Remember, Rethink Detroit+Decay by Majdi Faleh

[RE]Member

Think...

+Decay

Detroit

2010-2011

Majdi Faleh Ball State University

DETROIT MEMORIAL

+ (Re)member DETROIT (Re)THINK Decay

AUTHOR: Majdi Faleh, Fulbright Graduate student, Professional masters-Architecture ADVISORS: Prof.Olon Dotson Prof.Ana de Brea

M U S E U M

Ball State University, Spring 2011

edited by

Majdi AlFaleh

Introduction 3

Paradox, mystery, decay

Concepts 13 19 28

Systemic racism Urban discrimination/Riots Suburban nations/Prisons

2 4

10 16 23 30

Abstract Proposal Culture of the United States The American world Urban diaspora/decay The prison industry

Case Studies 38 40 42

IAW, Paris-France Taichung Operan-Taiwan Meditation Pavilion-Sudan

68 78

45 46 50

Design 58

Peace Memorials-France Millennium park-Chicago Abstracting diversity The site

Beyond design Story, architectural form Architectural design

Sources

INTRODUCTION

ABSTRACT “A city is both a dream and a reality”; Italian writer Italo Calvino stated in his book invisible cities that“Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” According to Calvino, the image of the city is not as positive as it seems to be, since it is a place of integration and interbreeding, of blooming and relegation, and of operation and dysfunction. Throughout history in places as diverse as ancient Persia, China and Muslim Spain, there have been societies that have attempted to negotiate and achieve advantage from differences. The west too must face up to the paradox that its reverence for its own liberal secularism born out of the enlightenment can breed its own fundamentalism. Celebrating diversity among people enriches the society and enlightens it, and obviously thinking about difference as an obstacle would be creating a paradox made out of diversity deficit in the presence of a cultural variety. The inability of people to embrace this amazing variety of ethnic groups and to share a physical public space is the dominant reality of today’s and past American history, and this incessant non-acceptance implied a non-adaptive mode of cultural diversity. As the society continues to develop and expand, this reality becomes worse and worse and a cultural void within groups of people and individuals keeps occurring. The pause needs to occur and remembrance should happen, the past should be questioned, the present reevaluated and the future redefined. It is a time for architecture to intervene, react, help and reflect sorrows and bring questions to resolutions. Key words: Urban Diaspora, urban decay, diversity revalorization, cross-cultural awareness-sensitivity, space of reflection-remembrance, hybrid intercultural design, tolerance through architecture.

CAN WE FIND A NAME FOR IT? Paradox, mystery and decay: The intercultural American city and its struggle with urban discrimination. How to stimulate reflection and remembrance through design, and how architecture connects the ethnic Diaspora and celebraterevalorize the diversity?

WHY THIS TITLE? Urban discrimination: Act of differentiating between people upon race, color or ethnic group. Urban discrimination goes from the small societal unit (street, neighborhood) to larger groups, and usually results in unfair judgments and affects the whole public sphere. Systemic discrimination is said to exist everywhere.

Paradox, mystery and decay: in a country rich with ethnic diversity where

immigrants come and move to seek the American dream, discriminative behaviors and the lack of deeper cultural interactivity, creates a system of paradox. Mystery is about the real reasons for such an ethnic disconnection despite the existence of the “melting pot” concept, and it results in a continuous disturbance within American societies as well as within urban spaces (moral and physical). Decay happens through ignorance and disconnection between people on a first level, but is also present in suburban isolated areas on a second level. Void is not only generated within suburban sprawl but also in areas left to nature, where nature took over abandoned buildings. The change of population and negative forces (energy) created cities in turmoil.

PROPOSAL Detroit memorial and urban plaza an intercultural iconic memorial and the connective urban space. • Why cultural diversity? And how architecture and urban design can embrace it? Globally, cultural diversity is one of the most rewarding social themes to study today. Unfortunately, most Americans tend to think about the social construction of race and color when it comes to diversity, and the idea becomes superficial and limited to an arbitrary categorization of people. Staying on the surface of diversity issues does not resolve the issue, but makes it more complex. This tendency is driven by its easiness to see and by a very limited time frame to spend thinking about that, and issues underneath the diversity umbrella stay unresolved as a matter of fact. In his book “Cultural Diversity in the United States”, Larry L.Naylor states that the tendency of Americans to rely on such over generalized categorizations tends to obscure more than it clarifies. While such groupings (categorizations) are well established and commonly used when addressing the topic of diversity, they by no means convey the actual number of cultural groups that come together and make up what is commonly known as the “American Culture”. The multiculturalism of American culture should be highly appreciated and should be put in emphasis in order to produce a more diverse space.

• What is architecture to me today? Architecture has broad meanings and is not just about designing, function or building masses ; However, its meaning has reached the inner core of today’s societies. Architecture is everywhere, whenever you walk, think or act, you are surrounded by it. Architecture has a great influence on your social behavior, and is a way to enlighten societal issues and help progress our thoughts and reflections. It is also a way to advocate different causes, and to gather people for a good social cause. It is a way to bring different alternatives to different issues, connect people and provide a universal image of a “defined”,or not type of space. Architecture is a place for remembrance, for connection, for interbreeding. 4

It is a hybrid core where outside forces interact and reveal. It is a place for meditation and virtual connection. It reveals and redefines interaction. It is a move toward peace, and a power toward a revalorization of cultures. It is a universal abstract collage, and it resists the assimilation and globalization of cultures. It is a culturally sensitive action, a people-centered form of development.

• ARCH of the element- DESIGN of the ensemble. From point to surface, an abstract illusion of forces In a world based on movement and flows, the power of architecture might be about how it gives the “break”. A space is a connection of dots in the space creating walls and structure, and it can also be an urban space generated from a connection of lines. The power of design comes from a flow of virtual “energy” and dynamics generated from the dots and creating a whole system of flows. Dots represent diversity and the flow between dots illustrates the connection between them, and the result is both an element (monument) within an ensemble of dots creating lines and a surface (plaza). The project would consist of an architectural and/or urban design project which (semantically, iconic-ally)would bring people from different ethnic communities together and embrace their differences altogether. In my mind, I still have the Baha’i temple in Chicago but also the Arab World Institute ( French: l’Institut du Monde Arabe) in Paris. Taking advantage from diversity is a very deep philosophy, which can be both symbolic and real.

• SPACE for Intercultural discourse, Memories/reflection Our architecture would be based on remembrance of the past of ethnic groups that existed or still exist, and on the revalorization of these scattered diverse groups, representing their history and their particularities and making the “break” or the “pause”. The “pause” is the moment when architecture talks about the dark moments in the history of this country and the failures in assessing its huge diversity, and it attempts to tie the links and connect broken bridges between all these ethnic groups. Revealing the power of architecture is a key element toward connecting people and creating that flow of energy between their substantial differences. Diversity advantage is to be taken care of and the space surrounding people is a space of memories. The object or the monument which defines the pause is the sculptural design or the “built” design and the open space or the “urban cultural plaza” is a space of interaction. The dots represent the flow of positive energy that can be generated out of diversity and should flow without assimilation. 5

A THEORY, AN APPROACH, A DESIGN

ARCH i NTERBREED- hybrid architecture and spaces of connection+reflection Embracing cultures and differences. Learning from the past, to re-evaluate the present, for a better future of diversity. 6

To complete our study, a conceptual process is the result of questions and/or a development of a continuity of questions. Our conceptual approach will gather the possible geographical sites which are related to the topic of study, and an explanation of the reasons for which we chose a certain specific site would be detailed.

• • • •

Historical context Racial discrimination Urban decay, 4th world Cultural aspects

Case Studies • WAI, Paris • Sound Cave, Toyo Ito • Meditation Pavilion, Sudan • Peace Monuments • Museums

From there, we will aim to define the role of architecture nowadays and how it can contain global issues and challenges within the society. With that said, as a first step, we will analyze precedents or case studies of architectural projects which dealt with the same topic of remembrance and reflection about diversity and breakpoints which they provide.

Theory, Concepts

Our study aims to illustrate the main concepts, historical facts, sociological, political and so on and provide a design response to an architectural/urban issue. In order to define this study, the most logical way to do it is to start by defining the concepts which intervene with the study and which will be divided into two categories: one dealing with urban discrimination and the other dealing with cultural diversity/sensitivity.

Design • Site Analysis • Reflective Design 7

culture

cultura culture

cultura 문화

kultur 文化

文化 ΔѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧϓΎϘΛ Koltūra

kultura Kulturë Култура yati ΔѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧϓΎϘΛ Культура

Култура Kultur ‫ ולטורק‬Diwylliant Kultúra Kultuer kulture �� Vùn-fa Zagon

CONCEPTS

‫תרבות‬

kulnu

सं��ृित

Menning

budaya Cultură

பண்பாட

Kultúra

Bûn-hoà

സംസ്‌കാരം

Kültür ��

kultur πολιτισμός kultura cultiu cultura সংsৃ িত Kulturo Kulttuuri Kilti

kulturo វបបធម Yachay tarpuy

Маданият

a culture which brought immigrants to the “land of dreams,” and a culture where everyone strives to show and widen his potentials and his heritage and not a culture of assimilation where people have no choice by to have a same type of conventional behavior of the consumer’s society with very reduced values.

CULTURE OF THE UNITED STATES: what defines it? Assimilation, globalization, subcultures, hegemony American culture-American values, what defines it today? Is it about the variety of culture in the American continent? Or is it about the “wiped” Native American culture which defines the roots of the current United States of America? Or is it about pop culture, McDonald and “freedom”? Or is it more about “chasing the American dream “, seen from outside as the extraordinary and as the utopian best world ever?

Americans and culture: attitudes, general confusion and utopian dreams In his book “American culture: myth and reality of a culture of diversity”, Larry L.Naylor stated that When Americans are asked about their culture or culture in general, they generally do not have very solid responses. To be sure, they almost always have a response, but responses, more often than not, suggest that there is little real understanding of culture or the role it plays in their lives-or the lives of anyone else. Nearly all of them readily admit they rarely give it much thought. In the eyes of some, culture simply refers to the place where one is born…It is common to hear culture associated with family or some racial grouping people recognize or to which they are assigned. In America, there is a complex nature of the culture and of the multiculturalism that characterizes this nation, so Americans should gain a better understanding of cultural diversity in order to cope with it, and to provide the society with cohesiveness, unity and stability. Awareness is the key element to better understand the American culture as a culture of diversity, 10

Americans reject the idea that US popular culture is a threat to foreign cultures. In October 1999 PIPA asked, "How much of a threat, if at all, do you think American popular culture, such as music, television and films, is to the cultures of other countries in the world?" Just 24% said American popular culture was a "very serious" (7%) or "serious" threat (17%) to other countries. By contrast 33% considered it only a minor threat and a plurality (41%) said it was not a threat at all. They may also see foreign concerns as overblown; America has spread a widely globalized culture all around the world and the images of big Mac’s, Michael Jordan and Hollywood is just embedded in people’s minds inside and outside the country. From China to France to the Middle East, foreign leaders and activists have expressed fear that global culture may become too Americanized, undermining their own cultural, economic, and religious traditions . America’s popular culture is seen as a threat from outside even within other western countries, so the question is: how can we trust an “undefined” culture, a culture of people who cannot generally defined it, a melting pot of immigrants who could not melt? Is the saying that when capitalistic forces come, then they drive the society into “prosperity”, and culture tends to be marginalized or undefined?

Systemic racism In a new age of post politics in the US, hatred speeches and prejudice still exists. Talking about a racial past of this country starting from Native Americans, to riots against Blacks and then against Muslims today, is a fact known by the general public. In America, racism has become so common and enrooted that it seems like a human condition just like love or hunger. Some people do not even notice it, and it starts to be obvious only when it becomes extremely noticeable. In Mecca, where Muslims perform the ritual of “Hajj” or pilgrimage, Malcolm X discovered that racism should not exist. In the holy city, he saw people from different races and having different colors all together with no discrimination, performing their rituals. Americans do not like to discuss racial issues, and consider it part of the past. Professor J.Feagin from Texas A&M University stated in his book 'Racist America, roots, current realities and future reparations' that 'assuming racial discrimination to be a thing of the past, many assert that African Americans are 'paranoid' about racism and often give them firm advice: forget about the past and move on, because slavery happened hundreds years ago'.

Cultural hegemony is the philosophic and sociological concept, originated by the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, that a culturally-diverse society can be ruled or dominated by one of its social classes. It is the dominance of one social group over another, e.g. the ruling class over all other classes. The theory claims that the ideas of the ruling class come to be seen as the norm; they are seen as universal ideologies, perceived to benefit everyone whilst only really benefiting the ruling class . In America, white supremacy has been the rule for ages and continues to be the rule nowadays making the other groups less important or underrepresented in certain cases. This negative ideology is what makes Native Americans for example live in what is called reservations and what makes African Americans live in neighborhoods in decay getting the least support possible from the state or the government (i.e. Gary, Indiana).

Unfortunately, modern slavery is still occurring, and just take a look at how the country is 'taking care' of Detroit's African American neighborhoods, left to decay and despair for years now. In a society built by slave owners and built on skin color, there is a tendency to look down on blacks and regard them as inferior. In a new triumph era where a Black president is ruling the country, the real face of America is still seen through some figures and media from the Republican side looking for failures, and going back and digging in his roots and stating that “he might be possibly Muslim”, Asked about this, Obama communications director Robert Gibbs responded by indicating to Pickler that he wasn’t sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim. “Senator Obama has never been a Muslim.” And so what if he was Muslim? Are we really in the country of freedom where all people are judged equally and not upon race or religion? Or do these words established by the “white” founders change to meet capitalistic needs?

Racism is to be considered as one of the severe diseases of human society and back in the history of Islam the tribe of Quraysh considered themselves in particular, and Arabs in general, superior to all the other people of the world. God’s Messenger came with the Divine Message and proclaimed that no Arab is superior over a non-Arab, and no white is superior over black and superiority is by righteousness and God-fearing alone (sura al-Hujurat, 49.13). 14

He also declared that even if an Abyssinian Black Muslim were to rule over Muslims, he should be obeyed. In the Islamic faith, the first “Muadhin” or the person who calls for prayer, was named Bilel Ibn Rabah Al Habashi and he was a black of Ethiopian orgins. Bilal Ibn Rabah was an emancipated slave in the late 6th century. 15 centuries ago, Islam has already fully embraced the idea of equality between the different races of people. 15

Has national ignorance in America replaced all the “values” the young country was supposed to establish and foster? Did McDonald and the pop culture intervene and caused a lot of overweight and a pride to be “careless, ignorant and in the same time proud to be American”? Is American only about having a flag of the country in front of your house to show your pride, or is it maybe more about supporting wars here and there by paying a lot of taxes?

American Ignorance: New Brand of the “NEW WORLD”- MADE IN AMERICA

Ryan Huang, a student from MIT stated that it is no surprise that many Americans cannot answer these questions. In general, most of us aren’t interested in what happens in countries on the other side of the globe. We feel apathetic even to domestic events occurring in states other than our own. But that is the problem – the American public does not recognize the most basic knowledge about the current events of the world due to lack of interest. The average adult perhaps only realizes that bin Laden and al Qaeda are hiding somewhere inside or outside Afghanistan and that Saddam Hussein may have a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction hidden somewhere in Iraq. But this is about as far as their familiarity with foreign affairs extends – they may not even be able to point out Baghdad on a map or what territory Desert Storm covered. They probably cannot even identify the events that occurred at Tora Bora or name our allies in Afghanistan. Why are most of us ignorant in international affairs? Why do peoples of foreign countries stereotype Americans as clueless? We just don’t care! There are, I believe, four major factors contributing to our disinterest in world relations: the actions of our government, the popular influences of media, our isolated geography, and most important, our apathy” .

Urban Discrimination-Migration Movement

Collectivism VS. Individualism Can we think more of a society of shared values, a society where diversity drives the economy and helps in building the best opportunities ever for its people? Diversity advantage and collectivism is the rule to success and individualism which characterizes America is just a desperate ideology. 18

In the mid of the last century, there were huge migration movements from the southern parts of the United States to Northern states to seek jobs and better lives. In Detroit, for example, there were a huge number of immigrants coming to seek jobs after the industrial boom in car industry. From abroad, Arabs came to Detroit to seek better opportunities and from the south Blacks came with their families to enhance their condition and be part of the “system of wealth” of the United States. Long before the 1967 racial riots in Detroit, whites start to flee downtown and move to the suburbs and black who cannot afford to move where left with no hope. Today, the Northern part of the city is almost empty and disturbing. During the 1950’s, the white population of Detroit decreased by 23%, and the black one rose to 29%. According to Sidney Fine, “The transition from white to black on Detroit’s near northwest side occurred at a remarkably rapid rate; In a familiar pattern of neighborhood succession, as blacks moved in after World War II, the Jews moved out. 12th street became densly packed because of a luck of apartments and housing. 19

Detroit Rioting, since 1940’s

Suburbanization has stripped Detroit of much of its population. The process of housing discrimination largely blocked access out of the city for African Americans. The city became much more segregated. In the above picture, the six foot high “wailing” concrete wall was built to discriminate African Americans from a white residential development. These type of discriminative structure were built long before the riots of 1967, and were considered as a protection for the “American Dream”.

1967 Riots: causes and consequences

The riots began a long time before the 1967, since the racial issues were already embedded in the society for years. Tension between police and African American residents of Detroit added fuel to the fire, and looting and violence started as a sign of protest. urban unrest in Detroit was caused by many factors including political, social and economic events. During the 1960’s, “Big Four” police was known for its brutality and for the use of racist names. Black residents were asked to provide identification, and they were suffering from continuous humiliation. The main issue in the minds of Detroit’s black residents was about police harassment and brutality 5 (Detroit Free Press 1968, Fine 1989, Thomas 1967). Poor housing is the second issue for Black Detroiters. In fact, white residents engaged in several bitter campaigns during the 1940s and 1950s to prevent the integration of public housing located in predominantly white areas (Farley et al. 2000:154-161). By the end of the 1950s, more and more black job seekers, reported by the Urban League, were demoralized, ‘developing patterns of boredom and hopelessness with the present state of affairs’ The anger and despair that prevailed among the young, at a time of national promise and prosperity, would explode on Detroit’s streets in the 1960s. (Sugrue 1996:147). 21

Urban Diaspora

barricade

unrest eruption disturbed BOMBED brurality police unfair riots housing social economic political racial inequal turnover needs CHANGE

Diaspora refers to the action of dispersion or scattering, and is the movement of a group of people from homeland to a different area seeking better opportunities. The new world or what is known today as the United States has known a big migration movement from Europe to the new discovered land. During the 15 hundreds, Spanish came and settled in southwestern United States and French came and established outposts around the great lakes. In the early 16 hundred, pilgrims came from England and settled on the East Coast (James Town, Plymouth, Massachusetts) and in the late 16 hundreds there were more waves of Dutch immigrants to “America”. By the turn of the 18th century, slaves were brought from Africa and were used as a main labor. In a qualitative study about Indians, called “Walking a Mile” and published in 2008, It was said that Native Americans were forced to move from east toward west and today they live in reservations. In 2007 the non-partisan Public Agenda organization conducted a focus group study. Most nonNative Americans admitted they rarely encountered Native Americans in their daily lives. While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native Americans today . For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they continued to face prejudice and mistreatment in the broader society. Diaspora continued and immigration movements continued till today from many countries and States, and the country is still suffering and not knowing how to deeply accept its diversity. Diaspora will continue and the hope will also continue with it. 23

Hispanic Population, Detroit, 2000 24

Asian Population, Detroit, 2000

Arab Population, 2000, Detroit 25

Urban Decay: a threat, a consequence Urban Decay- 4th World Theory When you visit Detroit and especially the northern part of the city today, you will feel like an atomic bomb has wiped most of the buildings and left a huge void within the different streets and neighborhoods. Detroit will not go back to how it was back in the history, though different possibilities can be considered to redevelop the city differently. Today, Detroit has almost 96,000 vacant lots. Nature is taking over everything rapidly and the areas are being called “urban prairies” due to a low density accompanied previously by a huge loss of jobs and revenues. In a developed world, where technology is widely present, we can still notice some neighborhoods which reflect a complete different image of decay and failure in urban contexts. Today, we talk about the second world, the third world, and the developed world. We can also extend that concept and talk about the Fourth world theory where neighborhoods are in decay or in very primitive conditions. This all exists in the “country of Dreams, of Las Vegas and of all the entertainment all around”. Conditions in some neighborhoods might be so similar to conditions in some degraded neighborhoods in the slums of the Third World. Wouldn’t that be a fair opportunity to redefine the concept of a “developed land” not only by wealth but also by the equal distribution of wealth among its communities? Or do we care less about these poor people?

Detroit decay-Detroit today

Where did they go? >>>

SPRAWL

A modern form of decay: suburban “great” nations and the American “killing” dream People are scared of other people, whites are scared of blacks, some blacks are confused and want to follow the American typical dream. Huge highways are built to connect the city to its new suburbia where the “white flight” took place and the “black flight” sometimes too…a hot summer or a cold winter, a huge grey surface called parking lot generates a lot of heat or cold, sustainability is forgotten. People move seeking the American dream in great suburban “palaces”, agricultural land is suffering, consumed. All is consumed, images, land, highways, cars, gas…all become an expression of a materialistic dominant society, outrageous dreams and a fake reality, this is what constitutes the American dream today. In her book, “a field guide to sprawl”, Yale professor and author Dolores Hayden shows us the reality of the terrible things being done to the American landscape. The aerial views are scary and as we said at the start of this study danger is stalking the city.

THE “NO

MAN’S” LAND

Today, in the United States, we reached a point where jailing becomes a sort of industry for the country. Here we are talking about a multitude of systems defining this huge network, and which covers a rapid growth in the number of prisons as well as the expansion of private prison companies and businesses supplying goods to public prisons. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. A report released Feb. 28, 2008 indicates that more than 1 in 100 adults in the United States are in prison. This country has less than 5% of the world’s population and 23.4% of the world’s prison population. A black person is 5 times more likely to be in jail than a white person, which means that there is a dramatic disproportion in terms of race in the US prisons. Activist Angela Davis calls to understand the problems of people and to figure out a way to make these issues visible. Over 1/3 of black men in the US are in prison, and even “the political economy of prisons relies on racialized assumptions of criminality”. Davis urges for an anti-capitalistic system and for building movements to resist to this network and to replace it by new health care, education, drug programs for true democracy. 30

CASE STUDIES 02

Institute of The Arab World Paris, France Jean Novel and AS

In contrast, the opposite facade is rectangular. Facing it is a large square public space that opens out toward the Ă&#x17D;le de la CitĂŠ and Notre Dame. Above the glass-clad storefront, a metallic screen unfolds with moving geometric motifs. The motifs are 240 motor-controlled apertures, which open and close every hour. They act as brise soleil to control the light. The mechanism creates interior spaces with filtered light â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an effect often used in Islamic architecture with its climate-oriented strategies. It is also noted for receiving the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The building houses a museum, library, auditorium, restaurant, and offices.

Jean Nouvel's Arabic Institute includes one of my favorite facades. Uncompromisingly rectangular, the huge south-facing garden courtyard wall has been described as a 60m 'Venetian blind', although its appearance is more Islamic in decorative terms, with a repeating metal motif set behind the glass creating a giant pierced sun-screen. The motifs are actually 240 motor-controlled apertures, which act like camera diaphragms to create a brise-soleil, controlling the light entering the building by reacting and adjusting every hour. The mechanism creates interior spaces with filtered light without allowing harmful rays through to the books within. 38

Taichung Metropolitan Opera Taichung, Taiwan Toyo Ito

Taichung, a city in central Taiwan, has broken ground on a new metropolitan opera house that it hopes will make the region known for its culture. Designed by Toyo Ito, the Taichung Metropolitan Opera began construction in December of 2009 and is expected to open in 2013. Environmental awareness is one of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principle considerations, and the finished project features a curvaceous structure designed to integrate into the surrounding natural landscape. The fluid continuity of the structure reflects the idea that the theatrical arts are spatial arts which combine the body, art, music, and performance. While providing optimum settings for traditional Eastern and Western types of performances, the design by Ito moves beyond the constraints of a traditional Opera House. The design is an open structure which actively engages its surroundings in all directions and creates opportunities for myriad encounters between high art and popular art, artists and visitors, stage and auditorium, interior and exterior. Ito calls this space the Sound Cave.

Prayer-Meditation Pavilion Khartoum, Sudan Studio Tam associati

This building was designed by Studio Tam associati located in Khartoum, Popular Republic of Sudan. The prayer and meditation pavilion is an integral part of the recently realized Cardiac surgery centre in Sudan, built by the Italian humanitarian organization, EMERGENCY NGO. The complex, planned and designed by Tamassociati architecture studio, is the only one of its kind to provide free health-care to patients in an extensive area within a ten million square km. radius and counting three hundred million inhabitants. The Popular Republic of Sudan is a country that, over the past twenty years, has been scourged from numerous Inter-ethnic as well as Inter-religious wars.

Peace Memorials

Millenium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Paris, France Clara Halter and J.M.Wilmotte

Chicago, Illinois, USA Frank Gehry

The Wall for Peace is freely inspired by the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem. Visitors can put their messages of peace in the chinks of the Wall. The Wall for Peace is erected in Paris, on the Champs de Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Glass walls covered with a single word in 32 languages and 18 alphabets: PEACE. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peaceâ&#x20AC;? repeated ad infinitum as if to ward off all forms of violence, all wars. The design is an intriguing promenade-monument. Ten Gates of Peace, to be built on a ninety-three meter long square will catch the eye of visitors who will no longer simply look at the memorial in contemplative memory, but actively experience with their entire being the place, the memory and, by extension, Peace. 44

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion is an outdoor performing arts venue for small events, and an extended lawn is a place where people can sit and attend events for free. The bandshell designed by Gehry was an object of controversy due to the historical height limitations in the park, therefore the city classified it as an object of art rather than a building. The pavilion has 4,000 fixed seats and 7,000 lawn seating. The stage is framed by curving plates of stainless steel. The great lawn is covered by a trellis structure to support the sound system. The whole project received recognition, and was considered as one of the most accessible parks in the world in 2005. 45

The architecture of Zaha Hadid looks into investigating the relationship between architecture, landscape and geology. Zaha has defined a radically new approach to architecture by creating buildings with fragmented geometry to evoke the chaos of human life. It was said that her architecture reflects the idea of movement and energy. Her buildings look like a structure which is ready to take off, with no real point of support. Kasimir Malevich, suprematist, wrote in 1928: â&#x20AC;&#x153;we can only perceive space when we break free from the earth, when the point of support disappears.â&#x20AC;?

Abstracting Diversity Universal, global, intelligent image Zaha Hadid

morph-Embodied change abstract neo-modernity experience space through design space speaking new fluid melodramatic

These types of projects and this kind of abstract plasticity by is an inspiration to an abstract architecture, a universally spoken new language, where there is more room for interpretation and freedom. My conceptual ideas are not limited to the physical abstract forms, but these illustrations are ways to broaden my imagination and to connect the dots to create the lines and to drive forces and energy inside the object. A vivid inspirational architecture which surpasses the third or even fourth dimensional aspects of design, is what people need to reflect and think deeply, of how their surrounding is being reshaped and affected by dogmatic ideas. Simplicity is a key element to that, but complexity in simplicity is also an open window in a broader sense. 47

DESIGN 03

A Site, general context Challenges+Reflections

Gary, Chicago or Detroit?

These pictures from Gary detail how urban decay has affected this city. The choice of a site was a big question for me. First, I thought about Chicago since it is considered an urban laboratory, but then I decided to follow the path of immigrants and go and dig in the south (New Orleans, Alabama), north. Why Detroit? 50

Detroit used to be a very populated metropolitan city, but unfortunately a number of historical and contemporary policies and structural factors created today’s condition in Detroit. “No one social program or policy, no single force, whether housing segregation, social welfare programs or deindustrialization, could have driven Detroit and other cities like it from their position of economic and political dominance; there is no simple explanation for the inequality and marginality that beset the urban poor. It is only through the complex and interwoven histories of race, residence and work in the post war era that the state of today’s cities and their impoverished residents can be fully understood and confronted” . When we think about Detroit, we think both of a GREAT metropolis and DECAYED one; we think of a DIVERSE core and of scattered people in the same time, we think of some UNITY and we think of DISPARITY, of a GROWING city, and of SHRINKING one. This is Detroit both yesterday and today, a city which was full of a positive flow of energy and production, and a city which is left to decay today. Detroit, we miss you, and Detroit we need to rethink our future and remember all the positive energy which was lost in decades. 51

History of Urban Detroit

Why Eastern Market, Detroit?

Detroit has seen a lot of changes and its urban core or downtown has suffered from shrinkage. Back in the history, Detroit was founded by French Antoine dela Mothe de Cadillac in 1701 and is one of the oldest cities in the Midwest. It was one of the largest American cities back in the 17 hundreds. After World War II, Detroit’s economy was prosperous and expanded thanks to the automobile industry. In the 1950’s, there was a population shift to the suburbs and during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Urban riots happened after a continuous police abuse, lack of affordable housing, urban riots, economic inequality, and rapid demographic change.

In order to create an architectural project, the site has to respond in a way or another to the type of the project. In our case, the site has certain potentialities such as an important density all around during certain hours (up to 40,000), and its closeness to Downtown and to main routes is also a driving factor. Such a spot is a popular spot, and bring an unusual universal architecture would create a lot of questioning toward its meaning and the meaning of an architectural space nowadays.

Detroit has seen an immense population flow and the reason for that is not only the car industry, but it is more the car itself. The rise of the suburb has contributed to the fall of the inner city. The figure shown above provides shocking information about the relation between the construction of express ways and the condition of the inner city. In fact Detroit is drained by the mass introduction of the car, and has become dependent on their construction at the same time. Detroit’s population halved within 50 years, changing the city from a vibrant metropolis into an urban vacuum.

Characteristics of the site Eastern Market is a historic commercial district in Detroit, MI. It is located approximately one mile (1.6 km) northeast of the city's downtown and is bordered on the south by Gratiot Avenue, the north by Mack Avenue, and the east by St. Aubin Street, and the west by the Chrysler Expressway (I-75). 52

The district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; the district's boundary was increased in 2007. The Eastern Market is located on the city's central east side near St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church and the Lafayette Park neighborhood. Today, it is a busy spot on Saturday and is a market for several products.

Environment

Strategic+commerical+historic

Our site is located in the city of Detroit, in Michigan state-USA. To its south, the Canadian border is located and the city of Windsor, Ontario is the one across the river. Our chosen site is located in the hearth of a historical district which is Eastern Market in Detroit. The direct surrounding is mostly commercial and it has several areas for Parking. The site is like a gate or a hub connected to downtown, distressed areas. The site dimensions are: 138ft/35, 45 ft (sidewalk not included), and its current use is a non organized Parking lot.

Questioning the Etymology: Site-Project

The site has a great potential in connecting the â&#x20AC;&#x153;dotsâ&#x20AC;?. So how would we define connecting the dots concept? Due to its proximity to the northern part of the city where decay is disastrous, our site has the potential of recollecting memory. Also, our site is a historical classified site which makes our challenge greater in bringing the soul of the city for remembrance in a place which shows the prosperity of old Detroit. Another dot is about the nature of the site, which is a market place and a space of consumerism. Positive consumption of cultures can be generated and appreciation of a national heritage too.

A cross border communication project, done by University of Windsorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Research Leadership Chair and Spectrodata, aims to give hope to the city through displaying support messages from Windsor, Ontario on urban facades.

BEYOND DESIGN

Can Architecture change the world? Can it go beyond the classical meanings, which have been used uninterruptedly by both professionals and the general public? Can we talk about a desire to push the limits of creativity, and make of the complexity an energetic power? Can we reshape our worlds and remove all the negative energies surrounding us? Is there a room for change? In an idealised world we have been living in, no space for the some groups is being considered, and the catalyst negative forces and energies are invading both our physical and our moral spheres. In a world of diasporas, of suburban sprawl and of decay, a huge metamorphosis is happening. In this fast growing “suburban world”, we need a space of deep reflections, where memories meet reflections, and where everyone expresses themselves. A philosophy of liberation is vital in the modern world, and “liberating” architecture from all the chaos which limits its epistemology is crucial. Consider, rethink.

Ideas>>>Concept Abstractive philosophy-Liberalizing energy

The project is about creating a space of remembrance, in order to recall some diverse and glorious moments in history. A desire to celebrate those enriching features is there. This all started by a three dimensional sculpture, using the most affordable recyclable materials possible, and aiming to express this energy/disruption in different abstract ways. The sculpture is similar to a flow of energy expressed through the curved lines, which converge and diverge. The idea comes from the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Birth+Dance.â&#x20AC;? Our building-Sculpture, idea is a new creature born out of the old historical buildings, and comes as a first element to start the performance. Its deconstructed architecture highlights the start of the scene or the performance, which extends later to the urban plaza. Layers from the ground, similar to human cells, come out and participate in creating a surface of layers. A fluid movement starts within the broken lines of the platforms, and the ceremony extends to the benches. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a red fluid starts coming out from the ground and both dividing and connecting all the elements. This last element comes as a commemoration of the past, and connects the street and the performance together.

Abstracting architecture is a great tool to reveal its power, to be critical, and to go beyond its limits. Our experiences of the real world are very different, and our senses get affected differently creating diverse but unique human experiences. Abstraction is the power of imagination that involves all our faculties. It includes the universal and the particular, the finite and the infinite, the becoming and the being, thus introducing our minds to the world of reflections. 62

Concept>>>design 01 Concretizing abstraction

Design 01>>>design 02 Defining Performance

Think urban, think different, think design and extend. Our aim is to design a space which connects people, and extends beyond of the architectural limits. The bones of the museum or its structure should extend to an open space which is the urban plaza. The urban plaza, which used to be a gray surface of an unsustainable parking lot, is the main area of real interaction. Reconfiguration and innovation are key elements to creating a positive shock. The power of design is to be revealed through the generative lines shaping the overall space components.

Design 01>>>design 02 Shells design+Skeletons and bones

How to give all this story

An Arch Form

This phase of the design is about the transition from an abstract philosophy of lines to a more concrete image and ideation of our concepts. To celebrate diversity is also going beyond the traditional type of morphologies, and achieve beyond what is expected, creating the unusual and even the whimsical. New possibilities are created, and architecture is liberated to its extremes in order to remind us that as physical environments can go beyond their limits, people too can extend themselves and make the encounter possible at different levels. Is it only about distinguishing between art and architecture? Are we in need of drawing those boundries which might limit our intellectual creativity? How would the inherent qualities of design be, can they go beyond the canvas, the walls, and the dimension? How would a structured sculptural ambition, be illustrated ? 72

Our goal is to create a space of reconnection, where people from different walks of life, will meet and interact. The suffering of Detroit is to be shared by all people in order to draw their attention to the importance of the events. Amusement is to be taken into account.

Architecture, design and planning urban spaces are among the key features to enhance innovation. The power of architecture happens when it becomes a place of encounter, a landmark of a city, an event for the public and a philosophical question. Innovation is the key component to revealing our structure; it is a poem of paradox, of both harmony and relegation, and continuity and chaos.

Architectural Design

The landscape of the plaza is based on 4 main principles.: the path, the paving, the benches and the upper high structures. The historical aspect is illustrated through the red path or the path of decay; the pavement is a representation of the cohesion of diverse people from different ethnic groups; the benches are part of the celebration of the diversity and each group of benches create an enclosed space for a specific cultural performance; and finally the upper structures come to add a final layer to the celebration and define the enclosed performance spaces. Green is also an important feature to enhance the character of the exterior space. 80

The goal is to design an urban facade which would accompany the visitor during his visit. Both the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban facades are expanded along the street. The intention is to create an interesting theme park, and to create an amazingly unique urban experience. All the three levels are connected through a ramp and the stairs. The ramp is a sculptural element which embellish the space, and enriches the experience. All three floors are open to below, and this detail helps in creating a very interesting experience for the visitor. The wall is a cascade of water, using the collected water from the roof, and then distributing it to the public park. The skin, the structure and the different floors come together and add some energy to the spiritual experience inside of the museum.

Street>>>Plaza

The red path is a historic path which illustrates very important moments of urban decay, and shows how the city of Detroit collapsed continuously after the riots and the fall of the car industry. Black reflective elements are located in the spots where the direction of the path changes suddenly, and then emphasizing on different moments of disruption. Interesting landscape features such as the water plans and the green walls, enhance the image of the path and make the experience and the promenade a powerful one. The walls surrounding benches are elements of display where new events are advertized. 86

Plaza>>>Path

The park is an important entity of the project, and participates in bringing life into the community. It is, in fact, a place for amusement, for cultural activities, for interaction and exchange. It is a new heart for the city of Detroit, and a new place for musical events, art displays, religious open discussions and peaceful sit-ins.

The new urban plaza is dedicated to the community, and would be a spot for ethnic groups to exchange ideas, and work for the better of Detroit future. It is a place of harmony, expression, freedom and creation. It is a place where the design embraces freedom. 88

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architecture must burn. It must stir the senses. Why? Because we live in an environment so difficult to define or even see, we need architecture to make sense of it. Confronted by a world afflicted by sprawl, we have to see architecture as a way of understanding, experimenting with and changing our physical reality. A new space of freedom and imagination, proposing an entirely new way of undoing the indiscriminate, sometimes disorderly world we have so carelessly constructed. Because this is not just about architecture, it is about how we live in the world.â&#x20AC;? Architecture Must Burn, A.Betsky, E.Adigard 91

The interior of the building is part of the whole mystic experience, where shapes and structures marry with lines of power and energy. The skin of the building interacts with the structure and the floor slabs, thus creating an enigmatic experience and a full range of possibilities. Stimulating creation through design is part of the overall process, and furniture and soft walls come to add a powerful part to the ensemble. Chaos is abstractive and is illustrated and accentuated, and creativity is also being recalled. A range of possibilities within complexity, highlight diversity. 92

Path>>>Interior

"We want architecture that has more to offer. Architecture that bleeds, exhausts, that turns and even breaks, as far as I am concerned. Architecture that glows, that stabs, that tears and rips when stretched. Architecture must be precipitous, fiery, smooth, hard, angular, brutal, round,tender, colorful, obscene, randy, dreamy, en-nearing, distancing, wet, dry and heart-stopping. Dead or alive. If it is cold, then cold as a block of ice. If it is hot, then as hot as a tongue of flame. Architecture Must B U R N! "

Wolf Prix with Coop Himmel Blau, Architect.

Bibliography

SOURCES

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Pictures Credit

3: Http://www.21stcenturyschools.com 4: Google search 6: Personal illustration: arch-interbreed, October 2010 9: Personal illustration: world cultures, 2008 10: Personal illustration 11: Http://philosophyinpubliclife.blogspot.com 12: Google images, source: unknown 14: Personal graphic composition, Racism and discrimination, from the start till today: a vicious circle and reality, Majdi Faleh 15: Http://abagond.wordpress.com 16: http://johnbakersblog.co.uk/the-american-world 18: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk 19: 2001 Wayne State University 20: WSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Detroit Orientation Institute 21-22: Detroit News archives, 1967 23 : US. Census Bureau 24-25: Wayne State University, Center for Urban Studies 26-27: Top right corner: ; others: Detroit Disassembled, Photography book 28-29: A field guide to sprawl, Dolores Hayden 30-31: Top right corner: Northern Illinois State Library; Graphics and diagrams: wikipedia 37: Http://www.vtnews.vt.edu, diversity photo winner by Kate Mazza

38-39: Http://www.imarabe.org 40-41: Http://www.arcspace.com 42-43: Marcello Bonfanti photos, http://www.archdaily.com 44: Http://www.wallforpeace.com/tour.html 45: Wikipedia images 46-47: Http://www.zaha-hadid.com/home 49: Google images 50: Personal pictures 51: Welcome Detroit: Tammy Zonker Blog; Other: Getty picture 52: Google images-Detroit; Bottom-right corner: Time Graphic by Andrea Ford and Lon Tweeten 53: Top: http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com; Bottom: personal photo 54: Top: personal photo; Bottom: bing.com 55: Bing Maps 56: Top: personal illustration; Bottom: http://www. brokencitylab.org 57: http://www.brokencitylab.org 60: Birth+Dance: personal illustration 62: Google pictures 63: Personal images 64-94: Personal renderings, used softwares: Autocad 2011, 3DS Max, Rhino, Photoshop 99-101: The Chief Diversity Officer Today

Detroit, a metropolitan city, collapsed few decades ago and continues to be forgotten. It was the flourishing city of the car industry, but racial riots and tensions, and the fall of the industry made Detroit, as many American cities, voided urban spaces. Architecture attempts to connect the dots, and to reconnect people together creating a diverse and powerful urban space. The study goes beyond the “usual” definition of architecture, and tries to question its meaning. It is an experimentation of a complexity of forces and energies, brought together to reflect an idea, a concept, in depth. Anthropomorphizing architecture is the idea, and the concept is called “Birth+Dance.” Some features exceptionally daring and provocative designs and thoughts, change the main stream of thoughts and enhance architecture. Connecting the dots is the goal, and creating a meaningful and participative design knowledge is a necessity. Majdi Faleh, a Ball State graduate student and a Fulbright scholar and architect from Tunisia, is the author of this book. Special thanks to Ball state professors Olon Dotson and Ana de Brea for their assistance.