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I would like to dedicate this to my parents Mary and John and to Emily A word is also due for the Basking Shark whose gifts have rarely been acknowledged A sincere thank you to Helen and Fergus and everyone in Material for the support, guidance and good times... “plaster!�
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Introduction I
Folk•Work•Place..............................................................8 Geddesian Achill
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Mythologies of Construction..........................................22 Towards a Mythopoeic Architecture
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Edge Typologies...............................................................40 Beyond the Idyllic
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Oral Potentialities...........................................................52 Archive-Revive-Broadcast
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The Sun-Fish Hunt..........................................................70 The Plot
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Transhumantial Existences............................................90 Engaging the Subtext
Appendices Bibliography
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“I am inclined while watching the turtle to turn it over and study its underbelly. From this unnatural position I see how this platonically solid creature makes its way through the world.”1 Douglas Darden in•cis•ion; the action or process of cutting into something i•dent•it•y; the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is This thesis is comprised of six sections; five written and one graphic. Each section is both a distinct part/subdivision and an act or instance of cutting; an incision. The essays were conceived as stand-alone pieces of research through which architecture and cultural identity are the common threads. Altogether they represent six incisions through history, memory and space on Achill Island, Ireland. The aim has been to reveal the characteristics which make this island the way it is and to apply this knowledge towards generating architecture there. The final section describes a proposal which attempts to crystallize the concepts discussed into an architectural design. This project evolved from an extended period of time spent living and working in Achill. Although not a native, I have become fascinated with the history, folklore, music and architecture of the place. The prospect of designing a building for Achill has excited me for a long time and I hope that some of the richness I have discovered will come across in the following pages.
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Darden D., (1993) Condemned Building, Princeton Architectural Press, New York
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section•i
folk•work•place
Thinking Machine, Geddes (Cities in Evolution, 1915)
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“Identity is a process, not an essence, which is continually being remade in consistent ways...”1 Tim Edensor The following discussion investigates the role of place in the formation of identity. The objective is to gain a deeper understanding of how architecture mediates between identity and place and its potential to redefine both. To begin however, the question must be asked; what is identity? Edensor suggests that identity is not a static entity but an ever-changing process. Through a constant internal-external dialogue, individual and collective identities are being continuously redefined. Individually, we compare ourselves to others on a constant basis. In doing this we begin to recognise characteristics which we can or cannot identify with. When individuals agree on a shared set of characteristics, a collective identity emerges. Place is frequently a determining factor in establishing these shared points of commonality. The division of the world into one hundred and ninety five nations attests to this. To demonstrate the overlaps between identity and architecture it is necessary to look at the role of place. T h e • I d e n t i f i c a t i o n • o f • P l a c e Simon Unwin asserts that the “fundamental burden of architecture is the identification of place.”2 As human beings, we are constantly involved in placing-making. The acts of sheltering under a tree in a rain-shower and constructing a building are responses to the same basic human impulse;
1 Edensor, T., (2002) National Identity, Popular Culture and Everyday Life, Berg, Oxford 2 Unwin S (2003) Analysing Architecture, Routledge, London
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Life Process, Geddes (Cities in Evolution, 1915)
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Folk•Work•Place the desire to feel comfortable in this world, to situate ourselves. The tag of “architecture” is often only applied to the construction of buildings, but “architecture” stems from this basic need to find shelter. As identifiers of place, architects also create identities for place. Constructing a building alters a part of the world, it defines an identity where none existed or redefines identity where one previously prevailed. The assembly of identity is a vital function of architecture. As humans we need to be able to relate to our world as well as find shelter in it. G
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Patrick Geddes’ thoughts and actions can help to understand the interdependent relationships between place, folk and work. As a botanist, town planner and educationalist Geddes strove towards a unified and holistic world view. He looked to combine all fields of human research from the aesthetic and scientific to the economic and geographic. He recognized that these do not exist as independent fields of research. “Hence we must cease to think merely in terms of separated departments and faculties and must co-relate these in the living mind...thus then, we are reaching a re-classification of our ideas and our ideals with them” (Geddes, 1915) Geddes argued that to study geography, anthropology or economics in isolation is a futile exercise. A holistic understanding can only be achieved by exploring all of these at once and together, until the various inter-relationships become clearer. The Geddesian life-process formula expresses this.
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Valley Section, Geddes (Cities in Evolution, 1915)
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Folk•Work•Place
“The environment acts, through function, upon the organism and conversely the organism acts, through function, upon the environment.” (Geddes, 1915) Geddes, the botanist, developed this formula which enabled Geddes, the town-planner, to adapt it to a city or region. When converted it becomes “place acts through work upon folk and conversely folk act through work upon place.” The implication is that folk and place are in a state of constant transition and through work are being continually re-shaped. T h e • V a l l e y • S e c t i o n To demonstrate the relationships between folk, work and place Geddes developed the valley section. A tool for surveying and understanding a region, the valley section explores the influence that geographical location has on the identity of a group of people. In it, human activity is broken down into seven primeval occupations: Miner, Woodman, Hunter, Shepard, Peasant, Farmer and Fisherman. These are Geddes’ archetypal occupations from which stem all contemporary forms of work. Thus the modern, urban equivalent of the miner might be a jeweller or goldsmith just as a carpenter may be traced back to the woodman. “The valley section is the basis of survey. In such ways we may work out very many specific and definite civilisation values. We can discover that the kind of place and the kind of work done in it, deeply determine the ways and institutions of its people” (Geddes, 1915)
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Achill Valley Section
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Folk•Work•Place A c h i l l 3 • V a l l e y • S e c t i o n Geddes’ believed that the characteristic qualities of a social group, city or region could be traced back to their primitive origins in the valley section. To understand the reciprocal relationships between folk, work and place in Achill, the logical progression was to apply the valley section to the island. In a notional cut taken through Slievemore Mountain and down to the ocean at Keel beach, contemporary occupations are ordered according to their relationship with the landscape. The island’s topography lends itself well to this Geddesian framework. In place of the gardener and miner are the surf instructor and mountain guide, respectively. This change reflects the transition from an economy based on primary industry (i.e. direct use of natural resources) to tertiary industry (service providing) in the form of seasonal tourism. The presence of the fisherman, sheep farmer and turf cutter however, shows that this transition is not a complete one. The seasonality of the tourism industry requires a supplementary income which these occupations provide. The publican’s origins lie in Geddes’ lowland farmer, while the artist is very much an outsider who resides on the periphery of human inhabitation. His/her position on higher ground allows for the isolation required to work but also alludes to the fact that the artist in Achill is often seen as a permanent visitor rather than a local. Achill•makes•the•Islanders|The•Islanders•make•Achill “As the merchant nobles of Venice sprang from the fishing boat, or the millionaires of Pittsburgh now arise beside the forge, so surely do their cities retain the essential character, that conditioned by their environment
3 Ireland’s largest island sits of the coast of County Mayo. The name Achill (Acaill, Gaelic) is thought to refer to a colony of white-tailed Sea Eagles which were once to be found there. The species is now extinct.(McDonald, 1997)
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Advertisement for Migrant Workers from Achill
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Folk•Work•Place and occupation.” (Geddes, 1915) Generations of people have worked the island of Achill. Trees have been cut down, stones dug, seaweed spread, crops sown, roads built and housed erected; this work has shaped the island to its current state. At the same time, the island has shaped its people through climatic, topographic and geographic processes. Daily life on Achill, is profoundly affected by the physical conditions there. Surrounded by ocean and subject to long periods of harsh weather, the islanders are independent, resilient and clannish. Their geographic and economic isolation is both a blessing and a curse. Yet, their very existence is a testament to their resilience and adaptability in difficult circumstances. If a single occupation were to be assigned to a region, like the Miner to Pittsburgh or the Fisherman to Venice, for Achill it would have to be the Peasant. No worker could be more apt than he who occupies the stony upland soil where “economies are of the very essence of survival, storing for the winter and for seed, using both with frugal care.”(Geddes, 1915) This comparison draws attention to a defining characteristic of Achill people; their migratory tendencies. D i a s p o r i c 4 • T o p o g r a p h i e s Achill people have led a precarious existence on their rugged island. Unable to rely on industry, farming or small scale fishing for a steady income they have periodically left their homeland in order to survive. The recent history of the island is defined by two things, seasonal migration and permanent emigration.
4 diaspora; a dispersion of people originally belonging to one nation
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A memorial to ten Achill workers who died in a bothy fire in Kirkintilloch on September 16th 1937
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Folk•Work•Place Seasonal migration is perhaps an evolution of the ancient practice of transhumance5, which continued for longer in Achill than anywhere in Ireland6. For the most part, Scotland was the destination. Up until the 1960’s squads of men, women and children as young as eleven travelled, by train and boat to Scotland to harvest root crops, mainly potatoes. This connection with Scotland is a unique and important part of the identity of the island. The song “The Tattie-Hokers” attests to this. “The crops are now ripe on the West coast of Scotland The farmers are waiting in Girvan and Ayr They’re gathering the squads on the West coast of Ireland On the steam train from Achill, there’s a subsidised fare...”7 Permanent emigration began in earnest during the Great Famine of 184550 and has continued to this day; the United States, Australia and the UK being the main destinations. Interestingly, Achill people transported their clannish outlook abroad and congregated in certain cities. Cleveland, Ohio is one example. The city is home to a large Irish Diaspora. A website which promotes links between the city and Achill maintains that up to 200,000 of its 800,000 inhabitants claim Achill ancestry.8 This seasonal or permanent displacement of islanders has influenced their identity in a significant way. It is fair to say that many in Achill see themselves as closer to Scotland than Ireland in certain respects. This blurring effect is compounded by the dispersed nature of Achill’s diaspora who in turn have their own mixed notions of nationality and identity. As the process of identification of place, architecture has the potential to influence the future development of Achill’s cultural identity. It is only by dissecting current perceptions of place that it can begin to do this. 5 transhumance; the seasonal movement of people and their livestock over relatively short distances. 6 McDonald, T. (1997) Achill – Archaeology History
Folklore, I.A.S. Publications, Tullamore (p. 267) 7 song composed by Michael O’ Donnell, Pollagh, Achill 8 http://www.achillcleveland.com/history.php
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section•ii
mythologies•of•construction
Franciscan Monastery Liquid emulsion print on fabriano, 297x210mm
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S E C T I O N • I I M y t h o l o g i e s • o f • C o n s t r u c t i o n To w a r d s • a • M y t h o p o e i c 1• A r c h i t e c t u r e ? “Ever since the advent of science in the seventeenth century, we have rejected mythology as a product of superstitious and primitive minds. Only now are we coming to a fuller appreciation of the nature and role of myth in human history…”
(Levi-Strauss, 1978)
Can architecture speak to us? Can materials be moved from silent inertia to speech? Can a building tell a story? This essay explores the speculative world of myth in architecture and these questions are the driving force behind it. The proposition is that through myth, architecture has the potential to speak. As will become evident, the sentimental or romantic connotations of myth are superseded by contemporary understandings of the term, which describe it as a form of communication/mode of signification. Thus, by investigating contemporary interpretations of myth, the aim is to compare myth and architecture as communicative devices. The works of various philosophers, theorist and architects will be used to support the proposition and the piece concludes on Achill Island, Ireland where correlations between myth and architecture are distinctly apparent. C o n t e m p o r a r y • M y t h In today’s world of instant communication and digital mass media myth is easily misunderstood. Common preconceptions of myth dismissive of its inconsistencies and non-linear structures. Levi-Strauss contends
1 mythopoeic; of or pertaining to the making of myths
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“Louthania , holy well” (McCullough/Mulvin 1987)
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Mythologies•of•Construction however, that a more informed understanding of history can be acquired by including mythological thought in the discourse. In order to establish new grounds for investigation these preconceptions of myth must be challenged. Thus, the question must be asked: what is myth today?2 And what implications, if any, does it have for architecture today? Barthes, the French theorist and philosopher, proposed that myth is first and foremost, a form of communication. He suggests that there is more to myth than meets the ear. “Myth is a type of speech...every object in the world can pass from a closed, silent existence to an oral state, open to appropriation by society, for there is no law, whether natural or not, which forbids talking about things...” (Barthes, 1973) According to Barthes, myth is neither an object nor a concept but a system of communication i.e. a message. In Mythologies he speaks of the capacity of any object to become myth (i.e. a form of speech), provided that it is conveyed by a discourse. “A tree is a tree. Yes, of course. But a tree as expressed by Minou Drouet3 is no longer quite a tree, it is a tree which is decorated, adapted to a certain type of consumption... with a type of social usage which is added to pure matter.” (Barthes, 1973) It is this addition to pure matter that allows the tree to speak, in a mythic sense. The physical object remains unaltered; the tree is still a tree. Yet,
2 see Barthes, 1973, pg. 117 3 French poet/musician (b. 1947)
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Grammar as a Memory Image, and Visual Alphabets from Johannes Romberch, as repropuced in the Art of Memory (Yates, 1966)
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Mythologies•of•Construction after passing into song/poetry it becomes more than just a tree, it holds meaning. The tree becomes a mode of signification, a message. A r c h i t e c t u r e • a s • a • F o r m • o f • S p e e c h According to Barthes an object must be conveyed by a discourse to become myth i.e. it must prompt a discussion of some sort; written, oral, pictorial or otherwise. Once this occurs it moves from silence to mythic speech. Barthes maintained that any object could become a form of speech and even described how a building could do so. “..if I catch a glimpse, at the end of rue Gambetta or the rue Jean-Jaures, of a natty white chalet with red tiles, dark brown half-timbering, an asymmetrical roof and wattle and daub front, I feel as if I were personally receiving an imperious injunction to name this object as a Basque chalet, or even better to see it as the very essence of Basquity.” (Barthes, 1973) The chalet conveys meaning. Its red tiles, half timbering and asymmetrical roof suggest it through connotative associations. The building generates dialogues between itself and the viewer, the streetscape and the buildings nearby. A discourse emerges. The building speaks. “I am a Basque chalet”, is what it says. In order to elaborate on this theme a little further it is necessary to return to the origins of architecture, or at least, the origins according to Vitruvius. V i t r u v i a n • M y t h Early in The Ten Books of Architecture, Vitruvius describes the origin of the first dwelling. In his description he twins the birth of architecture with the birth of speech and thus language. Primitive man utters his
4 Dripps R. D. (1999) The First House – Myth Paradigm and the Task of Architecture, MIT Press, Cambridge MA (p. 7-9)
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Les toits de Collioure, Matisse
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Mythologies•of•Construction first meaningful sounds around a fire and subsequently constructs his first dwelling. R.D. Dripps describes Vitruvius account as being “in a precarious position between history and the timeless independence of myth”4. He argues that Vitruvius relies on mythical thinking in an effort to describe a timeless and universal architecture. Whereas analytical thought tends to fragment our understanding of the world, mythical thought reinforces the universal. “And just as the word assumes its greatest import in the speech that arises out of the gathering of people trying to understand the world, might not the value of architecture similarly be found in the relationships it establishes between these people and the world?” (Dripps, 1999) Thus the idea that architecture and speech are very closely intertwined is not a new one. Vitruvius placed their origins around the same time. For more contemporary examples of this the following paragraphs discuss the work of architects whose work is mythic in a communicative/signifying way. As will be seen, projects by Robert Venturi and Douglas Darden support the idea that architecture is a communicative device. This is in spite of the fact that their approaches are almost diametrically opposed. T h e • D e c o r a t e d • S h e d In Learning from Las Vegas Venturi speaks at length about sign, symbol and ornament in architecture. His thesis for a communicative architecture was summed up in his idea of “the decorated shed”. Venturi saw the architecture of the Las Vegas strip as a complex set of forms, signs and symbols whose main goal was not continuity of space or form but to
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Guild House (Venturi 1974)
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Mythologies•of•Construction transmit information. The simple “sheds” of the strip are decorated with signs which explicitly announce their function. “where systems of space and structure are directly at the service of program, and ornament is applied independantly of them. This we call the decorated shed.”
(Venturi, 1974)
Venturi strove for an architecture of communication over expression, one of symbolism over abstraction, an evocative architecture rather than an innovative architecture5. He used a comparison between his own Guild House project and Paul Rudolph’s Crawford Manor to illustrate this. The “ordinary” and “banal” Guild House is designed as a simple “shed” which is decorated with functioning ornament. This building is championed over the heroic and expressive Crawford Manor by Rudolph. Venturi stresses the desire to downplay any formal expression in Guild house so that the building can communicate through overt signage. Thus, it could be said that in an overtly explicit and literal way Venturi sought a mythic architecture. Just as Barthes Basque chalet spoke of its Basquity, the “banal” Guild House announces itself in a large bold typeface. The sign denotes meaning in an explicit manner just as the chalet’s red tiles connote meaning in an implicit way. Thus through explicit or implicit means the end result is the same, an architecture which speaks. M e m o r y • o f • I m p o s t e r s If Venturi was explicit in his mythic speech, Douglas Darden was not. His projects are sophisticated works of allegory6 which look to tell a story
5 see “Ugly and Ordinary Architecture”, Learning from Las Vegas (p.102-103) 6 allegory; a story, poem, or picture with an underlying meaning as well as the literal one
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Memory of Imposters (A Portrait of a Lost Identity) (Darden, 1993)
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Mythologies•of•Construction through programme, symbol and metaphor. Darden’s quasi-industrial forms convey meaning through association with archetypes but unlike Venturi’s decorated sheds they do so in a subliminal way. “The buildings are an admission of rhetoric, not knowledge. Instead of solutions, they offer allegories. By these means, architecture can be seen for what it is; never its own sufficient subject, not its own sufficient end.”
(Darden, 1993)
Darden’s Memory of Imposters project for example, is a composition of two grain silos, a sheer wall, forty two shipping containers and a lattice of fire stairs which are semi-submerged into Baltimore Harbour. These form a museum for celebrated Americans who passed themselves off as somebody else. The project is mythic in its powerful use of symbol. Each element of the scheme signifies something. The first silo for example, encases two trees which acknowledge the fact that the site, Fort McHenry Monument in Baltimore, was once a pine forest. Also, the “black rock” sheer wall significantly houses four rows of thirteen shipping containers each; thirteen being the number of ships which were strategically sunk to form a naval barricade during the War of 1812. Darden succeeds in translating a complex historical narrative into architectural form. Meaning lurks in every corner of the museum and yet, even without knowledge of the underlying symbolism the structure speaks through its archetypal connotations. “When you make a building, you make a life. And it talks to you!” (Louis Kahn, as quoted by Schneider, 2001)
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Decorated Shed, Purteen Achill
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Mythologies•of•Construction
In order to place this discussion in the context of Achill, the following section identifies an example of architecture acting as a form of communication on the island. M y t h i c • A c h i l l “The first house is that mythology, the magical place where the dreams of architecture meet the facts of nature and the circumstances of culture. It is the place where the ideas and elements of architecture combine to become a great event in the mind. It is the place where we dwell, where we abide, and where we encounter ourselves.” (Schneider, 2001) Perhaps it is the widespread dereliction in Achill, but a discourse has developed around the architecture of the island. Buildings are surrounded by stories, half-stories and songs. They inform and sustain a rich vein of cultural activity. The dwellings of the deserted village in Keel West are one such example. Heinrich Bӧll, German Nobel laureate, described his encounter with this village as follows: “Gray, uniform, sloping stone gables which we saw first with no depth of perspective, like an amateurish set for a ghost film, incredulous we tried to count them, we gave up at forty, there must have been a hundred.” (Bӧll, 1957) For Bӧll, this “skeleton of a human habitation” was loaded with meaning. He dedicated a whole chapter of his book Irish Journal to describing the village and the theories on its desertion, which he garnered from local anecdotes.
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The Deserted Village, Keel West Achill
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Mythologies•of•Construction
For the people of Achill the deserted village is now one of the main tourist attractions and thus an important source of income for the island. The last residents of the village have passed on and though their descendants still own land and property there, the precise reasons for deserting the village are no longer known. Many believe it was due to hardships during the Great Famine of 1845-50 but others maintain it was a more complex set of circumstances to do with the beginning of migrant work in Scotland and the Land War of the late nineteenth century7. The truth is probably a combination of all the above and more. The most important thing for the purposes of this discussion however, is that from these piles of stones a discourse has emerged. Tourists ask “Who lived in these houses? Look how small they are”. Locals debate the cause of its desertion. Books have been written and information signs have been placed there by local authorities. The village has become a mode of signification, something which carries a message. It is a reminder to locals of the hardships their ancestors endured but also a symbol of their resilience and capacity to adapt. To outsiders like Hienrich Bӧll and the thousands of visitors to Achill every year, it is a source of mystery and wonderment. The fact that noone is certain of the villages reasons for desertion is not important. The village speaks, to use a Barthesian phrase, it has passed from “a closed, silent existence to an oral state, open to appropriation by society...”8
7 McDonald, T. (1997) Achill – Archaeology History Folklore, I.A.S. Publications, Tullamore (p.267) 8 Barthes, R., (1973) Mythologies, Paladin, London
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section•iii
edge•typologies
Various Foundation Types, Francesco Milizia 1832 from The Architecture and The City (1966)
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“Typology, on the other hand becomes the instrument, the apparatus...of Peter Eisenman time’s measurement”1 This essay investigates the concept of type in architecture and its influence on locational identities. The focus on typology came from a desire to understand the continuum of built history in Achill. The proposition was that if this continuum could be mapped and understood in some manner, the path towards an architecture of Achill would be clearer. Discussions on types led, through the work of McCullough/Mulvin in Ireland, to Aldo Rossi and The Architecture of the City. Both of these sources are discussed below. The piece concludes with a typological study of built history in Achill. R o s s i a n • T y p e “I would define type as something that is permanent and complex, a logical principle that is prior to form and that constitutes it” (Rossi, 1966) Rossi advanced the idea of type as an analytical “apparatus”. His investigations into urban typology and the city are strangely apt in the super-rural context of Achill. He argued that type, as an apparatus, could be used to analyse the complexities of history and memory. He was careful to stress that type is not to be misunderstood as a formally restrictive device. Rather, it is an underlying framework which is inherent in a work but not necessarily linked to its form.
1 from in the introduction to The Architecture of the City (1966)
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Coastguard Station Liquid emulsion print on fabriano, 297x210mm
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Edge•Typologies An example that Rossi used to explain this is the monument typology. He cites Milizia’s criteria for monuments; a monument must be for the good of the public, it must be sited in a suitable place and it must be “constituted according to the laws of fitness”2. Rossi implies that although monuments come in many different forms, sizes and serve different functions they all meet these conditions. This typological framework accommodates countless reinterpretations; from Brancusi’s Endless Column to the Dundee Law. It neither limits nor prescribes form but can assists in understanding the vast spectrum of monuments and their development over time. T y
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“History comes to be known through the relationship between the collective memory of events, the singularity of place (locus solus), and the sign of the place as expressed in form” (Rossi, 1966) Type is a framework rooted in the collective memory. A house today, is a reconfiguration of the archetypal first house, the original dwelling which exists only in the collective memory. Although the form of dwellings varies the underlying typological framework remains a constant and is linked back to the archetypal image of a house which we can all identify with. Variations which occur in a type reflect the specific conditions and construction techniques of place. Variations in type thus become associated with place. By reflecting regional differences in construction and topography they inform the development of regional identities. In short, they can be a useful tool for understanding the determining characteristics of place. Having outlined
2 Rossi A., (1983) The Architecture of The City, MIT Press, Cambridge MA
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The Promontory Fort A Marked Landscape
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Edge•Typologies how the “apparatus” of typology can be used to understand identities of place, it was put into action on Achill Island. The following passage describes a typological analysis of Achill and its outcomes. A • M a r k e d • L a n d s c a p e As a self-contained entity, Achill is a microcosm of the history of architecture. Remnants of structures from prehistory, the Iron Age and the early and late medieval periods sit alongside the dwellings of today. Building practice in Achill has lead to a build-up of constructed “residue” over the five thousand years of human inhabitation there. A peripheral existence and these aggregative building customs have meant that much of the island’s built history has been retained. A Marked Landscape consists of detailed studies of nine types of buildings in Achill. The buildings were selected so that at least one from every historic age, from the Neolithic to the present, is represented. The approach taken was adapted from McCullough/ Mulvin’s book A Lost Tradition – The Nature of Architecture in Ireland and similarly, the aim with this was to show “..that there is architecture in the mass of ordinary buildings around us, that they fall into recognizable architectural types which endure over time, and that their footprint on the landscape is particular to Ireland [/ Achill] – an unspoken but essential part of our history and culture.” (McCullough/ Mulvin, 1987) A r c h e t y p a l • D w e l l i n g s Although the initial study looked at both dwellings and sacred sites/
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The Dry Stone Hut A Marked Landscape
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Edge•Typologies churches, the discussion that follows focuses on dwelling typologies alone. This is for two reasons. Firstly, dwellings make up the majority of constructions in Achill, their presence is ubiquitous throughout the island. Secondly, the house is in many ways a distillation of the needs, attitudes and outlook of a particular culture; according to Rossi it “materially represents a people’s way of life, the precise manifestation of a culture, [and] is modified very slowly”3 The study discusses dwelling types which define identity on the island. It also charts the evolution of dwellings from the earliest Iron Age examples up to the present. A summary of the exercise can be examined in Appendix A of this thesis. In the following passage four types of dwelling will be discussed; the Promontory fort, the Dry- stone dwelling, Mass-concrete house and the Bungalow. T h e • F o r t • a n d • t h e • H u t The earliest types of dwelling in Achill were characterised by a particular relationship to the ground and a palette of materials restricted to what could be found nearby. The Iron Age promontory forts and dry stone dwellings of the pre-famine era were constructed with stones extracted from the ground on which they sat. They both have a distinctive relationship with the ground surface. In the case of promontory forts, a stone/earthen dyke protected the dwelling from attack but also defined the limit of land claimed. In the dry stone dwelling, locally known as beehive huts because of their rounded corners, the ground surface runs to the base of stone structure which in turn, responds intimately to topographical variations. This type in particular represents what many see today as the idyllic Achill
3 Rossi A., (1983) The Architecture of The City, MIT Press, Cambridge MA
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The Mass-Concrete House A Marked Landscape
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Edge•Typologies dwelling. The houses of the Deserted Village for example, were built out of a necessity and practicality which demanded careful consideration of the site, orientation, ground conditions and the use of locally available materials. They have an intimate relationship with the landscape, both visually and physically. M a s s • C o n c r e t e • a n d • t h e • B u n g a l o w A distinct change in dwellings occurred in the early part of the twentieth century in Achill however. The arrival of the automobile and the availability of cheap imported materials (via a newly constructed road bridge from the mainland) affected the nature of construction in Achill. Concrete made its first appearance in the form of breeze blocks and suddenly the islander’s homes needed to respond to the demands of the car as well. The mass-concrete house of the 1930’s, so called because of its solid concrete walls and roof, was the first dwelling type to divorce itself from the ground. These houses frequently sat on plinths which mediated the sloping conditions. The form of this house is peculiar to Achill Island and its widespread distribution there (see Appendix A) means that it forms an important part of the identity of the place.4 As a descendant of the 1930’s house, the contemporary bungalow (1970’s onwards) represents another stage in the evolution of dwellings in Achill. This type is also divorced from the ground and in order to accommodate the car, it is surrounded on at least two (sometimes all four) sides by a tar-macadam driveway. Of all types the bungalow is the most widely distributed in Achill. Although it is not peculiar to the island alone, its
4 In an effort to improve living conditions in Achill in the first half of the 20th century, the Congested Districts Board reorganized (i.e. knocked) the old “clachan” villages of Achill and provided grants for islanders to build new
concrete houses. This explains the high concentration of these flat roofed concrete houses on the island. (McDonald 1997)
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The Bungalow A Marked Landscape
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Edge•Typologies widespread distribution means that it constitutes an important part of the identity of the island. C
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“The city [/island?] has always been characterised largely by the individual dwelling” (Rossi, 1983) If as Rossi says individual dwellings constitute an important part of the identity of place, then a “new but old”5 architecture for Achill has the potential to re-inform this identity. The goal must be to combine the intimate topographical relationships of some earlier dwelling types with contemporary construction techniques and materials which are now readily available on the island.
5 Venturi, Learning from Las Vegas (1972)
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section•iv
oral potentialities
The Duke’s House I Screen print on cartridge paper, 420x594mm
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“…So whether he calls it spirit music Or not, I don’t care. He took it Out of wind off mid-Atlantic. Still he maintains, from nowhere. It comes off the bow gravely, Rephrases itself into the air …”1 Often, there are two versions of history associated with any one place or event; the written and the spoken. Written records; compiled by historians, archivists or academics, deal with facts verified by evidence. They are closed, finite and undisputable. Spoken histories reside in hearsay, myth and idle talk. They are subject to transformation, exaggeration and decay at the whim of memory and debate. This essay, while acknowledging the usefulness of written histories, is concerned with oral transmission and its influence on place-based identities. Primary•Secondary•Residual•Orality In his book Orality and Literacy- The Technologizing of the Word, Walter Ong writes about the potential of orally based cultures to develop and transmit “wisdom”. This differs from the “closely reasoned, linear analysis” common to written, print and electronic cultures. Ong categorizes human cultures into primary oral (no knowledge of writing), chirographic (writing or print based) and secondary oral
1 Heaney, S., extract from “The Given Note” from ‘Opened Ground, Poems 1966-1996’, Faber and Faber, London, 1998
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The Duke’s House II Screen print on cartridge paper, 420x594mm
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Oral•Potentialities cultures (radio, television and internet based). Today, many Western countries are moving towards secondary orality. Rapid developments in communication technology allow for the ever increasing dissemination of information. Through sound-clips and videos this new type of oral transmission is emerging. There are places like Achill however, where the vestiges of a primary oral culture have not yet completely disappeared. At the same time, secondary orality is not developed as fully as in other less-peripheral regions. Ong refers to cultures such as these as “residually oral”. He also discusses the pyschodynamics of orality which help to give an insight into the characteristics of oral folk traditions. Ong says that expression in oral cultures tends to be “additive rather than subordinate, aggregative2 rather than analytic” and generally “agonistically” 3 inclined. These terms are explained in detail in his work but for the purposes of this essay it is enough to say they hold true for the folk traditions in Achill. The additive and aggregative qualities and the agonistic tone are to be found in the following song from the island. “The first train to Achill it carried dead cargo The prophecy said that the last one would too There’s many a man who’ll remember forever The anguish and tears for the people they knew... ...So farewell to my friends tomorrow I’m leaving God bless you, my loved one, we may meet ne’er more I’ll be crossing the stormy dark water tomorrow
2 aggregate; a whole formed by combining several separate elements 3 agonistic; polemical; combative
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House next to the Smithy, Walter Pichler
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Oral•Potentialities And I’m lonely tonight by my loved island shore”4 Having discussed some principles of orality, the following paragraphs discuss examples of its influence on art and architecture. The work of Walter Pichler, Arthur Watson and Norman Shaw each take inspiration from forms of oral expression. H o u s e • N e x t • t o • t h e • S m i t h y Walter Pichler is an artist/architect who builds “houses” for his sculptures. In 1996 he took on a project to renovate an outhouse next to a listed smithy in his ancestral family home in Tirol, Austria. Pichler delved into his own childhood memories and those of his living relatives in order to come up with the design of the renovation. He speaks of hearing stories of his father’s ancestors living in Tirol and of his own recollections of visiting there as a child. “I do not know how long my father’s ancestors lived there but I have heard several stories about it and I enjoyed them...the idea of adding something new to the existing building...provided me with an opportunity to not only think about the past vaguely, like in a dream, but to make something new out of it.”5 (Pichler, 2002) The design of the renovation consists of two rooms, one above ground and one below. The room below ground is reached through a trap door and incorporates a tunnel which permits the circumnavigation of the house underground. In Pichler’s paintings and drawings of the building he shows the ground as a dark, impenetrable substance which is in tension with the structure. In doing this he seems to “allude to traditions which
4 from “The Tattie Hokers”, Michael O’Donnell, Pollagh Achill 5 Walter Pichler quoted in “House Next to the Smithy” (2003) A+U, March 2003, pg. 8
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Singing for Dead Singers, Arthur Watson
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Oral•Potentialities attribute authenticity to the ground.”6 S i n g i n g • f o r • D e a d • S i n g e r s Arthur Watson’s work deals with aspects of Scottish culture which he says “are neither visible nor permanent”7. His installation Singing for Dead Singers (2000) brought the customs of oral transmission into the confines of the art gallery. The piece consisted of recordings of seven unaccompanied singers each performing a song they learned from a now deceased singer. The recordings are incorporated in a structure which seems to suggest the accommodation of the dead singers, the living singers and the listeners. This elaborate auditorium/choir-stall construction and the Alvar Aalto stools which surround it seem to acknowledge these intimate invisible relationships. “Oral transmission is the essence of traditional song. A creative continuum with each singer adding part of themselves to the accumulation of all the earlier generations of singers through whose lips the song has passed.” (Watson, 2003) The installation highlights the ephemeral yet potentially eternal nature of oral expression. Although the singers have passed away the songs remain. Their transmission today ensures they will exist for at least another generation. S o n o r o u s • L a n d s c a p e s Norman Shaw’s art is preoccupied with the non-visual aspects of the landscapes in the Scottish Highlands. Drawing freely on the works of Ossian, Celtic mythology and the superstitions of Gaelic culture, he uses
6 Steiner D., (2003) A+U, March 2003, pg. 28 7 Watson, A. & Cocker D. (2003), Leaving Jericho, John David Mooney Foundation, Chicago
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Wester Ross (Sonourous Map), Norman Shaw
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Oral•Potentialities
both visual and aural mediums to express his ideas. Shaw’s Sonorous Landscapes consists of a series of drawings which aim to capture the sound of the iconographic landscapes of the Highlands. Each drawing is a dense knot of lines which twists and writhes in on itself. The artist refers to these drawings as “rhizomatic”. That is because they do not conform to modern conceptual structures but seek to evoke a time which pre-dates the Enlightenment i.e. the Celtic Iron Age. “[Shaw’s] drawings, which are visualisations of a perceived sonorous landscape, catalyse the other landscape of mythic and visionary experiences. Constructing sonic environments that facilitate the capture of non-visual forces-sonorous numinous8 and ecstatic.”9 (Gunn, 2009) As outcome from the above research and in order to examine the architectural potential of orality in Achill it was decided to carry out a small design project. The details of which are given in the following paragraphs. A r c h i v e • R e v i v e • B r o a d c a s t Some questions arise when looking to define an approach to residually oral Achill. Do we try to embody, renew or sustain the remnants of a primary oral culture? And does architecture have a role to play in this? A short design exercise was undertaken in an effort to answer these questions. Achill’s distinctive flat-roofed house was chosen as the vehicle through which ideas were tested. One of these derelict 1930’s dwellings is subjected to three different interventions. Archivehouse, Publichouse and Radiohouse were the results of the exercise.
8 numinous; having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity 9 Gunn, W., (2009) Field-notes and Sketchbooks, Peter Lang, Frankfurt
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Arch•ive•house
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This proposal consists of a minimal conversion of the existing structure. Windows and doors are installed to make the spaces usable. The interior is refinished as a house would have been in 1950’s. Into this shell household objects such as furniture, cooking appliances, a television, radio and telephone are placed. The difference here is that these objects act as transmitters for fragments of oral history. The television and radio play songs, stories and videos from Achill’s past. The telephone rings and is picked up, a story is told. Newspapers left on the table carry historic articles about the Achill railway, the Kirkintilloch disaster of 1937 and the basking shark fishery in Keem. Framed photographs of social gatherings and ceilidhe hang on the walls. The house becomes a kind of museum of orality. Even the shower cubicle is utilised. Devised as a recording space where anyone can have a song/ story/anecdote recorded. The house thus becomes more than an archive, it becomes a living depository for oral history. There are issues with this proposal however. Firstly a certain degree of mummification is always part of an archive. The verbal arts are ephemeral in nature. To freeze and store them as recordings denies their right to pass from memory. Also, as worthy as it is to strive for a living depository of oral history, collection of material could be done in much better ways. The recording cubicle of an archive is by no means a comfortable or natural setting for songs/stories to be passed on.
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Pub•lic•house
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This proposal is a conversion from a derelict house into a public house. Some minor changes to the plan are made to accommodate a bar, toilets and seating spaces. The seating is specifically designed to encourage the art of conversation, something which seems to be increasingly difficult since the introduction of widescreen televisions to many social gathering places. A dedicated singing/music space with views of the Atlantic looks to provide a platform for sustaining the transmission of songs and traditional music. The issue with this proposal is that there are already sufficient public houses on the island. What difference would one more make other than to possibly exacerbate the social problems associated with alcoholism? Granted that the pub is a primary social gathering point for islanders but there must be a better solution.
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Rad•i•o•house
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“Radio can be intimately involved with the production and elaboration of place-based notions of identity ...[by playing] a role in the historical constitution of indigeneity9 as well as the making of contemporary life”10 (Drobnick, 2004) In this proposal, both the interior walls and the roof structure of the existing house are removed. Into the remaining shell a steel clad box is placed. The addition contains a studio, mixing desk and small office for a locally based radio station Guth Acla (Voice of Achill). The station provides a forum for renewed oral transmission via the digital medium. It has the potential to generate links between young and old and to reconnect Achill with its global diaspora. The “cultural renewal” approach is possibly most appropriate of these three proposals. Radiohouse allows for the continued decline of oral culture but attempts to bring some of its best attributes into the twenty first century. From an architectural point of view, it could be argued that the steel container could in fact be dropped anywhere on the island. Despite the symbolic gesture of introducing new into old, the addition has a limited spatial dialogue with the existing structure. As a general conclusion to this essay, it must be said that there is definite architectural potential in the oral traditions of Achill. The best way to exploit this may not be to deal directly with the issue. As the archive-revive-¬broadcast project demonstrated, the conventional approaches to threatened forms of cultural expression may not always be suitable. This is especially so, for something as fleeting as the rendition of a ballad or tale.
10 Drobnick, J.,(ed) (2004) Aural Cultures, YYZ Books, Toronto
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section•v
the•sun•fish•hunt
Hunting the Sun-fish in Ranza, (1774) T. Pennant (McMally, 1973)
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“Ho! the sun shark is up since the break of day, From the dreamy profound of the depths of the sea, And he lies on the floor of the glittering deep, Like a brute in the sunny Zahara asleep. And the sunbeams are flooding him over with light, Till his black fins are golden, and briny, and bright...”2
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The following section is a meditation on the hunting of basking sharks, as was carried out in Keem Achill up until the 1970’s. Conceived as a graphic narrative, it draws on three main documents for text and images relating to the practice of hunting basking sharks. These are; “The SunFish Hunt” by Ken McNally (1973), the film “Man of Aran” directed by Robert J. Flaherty (1934) and the song “The Shark Fishermen” by Paddy Kelly, Achill. What follows is a collage of fragments of text, song and images which attempt to tell a story, which took place in Achill and that has been largely confined to oral tradition up untill now.
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sun-fish” is a colloquial term for the basking shark (cetorhinus maximus) arising from the fact that they are frequently seen on warm calm days between April and July.
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as quoted in “The Sun-Fish Hunt” (McNally, 1976)
The year Fifty four
it may well be remembered
When fifty shark fisherman
landed in Keem
From Dooagh and Doeoga,
from Cloughmore and Sรกile,
From all over Achill
came some of these men...
The crews were assembled
the nets were all ready
The factory started,
each man full of hope
To get a good station,
to tie his net on,
To put on his oilskins
and hang on a rope...
On the 14th of April
the first shoal was sighted
Outside the Milliur
and bound for the hole...
Next to the high Maolan,
John Eneas the holder,
He held it through heat,
through rain and through cold...
Where the crew of the Kindly,
at three in the morning,
Had four in the bag
and surrendered again...
Some say the sharks
are plenty as ever,
More say the killing
is thinning them out,
O’Keefe will not take them for dog-fish will do them
If only we could export
them instead of the stout.
section•vi
transhumntial•existences
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S E C T I O N • V I T r a n s h u m a n t i a l • E x i s t e n c e s K e e m • S h a r k • R e s e a r c h • F a c i l i t i e s This final section outlines an architectural proposal in Achill which has been generated from the discussions thus far in the thesis. The brief, site and programme for the project have been derived from the cultural incisions made in Achill. As such the project is discussed in the terms that have been set out in the previous sections; Myth, Orality, Narrative, Type and Transhumance. B a s k i n g • S h a r k • M y t h o l o g y The brief for the scheme is a response to the mythic nature of the basking shark in Achill. Although the shark was hunted for many years and provided a vital income for a fragile island economy, its story is not widely known or recognised. Now, due to a significant drop in numbers it is a protected species under EU law. Despite this initiative there still is a dearth of information on the feeding patterns, migration routes and mating habits of the shark. The lack of data on the shark’s only food source, phytoplankton is another important issue. There is potential for this scheme to acknowledge the basking shark’s contribution to the economy, mythology and folklore of Achill in a discreet way. The proposed facilities will help to safeguard what is a vulnerable and endangered species. Its existence in Achill will promote awareness among the local population of the history and the causes for current endangerment of the species.
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The conceptual framework for the project has been derived from the narrative of the Sun-Fish Hunt in Section IV. The site for the proposal is Keem Bay on the far Western tip of Achill. Keem was the location of the Basking Shark Fishery which existed up until the 1970’s and the site of the activities described in the narrative. The Keem fishery went into decline when cheap synthetic oils became widely available, drastically reducing the demand for fish oils1. Little remains of the previous fishery except in oral folklore. The remnants of a track used by the fishery does however, form the backbone of the new proposal. The scheme itself involves a linear arrangement of volumes along a pathway linking the summit of Moyteoge Head to the water’s edge. At the top of the headland sits the lookout point. At the bottom lies the research station which is incorporated as part of a new slipway and route to the ocean. A • S e a s o n a l • E x i s t e n c e The basking shark season extends from March to September and as such the project references the ancient practice of transhumance in Achill and the nomadic tendencies of its people. The proposal could in fact be viewed as a more sophisticated version of a booley house2. The researchers will live and work on site for the duration of the shark season which coincides with the summertime movement of livestock to higher pastures. The facility will then shut down for the winter period. This seasonal aspect is an important feature of the design. A system of timber shutters allows the facilities to close in on themselves in a
1 McNally, K. (1976), The Sun-Fish Hunt, Blackstaff Press, Belfast
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Trans•hum•an•tial•Po•ten•tial•i•ties protective gesture towards the harsh winter weather. The re-inhabitation process thus begins in April with the ceremonial opening of the shutters; an architectural embodiment of a traditional event. T y p e The form and layout of the volumes borrow freely from the existing typologies of Achill. The linear settlement pattern of the Deserted Village was a key influence on the development of the design. Double pitched monolithic concrete volumes reference the ghostly, roofless gables of this iconic settlement. The aim is to use forms which carry connotative associations with previous forms of settlement in Achill. This is in favour of a potentially more sterile formal approach. References to other typologies are part of the scheme. The infrastructural harbour typology is widespread in Achill. Its robust construction have influenced the way that threshold between slipway and concrete volumes is blurred. The Neolithic souterrains of Slievemore inform the excavated nature of the route behind the research station. T h e • R u g g e d • E d g e The approach to materials in this scheme is informed by the rugged nature of the island. Concrete, one the most robust of materials has been used extensively. The large amount of excavated rock provides locally sourced aggregate and the timber formwork is reused to construct shutters, furniture and interior finishes. The process of blasting rock and using it in a reconstituted form reflects an accelerated version of the natural process of erosion in Achill.
2 local term for summertime dwellings which facilitated transhumance in Achill
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Purteen Harbour - Detail
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Trans•hum•an•tial•Po•ten•tial•i•ties By revealing the aggregate, the link between existing rock face and reconstituted rock can be made visible. E n g a g i n g • A c h i l l ’ s • S u b t e x t The aim has been to generate a building which has the potential engage in a discourse with concealed identities of place. The scheme is a work in progress and may never reach full resolution. On a basic level, it is a pragmatic response to a brief for research facilities. On another level it engages in a dialogue with the historical, mythic, orally transmitted subtexts of Achill.
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A Lexicon A list of relevant words, split into their syllabic (spoken) structures... an•thro•pol•o•gy; the comparative study of human societies and cultures and their development or the science of human zoology, evolution, and ecology arch•e•type; a perfect or typical specimen, an original model, prototype con•struct; to build or put together, a complex idea resulting from the combination of simpler ideas, something formulated or built systematically con•text; the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs cul•ture; the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society, the attitudes and behaviour characteristic of a particular social group dwell; live in or at a specified place house; a building for human habitation, especially one that consists of a ground floor and one or more upper storeys; a building in which people meet for a particular activity ex•is•tence; the fact or state of being real, live, or actual, a way of life folk; a people or tribe i•dent•it•y; the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is o•ral; spoken, verbal, by word of mouth; of the mouth myth; a form of speech, an idea or explanation which is widely held but untrue or unproven, a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age myth•ol•o•gy; myths collectively, a body of stories
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myth•o•poe•ic; of or pertaining to the making of myths; causing, producing, or giving rise to myths place; a particular part of a space or of a surface, a geographical point po•ten•tial; possible but not yet actual, capable of being or becoming, latent pri•mal; relating to an early stage in evolutionary development; primeval sub•text; underlying theme of a work of literature so•no•rous; giving out or capable of giving out a sound, esp. a deep, resonant sound, as a thing or place sec•tion; n. a part that is cut off or separated, v. the act or instance of cutting; separation by incision. trans•hum•ance; the seasonal movement of people with their livestock over relatively short distances u•bi•quit•ous; present, appearing, or found everywhere work; physical or mental effort directed to doing or making something
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Achill Kingston, B. (1990) The Deserted Village at Slievemore, Cashin Printing, Castlebar McDonald, T. (1997) Achill – Archaeology History Folklore, I.A.S. Publications, Tullamore McNally, K. (1973), Achill – The Island Series, David & Charles Ltd., Devon McNally, K. (1976), The Sun-Fish Hunt, Blackstaff Press, Belfast Man and the Landscape Geddes, P. (1915), Cities in Evolution, Williams and Norgate Ltd., London Heidegger, M. (1975), Building Dwelling Thinking, Harper Perennial, London Ingold, T., (2000), Perception of the Environment – Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill, Routlegde, London McCullough, N. & Mulvin, V. (1987), A Lost Tradition; The nature of Architecture in Ireland, Gandon Editions, Dublin Mitchell, F. (1997), Reading the Irish Landscape, Townhouse, Dublin Orality and Oral Culture Drobnick, J.,(ed) (2004) Aural Cultures, YYZ Books, Toronto Gunn, W., (2009) Field-notes and Sketchbooks, Peter Lang, Frankfurt Ong W.J., (1982) Orality and Literacy, Routledge, New York Watson, A. & Cocker D. (2003), Leaving Jericho, John David Mooney Foundation, Chicago
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Weeks, D. and Hoogestradt, J., (1998) Time, Memory and the Verbal Arts, Associated University Press, London Yates, F.A. (1966) The Art of Memory, Routledge and Keegan Paul Ltd., London
Identity Bain, M.,(ed), (2008), Building Biographies – Architecture in Scotland 2006-2008, The Lighthouse, Glasgow Edensor, T., (2002) National Identity, Popular Culture and Everyday Life, Berg, Oxford Frampton, K.,Towards Critical Regionalism – Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance Hourston Hanks, L., (2010), Island Identities – Pier Arts Centre Orkney, Arq Magazine, Vol. 14 No. 3. Kwon, M., (2004) One Place After Another – Site Specific Art and Locational Identity, MIT Press, Cambridge MA Lefaivre, L., Tzonis A. (2003), Critical Regionalism - Architecture and Identity in a Globalized World, Prestel Publishing, London Rossi A., (1983) The Architecture of The City, MIT Press, Cambridge MA Schneider, P. (2001), The House at the End of Time: Douglas Darden’s Oxygen House, Journal of CUNY PhD Program in Art History, New York
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Myth Barthes, R., (1973) Mythologies, Paladin, London Barthes, R., (1982) Empire of Sings, New York Dripps R. D. (1999) The First House – Myth Paradigm and the Task of Architecture, MIT Press, Cambridge MA Darden D., (1993) Condemned Building, Princeton Architectural Press, New York Levi-Strauss, C., (1978) Myth and Meaning, Routledge, London Venturi R., (1972) Learning from Las Vegas, MIT Press, Cambridge MA Miscellaneous Caruso, A., (2009), The Feeling of Things, Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona. Breitschmid, M., (2009), The Significance of the Idea in the Architecture of Valerio Olgiati, Niggli Verlag, Zurich Heaney, S., (2010) Human Chain, Faber & Faber , London Pallasmaa, J., (2005), The Eyes of the Skin, John Wiley & Sons, Sussex
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