous body allows it to be truly representative of an entire population, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. “The Multitude is organized something like a language. All of the elements of a language are defined by their differences from one another, and yet they all function together”.6 It is in this way that the unity so coveted in the notion of the People is emulated and amplified in the Multitude.

The Multitude’s foundation is that of the Common: the network of shared knowledge and information that serves as the precursor for the production and evolution of information and ideologies.7 “Our communication, collaboration and cooperation are not only based on the common, but they in turn produce the common in an expanding spiral relationship”.8 This reevaluation arises at an opportune moment, as “the technological and social state of today’s culture allows communication of knowledge to circumvent traditional curated networks and instead propagate within ever-changing and growing

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networks created by The Multitude”.9 The Multitude and the Common are best likened to a distributed network like the internet, a system containing various nodes that remain different but are all intricately interconnected. It is through this realization of the Common that the People is able to be redefined as the Multitude.

BALANCE OF POWER One of democracy’s defining characteristics is its nature as the avenue of discourse and production between the sovereign and constituent bodies.10 This thesis proposes a reexamination of this relationship and its relative imbalance. Through the abstraction of representation, and the general autonomy of political representatives, the ability of a population to enact its will through a sovereign power becomes muddled, requiring an active dialogue between parties to keep the balance of power in check.

This dialogue, as it pertains to The Multitude, is a function of The Common, and serves to produce, amplify and evolve the multiplicity of political ideologies contained within.11 “Those who obey are no less essential to the concept and the functioning of sovereignty than the one who commands. Sovereignty is thus a dual system of power”.12 It is the nature of this dichotomy that defines the relationship, and begs the constant reminder that the sovereignty is given power by its constituent body, and thus is meant to be subservient to them. It is when this relationship is abused that action must be taken, and dialogue must be opened to address the sovereign and restore the

DEMOCRACY

CONSTITUENT BODY

SOVEREIGN POWER

CONSTITUENT BODY

SOVEREIGN POWER

The non-political public body of a population responsible for the election of representative officials that serve to enact their will as part of the sovereign body.

The body of elected officials responsible for carrying out the will of their respective constituent population.

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rightful balance between the parties. Without the active participation of the subordinated, sovereignty crumbles.13

VOICE OF THE MULTITUDE The essential element of any dialogue is the voice of each party; the vehicle through which the ideas and concepts are relayed. The voice of the sovereign is the enacting and enforcement of legislation that shapes the government and its rule over the population. This voice is absolute; a singular output as a function of the supposed will of said population. The voice of the population is not as absolute.

The primary official avenues are through the civic actions of voting and lobbying, but these are often inadequate.

The true voice of the Multitude is organic, rooted in the Common.

Both official avenues of the Multitude’s expression result in an abstraction of the general will because of their creation of a system of representation. Representation fulfills two contradictory functions: it links the Multitude to the government and at the same time separates it.14 Representation occurs in both these avenues; voting to elect officials that are meant to carry out the public will, and lobbying performed by an appointed singular representative entity. Both of these systems have weaknesses. Voting occurs on a scheduled basis, offers limited choices for office that may not represent all ideologies, and grants an autonomy to these officials that further abstracts the will of the population. Meanwhile it provides no avenue of public intervention in the interim.

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Lobbying is an act carried out again by appointed representative individuals with a certain autonomy, who are far more limited in their ability to influence legislation than elected officials.

Instead it is proposed that the concept of the overriding public opinion is the true voice of a population.15 Public opinion follows no time schedule, and as the direct voice of every individual, is free of the issues surrounding representitive autonomy. In the democracy of ancient Rome, this role of public expression was filled by the assembly, a forum wherein the people could express themselves on public affairs.16 In the modern world there are a multiplicity of outlets, many of which eschew the need for physicality, including the media and internet. The problem with the notion of public opinion is that it remains a function of a majority controlled system, as opposed to the individual expressions of the public. The solution is “not a matter of fixing the truth in some global version of political correctness, but on the contrary guaranteeing the differences of expression of the Multitude in a democratic process of communication”.17 The will of Multitude cannot be summed up as one overriding public opinion, but as the plurality of all of these opinions and their means of expression.

REPRESENTATIVE ABSTRACTION The current system of representation results in multiple levels of abstraction from the will of individual constituent bodies. Coupled with the relative autonomy of elected officials, the course of the sovereign can easily run astray from the will of the Multitude.

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AMERICA’S FRONT LAWN

PART 2

MARCHING ON WASHINGTON

The National Mall in Washington, D.C., rich with history of the dialogue between people and their government, is a prime example of a space in which a physical manifestation of the Multitude might play out. The Mall is iconic: two miles of well-kept landscaping surrounded by and populated with the looming and daunting edifices of the odes to American might and sovereignty. Free of commercialism, the Mall has been set aside for the American public for over 100 years as a medium on which to express themselves.

Despite its history of occupation however, it always returns to blank slate void of the memory of these events, and overshadowed by the physicality of the sovereign.

Originally designed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the mind behind Paris’ sprawling master plan, the Mall was to serve as a national monument that would position the United States amongst the regency of European nations.18 The plan called for strong axial boulevards that created and spawned from major nodes within the city, all of which would encompass a massive public green space that would serve to monumentalize American greatness. Throughout the next century pieces of the plan were erected in phases, though much of the landscaping ran into complications with the marshland situated on the Potomac, including the current site of the Lincoln Memorial.19 1901 saw the enacting of the McMillan plan, an extension of the L’Enfant plan that took influence from the City Beautiful movement and called for architectural solutions in BeauxArts style.20 This plan saw the finalization of a majority of the landscaping endeavors and created the major boulevards that run down the axis of the mall, cementing it as a much more inviting and accessible public domain.

As the landscaping unfolded, edifices of the federal

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government rose to surround it, including most importantly the already existing Capitol Building, and the White House, physical manifestations of the legislative and executive branches of the government, respectively.

In 1894, a man named Jacob Coxey became the lead organizer of the first march on Washington, a protest meant to petition congress to enact legislation to end the hardships on unemployed workers. Coxey and 500 of his peers were quickly disbanded by police, and he was arrested.21 Despite his apparent failure, he began what has become an undeniable national tradition: the use of the National Mall as a staging ground to address the government directly. Though the tactic has been shaped by a series of negotiated compromises between marchers and authorities22, it has only become more widespread. By 1962 protests in front of the White House were so frequent that they were labeled “a national habit”.23 The types of events that take place on the mall vary widely. Many are meant as a form of political expression, simply because of the proximity to government. These events range from massive, intricately organized marches attended by hundreds of thousands of people, to tiny demonstrations or protests attended by mere dozens.

Politicians hold rallies on the Mall in order to build support for their cause, and most notably the Mall becomes the audience seat for one of the nation’s most widely attended political events, the inauguration of the president. Other events however are docile and apolitical. In 1966 the Mall officially became a national park, frequented by millions every year simply to enjoy its majesty and pay tribute to their country. However it is the antagonistic events that this thesis is concerned with, and their potentials as active forms of expression of the Multitude.

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POLITICAL PROVING GROUND On August 28, 1963, one of most memorable and important political events in American history took place on the National Mall. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was an enormous rally held to advance civil rights, and most famously featured Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.24 This event more than any other granted an undeniable political legitimacy to the tactic of marching on Washington. It created a faith in the act as an adequate form of political expression, a faith rooted not so much in immediate change, but in the power of collective displays of citizenship, a kind of display that is impossible in voting booths or through lobbying.25 King himself believed protests were “rarely methods of winning immediate government action but rather essential tactics for organizing and inspiring people to fight for political change”.26 Thomas Jefferson is famously quoted as proclaiming that “The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish to be always kept alive. I like a little rebellion now and then”.27 As his effigy watches from across the Potomac tidal basin, marches on Washington have transformed the capital from the exclusive domain of politicians and officials to a national stage for this very resitance; for citizens to participate directly in politics.28 Marching is however only one of many methods of political expression that the Mall can facilitate. Each type of event, be it a demonstration, protest, rally, march, etc., no matter the size, represents a facet of the ability of the Multitude to open a discussion with the sovereign in an attempt to enact their will. The variety and diversity of events becomes truly representative of the Multitude, and though some may be lost in the noise, the uniqueness of the physical space of the Mall facilitates their plurality.

C

C

C

C C

PRESS UNIT

C

MARCH HEADQUARTERS

STAGE APPARATUS

C REFLECTING POOL

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

C

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

C C

FIRST AID STATION

C COMFORT STATION / RESTROOMS TEMPORARY FACILITY

INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON, 1963

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ARCHITECTURE OF PROTEST As technology has progressed and events on the mall have grown larger, the necessity for facilitation structures has grown and been met by the increasing availability and flexibility of temporary architectural apparatuses. These structures range from enormous stages to projection screens, highly sophisticated audio systems, large informational signs, and raised seating assemblies. These structures are shipped to their locations on the mall and assembled, the process of which can take weeks.29 At the events, they serve not only to facilitate, but to amplify and augment the ideas being expressed.

Infrastructure also serves an extremely important role in these events, with life safety and hygiene being primary concerns given the shear number of people.30 As events are planned, typically months in advance, extremely sophisticated infrastructure plans are put in place that include first aid stations, restrooms, rest areas, water distribution, and administration housing. All of these facilities are temporary as well, delivered and assembled on site. Administration facilities and events requiring covered spaces typically make use of massive tent structures, while restrooms are provided in the form of hundreds of portable outhouses shipped in and distributed throughout the Mall. The March on Washington in 1963 was the first major event make use of heavy infrastructure.31 Originally the organizers wanted the event to be spontaneous and largely unorganized, however the Kennedy administration protested adamantly for fear of uncontrolled riots and injuries, and supported the leadership to help make it official and sanctioned.32 Since the March, almost all events of this size have catered to stringent organization.

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While these structures adequately facilitate these major events and help them garner a much wider attendance, there are two major drawbacks. The first is accessibility: despite the Mall’s position as free public domain for anyone to express their ideologies, the infrastructure necessary for these large events can become very expensive, limiting those groups without adequate funding to holding small events that could have grown much larger with the proper facilities. Were these facilities freely or cheaply available, the events at the mall could become more representative of the Multitude, as the financial bottleneck is removed and the playing field leveled.

The second drawback to the current facilities implementation is their temporality. Many of these events, with their massive attendance, produce stunning proclamations and dedications to the ideologies they express. These structures are occupied and utilized by thousands of attendees come to express their support for the cause. At the event’s conclusion however, these structures, rich with the energy and momentum of political expression, are packed up and cleared away.

What remains is the clean slate of the Mall, void of any remnant of the intense and passionate political expression of the Multitude, yet still surrounded by the permanent physicality of the sovereign. Nowhere is the imbalance of power between the sovereign and constituent bodies better exemplified than here on the empty Mall. Instead, the mall should serve to preserve and monumentalize the events that take place on it, becoming a palimpsest of the layers of ever-evolving political expression and ideological proclamation of the Multitude. Only then will it become the true equal staging ground of dialogue between these two bodies.

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ARTIFACTS OF POLITICAL DIALOGUE

PART 3

MEMORIALIZING THE COMMON

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The difficulty of preserving the voice of the Multitude as enacted through the events on the mall stems from more than just the temporality of structures, but also from the nature of events as occupations. A permanent facility accessible by the public for the events could serve as a monument to said events, however its emptiness in the interim between events would convey no more preservation than the Mall itself currently does. Certainly the attendees of these events themselves cannot become the preserved voice, as their participation in the event is a temporary endeavor to support a more permanent cause. Instead we must look at the physical manifestations of these political ideas created by the individuals of the Multitude.

Contemporary political events have come to rely on these physical implementations of expression, most typically in the form of signs, banners, flags, or anything that can be held or worn by individuals in order to amplify their message.33 As such, these items are a function of the Common. They are typically constructed cheaply and quickly, without regard for design as much as clarity of a singular idea. Their disposable nature means they are cast aside at the end of the event and thrown away, making their existence no more permanent than the presence of the individuals who constructed them. What if instead, these items became artifacts of the events they contributed to. Their presence is already pervasive enough that if they were left behind after an occupation any bystander could perceive the nature of the event’s ideology simply from reading a number of them. If these artifacts were organized and properly preserved, they then could become the preservation of the voice of the Multitude.

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The events on the National Mall are notorious for the amount of these artifacts that are created by participants, if only for the colossal amount of refuse that they ultimately become at the events’ conclusion.34 If the Mall instead specifically requisitioned a space to act as the preservation of this expression, these artifacts could be stored and organized, providing not only an archive but a public showcase, a museum that denies the temporality of these events and makes their expression permanent. Further, as time goes on and more events occur, the collection of artifacts would compound upon itself, essentially turning this museum into a palimpsest of the Common, with layers of information that monumentalize the dynamic and plural nature of the Multitude.

AN ADAPTIVE MONUMENT As the Common is defined by its constant production and redefinition through the contributions and collaborations of the Multitude, the task of its preservation in a physical space becomes challenging. If it is to mirror the nature of the Multitude, it must be able to evolve with it, embodying the simultaneity of the irreducible parts while collecting these parts together to form an implied unity. The space would require the ability to adapt with the Multitude all while retaining its lack of hierarchy and ensuring equal expression of all ideas held within. Through the design of kinetic systems, the architecture of the space could let go of nature as a static object, and instead be based around the planning and initiating of dynamic objects and processes.35 The architect no longer designs the presentation of content - this is now under the authorship

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of the Multitude - but designs an overriding choreography that dictates how the spaces are able to rearrange to facilitate the preservation of the Common.

If this same structure used for preservation also took the role of facilitation, its role in monumentalizing the expression of the Multitude would become allencompassing. This dichotomy of the architecture would benefit from the implementation of mobility and kinetic systems that allow the structure to traverse the National Mall and transform itself between the two states, exploring how facets of the design might physically exist only when necessary and disappear when the are not.36 In this sense the aesthetic dichotomy could become indicative of the structure’s state as politically antagonistic or simply introspective.

In order to further the contrast between the two states of the architecture, and to better reflect the nature of it as a representation of the Multitude. The state of preservation should ultimately remain static, but as an amalgamation of the subset of event typologies that the building would ultimately employ. In this sense, the state of facilitation could be handled by elements of the larger whole that break off and are able to autonomously mobilize, facilitating the events of an individual group elsewhere on the mall. The mere act of them returning to the neutral state of preservation after their use would result in an organic reorganization of the larger aggregate.

This aggregate, free of hierarchy and subject to adaptation through the use patterns of the Multitude, would become an ever-changing monument to the Common, and would position itself in opposition to sovereign power as the constant preservation of the voice and will Multitude.

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EXECUTION

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DESIGN STUDY 1 Early research looked primarily at the concept of conflict, and in this case its effect on internal government affairs.

This study proposes a government building that acts as an informational hub for the status and efficiency of government operations. In this example, functional volumes are sized based on their agency’s current cut of the federal budget. The volumes, placed specifically in line with others that feed from the same capital resources, are allowed to expand and contract based on necessity. What precipitates in the inevitable quarrels between agencies is a visualized state of conflict that addresses both the internal hierarchy and the public’s interest, in hopes to exact a sense of priority onto the voting populous.

KINETICS

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VOLUME EXPANSION

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FEDERAL BUDGET 2013 (NOT INCLUDING DEPT OF DEFENSE)

ECONOMY 15% PRESERVATION 37% ADVANCEMENT 14% INFRASTRUCTURE 20% DEFENSE 14%

INTERNAL CONFLICT

CONTEXTUAL CONFLICT

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

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DESIGN STUDY 2 As research continued, the project moved from a exposé of internal government conflict to an embodiment of the conflict/relationship between the public and the government. This study, set on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., proposes radically augmenting the Mall by creating a kinetic landscape that houses occupiable spaces meant for protest and demonstration. The government’s reciprocal would be a series of mobile volumes that each represent an arm of the establishment, and are able to shift and change in response to the public’s occupation of the landscape. This was the initial foray into the ideas of permanence and monumentalization of political dialogue.

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MOBILE GOVERNMENT UNITS RESPONDING TO LANDSCAPE

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CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW

1

26

DEPLOY + FACILITATE Mobile structures move around the National Mall on a series of tracks, and deploy to facilitate political activities (rallies, demonstrations, protests). The units vary in their functionality, but all serve to augment the events in a unique way.

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2

COLLECT + TRANSPORT When the event concludes, the artifacts of expression created and displayed by the protesters are collected in the unit, which then closes up into its mobile state. At this point it is able to traverse the track anywhere on the mall.

3

AGGREGATE + DISPLAY + PRESERVE The units containing the political artifacts then return to their “rest� position, at a specified location on the Mall. Here the units attach to one another, and with each containing artifacts from different groups, ideologies, etc, they form a museum that monumentalizes the plurality of The Multitude.

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WHITE HOUSE

TRACK SYSTEM Rather than allowing the units to roam free amongst the Mall, a track system was designed as an implication of the unit’s mandate to return to the aggregate position. While it may seem limiting, the track is laid out in an effort to take full advantage of the Mall, and as such addresses all of the major focal points typically used for political events. Functionally, the track provides a much simpler system for powering and maintaining the units through a perpetually connected conductor rail system. At the grouping location between the Smithsonian museums, a track switch allows rearranging of the units before reentering the aggregate.

This rail also serves a monument to history - before the major landscaping renovations in the 1850s, the site of the National Mall was a rail depot, with miles of track spanning its north-south axis.

SMITHSONIAN OF AMERICAN

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

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REFLECTING POOL

WWII MEMORIAL

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

N MUSEUM N HISTORY

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART WEST WING

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART EAST WING

CAPITOL BUILDING

SMITHSONIAN CASTLE ARTS & INDUSTRIES

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AIR & SPACE

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

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LINCOLN MEMORIAL / REFLECTING POOL

WHITE HOUSE

Presentation unit deploys stage to facilitate rallies on historic site. Observation units augment crowd by providing raised viewing platforms.

Demonstration units move into place to project protest signs at the White House, invoking dialogue with the executive branch.

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WASHINGTON MONUMENT

CAPITOL HILL

A presentation unit deploys a stage to conduct a small rally. A demonstration unit accompanies it to display additional messages related to the rally.

A lone demonstration unit deploys its screen with a message meant to address congress, represented by the Capitol Building.

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EVENT INFRASTRUCTURE In an effort to make event infrastructure a permanent and accessible facet of the Mall, subterranean support housing is installed within the track at various locations. The support volumes are then lifted into units as they position themselves over the support systems, transforming the space into part of the event’s infrastructure. These support volumes take the role of restroom, first aid, comfort, and water distribution stations.

RESTROOM UNIT Replaces portable outhouses, providing 8 restrooms in a compact volume. The most frequent unit.

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FIRST AID UNIT With safety a major concern, this unit provides aid to anyone suffering heatstroke, injuries, etc.

COMFORT UNIT Provides seating away from event to aid against fatigue. Contains water fountains.

ACTIVE RESTROOM UNIT

ACCESS WALKWAY

SUPPORT UNIT LIFT

INACTIVE FIRST AID UNIT

INACTIVE COMFORT UNIT

SUPPORT ACCESS

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UNIT TYPE 01

DEMONSTRATION The demonstration units are the most clearly antagonistic in the group. Their defining characteristic is autonomy; these units, more so than the others, are easily used on their own, be it by a large group or even just one person. In the field, they serve to amplify a single idea, ad nauseum, with their massive projection screen.

At home in the aggregate however, they are retrospective, turning the extroverted screen into an introverted spatial definer.

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DEPLOYMENT SEQUENCE

UNIT VARIATIONS

Demonstration unit positioned to address the white house, displaying a banner protesting the use of nuclear weapons.

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DETAILS SCREEN CARRIAGE

PROJECTION SCREEN

SCREEN HINGE SYSTEM (2) MOMENT FRAME TERMINAL MEZZANINE/STAIRS

SLIDING WALL PANELS (1)

LIFT WALL

TRACK WHEELS

DETAIL (1) SLIDING WALL PANELS

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DETAIL (2) PROJECTION SCREEN HINGE SYSTEM

SLIDING GLASS PARTITIONS

Demonstration unit near the Washington Monument, contributing to a rally against student loan inflation.

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2’

5’

10’

45

UNIT TYPE 02

OBSERVATION The observation units represent the silent voice of the Multitude, those who wish to express their ideas and values not with a physical demonstration but rather with their attention.

This act of observation may seem lesser than the acts performed by the other units, but is in fact just as integral to the democratic process.

These units are the tallest in the family, meant to tower over crowds and provide a viewing post to those wishing to observe a function, most likely one facilitated by another unit. They also act as reciprocal hubs to these events, providing speakers and screens to allow more to observe.

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Observation unit positioned along the reflecting pool, a typical spot for observing A NEW DEMOCRACY a rallyTOWARDS 48 at the Lincoln Memorial.

DEPLOYMENT SEQUENCE

UNIT VARIATIONS

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DETAILS RAISED OBSERVATION VOLUME

ACCESS/OBSERVATION STAIRS DEPLOYABLE SKY DECK (2)

MOMENT FRAME TERMINAL

SLIDING WALL PANELS

MOMENT FRAME TERMINAL SUPPORT VOLUME ACCESS

LIFT CANOPY (1)

SLIDING GLASS PARTITIONS

DETAIL (1) LIFT CANOPY SYSTEM

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DETAIL (2) OBSERVATION PLATFORM ACTUATOR

Observation units participating in the presidential inauguration, providing viewing posts for the massive event.

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1’

2’

5’

10’

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UNIT TYPE 03

PRESENTATION The presentation units, in contrast to the demonstration units, are about order. Like the demonstration units, these units carry the intention of projecting a message, however its audience is entirely different. The presentation units are the largest of the bunch, and as such command a presence in their infrastructural use. They are the centerpieces of large rallies, concerts, political campaigns, etc. And do so by deploying a large, raised stage with all necessary equipment to facilitate these largescale presentations that the Mall thrives on.

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Presentation unit deployed in front of Lincoln Memorial, with a speaker addressing a rally.

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DEPLOYMENT SEQUENCE

UNIT VARIATIONS

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DETAILS

STAGE CANOPY

MOMENT FRAME TERMINAL

CANOPY LEVELING SYSTEM

BLEACHER SEATING BACKSTAGE STORAGE

DEPLOYABLE SCREEN OPERABLE PANELS/STAGE PROTECTION

PANEL DUAL POINT HINGE SYSTEM

DETAIL CANOPY LEVELING HINGE

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MOMENT FRAME TERMINAL

DETAIL CANOPY LIFT HINGE

Presentation unit stage interior, looking on the reflecting pool and the huge crowd ANDREWMWRIGHT THESIS 2013 67 assembled for a rally.

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1’

2’

5’

10’

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AGGREGATION When in “rest” position, the units return to a plinth set along the Smithsonian corridor of the Mall. Through a series of kinetic partition systems, the units are able to connect to one another within this aggregate, creating an expansive, ever-changing space. This space becomes the showcase of the artifacts that the units collect while out in the field; a museum to the Multitude and its constant plurality of ideologies. As units depart and return, the aggregate changes both physically and contextually - mirroring the ebb and flow of the Multitude’s constant political redefinition.

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AGGREGATE FORMATION

AGGREGATE LOCATION

The aggregate is meant to be just that - an aggregation of the formal and experiential qualities of the individual units, meant to memorialize the contents of each unit as part of a larger whole. As such, its formal nature demands no agenda, and is subject purely to the use conditions and timing of the units’ endeavors. Importantly, the aggregate is never meant to exude a sense of hierarchy, and due to the units’ overriding similarities, remains relatively homogeneous regardless of configuration. This is an important aspect of the Multitude - that one idea is not placed above another merely by presence, but that they are able to exist simultaneously.

With the entire National Mall as the site of the proposed use field of the project, it became important to choose an iconic spot within which the aggregate could form. Due to its nature as a museum, it made sense to fit it in with the existing Smithsonian buildings, but specifically as a foil to them; the Smithsonian is an indirect arm of the sovereign, and their architecture dominates the Mall in that same realm.

The museum, representing the voice of the Multitude, sits across from the main Smithsonian Institute building, and directly in the center of the lawn specifically requisitioned for the public.

EXAMPLE CONFIGURATIONS

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SMITHSONIAN CASTLE

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AGGREGATE CONNECTION As the units come together in the aggregate, their puzzlelike formal nature allows them to slot and fit together in some instances. In others, the terminals may not line up and what results is a void space between the volumes that further complicates the interior space. The ultimate goal is a lack of any visible hierarchy within the aggregate. When the units come together, a series of partition doors on all sides are able to slide open and create more expansive spaces encompassing the whole museum. Conversely, even if the doors line up, they don’t necessarily need to be opened, facilitating two ideological groups that may wish to remain separate from one another.

PARTITION KINETICS

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UNITS SLOTTING TOGETHER

ASYMMETRICAL UNITS, RESULTING IN VOID SPACES

The aggregate museum, as viewed from above, looking down the mall toward the Washington Monument.

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PROBE

THESIS SHOW

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PROBE was the exhibition the of the undergraduate thesis projects of Jackson Studio 2013. The show was designed to encourage an active participation in the work instead of the passive viewing of a typical gallery.

This was achieved using a myriad of technologies. Hanging boards provided surfaces for projected interactive project presentations, manipulated using the projection as a touch screen. Additionally, each station contained a tablet device that provided an augmented reality layer to the project models and presentation using its camera. Other miscellaneous “probe� instruments included lamps, magnifying lenses, and even fan to interact with wind based projects.

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3

2

1

DISPLAY BOARD x10

6 4 5 7

8

DISPLAY BOARD 2 STATIONS PER UNIT

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

PROJECTION SURFACE PROJECTOR CEILING ATTACHMENT NAMEPLATE TABLET DEVICE MAGNIFIER LAMP MODEL BASE

SHOW ENTRANCE

SHOW LAYOUT BERG GALLERY, CAL POLY ARCHITECTURE BUILDING

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VELLUM FURNITURE DESIGN

EXCLUSIT

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Research into the thesis began initially with an interest in social conflict and the role of architecture therein. To further explore this concept, this furniture for the Vellum competition was designed on the basis of precipitating unforeseen social conflict through a kinetic system, inciting said conflict when a single user interacts with the piece and renders it inaccessible to others. This research into conflict eventually led to the interest in larger-scale political conflict, but both the kinetic and social nature of the final project were rooted in the ideas of this piece.

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In an attempt to precipitate unforeseen social conflict, the piece initially appears as a bench, suitable for multiple sitters. However, once an individual takes a seat, their weight activates the kinetic motion of the sectional elements that form into a seat position in the area they’ve sat, and an obstruction on all others.

Two or more seats can be achieved if multiple people coordinate their seating. The piece is constructed froman action performed by one party that changes the spatial 146 milled plywood pieces, PVC joints, and three gas situation of another party surfaces a direct exchange between said parties. whether this social interaction is toward a compromise, springs that provide resistance to the sitting motion. The or conversely exposes the true nature of either party and results motion is entirely passive, with no electronics involved.

The kinetic motion was designed using grasshopper.

exclusit

this study supposes a peice of furniture, in this case a bench

situation initially allows interaciton by two or more parties, in this case seating. however, once a single person sits on the bench, the area they sit in actuates, shifting into a lounge chair position. conversely, any area in which they are not sitting shifts into a table, blocking any other person from using the piece as was originally nature of some.

actuated position

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$#*@!

=

??

=(

!!!

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rest position

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WORKS CITED # 1-6, 9, 13-17 Hardt, Michael, and Antonio Negri. Multitude: War and Democracy in Age of Empire. New York: Penguin, 2004. Print.

# 21-29, 32 Barber, Lucy G. Marching on Washington: The Forging of an American Political Tradition. Berkeley: University of California, 2002.

# 7, 8, 11, 33 Hardt, Michael, and Antonio Negri. Commonwealth. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2009. Print.

# 20 Swett, Richard N., FAIA. “Civic Architecture: Design & Identity in a Changing Society.” AIA Convention. Boston, MA. Speech.

# 10, 12, 16 Hobbes, Thomas, and Richard Tuck. Leviathan. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.

# 35, 36 Fox, Michael, and Miles Kemp. Interactive Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2009. Print.

# 18, 19, 30, 31, 34 Hanlon, Mary. “Chronological Tour and Analysis of The Mall.”

Virginia.edu. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 07 June 2013.

IMAGE CREDITS pg. 11 Leffler, Warren K. “Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the 1963 March on Washington” 1963. Wikimedia Commons.

Accessed 6 Jun 2013.

pg. 94, 97, 99, 102 photography: Josef Kasperovich editing: Doug Jackson

pg. 15 Hunter, John. “View to the Washington Monument from behind the rally to restore sanity and/or fear on the Mall in Washington DC” 2010. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 6 Jun 2013.

pg. 100 photography: Michelle Chen editing: Doug Jackson

pg. 03, 34-37, 54-61, 70-77, 86-91, 106-113 photography: Andrew M Wright

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