Thesis Draft_2 by Erin Hicks

TECH[NO]TOPIA: FOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

by Erin Hicks

A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture Charlotte 2013

Approved by: ______________________________ Professor Charles Davis, Ph.D. ______________________________ Professor Peter Wong ______________________________ Betsy West ______________________________ David Walters

ABSTRACT ERIN HICKS. TECH[NO]TOPIA: FOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY (Under the direction of CHARLES DAVIS, Ph.D., PETER WONG, and BETSY WEST)

The association between architecture and the Utopian discourse has been viewed through many lenses throughout architectural theory. Though many have written about specific Utopian communities, very few have investigated the Utopian intent and its correspondence to contemporary society. Though often defined as a perfect oasis, Utopia, derives from the Greek translation meaning “no place”, which begins the question, is Utopia in fact attainable, or has this previous Utopian model disintegrated into dystopia, or bad place? The objective of this discourse is to begin defining a new Utopian rhetoric that is applicable to contemporary society. This thesis has rooted itself in the belief that technology is what defines todays society, creating a Tech[no]topia. Much like the “workers paradise” model predominate during the Industrial Revolution, there was an emphasis on the machine and production. This machine not only rooted itself within the site, but in the lifestyle of the workers. In today’s society, technology has manifested itself within all realms of our lifestyle. We are immersed in a world where the cloud is an invisible fragment of complete connectivity. As society [we] are always connected to technology and information and without relief [we] have now begun merging the physical realm with the virtual realm. This experiment will intervene into a once Utopian model during the Industrial Revolution, in Cliffside, North Carolina. Through the Tech[no]topia rhetoric, this research will begin to challenge a new vitality for Cliffside Mills.

iii

DEDICATION

This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of the loving people around me. To that, I would like to thank my family, who have been a constant support in my education, and have continued to push me and encourage me every step of the way. I would also like to thank my studio mates who have endured this journey with me. Through all the sleepless nights, the tears, the struggles, the pep talks and the success we have truly achieved greatness together.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Betsy West, who has provided me great insight into many sources of information. She continually and convincingly conveyed a spirit of adventure, curiosity and excitement when discussing the world of Utopian discoveries. Without her guidance and persistent support, this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Charles Davis, Ph.D. and Peter Wong, who have given me great support throughout this process. Through their guidance, both have fostered my knowledge of the Utopian discourse and challenged me to find my voice.

6 | Thesis

CONTENTS

TECH [NO] TOPIA Contributing Design Erin Hicks Contributing Information for Gasometers Gasometers Contributing Information for the Tanks at Tate Modern Herzog de Meuron Contributing Information for Instant City Archigram, Peter Cook, Contributing Information for The Walking City Archigram

page 35

Contributing Information for A City: Sector 1576N Lebbeus Woods

The Tanks Gasometer 09 Discourse Narrative 13

Literature Review Narrative

Literature Map

Case Study Analyses

Project Description

?? Bibliography ?? Appendices

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;7

8 | Thesis

Discourse Narrative

his dissertation will not pretend to be a

transformative nature of utopianism, it can then

comprehensive history of the Industrial

be determined if in fact this notion of Utopianism

Revolution nor will it be a complete chronicle

remains applicable to the needs of contemporary

for Modernism and/or Postmodernism. Instead,

architecture. Much like the work of Paolo Portoghesi

it will begin to critically examine the Utopian

and Leon Krier, among many others, this thesis

intentions of each movement, to gain a different

research will propose an architecture that returns

understanding for the Post-Industrial ruins that

to its roots in practical needs. This architecture will

are left disseminated throughout the urban

strive to re-mediate the decomposing urban fabric

fabric. In continuation, this thesis will begin to

that has suffered due to Industrialization and will

create a critique of scholarly debates concerning

seek to revive a sense of community and growth

the nature and structure for social reform in

by re-investigating the modernists ideals of Utopia

modern Utopian architecture; primarily during

and applying those same ideas into contemporary

the modernist period; and will reflect on how

design.

this research can pertain to contemporary architecture. From the research collected, this

The Modern Period

thesis will begin to define a new Utopian rhetoric

for contemporary society, building from the

a dominant influence in the early 20th Century

information of previous utopias.

This theory

and has continued to inspire the generations

will work with a comprehensive definition that

that would proceed. This movement, unlike some

utopianism is a response to the machine, that once

seen in the past, wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t merely an opposition to

fostered the workers paradise. By creating and

aesthetics, but instead was a new social agenda for

overlapping information about the critical and

a new social reform, and would become a reaction

It is evident that modernism became

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;9

to the Industrial city. For example, R.M. Hartwell,

at this time that social activism was becoming a

a historian of the British Industrial Revolution,

patron-less class and the philanthropist had been

caused great controversy in his article ‘History and

long removed. It was assumed “that the classless

Ideology’. Through his perspective of the Industrial

society was at hand, and that no challenging,

Revolution and the economic growth, he believed

utopian inspiring classes would again appear, the

that the myth of “immiseration” was the “one

new “matter of factness seemed threatening... the

supreme myth which more than any other has

future society would be run by an intellectual elite

served to discredit the economic system to which

trained in the sociology of knowledge, capable of

we owe our present day civilization”.1 Though

both transforming and controlling history in the

written in 1974, the content of this article remains

interests of freedom, democracy and rationality.”3

relevant today as it acknowledges that the ills of

It is here that an attempt to promote a patron saint

modern society are attributed to Industrialization.

was formed by the creation of the CIAM (Congres

though

Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne) which

promoting prosperity and economic growth,

was founded in 1928. CIAM was considered to be an

actually showed slow economic growth and

avant-garde association, including architects such

extreme poverty, due to severe living and working

as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier and many other

conditions. However, much like the Industrial

well now “elitist” architects, which had intended

Revolution, it too, would fail to bring industrial

to serve the interest of society by progressing

mass-production into a universal language.

modernism and industrialism of architecture

Though there are many figures in this

forward. Their role would then be defined as

discourse that have remained skeptical of the

Socialist, which emphasized their dedication to

modernist movement, it would be appropriate

this new radical social reform. The only problem,

to examine the intentions which those architects

as mentioned before, these architects were in

proposed. In Ziyi Feng and Li Jin Xing’s article, ‘A

fact an Elitist group, therefore, they would never

Contemporary Interpretation of Marx’s Thoughts

have to suffer the conditions which the general

on Modernity’, modernism manifested itself in

population would. Therefore, this disconnect

all aspects of social life proclaiming that it could

would leave them unable to satisfy the social

solve all problems concerning economy, politics,

needs for the larger audience.

culture, society and many other factors.2 It was

The

Industrial

Revolution,

1. Hartwell, R.M.. "History and Ideology." Modern Age: A Quarterly Review 8, no. No. 4 (1974): pp. 383. 2. Feng, Ziyi, and Lijun Xing. "A Contemporary Interpretation of Marx's Thoughts on Modernity." Frontiers of Philosophy in China 1, no. No.2 (2006): pp. 255. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/30209968 (accessed September 9, 2012).Hornstein, Shelley. Losing site: architecture, memory and place. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2011.

10 | Thesis

Charles Jencks said, “modernism failed

as mass housing and city building partly because to communicate with its inhabitants,” therefore, it did not make an effective link with the city and/or 3. Shklar, Judith . "The Political Theory of Utopia: From Melancholy to Nostalgia." The MIT Press Vol. 94.No. 2 (1965): pp. 368.

history.”4 This could provide great insight to thesis

social failures caused by modern architecture. As

by deciphering the key components of what the

For Tom Wolfe, he saw postmodernism as a failure

CIAM and the like were trying to achieve. Another

to break completely from Modernism. That as a

architectural theorist and historian that shared

society, (we) are still seeking the same initial goals

similar views as Charles Jencks was Christian

as Modernist and as he says, “Postmodernism is

Norberg Schulz. Though slightly more poetic,

defined as a period of slackening, a period where

Schulz’s theory would suggest that “modern

everything is de-legitimized”.7 Other theorist such

man becomes “worldless” and thus loses his own

as Jean Francois Lyotard, Leon Krier, and Clement

identity, as well as the sense of community and

Greenberg all contributed to the dialogue of

participation” therefore if this existence becomes

Postmodernism.

meaningless, mankind becomes homeless.”5 As

postmodernism created a liberation of humanity,

expressed by these authors, Modernism failed in

striving for progression and an increased amount

many ways. It did not create better living situations

of power. And lastly Leon Krier, who believed that

or communities, it didn’t provide economic

each movement could influence each other by

growth and instead it had left many communities

gaining a more positive outcome. Kriers critique

that were reliant upon Industrialism abandoned.

of current urban planning and architecture, are

For

Jean

Francois

Lyotard

rather nostalgic, however, he begins to shed light Postmodern Critiques

on how the “destroyed fabric of the historic city

The movement which would soon follow

could be repaired and a traditional set of well-

Modernism was termed Postmodernism. As

scaled spaces could be added to these cores.”8 In

Modernism rejected history in search of the new

this case, how can the intentions of modernity be

spirit, Postmodernism returned to history in hopes

salvaged in contemporary architecture?

of restoring a historical dimension. As Manfred

Tafuri would say, “build the city on top of the city”

what may have caused the rise for this utopian

and therefore do not erase the physical history

ideology.

which creates a richness.6 Some would critique

anarchism, communism, the list of -isms can

Postmodernism in that it failed to separate its ideals

develop at great lengths, but all are contributing

from Modernism. This argument may very well be

factors to the political radicalism associated with

true as Postmodernism served to remediate the

Modernism in the 1920s and 1930s” and continued

4. Jencks, Charles. pp. 37 5. Schulz, Christian. Architecture: meaning and place : selected essays. New York, N.Y.: Rizzoli International Publications, 1988. pp. 11. 6. Manfred Tafuri, “Toward a Critique of Architectural Ideology.” in Architecture Theory Since 1968, ed. K. Michael Hays (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998), pp. 7-11.

through Post-modernism. 9

It is here that it is important to understand

“Socialism,

reformism,

feudalism,

7. Jencks, Charles. The New Paradigm in Architecture: The Language of Post-modern Architecture. [7th ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. pp. 51. 8. Jencks, Charles. pp. 31 9. Bowm<http:/an, James. "The New Atlantis » Heroism,

Discourse | 11

Timothy Benson, author of Expressionist

The Politics of Utopianism

Utopias,

said

““Utopia

functioned

within

The notion of Utopia most certainly

Modernism as a continuous, constructive means

predates modernism, however it is in the modernist

of self-critical renewal, an enactment of the

era that Utopia thrives. This is not to suggest that

central tenet of the avant-garde: where creative

“Utopianism” has been nor will ever be achieved.

artistic endeavors can embody hope and prepare

Instead this is to propose a contemporary revival

the way for better conditions for humanity.”10 The

of the modernist utopian ideals and how to apply

key word in that sentence was “hope”. It is not

those ideals to contemporary society. There are

unfathomable why a society would ambitiously

several ironies which surround the word Utopia.

seek out for Utopia, when mankind was suffering

Whether it be the fact that Thomas More, who

from nearly a millennium of destruction. In the

coined the term, was tried for treason and

events of the Industrial Revolution, World War I,

beheaded or the ambivalence of its definition

the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War,

meaning both no place and good place, or the fact

all created a social unrest and chaos. Utopianism

that Utopia suggested a social freedom however

was an attempt to create the Ideal City. It may

still created parameters that shaped social factors.

be important to reiterate that this thesis is not

It would be safe to assume that these experiments

suggesting a return to the Island of Utopia, by

with Utopianism, was in fact a critique or a response

Thomas More, nor to the Contemporary City for

to Modernism, in hopes to address the issues that

3 Million Inhabitants by Le Corbusier, instead it is

were initially created due to the social unrest in

looking at the Utopian intentions and how these

society. Utopianism has often been related to

ideas may revive a sense of community in the

totalitarianism, which is not the intentions for

contemporary industry.

this thesis. Instead, it will be beneficial to begin

to understand that the impulses of modern

would be the project, A Contemporary City for 3

utopianism created a foundation for remediating

Million Inhabitants, by Le Corbusier. Corbusier

social issues. There is much to learn from these

proposed that this Utopian city will erect from a

early attempts of utopianism, as it wasn’t merely

flat site without a sense of context and scale, thus

the desire for spatial change, but related to the

if something is on the site he wished to acquire,

economic and political conditions involved during

it would be demolished. The city would be

this time period.

composed of two superhighways where all means

An example of a failing Utopian ideal

of transportation would intersect to the heart of Modernism, and the Utopian Impulse." The New Atlantis - A Journal of Technology & Society.Web. 23 September 2012. / www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/heroism-modernism-and-the-utopian-impulse>.

12 | Thesis

the city, all secondary roads would be on a street 10. Bowman, James.

grid. The center of the city would not be affiliated

return, these citizens would work in an industry

with religion nor a feudal system, as a means of

that would stimulate their minds while learning

rejecting history, instead, Corbusier proposed a

new traits and becoming a successful steward of

series of twenty four sixty-story skyscrapers that

society. These places of work and industrialization

would provide approximately 500,000 to 800,000

would be removed from the living community,

workers a place to gather and socially interact

suggesting that life and work should remain

around cultural amenities. Another failure for this

separate. Unlike traditional cities, Wright proposed

utopian idea was his return to an elitist mentality.

that there would be no urban centre to relinquish

Corbusier in fact created a social hierarchy as he

an notion of social hierarchy therefore there

proposed “intellectuals of the bureaucratic and

would be no feudal system, and the power would

hierarchical new world” would indulge in living

remain equal among its residents. In place of these

in these luxurious high rise apartments, while

churches or a palace, which used to be the heart of

those of a smaller fortune would be shipped out

a traditional city there would be a community and

to satellite towns on the outskirts of the city.11

cultural center where people were encouraged to

interact with one another, promoting a sense of

A key figure to look to would be architects

such Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed that “the

peace and harmony.

industrial city was the symbol of exploitation of

humankind. There, everyone, rich and poor, was

biblical or fantastical, in its search for Eden on

robbed of his true nature which could only be

Earth, there are many critiques that reject the

satisfied in a harmonious relationship with the

idea of Utopianism. Authors such as Colin Rowe

countryside.”12 Wright was very much interest in

would define modern utopianism to be “a naive

the well being and health of these occupants. His

and tragic aspiration on the part of modern

beliefs were similar to those of marxism which

architecture.”

meant that he believed man can only achieve

antagonistic towards the idea of Utopianism but

self-fulfillment provided that he belonged to a

he also rejected Modernism. Spoken as a true

corporation a social community where he had a

historian, Rowe made it clear in his readings that

definite social role and social circumstances. He

he felt modernism failed, and their intentions

would suggest that each citizen would acquire an

were destructive on the historical fabric. Another

acre of land, which they could build their home,

skeptical visions about utopianism is the article,

reaping the benefits of the industrial progress. In

Political Theory of Utopia by Judith Shklar. Shkar,

11. Eaton, Ruth. Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment. New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2002. p. 201. 12Eaton, Ruth. p. 209.

Though the idea of Utopia seems almost

Colin Rowe, not only seemed

provides a brief review of classical utopia and 13 Ockman, Joan . "Form without Utopia: Contextualizing Colin Rowe." Journal of the Society Of Architectural Historians Vol. 57 No. .4 (1998): pp. 449.

Discourse | 13

begins to question, why, in today’s society are

with these structures that have fallen silent in

there no attempts in creating a Utopia. Though

the backdrop of this contemporary world? What

she remains skeptical, Shkar provides literary

if these sites could once again prosper, based

works that showed little “activism” or hope for

on the research of utopian principles in modern

that matter, as to the effects of Utopian Ideals,

architecture? The concern that now rises of course

which becomes evident in projects such as A

is the questions regarding Utopianism? In order to

Contemporary City for 3 Million Inhabitants.

be true to Utopianism, can existing forms from the Post-Industrial age be remediated to create a new

Research Possibilities

purpose or is this an inverse of Utopianism as it begins to create a fine line to becoming nostalgic?

In Kevin Hetherington’s book, The

There are those like Tafuri and Colin Rowe who

Badlands of Modernity: Heterotopia and Social

appreciate history and feel that building with

Ordering, he says “Many people were being

consideration to the existing conditions allows

forced from the land and from their villages and

for history to continue unscathed. Then there

forced to become vagrant and migrants, known

are architects such as Corbusier, the epitome of

in the discourse of the time as ‘masterless men’...

modernism, who rejects history.

Old patterns of rights and duties as well as one’s

place in an established social hierarchy were no

modernism has very much in common, they were

longer certain.” 14 This quotes speaks loudly to the

sought to be a machine for living. Therefore, these

objective of this thesis as it will strive to remediate

buildings were in fact a machine for production,

a sense of community in towns where modernism

that production created jobs for those operating

and utopianism failed. As Henry-Russell Hitchcock

the machine, and that job produced a means

said, “our own generation has largely failed to cope

of living. Again, this goes back to the original

critically with the mass of buildings produced in

question asked moments before, what becomes

the booming period of our youth”# These buildings

of these structures? A frequent method of dealing

which Hitchcock speaks of are the buildings that

with the failures of Modernism in the past have

would follow the Industrial Revolution. These

been much like the Pruitt-Igoe Housing complex

buildings seem to be perfunctory, as it is built

in Saint Louis, Missouri, which was imploded after

with little consideration and no reflection to what

becoming nuisance to society. Industries which

would become of them when the industry moves

once thrived are being forced to close their doors

out. The question then becomes, what will happen

due to the economy, resembling that of the Great

14 Hetherington, Kevin. The Badlands of Modernity Heterotopia and Social Ordering. London: Routledge, 1997. pp. 58

Depression. Those who relied on that industry for

14 | Thesis

Utopianism,

modernism

and

post-

a source of income are being forced out of their

homes to leave their community, and the results are these corpses throughout the urban fabric, which become sites of vandalism, danger and abandonment. While engaging on a psychological level, architecture creates a built memory, a piece of history that represents the thoughts, values and beliefs which formed it. By demolishing these buildings, it would be a cultural lobotomy.

As stated several times throughout this

dissertation, it will provide a critical examination of the Utopian intentions throughout Modernism, Post-Modernism and Contemporary architecture. By doing this it will allow a different understanding for the Post-Industrial ruins that remain prominent to the city fabric.

After conducting this research, it will

allow for critique of scholarly debates concerning the nature and structure for modern Utopian architecture; during each time period; and will reflect on how this research can pertain to contemporary architecture.

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;15

Architectural Ruins

Modernism Ethics for Architects

rejection of history

Thomas Fischer

history & memory ideology

A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time J.B. Jackson

The Necessity For Ruins

Corporate Wasteland: The Landscape and Memory of Deindustrialization

Phenomenology

How things are interconnected and “reflect” each other

J.B. Jackson

Steven High and David W. Lewis

Identity Place Injustice

Modernism Richard Weston

CIAM Discourse in Urbanism Eric Mumford

Economic and political tool to improve the world through design

De-Industrialization Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of DeIndustrialization

The De Industrialization of America: Plant Closings, Community Abandonment, and the Dismantling of Basic Industry

Jefferson Cowie Joseph Heathcott Barry Bluestone

History

The New Urbanism Movement

Barry Bluestone

Ruins of Modernity

Julia Hell & Andres Schonle

Utopianism The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City

Losing Site Architecture, Memory and Place

Alan Ehrenhalt

Ruth Eaton

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Architecture: Meaning and Place

Jane Jacobs

Utopian Adventure Victoria Watson

Christian Norberg-Schulz

Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment Ruth Eaton

Memory The City of Collective Memory M. Christine Boyer

Neo-Utopianism??? Identity Place Justice

Memory and Architecture Eleni Bastea

From a Cause to a Style Nathan Glazer

Design Like You Give A Damn Kate Stohr

Post Critical Age

Rural Studio

Expanding Architecture Design As Architecture

Samuel Mockbee

John Cary

Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture Bryan Bell

The Power of Pro Bono

Studio at Large: Architecture in Service of Global Communities

John Cary

Sergio Palleroni

Humanitarian Architecture Expanding Architecture Design As Architecture The Necessity for Ruins

“Contemporary American celebration suggests that the past is a remote, ill-defined period or environment “But there has to be that interval of when a kind of golden age prevailed, when society had neglect, there has to be discontinuity; an innocence and a simplicity that we have since lost; a it is religiously and artistically period usually referred to essential.” “there must be rejection as The Old Days, a time or death before there can be renewal without significant events and a landscape without and reform. monuments” J.B. Jackson

“reconstructed historical environments often betrays a respect for our past.”

Celebrating the past and seeking to make it part of daily life.

The City of Collective Memory

“human life was intimately related to things and places. In spite of hardship and social injustice, man generally had a sense of belonging and identity.” (11)

In general, the loss of things and places makes up a loss of “world”. Modern man becomes “world-less” and thus loses his own identity, as well as the sense of community and participation. Existence is experienced as meaningless, and man becomes homeless.

“Thus modern Western history was established on an act of repression and separation; repressing archaic spectacles and mythical appearances and separating the time frame of the present from that of the past.” (21)

De-Industrialization

Christian Norberg-Schulz

“In general, man no longer forms part of a meaningful totality, and becomes a stranger to the world and himself.”

Modernism breeds a pessimistic generation - a generation where irony and protest substitute enthusiasm and engagement

Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of DeIndustrialization Jefferson Cowie

The DeIndustrialization of America Barry Bluestone

Corporate Wasteland:

Steven High and David W. Lewis

Modernity: emerged in the midnineteenth century, a transitional period of social unrest, armed revolutions and rapid industrialization and urbanization, all occurring as logical outcomes of Enlightenment Ideals.

“Design can play a direct role in addressing critical social issues that we face. The process of creating the built environment can allow communities and individuals to improve and celebrate their lives. It can help solve their struggles by reshaping their existence. “(14) Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment Ruth Eaton

“Utopias are presented with varying degrees of explicitness. Their ambition is the greatest collective happiness and harmony achieved through efficient social restructuring and scientific progress. They are mostly urban and suggests humankind rational domination of the chaotic forces of nature.

Economic and Social Order

Ruins of Modernity

Julia Hell & Andres Schonle

“The point of departure for any discussion of deindustrialization must be respect for the despair and betrayal felt by workers in their factories, were padlocked, abandoned turned into artsy shopping spaces, or dynamited. Metaphors of defeat and subjection are more appropriate for the workers who banked on good paying industrial jobs for their livelihood and for the community”

Erin Hicks

16 | Thesis

“Changes in education and practice will follow these changes in demand and expectations. Currently architectural education mostly prepares student to meet the building needs of relatively wealthy individuals even though most of the growth in population and most of the need for architectural services exists among billions of impoverished people across the planet”

Eric Mumford

M. Christine Boyer

Architecture: Meaning and Place

John Cary

CIAM Discourse in Urbanism

“Images of ruins may represent the raw realities created by bombs, natural disasters, or factory closings, but the way we see and understand ruins is not raw or unmediated. Rather, looking at ruins, writing about them, and representing them are acts framed by a long tradition. This unique interdisciplinary collection traces discourses about and representations of ruins from a richly contextualized perspective. “

The Death and Life of Great The modernist planners used deductive reasoning to find principles by which to American Cities plan cities. Among these the most violent Jane Jacobs was urban renewal; the most prevalent

From A Cause to a Style Nathan Glazer

was and is the separation of uses (i.e., residential, industrial, commercial). These policies, destroy communities and innovative economies by creating isolated, unnatural urban spaces.

Modernism in architecture and urban design has failed the American city. This is the decisive conclusion that renowned public intellectual Nathan Glazer has drawn from two decades of writing and thinking about what this architectural movement will bequeath to future generations. In From a Cause to a Style, he proclaims his disappointment with modernism and its impact on the American city.

not just a radical revolution in style but a social ambition to enhance the conditions under which ordinary people lived, has fallen short on all counts

Modernism Again: Re-mediating the Good Intentions and Promises of Modernism

October 1, 2012

Literature Review

his thesis will begin to examine the intentions

As a historian of the British Industrial Revolution,

of each movement, to gain understanding

he believed that it is “important to expose the

for the Post-Industrial ruins that are left

ideological content of historical controversy”.

disseminated throughout the urban fabric. Much

(Hartwell, 380) R.M. Hartwell caused great

like Paolo Portoghesi and Leon Krier, this thesis is

controversy through his perspective of the

suggesting that architecture returns to its roots

Industrial Revolution and the economic growth,

in practical needs, therefore striving to remediate

as he believed that the myth of “immiseration”

the decomposing urban fabric that has suffered

was the “one supreme myth which more than any

from Industrialization and to revive a social

other has served to discredit the economic system

sense of community and growth. By observing

to which we owe our present day civilization”.

such writings it would allow for a critique of

(Hartwell, 380) Though written in 1974, the

each movement, giving validity to why or why

content of this article remains relevant today as

not the utopian rhetoric would be applicable

it acknowledges that the ills of modern society

to contemporary society. This review will begin

are attributed to Industrialization. The Industrial

by examining the history and ideology of the

Revolution, though promoting prosperity and

Industrial Revolution to the history and intentions

economic growth, actually showed slow economic

of modernism followed by the movements which

growth and extreme poverty, due to severe living

seeked to undo the misfortunes of modernism

and working conditions. As Modernism emerged

and to create a Utopian society.

in the mid-nineteenth century, as a reaction to

In the article ‘History and Ideology’,

the Industrial Revolution, it too, created “social

Ronald Max Hartwell provides an honest and yet

unrest, rapid industrialization and urbanization”.

disgruntled account of the Industrial Revolution.

(Habermas) Hartwell allows a sense of skepticism

Discourse | 17

to both the Industrial Revolution and Modernism

the great cause they were seeking, however, I do

and by doing so, seems to suggest another

realize that this may seem to be a rather cynical

movement that will endeavor a “fix”, for lack of a

approach to their discourse on urbanism, and with

better word.

that said, this source will require more attention to

In Ziyi Feng and Lijun Xing’s article, ‘A

dissect the many changes executed during their

Contemporary Interpretation of Marx’s Thoughts

48 year term. It would be clear that the idea is

on Modernity’, modernism manifested itself in

there, but the rigor and execution would deem

all aspects of social life proclaiming that it could

less than mediocre.

solve all problems concerning economy, politics,

culture, society and many other factors.(Feng,

“architecture of good intentions”; these intentions

255) This text alludes to how modernism was to

much like those of the Industrial Revolution

be a revolution. Modernism was seeking to be

would be considered a failure. As Charles Jencks

a new and radical reform to social issues of all

said, “modernism failed as mass housing and city

matters. Though naive to say, it would seem to

building partly because it failed to communicate

suggest that architecture was ameans of creating

with its inhabitants,” therefore, it did not make an

an Utopia. That architecture could in fact be a

effective link with the city and/or history. (Jencks,

solution to how the make world a slightly better

37) This source could provide great insight as

place. However in this time it would seem that

this thesis progresses, in that it will remain at the

social activism was becoming a patron-less class

forefront of the intentions proposed. Research

and the philanthropist had been removed, which

will show how the community is affected by such

feels accurate to say, when considering the figure

environments and what could make them thrive

who were leading this movement. In an attempt

once again. Another architectural theorist and

to promote a “patron” the CIAM was founded in

historian that shared similar views as Charles

1928. Considered to be an avant-garde association;

Jencks was Christian Norberg Schulz. Though

architects such as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier

slightly more poetic, Schulz’s theory would

and many other well now “elitist” architects,

suggest that “modern man becomes “worldless”

had intended to serve the interest of society

and thus loses own identity, as well as the sense

by progressing modernism and industrialism

of community

of architecture forward. The only problem, as

this existence becomes meaningless, mankind

mentioned before, these architects were in fact

becomes homeless.( Schulz, 11) As expressed

an Elitist group, therefore, they would never

by these authors, Modernism failed in many

have to suffer the conditions which the general

ways. It did not create better living situations or

population would. So one may be skeptical to

communities, it didn’t provide economic growth

18 | Thesis

As Modernism is often considered the

and participation” therefore if

and instead it has left many communities that

everything is de-legitimized.” (Jencks, 51) Which

were reliant upon Industrialism abandoned.

begs for more understanding to decipher whether

Though these sources provide the skepticism of

Wolfe believes that Postmodernism is slacking

Modernism and its successes, it would important

because of lack of creativity and drive, or whether

to find a source that would counteract such

it is because we aren’t striving for new goals in

claims, without being presented as a textbook of

architecture and (we) are recreating another

facts. Instead it would be helpful to find a source

failing system? And lastly Leon Krier, believed that

from someone not of the elitist group who felt

each movement could influence each other by

that modernism was in fact creating a solution for

gaining a more positive outcome. Kriers critique

society.

of current urban planning and architecture, are

The movement which would follow

rather nostalgic, however, he begins to shed light

Modernism was termed Postmodernism. As

on how the “destroyed fabric of the historic city

Modernism rejected history in search of the new

could be repaired and how a traditional set of

spirit, Postmodernism returned to history in

well-scaled spaces could be added to these cores.”

hopes of restoring a historical dimension as well

(Jencks, 38)

as creating an awareness to those who would

be affected, but adding a new twist. (Hutcheon,

own generation has largely failed to cope critically

185) Though some would say that Postmodernism

with the mass of buildings produced in the

failed to separate from Modernism; which may

booming period of our youth.” (Hitchcock, 31) This

very well be true, Postmodernism served to

quote situates this thesis to accept the failings of

remediate the social failures caused by modern

modernism as well as to continue being critical

architecture.

Theorist such as Jean Francois

of these “mass of buildings” and how to use these

Lyotard, Leon Krier, Clement Greenberg and Tom

structures once more. This quote also seems

Wolfe began defining what postmodernism was

to suggest that these once prospering places

and what it should become. For Jean Francois

of manufacturing, are now becoming corpses

Lyotard postmodernism is defined as “a grand

throughout the urban fabric. This thesis is to help

narrative such as liberation of humanity, progress,

better understand how the contemporary society

increased power and so forth.” For Tom Wolfe,

of today can help remediate these industrial ruins

he saw postmodernism as a failure to break

that remain mystifying throughout the urban

completely from Modernism. That as a society,

fabric. The question then becomes, what will

(we) are still seeking the same initial goals as

happen with these structures that have fallen

Modernism and as he says “Postmodernism is

silent in the backdrop of this contemporary world?

defined as a period of slackening, a period where

A frequent method of dealing with the failures of

As, Henry-Russell Hitchcock said, “our

Discourse | 19

Modernism, one might envision the implosion of

that are reminiscent to the idea at large. The most

Pruitt Igoe, in St. Louis, where such social problems

useful information however will come from the

and devastation became a spectacle seen by

section called documents. In this section there are

everyone. These remnants remain a testament

written statements, letters and critical appraisals

of time; a past that once seemed promising, a

of from many different fields all reflecting on

present that has been crippled, and a future that

their ideas in the “Utopian Circular Letters” . These

could create new life.

writing consist of people such as Adolf Behne,

The last sources that will provide a great

amount of information is Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environments by Ruth Eaton and

Walter Gropius, Bruno Taut, Kasimir Malevich and many more.

This literature review was a chance to

the The Architecture of Fantasy: Utopian Building

tap into the many different components that

and Planning in Modern Times by Ulrich Conrad

would lend itself to the idea of Utopia. It would

and Hans G. Sperlich. In the Ideal Cities, Ruth Eaton

begin by looking at history and memory, and

provides an extensive narrative of the Western

how that spoke to Modernism who in fact tried to

societies attempts to create a Utopia and a perfect

dismiss history. Then it allowed the opportunity

city. Her research travels from the founding

to understand the components of Modernism

father of Utopia, Thomas More to key players

which was trying to remediate what history had

such as Archizoom and Superstudio, who did not

contributed, such as the Industrial Revolution.

humor the utopian methodology. This source

Modernism sought to provide a solution for the

provides a lot of information that is present in an

social issues that arose during Post Industrialism,

unbiased collection of work much like a textbook

instead it made a contribution to the social unrest

of information. The only thing that is missing is

that was spread through the world. Utopia isn’t a

an opinionated source. With more observation,

new idea, however it was an idea that modernist

it will unravel the opinions of many writers from

began to cling to when searching how to alleviate

the 14th Century to current day. In the book by

the ills of modern society. It would seem that our

Ulrich Conrad and Hans G. Sperlich, it may easier

society is in quite the same predicament. Industries

to criticize the usefulness of this text because it

continue to suffer in our economy, leaving peoples

was written in 1962, and it isn’t the “utopia today”,

living conditions below par at best, while others

however it does remain relevant, in its knowledge

are forced from their homes. Community lose faith

of Utopian environments. This book provides an

and hope as they turn from being a prosperous

interesting assortment of projects that allude

area to resemble that of a slum and the identity is

to the notion of Utopia. Projects that do not

lost forever. By conducting this literature review,

necessarily scream UTOPIA has several feature

it allows substance behind endeavors that seek to

20 | Thesis

make contemporary society a more utopianistic environment.

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;21

22 | Thesis

Discourse | 23

Marxism

Panopticon

Phalansteries

Jeremy Bentham 1787

Charles Fourier early 19th Century

George Pullman 1890

Socialism

The Begum’s Fortune The Inspectors House Claude-Nicholas Ledoux 1804

Pullman Company Town Berlin Development Project

Jules Verne 1825-1902

News From Nowhere

Ludwig Hilberseimer 1928

Utopia

Jules Verne William Morris 1890

Port Sunlight

The Three Magnets Ebenezer Howard 1898

The Peaceful Path of Real Reform Garden Cities of Tomorrow Ebenezer Howard 1898

Flying Settlement Wenzel Hablik 1907-1914

Le Corbusier 1922

Plan Voison Le Corbusier 1925

Highrise City

Reformalism Tony Garnier 1917

The New City Antonio Sant’Elia 1914

Modernism

A Contemporary City for 3 Million

Une Cite Industrielle

Constructions for a Modern Metropolis

24 | Thesis

Flying Cities Georgy Krutikov 1928

Anonymous 1905

Mario Chiattone 1914

Ludwig Hilberseimer 1924

Broadacre City Frank Lloyd Wright 1932

"..." TOPIA: Fostering a NEW Utopian Rhetoric for Contemporary Society

ism

ment

Continuous Monument Superstudio 1969

Frank Lloyd Wright 1932

New Babylon Constant Nieuwenhuys 1967

Superstudio 1972

No Stop City Andrea Branzi Archizoom 1969

Instant City Plug In City Archigram 1964

Walking City Archigram 1964

Archigram 1969

Generic City Rem Koolhaas 1994 2000 Ton City Temporal Cochlea-City New York of Brains Spaceship CIty City of Hemispheres Barnum Jar’s Magnificient and Fabulous City Continous Production Conveyor Belt City Conical Terraced City The “Ville-Machine Habitee” City of Order City of the Spendid House City of the Book

"...”topia

Broadacre City

Rem Koolhass 1972

The Twelve Ideal Cities

Post Modernism

Georgy Krutikov 1928

DYStopia

Flying Cities

Exodus, The Voluntary Prisoners

Progressivism Current Literature Visual Map

Discourse | 25

case studies GASOMETER | THE TANKS AT TATE | ARCHIGRAM | SUPERSTUDIO

GASOMETER Vienna Austria The Tanks at Tate Herzog de Meuron Instant City Archigram Walking City Archigram A-City, Sector 1576N, Quad 2NR Lebbeus Woods

26 | Thesis

Gasworks Simmering

Interior of Gasometer

Vienna, Austria By Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelb[l]ea, Manfred Wehdorn, Wilhelm Holzbauer

eter Kropotkin had written in 1912, â&#x20AC;&#x153;But

a testament for the idea of Adaptive Reuse.

enough! I have before me so many figures,

Instead of allowing this structure to decay in the

all telling the same tale, that examples could be

heart of Vienna, the city chose to preserve the

multiplied at will. It is time to conclude, and, for

monument with a new multi-functional program.

every unprejudiced mind, the conclusion is self-

Therefore opening its doors to the community

evident. Industries of all kinds decentralize and

rather than becoming a monument to corporate

are scattered all over the globe; and everywhere

abandonment.

a variety, an integrated variety, of trade grows,

instead of specialization. (75)

prove that though the industry has left the current

The Gasometers of Vienna are located in

facility, that facility does not have to become

Simmering industrial zone. For nearly 90 years the

a relic left as a testament for its failure. What

Gasometers of Vienna served as gas storage tanks

happens to the community when the industry

to supply gas to Vienna. After converting the cities

leaves? Does the community become abandoned

gas to natural gas between 1970 and 1978, it left

as displaced workers are forced to leave? Is there

the gasometers rendered useless. Therefore the

a new program that could be proposed to make

gasometers closed their doors.

that context self sufficient? All questions which are

evoked from this case study.

The Gasometers of Vienna, stands

The significance of this case study is to

Photo courtesy of http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-15405251/ gasworks-simmering-in-vienna-austria?popup=1

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;27

aerial view Vienna Austria via google earth

Gasworks, Simmering

In 1892, an international competition was held Each gasometer has a cylindrical plan and for a new city gasworks in the city of Vienna. constructed in brick. to read identically. The external An engineer by the name of Shimming won diameter is 64.9 meters (approximately 213 feet) and the competition and four years later Theodor has a foundation base of 1.7 meters (approximately Herrmann, a technical consultant for gas 5.5 feet). The internal diameter that would house the engineering was hired to consult during the water tank is 62.9 meters (approximately 206 feet). production. Construction began October 27, 1896 The dome shape roof spans 63.6 meters built using and was completed July 17, 1899, later opening on an iron structure with a timber decking clad in zinc October 31, 1899. Standing as a testament to the sheets. 1 Industrial Revolution, the Gasometers remained in service until 1986. 28â&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Thesis

1. http://www.cse.polyu.edu.hk/~cecspoon/lwbt/Case_Studies/ Gasometer_City/Gasometer_City.htm

In the image on the upper right displays the plan and section for the gasometers. As each tank creates a means of housing, building B, designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au also offers a shopping mall within the interior. In addition to the original tank, Himmelb(l)au created a structure that served much like a parasite to the existing structure that houses program such as a concert hall, student hostels, and health facilities.

gasometer building a interior rendering Jean Nouvel

gasometer building d

gasometer building c

Jean Nouvel's design for Gasometer Manfred Wehdorn's design for

Wilhelm Holzbauer's design for

Building A including apartments Gasometer Building C includes

Gasometer Building D occupies

that lined the parameter of the apartments

the

the center of the existing building

structure, and opened to an interior parameter of the structure, and

with lift and stairs, The interior

courtyard. It was intended to be a opened to an interior courtyard.

is composed of three compact

reflection of old verses new.

The apartments inside have access

sections

to green terraces that fill the space.

indoor gardens and penetrates the

that

lined

that

are

divided

perimeter of the existing building, creating a connection to the exterior.

Photos courtesy of http://www.wiener-gasometer.at

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;29

30 | Thesis

The

Tanks

London England Herzog & de Meuron

he Tanks at Tate Modern was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and

stood as icon in the London Olympics of 2012. Located on the south bank of the River Thames this project was a part of the International Design Competition which launched in 1994 and opened in January of 2000. The Tanks at Tate Modern is project that utilizes the redevelopment of three industrial chambers which were rendered "useless" since 1981's decommissioning of the former Bankside Power Station's Oil Tanks. 1

The

Bankside

Power

Station

was

constructed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Battersea Power Station and Liverpool Cathedral. Familiar with these massive structures, 1. http://www.designboom.com/architecture/the-tanks-attate-modern-by-herzog-de-meuron/

photos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk

Discourse | 31

the building is 660 feet long, constructed with steel frame and brick cladding, which a chimney that stands at 325 feet high. Built in phases, to continue expanding this sector created electricity while the two other phases were constructed until 1952. The final phase consisted of a building divided into three sections: the main turbine hall, the switching room and the boiler room. Each tank is approximately seven meters high with a diameter of 30 meters. This brutalist form was built to hold the fuel that would power turbines that create electricity for the majority of the capital from 1952 until 1981. Constructed with massive thick walls, these labyrinth like structures serves as a fort protecting the community in the likelihood of an explosion. Needless to say the architecture for this form was much like the architecture of Turbine Hall

any industry, which function rather than form. Each raw like wall was carefully constructed based on the practical applications for the industry.

Turbine Hall

32 | Thesis

Tanks at Tate Modern Before and After

photos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk

Jacques Herzog, when commenting about the

charm. However, though many admire the new

aesthetics said that it would be easy to make

addition, I wonder if that competes with nostalgic

these structures in "romantic Piranesian ruins but

structure that leeches itself to the more modern

it would be a trap - it becomes kitsch." 2 Instead

structure, or possibly vice versa. Then again, is

each tank remained brutalist, in that the structure

the remaining of this building a look back; almost

remained simple with a single door, in hopes that

nostalgic, to correct the failures of industry that

the scale would overwhelm the occupant. These

once stood?

walls then become almost mute, as they fall to the background while the art and performance spaces demand the attention.

Much of this internal structure remained

intact and unscathed which only emphasizes its 2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jul/01/ tanks-tate-modern-review Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;33 photos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk

34 | Thesis

Instant City Archigram

etween 1961 and 1974 Archigram and its

monumentality or to be preserved as musuems

theories were spreading throughout the

but instead adapted to the users needs at that

architecture world like wildfire. Nine issues of

given time.

Archigram magazine, three television programs,

many conferences, lectures, sketches made their

in their quote “ when you are looking for a solution

theories grow with excitement. In their work they

to what you have been told is an architectural

were constantly unveiling the a window into the

problem - remember, the solution may not be

world of to tomorrow , in hypothetical situations

a conventional building.” A building that is a

that embraced a futuristic image through collage.

snapshot to what the world was investigate at

Through their collages they were able to

that given time which may not be acceptable for

give life and vitality to the surrounding building

the changing period. Thus a building would need

that otherwise remained unnoticed by the

to adapt to constantly change in order to stay

general public. Their ambitions were to adapt new

relevant with the changing world. “Archigrams

scenes of what the silent buildings could become

output was excitement over what this new world

through radical changes. Archigrams did not only

was going to look like.” 1

look at these structures as permenant entities

but instead an object that could be customized

early modernism as both were trying to create a

and manipulated. Architecture was not about

Archigram’s approached can be summed

Archigram has similarities to the voices of

1. Cook, Peter. "Boys at Heart." In Archigram. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. 2-3

Discourse | 35

new spirit for architecture. As modernism sought to reject history to find a new social agenda due to current global situation, ie wars, depression, etc. Archigram strived to find a new voice in an age following such destructions where nothing was being built. Both were searching a for a new vitality to community and ultimately a better life.

In a statement Archigram said, “Cities

should generate, reflect and activate life; their structure organized to precipitate life and movement.”

In an age were technology is

constantly evolving making the last minutes gadget nearly obsolete, Archigram was at the forefront of technological progression in 1966. The work of Archigram evokes ideas about technology and its role in society. Their ideas towards technology were before their time, as the were 2. Cook, Peter. "Editorial from Archigram 3." Archigram. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. 16.

36 | Thesis

Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project

seeking for technology to readily available to their clients, as well as being able to alter their environment often. Therefore life would be a real virtuality as opposed to a virtual reality.

Peter Cook

David Greene

MIke Webb

Ron Herron

Warren Chalk

Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project Research Centre for Experimental Practice at the University of Westminster

Dennis Crompton

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;37

38 | Thesis

A Walking City A Archigram

s mentioned before Archigram was known more for their evocative and provocative ideas of how

to revitalize a community through their optimistic spirit. As most of their work was being produced during a time social uphevel, such as the Vietnam War, their work was an attempt to remove themselves from the past. Therefore they could implement a new social change to not only architecture but the surrounding context. As technology was becoming more advanced - these new machines of living could foster new possibilities to how contemporary communities networked themselves to sustain.

A Walking City was envisioned in 1968. With

NASA on the cusp of a moon landing near in sight it is not difficult to see how technology was in fact a driving force behind their work. So much of Archigrams work suggests the temporary nature of their structures. Due to technology rapidly advancing Archigrams projects do not possess a permanent site but instead focuses on the objects that are intending to be temporary. For

Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;39

example in Walk City, the structure serves as a hub on legs that allows one to be much like a nomad. As Peter Blake says, "the structures are conceived to plug into utilities and information networks at different locations to support the needs and desires of people who work and play, travel and stay put, simultaneously." 1 With technology today, it would seem plausible to say that this innovative idea of network could in fact change views within architecture.

1University of Westminter. "Archigram Archival Project." Archigram Archival Project. http://archigram.westminster.ac.uk (accessed December 9, 2012)

40â&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Thesis

Images courtesy of Archigram Archival Project Research Centre for Experimental Practice at the University of Westminster

Centricity, 1987

A-City: Sector 1576N Lebbeus Woods

Lebbeus Woods said, "In these places

I'm drawing, the high-technology as invisible, because it's already so miniaturized, and so compact, and so industrialized, that it's not a major physical artifact," said Woods. "And the city is indeed low-technology in the sense that people are participating in the making of it."1 This images evoke a sense of technology that is

Centricity, 1987

brutal in nature. The landscape because almost neutral, which could suggest that the site and place does not matter. It is also rendered without people, which could suggest that people play a minute level in the world of technology. Also, there is a wispy nature to the cables which creates a continuous movement, which one could project how technology is seen versus hidden, which Centricity, 1987 1. Frearson, Amy . “Lebbeus Woods: Early Drawings.” Dezeen - architecture and design magazine. N.p., 8 Nov. 1012. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/08/lebbeus-woods-early-drawings/>.

Photos courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Website http://lebbeuswoods.net/

Discourse | 41

in current society would begin to question, is technology hardware versus software? Is it visible or this mystical creature that looms?

The power of Lebbeus Woods work is that

he is highly influential through his conceptual designs. His ideas have pushed the limits and have create new forms of existence. His renderings of each place, are suggestive of machine aesthetics that cut through existing structures, and piercing into the ground condition with keen detail. Though selected as an Utopian example, it would be easy to counteract his work as Dystopian, which would serve as a product for the failed Utopias.

42â&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Thesis

Photos courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Website http://lebbeuswoods.net/

A-City: Sector 1576 N

Discourse | 43

tech [tN O ] opia FOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

44 | Thesis

CONTENTS

TECH [NO] TOPIA Contributing Design Erin Hicks Contributing Information for Cliffside Mills Cliffside Historical Society & Remember Cliffside Contributing Information for Facebook Data Center Facebook

page 49

Historical Information

Current Site Conditions

Project Description

Context | Location |Site

Comprehensive Visual Map

What Define Contemporary Society

26 Methodology ??

Proposed Design Solutions

?? Bibliography ?? Appendices

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;45

46 | Thesis

Project Description

he objective of this discourse is to begin

town, located in Cliffside, North Carolina. This

defining a new Utopian rhetoric for

research will also challenge the site to foster a new

contemporary society. Again, this thesis has

solution for the abandonment of the industrial

rooted itself in the belief that technology is what

ruins that scatter throughout the landscape.

defines society today, therefore becoming known

Cliffside Mill was once a thriving city,where the

as Tech[no]topia. Much like the “workers paradise”

industry constructed the site and surrounding

model, which stemmed from the Industrial

community and since it’s closure the site and

Revolution; there was an emphasis on the machine

surrounding context has suffered and became

and production. This machine not only rooted

pillaged of the vitality it once exuded. These

itself within the site, but provided a lifestyle for

fragments remain as a testament to the loss

the workers. In today’s society, technology has

of a previous Utopia and the temporal nature

manifested itself within all realms of our lifestyle.

of such Utopias. With reference to the theories

Immersed in a world where the cloud is no longer

by Archigram, Lebbeus Woods and those alike,

a visible mass of water particles, now “the cloud”

will help foster the Tech[no]topia ideals to be

is an invisible fragment of complete connectivity.

implemented to the forgotten Utopia.

Through this cloud society is always connected to technology and information, without relief from constant connection, we have now begun merging the physical reality with a virtual realm.

This experiment will intervene into a

particular fragment that once exuded the Utopian model during the Industrial Revolution; a factory

Discourse | 47

48 | Thesis

Context | Location | Site

Cliffside Mill, Postcard

liffside Mills, is located in a small area of

established for the workers of the textile mill. As

Rutherford County, known as Cliffside, North

each warehouse began to function and workers

Carolina. The site chosen for the construction of

flocked to the area, R.R. Haynes was concerned

the mill is nestled in the horseshoe bend of the

with the welfare of his employees, providing

Second Broad River. From this river, provided

them schoolhouses for continuing education and

an opportunity for water power, to facilitate the

schools for the local children, churches, doctors

textile mills production.

offices, as well as leisure activities such as theaters,

Raleigh Rutherford Haynes, a successful

gymnasiums and department stores. Throughout

mill owner, saw potential in the landscape of

1910 -1920 the town was rapidly growing and

Cliffside, and in 1899, began laying the foundation

by 1920, the town had become a prosperous

for the Cliffside Mill. By March 1900, the brick for the mill began steadily constructed R.R. Haynes, enterprise. It would not be long until the town of Cliffside began to take shape. Power was drawn from the Second Broad River, streets began to cut through the virgin landscape, houses were being

Cliffside Mill, 1908

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;49

community, living the “American dream”, where the workers owned their land and homes, with beautiful gardens, and just like other communities that spawned from the to Industrial Revolution, the community thrived to live a healthy lifestyle in harmony with the machine.

By 1942, the

population had exceeded 4,000 people in the community and was continuing to expand.

Aerial Town Centre

Offices

Department Store

Town Plan, 1942

Car Garage

50 | Thesis

Photos courtesy of Entasis Design

Memorial Building

Cliffside Mill, 1940

Cliffside Mill, 1990

By 1960, Cliffside Mills, began taking a

turn that would ultimately lead to the mills demise.

The sound of the rushing water over the

dam, cannot fill the void and silence of Cliffside Mills today. Slowly throughout the years, each independent business of the mill began closing their doors. The company bank was closed. The department stores were closed and the houses that were once for the workers were demolished. It can be seen in the two dramatically different images above, the image on the left from 1940, and the image on the right, from 1990. Comparing these two images, shows the removal of many buildings on the site as well as the housing in the distance.

The image on the lower left shows how

many houses were provided by the mill to the workers in the community, with the houses in blue and the mill infrastructure in red.

Cliffside Mill, 1942, Site Plan

Discourseâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;51

Google Earth, Aerial 2013

The image provided my Google Earth, shows the immediate conditions for the Cliffside Mill site. The map on the left draws attention to the remaining structures that are in the nearby community, which consist of a few residences, but are primarily small businesses such as Dollar General, several churches and a hometown pharmacy.

Cliffside Mill, 2013, Site Plan

52â&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Thesis

Discourse | 53

Utopian Fragments

Cliffside Mill Panorama

Main Building

Coal Stack

54 | Thesis

Photos courtesy of Erin Hicks

In David Pinder’s journal, “In defense

Industrial Revolution have long been the focus for

of Utopian Urbanism: Imagining Cities After

social fears, and a dystopian model. It has created a

the End of Utopia”, he says “Should the concept

reoccurring theme leaving the land barren, rearing

of the Utopia not be erased like the names of

itself against mankind. Where new technologies

those luminaries that once adorned street signs

seek to enslave people and manipulate their

in socialist cities to be replaced by sins from a

lives. For places such as Cliffside Mills, this new

supposedly more respectable past? After all, was

technology and new machine, that once helped

it not the Utopian impulse that originally helped

the community to thrive, was removed. Thus when

to lay the foundations for such social experiments

the technology was removed, due to outsourcing

and their authoritarian efforts to remould societies

and modern technology, the community was

according to a projected ideal?”1 Not unlike the

removed. The population for Cliffside in 1942, was

intention sought after by Cliffside Mill, the factory

over 4,000 people, but as the mill would meet

town has long been a subject for Utopian dreams

its demise, the population dropped below 600

promising a better future. These products of the

people, leaving Cliffside a ghost town. The current

1. Pinder, David. “In Defense of Utopian Urbanism: Imagining Cities After the End of Utopia.” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography Volume 84, no. 3-4 (2004): 229-241.

site has been pillaged and salvaged of valuable materials, leaving fossils of structures scattered throughout the site.

Abandoned Train Trestle

Cliffside Mill Panorama

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Addressing Each Fragment

The Water Power Plant, is situated along

the Second Broad River, and still operates today, providing power generated from the dam and water turbines to facilitate Duke Energy, located one mile south of the site. Though much of the adjoining building has been de-constructed, this building is the only one that still services the site.

Once the largest structure on the site, this

images shows the Main Textile Building, where their were floors upon floors of textile machinery. Though much of the building has been torn down, this fragment remains like a statue, upon a hill , as a testament to the Utopian dream.

Each of these fragments played an

important role to the once success of Cliffside Mill. This thesis chose to intervene with the ruins left on the site.

56â&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Thesis

Comprehensive Visual Map

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60 | Thesis

What Defines Contemporary Society

Throughout the course of this thesis,

enforced the well being and health of the workers.

it became important to continuously track

Advocates such as Charles Fourier, rejected the

any Utopian models, found during research.

Industrial Revolution, while others such as Robert

Organizing each utopia in chronological order

Owens, sought to mend the faults of the Industrial

allowed for an assessment to when these ideals

Revolution, by creating working communities,

began to thrive and when these ideas were not at

that provided a healthier lifestyle, creating shorter

the forefront of the intellectual debate.

work hours, reasonable pay, renovated housing

The

first

Utopia,

that

began

the

and continuing education opportunities.

comprehensive visual map was the Sforzinda

These ideas continued to carry through

in 1465, with countless others tampering

in the work of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities

throughout the centuries. It wasn’t until the 1900’s

of Tomorrow and Frank Lloyd Wrights Broadacre

that the Utopian proposals began to flourish

Cities.

and continued to heavily throughout 1975. From this chart it is safe to assume that each of these Utopian models, were in response to something happening in that current moment. For example, in the1900’s, Utopia was the Modernists response to the Industrial Revolution. Due to Machine Age and the Industrial Age, mass production became more efficient due to new technology. However the living and working conditions suffered,

Braodacre Cities Frank Lloyd Wright

as their were no regulations and codes that

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Another example in the midst of the

In projects such as, A Walking City,

1960’s, are the pioneers of Archigram. Archigram

Archigram begins exploring ideas about mobility

sought to create a new generation of architecture

suggesting a reinvention in architecture allowing

by critiquing the work of the Modernists. Their

buildings to become machines and organism. It is

radical approaches were a response to postwar

an exploration that shows how society could be

consumerism as well as advances in technology.

located and moved to many places over the world.

Peter Cook, of Archigram said “ what happens if the whole urban environment can be programmed and structured for change?” It is clear in their work they are interested in evoking ideas about architecture and how it could be influenced by current society. In a time where the Vietnam War was televised, and technology was becoming easily accessible, Archigram remained on the cusps of media and technology advances, which allowed them to be visionaries for future architecture.

62 | Thesis

Images courtesy of Facebook

After exploring many projects with

similar to modernism, as it was responding to this

varying abstractions of Utopia, it became

new machine. This machine continued to produce

interesting to think what would be the Utopian

a lifestyle that evolved around the function of

rhetoric for contemporary society? As hinted

technology. While at Cliffside Mill in 1910, Utopia

before, many Utopian models were a response to

revolved around the machinery for production,

current events, whether it be the a response to the

however, today this machine for production has

Industrial Age, war, science, Utopia’s were reacting

become “the cloud.”

to the developing world. Through this thesis it was important to recognize what would be defining contemporary society. Much like those ideas in the Machine Age, contemporary society is still reacting to the modern developments in technology. For this thesis it was important to define what Utopia meant in todays society. This thesis rooted itself in the belief that Utopia, was

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Contemporary

Society

has

become

characterized by the increase of human interconnection throughout the global world. For this thesis, I have begun to define technology by this over arching word, “the cloud”. This cloud no longer refers to the nebulous water particles that swarm in the air, but the signals and transference that keeps the world connected at all times. Cloud computing, is essentially the virtual servers that makes the internet readily accessible for information gathering and connection. Infrastructure, much like the Very Large Array, in Socorro, New Mexico , seen in the images below, show the epitome of how technology has become the salvation for todays society. These satellites beckon towards to sky, receiving and exchanging signals, and without these machines, this phenomenon would go unnoticed.

Very Large Array, National Radio Astronomy Observatory Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI

Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI

64 | Thesis

Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI

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