Representing the City: Destruction as an Agent of Design by Etulan Joseph

REPRESENTING THE CITY: DESTRUCTION AS AN AGENT OF DESIGN by Etulan A. Joseph UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT MA ARCHITECTURE PICTURING LONDON

REPRESENTING THE CITY: DESTRUCTION AS AN AGENT OF DESIGN by Etulan A. Joseph

REPRESENTING THE CITY: DESTRUCTION AS AN AGENT OF DESIGN FINAL ESSAY SUBMITTED ON APRIL 30TH, 2019 ETULAN A. JOSEPH [STUDENT I.D. 1708803] UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT MA ARCHITECTURE PICTURING LONDON TUTOR: DR. KRYSTALLIA KAMVASINOU

List of Figures Figure 1

Urban Imagery [Sketch] Courtesy of Writing Cities

Figure 2

Cover of “Townsacpe” by Gordan Cullen [Image] Courtesy of Amazon

Figure 3

Sketches from “Townscape” [Image of sketches] Courtesy of The Architectural Review

Figure 4

Drawings from “The Manhattan Transcripts” by Bernard Tschumi [Drawing] Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art

Figure 5

Leicester Square by Zaha Hadid [Image] Courtesy of zaha Hadid Architects

Figure 6

Depiction og Great London Fire, 1666 by Unknown [Image of painting] Courtesy of Wikipedia

Figure 7

Old Plan Over New Plan of St.Paul’s Cathedral [Drawing] Courtesy of BBC

Figure 8

Remnants of the Silvertown Explosion [Image] Courtesy of The Museum of London

Figure 9

Residential Block Reconstructed by Lebbeus Woods [Drawing] Courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Wordpress

Figure 10

Residential Blocks Reconstructed as Community [Drawing] Courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Wordpress

Figure 11 Burning of the Electrial Management Building and the Salvageable Parliament [Images] Courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Wordpress Figure 12 Radical Reconscturction of UNIS Twin Tower Offices by Lebbeus Woods [Montage] Courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Wordpress Figure 13

The New Parliament by Lebbeus Woods [Drawing] Courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Wordpress

Figure 14

Way Out West Berlin by Peter Cook [Drawing] Courtesy of ArchDaily

Figure 15

Plug-In City by Peter Cook [Drawing] Courtesy of ArchDaily

The Role of Representation in Architecture

Within the realm of architecture, many tools of representation are

employed in order to not only articulate space yet to be tangible but also to understand environments that already exist. Over the years, many of these have become standards such as plans, models and sketches while others are more such as renderings, collage-montage and film. Most of these, if not all, are visual experiences and they have their advantages and disadvantages. Sketches are quick and expressive; plans give scales, models give threedimensional quality to 2D spatial composition. These tools come with their challenges regardless, since each require different skills in order for one to clearly execute the idea theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re representing. These challenges do not only stop with actually using the tool but continues in the actual articulation of the ideas and experiences towards an audience. When representing spaces, the tools used for representation as well as the representational output or production are critical. The tools or a combination thereof, can produce a vast range of outputs that either constructively convey concepts and perceptions or

Therefore, it is critical that architects not only understand the tools of representation but also the power they have in shaping perception.

The Role of Imagery and Representing the City

Architecture doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit in a vacuum; it is situated in a wider built

environment consisting of a multiplicity of spaces with different spatial qualities - atmospheres, landscapes, enclosures, views, sounds and the like. Not only do architects actively engage in this amalgamation of spaces but the public does as well. These spaces have threads of histories, both exposed and hidden, that inform our perceptions of those spaces themselves, and ultimately, informs our perceptions of the city. When representing the city and its stories, as mentioned before, architects need to be critical. These representational tools should be able to properly inform and mediate perceptions, interactions and experiences of the city, be it the ones of the present, past or future. Thus, the aim of the essay is to really explore the potential of using multiple

representational tools and techniques in depicting the urban context, the experiences and the essence of the city. However, if it isn’t obvious, this isn’t the first attempt in representing the city. There have been several historical architectural figures that used representational tools in order to depict urban experiences of cities, including London itself, particularly within the revelation of the idea of the postmodernist utopia.

Around the twentieth century, many architects were attempting to

develop the idea of urban utopia – an efficient homogeneous scheme of spaces, roads, buildings, nature and urban systems. This drive to represent the metropolis increased due to the wars that occurred during the same period. In the course of this era, George Orwell wrote a book “Nineteen Eighty-four”, published in 1938, in which the urban imagery of London is quite substantial, even though this was mainly through text rather than images, as well as the fact that it doesn’t centre the actual writing. Regardless, architects and urbanist took note of this work and began to construct more architectural framework for future work (Collina, 2006). Why? The narrative constructs of Orwell’s work reflect that on the city – the play between modernity and habit, perceived and interpreted from multiple points of view and angles, possessing meaning,

having identity etc. It becomes a series of processes all these characters, producing this expressive urban imagery.

The term “imagery”, however, found its way to architecture and urban

design in 1960, coined by urban architect Kevin Lynch, and used in “The Image of the City”. Lynch defined this word as “a cognitive or mental map or plan that an individual has of a specific city, with its monuments, streets, districts, borders etc. (Lynch, 1960). The term “spatial imagery” was used as a substitute of the aforementioned term, by Lynch himself (ibid). With regards to the city, this imagery is composed through experiences, by travelling throughout the city.

A year after Lynch coined the term “imagery”, Gordan Cullen, an architect

and urban designer published his book, “Townscape”, in which the title was first used; being defined as “the shape of arrangement that is by the design of buildings and roads that creates various emotional levels to the observer. It is the physical visual to recognize the physical form of the city,” (Cullen, 1961). Besides constructing a concept that established itself as critical to architects, urban designers and planners due to principles Cullen developed, produced were a series of drawings that depict the scenery of the city. As seen

Figure 1 Urban Imagery by Kevin Lynch

Figure 2 “Townscape” by Gordan Cullen

Figure 3 Sketches from “Townsacpe” by Gordan Cullen

in Figure 3, Cullen depicted much of the city, of what we can understand of these spaces, their qualities, arrangements through illustrations. “Townscape” became a reference for visually articulating the city for anyone with any kind of visual sense.

Bernard Tschumi was also a significant architect that explored certain

tools and techniques when it came to representing the city. In the 1979 published “Manhattan Transcripts”, Tschumi, through a collection of drawings, portrays series of spaces that have functions and events. This depiction had a lot of similarity to Orwell’s work in the sense that there was this notion of ‘meaning and being’, events, stages. It also had some similarity to Cullen’s work as well. Tschumi showed these spatial experiences through a sequence of scenes, almost like moving images; again, similar to Cullen’s concept of serial vision. What was unique about Tschumi’s work was that it built upon his predecessors. Tschumi incorporated more drawings as well as photography. Additionally, he frequently would create montages of these experiences as well, a method for which is he is known for exploring quite early on in his work. With technological advancements and a rapid change of tools we currently use versus the ones available during the time of Lynch, Cullen and Tschumi,

Figure 4 Drawings from “The Manhattan Transcripts” by Bernard Tschumi

Figure 5 Leicester Square by Zaha Hadid

there are new sets of methods emerging when it comes to presenting urban imagery. In Figure 5, Zaha Hadid has represented Leicester Square in London through digital rendering and drawing. Many current students of architecture and urban design have also imagined and represented their perceptions of various urban spaces. What we see within the contemporary is that as architects and urban designers, most of our current tools are digital and has shaped the relationship between representation, technology and architectural methodologies. This, in turn, has changed the way we perceive urban environments, from the existing ones to those yet to be manifested.

Now, when representing the city, usually, it is very general; thus we have

multiple iterations when it comes to the production of the urban experience of cities - towers, common landmarks and people. To further push this exploration, this essay would look at this topic through the city of London as well as a specific theoretical lens which is destruction as an agent of design. London has been through two world wars and have a tremendous historical legacy that sits in layers. This can be seen as one engages in the city via foot or wheels. However, these narratives and secrets of this illustrious city is usually overlooked when representing the urban experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How has war become

an agent of design in the city of London and how can the urban experiences and qualities of this change be represented?â&#x20AC;? Thus, this essay sets out to examine this question by understanding how war and other destructive events may alter physical arrangement of urban spaces, environments and in turn the experience as well as how have they been represented before. Additionally, how it has been applied within my own work would also be assessed.

Representing the Casualty

The relationship between destruction and the urban city has always

been a complex one that can almost be regarded as parasitical. The destruction of cities have been a mark for the ones who have won the war. There are numerous tragedies from fires to tsunamis to bombings; all fundamental to the destruction and creation of urban zones, centres, form and, in turn, the urban experience. The impact of catastrophic events on the city of London is no different, transcending the physical environment and establishing meaning

as part of the cultural identity of the city. This can be seen from the Great Fire of London, the 1666 conflagration that consumed most of the medieval City of London, destroying the homes of approximately ninety percent of the city’s inhabitants (Schofield, 2011). Not only did this event informed the city’s identity but it also had an effect on the city’s architectural language - from changes on upper floor designs to, more significantly, a change of building materiality (ibid).

In terms of the urban scale, one significant building and space had

a change, St.Paul’s Cathedral which was completely redesigned, including its churchyard which is very public to this day (Davies, 2016). Additionally, some streets were straightened or widened and even new streets were established such as King Street. Such architectural operations on the city has affected perceptions as one moves throughout the areas affected the fire. One could only imagine how different it would be if the facades of buildings were predominantly wood. However, representing this tragedy and the urban experience that can be traced from this is challenging in its own right. The change of the urban language from the 1666 fire took generations to complete, and some cases cannot be seen or felt on initial exploration. Nevertheless, it is

Figure 6 Depiction of Great London Fire, 1666 by Unknown

Figure 7 Drawing of Old Plan Over New Plan of St.Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral Due to the Great Fire of London, 1666

Figure 8 Remnants of the Silvertown Explosion

significant in shaping the city’s form, then and decades later. Likewise, similar events such as the 1917 Silvertown explosion and the 1940 Blitz shaped parts of London’s urban structure. In terms of representing this influence on the urban landscape, one can look particular architects that explore such discourse, that is, presenting urban imagery from the point of destructive events such as war. One of these architects is Lebbeus Woods.

Lebbeus Woods studied the history of the contemporary cities that were

attacked during the Second World War and began drawing forth principles that relate to the reconstruction of cities post-war, particularly looking at Sarajevo, Bosnia. In “Radical Reconstruction” he highlights two principles; the first is to “restore what has been lost to its pre-war condition,” and the second is to “demolish the damage and destroyed buildings and build something entirely new,” (Woods, 1997). He then introduces a third principle which is “the postwar city must create the new from the damaged-old,” (ibid). From this he presents several visual pieces of work that depict this principle. In Figure 9, he represents on a more architectural scale, highlight a residential block and the social change. However, in Figure 10, he takes this to the urban scale, showing many of these blocks as a communal urban space. He continues to

Figure 9 Residential Block Reconstructed by Lebbeus Woods

Figure 10 Residential Blocks Reconstructed as Community by Lebbeus Woods

Figure 11 The burning Electrical Management Building, and the salvageable Parliament by Lebbeus Woods

produce these sort of works, shifting scales of vision. What is also interesting is the multiplicity of tools he used to produce these works. He incorporates photography, line drawings, maps and at times, collages them. This creates a visually thought-provoking work that compels viewers to engage in what can be interpreted from the work. In Figure 12 we see the entire piece that consists of the three aforementioned components. He produced a drawing of a tower that he finds would be suitable for post-war conditions. Besides that is a photograph of the tower as it burns. Immediately there is a visual dialogue occuring between the two. What we see above that photo is a partial strip of a map, believed to be the urban scale of Sarajevo. The three put together form a visual relationship that is cohesive in its appearance and its meaning. Other times, Woods simply presents drawings on the architectural scale but still having the consistency of ideology and his representational style. In Figure 13, he presents his post-war Bosnian parliament, a drawing that seems like more architectural than the previous figure. Yet still, the representation still charges one to confront this order of the new with the order of the old as he continued to explore the tension between of architectural and urban spaces and wars

Figure 12 Radical Reconstruction of UNIS Twin Tower Offices by Lebbeus Woods

Figure 13 The New Parliament by Lebbeus Woods

Figure 14 Way Out West Berlin by Peter Cook

Figure 13 Plug-In City by Peter Cook

and destruction. The works communicated a need to be understood. This representation technique was evolved. The aim was to produce these representational work with a conceptual range that showcases technological, cultural, social and even political context; it essentially was a medium intentionally defining place. Furthermore, it showed the possibilities of hybridization of traditional representation techniques of which was being very much explored at time, not only by Woods by other architects and groups such as Sir Peter Cook and Archigram, Bernard Tschumi and Zaha Hadid. In Figure 14, one can see some similarities in the representation of both Cook and Woods - the hybridization of tools as well as the meaning and depth. Both of these architects shared an overlap of theoretical knowledge when it came to representaion and was influenced by each other during this period of exploring representation in the field and the ideas of post-destruction or the utopian city.

Now, from these drawings and methodologies presented as well as

interpreted from Lebbeus Woods, came the inspiration of what was possible in representing urban experiences that relate to destruction as an agent of design, and bring forth the architectural language that communicates these narratives.

The Application of Woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Representational Technique to my own Toolkit

As mentioned before, London has a layered history of events that has

destroyed almost the entire city or parts of it; in turn influencing the urban form, the urban experience and my own perception of the city. This narrative of destructive events that shaped the city and even possibilities of what may be is what was being drawn out within my own work. Within my own toolkit, referencing Woods in particular, I used multiple mediums of representation such as drawings on paper, photographs - old and new, and mapping to produce my own interpretations of the city and also to highlight the secrets within the urban fabric. It was interesting to see the product of the toolkit itself; it also integrates the process of thoughts as well. In several of these pieces , the urban imagery produced attempts to explore representing these narratives of the built environment through these tools. There is still a bit of abstraction within the work, leaving the production as open to interpretation as possible.

Each of these tools had a reason for its use towards the representation

of the urban experience. With the photographs, there is a play between the times of the events and the contemporary spaces that exist today, similar to the tension that Woods worked with within his own work, though not as intense. The mapping and images from the urban scale, allows for situating oneself into the context being looked at as this relationship with the architecture itself and the urban landscape was important to establish. Drawings and more handwork was added to add a more visual quality to the body of work. It was collaged, not only to draw out the metaphor of layered experiences of the city itself but also as an exploration of the method and how it affects the overall production. With contemporary technological tools at our disposal, it made sense to use these in producing and transforming the work and its effects on its reading. Digitally producing these as well allowed for more of a thematic thread between the work versus one that may have been in chronological order if completely done by hand.

Conclusion

Architecture and the city can be represented in a multitude of ways

through a multitude of representational tools. This applies to what exists and what is yet to become. It is critical that architects understand and explore these tools in not only representation of buildings themselves but of the built environment. It is also critical that these productions hold the meanings and identities of these spaces. Within the city of London, many events that caused destruction has shaped the urban form; destruction has been an agent of design and its traces can at times be seen physically in the urban environment. However, when representing this, it can at times be lost. Inspired by Lebbeus Woods and his pieces on war and architecture and post-war architectural production, I used certain representational tools from drawings to mappings to photography in order to draw out this narrative of destruction relating to the city of London. These works, both final productions and notes, attempts to explore theories and works of representation through this lens that at times is lost within the discourse of architecture. It is hoped that the articulation of these urban histories, narratives and secrets, would contribute to the conversation of representation within architecture as a whole.

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