Thesis Portfolio

Subverting the Banal

This Final Project is presented to The Faculty of the School of Architecture by Jeremy Smith In partial fulďŹ llment of the requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Architecture Southern Polytechnic State University Marietta, Georgia Spring 2011

Primary Advisor Kathryn Bedette Secondary Advisor Arief Setiawan

Bachelor of Architecture Thesis 2011 Department of Architecture, School of ACC Southern Polytechnic State University

Request for Approval of Thesis Project Book

Student’s Full Name:

Thesis Title:

Jeremy Randall Smith

Student Signature

Subverting the Banal

Date

Abstract: I cannot speak in truth and say I have not been a victim of banality. Alienated and confined, I have found banality to be the source of my discontent; my depression. Difficult to avoid yet even harder to pin-point, banality acts as a silent virus, ingrained within society. Banality itself is simply a spatial aesthetic; an anti-aesthetic, one that is anti-provacative. In its extreme, banality dehumanizes, desensitizes, and disengages, nearly to the point of torture, while passively it deprives its audience of desire and sensual pleasure. My task became to find a solution to the destitution. This thesis explores banality as an integral side to the contemporary condition. By instigating a critical experience of this banality through the design of its hyper-banality, it’s over emphasized state; occupants are led to an acute awareness and potentially a questioning of its ubiquitous presence. The technique of hyper-banality was designed as a result of analyzing the works of Edward Hopper, Gregory Crewdson, and Sam Mendes. Their works are not direct effects of banality, but rather something more critical. Images of characters with sunken postures with sullen gazes are symptoms of banality, yet there is a critical engagement that occurs that does not within banal space. What the audience sees in the image is much different than what the character is experiencing. Through these works we become critical observers; we become engaged with this overemphasized state of banality. This project explores the design of hyper-banal conditions through redesigning the Five Points MARTA Station in downtown Atlanta. As the transit hub for the MARTA Transit system, this site is integral. Chosen for its pre-existing banal condition, but more importantly for its integrity to Atlanta; it is the transit hub for the MARTA transit system. It has the ability to reach a wide range of people from varying demographics daily, from the daily commuter working in an office tower, to a tourist living in the suburbs. Like striking at the center of the universe, this critical awareness can develop and outreach the greater Atlanta metropolitan area.

Approved:

Asst. Professor Kathryn L. Bedette, RA Primary Advisor Signature

First and Last Name

Assoc. Professor Anthony Rizzuto, Ph.D. Thesis Co-Coordinator Signature

First and Last Name

Instructor Arief Setiawan, Ph.D. Secondary Advisor Signature

First and Last Name

Asst. Professor Ermal Shpuza, Ph.D. Thesis Co-Coordinator Signature External Advisor Signature [Optional]

First and Last Name

First and Last Name

To the memory of my Mother

Teresa C Smith whose death brought the desire to defy discontent.

With special thanks to

Hazem Ziada who helped develop my thesis proposal; who taught me there is more to Architecture than design; for believing we all have the potential to change the world.

And to

Page Carpenter who gave me the courage to never give up

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Table of Contents Design Theorem

Design Synthesis

6_Thesis Statement

56_Final Design Documentation

7_Proposed Project Nature, Context and Rationale 8_Exploration of Project Nature

57_Findings and Summary

9_Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature 12_Relevance of the Precedent Analysis

58_Bibliography

21_Underlying Principles of the Design Thesis to the Proposed Project 59_List of Illustrations

Design Analysis 23_Site Selection and its Significance to the Proposed Project 24_Context of MARTA as Hub 25_MARTA Transit System 26_Figure Ground of Site Context 27_Program of Site Context 28_Transformation of Site 29_Relevance of Market Typology to Context 30_Banal Materials within Site 31_Views of Site and Context 32_Snapshot Documentation of Station 33_Programmatic Exploration

Design Process 34_Vignette Studies 36_Model Exploration: Dual Iterations 37_Defining the Sections 38_Compartmentalization within Station 39_Market Place Integration 40_Site Plan 41_Street Level [0] 42_Lobby Level [-1] 43_East/West Platform Level [-2] 44_North/South Platform Level [-2] 45_Building Sections 46_Visual Field Analysis: Five Points Station 47_Visual Field Analysis: Grand Central Terminal 48_Visual Field Analysis: Hyper-Banal Station 49_Vignette Series: Material + Scale 51_Vignette Series: “Daylighting” 52_Vignette Series: Daylight as Transformative Material 54_Vignette Series: Station Entrance as Threshold

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Design Theorem: Thesis Statement I cannot speak in truth and say I have not been a victim of banality. Alienated and confined, I have found banality to be the source of my discontent; my depression. Difficult too avoid yet even harder to pin-point, banality acts as a silent virus, ingrained within society. Banality itself is simply a spatial aesthetic; an anti-aesthetic, one that is anti-provacative. In its extreme, banality dehumanizes, desensitizes, and disengages, nearly to the point of torture, while passively it deprives its audience of desire and sensual pleasure. My task became to find a solution to the destitution. This thesis explores banality as an integral side to the contemporary condition. By instigating a critical experience of this banality through the design of its hyperbanality, its over emphasized state, occupants are led to an acute awareness and potentially a questioning of its ubiquitous presence. The technique of hyper-banality was designed as a result of analyzing the works of Edward Hopper, Gregory Crewdson, and Sam Mendes.

Their works are not direct effects of banality, but rather something more critical. Images of characters with sunken postures with sullen gazes are symptoms of banality, yet there is a critical engagement that occurs that does not within banal space. What the audience sees in the image is much different than what the character is experiencing. Through these works we become critical observers; we become engaged with this over-emphasized state of banality.

This project explores the design of hyper-banal conditions through redesigning the Five Points MARTA Station in downtown Atlanta. As the transit hub for the MARTA Transit system, this site is integral. Chosen for its pre-exiting banal condition, but more importantly for its integrity to Atlanta; it is the transit hub for the MARTA transit system. It has the ability to reach a wide range of people from varying demographics daily, from the daily commuter working in an office tower, to a tourist living in the suburbs. Like striking at the center of the universe, this critical awareness can develop and outreach the greater Atlanta metropolitan area.

7

Design Theorem: Proposed Project Nature, Context, and Rationale I always find it difficult in starting to write, that crucial first step; the first sentence. Is there a proper way to introduce myself other

become an aesthetic of overproduction and industrialization. Venturi describes the banal as it occurs through the use of conven-

than stating that I come from a small town, an average middle-class family? I moved to Marietta to attend schooling, which I have

tional elements within the orders of modern architecture, as a design tool; the conventional used unconventionally.1 According to

found in the most part to be a rewarding experience. It has provided me a chance to grow and shape my own independence; a

Shinkle, banality has its connections to ennui and boredom, each occurring as effects of capitalism where the attitude developed

chance to become, and still become, a stronger person. I have a good life, if there is such a classification, although there are mo-

that empty time became wasted time.2 Banality becomes the filler into those gaps of emptiness. What this produces is an aes-

ments where I grow weary of the monotony, the banality; the everyday ordeal that seems to consume my lifestyle. It becomes the

thetic that is formed from an over-abundance and under-abundance, spaces that become void of sensual meaning. This banality

same repeated actions: school, work, sleep. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. But I had always been content with this lifestyle and it never

aesthetic occurs at two spectrums, in one case it is seemingly powerful; and the other, seemingly powerless. Examples of spaces

seemed to bother me or exhaust me. It was as if there was something holding me back; an anchor that held me to my roots. I was

are those of waiting rooms, the DMV, health clinics, transit stations. These spaces are largely dehumanized, the occupant is to

never aware of its presence, its silent and gentle tug that seemed to linger on.

sit and wait, without positive stimulation. Textures are monotone and seating is repetitive and preventative for social intercourse, as well as inhospitable for extended periods of waiting. Transit stations, while not usually considered for long periods of waiting,

Then, as if in some dream-like state, my mother passed away, finally succumbing to an unrelenting sickness (arthritis and pneu-

are most times over-scaled and lacking the intimate scale. Also pertinent to consider are commercial strips, malls, and suburban

monia) that had controlled her lifestyle since my childhood. Death has an interesting way of causing a person to reflect on life.

neighborhoods, whose focus on consumption lead to over repetitions, dull monotony with the only visual texture that of advertise-

Without death, life is odorless and tasteless. It is a sinister yet beautiful contrast that gives life its very essence. Soon after, the

ments and commodity.

gentle tug began to vanish. I had always been in an unofficial “stand-by” mode, ready to leave in case of an incident with her ailments, due to her frequency of [emergency] hospital visits and overnight stays. But now this burden was gone. My anchor had

Another aspect of the spatial banality, is the banal image (the image of the aesthetic of banality), which Shinkle describes as a

been removed. I soon found myself with an inherent desire to stretch my wings and to fly. Where I was content before, I soon found

“viewing body bereft of sensual pleasure, and acts to suppress the affective dimensions of the viewer’s encounter with the im-

boredom and discontent. I found resolution in the film Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007). It is the narrative of Chris McCandless,

age… its resistance to emotional and critical engagement” (Shinkle 165). The banal image is portrayed in vernacular photography

a.k.a. Supertram, who grows distasteful of the consumerist lifestyle and his predetermined career path. He counter attacks by

due to the ability of the image to capture the everydayness and authenticity of the subject. Snapshot photography became a

releasing himself of society’s binds: burning his identification, donating his finances to charity, disappearing. He embarks on an

widely popular technique of this style of vernacular photography, developed during the 1950’s. It was based on the premise of the

unplanned quest into the wild, on a journey to Alaska. Although he reaches an untimely and unforeseen death, this movie became

snapshot, where the photograph was taken as an unaltered, unrehearsed image that gave it the vernacular, photo booth realism3.

a powerful element within my life, always glinting a ray of light into my own escape from the confinement and discontent I feel.

The technique became popular as cameras became inexpensive, and amateurs thus became able to take up the hobby of photography with little or no skill involved. Its popularity caused it to become a style in advertising, where the focus turned to express-

So what became of my immediate solution?

ing products so that they could be more easily associated with everyday use for the everyday person. The simple execution and

I started searching.

repetition of the process caused snapshot photography to become banal in its own technique, echoing the process of Andy Warhol

I started exploring.

in his series such as White Burning Car III (1963), where his repetition of the same image produced a series that only through its repetition and arrangement could the trauma of the photograph be realized. In Ambulance Disaster, the only difference between

I planned a hiking trip to the Smoky Mountains. I went exploring the abandoned Atlanta Prison Farm, the Glidden Paint Factory,

the two photographs is a tear in the photograph at the seemingly appropriate position of the woman’s head, emphasizing the ac-

and the Pullman Rail Yard. I went on urban treks of the pre-beltline. These small day trips and urban-explores simply just felt right.

tual trauma of the image; introducing the real.

I soon realized that embarking on these minor outtakes had a therapeutic effect on me. These spaces relieved me from the pains that I had been feeling. They relaxed my sense of confinement. They eased my discontent.

Paul Graham, in his Beyond Caring (1984) series, documents the banal image as it occurs in an everyday setting. His site is the Department of Health and Social Services building, a site of intense banality. His photographs are taken at hip-level, a gesture

I found deep meaning within these spaces—the random occurrences and imageries that almost seemed to come from a Sur-

that brings the viewer into the image; thus the casualness of the photo allows the viewer to relax, absorb the actual realness of

realist painting. They became my oasis from my stress and exhaustion, the places I could then go to escape from the spiritual

the image and the setting, and to feel the blankness of the inhabitants. The bodies captured within his images appear emotionally

destitute that comes from the unrelenting monotony; the banality. Although it is the main ingredient in my own alienation, this

and spiritually destitute. Anti-provocative, socially destitute, emotionally absent, critically disengaged. These comprise the aes-

banality is not limited to me; it reaches out to a farther spectrum of society. It is most apparent as an aesthetic that occurs in

thetics of the contemporary condition of banality, one that causes these lifeless bodies, depicted within the banal image through

intensity in institutional and commercial spaces. This is a contemporary condition; a by-product of late capitalism, where it has

snapshot photography.

1 2 3

Venturi, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2002), 42 Shinkle, Eugenie. “Boredom, Repetition, Inertia: Contemporary Photography and the Aesthetics of the Banal” (Mosaic, 2004), 167 Ibid, 166

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Design Theorem: Exploration of Project Nature As a starting point for research of the topic of banality, I began using the technique of snapshot photography as a way of documenting the banal qualities of two department of motor vehicle spaces, following the work of Paul Graham in his Beyond Caring Series. Through this study I was able to begin to grasp the various components of banal space and further analyzing these images provided a framework of comparison that could then be used to analyze future case studies.

Uniform surfaces / monotone volumes

Occupants disengaged from space

Lack of social intercourse

Disconnect from intimate interaction

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Design Theorem: Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature The banal image, apparent in Paul Graham’s Beyond Caring Series, depicts subjects bereft of desire and sensual pleasure and documents spaces destitute of social stimulation and characteristically boring. This banal image however, extends much farther than the institution that Graham and other photographers document through snapshot photography. As banality is further ingrained into contemporary society, one that began as modernism developed and material production became the norm artists have documented the different flavors of this banality, and here, I examine the paintings of Edward Hopper, the photography series of Gregory Crewdson, and the film American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes. I examine them not for the literal documentation of banality, as Graham and fellow snapshot photographers have done, but I examine them for the critical observation they make of banality.

[A1] Man sits in own solitude, sunken posture

Edward Hopper is considered to be one of the first American realists of the early 20th century. His scenes are not site-specific nor exact replicas, but instead are renderings of the typology of the newly emerging modern America.1 Crewdson’s photographs are

[Figure 1.1] Nighthawks Edward Hopper 1942

of a different genre and style; they are expressions of the suburban lifestyle and the suburban human psyche. The photographs are meticulously designed and fabricated: indoor scenes are constructed from scratch in a sound studio while outdoor scenes are edited and adjusted to develop his image. While Crewdson’s own spaces are elaborately constructed, Hopper’s are simplified.

Detailing is absent from his works; his streets are unusually clean, lacking litter, cigarette butts, and stray blades of grass.2

In his paintings, nothing is available to distract the eye from the main event of the picture. His famous painting Nighthawks is a

[A2] His gaze fixated on floor, despite presence of desire

depiction of modern America’s new insomnia, characters drinking coffee in a heavily illuminated café on a street corner. The eye gravitates toward the bright scene, however the mood of the characters inside are dull. The street is empty, the walls of the café are a sterile white. The characters seem distant, and with lack of a door, they appear hermetically sealed inside.3 The scene is silent. Additionally, the characters inside seem silent as well; the couple seems as if in distant rooms, although they are merely inches apart. This loneliness is a theme that I find in many of Hopper’s works.

[Figure 1.2] Automat Edward Hopper 1927

In Automat, Hopper depicts a lone woman in a café. Is she waiting for someone, or just waiting? She is alone, in the middle of the frame; the reflection into the window reveals the space continues towards the audience with the light’s perspective focusing on the woman, yet the space itself is devoid of other patrons, or even wait staff. She is bored; her facial expression as she stares at her

[A3] Extension of scene into horizon

4

cup indicates this. In a society that is becoming dependent on mass-production and assembly-lines , she coincidentally waits in an automated setting, a coin-operated restaurant, completely deprived of any form of social intercourse. She is a victim of urban alienation although the question arises is if her solitude is self-imposed, if she is in fact content in self-reflection, or if she waits in lieu of a desire to continue forward.5

Materiality is not clearly evident in Hopper’s works; walls are washed with a single depth less color; detail is simplified; spaces seem sterilized. The sheets on the bed in philosophers thing are pulled almost comically taut despite the character’s seemingly weightless bodies’ presence. The rest of the room in the space is plain, dull, the only excitement coming 1 Wagstaff, Sheena. Edward Hopper. (London: Tate Publishing, 2004), 17 2 Wells, Walter. Silent Theater: The Art of Hopper. (London: Phaidon Press Unlimited, 2007), 12 3 Ibid, 11 4 Wagstaff, Sheena. Edward Hopper. (London: Tate Publishing, 2004), 41 5 Ibid, 41

[Figure 1.3] Excursion into Philosophy Edward Hopper 1959

[A4] visual topographies against planar volume

Design Theorem: Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature from a single cropped painting on the wall, and the barely visible landscape through the window. The man sits on the edge of the bed, deprived of sensual pleasure staring blankly at the light burned onto the carpet. Beside him lays a philosopher’s text and a half-naked woman. The sense one gets from the space, is a total lack of sense.

The man is sullen, upon reading a philosopher’s text, he is not staring at the vast expanse at the window, reflecting infinity, but instead is staring at the floor.1 The room is action-less and full of stability, while the man’s own mental state is un-invigorated.

Hopper’s characters all have this state of boredom, one that is prevalent and

synonymous with the subjects in Beyond Caring.

But there is something different that occurs in these works, versus what is in an actual space of banality. There [Figure 1.4] Beneath the Roses Gregory Crewdson 2005

[Figure 1.6] Beneath the Roses Gregory Crewdson 2005

[Figure 1.5] Beneath the Roses Gregory Crewdson 2005

[Figure 1.7] Beneath the Roses Gregory Crewdson 2005

is a separation between the two. Unlike the characters within the scenes who are directly observing it, we become critical observers of the scene. What the viewer sees is different from what the character experiences. If we critically analyze Hopper’s painting Excursion into Philosophy in more detail, the elements that comprise the banal image are revealed, illustrating something far more intriguing and stimulating than what the character is experiencing.

The banal image exists in its “pure” state in Figure 1.3, a man in his solemn state on the edge of the bed, consumed in either deep reflection, or a perpetual boredom with his life. What lies next to him is a half naked woman and a red book, un-stimulated by the excitement and color, instead staring blankly at the floor. Hopper crops the scene, the window, painting, and bed extend off the boundaries, the landscape outside undulates unhindered by the frame. He continues the space, and causes the viewer to question what is beyond this man’s own perception.

The volume of the room is simple, the geometry is rectilinear, emphasizing the subject in the space; the man and his ‘lover’ whose contour line flows smoothly against the rigid lines of the room. Outside, the landscape flows on, assumable that its fluidity continues well past the window. As one examines the painting further, one can’t help to imagine what is cropped from the space; what is hidden from view. The false day lighting on the wall behind the woman [A3], that is from an impossible angle as clearly shown from the window.

Crewdson has stated that he considers Hopper’s works as a major theme in his own photography series, yet if

[B1] Source of lighting questionable; eerie

[B2] Fixated gaze between the man and television

[B3] Visual texture contrasts planar volume

[B4] Scattered objects, all as iconic images and texture

[B5] Elements of illuminance in the scene; factors of twilight

[B6] Layers of textural topography extend scene

Hopper’s works are under-stimulated, then Crewdson’s works are overstimulated. Still addressing the same themes, yet these two artists depict different aspects of the banal image. Hopper’s scenes are of a passive state of neutrality and boredom, while Crewdson’s are of an aggressive scene, addressing the anxiety prevalent in the unspectacular suburban America.

His critical execution of the photographs reveal situations where the incredible is seen, but its function is withheld, hidden from understanding. Beneath the Roses depicts many individuals who are consumed with

1

Wagstaff, Sheena. Edward Hopper. (London: Tate Publishing, 2004), 89

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Design Theorem: Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature loneliness and vulnerability. His critical execution of the photographs reveal situations where the incredible is seen, but its function is withheld, hidden from understanding. Beneath the Roses depicts many individuals who are consumed with loneliness and vulnerability. They convey a fragile lifestyle, one with victims in a grasp of social reality.1 One depicts a man removed from his air-conditioned capsule2, standing in a street-scape that is abandoned; businesses are closed, lights are off [Figure 1.4]. Another depicts a woman [Figure 1.5], standing with a full shopping cart, in the divide that separates a neighborhood from a supermarket. The man stands alone, barely illuminated by only moonlight in the presence of businesses that may as well be abandoned, the only companion being his automobile. The woman stands vulnerable, in the middle of a parking lot in early morning as the homes begin springing to life while the supermarket is already energized, its glowing fluorescent

[C1] Lack of social intercourse; despite proximity [Figure 1.8] American Beauty Sam Mendes 2005

lights and countless commodities. The supermarket denies the neighborhood, its bare wall all that faces the neighborhood’s inviting porches.

His interior images are built in a soundstage set, offering a perspective of entrapment, especially in his photograph of the destroyed living room. The man portrayed is in utter dismay, his home in total disarray, an indication of the man’s own temporal anxiety. The house is ripped apart and viciously dismantled3, yet there is a serenity in the scene. There are two main

[C2] Sunken and solemn postures

characters in this photograph, the man and his television [B2], each connected, yet gazing separately. The television watches the man intently.4 An ambient light is present in the room, the glow from the television which adds an eerie twilight to the setting, an ambiguity of weather it’s dusk or dawn. Or is this the impending twilight completely from the glow of television? The room is visually stimulating; the destruction amidst the bare walls; yet the walls in fact are dismantled too. The artificial terrain the blankets the floor [B3] is full of ironic objects; the television, CMU blocks, a broken lamp that is on, yet a fixed lamp that is turned off [B4]. The eerily twilight filters from above, providing a sense of serenity that is absent from this man’s life, a victim of his own spiritual desperation. This room is chaotic, yet the room in which the viewer is standing is clean and continuing

[C3] Visual topography of foreground, orthogonal volume

on. Again, it is cropped from view, yet information is given which beckons the scene onward. There is no indication of what incident has occurred, which is much the way that Crewdson prefers, leaving them up for interpretation.5

The seemingly typical dinner table scene in a middle-class suburban home, yet something else looms.

Simi-

lar to Hopper’s characters, these individuals are confined within their collective loneliness, completely removed from any social interaction with one another.

These characters all appear as clones of Lester, victims of the so-

cial destitution; the space that is anti-provocative.

They stare blankly, their gaze projecting straight through those [C4] Objects in space are meaningless commodities

in their line of sight.

One clear difference in this series versus Crewdson’s photography series is the lighting

quality. Where Crewdson uses a dynamic lighting that emphasizes the temporal anxiety in the scene, Graham’s series is to the truth, revealing the ultra-dull setting. The light doesn’t illuminate, reveal, or contrast but simply just becomes absorbed.

The space itself is static. The inhabitants may as well be in different rooms, for their interaction is stark [D1-D3].

1 2 3 4 5

Berg, Stephan. Gregory Crewdson 1985-2005. (Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2005), 92 Ibid, 19 Ibid, 92 Wagstaff, Sheena. Edward Hopper. (London: Tate Publishing, 2004), 155 Ibid, 18

[Figure 1.11] American Beauty Sam Mendes 2005

[C5] Eerie twilight yet time on clock suggests mid afternoon

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Design Theorem: Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature This is a typical occurrence, and the repetition has its toll on the boy’s mental state.

He is numb, devoid of any pleasure. The father is not present here, yet his seat is pulled from the table, his family continuing the ritual without him. The scene itself is believable. It reminds me of similar dinner scenes in American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes. The choice of wallpaper, the fake candle chandelier, the china on the table, all commodities of consumerism; the staple of every suburban home. Throughout American Beauty, Sam Mendes represents the instability of the suburban lifestyle.

It follows the life of a Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, who is undergoing a mid-life crisis, and his attempt to alleviate his social and spiritual destitution, until ultimately finding his death at the end of the film. Mendes realistically represents Suburbia, even over-emphasizing it. Scenes are continuously symmetrical, which characters centered, offset by windows and objects [C3]. Rooms are plain, typical of the middle-class suburbanite family.

[Figure 1.13] Beyond Caring Series Paul Graham 1985

[Figure 1.12] Beyond Caring Series Paul Graham 1985

Houses appear similar, and objects within the house are impersonal and uncharacteristic. In the dinner scene, the pictures and the wall and lamp on the end table appear to have been purchased from a generic super-store [C4]. The clock is even set to clearly the wrong time. These objects are mere acquaintances with the characters. It is this lack of intimacy and the repetition that causes the probable tension within Lester’s life; the alike houses symmetrically divided by trees along the street; the cubicles each with their periscopic lamps dangling over the workspace. Even the scene where Lester’s own face is imprisoned behind his computer screen [Figure 1.9]. Lester is meaningless. While Crewdson emphasizes the banal by continuous quirks and odd juxtapositions and symbols; Mendes illustrates this suburban anxiety by clear repre[D1] Occupants gaze forward, but not to each other.

[D1] Occupants are quantified

[D1] There is a complete lack of social intercourse

[D1] Human habitation breaks up volumetric monotone.

[D1] Only visual stimulation is flyers and clock; all automated

[D1] Litter on ground offers the only non-human variable in scene

sentation and emphasis on its repetition.

The family is bored from their normal existence, their condition of social autism.1 The ritual continues onward, although the nuclear family is incomplete, sans the father, the lighting continues to frame the suburban family. Beyond the window of the kitchen, another home is seen; this isn’t the only family here undertaking this ritual. Desperate for difference, the man’s house in shambles, yet the television remains such a powerful element in the man’s life, he cannot escape. The woman is pulled into the supermarket like moths to a flame, she is hypnotized by its luminance.

Paul Graham’s Beyond Caring Series, a photography series utilized through the technique of the snapshot aesthetic illustrates the banal image. His documents 1

Crewdson, Gregory. Dream of Life. (Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1999), 19

Design Theorem: Relevance of the Design Thesis in Literature dehumanized scenes, ones in which characters hold similar expressions to those of Hopper’s and Crewdson’s. The spaces are equally desensitized, a lack of desire and empathy. Filled with flyers, posters, and pamphlets the individuals wrestle with their lack of stimuli. The color is monochromatic and lacking energy; the material pallet is dull and lacks texture. The only interesting aspect of the space is the flaws: the chips in paint, the litter, the loose clutter— a textural quality absent from Hopper’s paintings.

The ability of Mendes, Hopper, and Crewdson to make a critical observation of the banality condition allows for a potential to subvert its effect on the inhabitant. What they produce is the hyper-banality, an over-emphasized banality, which in effect causes their audience to become critically engaged with their surroundings. No longer disengaged, they are now aware of the condition, able now to understand the hidden banality, its seemingly powerless nature that holds such a powerful effect on the experience within banal space.

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Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis This case study examines a collection of works as precedents relevant to the proposed project. The previous case study examined

Two of the most popular examples of the great train stations are Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, both located in New

works of film, painting, and photography, analyzing the principles of hyper-banality embedded within each; this case study examines

York. Acting as civic spaces, public forums, market places, and informal galleries, these stations became icons of the city. Ada

the principles of banality and non-banality within works of architecture. I will examine these projects based on similar filters as the

Louise Huxtable even describes Grand Central Terminal as “continuing to be part of the city’s essential image and remaining el-

hyper-banality case study, further expanding the lexicon of what constitutes banal, hyper-banal, and non-banal.

egance while representing one of the most stunning achievements in the history of urban design”1. Both stations were designed in a Beaux Arts style. Pennsylvania Station was designed by McKim, Mead, and White as a contrast of two styles; the ruthlessly

Projects:

functional steel structured space below, and the stone-clad theatrically Classical above reserved for passengers.2 Grand Central

Great Stations:

Terminal is of a similar quality. Upgraded and reconstructed from the Grand Central Depot in 1913 by Warren and Wetmore, it was

Grand Central Terminal, New York - Warren and Wetmore

designed with the frame of mind to rival the quality and grandiose of the existing great stations in Europe.

Pennsylvania Station, New York Lyons Airport Railway Station, Lyons - Calatrava

What set these stations as urban designs is that they weren’t just mere functional entities ferrying travelers to the concourse or

Rehabilitation of Santa Caterina Market, Barcelona - EMBT

destinations; but acted as an oases for transients, offering luxuries and comforts such as hotels, eateries, and a miscellany of

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York - Breuer

small shops.3 The design of the station was carefully planned (Grand Central Terminal enhanced later on by opening a street level

Atlanta Central Public Library, Atlanta - Breuer

connection, upon the construction of the PanAm building). Ironically, its layout of ramp systems has been used as an example to [1.14] The Gaire Saint-Lazare Claude Monet 1877

the modern airport hub, responsible for the decline in rail travel popularity. The concourses of both stations were based on the Roman bath typology, which alludes even more to the connections of these stations as a well designed public space. For Grand Central Terminal, the success of its public space owes contributions by its design of the adjoining gallery spaces along the three sides of the waiting space, as well as the collection of people moving through ticketing. People-watching in the main concourses became an activity within the galleries; the galleries that held artworks and soon became filled with restaurants and bars, the

Why The Great Stations?

The great train stations, during a time when the steamboat and rail

most famous being the Oyster Bar. Incredibly, to this day amidst the calamity of capitalism, only two commercial chains have ever

were the choice modes of travel, were once an integral part of the

existed within Grand Central Terminal: Starbucks and CVS.

urban fabric of the new modern city. Travel by rail was the popular means of movement within the city, an era before the invention of the commercial airplane. These great stations became icons of the city, as well as icons of a lifestyle. Depicted in a time of newly emerging mechanical innovation, the stations became the new urban space,

[1.15] Night on the El Train Edward Hopper 1985

as depicted in The Gare Saint-Lazare by Claude Monet, the French Impressionist painter. Painted during a time in his life when he was in a “wretched state, one of starvation and dark depression” (Kelder 1967), it is easy to see the gloom and banal quality that his scenes capture. Edward Hopper, analyzed in the previous case study, has numerous paintings involving the interaction with the train, two examples being Chair Car and Night on the El Train, each depicting the new gesture of boredom and anxiety of the transient. Keeping in mind this new urban interaction with the city, how then does a station contend with such an anxious character?

[1.16] Chair Car Edward Hopper 1985

[1.17] Pennsylvania Station Main Concourse

1 2 3

Parissien, Steven. Station to Station. (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997), 164 Ibid. 147 Nevins, Deborah. Grand Central Terminal: City within the City. (New York: Municipal Art Society of New York, 1982), 21

15

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis Grand Central Terminal

Fluctuation in Lighting [non-Banal]

New York, 1913

Responsible for the most iconic imagery of Grand Central Terminal (the daylight shining into the main concourse), lighting within

Warren and Wetmore

Grand Central Terminal varies from the majestic day lighting, to the intimate chandelier lighting of the Oyster Bar Restaurant.

Pennsylvania Station New York, 1910 Mckim, Mead, White

Qualities of Spatial Volume / Manipulations in Scale [non-Banal] Grand Central Terminal, and the historical Penn Station have a spatial quality absent in banal space. Where banal space can be characterized as isolated, almost to the point of being sealed within a container; spaces of the great stations have a diversity in quality, height, depth, and movement. The main concourse of the Grand Central Terminal, with its monumentality and vaulted ceiling allows the space to be large enough to accommodate large numbers of people, while more intimate gallery spaces and restaurants align its perimeter, providing a diverse spatial volume.

[1.21] Penn Station Platform and Concourse

[1.22] Grand Central Terminal Main Concourse and Ticketing

Visual Texture [non-Banal] Ornament. Information. Detail. Grand Central Terminal provides an enriching array of stimuli that provides a mental engagement with [1.18] Oyster Bar - Grand Central Terminal

[1.19] Main Concourse - Grand Central Terminal

the space. Gallery spaces which ank the concourse continually change varieties of artwork, as well as a venue for people watching. Its

Presence of the Unfamiliar [non-Banal]

not necessarily the Beaux-Arts detailing which causes the engagement. Rather, its varying qualities of the detailing; from the newspaper

While not a direct something easily controlled, there is an updating element to

stands, the ticket booths, masonry of the stairs, to the industrial character of the platform and train yard.

the station. Whether its new artwork in the gallery, a guitarists playing a song, or a new special in one of the restaurants; there is always an updating source of information which keeps the transients engaged.

[1.20] Redstone Missile Grand Central Terminal Gallery

[1.23] Modern Penn Station

[1.24] Penn Station Main Concourse

16

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis Lyons Airport Railway Station

Lack of Layering [Banal]

Satolas, Lyons, France 1994

There is a sense of layering from the choreographed structure, yet the spaces themselves seems empty from stimulation. There

Santiago Calatrava

are amenities present in the project, yet they remain absent within the larger spaces, causing a missed opportunity for social

Lyons Airport Railway Station is massive as a railway station, one that acts as a gateway for those coming from the airport and

engagement like in the Grand Central Terminal.

venturing into the city. As a station it has a much different attitude than that of Grand Central Terminal or Penn Station, as it doesn’t act as a major civic space, rather, it acts more as a visual icon for the city. While Calatrava has managed to create a structurally phenomenal building, one intended to “transform contemporary travel from a drudgery into a memorable, even romantic experience” (Tzonis 158), it seems that it is actually lacking the experience found in the great stations due to its focus

Daylighting [non-Banal] Natural light is abundant in this project in attempt to lighten the act of travel into a near-romantic experience. Many of the spaces

on a romantic spatial experience rather than sociological experience.

are engaged with natural light, as the station’s design took solar position into consideration.

Dehumanized Scale [Banal] While there is a fluctuation in scale from the larger concourse to the lower platforms; there is an absence of intimacy within the space. The spaces have almost a dehumanized scale; they have a disengaging quality.

Lyons Airport Railway Station Main Concourse

[1.25] Lyons Airport Railway Station Platform

[1.26]

Lack of Visual Texture [Banal] Aside from concrete and steel, there isn’t an expanded list of materials within the station. While the station is structurally expressive to the point of poetic; there is a lack of material expression that causes the spaces to have a sense of sterility. There is a callousness that the spaces have, one that removes an intimacy with the space.

Lyons Airport Railway Station Main Concourse

[1.27] Lyons Airport Railway Station Main Lobby

17

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis Whitney Museum of American Art

Disengaged Street Presence [Banal]

New York City, NY

As in most Brutalist buildings, Breuer uses a very limited material palette, and mixed with his heavy proportions, he creates a

Marcel Breuer

library/museum that appears more like a mausoleum than one of cultural enrichment. The sole use of concrete with its monotone

Atlanta Central Public Library

facade give the buildings a sterile presence.

Atlanta, GA Marcel Breuer Works by Marcel Breuer, specifically the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City as well as Atlanta Central Public Library in Atlanta are both very similar Brutalist buildings that have interesting plays on scale and monotone material. Cubes that have been involved in a game of addition and subtraction, there are facades of each that appear to be almost scaleless. Like the Lyons Airport Railway Station, there is a sense that the human figure is removed from the proportions. In a sense, this was the game that Breuer was playing with both buildings, his subtraction to act as a way of inviting into the main entrance, to give it a distinction and clarity. One could also critique the facade, materially speaking in the way of its monotone of concrete cladding which gives the buildings an appearance of a cold and unreceptive demeanor. It reminds me of other banal spaces, ones like the DMV or the Five Points Station, spaces that have a tendency to oppress stimulation and remove provocation. Many of the details also within two buildings, the Atlanta Central Public Library specifically, use graceful, yet very heavy details, ones that lose a sense of intimacy with the occupant. Although these two buildings don’t have a direct connection to spaces of banality as experienced in the banal images, the simple detailing and overwhelming use of material almost causes a sense of oppression. Realizing these qualities within his works, I find there to be potential to exploit them further, in an attempt to create the hyper-banality condition.

[B1] Atlanta Central Public Library Entrance

[B1] Whitney Museum of American Art

Proportion and Intimate Scale [Banal] Although there is a strong articulation of proportions in both buildings; they do lack the delicate scale, and as a result, they appear insensitive and obtuse, like mute buildings within the urban fabric, although the differing proportions offer a slight change in dimensionality, it is not always experienced.

Lighting [non-Banal] There are moments in both buildings of serene lighting qualities. In the Atlanta Library, the main stair well has sky lights that fill the space with cool natural light, in addition to the careful apertures throughout the facades. The Whitney Museum, instead of day lighting, uses a scheme of artificial lighting that texturizes the monotone spaces; almost to the point of overemphasiz-

[B1] Atlanta Central Public Library Entrance

[B1] Atlanta Central Public Library Entrance

[B1] Atlanta Central Public Library Entrance

ing the ceiling.

[1.28] Atlanta Central Public Library Interior

[1.29] Whitney Museum of American Art Interior

18

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis Rehabilitation of Santa Caterina Market

Qualities of Spatial Volume/Thresholds [non-Banal]

Barcelona, Spain 2005

The billowing roof atop the irregularly arranged market stalls allows

EMBT

the market to exist within its rectangular boundaries with energy.

The Barcelona Market, specifically the Rehabilitation of Santa Caterina Market, is a strong market that invigorates as a public

Inside the market the ceiling changes height giving a sense of flow

space. A rehabilitation of an already existing market, the project consists of a colorful billowing roof that shelters the preserved

to the space, as well as the preservation of the circulation through

facades of the old market as well as newly uncovered chapel underneath. For a market typology it is a complex site, with a program

the market allows an experience of multiple thresholds and a vibrant

of low rent housing encircling the market with its museum and underground car park along with an organic waste depository. This

change of ambience.

market is lively and ambitious and provides the area with a sense of place. Structurally the canopy is intriguing and enriching, the color and vibrancy of the tiles on the roof only help to foreshadow the vibrancy of the fresh produce within. The placement of the stalls within the market are irregular compared to rectangle that the market is confined within, adding a sense of energy to the space; one that still preserves a clear circulation flow for those wishing to move directly through. Inside the market are 100 stalls, using digital technology to allow the sensual market to compete with the senseless supermarket. With its sense of history (actually the first covered market in the city) and presence within the urban fabric, this market offers an exhilarating boost to the city.

Layering [non-Banal] This market has a strong sense of layering; history, tectonics, materials, and flavors. While incorporating the new contemporary [1.30] Facade of Barcelona Market

marketplace with that of its formal self, its preserved history gives the market an added character. Like graffiti that subverts the

[B1] Plan of Barcelona Market

oppression in an abandoned prison, these overlaps of modern detailing, cultural color palette and local foods provide the site with

Sensual Stimulation [non-Banal]

a sense of invigoration.

Foods and colors, new forms and old facades. This market is visually stimulating. This market has an array of information to provide to the occupants.

[1.31]

[1.32]

Presence of the Unfamiliar [non-Banal] As a market and a prevalent urban space, there exists a constant chatter and excitement.

What produce will be offered today?

Who will I run into along my daily commute as I walk to work.

[1.29] Barcelona Market in Surrounding Context

This potential for unplanned social interactions is invigorating.

[1.33] Barcelona Market

19

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis Programmatic Banality

B

Programmatic banality, as I deďŹ ne, is a program that restricts the enrichment of sensual pleasure. It is the arrangement and choreography of spaces, where through their spatial treatment and programmed use, are disengaging and oppress the user from sense of desire. Within programs of banality, the user has little control and a lack of stimulating experience.

Consider the waiting room as an example of this type of programmatic banality; a spatial typology found in hospital clinics, and nearly all departmental institutions. It is a program that doesn’t allow for social interaction. The occupant has little control and must simply must endure within the space; a complete disengagement.

[1.34]

A

Staff

B

C Testing

B

[1.35]

Waiting Area

A

These market spaces are provoke stimulation.

An open layout that provides the ability to wan-

Information

der, it allows the individual to engage within the context, rather than oppressed by it.

A DMV Program

A

A

B

C

Diagram of Movement; Barcelona Market

[1.36]

With a facade that excites and invites, preserves and advances, it enhances the space in this urban context. Its very identity causes the market to become a destination, and one of mental awareness / interrogation.

An information stand, the point of

The individuals have no identity, for

A completely banal sense of social

contact for those entering the institution

now they are just a number within the

interaction: the communication between

is withdrawn and rejective.

system, awaiting to be summoned,

a pane of glass completely separates

its very concept is dehumanizing and

the two individuals.

oppressive.

20

Design Theorem: Relevance of Precedent Analysis

!

NOW SERVING

102

?! !!

Banal Program

non-Banal Program

21

Design Theorem: Underlying Principles of the Design Thesis Hyper-Banality is the over-heightened condition of banality, one that is used by artists such as Edward Hopper, Gregory Crewdson, Sam Mendes as a means of over-emphasizing its effects. This hyper-banality acts as a critical observation of itself, its heightened

Contrasting Visual Texture

sense causing a reverse effect; occupants are now aware of its presence, and thereby engaged.

There is a clear set of principles that the artists Hopper, Crewdson, and Mendes use as part of their critical observation to create this hyper-banality condition. I plan to first address these principles, and to use them within my own tool pallet as a means of executing my design hypothesis to create this condition of hyper-banality within the Five Points MARTA Station.

Lack of Social Intercourse A presence of a stimulating visual texture, emphasizing the contrast between the two qualities (stimulating visual texture amidst the monotone visual plane).

!?

Presence of Quirks

Social intercourse is not present within the scene, as the gazes of the characters are either towards the ground or characters are uninterested. This can suggest ways that people interact within a space, heightening the disinterest or new ways of emphasizing visual engagement among passers-by.

Spaces as Geometric Containers

A subtle presence of unexplained quirks and happenings, that are blended within the fabric of the scene, until realized by the viewer. These subtleties are only realized after either close investigation, or repetitive observation of the scene.

The spaces are typically geometric containers for the scene, lacking significant in its form and spatial volume, cropped shy of a definitive boundary line. This technique causes an implied extension of the space, heightening the compression, while also relieving it.

22

Design Theorem: Underlying Principles of the Design Thesis

?

Discrepancy of Lighting

Emphasis/Lack of Layering

Within these images is a discrepancy of lighting; scenes have an appearance of eerie twilight despite the time of day as lighting

There is a sense of layering within the scene, which multiplies the sense of depth within the space while the space itself feels

coming from unexplainable sources, making it unknown to the reality of daylight within the scenes.

restricted.

?

UndeďŹ ned Scale

Scale is heightened and lost, in the case of Hopper, his paintings depicting urban life lose the intimate grain, offering a monotone that lacks the ability to assess the scale of the body.

Design Analysis: Site Selection and its Significance

The site selection for this project is a transit station, specifically the Five Points MARTA Station. The logic of selecting this site follows from a string of investigations, first beginning with an initial examination of a DMV in Cobb County through a continuation of the work by Paul Graham in his snapshot photograph series of a Health and Social Services building (Beyond Caring). I find the DMV to be a textbook example of a space of banality. Its qualities, monotones, textures, aspects of control all are characteristic of this condition. As is the transit station. It has similar qualities to the DMV, although of a different flavor. Monotone texture, aspects of control, desensitized spaces, lack of sensual stimulation, and sometimes scaleless spaces devoid of social intercourse and pleasure all describe a station (although there are exceptions).

I found Five Points MARTA Station upon the initial visit to fit these principles; nearly monotone with its Brutalist use of concrete, largely dehumanizing spaces that are over scaled, the terminals which are sensually destitute and nearly uncomfortable to reside. It has a subtle overwhelming feel, yet is also completely neutral. The station also has this lifeless aroma to it.

The Five Points MARTA Station is located on the block of Forsythe, Alabama, and Peachtree Streets. This station is the hub, the main hub for the MARTA rail lines. It acts as the culmination of transit activity, collecting and dispersing a large amount of people between each train (roughly 18 minutes) as people transfer train lines, or await boarding. This allows a conglomeration of social groups: the low income, the business person, the tourist, and the transient. It provides the chance to affect a wide volume of people of varying demographics, as people are able to take their awareness of the banality with them to their workplace, their commute, and their homes.

The station design is essentially two themes; the hyper-banal transit station, and the non-banal market place. The market place follows the logic of providing an integral presence for the urban fabric within the downtown and its proximity to the gulch, a site that is now being proposed for a large-scale urban renovation. This provides the ability for the station to become activated as an urban center, like Grand Central Terminal was in its prime, providing even more an effect that the hyper-banality condition will have on transients.

23

24

Design Analysis: Context of MARTA as HUB Five Points Station, the heart of the MARTA rail, was originally proposed as the Transit Center Station. The original proposal of 1967 underwent signiďŹ cant changes, the largest being a complete re-routing of the MARTA rail lines. While the original proposed 7 lines (northwest, northeast, west, central, east branch, east, and south), the current system only utilizes 4, two north-south lines and two east-west lines. The original also called for 65 miles of routes, with 40 stations; the current only with 38 stations. While amendments were made to the proposed marta transit system, one concept that remained was the idea of a Transit Center Station (Five Points Station). It would act as a hub for the rail lines; the transferring station for those switching from the east-west to the north-south (or vice versa). Located in a block bounded by Broad, Alabama, and Whitehall Streets and tracks in the Gulch area, this station was destined to be the hub. The station was designed to allow for a three block pedestrian mall, a station that was to enhance the pedestrian oriented Underground Atlanta. It was intended to be a public civic space as designs show, one that was focused less on technology and amenities, and more-so on open space for public assembly.

[2.37] Proposed Concept for Transit Center Station [2.38] Five Points Station Construction

[2.39] MARTA Rail System Section Diagram

[2.40] MARTA Transit Map 1967

25

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Sandy Sp rings

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[B1] Current MARTA 75 Rail System GEORGIA

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675

13

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Bus Routes affecting Five Points Station

16

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SP

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Design Analysis: Figure Ground of Site Context

26

27

Design Analysis: Program of Site Context 9 Commercial / Business Landmark Education / Institution Government Parking

3 1

12

7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12

Georgia State University Underground Atlanta Woodruff Park Fulton County Government US EPA US State Department Atlanta Constitution Building Coca Cola Museum Phillips Arena McDonald’s The Gulch

5 11

2

1

6

2

4

8

28

Design Analysis: Transformation of Site

Sanborn; ca. 1911

Sanborn; ca. 1949

M ST SW EE TR AB

AM AS TS W

BR OA D

ST SW

FO R

SY T

HE

AL

AC H

ST SW

EE ST SW

FO R

SY T

HE

AM AS TS W

AC H

AB

PE

ST SW

AL

BR OA D

BR OA D

ST SW

FO R

TR

EE TR AS TS W

AC H

AM

SY T

HE

AB

PE

ST SW

ST SW

ST SW

NW ST

NW ST

NW ST

A TT IE AR

A TT IE AR

M

A TT IE AR M

AL

PE

Sanborn; ca. 1866

In this map, there is the presence of the urban grid of today, although the lots seem

Comparing to the 1866 map, one can notice the densification of the urban blocks,

This map starts to resemble more closely the urban infill that exists today, many of the

less dense and largely unfilled. The railway is a powerful element at this time, with

although the size remains unchanged. Forsythe Street now extends over the railway

smaller lot sizes have been combined into larger, denser lots, evident of the upcoming

the only apparent connection over being Broad Street, the current site of the Five

as many of the lines become disused.

mid-rises and high-rises around the site.

Points Station

29

Design Analysis: Revelance of Market Typology to Context The current Five Points Station in its context to

Current Five Points Station in relation to Underground Atlanta

Underground Atlanta (a connection under-street level). While the original proposal for Transit Center preserved the flow of Broad Street, turning into an urban pedestrian plaza; the current scheme obviously disrupts the flow and acts as a dead cell almost to the point of being a void within the urban block. With such close proximity to Underground Atlanta and vender marketers, the site has potential to invigorate the sense of enterprise and market-excitement Underground Atlanta serves as a landmark for the City of Atlanta, both historical and commercial/recreation. It underwent a series of transitions of integrations and closings; in 1968 the 5 block area comprising Underground Atlanta was declared a historic downtown site. However, during the new construction of the Five Points Marta Station the original Underground Atlanta was closed, until in 1989 at a cost of 142 million, it was added to the National Historic Registry and reopened. Its reopening saw it as a major tourist destination for the city, it now receives over 6 million visitors per year. This 225,000 square foot mall is comprised of plazas, thoroughfares, 100+ shops and retail spaces, all located in the “gulch” area of downtown Atlanta, and under street level.

Uniquely the mall has an ability to open up to multiple street levels, offering an interconnected venue of plazas and entertainment attractions.

[2.41] Original Proposal of Transit Center Station

Vender Spaces adjacent to Site

Underground Atlanta

30

Design Analysis: Banal Materials within Site The material pallette used within the

D

A

1

5

Five Points Station are banal in regards

3

to their sterility. Let me unpack this. The

6

materials are chosen for their efďŹ ciency and durability, not for their intimate interaction or phenomenal experience. They are sterile

7 2

in that they lack the capacity for sensual engagement, almost to the point of creating a disengagement between the audience and

1

Clay colored aggregate tile, Exterior Lobby

Brick pavers

space. This use of material is contrasted within the context of the station; in the

Circulation; N/S Level of Five Points Station

2

6

vicinity of the Underground Atlanta there is evidence of materials used for sensual engagement and human interaction.

Material used for human engagement; bench

C

Ceramic tile, gloss ďŹ nish

B

3

Aluminum paneling

7

C

D

B Vinyl paneling

3

4

Painted drywall

8

2

5

4

Plaza level of Five Points Station

Material disengaged from human interaction

Metal Grate, drainage in lobby

Acoustic

31

Design Analysis: Views of Site and Context D

1

2

View Toward West; Barricaded Plaza

E

Plaza level of Five Points Station facing Phillips Arena

Forsythe Entrance of Five Points Station

4

3

View Toward East; Barricaded Plaza

D G

Peachtree Entrance of Five Points Station

5

F

Plaza level of Five Points Station facing Phillips Arena

E

6

F

Intersection of Forsythe-Alabama

G

Underground Atlanta

“NO LOITERING OR LEANING ON WALL” Side Circulation of Five Points Station

Plaza: Five Points Station

32

Design Analysis: Snapshot Documentation of Station

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

N/S Level

33

Design Analysis: Programmatic Exploration

gallle g ery

r

vende

[1] the train station, with its concourse, ticketing, and platforms; and the [2] plaza level market place. vend-

gallery

public

The spatial program comprises of two entities:

public vender

vender

ic

bl

public u

vender

vender e

pu

p public

market marke m ma arket ar a r et evtic i place p plac pl a e ac c

vender e er

Train Station:

Marketplace:

Station Entrance (Ticketing/Gates): 30,000 sf

The Expression of the Nonbanal

The Integration of the Hyperbanal

Civic Space: 15,000 sf

Bike Storage, Zip Car parking

Gallery space for artists: 20,000 sf

Bus Loading/Unloading

Vender Space: 25,000 sf

Information: 150 sf

Farmer’s Market;

Restrooms: 1000 sf

Permanent Retail Space:

vender er r

v vender

vender

public

civic

g ll

marketplace mar ma et ac ace e

vender

Waiting

public

public

Fare Collection.

public vender

“Concourse” Tra t n ns e i ien s n a Waiting t TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT Tr TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT Waiting

Waiting

vender

vender

34

Design Process: Vignette Studies

?

?

Volume

Distortion of Daylight

Threshold

Spaces within the station are large and geometric with view portals that provide cropped, partial views into other spaces, extending the perception of the station while also compressing the space

Transparencies in oor allow daylight to penetrate station, and through mirrors become distorted; when people pass over transparencies the lighting becomes disrupted

Movement into station is through a monumental entrance, one that compresses the scale, as a means of preparing the user for the compartmentalization of the station while also compressing the space

?

Mimic of Daylight System in place that mimics the effects of daylight, altering one’s perception of the time of day, or the location within space

?

?

ArtiďŹ cial Light Coverage Maximum coverage of lighting which removes dynamic shadows is mixed with moments of shading to cause a changing experience

35

Design Process: Vignette Studies

?

Movement Entering the station ďŹ rst occurs by moving through the marketplace, one of open program, into the station which is systematic

Movement

Visual Texture

Entrance of the station occurs through a narrow hall, heightening the sense of isolation as well as disengagement from social interaction

Materials within the spaces differ in texture and pattern to offer an interest and stimulation; such as cracks and ďŹ ssures of the material amidst smooth surface

!?

Kinetic Intrusion penetrations from the market level into the station alter based on certain situations; causing objects to shift and adjust within the geometric space

?

Circulation Vertical circulation consists of a series of single occupancy escalators, intended to separate and isolate those in transit

36

Design Process: Model Exploration: Dual Interations

Model Series A

Model Series A

Series A

Initial model exploration led to two concepts, each based on a different idea Series B was an exploration of the station entrance as a diagram of the of dealing with the relationship between the market place and the station. Nighthawks. Movement into the station occurs through long corridors which Series A conceives of the station entrance as one of monumental entrance, were adjacent to the marketplace, offering a clear distinction between the two. a compression that intensifies the “oppression” that the station has on its Visual connections would be preserved, offering the ability for the transient to transients (in regards to banality). It is an entrance that draws transients into recognize the disconnect between the two varying programs: banal program of the station from the market place, blurring the definition between the two; once the station and non-banal program of the market place. transients are within the system split circulation corridors direct them deeper within the station, emphasizing the banal program.

Model Series B

Model Series B

Series B

37

Design Process: Defining the Sections Explorations of section and model led to the development of the entrance threshold condition; one that physically disconnected the transient from those engaging within the marketplace, as well as exploring the qualities and spatial connections between the ground level and the station levels.

Station Entrance: Threshold

Descent into the Station

Station Entrance: Threshold

Entrance Experience: Corridor as Threshold

Diagram of Market-Station Relationship

38

Design Process: Compartmentalization within Station Compartmentalization became a core idea of the station design; it provides an ability to explore multiple iterations in various spaces around the station, while preserving a sense of isolation and simplicity. What initially began as a series of compartments that made up the station; the station’s ďŹ nal development was one that was much more clear, providing one large space for the platform level, coupled with smaller compartments that provided different experiences of the hyper-banality condition.

Compartmentalization of Station

East/West Level

East/West Level North/South Level

Compartmentalization of Station

North/South Level

Compartmentalization of Station

39

Design Process: Market Place Integration

Underground Atlanta Plaza

The market place level was one I found integral to the station to allow it to become a destination within the urban fabric and contrast the systemized program of the transit station. I explored adjacencies of Farmers Market

vender-style spaces with the station entrances as a way of encouraging a mental awareness of the disconnect between the two different programs.

As well as vender spaces, I begin to consider the inclusion of open programs such as a farmers market and a consideration for the bus routes.

This allowed transients moving from the hyperbanal station to the market place level an ability to realize the difference in experience of two similar motions (waiting for a bus; waiting for a train).

Market place in Context

Market place in relation to Entrances

40

Design Process: Site Plan

pe

ac

ht

re

e

st

re

et

forsythe street alabama street

Site Plan

41

Design Process: Street Level [0]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Station Entrance Underground Atlanta Station Lobby Vender Spaces Gallery Bus Waiting Cafe Cold Storage OfďŹ ce/Administration Farmers Market

A

9 1

7 10 8 6 6

B

3

3

1

B

1

5

4 4

4 1 6

2

A

Ground Level Plan [0]

42

Design Process: Lobby Level [-1]

A

B

B

A

2

Ground Level Plan [-1]

43

Design Process: East / West Platform Level [-2]

A

WEST LINE

B

B EAST LINE

A

Ground Level Plan [-2]

44

Design Process: North / South Platform Level [-3]

A

NORTH LINE

SOUTH LINE

B

B

A Ground Level Plan [-3]

45

Design Process: Building Sections

Transverse Section [A]

Longitudinal Section [B]

46

Design Process: Visual Field Analysis: Grand Central Terminal An examination of the visual fields of the banal, non-banal, and hyper-banal space. Within the Five Points Station there is a fragmented visual field which further intensifies the compression

A C B A C

Express Level

A

Section through Lobby

B

[2.42] Main Concourse

C

[1.18] Oyster Bar

[2.43] Baggage Claim

47

Design Process: Visual Field Analysis: Hyper-Banal Station The hyper-banal station provides views that expand to the length of the station and due to the spatial compartments, the view becomes compartmentalized,

with

discreet

views

into

adjacent spaces. This causes the spaces to expand beyond the space of the occupant, creating a sense of isolation while offering an impression of extension.

E/W Level

Section through E/W Level

Section through N/S Level

48

Design Process: Visual Field Analysis: Five Points Station . In Grand Central Terminal the visual ďŹ eld is uninterrupted

A

due to the monumentality of the space, offering the glimpse of extension provided by view portals and spatial adjacencies.

B Lobby Level

E/W Level N/S Level

C

Section through N/S

Section through E/W

49

Design Process: Vignette Series: Material + Scale

?

Level [-2]: Area of Experience

Iteration A

Level [-3]: Area of E Experie Experience per p erie

Material of the station is used to a monotone state, simply repetitious at first glance, lacking sensual pleasure or stimulation. This is at first glance. LED bulbs begin to backlight select wall tiles, drawing the occupants closer and creating a bizarre scattered illuminated texture of the wall surface. It begs for closer inspection, offering a depth of texture within the system of tiles one would not have noticed simply passing by. Other elements of the tile-wall begin to

Iteration B

reveal once the occupant examines further. While the number of tiles from space-to-space are similar; their sizes are not. There is an uncertainty of the volume of the spaces; the space seems to change heights, yet the tiles remain the same number from floor to ceiling. It presents a dis ambiguity between the perceived scale and actual scale of the space, only revealed once a hand is placed on each tile, comparing its actual dimension.

Iteration C

50

Design Process: Vignette Series: Material + Scale

Varying Wall Tile Textures

Concrete with resin shield prevents user interaction

Wall Tile Section, Conveying LED Illumination

51

Design Process: Vignette Series: “Daylighting”

!?

Level [-2]: Area of Experience

“Daylight” from above

Level [-3]: Area of Experience

Within these spaces is an artificial lighting system that is intended to mimic daylight at various times of day, sometimes falsely. It raises questions to the transient of the time of day or the sheer validity of some of the lighting that is occurring. It calls to question a truth that is inherent in daylight, a truth that is much taken for granted. It causes a call to question of the validity then of banal space; does it have to be this way? Does it have to cause the deprivity that we are so use to?

False “Daylight”

Fluorescent from above

Design Process: Vignette Series: Daylight as Transformative Material

?

B

Level [G]: Location Transluscent Floors

A

Level [-2]: Area of Experience

Level [-3]: Area of Experience

Textureless walls and a ceiling of translucent glass present the platform levels as repetitive and univigorating. However, as levels in daylight begin to change, a change of the material’s properties begins to occur.

The tiles begin to illuminate,

transmitting light via the sunlight from the market place level. This programs the space with an everchanging experience, caused by the changing levels in daylight, and the social activity that occurs in the market place. The cause remains unexplained to the occupant, but allows the occupant to realize the phenomenal oppressed banality that occurred before awareness.

Section through Glass Floor [B]

52

53

Design Process: Vignette Series: Daylight as Transformative Material

June 21 - 9:30 AM

March 21 - 9:30 AM

Reected Ceiling Plan [A]

June 21 - 12:00 PM

Design Process: Vignette Series: Station Entrance as Threshold

!?

54

?

B A

Level [G]: Threshold Condition

Once the person passes through the ticketing gate, the person becomes a transient, a part of the systemized MARTA Station. The experience of the corridor in which the person travels downward is disengaged from the events outside of the space.

The corridor is a diagram of the banal program, straight forward and direct, lacking the ability for unintended social interaction.

As the transient

descends downward, the eye level changes, further disengaging them visually from the market while the exterior image moves from stages of blurred image to clear, changing the perception of visual connection that the transient feels to the social interaction outside. While visually disconnected, the transient is also unknowingly physically disconnected as the corridor is structurally disengaged from the market place.

Vizium Glass is used in the corridor, for its ability to alter between transparency and translucency depending upon the angle being viewed. It is used with two variations; Vizium Side View, and Vizium Direct View. This causes the exterior image to be in a constant state of opacity, depending on the angle being viewed as one moves through the corridor; emphasizing and de-emphasizing the disconnect.

Wall Section [B]

Design Process: Vignette Series: Station Entrance as Threshold

55

Section Diagram [A]

Section Diagram [A]

Design Synthesis: Final Design Documentation

56

Findings and Summary Post final jury, I reflect on my thesis project:

It was a long and arduous journey, and I feel that a lot has been accomplished through research and design. From the initial stages of the project to the final product, the project has matured drastically. What began as an unsure statement lacking a definitive direction, the project ultimately a noble direction; one that I feel secure and confident in its ability to achieve outcome

The criticisms from the final jury were helpful, yet proved that there was a gap from research to design execution. My process of analyzing the works of artists as a means of defining hyper-banality and using those principles to instigate spatial design decisions is problematic; there is a discrepancy when moving from optic to haptic.

Another comment was the actual feasibility of how I was actually using the hyper-banal principles to design a station. The question becomes: Can banality be simply subverted by placing a dmv in six flags? Is this ironic juxtaposition enough? I debate that it is not; to design something as non-banal is simple, one must simply design. To design something with a frame of mind that an audience will generate their own cognizance of its condition; that is what I have wrestled with.

One noteworthy outlet to explore further is the concept of banal program and its juxtaposition with non-banal program. The two contrasting and integrated together, more-so than the current station allows, could offer a strong potential for realization of what actually constitutes banality.

It has been a difficult topic to understand, especially considering the subjective nature of Banality, but it is one aspect of society that I feel accomplished for attempting whether or not a subversion of banality was ultimately achieved.

57

58

Bibliography Berg, Stephan. Gregory Crewdson 1985-2005. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2005.

Nadeau, Maurice. The History of Surrealism. Harvard University Press, 1989.

Depicts the style of Gregory Crewdson, and his evolution of style and themes throughout his photography series

This book offers a detailed history into the Surrealism counterculture, this area was being researched in how the

from 1985 to 2005.

Surrealists dealt with banality and the counterculture itself, where most of my own photography has likenesses to surrealist art.

Borges, Jorge. Labyrinths. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1964.

A collection of short stories from Jorge Borges, examining the depth and multiple narratives that his stories

Nevins, Deborah. Grand Central Terminal: City within the City. New York: Municipal Art Society of New York, 1982.

convey. Through The Garden of the Forking Paths, Borges suggests a novel of infinite rhetoric, one with multiple narratives upon each reading.

Crewdson, Gregory. Dream of Life. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1999.

Parissien, Steven. Station to Station. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997.

Powell, Kenneth. Grand Central Terminal: Warren and Wetmore. Lomdon: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996.

The collection of his photography series, Dream of Life.

Into The Wild. Directed by Sean Penn. 2007.

Fenton, Jill. “Space, chance, time: walking backwards the hours on the left and right banks of Paris.” Cultural Geographies,

A film that is retelling the account of a deceased college graduate, Chris McCandless, where out of fear of becom-

2005: 412-428.

ing a dependent on consumerism and like his parents, devoid of happiness and life experience, embarks on a

A narrative of Jean-Pierre Le Goff and his group as they walked throughout Paris on an imaginary geographic

personal quest into the wild. He destroys his identity and finances and follows an unplanned journey to Alaska.

clock, placing tarot cards at each hour-location. The richness here is the chance encounters and experiences they have, as well as the hidden meanings they uncover through their journey.

Shinkle, Eugenie. “Boredom, Repetition, Inertia: Contemporary Photography and the Aesthetics of the Banal.” Mosaic: a Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature, 2004: 165-185.

Foster, Hal. The Return of the Real. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996.

Eugenie Shinkle, PhD is a lecturer in Photography, Theory, and Criticism at the University of Westminister. Her

The chapter, “The Return of the Real” that investigates the idea of trauma and realism, and explains Andy War-

publication describes the aesthetics of banality through photography, describing the qualities of the banal images

hol’s techniques in photography; his use of repetitions of images to evoke trauma and introduce the real into his

as a late capitalist culture. She defines banality and its counterparts: ennui and boredom, and the way these aes-

themes.

thetics have become established within society through various photographers’ series addressing this condition.

Hyman, Isabelle. Marcel Breuer, Architect. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001.

Tzonis, Alexander. Santiago Calatrava: The Poetics of Movement. New York: Universe Publishing, 1999.

Ishmael, Amelia. “The Snapshot, Under the Intervention of Flies on the Wall.” 2009.

Venturi, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.

Provides a background into the technique of snapshot photography, as well as an overview and description of its

Venturi describes the banal as an aesthetic component of modern architecture. He terms banality with conven-

technique and applications. This reading also supplies with a larger list of sources to build upon.

tional element, and the various applications and value of convention within order.

Kelder, Diane. The French Impressionists and Their Century. London: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1967.

Wagstaff, Sheena. Edward Hopper. London: Tate Publishing, 2004.

An examination of Edward Hopper, and his famous works.

American Beauty. Directed by Sam Mendes. 1999.

Directed by Sam Mendes, this film strikes at the heart of suburban anxiety. Depicting the life of Lester Burnham

Wells, Walter. Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2007.

as he begins his own mid-life crisis, with events leading to his ulitmate death at the end of the film. The film exam-

An analysis of Edward Hopper, his themes addressed over the course of his works, and deeper analysis into the

ines the banality of the suburban lifestyle, the monotony of commodity, and the ultimate subversion of its effects

psyche that is depicted within his paintings and drawings.

by Lester.

59

List of Illustrations Figure 1.1_ Edward Hopper, Nighthawks. 1942. Oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago _ 9 Figure 1.2_ Edward Hopper, Automat. 1927. Oil on canvas _ 9 Figure 1.3_ Edward Hopper, Excursion into Philosophy. 1959. Oil on Canvas _ 9 Figure 1.4-1.7_ Gregory Crewdson, Beneath the Roses, Untitled . 2004-2005. Photograph _ 10 Figure 1.8-1.11_ Sam Mendes, American Beauty. Film Stills. 1999 _ 11 Figure 1.12-1.13_ Paul Graham, Beyond Caring. 1942. Photograph _ 12 Figure 1.14_ Claude Monet, The Gaire Saint-Lazare. 1877 _14 Figure 1.15_ Edward Hopper, Night on the El Train. 1942 _ 14 Figure 1.16_ Edward Hopper, Chair Car. 1965. Oil on canvas. 40 x 50 in. Private Collection _ 14 Figure 1.17_ Cervin Robinson, Untitled. 1962. Photograph _ 14 Figure 1.18_ Daniel Case, Untitled. 2006. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.19_ Diliff, Untitled. 2006. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.20_ Unknown. 1957. Composite Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.21_ Unknown. 1911. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.22_ Unknown. 1920. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.23_ Alan Turkis. Penn Station. 2007. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.24_ Unknown. 1911. Photograph _ 15 Figure 1.25-1.27_ Simon Glynn. Untitled. 2004. Photograph _ 16 Figure 1.28_ WSM Photography. Untitled. 2011. Photograph _ 17 Figure 1.28_ Google Maps. Untitled. 2010. Photograph _ 18 Figure 1.30_ Jordi Menesses. Mercat de Santa Caterina. 2005. Photograph _ 18 Figure 1.30-36_ Alex Gaultier. Untitled. 2005. Photograph _ 18-19 Figure 2.37_ Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission: Rapid Transit for Metro Atlanta. 1967. Drawing _ 24 Figure 2.38_ Atlanta History Center. Untitled. 1978. Photograph _ 24 Figure 2.39-2.40_ Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission: Rapid Transit for Metro Atlanta. 1967. Drawing _24 Figure 2.41_ Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission: Rapid Transit for Metro Atlanta. 1967. Drawing _ 29 Figure 2.42_ David. Untitled. 2009. Photograph _ Figure 2.43_ Unknown. 2007. Photograph _

Disclaimer Note: Every image and illustration unless otherwise noted is attributed to Jeremy Smith. Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected in the subsequent editions.