INTERMEDIATE UNIT 8 The Politics of Skin Grafting
BRIEF 1 Amir Atta Yousefi Governments represent themselves for caretaker of society through politics. Although the system ends up taking advantage of the relation with society and imposes power. Political systems are often reflected and expressed through spatial qualities for inhabitants. The form of the context implicates its power in space, and establishes a direct sense of the government but leaves behind a potential of neutrality in relations. Dissatisfaction towards imposing powers in space can be led to destruction, reforming and transposition of the context. Reconfiguration of context can activate a contradiction towards the political system through space. Thus the reshaped design challenges the government constitutions and balances the reciprocal relations between the constructed forms and individuals.
BRIEF 2 Constantino Rivetti The present political situation states a very prominent hierarchy between the people the government and the city. Playing with this concept of hierarchy in relation to contemporary politics different designs proposals, over architectural elements in different scales, is trying to break relationships and establish new hierarchies within space.
Starting form a small scale and personal projects, such as the redesign of a door, an entrance to the student´s forum was created. A new hierarchy involved a redesign of its entrance creating new political implications and meanings that this door carry into school collective. Looking to a major scale a new and major hierarchy was established into the AA Directors office through a new design not only of its wall but also to the whole space layout.
Jumping to an urban scale of Havana, and looking to the Plaza de la Revolución, a new hierarchy breaking relationships within space was established again. At present the square is dominated by the memorial to Jose Marti, which is in the centre, and by the surrounding buildings. Following hierarchy the plaza is broken into smaller sections allowing integrating more of the existing urban fabric (parks, piazzas) into the plaza. Breaking the space into smaller more intimate sections might allow for Cubans to begin using a space which was designed for them but which they cannot use.
BRIEF 3 Gary Dupont CONCEPT: EXCHANGE
Politics consist of social relations involving authority or power; indeed it is a process of exchange by which groups of people make collective decisions. But exchanges are not always possible, in some cases they need to be fostered through architecture. It appears that blurring the boundaries and the functions between architectural elements, like doors, walls, and facade, seems to facilitate these interactions.
Political and social interactions are more likely to happen when you have a high density of people. Encouraging points of encounter within the city will also decrease the control that the government has upon individuals, and the exchange of their ideas.
BRIEF 4 Karl Karam
The politics of spaces are not always apparent or clear, some are hidden behind a veil, and others are anchored in what seems to be normality.
I went from the idea that every space has a political meaning, whether given (pre-decided) or acquired through time. The main objective is to estrange people by unveiling the contradiction between the given program, the actual use and the production of the space.
BRIEF 5 Liza Rudyk
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL AND THE COLLECTIVE IS HAPPENING BY THE MEAN OF SHARING. EACH PERSON BRINGS HIS OWN HISTORY IN TO THE POLITICAL SPACE. EACH SMALL PIECE CONSTRUCTS A WHOLE. THERE IS A RULE BEHIND IMPROVISATION. ONE OF THE DEFINITIONS OF THE RULE IS THAT THE PARTICULAR IMPROVISATION NEVER HAPPENS TWICE. THE RULE GATHERS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN PARTICIPATION.
BRIEF 6 Maud Sanciaume Information regimes are not by any means neutral. When power enters this flow the discourse is compromise. Information become command and communication insure domination. But in the contrary, the fact that everyone can actively produce information, offers the basis for collective empowerment. Actually the manner in which communication is handled within the society is crucial for urban production. Urban designs then play an important part in the process of mediation between the socials and the environment. As Cuban have very limited freedom in their own country, what kind of urban fabric would allow them to take back the control of their country? We can link back the Cuban State with its people through the combination of bottom‐up (building up physical infrastructures creating informal spaces for communication) and top‐ down approach (self‐sustainable growth of a decentralized settlement). As the existing plaza has no real spatial delimitation it is necessary to redefine its border in the purpose of creating an enclosed space welcoming a multi‐disciplinary programme that will allow the Cuban to seize this new space and in consequence to take the control of it.
BRIEF 7 Olivia Wright
Ambiguity
Hierarchical social stratification is inherent to all societies. It is not possible to access complete freedom in a society as there is always a hierarchy that assumes control over individuals. In Cuba the economy is heavily controlled by the state, controlling the peoples’ mobility. The economy segregates the shopping spaces between tourists and Cubans. A desirable shopping space will be constructed around the outskirts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Communications. The shopping space will give the sense of having economic freedom, however the state will have absolute control.
BRIEF 8 Stavros Papavassiliou Dialog Dialog can mean a civilized discussion but can also mean an assertive confrontation. If a framework for free discussion (not regulated by political and financial interests) is in place then a democratic society will regulate itself by creating a feedback loop. This framework would allow for the breakdown of traditional hierarchical governance of the one or the few, so as to pass on this authority to the collective through its engagement in this constant feedback loop. The media for this discussion must be free of financial or political interests to avoid the redistribution of authority to the media itself, as well as the citizens need to be free and available to participate in the dialog as an everyday activity. Any breakdown of free dialog between citizens is the breakdown of democracy and a move towards authoritarian rule.
BRIEF 9 Uliana Apatina
REVOLUTIONIZED FREEDOM
'ONE DOES NOT EXIST WITHOUT EACH OTHER, BUT IT DOES NOT EXIST WITH EACH OTHER EITHER'. Denis Hollier, “Bloody Sundays” in Against Architecture: the writings of Georges Bataille
Revolutionized freedom is a state of mind that equally employs in it both possibilities and impossibilities of existence. It is a free will of individual to choose and decide as opposed to the collective movement or behaviour. On the other hand, being culminated to its maximum and transferred into the state of revolution, the freedom loses its force becoming anti-freedom and in so doing represents the forces of maximum contrast and tension. At Plaza Revolution this tension is going to be achieved by contrasting military and political highly ordered structures with disordered and disoriented art spaces / contemporary art centres which have been always and everywhere in opposition to each other.
BRIEF 10 Merve Anil Interference Political interference refers to the combination of two or more, either complementary or opposing, political systems that produces a new resultant political order. If there is interference by the public to a government, this negates the possibility of a totalitarian regime to exist. The Government is forced to constantly update itself depending on the demands of the population, and the politics is constantly questioned and is not allowed to remain static. For every action or stance taken by the public towards the political system a reciprocal action occurs which triggers a new set of events and the whole culture is forced to constantly renew itself. Interference enables greater equality within a society as it allows for any group to object to the actions of another, and breaks up hierarchies. It allows for a more stable political system as everyone feels that they have the chance of changing through their actions if they are displeased. The interference of the formal with the informal means that it is not only a topdown regime but also the everyday lives of people that determine their politics. Participation in the informal is open to everyone, as informal activities, whether they are political, economical or cultural, are always inclusive and heterogeneous. Informal activities exist in the gaps of the formal - they cater to certain demands or desires that the formal system is not able to reach. Participation in the informal allows people to realize the formal system that is surrounding them, to “see between the gaps”.
BRIEEF 11 Kayvvan Sarvi Conccrete Junglee
Noo individual either by thhe tag of preesident or dictator d shouuld not be allowed to impoose a certainn doctrine too a nation. The madness m off these lunattic leaders should be RE EVEALED D to their nattion, Show wing them juust a SLIGH HT portion of the lies that t they havve fed on foor SO MAN NY YEA ARS. The proposal for f a new skkin for the Cuban C Miniistry of Internal Affairss in Havanaa aims to brring back nootions of a nation’s n NO OSTALGIC ISOLATIO ON, temporaal MATERIIAL DEC CADANCE as well as DESIRES D o a SUPRESSED and BRAIN-DA of B AMAGED generation despeerately seekking CHAN NGE in the current c polittical climatee of the Cub ban regim me. Byy REVEALIING the truee state of thhe existing material m connditions, thrrough MAT TERIAL EX XPRESSION N the propoosal aims to criticize a dictatorial d rregime, whiich is operaating under the name of o the Repubblica.
BRIEF 12 Yong Zaek Kwon In-Between The In-Between Space generally uses to control the relationship between Public and Private. Private space is sometimes located on the next to the public space. In the opposite side, this existing relationship could be broken. Through the composition of InBetween conditions the movement of people can be controlled. In-Between spatial conditions have lots of possibilities to control, break the relationship between space and space, between people and people, between architecture and city.
Main Idea When people are standing in front of political charged elements on public spaces, they can feel an incorporeal pressure. Particularly on the site of Plaza de la Revolucion visitors can see every surrounding building on any point in the square, which was built up in the similar period feeling this incorporeal pressure. There is some control of government on the site through its built constructions. In order to break the control of the government over public space the idea is to create mechanisms that create InBetween conditions.
Horizontal In-Between & Vertical Contrast The incorporeal pressure (the power of Communism) is attractive to tourists as the places to feel it are absolutely limited in the world. The level of the existing square is the highest level to feel the pressure. If new design within the square is located upon the ground level, the meaning of the existing square will be disappeared because people cannot feel the pressure from 4 buildings on any point in the square through an interruption of new design. “Horizontal In-Between” is the idea to maximize the relationship between humans and the surrounding governmental buildings. “Vertical Contrast” is the idea to minimized the meanings of political pressure, hierarchy, and maximize freedom (under-control and uncontrolled).