GABBY COLEMAN
gabby coleman - 2019 m.arch the HOK sponsored studio in building design + craft fall 2018 - spring 2019 kansas state university I dedicate this thesis to my freshman year self. Proud of you, girl.
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alism is a research proje a dialogue about the at institutions of highloring the production o promote multiculturose look at the multiarchitectural space of ge, this thesis offers nsform collegiate idenmunity centers that celough breaking bread e ritual of food prepa-
breaking bread – the execution of the ritual of food preparation and an intentional conversation
This thesis project proposes reorienting multicultural centers towards the production of food and eating together to become sites of social connection where multicultural students and community members can find opportunities to interact in informal conversation. It lays out a serious of programmatic and spatial opportunities that can be taken to activate diversity centers as civic assets. It also aims to illustrate how these opportunities can expand through campus to form a network of educational, recreational, meeting, and green spaces to support an intersectional community. In order to understand what a food-oriented multicultural student center can do and be at Kansas State, this thesis undertook a significant engagement process, beginning with one-on-one interviews with student leaders and faculty administrators. These leaders and the issues they raised led to connections between the concept of ‘social justice’ and ‘skin color’ rooted in their personal experiences, each with a unique perspective on spaces of multiculturalism. These interviews led to an art installation of twenty-two colored panels created to investigate of the social dynamic of skin color. As Promoting Multiculturalism progressed, it became clear that realizing a physical intervention was key to establishing proof of concept. After analyzing two sites, the existing, 7,000 square foot Holtz Hall was chosen. Here, a strong desire to enjoy its status as one of the oldest building on campus site, re-imagining it as a host to student development emerged from analyzing existing site geometries and the future campus plan. Seizing this aspiration, this project proposes a new site diagram with existing building holding teaching kitchens and large gathering spaces while the new building reveals staff and student spaces. The newly framed exterior spaces emerge as microclimates in service of food and shared conversation.
ABSTRACT
Promoting Multiculturalism is a research project that seeks to create a dialogue about the climate of diversity at institutions of higher education by exploring the production of spaces intending to promote multiculturalism. By taking a close look at the multicultural center – the architectural space of cross-cultural exchange, this thesis offers ideas that can help transform collegiate identity centers into community centers that celebrate difference through breaking bread – the execution of the ritual of food preparation and an intentional conversation.
Terms such as “multicultural,” “diversity,” and “inclusion”mean different things to different individuals and groups, and thus coming to consensus about absolute definitions of such terms is difficult. For the purpose of this thesis, please reference the following definitions:
Inclusion is involvement and empowerment, where the inherent worth and dignity of all people are recognized. An inclusive university promotes and sustains a sense of belonging; it values and practices respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its members.1 Intersectionality is the theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual.2 Marginalization is the process of pushing a particular group or groups of people to the edge of society by not allowing them an active voice, identity, or place in it. Through both direct and indirect processes, marginalized groups may be relegated to a secondary position or made to feel as if they are less important than those who hold more power or privilege in society.3 Culture is the way of life of a particular people, esp. as shown in their ordinary behavior and habits, their attitudes toward each other, and their moral and religious beliefs. The term culture originates from cultivation, implying that one has grown through an experience. Multiculturalism is the co-existence of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary behaviors, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and communicative styles.4 Social justice is the equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.5 https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/administration/president/DiversityOffice/Definitions.htm. Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/intersectionality. Accessed December 10, 2018. 3 http://counselingcenter.syr.edu/social-justice/impact-of-marginalization.html. Accessed December 10, 2018 4 https://www.ifla.org/publications/defining-multiculturalism. Accessed December 10, 2018 5 https://www.pachamama.org/social-justice/what-is-social-justice. Accessed December 10, 2018 Image accessed December 9, 2018. https://dyscorporate.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/usingthethird-place-philosophy-to-strengthen-your-brand/ and www.unsplash.com 1 2
ABSTRACT
Diversity is the range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.1
The history of culture States stems from the e of color at predomina demanding a space w a community amongs same identity. Origina cial movements in the 6 tity centers on college c arise from a lack of cu learning spaces we in ture itself has become institutional mainstay
centers in the United emergence of students antly white institutions where they can build st those that share the ally stemming from so60’s and the 70’s, idencampuses consistently ultural humility in the nhabit. The infrastruce [the background] an that provides services
Introduction Promoting Multiculturalism lives within the boundary of reality and fantasy. There are students at K-State who do not feel welcome, comfortable, or that they belong. The multicultural student center is a result of the lack of emphasis in addressing multiculturalism as it realized through the actions of our student body and the slow advancement in the promotion of social justice by our administration. Although the multicultural student center is a project that will emerge from the strategic planning of focus groups, financial support of campus partners, and diligent design from architecture firms like Hollis + Miller projected to be finished by the end of the summer 2020 term, it is my assessment that an evaluation of the way bodies exists in space is critical allowing this building to exist as a ‘third place’.2 Coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, third places are spaces where people spend time between home – ‘first’ place – and work ‘second’ place. Third places effectively strengthen community because they refuse to rely on constructed identities like social class and background to divide spaces, allowing people to feel socially equal.2 I am interested in what it feels like to have a space that supports identity and the role architecture can play in establishing this standard of care. The history of diveristy centers The history of diversity centers in the United States stems from the emergence of students of color at predominantly white institutions demanding a space where they can build a community amongst those that share the same identity. Originally stemming from social movements in the 60’s and the 70’s, identity centers on college campuses consistently arise from a lack of cultural humility in the learning spaces we inhabit.3 The infrastructure itself has become an institutional mainstay that provides services and programs to the entire campus community, personifying the increased support for diversity initiatives, programming, and the academic triumph of multicultural students. The absolute standard for diversity centers should remain as spaces of nurture and mutual respect. Unfortunately, the demand for adequate space is not always addressed with care. Minoritized students request spaces of their own at predominantly white institutions and administrators, in an effort to appease their demands and to seem welcoming in a world of quickly increasing diversity, continue to designate various campus spaces to these students. The precedent has become churches and houses purchased and quickly reformed as identity specific spaces. These tiny appeasements were positive steps rather than solutions.3
College and universities have the influence to become agents in re-socialization. The historical vestiges of higher institutions continue to affect the modern climate for racial diversity on college campuses. Our campuses sustain long-standing, often unrecognized, benefits for particular student groups embedded in the culture of a historically segregated environment. The maintenance of outdated campus policies at predominantly white institutions that best serve a homogeneous population and attitudes that prevent interaction across race and ethnicity instill a spatial divide.3 Higher education institutions must decide whether it will continue to merely reflect our society or whether it should try to consciously shape the society as active changemakers. Butler, Stuart and Carmen Diaz. “‘Third places’ as community builders.” https://www.brookings. edu/blog/up-front/2016/09/14/third-places-as-community-builders/ . 3 Weed, Jessica. “The Culture of a (Multi)Culture Center: A Quantitative Analysis of the Use of a Multicultural Center at a PWI.” https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article= 1267&context=cehsedaddiss. Accessed December 10, 2018.
College and universities have the influence to become agents in re-socialization.
BACKGROUND
2
BACKGROUND
This project emerged from an observed need and an art instillation.
An Observed Need at K-State Surveys: http://www.k-state.edu/ president/initiatives/multicultural-center/group-survey/. Accessed December 10, 2018. 2 Butler, Stuart and Carmen Diaz. “‘Third places’ as community builders.” https://www.brookings. edu/blog/upfront/2016/09/14/third-places-as-community-builders/ Images: Accessed December 9, 2018. http://www.k-state.edu/ facilities/projects/planning/ master_ plans/2025_plan/K-State%20 Campus%20MP%20Report_v13_ FINAL.pd and www. unsplash.com
As the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs continues to spearhead the curation of specific programming intended to identify, recruit, retain, and graduate multicultural and first-generation students2, there is a growing concern among current students, faculty and administrative leaders that prospective students will continue to pass on the opportunity to join the K-State community as our institution remains the only school in the Big 12 conference that does not have any iteration of a space dedicated specifically to multicultural students.2 The significance of this center transcends the building envelop as the structure itself is intended to personify K-State’s dedication to advance student success while upholding our values of diversity and inclusion. Student Surveys The thoughts and feelings that populate our reality are constantly forming patterns of interactions from our continual engagement with the environment. As K-State makes strides to illustrate a space that is welcoming, comfortable, and provides a sense of belonging to students who have been historically underrepresented, it is critical that we acknowledge and analyze the feelings of students and the campus community to define potential outcomes for spaces.
These group surveys1 were specifically designed for student groups, faculty and staff groups, and departments that would want to actively participate in center programming and activities. Over fifty percent of students feel a center that advances student success, diversity, inclusion, and social justice will at significantly contribute to their personal growth and community engagement.
Over thirty percent of students feel while K-State adequately supports reflection on issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice somewhat well in coursework, reflection is poorly.
Over thirty percent of students feel while K-State adequately supports education on issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice somewhat well in coursework, education is poorly addressed with appropriate space. Over thirty-five percent of students feel while K-State adequately supports action on issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice somewhat well in coursework, action is poorly addressed with appropriate space. Over forty-five percent of students feel that services and programs for student success, cultural competency development programs and events for students, faculty, and staff, community outreach activities that advance social justice, diversity, and inclusion, and services to support recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff are very important. Over thirty percent of students feel that meeting and conference spaces for faculty, staff and visitors and informal gathering spaces are important.
BACKGROUND
Over sixty percent of students feel a center advances student success, diversity, inclusion, and social justice should serve race/ethnicity, international, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity/expression, and socio-economic status affinity/identity groups.
MORE THAN
A COLOR
MORE THAN A COLOR a public art installation
This collection of panels aims to host a conversation about skin color by choreographing chance encounters between people and art. The term ‘social justice’ is realized headshots and personal testimonies. A rendered graphic projects the social dynamic of skin color through a signlike panel.
Original Photography: Desmund Weathers Videography: Savannah Thaemert Models: Laken Horton, Tyler Burns, Francisco Cardoza, Bailey Porter, Michael Leverett, Xavier Deguzman, Paloma Roman, Darrell Reese, Tayyeba Muhammad Khan, Tristan Davis, Ayanna Phillips, Mario Garcia, Trihn Tran, Adam Carr, Evelyn Lucio, Grant Thompson, Jordan Kiehl, and Ryan Kelly Creative director: Gabby Coleman Artist & site designer: Gabby Coleman
My first iterations focused on finding the "appropriate" way to display a face. My first model, Alexa, stands next to a few of my final pieces. Early mockups are protrayed above.
the beginning As a female person of color in a predomintely white + male field of study, I've struggled to feel like my voice carried the same weight as my peers since my first year of architecture school. It wasn't until the end of my third year and the beginning of my fourth year, during a time of racial tension, that I noticed that my peers weren't involved and speaking out the issues that affected me daily - topics like diversity, inclusion, and identity just weren't being talked about, and there was little support for these converstion within my college. It was then that I vowed I would use the rest of my time in architecture school to be a voice for my fellow students of color and other marginalized identities with the hope that people would simply pay attention.
ART INSTALLATION
(below) cognitive mapping: My final design studio began with an art instillation rather than a traditional architecuture project. We were instructed to find a site and disclose something about it. I created this collage to communicate the spaces that have impacted my identity during my time at K-State in order to reveal an intersection that could allow me to face my fear of sharing my story and make space for others to do the same.
(right) Site plan and diagramming: Bosco Plaza has a unique pattern of pedestrian traffic during peak class changes. It is most appropriate to passively disrupt people by placing the art at the intersections of paths. (below) Site photography: Bosco Plaza is seen through a variety of views. It's a large, rectangular hardscape with multicolored concrete pavers framed by trees.
site analysis
ART INSTALLATION
I found I was interested in disclosing something about social justice in the most signfigant intersection on campus, Bosco Plaza. It's the host to overlapping actions like student and community group events and major pedestrian flows in and out of the Student Union. Bosco Plaza is an edge for adminastrative change (Anderson Hall) and student opinion (Student Union).
public art + vision Through preliminary research, I concluded that public art is a disruption with a point of view. Public art allows us to capitalize on the socially-unaware. It is a means to reach people in their everyday enviroments and confront them with social justice. Social justice is a structure that acknowledges the inequalities present in a community based on perceived & factual identities, adocating for equality. Physical appearance is used as a basis to seperate people through assessed differences. This project emerges as a means to disclose something about social justice on the K-State campus via the interpretation of phyiscal appearance. "more than a color" arose from this idea. (below) preliminary rendering The rendering below describes my inclination that students will engage in conversation about social justice if provoked by a an exibition of art work portraying their peers.
ART INSTALLATION
a concept
more than
image story panel
a color
breaking down the image Once I discovered my platform, my next move was to establish a consistent narrative. The image begins with a photograph taken by my friend Desmund. The initial photographs were shot outside with the intention to capture the way shadows cast across the models faces'. Each photograph was manipulated in Illustrator and rendered using 16 colors image tracing in order to reduce the color story to a consistent palette. The color stories were edited to benefit the overall composition before painting. Each rendering was projected onto the yellow panels and handpainted, and the colors were individually-mixed for each face and applied from lights to darks. Each face and its color swatches were adjusted as the composition developed. The words were carefully lettered, sharing two to three sentences of the models' story. Each painting took approxiamately 10 - 15 hours to complete.
(below) original image and render Original image by Desmund Weathers next to AI image trace
ART INSTALLATION
(left) final panel The panels are hosted by a steel frame. The steel frames have four steel plates that wrap the frame, like fingers holding a protest sign, to hide the bolted connections.
"I always try to go into situations knowing the color of my skin dictates how people see me, but I try to let my personality outshine the color of my skin. My skin color doesn’t necessarily determine what I am and what I’m not. MY PERSONALITY AND SPIRIT ARE WHO I AM, AND MY SKIN COLOR IS A BONUS." - Laken Horton
THE STORIES
"Being mixed, in a lot of ways, it made things easier than that of a darker-skinned black person. SOMETIMES, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WHOLE BLACK RACE. In my head, I must make sure I’m being better than the stereotype. I’m always thinking about that." - Tyler Burns
"Skin color - that’s like the first thing you see right? There’s so much more to me. That’s like judging a book by its cover. It’s a cliché, but it’s the truth. THERE’S SO MUCH MORE TO PEOPLE THAT WHAT’S ON THE OUTSIDE. You shouldn’t worry about it – the outside. We should worry about character and value." - Francisco Cardoza
"I have very light skin, so a lot of people didn’t realize it or think that I was Asian. I never really confronted them about that either, I just kind of lived my life. I’M STILL NOT SOMEBODY WHO IDENTIFIES A LOT WITH THEIR SKIN COLOR as much, but I’m more receptive to how people perceive me and also the privilege that I have being more light-skinned than other people of color." - Bailey Porter
ART INSTALLATION
"Even though my skin color affects how I move around the world, I AM MORE THAN WHAT OTHERS MAY SEE IN ME. People automatically have assumptions based on what we look like and it may not be my skin color - it could be the shape of my head, how I walk or how I talk – it’s but especially my skin tone." - Michael Leverett
"I’m half Filipino and half Mexican, so WHEN I DO SIT IN THE CLASSROOM AND LOOK LEFT AND RIGHT, THERE ARE NOT MANY PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME. That’s made me have to adapt and get comfortable with the uncomfortable. It’s made me who I am." - Xavier 'X' Deguzman
images by Desmund Weathers
"I THINK THE UNIVERSITY CAN USE YOU AS THE TOKEN IMAGE OF A CERTAIN REPRESENTATION. I get to be one of the individuals that paves a path for my community. Although I try to use my platform for the better, it can be tiring. " - Paloma Roman
"I DIDN’T REALLY START COMING INTO MYSELF, MY SKIN COLOR, AND MY BLACKNESS UNTIL I GOT TO K-STATE – THE FIRST PLACE WHERE I FELT MARGINALIZED AND THE REAL EFFECTS OF RACISM, harsh remarks and microaggressions. I saw it face-to-face. It happened to me." - Darrell Reese
"When I was in Pakistan, my physical appearance was normal – the way I look and the way I speak. When I came here, I felt like a single piece. I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT I AM STILL A NORMAL PERSON." - Tayyeba Muhammad Khan
"I REPRESENT THE MISCONSTRUED IMAGE OF A BLACK MAN, AND I’M OFTEN PERCEIVED AS A THREAT. That’s just surface level - you must get to know me to understand who I am.
THE STORIES
"YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR COLOR WHEN YOU USE YOUR COLOR TO DEFY STEREOTYPES, STEP OUT OF YOUR OWN BOUNDARIES AND CREATE EXPERIENCES FOR YOURSELF AND FOR OTHER PEOPLE. It’s being an example for other people." - Ayanna Phillips
"Great leadership opportunities have come my way during my five years at K-State, but BEING A PERSON OF A MULTICULTURAL BACKGROUND, I FELT AN OBLIGATION TO BE, IF ANYTHING, A GOOD ROLE MODEL FOR FUTURE STUDENTS." - Mario Garcia
images by Desmund Weathers
ART INSTALLATION
- Tristan Davis
"Being a minority, I UNDERSTAND THAT I SHOULDN’T COMPARE MYSELF WITH OTHER GROUPS. MY SUCCESSES ARE MY OWN STORIES, and whatever work I put in are my responsibilities. " - Trinh Tran
"It’s something that has been defined for you, when people see your color, they have created the definition of who you are from it. I am more than that in every sense. I CREATE THE STORIES THAT MY IDENTITIES HOLD, AND I GIVE THEM MEANING AND I GIVE THEM POWER, I CAN’T ALLOW OTHERS TO DO THAT, and so I think that, in that moment, I am more than my color."
THE STORIES
- Adam Carr
"People throw around stereotypes like 'you're not brown enough or you're the light-skinned Mexican'. WHEN PEOPLE SEE ME SPEAKING SPANISH, THEY ASSUME THAT I AM MIXED. AT FIRST, I WAS EMBARRESSED TO SPEAK SPANISH BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THOSE COMMENTS. Now, I'm just like, hey, I'm Mexican - we all come in different shapes and colors. People have an idea of what Mexicans should look like, and I'm glad I can represent a different side of that." - Evelyn Lucio
"Being a white man on K-State's campus has probably helped me in ways I don't even realize. BEYOND SKIN COLOR, BEING A GAY MAN ON THIS CAMPUS PLAYS INTO MY APPEARANCE AS WELL - the way I dress, the way I act, and the way I move. I've definitely had to adjust how I see myself becuase of how people see me." - Grant Thompson
ART INSTALLATION
"I have a lot of privilege in this world. For me, SOCIAL JUSTICE IS USING MY PRIVILEGE TO ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS. When we talk about skin color or race, that’s not enough to understand where they come from and how that’s shaped their experience at K-State." - Jordan Kiehl
"Am I being too white for the black people? Am I being too black for the white people? I FIND MYSELF IN THIS CONSTANT TUG OF WAR, AND IT HAS PRESENTED CHALLENGES NOT ONLY IN THE WAY I VIEW MY IDENTITY BUT ALSO IN THE WAY I APPROACH LEADERSHIP." - Ryan Kelly
images by Desmund Weathers
Identity centers remain a modern building type.
BACKGROUND
Identity centers remain a modern building type. The absolute standard for diversity centers should remain as spaces of nurture and mutual respect, but unfortunately, many diversity centers are crammed into spaces created without intention for their specific use. In order to create a successful multicultural center at K-State, the programmatic lenses of the project should be considered. A multicultural student center should reflect culture, support education, and ultimately celebrate dining. By reviewing the programmatic elements and design factors that construct these precedents, this multicultural center can embody the needs of its campus community.
Program components
Welcome area
The following characteristics share an explicit expectation of the main spatial types and identity group. Descriptions consider the absolute standards of spatial types, client needs, committee suggestions, and personal experience.
Shared lounge space within the building - the entryway. This space should be designed to operate as a welcome area providing space for both comfort and interaction and be highly flexible. May also be for concentrated study space and group work Furnishings: Casual soft seating, movable lounge fur-
niture, natural daylighting, fluorescent, task, and recessed lighting, mix of soft flooring and tile, access to data, telephone, audio/visual equipment Design considerations: Contains reception desk staffed by student worker, visibility from building entry. Daylight highly desirable
The ‘great room’ Non-reservable, flexible and informal space for study relaxation, encourage collaborative work, and dining Furnishings: Different types of furniture that can rearranged for the task at hand and to regulate privacy and openness. Consider providing electronic displays and other technologies for group MSO The Multicultural Student Office is used by over 30 student organizations. There are four core organizations that have their own workspaces: Black Student Union (BSU), Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO), Native American Student Association (NASA), and Asian American Student Union (AASU).
and individual work Design considerations: Variety of different meeting spaces on the first floor. Lounge space should be able to be broken up into smaller spaces with individual and unique character
Informal lounge and tile, access to data, telephone, audio /visual equipment Design considerations: Acoustical separation from study area is desired
Flex offices / meeting spaces Private office space requiring space to engage in confidential conversations as well as long periods of focused work. Private office for one person including desk, chair, with two or three visitors chairs Furnishings: Desk and task chair, visitors chairs, soft flooring for comfort/acoustics, convenience outlets, Diversity + multicultural student affairs staff The Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs office provides leadership in building an inclusive campus climate that fosters mutual understanding among diverse groups.
fluorescent and ask lighting. Telephone, data connection, white boards Design considerations: Provide acoustical privacy with a lockable door
BACKGROUND
Designed to operate as a welcoming area, providing space for both comfort and interaction, and be highly flexible. May also be for concentrated study space and group work Furnishings: Casual soft seating, movable lounge furniture, natural daylighting, fluorescent, task, and recessed lighting, mix of soft flooring
Reception Serves as the primary hub of information, security, and communication within the DMSA as well as provides general information for the rest of the building. Should be located The Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs office provides leadership in building an inclusive campus climate that fosters mutual understanding among diverse
groups. Near door on the first level and accessible 24 hours a day Furnishings: ADA accessible reception desk with two workstations at desk, access to natural daylight, convenience outlets, telephone/ data access. Design considerations: Adjacent to DMSA; visibility to and from main building entry
Conference room General meeting space for up to 25 occupants, to accommodate formal/informal meetings, presentations, teleconferencing, and other student organization-related activities Furnishings: Natural daylighting desirable, ability to control views into space, access to data, telephone, power, and presentation technology. Dimmable lighting, white boards / writable surfaces,
projection screens, acoustical separation from surrounding spaces, convenience outlets Design considerations: Located for convenient access to newcomers. Visibility of active meetings via transparent walls or windows will convey the sense of activity. Transparency will make it easier to allow informal individual or group activities when formal meetings are not scheduled
Group work area Flexible group work area for expansive task and collaborative projects Furnishings: Work surfaces and cabinets for supply storage. Photocopier, telephone, computer workstation, fax machine, power outlets. Design considerations:
Lockable door. Consider a service counter with rolling shutter. Adjacent to general storage.
Practice rooms
Kitchen Flexible environment to host teaching and catering kitchen spaces Furnishings: Fluorescent lighting, humidity control, odor control, washable finishes, hot and cold water, sounds isolation from adjacent surrounding spaces, convenience outlets, food production equipment Design considerations: Convenient access to and from building loading dock. Storage Space dedicated to shared general storage of departmental supplies and equipment Furnishings: Built—in shelves to accommodate a variety of storage options Design considerations: Lockable door
Natural daylighting is not necessary. Contains prep, receiving, dishwashing, walk-in cooler, walk-in freezer, and dry storage spaces
BACKGROUND
Space dedicated to practice and performance. Used by multicultural student organizations and multicultural Greek life. Furnishings: Built—in shelves to accommodate a variety of storage options, acoustic system, large mirrors Design considerations: Acoustic barrier, preferably on first floor with adjacent outdoor area
BREAKING BREAD: A CONCEPT
Food is the physical manifestation of our relationship with the natural world – where culture and ecology intersect.
Culture manifested through eating If architecture is a manifestation and expression of culture, it must acknowledge and respond to the cultural needs and values of the society it interacts with. The term “culture” originates from “cultivation”, implying that one has grown through an experience.1 The Encyclopedia of Philosophy shares that culture is “the whole way of life, material, intellectual, and spiritual or a given society.1Culture should be understood as an involvement of the entire way of life of a society. As a cultural system, isolated quantitative relationships between different aspects of culture become less important than the qualitative relationships within the overall system.1 Like the body, cultures are a matrix of aspects, and cohesion is necessary to achieve comfort. This system cannot be understood out of context. The culture of the individual is dependent upon the culture of a group or class, and the culture of the group or class is dependent upon the culture of the whole society to which that group or class belongs. Therefore, it is the culture of the society that is fundamental, and it is the meaning of the term “culture” in relation to the whole society that should be examined first.” With many factors intersecting within one system, it can be difficult to make an informed decision on which system or culture holds precedent. Questions like the few below emerged: Where is equity present? How do we design a diversity center which celebrates multiculturalism without discouraging the integration of students who identify as the dominant white majority? How do we design a diversity center that serves as a vessel of knowledge for the community without placing students of color on a stage? The solution may lie in ‘culture’ itself. Philosopher Alva Noe to explain our bodies ties to our culture. He discloses “just as we will not draw such a boundary around the individual organism itself, the environment of the organism will include not only the physical environment but also the cultural habitat of the organism”.2 In the study of architectural form, understanding our society should include a review of those aspects of culture which have influence over form. If architecture is an expression of culture, it must acknowledge and respond to the needs and values of the society it interacts with. We embody culture, so understanding culture begins with the human organism. Hurtado, Sylvia, Jeffrey F. Milem, Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, and Walter R. Allen (bio). “ Enhancing Campus Climates for Racial/Ethnic Diversity”. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/30049. Accessed December 10, 2018. 2 Robinson, Sarah. “Nested Bodies.” Mind in Architecture: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design (2015), edited by Sarah Robinson and Juhani Pallasma. The MIT Press (2015): 137-159. 1
How do we design a diversity center which celebrates multiculturalism without discouraging the integration of majority groups?
BREAKING BREAD: A CONCEPT
Where is equity present?
How do we design a diversity center that serves as a vessel of knowledge for the community without placing students of color on a stage?
all images accessed Feb 21, 2019. https://news.nationalgeographic. com/2015/10/151016-kitchens-world-food-day-cooking-pictures-photography/#/10kitchensgallery.jpg
Multiculturalism manifested through food performance Food is the physical manifestation of our relationship with the natural world – where culture and ecology intersect. We have a history of gathering around the preparation and consumption of food, and the celebratory nature of food is universal. I’ve discovered that multiculturalism, as a design concept, has an opportunity to be manifested through eating, tying student need and my observations together. Building a space that nurtures diverse social contact should be centered around the celebration of food because eating affords us a social experience. We have a history of gathering around the preparation and consumption of food. Our first human interaction as is a human is about food, and every culture and religion use food as a part of their celebration. Food is no longer reduced to power or survival, it confers the status and identity with which we distinguish ourselves from others at the same time gives us the sense of community we seek. Cooking affords a performance. The human is the only animal species that surrounds its food with rituals and takes account of hunger among others who are not direct relatives - the table makes us human. The dining table is a place of memory – of who we are and
This discovery led to a refined inquiry: How does examining the intersection of the preparation of meals and the production of space inform designing spaces that promote multiculturalism? Through interviews with both students and faculty and personal observation, I discovered the greatest needs are a space to gather with a really good kitchen and a space to practice performance. My understanding of promoting multiculturalism through breaking bread adds an additional layer – spaces in support of food and the conversation.
BREAKING BREAD: A CONCEPT
with whom we are – an endless succession of memories and associations. Like the table is a symbol of gathering, this building has an opportunity to emerge as a means to cultivate relationships manifested through the choreography of food celebration and performance. In this way, food functions symbiotically as a communicative practice by which we create, manage and share meanings with others.
The first reinterview Mario Garcia III “People might assume that I speak Spanish, and I don’t, but I’m still Hispanic, and I do have a brown pigmentation to my skin. There’s a significant gap to what you look like and what you do.” “I would be surprised if multicultural people in general didn’t have at least one memory that had to do with food. For me, every Christmas eve, we would get together at my grandma’s house and make traditional Mexican food for dinner. We would get there around the afternoon, cook until the evening, and eat around dinner time, and that was how we were raised. There were multiple Sundays in my childhood where all my family would get together, and we would have lunch. We would all bring food, and most of the time, it was all Mexican food. [There’s] A lot of significance in food in terms of cultural connectivity and experiences.” “I believe at the base of multicultural people, you will find a lot of comradery in the kitchen. When we would make food, its obviously in the kitchen, but a lot can be said about being surrounded by people. In all of my time seeing my family members cook, it was always with other people – it’s not an [isolated] activity – it’s multiple people at one time in an area conversing – a fellowship
taking place in the constraints of a home – in the kitchen.” “My favorite place in our house was the kitchen countertop, and my favorite place to sit is a kitchen countertop, right by the sink because you see a lot. There’s something that needs to be said about the way that you eat, how it nourishes the body and energizes the person, and with that energy, you converse and building relationships. It starts there –“ From Mario and the re-inerviews, a few important conclusions emerged: Multiculturalism exists in spaces that support the vulnerable intersection of people. Multiculturalism creates space to experience the life of another person along side of them. Multiculturalism carries a unique significance in comparison to skin color. There’s a significant gap to what you look like and what you do. Multiculturalism manifested in architecture looks like preparing meals and eating together.
BREAKING BREAD: A CONCEPT
The idea of breaking bread directed my reinterviews. I constructed the basic needs of culture from this process.
How can the edge conditions of space frame an icon of multiculturalism? A multicultural student center is one component of the needed infrastructure to advance diversity and inclusion at K-State, and determining an appropriate site is the first step in conveying support. Intentional site selection is an exercise of preserving self. The location of the multicultural center is significant and ultimately personifies the university’s care for its students, faculty, and community. An institution that promotes valuing their student body’s academic achievement and persistence should consider students’ proximity and sense of connectedness to campus resources. In this section, the site forces are unveiled through an explicit site analysis of the proposed site as it currently hosts Holtz Hall, history and geography’s role choregraphing the multicultural student center as it emerges from the site, and the consideration of the 2025 master plan as it influences circulation. The multicultural student center at K-State has the opportunity to establish new social norms as a new anchor on the campus landscape, a living commitment to celebrating diversity, inclusion, and social culture in higher education.
Campus history Kansas State University, formerly Bluemont College, was founded in 1858. In 1863, the institution became a land grant college whose primary purpose was to research and determine which plants could be cultivated and grown in the Kansas Prairie landscape and to provide the information to the general public. As a primary feature of the campus landscape, shelterbelts also referred to as windbreaks, provided an essential function for the landscape of the campus by protecting human habitat, agricultural lands and livestock from winter and summer winds. Shelterbelts consisted of native and common varieties that would give protection for more select tree species in future plantings. Among the research conducted on campus, a central focus was Horticulture. The primary objective of campus research at thetime was to test the adaptability of eastern tree species in the Kansas landscape. Other important research included: grain, fertilizer, tilling, feeding, animal production and milk production. Much of the historic tree canopy was planted not as a part of an organized landscape plan, but incrementally as an experimental nursery of trees and shrubs. Because of this, the landscape was more of an evolutionary one, taking advantage of opportunities to enhance the campus as they came about.1 The history of K-State’s campus landscape presents a unique precedent of our school’s character. If the grounds were intended to serve as a “living laboratory for students and faculty”, what impact does the persistent avoidance of campus climate issues, especially those rooted in identity, play in the stugraphic information reproduced and reformated; exercpt originally from 2025 Campus Master Plan Report, pg. 32-35; Accessed November 16th, 2018. http:// www.k-state.edu/facilities/projects/planning/master_plans/2025_plan/
CRE EK B LV D. The Manhattan campus is made up of three distinctive zones: the Historic Core Campus, Mid-Campus, and the North Campus. The Historic Core Campus was the area first developed for academic use and includes the oldest buildings on campus. On the west side of the Historic Core Campus, the Kramer Complex consists of traditional residence halls and a dining center. On the east side, the Derby and Strong complexes comprise traditional residence halls and suites, as well as two dining centers. This zone also comprises the majority of the academic undergraduate experience. The Mid-Campus is located between the Historic Core Campus and Kimball Avenue. This area is home to the College of Veterinary Medicine and is immediately adjacent to the 25-acre KSU Research Park and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. Jardine Apartments are located west of Denison Avenues in this zone. An area of athletics and recreation use between Denison and College Avenues and south of Kimball Avenue provides facilities for the more active aspects of campus life. North of Kimball Avenue is the North Campus. This zone of the campus is mostly used for agricultural, veterinary, and research activities. This site is located within the Historic Core Campus and is among the primary academic buildings.
N. M A N H AT TA N AV E.
D E N I S O N AV E.
CO L L E G E AV E.
dent experience. The site’s historical relationship to themes like ‘shelter’ and ‘evolution’ can be applied formally to the intention of the center, an intersection of history and growth. M A R L AT T AV E. Campus zones
A N D E R S O N AV E.
Hale Library
Holtz Hall
Eisenhower Hall
Seaton Hall Anderson Hall
axon sketch, original form c. final iteration Pen on trace
Bob often says that it is critical to learn something about our site that no one else does, and I discovered that proposing a contemporary intervention of Holtz Hall presents an opportunity to give identity to a forgotten space while reflect the complexity of the environment and to enjoying its status as oldest building on campus site reimagining it as a host to student development.
Site location Through the process of inviting broad campus participation, the one of the Multicultural Center Planning Group’s (MCPG) most significant findings disclosed that students and faculty & staff feel location matters. The MCPG’s recommendation for a proper site is as follows: “the location of the center should be central to the direction of campus growth and development and positioned to be well-supported and sustainable.1” Access to food, proximity to student services and edges of space should also be considered. Holtz Hall Holtz Hall, which was built under the Morrill Act creating land grant colleges, is one of the oldest buildings on campus. This site is located within the Historic Core Campus and is among the primary academic buildings. Holtz Hall originally housed the Department
Identity centers often emerge from existing campus buildings. of Chemistry after its construction in 1876. It was also home to counseling services and a women’s gymnasium. The building’s namesake is “Doc” Holtz, who was known for informally advising students on career, financial and personal matters. He worked at K-State 35 years, beginning in 1919, both as a teacher and as a freshman football coach. Identity centers often emerge from existing campus buildings. This thesis program considers not only the use of the land that Holtz Hall currently occupies but a contemporary intervention of the historic building itself. Holtz Hall nests within a landscape of academic and administrative buildings whose services support the need for a multicultural student center and possesses a unique independence from governance. Holtz Hall has the opportunity to becomes like a ruin, the stage for culinary performance, and a host to diverse interactions.
Holtz Hall exists in a complex network of interdependent forces. In order to understand the forces as they impact the buildable site and context, a series of art pieces and diagrams were composed. Natural physical features, man-made features, circulation, utlities, location, neighborhood content, size and zoning, sensory, human and cultural, and climate conditions , both present and future, were investigated. This exercise produced design opportunities as the building began to emerge from its site.
site layers, a series c. 2019 Acylic and pencil on black matboard Site abstractions inspired by the painting principles of Kazimir Malevich seen to the left render the interesection layers of site forces that reveal site affordances. This process influenced partis and evolved from the method of production utilized during my art installation.
A second set of diagrams, this set produced with pen on trace, is an example of a contextual analysis recording both hard and soft information, revealing potential design responses. The placement of spaces due to (from left to right) tree canopies, semi-privacy, contexual uses, site forces, internal relationships, external relationships, existing geometries, controlled views, activites requiring a view to the outside, activities needing to be near circulation, and major circulation were investigated.
original site partis c. 2019 Pen on trace My efforts for the first review of the semester, with specific interest in concept and site, were focused around addressing the question – how does understanding the ways out bodies occupy space inform promoting multiculturalism through eating together? The most significant insight given to me was that the most appropriate way in which the form emerges from the site relies on my narrative. I was actively seeking justification in my decision to maintain or demolish Holtz Hall as it presently exists on its site. I proposed a contemporary intervention with no definitive reason as to why it was necessary and how multiculturalism informed this decision. The few that advocated for its preservation offered that Holtz Hall could emerge as a ruin and a new building or series of buildings could assist in providing adequate space for multicultural students. Navigating these opposing views encouraged revisiting the narrative to inform the necessary site changes.
SITE ANALYSIS + PARTIS
The “great room” is th the concept of a ‘cross-c plicitly. A lobby pushe south pedestrian corri dents and community overhead plane frame tween the lobby and th itors move into the ‘gr ic structure is unveiled re-programmed to sup ings, programs, and A semi-permeable scre
he space that upholds cultural exchange’ exed against the north/ idor captures mso stumembers alike. A low es the connection behe ‘great room’. As visreat room’, the histor[the intervention] and pport studying, meetcultural celebrations. een divides the public
The final iteration intentionally engages with the strong pedestrian axis, shaping the dynamic urban edge, + creating renewed gathering spaces. context map, manhattan, ks
site plan c. final iteration Digitally rendered hand-drafted image
Newly-framed exterior spaces emerge as microclimates in service of food and shared conversation. As Promoting Multiculturalism progressed, it became clear that realizing a physical intervention was key to establishing proof of concept. After analyzing two sites, the existing, 7,000 square foot Holtz Hall was chosen. Here, a strong desire to enjoy its status as one of the oldest building on campus site, reimagining it as a host to student development emerged from analyzing existing site geometries and the future campus plan. Seizing this aspiration, this project proposes a new site diagram with existing building holding teaching kitchens and large gathering spaces while the new building reveals staff and student spaces. The newly framed exterior spaces emerge as microclimates in service of food and shared conversation. This watercolor rendering depicts the itersection of the historic and modern forms framing the entryway and procession to the ‘great room’. Edge conditions of space can support or oppose culture, and it is this design’s intention to invite outsiders to engage with the site as it provides a ‘third place’ for the multicultural community. exterior rendering, nw corner c. final iteration Watercolor on watercolor parchmemt with digital alteration
elevations + cross-section diagram c. final iteration Digitally rendered hand-drafted image
wall elevation + section c. final iteration Digitally rendered computer linework
The facade pattern is in service of the original art piece. The pattern itself was digitally created. The multi-colored long metal panels reference a simplified version of my original 16 pantone color system, alluding to skin color via high-toned yellow hues with constrasting cool purples and grays. The facade concept reiterates that the design is in service of people - specificaly a community of multi-ethnic humans.
Every element, temporary or fixed, is in service of food and the conversation.
enlarged floor plans and interior elevations c. final iteration Digitally rendered hybrid drawings
Instilling architecture as the key to equitable shared spaces is critical as we need to envision design as a means to accommodate diverse ideas and promote multiculturism through diverse interactions. I appreciate this project because it allowed me to manifest a passion area of mine social justice - into a building type. My greatest finding is that through the investigation of the role architecture plays in constructing socially just environments, we have the tools to fully engage the body through an effort of culinary performance. While I haven’t determined how to achieve a multicultural space (is it more than food?), I look forward to continue to pursue this idea because it is so important that all people feel welcomed in the spaces they occupy. Thank you.