1/4 (si)MTSD - Thesis Book

surface is more than skin deep

Matt Adler //

2013-2014 Undergraduate Thesis @ the CMU SoArch B.ARCH Program

1/4

Advising Team: DANA CUPKOVA JEREMY FICCA ART LUBETZ

Creative Support: MARY-LOU ARSCOTT JOSH BARD JACOB DOUENIAS MADELINE GANNON KAI GUTSCHOW HAL HAYES ZACK JACOBSON-WEAVER MICHAEL JEFFERS FRANK MELENDEZ

Matt Adler //

2013-2014 Undergraduate Thesis @ the CMU SoArch B.ARCH Program

1/4

si ecafrus aht erom eed niks 1/

8

1/

12

1/

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED

1/

THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF THE ARCHITECTURE

1/

26

MOTION AND COMPOSITION

10

THESIS ABSTRACT

16

background research and ideas

1/

36

precedents

CONTENTS

2/

50

2/

54

2/

SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE

2/

THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT

2/

66

DESIGN PROGRAMME

52

ABSTRACT, REFOCUSED

64

SITE LOCATIONS

3/

70

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND NOTES

1

HOW MY BRAIN IS ORGANIZED BUILDING TYPOLOGIES HIGH-TECH PROTOTYPES

KINETIC CONTROLS

CONTEMPORARY PRECEDENTS

THE 99%

WHAT DOES IT DO? KINETIC TYPES

WHO IS IT FOR?

THESIS POSITION (MY IDEAS) INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE

IA FOR PROTEST CAMPS

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT NOW? SUBDISCLIPINE DEFINITIONS REFLEXIVE POTENTIAL ANTOINE PICON POLITICS AND SUBJECTIVITY

6

THE DIAGRAM BELOW SHOWS THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS POSITION As the progression of a larger idea about interactive architecture and its low/high tech potential for a specific group of international users:

LARGEST #OCCUPY MOVEMENTS

POTENTIAL LOCATIONS? WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

PHYSICAL PROTOTYPES MODULAR/PARAMETERIC DESIGN

URBAN SCALE

WHO IS #OCCUPY? SOCIAL STRUCTURE

HISTORY HABITABLE NECCESITIES

THESIS PRODUCT

7

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED [other than as an ordered stream of consciousness].

8

THis book is a guide to RESEARCH and process. IT is ORGANIZED INTO TWO MAJOR PARTS: PART ONE: Part One presents the major research content on kinetic theory, interactive architecture and motion theory that has been developed thus far. Its purpose is to provide some of the more technical background and critical theory needed to understand the focused developments shown later on in Part Two.

PART TWO: Part Two begins to explore the focus and position of the thesis in specific application to a larger societal issue. Users and potential site locations are pinpointed. Design parameters to carry the project forward are presented using some of the knowledge gained through the development of Part One. 9

ABSTRACT

10

A developing position in support off the integration of interactive kinetics into the practice of architecture.

Given the disparate relationship that exists among architect, building and user experience, the thesis proposes a framework for the (re)integration of component-based kinetics into architecture as an enabling tool for users to actively participate in sculpting architectural environments.

Users should be given opportunities to evaluate and adjust architecture parametrically and in real-time to better suit their functional and aesthetic needs. This will allow architects to better communicate the vision of architecture to its users; the architecture will act as a vehicle for communication of functional and aesthetic value between its creator and operator. In response to user interface, the physical nature of the architecture might be both functionally diverse and phenomenologically generative within the parameters of a specific geometric and/or material system. The relationship between architecture and its functional capacity would have the potential to be more like hardware and software, consecutively.

11

THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF THE ARCHITECTURE

I

Architects are oftentimes (understandably) disconnected from the physical and tangible interaction between architectural users and the buildings they design. Members of the architectural profession oftentimes do not have the resources to retrofit poorly utilized spaces after they are physically implemented in the built environment.

A 2008 study from Michigan State University quoted the RIBA Research Sterling Group as describing PostOccupancy Analysis as “a systematic study of building in use to provide architects with information about the performance of their designs and building owners and users with guidelines to achieve the best out of what they already have.” Though POE offers a potential for future projects’ benefit, the buildings evaluated in the present are oftentimes left untouched and are subsequently poorly utilized.

12

Architecture has the opportunity to become more than the definition of static space. With the integration of interactive kinetic components into architectural design, it can become more functionally and aesthetically diverse than ever before.

A 2008 study from Michigan State University quoted the RIBA Research Sterling Group as describing PostOccupancy Analysis as “a systematic study of building in use to provide architects with information about the performance of their designs and building owners and users with guidelines to achieve the best out of what they already have.” Though POE offers a potential for future projects’ benefit, the buildings evaluated in the present are oftentimes left untouched and are subsequently poorly utilized.

II 13

THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF THE ARCHITECTURE

III

Architects are oftentimes (understandably) disconnected from the physical and tangible interaction between architectural users and the buildings they design. Members of the architectural profession oftentimes do not have the resources to retrofit poorly utilized spaces after they are physically implemented in the built environment.

A 2008 study from Michigan State University quoted the RIBA Research Sterling Group as describing PostOccupancy Analysis as “a systematic study of building in use to provide architects with information about the performance of their designs and building owners and users with guidelines to achieve the best out of what they already have.” Though POE offers a potential for future projects’ benefit, the buildings evaluated in the present are oftentimes left untouched and are subsequently poorly utilized.

10 14

IV. A feedback loop can be established between architects, users and architecture via interactive kinetic surface design. In the introduction to his 2013 essays on Ornament, Antoine Picon describes contemporary architecture, both static and kinetic, as missing the idea of a conception of knowledge by users as a reflexive means of evaluation of the importance of architecture to society.

IV

The proposed interactive architecture allows for learning for both users and architects in a closed-loop cycle as such: architects will enable users a parametric framework for experience via paratonic systems with kinetic/responsive components; participants (users) will learn and manipulate the proposed paratonic architectural system into personalized, hyperfunctional architecture; the architecture will output performance data for the architect to update in the form of software and hardware solutions.

15

BACKGROUND IDEAS & RESEARCH

16

INTERACTIVE AND KINETIC ARCHITECTURE IS SOMEWHAT NOVEL IN THE LEVEL OF ITS INTEGRATION INTO THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY Professional PRACTICE, HOWEVER roots of KINETICS, DEPLOYABILIITY AND MOBILITY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES. This section outlines general technical ideas that will hopefully enable the manifestation of the thesis position into architecture.

17

KINETIC TYPES DEPLOYABLE

Deployable kinetic systems allow for deconstruction and reconstruction of the architecture at various locations within a fixed over arching framework.

This type of kinetics is highly mobile and can be transported easily.

Exists in temporary locations and is easily transportable; overall system is oftentimes modular and rearrangable; examples included travelling exhibitions, concert stages and tent structures.

18

Kinetic types distinguish different interaction systems in terms of scale and use. Type is generally determined by how the system integrates to or acts as architecture either on its own or as a subset of a larger whole.

EMBEDdED

Embedded kinetic systems are integral to a building’s construction, so as that the architecture could not have been constructed without it.

Controls larger architectural elements and responses to change; usually characterized by a larger overall system with smaller elements; most rational type in regards to functionality, e.g. kinetic facade.

DYNAMIC

Dynamic kinetic systems or elements are the most common form of kinetics that exist in practice. These are usually components that can be operated and shift, but are not integral to the overall architecture.

Mobile - moveable from location to location within a space; transformable - into various small-scale configurations; incremental - additive or subtractive elements build a whole.

19

KINETIC CONTROLS INTERNAL

Internal controls included internal devices such as gears, pulleys or mechanical hinges. These do not have any direct control or mechanism for activation.

DIRECT

Direct control exists when moment of the apparatus is activated by an external source of energy, such as a human hand, an electric motor, or even bio-mechanical changes.

INDIRECT

Indirect control is based on feedback from a sensor system that reacts to environmental changes such as light, air or movement. This sensor works similar to an I/O pin, turning the kinetic system on or off.

20

Kinetic CONTROLS describe how interaction is activated, internal or external to the architecture itself. each diagram below illustrates a pivoting component that’s activation is linked to one of six the control types.

RESPONSIVE INDIRECT

Internal controls included internal devices such as gears, pulleys or mechanical hinges. These do not have any direct control or mechanism for activation.

UBIQUIOTOUS RESPONSIVE INDIRECT

Ubiquitous responsive indirect control uses many autonomous sensors and actuators acting synchronously as a networkedwhole. This type of system uses predictive algorithms to auto-adapt to environmental changes.

HEURISTIC RESPONSIVE INDIRECT

Similar to ubiquitous responsive indirect control, heuristic systems have a learning capacity that optimizes reactions through successful attempts at adaptation.

21

COMPILED DEFINITIONS FOR KINETIC INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE FUNCTIONALLY EXPRESSIVE UNEBELEIVABLY EXPENSIVE

The contemporary paradigm for kinetics in architecture exists in the form of the adaptable kinetic facade. The goal to achieve holistic environmental sustainability leaves architects with a compositional vocabulary of either vertical or horizontal fin elements.

Many examples of built kinetic architecture are extremely expensive due to complexities in constructabilty and maintenance. Because of their cost-inefficiency, some of these masterpieces - such as Jean Nouvel’s Arab World Institute - are irreparable.

A GENERATOR OF AFFECT An ORNATE BOX

Farshid Moussavi and Michael Kubo argue for the idea of ‘affect’ as pleasurable phenomena generated by contemporary facade and screen ornamentation. The vagueness of this idea is equivalent to the ambiguity of experience generated by their case studies.

22

Antonie Picon believes that contemporary facades have become nothing more than ornate skin, and that the architectural world is now confronted with “a growing number of blank building types... that do not presuppose an organic relation between the outside and the inside.”

from contemporary sources from the last two decades. Blue is what it is. red is what it is not, and green is what it could be.

SINGULARILY FORMAL USER-LESS

Who is kinetic architecture for? In most contemporary examples, kinetic components are objectively “performative” and not targeted the needs or interests of any particular user group.

Kinetic architecture does not produce a single form in stasis. Rather, it should have a level of indeterminacy, an “alloplastic rather than autoplastic logic” says Mark Goulthorpe. The designer generates a range of parameters to be activated by participants.

TEXTURE, IMAGE OR WALLPAPER SINGULARILY FUNCTIONAL

Architects design a range of spaces for a variety of functions for many users. Interactive kinetic architecture should not have a singular function, it should allow for the dynamism of a variety of functions built into a single, yet highly parametric system.

The post-2000’s architectural obsession with ‘texture,’ ‘pixelation’ and ‘wallpaperisation’ are representative of the use of digital tools and contemporary fabrication techniques purely for the sake of themselves. Architectural surfaces should be more than a singular layer of image.

23

COMPILED DEFINITIONS FOR KINETIC ARCHITECTURE REPRESENTATIVE OF MOTION EDUCATIONAL FOR USERS

Themes of motion in architecture do not rely on kinetics or interactive components in the definition of experiences. The occupancy, changing environmental conditions, weathering and the representation of movement do not equate to tangible, physicality of motion.

Interactive kinetic architecture should give its participants an understanding of its functionality within respective larger environments. Cognition should be engendered by the use of kinetic architecture.

ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL CONTEXTUALLY SUSTAINABLE

Michael Fox believes that today’s ‘highlycontextual architecture’ is static and singular, “with no adaptable qualities that might favor dynamic urban site conditions.” Kinetics offer longevity that static architecture does not - a dynamic set of parametric responses to rapidly changing urban conditions.

24

Environmental sustainability through the use of kinetic components is readily achievable with advanced environment analysis and design toolsets. Architects should design interactive kinetics to adapt to the changing needs of its immediate context, whether these needs be physical, social, cultural, or economic.

Blue is what it is. red is what it is not, and green is what it could be.

FUNCTIONALLY SUBJECTIVE

PHENOMENOLOGICALLY EMERGENT Like any architecture, kinetic architecture is for someone. It would be impossible to adapt a single parametric system for all users types and functional interests. Design should be based off of a series of forces that form the needs of a specific user group.

COMMUNICATIVE Architecture could be formulated and reformulated in a democratic way by its users.

Users would no longer be users - they would evolve into “participants� in the definition of architecture. There could be an expansive range of effects, and even affects, each generated by a framework of input conditions.

_A feedback loop can be established between architects, users and architecture via interactive surface design. Via tangible user interaction, architecture could output performance data for the architect for evaluation and update in the form of software and hardware solutions.

25

MOTION & COMPOSITION

26

In State Change: Designing Kinetics for Architectural Facades, Jules Moloney describes four types of motion or “state change� for kinetics: (1) translation, (2) rotation, (3) scaling, and (4) material deformation.

With the help of the information provided by this resource, this section presents a taxonomy of motion types that illustrates how singular, elemental motion can translate into a holistic field of kinetic components.

27

ELEMENTAL MOTION TYPES DISPLACEMENT A1

X-Axis

A2

Y-Axis

A3

Z-Axis

A4

2-Dimensional

A5

3-Dimensional

A1

A2

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

D1

D2

ROTATION B1

X-Axis

B2

Y-Axis

B3

Z-Axis

DISPLACEMENT C1

Uniform

C2

X-Axis

C3

Y-Axis

C4

Oblique Axis

DISPLACEMENT D1 Shear Compression D2 Shear Tension D3 Axial Compression D4 Axial Tension D5 Free Transformation

DISPLACEMENT E1 Melting E2 Freezing E3 Molecular

28

EACH TILE REPRESENTS A SINGLE ACTIVE COMPONENT. THE LARGER CATEGORIES FOR MOTION ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO SUBSET typologies.

A3

A4

A5

B3

C3

C4

D3

D4

D3

D5

29 29

AGGREGATE MOTION TYPES ELEMENTAL TYPE

A1

A2

30

DISPLACEMENT

THE AGGREGATIONS begin as a 2-dimensional 10x15 grid of tiles. scalar motion is determined by the distance between each tile’s center point and a single attractor point, centered at a consistent position from the matrix.

A3

/5

A4

31

AGGREGATE MOTION TYPES

B1

B3

32

FOR LABELLED TYPES, PLEASE REFER TO the key on PAGE 28,

B2

3

+B

2 +B

B1

33

AGGREGATE MOTION TYPES

C1

C2

34

FOR LABELLED TYPES, PLEASE REFER TO the key on PAGE 28,

C3

C4

35

PRECEDENTS

36

37

EMBEDED KINETICS

PROJECT

Instituit de Monde Arabe DESIGNER Jean Nouvel YEAR1987 TYPE Cutural/Museum TECTONIC Facade LOCATION Paris, France

The Arab Institute is one of the earliest projects that brings contemporary ideas of interactivity and kinetics in architecture to the forefront of the design solution.

Hundreds of metallic diaphragms form an automated brise-soleil that controls light levels within the major spaces of the building. Patterning is inspired by the mashrabiyya, a traditional lattice work used to shade building occupants from the sun in many Middle Eastern cultures. The movement of each screen module creates a variety of patterns, characterized by geometric figures such as squares, circles and hexagons. Unfortunately, due to technological difficulties and the cost of maintenance, the facade currently exists permanently in a dormant, unmoving state.

All images courtesy of ArchDaily

38

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM DESIGNER SANTIAGO calatrava YEAR1994-2001 TYPE Cutural/Museum TECTONIC brise-soleil LOCATION milwaukee, wi, use PROJECT

EMBEDED KINETICS

Santiago Calatrava’s office works consistently with kinetics and moving elements, blurring the bounds between architectural articulation and structural apparatus. The large brise-soleil that hangs above the entry space of the Milwaukee Art Museum consists of 72 steel fins supported along a central structural spine. The device opens and closes periodically, allowing varying intensities of light to be transmitted through the glass-roofed atrium. The total “wingspan” of the structure is over 66 metres in length, which is larger than a Boeing 747 aircraft. Calatrava describes the sculptural device as “a welcoming gesture towards visitors” to the museum (Kronenburg, 160).

All images courtesy of Wikipedia

39

EMBEDED KINETICS

AEGIS HYPOSURFACE DESIGNER decoi architects YEAR 2003 TYPE prototype TECTONIC surface LOCATION birmingham, uk

PROJECT

Originally presented as a competition entry for an installation art piece, the Hyposurface became a ten-by-three meter prototype for kinetic surface design. A smooth undulating computer-generated surface is faceted with triangles for ease of fabrication and actuation. The dimension of the metal plates determine the resolution of the surface as a whole. Goulthorpe uses the prototype to illustrate his ideas of an indeterminacy of form, one that is generated by a series of forces affecting a parametric system of parts. Real-time responsiveness to environmental conditions such as occupancy requires heavy computation and heuristic algorithms.

Functionality is limited to media and graphic displays that are vertically oriented.

40

Image credit: top - fluxwurx.com; bottom-left, bottom-right - mediaarchitecture.org

ALIANZ ARENA DESIGNER HERZON & DE MEURON YEAR 2005 TYPE Stadium TECTONIC facade LOCATION munich, germany PROJECT

EMBEDED KINETICS

The Allianz Arena houses two major football teams in Germany, Bayern and TSV Munich, each with colors of red and blue, consecutively. The facade acts a media display of the teams’ colors, changing from red to blue depending on who is playing that evening. The cladding is an array of 2,874 individual diamond-shaped ETFE cushions (Ethylene Tetraflouroethylene Copolymer) which are inherently flexible and anchored to an aluminum clip system. Internal air pressure is held constant by 12 airpump stations, however this pressure is allowed to fluctuate slightly based upon wind and snow loads. LED’s are embedded at the edges of each cushion element, and are diffused by a frit of circular dots printed in a scalar gradient across the facade.

Image credit: top and bottom-left - buildingskins.wordpress.com; bottom-right - Yahoo Sports

41

EMBEDED KINETICS

FLARE DESIGNER WHITEVOID YEAR2008-12 TYPE PROTOTYPE TECTONIC Facade LOCATION BERLIN GERMANY PROJECT

Flare is thought of as a compositional system of geometric “flakes� that are rotated in a rippling of motion across a facade surface. Each unit is composed of 16 components and can be mounted on any building as an additive system (non-integral to the envelope). When a single flake is titled downwards, it appears as a dark pixel, while when upturned, its surfaces reflect direct or ambient sunlight into internal and external environments. Similar to the Hyposurface, Flare is actuated by computercontrolled pneumatic pistons, one for each flake element. Sensor systems located inside and outside of the building can communicate motion and occupancy to the computer system, which then reacts and activates motion of the component array.

All images courtesy of whiteVOID Interactive Art and Design

42

TREE TENTS DESIGNER DRE WAPENAAR YEAR 2001 TYPE RESIDENCE TECTONIC ROOM LOCATION ASPEN, CO, USA PROJECT

DEPLOYABLE KINETICS

Santiago Calatrava’s office works consistently with kinetics and moving elements, blurring the bounds between architectural articulation and structural apparatus. The large brise-soleil that hangs above the entry space of the Milwaukee Art Museum consists of 72 steel fins supported along a central structural spine. The device opens and closes periodically, allowing varying intensities of light to be transmitted through the glass-roofed atrium. The total “wingspan” of the structure is over 66 metres in length, which is larger than a Boeing 747 aircraft. Calatrava describes the sculptural device as “a welcoming gesture towards visitors” to the museum (Kronenburg, 160).

All images courtesy of Wikipedia

43

DEPLOYABLE KINETICS

NOMADIC MUSEUM DESIGNER SHIGERU BAN YEAR 2005 TYPE MUSEUM TECTONIC EXHIBIT MODULE LOCATION various

PROJECT

A collaboration between photographer Gregory Colbert and Shigeru Ban, the Nomadic Museum achieves a new typology of art exhibition, one that is deployable at a variety of international locations. The paintings shown the exhibition, which is entitled Ashes and Snow, are packed, shipped and exhibited in 148 ISO containers, which stack as modules in a self-supported grid. Other elements include infill walls, wire fabric for bracing, and a light-weight roof structure, all of which can be assembled and disassembled in a short period of time. The structure shown originated in New York in 2005, and was later shipped to other cities worldwide such as Paris and Beijing in 14 out of the 148 containers.

44

Image credit: top - Flickr; bottom-left - nycarchitecture.com; bottom-right - Inhabitat

micro-compact villiage DESIGNER Horden cherry lee YEAR 2005 TYPE residence TECTONIC residence LOCATION n/a PROJECT

DEPLOYABLE KINETICS

The Micro-Compact Village is an aggregation of multiple Micro-Compact Dwellings, a prototypical house that is modular, light-weight and shippable. The design of the home is inspired by traditional Japanese Tea House architecture, with internal space subdivided into zones of dwelling and transition. The village is a set of homes, with a central vertical axis including circulation, kitchen and common areas. Each house has two levels which can be converted into bedrooms in order to sleep up to four persons at a time. Aluminum panelling mounted on a timber-aluminum composite sections creates the basic structure, while the superstructure is a larger extruded aluminum framing system that can be modulated in cantilevering vertical and horizontal formations.

Image credit: top, bottom-left - achiexpo.com; bottom-right - Wikipedia

45

DYNAMIC KINETICS

floraic house DESIGNER oma YEAR 1994-98 TYPE residence TECTONIC furniture LOCATION Bordeaux, france PROJECT

This Bordeaux dwelling was designed for a client confined to a wheelchair, so accessibility and manipulability was key to a successful architecture. The house is typical of many OMA projects - an elevated plinth is subdivided into a series of functional rectilinear spaces - save one key element: a moving platform room, equipped with mutable furnishings, replaces what might have been a conventional lift. The choice to implant a dynamic kinetic feature within the design elevates the client’s need for mobility and interactivity to the forefront of the architectural statement, and gives the client free reign over the various levels of the abode.

All images courtesy of ArchDaily/OMA

46

office in a bucket DESIGNER inflate YEAR 2003 TYPE office TECTONIC furniture LOCATION n/a PROJECT

DYNAMIC KINETICS

Arriving on site in a small PVC bucket, Office in a Bucket is literally what it seems to be.

Inflating the device creates a partial enclosure, a partition system that can be used to create a private space for small meetings or gathering in busy office environments.

The partition inflates in just over 8 seconds, and is made of polyeurathane coated, ripstop nylon - a light weight, stretchable material. The office is easily transportable and can be stored in a small amount of space when not in use.

Image credit: top - welovead.com; bottom-left, right - Michael Fox + Miles Kemp, Interactive Architecture

47

24

2

SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE

48

WHO IS IT FOR. WHAT DOES IT DO. WHY DOES IT MATTER. The research and information presented thus far illustrates general ideas and a set of working parameters for the design interactive kinetic architecture. However, amidst research, diagramming and precedent analyses, the specific focus and application has not yet been identified.

As a form of reaction to the research, a pair of thesis tracks were developed as options to carry forth the project for the remainder of its duration. These track options reside at polar opposite sides of the socioeconomic and political spectrum of architecture and use.

Out of the two, the second option has been chosen, which focuses on the use of kinetic and deployable architecture by protestors on a global scale. Both tracks are presented here for rhetorical purposes, so as to understand the context of each. The an explanation of the deciding factors can be found on the next spread.

49

THESIS TRACK OPTIONS

I “Liquid Morphologies: Interactive-kinetic façade retrofits for existing high-rise towers in Los Angeles OPTION 1

This option is focused on researching the existing, built high-rise buildings in one of America’s most polluted and sprawling cities, Los Angeles. Spatial and environmental conditions will be evaluated with a focus on how to retrofit existing building surfaces so as to enliven both interior-to-exterior and exterior-to-interior relationships with kinetic fields.

Design will focus on creating kinetic surfaces that have a variety of functional uses: aesthetic, environmental, functional and even potentially occupiable. Adaptability over the long term will hopefully yield less building and, as a result, less pollution, as well as the reemergence of a distinct urban fabric. The culmination of the project will be a “rule set” or “guide book” for the design and retrofit of existing building types with new urban interactive surfaces. Analytic drawings will examine critical details and connection points to existing building structure. Full scale mock-ups and prototypes testing efficiency and form will be created.

50

II “Energized Mobility – Hackable interactive-kinetic architecture for the world’s politicAL ACTIVISTS” OPTION 2

In response to the quantity and diversity of political demonstrations worldwide – whether in pursuit of political appointment or in protest of those appointed – this second option expands on Antoine Picon’s call to architects to reevaluate ornament as a vehicle for communication, politics and subjectivity. Since the beginnings of organized civilization, architecture has had a need to be interactive, deployable and mobile in response to shifts in climate, natural resources and political power. In today’s world of political campaigns and protests, the need for mobile and deployable architecture has been heightened. New technologies enable crowd-sourcing and networked communication that fuels swings in power and action.

The thesis would aim at inventing prototypes for mobile, kinetic-interactive architecture than could be used by politicians and protesters. A series of worldwide urban spaces under current political strife will be analyzed under the criteria of the needs of both user groups. Utilizing a hierarchy of logics for interactivity, prototypes for deployable architecture will be created and explored to scale. The final goal of the project might be to speculate on the phasing of a protest and/or political campaign overtime, pinpointing the potential benefits the architecture would have for the specific user group as well as culturally and environmentally for society as a whole.

51

ABSTRACT, REFOCUSED As an elaboration of the original position that architects should reintegrate the use of interactive, kinetic systems into architecture, presented here is a refocused abstract describing the initiative of the thesis to apply these concepts to the functional requirements of a specific user group.

52

Energized Mobility – Hackable interactive-kinetic architecture for the world’s politicAL ACTIVISTS At the early beginnings of organized civilization, architecture was designed to be interactive, deployable and mobile in response to shifts in climate, natural resources and political power. The ability for a civilization to transport and deploy architecture quickly and efficiently was potentially the determining factor of its ability to survive in the face of sporadically changing societal and environmental conditions.

In competition with its sister professions of design, architecture’s presence within our lifestyles has become relatively static. Interactive kinetic architecture provides the possibility of emergent spatial adaptation. However, contemporary precedents in this field are focused more on generating holistic media-based experiences than providing specific user groups with the versatility they need to thrive.

For residents of the worlds’ protest tent cities, the need for mobile and deployable architecture has been heightened.

New technologies enable crowd-sourcing and social communication that has potential to fuel swings in power and action. Inspired by Antoine Picon’s call to architects to reevaluate ornament as a vehicle for communication, politics and subjectivity, the thesis will focus designing interactive and kinetic architectures for the #OCCUPY movement, a worldwide activist organization that maintains needs for mobile, interactive and deployable habitats.

This new paradigm will seek to prove the functionality of interactive kinetic architecture in a majority low-tech environment in order to maintain concepts of malleability, hackability and DIY functionality.

Bottom image credit: nydailynews.com

53

TUNISIA

egypt and the arab spring

WISCONSON STATE CAPITAL

INDIGNADOS IN SPAIN

BAILOUT IN GREECE

Aganaktismenoi, or indiginants, protest against their economy’s bailout by the Eurozone of 110 billion euro.

2011 . 25 . 05

15-M Movment in Spain protests against unemployment and govenrment policies on Finance.

2011 . 15 . 05

20,000 workers protest the budget and collective bargaining laws in the State Capitol.

2011 . 17 . 02

Mass protest in Cario on Police Day, overthrow of Mubarak

2011 . 25 . 01

Immolation of Muhammed Bouazizi

2010 . 17 . 12

THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT

occupy wall street

OCCPUY ANIVERSARY

f29: shut down the corporations

OCCUPY WORLDWIDE

A basic time line of the movement:

Occupy Sydney in July of 2013 in Martin Place; Occupiers in Brazil protest the Movimento Passe Livre; Turkey protestors form Occupy Gezi in June 2013.

AUSTRALIA, BRAZIl, turkey

Sources: Wikipedia, occupytogether.org, 99.occupymideawiki.org

2012 . 05-07

In over 70 cities across the US, Occupy Movements protest the American Legislative Exchange Council

2012 . 02-PRESENT

In over 70 cities across the US, Occupy Movements protest the American Legislative Exchange Council

2012 . 29 . 02

On the three month aniversary of the movement, 68 members attempt to re-Occupy Zuccoitti Park but are soon disperesed by police

2011 . 17 . 12

An occupation of Zuccotti Park aggainst corporate finance and its involvement in the Unite States polticial process sparks the Occupy Movmeent.

2011 . 17 . 09

AN INTERNATIONAL PROTEST MOVEMENT fighting against economic and social inequality.

Wikipedia

major strategy of action is to occupy spaces of protest both spatially and symbolically.

55

#OCCUPY WALL STREET Occupy Wall Street was the seminal event that kick-started the Occupy Movement on September 17th, 2011. It was specifically a response to the edgy media blog site Adbusters calling for New Yorkers to “occupy Wall Street” to protest against political lobbying and the uneven distribution of wealth versus financial benefits in the United States.

THE

O.W.S.

TEA PARTY

$50K+

College

$50K+

College 56%

30.4%

70% 31%

92%

13% $75K+

ANNUAL INCOME

$75K+

HIGHER EDUCATION

<34 yrs.

Democrat

ANNUAL INCOME

HIGHER EDUCATION Republican

>34 yrs.

27% 64%

90%

70%

54% 36%

Independent

AGE

POLITICAL AFFILIATION

1500+ arrested after first 30 days of protest

56

AGE

POLITICAL AFFILIATION

>50 arrested in over 3 years

Source: http://libguides.aurora.edu

“To ‘occupy’ in the specific context and reference of O.W.S. became not just about occupying Wall Street the place, but also Wall Street the symbol, something that could occur in the symbolic realm of art, blog posts, tweets, conversations or donation of resources… to shift and change the qualitative meaning of any street, any location, any social position, any to problematize it, queer it, interrogate it, confront it.”

Welty, Occupying Political Science, 12

BR

OA DW AY

DOWNTOWN NEW YORK CITY

ZU

CC

OT

TI P AR

K

WA L

LS

TR

EE

T

57

to m

ix

Rem

the

n n em tio ces em nd eki py to ac spa s to d nity a e se u c r c i n in u c #o hers (publ citize mm we a ot ons ed n co ange . m gag ed o ch orld com as en bas e the he w t re ill b ltu cu e w .W aid

Wo rk

ak e

fun da s me y s tem ntal c ha .

s in ng e

52 58

RUrsCindivaidtherinsgand roante a al T S RE powe by g , park onst mutu g in

d

ea

E to l e TUR uals in th line)

THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT

In the spirit and tradition of civil disobedience #occupy takes to the streets to protest corporate greed, abuse of power, and growing economic disparity.

RESIST

THESE PAGES CONTAIN GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT. INFORMATION PROVIDED IS REPRODUCED by permission of www.occupytogether.org under .

CORPORATE INFLUENCE

Billions of dollars are donated to political campaigns by corporations... and lobbyists every election cycle, buying time and influence. Many issues within #occupy stem from policies made by elected officials acting in the interest of corporate profit rather than what is best for the people.

STUDENT DEBT

Financial speculators have wasted the jobs economy, leaving graduates unemployed and in hock for decades to come. Education is a right and knowledge should not be a source of profit for Wall Street.

CORPORATE PERSONHOOD

Citizens United declared money as speech and corporations as people—allowing for unlimited corporate influence through monetary contributions. Human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

WRONGFUL FORECLOSURES

Bankers and speculators had been gambling with our most valuable asset, our homes.

Because of the foreclosure crisis Wall Street banks created, millions of Americans have lost their homes and 1-in4 are currently underwater.

“Too Big to Fail” Banks

Healthcare

Living Wage

99% Budget Cuts

Too big to fail is too big to allow.

They’ve been bailed out at the expense of the 99% and now they need to be broken up so they can no longer threaten our economy.

Workers—who bring the 1% their wealth—should be able to make a wage that allows them to afford housing, food, utilities, transport, health care.

The profiteering of private hospitals, insurance, and pharmaceutical companies is a threat to our human rights and economic stability both as individuals and as a country.

Where we can not rely on our elected officials to work in the interest of the 99%, we will join together and offer each other mutual aid. We build community centers, free markets, workshops, and alternative structures.

59

52 60

Punta Arenas

Hot Springs

Tucuman Sault Ste. Marie

Salvador

Brasilia

La Paz

Belo Horizonte Rio de Janeiro

Campinas Sao Paulo

Porto Alegre Prishtina Curitiba

Bathurst Rosario Little Rock Fort Smith Buenos Aires La Plata

Santiago

Lima Huancayo

Skagway Whitehorse Lompoc Juneau

Homer Soldotna Wasilla Fairbanks Cordova

Belem

Monrovia

Lincoln

Kearney

LisbonPuerto Vigo Escondido Braga Isle of Wight SevilleA Coruna Belfast Mieres, Asturias Kenmare Bangor Salamanca Barnstable County Cordoba Galway Malaga Glasgow Plymouth Waterford Santander Granada Exeter Edinburgh Cardiff Getxo Liverpool Dundee Bilbao Athlone Bristol Bath Manchester Hebden Bridgeupon Tyne Birmingham Bournemouth Bradford Cork Rennes Newcastle Darlington Nantes Leeds Sheffield Nottingham Leicester Zaragoza Eton Cornwall Valencia Greater London London Castellon Poitiers Brighton Tarragona Norwich Toulouse Barcelona Saint-Etienne Paris PalmaGirona de Mallorca Clermont-Ferrand Montpellier Chauffailles Brussels Haarlem Dordrecht Leuven Breda Lyon Dijon Bruges Utrecht Soestdijk Marseille Bergen Eindhoven Maastricht Grenoble Leeuwarden Nijmegen Heerlen Zwolle Geneva Luxembourg Maple Ridge Doetinchem Newark Groningen Bitburg Trier Dusseldorf Bottrop Cologne Bochum Delmarva Peninsula Salem Boston

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Crescent City Pasadena LosBurbank Angeles Redlands Lancaster

Encinitas Sacramento Brookings Coos Bay Newport Florence Nanaimo Manzanita Seaside Seydisfjordur Winston Roseburg Stockton Victoria Grants Pass Corvallis McMinnville Richmond Northridge Vancouver Albany Eugene Longview Cottage Grove Salem Olympia Beverly Hills Beaverton Silverton Medford GigHarbor Portland Vancouver Coupeville Bremerton Port Townsend Angeles Gabriola Island Bellingham Sonoma Tacoma Gresham Springfield Richmond Fredericton Seattle Rogue Valley Puyallup Lynnwood Cowlitz County Bellevue Everett Marysville Stanwood Woodinville Klamath Falls Salinas Mosier (the Gorge) Bend Prineville Yakima Washington, D.C. Ellensburg Wenatchee Kamloops Whidbey Island Bainbridge Island Reno Carson City Richland Kennewick PascoWalla Seaside Vallejo Claremont Pendleton Novato Hollywood Camarillo Vacaville Antioch JoshuaTree MenloPark Ojai Temecula Watsonville Oxnard Napa Petaluma Courtenay Walla LaGrande Cove Orange Colville Chewelah Cheney Spokane Mount Vernon Pullman / the Palouse Port Orchard Friday Harbor San Diego Pararmount Yuma Las Vegas Ketchum Kalispell Calgary GrassBeaumont Valley Missoula San Fernando Spruce Grove Edmonton Encino Santa Monica Helena Tempe Salt Lake CityFalls Logan Idaho Provo Rancho Mirage Bozeman Tucson Flagstaff Fresno Butte Monterey Monument Moab Valley Billings Silver City Durango Van Nuys Cruces Gilroy Saskatoon Indio ElLas Paso Casper Espanola Yreka Santa TaosFe Denver Longmont Loveland Cheyenne Pinedale Regina Roswell Carlsbad Spearfish Uvalde County Custer Guadalajara Guerneville Laredo Minot Levelland Alameda Mexico City Palo Lubbock Galveston MiraAlto Mesa Bismarck Greater Sudbury Monterrey SanMount Bernadino Denton Shasta Cuernavaca Antonio McAllenSan Austin Norman Tulsa Shawnee Oklahoma Tahlequah Muskogee Stillwater City Vermillion GrandWinnipeg Brownsville Benbrook Corpus Christi Forks Wichita Bartlesville Bryan - Lawton/Ft.Sill College Station Hutto Riverside Collin County Houston Chapman Venice Italy Dallas Addison Plano Marfa SiouxMarshall City Port Aransas Topeka Lake County Omaha Darwin Fort Worth Lawrence San Marcos Temple Tyler Lufkin JoplinKansas CityMankatoBemidji Bentonville Beaumont Texarkana Shreveport Grinnell Ames Des Moines Mendocino Bloomington Minneapolis Austin St. Paul Kirksville Rochester Columbia Quad Cities SanSanta RafaelAna Mason City Jefferson City Duluth LafayetteGothenburg Harrison Fairfield West Plains Iowa City Decorah Rolla Cedar Falls Cedar Rapids Stevens Jonesboro Fayetteville Springfield Baton Rouge Viroqua PointSan Pedro Oxford Dubuque Macomb Devonport Davenport-Bettendorf Hammond Oshkosh Galesburg Jackson Springfield RockIsland-EastMoline O'Fallon Peoria Madison Letterkenny Carbondale Eau Claire La Crosse Thunder Bay Hattiesburg St. Croix Falls MissionBay San Salvador Racine Rochelle Wisconsin Rapids Oglesby Urbana Dublin Biloxi Oak Park Milwaukee-Riverview Sheboygan Waukesha Bay View Jackson Paducah Tupelo Elgin City Clearlake Naperville Bolingbrook Alton MobileTuscaloosa Green Traverse Bay Manitowac Milwaukee Kankakee Fairhope Evanston Florence Chicago Ghent Richland Center Evansville Madisonville Cleveland Owensboro Portage Athens Valparaiso Lloydminster Clarksville Murfreesboro Lafayette Birmingham Nashville Knoxville Bucharest Destin Niles Plymouth Montgomery Managua Fortaleza Chiapa Indianapolis Elba West Florida Muskegon Elkhart Anniston Matapalo Louisville Grand Rapids Davis Panama City Kalamazoo Bonita Springs Cadillac Columbus Huntington Midland Gainesville LiveOak Bloomington Port Orange Columbus Frankfort Newnan Oxford Ventura Lansing Hamilton Canton- West Woodstock Lexington Cincinnati Atlanta End Defiance Dalton Tallahassee Berea Perth WSU Dayton Lilburn Lima San Jose St. Louis Bay City Alpharetta Saginaw YellowSprings Flint Perry Toledo Berkeley Hayward Prince George Bowling Green Kelseyville Mesa Rochester Costa Tiffin Eaton Detroit Windsor Portsmouth Fort Walton Beach Largo Dunedin Lake City Clemson Columbus Williston Bradenton Kingsport Fontana Sarasota Tampa Venice Huntington Greenville Knox County Inverness Kent Chambersburg Mansfield North Port Hobe Sound Zephyrhills Ocala Bristol Athens Lakeland Cocoa Spartanburg State College Medina Dade City Port St. Lucie Blacksburg Statesboro KeyNaples West Labelle Cleveland Lehigh Acres Jacksonville Charleston Bowling Green Eureka Philadelphia Orlando Canton Alliance Deland Boca Raton Delray Fullerton Ormond Beach Flagler County Savannah Daytona Beach Columbia Culver City Sebastopol Charlotte Ashtabula Youngstown Palm Bay Melbourne Sebastian Atherton Lake Boynton Worth Beach Floyd Spring Hill Stuart Guelph Hendersonville Winston-Salem Redding Miami Hollywood Hallandale BeachCharleston Fort Lauderdale MiamiBeach Erie West Palm Palm Beach Greenville Milford Pittsburgh Wheeling Fairmont Beckley Martinsburg Parkersburg Morgantown Buckhannon Elkins Roanoke Greensboro Modesto Florence Redwood City Bradford Easton Lexington Santa Barbara Toronto Palm Desert Mooresville Coachella Rialto san ramon Paradise Lynchburg Lancaster Durham Indiana County Fayetteville Harrisonburg Isla Vista Oshawa Myrtle Beach Bethlehem Mountain View California Central Valley Raleigh QuitoAurora Charlottesville WestBuffalo Chester Lehigh Valley Lakeport Bakersfield Martinsville Winchester Emmaus Gettysburg Hershey Reading Williamsport Wilmington Stroudsburg Fredericksburg Richmond Merced Fort Collins Colonial Heights Carlisle Reston Fairfax Franklin County Wise County Alexandria College Park Harrisburg Kingston Pueblo Williamsburg Point Reyes Baltimore Golden Red Bluff San Francisco Hampton Kutztown Portsmouth Norfolk Bel Air Virginia Beach Bay PointStation (former settlement), California Greeley Binghamton Frederick Scranton Wilmington Boulder Milan Norristown Novi SadMedellin Colorado Springs Red Bank Chino Camden Roseville Salida Hackettstown Newton Trenton Princeton Burlington Long Beach Florham Park Santa Cruz Manahawkin South Orange Montclair Newark Huntington Beach Bayonne Manasquan Bogota Jersey City New Paltz Stony Brook Westchester Jerusalem Bronxville Saranac Schenectady Utica Rainbow The Ithaca Oneonta Oswego Otsego Patchogue Plattsburgh Glens Brooklyn Yonkers Syracuse Poughkeepsie Kingston Jamestown Fredonia Rochester Hamptons York Falls Lake Lake (Bushwick) City County Geneseo Saratoga Springs Long Island Crested Butte Santa Maria Grand Junction Montreal Stamford Danbury Fairfield Nortonville, Costa Torrington Bennington Waterbury SanContra Leandro Rutland New Haven Madison Branford Brattleboro Canon City Hartford Middletown Northhampton Springfield Burlington Trois-Rivieres Montpelier Woodstock Port-au-Prince Keene Storrs Hanover New London Mystic Quebec City Victorville Sherbrooke Littleton Worcester Nashua Concord Glenwood Springs Lowell Manchester Providence Fall River Tiverton Cambridge Dover Durham Weymouth Plymouth Falmouth Portland Saguenay Provincetown Santo Domingo South Lake Tahoe Bangor Ellsworth Augusta Walnut Creek Caracas Cairns Visalia Fremont SoCal NewOaks Brunswick Santa Rosa Thousand Chico Moncton Oakland Desert Hot Springs Elk GroveEdward Island Prince Ukiah Concord Manteca Fairfield Laguna Niguel Sonora Quincy

Kailua Waikiki Kahului Kapaa Hilo Kamuela Paia Wailuku Oahu Kauai

THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Seddonville Christchurch Nelson Wellington

Dunedin

Invercargill

Gippsland Canberra Wollongong Sydney

Melbourne

Townsville

Chapel Hill Boone

Johannesburg East London

Brisbane

Durban

Grahamstown

Cape Town

Darwin

Pocatello

Sandpoint Pula

Greer

Kuala Lumpur

Coeur d'Alene Boise

Colombo

Pierre Rapid City

Singapore

Twin Falls Teton Valley

Moscow

Salmon

Nampa Lewistown Jakarta Bandung

Nairobi

Macon

Sana'a

Mumbai Ahmedabad

Barrigada

Manila Taipei

Hong Kong Kelowna

New Lake Charles HoOrleans Chi Minh City

Lhasa

Terre Haute Kathmandu Kolkata Gary Dhaka

Sedona Prescott

Tokyo

Sendai

Osaka City -- locality Kyoto

Seoul Tijuana

San Juan

Beijing

Shahrood

IsfahanTehran

Islamabad Lahore Bitola Muncie

Manama

Kokomo

Sioux Falls

Istanbul

Fraser Valley

Chelyabinsk

Barnaul

Saratov

Moscow

Montgomery County (cities in MoCo)

MonacoBerne Dortmund Munster Strasbourg Karlsruhe Zurich Frankfurt Chattanooga Gallatin Stuttgart Sidi Bou Zid City Kassel Johnson Hanover UlmMunich Hamburg KielOdense Oslo Franklin Bristol / Tri-Cities Montemerano Bolzano Bologna InnsbruckErfurt Leipzig Malmo Rome Treviso Copenhagen Helsingborg Dover Salzburg Berlin Bratislava Koper Capodistria Dresden Prague Klagenfurt Great Falls Rijeka Ljubljana Valletta Graz Falun Maribor Norrkoping Kalmar Split Zagreb Brno All of Sweden Bratislava Uppsala Stockholm Podgorica Budapest Mississauga Umea Belgrade Krakow Kragujevac Warsaw Skopje Wroclaw Turku Thessaloniki Athens Sofia Tampere Riga Tallinn Smolyan Helsinki Vilnius Rousse

Nicosia Joliet Aurora Red Deer Beirut Qiryat Shemona

Cairo

New Delhi BangaloreKendallville Marion Hyderabad Fort Wayne Chennai South Bend

Golania

Kiruna

A MAP DESCRIBING THE DIVERSE LOCATIONS OF THE ocCUPY MOVEMENT, WORLDWIDE. INFORMATION PROVIDED IS REMAPPED FROM WIKIPEDIA.

61

THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT 1-4 cities ORANGE 5-9 cities RED 10 or more cities YELLOW

52 62

A MAPPING OF COUNTRIES BY NUMBER OF #OCCUPIED LOCATIONS. INFORMATION PROVIDED IS REMAPPED FROM WIKIPEDIA.

63

SITE LOCATIONS These places will targeted for the design initiative for the thesis. Each site has different spatial conditions that delineate occupiable public space. Each protest sought political justice for a specific set of reasons, in response to differing social, cultural or economic issues on a national level.

UNITED STATES NEW YORK CITY LOCALE zuccotti park COUNTRY CITY

brazil CITY rio de janeiro LOCALE Praca mercado COUNTRY

64

FROM THE MULTITUDE OF PAST AND CURRENT #occupied Locations WORLDWIDE, FOUR SITES HAVE BEEN CHOSEN THAT EXEMPLIFY an intense utilization of public space within the HISTORICAL context of political conflicts.

turkey istanbul LOCALE gezi park COUNTRY CITY

EGYPT CITY CAIRO LOCALE TAHRIR SQUARE COUNTRY

65

DESIGN PROGRAMME FINALLY. Moving forward. A quick syllabus for the remainder of the year. In order to apply the thesis position to an architectural exploration.

66

APPLICATION: INTERACTIVE, deployable PROTEST HOUSING FOR THE #OCCUPY MOVEMENT. THIS SEMESTER: MOTION scale _Physical computing research URBAN scale _SITE ANALYSIS _ITERATIONS OF SITE ORGANIZATIONS human scalE _concept for single occupancy _CONCEPT FOR AGGREGATE OCCUPANCY

67

3

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Addington, Michelle, and Daniel L. Schodek. Smart materials and new technologies for the architecture and design professions. Oxford: Architectural, 2005.

Bullivant, Lucy. Responsive environments: architecture, art and design. London: V & A Publications ;, 2006.

Fox, Michael, and Miles Kemp. Interactive architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.

Friesinger, Günther, Johannes Grenzfurthner, and Thomas Ballhausen. Urban hacking: cultural jamming strategies in the risky spaces of modernity. Bielefeld [Germany: Transcript, 2010.

Grobman, Yasha, and Eran Neuman. Performalism: Form and Performance in Digital Architecture. London: Routledge, 2012.

Haeusler, M. Hank. Media facades: history, technology, content. Ludwigsburg: Avedition, 2009.

Haydn, Florian, and Robert Temel. Temporary urban spaces: concepts for the use of city spaces. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2006.

Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the digital age: design and manufacturing. New York, NY: Spon Press, 2003.

Kronenburg, Robert. Flexible: architecture that responds to change. London: Laurence King, 2007.

Lim, Chor, and Yudong Liu. New tectonics: towards a new theory of digital architecture: 7th Feidad Award. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009.

Moloney, Jules. Designing kinetics for architectural facades state change. Abingdon, Oxon [England: Routledge, 2011.

Moussavi, Farshid, and Michael Kubo. The function of ornament. Barcelona: Actar, 2006.

Oosterhuis, Kas. Hyperbodies: toward an e-motive architecture. Basel: BirkhaĚ&#x2C6;user, 2004.

Picon, Antoine . Ornament: the politics of architecture and subjectivity. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2013.

Siegal, Jennifer. More mobile: portable architecture for today. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.

Thorpe, Ann. Architecture and design versus consumerism: how design activism confronts growth. Abingdon, Oxon: Earthscan, 2012.

Welty, Emily, Matthew Bolton, Meghana Nayak, and Christopher Malone. Occupying political science: the occupy Wall Street movement from New York to the world. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Zuk, William, and Roger H. Clark. Kinetic architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1970.

RESEARCH NOTES

1. Flexible Architecture: Architecture that Responds to Change

by Robert Kronenburg Flexible architecture is architecture that is designed to respond easily to chance throughout its lifetime.

Benefits include: • Longer use • Fits purpose better • Accommodates user experience and intervention • Ecologically more viable “…an architecture that adapts rather than stagnates; transforms rather than restricts; is motive rather than restricts interacts with its user rather than inhibits.” (11) “The ultimate flexible interior may be one that is amorphous and transitional; changing shape, color, lighting level, acoustics, and temperature as the inhabitant moves through it – abandoning flat horizontal surfaces and demarcations between hard and soft, warm and cold, wet and dry.”

Historical precents: • Shugakuin Rakushi-ken and Shugakuin Kyusvi; Kyoto, Japan – 1659. o Uses flexible wall and window panels with equivalent tectonic systems and interfaces • Reitveld Schroder House; Utrecht, Netherlands – 1924-25 o Partition walls and color complement spaces and help to define and effect spatial transtions • Maison de Verre, Pierre Chareau; Paris, France – 1927-32 o Moving elements and mostly furnishings and accessories to larger static architectural tectonics • Archigram, Ant Farm, EAT, Archizoom, UFO, Superstudio, Coop Himmelblau, Haus Rucker Co., Missing Link – “plug-and-play” concept • Markies, Edaurd Bohtlingk; Netherlands – 1985-95 • Next21, SHUKOSHA Architects; Osaka, Japan – 19930-94 (“domino” model) Idea of flexible collective housing is broken down into an expanding hierarchy: a. Flexibility must be established prior to occupation as a way of allowing different variations within the same architectural form b. There must be the possibility of flexibility to allow for future change; defined by Gustau Gili Galfetti into three types: 1.

MOBILITY allows for the rapid change of spaces on a virtually instantaneous basis, allowing for a day to day reconfiguration.

2.

EVOLUTION describes a built-in capacity for long-term modification to the basic layout over a period of years 3.

ELASTICITY concerns the expansion and contraction of the overall habitable space Contemporary examples shown indicate idea of mobility and flexibility as hierarchy…

• Large scale mobility means moving entire prefabricated dwellings in a standardized manner.

• Smaller scale mobility is movement or adaptability of use components based on user needs.

• Other flexibility equates to repositioning of internal environments that are separated from the building entirely or at least exist separate from the integrity of the architecture.

ADAPTABLE ARCHITECTURE describes scaffolding with flexible conduits – freedom in creating flexible layouts and the ability to expand the spatial potential of the architecture as a whole. Almost like an environmentally controlled pavilion with adaptable infrastructure: • Schulager (Art Store); Basel, Switzerland; 2004: Herzog & De Meuron • Yokohama Port Terminal; Japan, 2002: FOA

• • •

Seattle Public Library; 2004: OMA Urbis; Manchester, UK; 2002: Ian Simpson Ibis Factory; Cologne, Germany, 1999-2001: Grimshaw Architects

TRANSFORMABLE ARCHITECTURE enables dramatic alteration in the character of the whole architectural environment. Mechanisms employed to enable movement must be robust, maintenance free, easily operable and reliable. Internal transformations create problems, however, such as air transmission, acoustic separation, fire separation, etc: • Bengt Sjostrom/Starlight Theater; Rockford, IL; 2009: Studio Gang Architects • Hoberman Arch; Salt Lake City, UT: Chuck Hoberman • Florac House; Bordeaux, France; 1995: Rem Koolhaas • Kunsthaas Graz; Austria; 2005: Peter Cook and Colin Fournier • Milwaukee Art Museum; 1994-2001: Santiago Calatrava • Allianz Arena; Munich, Germany; 2005: Herzog and De Meuron • SCIARC Board Room and Event Space; Los Angeles, CA; 2003: Jones Partners • NASA Bioplex Capsule; 2000: FOA • Naked House; Japan; 2000: Shigeru Ban • Blue Moon, Groningen Apartments; 2001: FOA • Brill House; 1999: Jones Partners INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE: “The success of humanity as a species is dependent on our ability to act and react – to recognize and analyze situations and respond to them in an appropriate manner. We do not always get it right, but history has shown that we do the right thing often enough, as the general trend is towards improvement of our circumstances. As technology has improved and had a greater impact on our lives, more and more energy has been devoted to the automatic systems that make things happen faster and with greater efficiency.

Automation can take two forms: an action that is carried out to predetermined, unchangeable pattern; and an action that is carried out towards a predetermined result although the process may be changed along the way. The second form can be described as intelligent automation, the key difference being that it has a built-in, reactive quality” (208).

•

SmartWrap Building; 2004: Kieran Timberlake

2. Interactive Architecture

by Michael Fox and Miles Kemp “The current landscape of interactive space is built upon the convergence of embedded computation (intelligence) and a physical counterpart (kinetics) that satisfies the adaptation within the contextual framework of human and environmental interaction… the motivation to make these [interactive] systems is found in the desire to create spaces and objects that can meet changing needs with respect to evolving individual, socials and environmental demands” (12).

• Advancement will only be accomplished when interactive architectural systems are addressed not primarily or singularly but as an integral component of a larger vision that takes advantage of today’s pervasive, constantly unfolding, and far reaching technology.

Definition of INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE: a. A multiple loop system in which one enters into a conversation: a continual and constructive information exchange.

RESEARCH NOTES

b. As people interact with architecture, they should not be thought of as “users” but as “participants” c. Architectural intelligence that not only interacts, but that transacts and transforms both the user and itself • Conversation theory as defined by Gordon Pask in the 1960’s: rather than an environment that strictly interprets our desires, an environment should allow users to take a bottom-up role in configuring their surroundings in a malleable way without specific goals.

•

Cedric Price, An Evolutionary Architecture

INTELLIGENT ENVIRONMENTS are defined as spaces in which computation is seamlessly used to enchanted ordinary activity.

UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING can be defined as computation thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities and it is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, and design The 1990’s sparked the development of comprehensive prototypical projects based on real-world, market driven developments. Also relevant to note is that in the late 90’s a long history of kinetics in architecture began to be reexamined under the premise that performance could be optimized if it could use this newfound computational information and processing to physically adapt.

• The driving force behind the renewed interest in adaptable architecture is the technological influence and changing patterns of human interaction with the built environment.

• Technology transfer from similarly integrated interactive developments in other fields will continue to predicate, impact and evolve with interactive architecture.

• In this book, interactive architecture is positioned as a transitional phenomenon with respect to movement from a mechanical paradigm to a biological paradigm.

William Zuk in his seminal work Kinetic Architecture: “Our present task is to unfreeze architecture, to make it a fluid, vibrating, changeable backdrop for the varied and constantly changing modes of life…” (27) • One way to begin exploring the dynamics is through rethinking architecture beyond conventional static and single-function spatial design Christopher Alexander “suggested that the concept of a form influence by need however, is not inclusive enough and essentially too inactive. Instead, form out to be influenced by the concept of pressure, which is a set of forces: a series of interactive and non-isolated elements in which a change in any one force affects the whole. The set of pressures there by acts upon and generates the form” (28).

HISTORICALLY, kinetics in architecture: o Resulted from the need for adaptive mobility from adjust the land scape for crop cultivation, to combat unstable climate zones, to running from enemies o When the nomadic way of life dominated the planet (Kronenburg) Example: idea of under occupied work/office space… could the space transform to meet adapting needs based on participants?

MULTIFUNCTION DESIGN can be defined as how movable physical architectural objects can share a common physical space to provide for a plurality of uses.

Argument for dynamic versus static architecture: o Understanding how kinetic architecture can be adaptable and create adaptable environments in

terms of context and the malleability of the system under the forces of the dynamic urban condition o Typical response in making “contextual architecture” is a single, static condition with no adaptable qualities that might favor future urban site conditions. o Architecture should not be built in a “one size fits all” mentality o Types and typology is usually the response to contextual urban conditions, including building construction and demolitions, traffic patterns, access to daylight, wind, etc. o Our buildings should have the ability to adapt overtime Ways and means of kinetic motion: EMBEDDED – Systems are integral and a necessary part of the building so that it could not be constructed without it • Controls larger architecture and its response to change • Larger system with smaller elements • Most rationalized functionality DEPLOYABLE – Allow for deconstruction and reconstruction within a fixed structure • Exist in a temporary location and are easily transportable • Eg. exhibition design/travelling exhibition or pavilion • Concert venues • Tents DYNAMIC – Are the most common, smaller systems that can be operated and shift but not integral/detached from the building • Most recognizable • Doors, windows, elevators, typical • Subcategories o Mobile – physically moveable from location to location within a space o Transformable – transformable into different small-scale configurations to accommodate varying spatial and functional needs o Incremental – Additive or subtractive elements that “build up a whole” o These categories could have some overlap

3. Designing Kinetics for Architectural Facades: State Change

by Jules Maloney PART I MORPHOLOGY refers to the outward representation and formal structure of an organism (biology).

• Philip Steadman: “It is primarily concerned with the limits which geometry places on the possible forms and shapes which building and their plans may take. The use of the term ‘morphology’ alludes to Goethe’s original notion, of a general science of possible forms [in architecture]” (4).

• Steadman: “Morphology is the word which Goethe coined to signify a universal science of spatial form and structure… method in botany… was intended not just to provide abstract representations, and a classifications, of the variety of existing plants, but to extrapolate beyond these and to show how recombination of the basic elements of plant form could create theoretical species unknown to nature” (5).

Kinetics versus other architectural approaches to designing for themes of movement of time – movement in the form of: 1.

Transformation through the event of occupation 2.

Physical transportation of the occupant via self-initiated movement 3.

A sense of motion due to changing visual or environmental conditions

RESEARCH NOTES

4.

Weathering and age 5.

Representation of movement through dynamic visual appearance of form 6.

Design methods that use geometric transformation or other animation techniques – kinetic idea of field transformation, but “frozen in time” Focus of the book is on kinetics described in spatial terms through geometric transformation: TRANSLATION is movement in a planar and consistent direction ROTATION allows movement of an object around any axis SCALING is expansion and contraction in size MATERIAL DEFORMATION is a state change that alters material properties at the micro scale Façade: use of a generally vertical plane of abstract composition as frame of reference and research.

Differentiating research from full scale transformations (kinetic structure) or dynamic kinetics (kinetic reconfiguration of internal environments).

Types of kinetic facades: INTELLEGENT FACADES are responsive “membranes” that adapt to changing environmental and functional conditions MEDIA FACADES utilize technology to display information or visuals on as large as an urban scale Research questions: • How many design variables that influence pattern can be conceived?

• What is the theoretical range of kinetic form?

• What nomenclature robustly describes the morphology of pattern?

“This new design space is explored from the position of morphology. A focus on the underlying parameters, which interact to produce shifting intensities of kinetic pattern, emphasizes the shift that is required when designing. The outcome of kinetic design Is not a singular form, but a process from which a range of forms manifest over time. This required designers to consider the design of control systems and data input, as well as the design of the physical components” (9) Kinetic contemporary precedent: • OPERABLE STRUCTURES – large scale tectonic motion, such as stadium roofs, kinetic wall sections, ranging in scale from aircraft hangers to shop store fronts o Shigeru Ban o Hyberbody Research Group (TU Delft); pneumatic structures o Hoberman Associates; Ciudad de Justicia; Madrid Spain – 2006-2011 (Norman Foster) • KINETIC SCREENS – separation or overlay on top of enclosure, functional panels within the overall façade o Berger and Parkkinen; Nordic Embassies; Berlin – 1999 o Rubicon Design; Malvern Hills Science Park; UK – 2008 o Eskew, Dumez and Ripple; LIGO Science and Education Center; Livingston, LA – 2006 o Anthony Howe; “Battleship” (sculpture) – 2006 o Ho Sun; pneumatic, quilted façade; Melbourne University – 2006 o Jean Nouvel; Instituit de Monde Arabe; Paris, France – 1987 • KINETIC SURFACE – allows for a break through the façade or envelope, transmitting views, light, air, physical movement or passage o dECOi Architects; Hyposurface; Birmingham, UK; 1999-2001 – triangulated metal plates determine degree of curvature and possible resolution o Jonis Ponisch; Dynamic Terrain; Amsterdam – 2006 o WHITEVoid; Flare; Berlin – 2008

o • o o o

Ned Kahn OTHER KINETICS Stephen Gage; “Edge Monkeys”; London – 2005 Carlo Ratti Associati and MIT Media Lab; Digital Water Pavillion; Zaragoza, Spain – 2008 Diller Scofidio and Renfro; Blur Building; Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland – 2002

Contemporary discourse and terminology: • INDETERMINACY o Mark Goulthorpe: “In its creation as in its reception [Hyposurface] suggests an alloplastic rather than autoplastic logic, the designer’s rold becoming that of editor or sampler of a proliferating range of effects. Aegis is perhaps therefore not a ‘form’ as all, since it escapes ‘design’ ideology, conceived much rather as a matrix of the possibility of form: is, in fact, the becoming/absenting of form-in-pattern.”

• FUNCTIONAL EXPRESSION o Concerns environmental performance o Author conveys that design of aesthetics is not a primary concern, if even at all o Often characterized by “fins” that are either integral or applied to the façade of a building • INTELLIGENCE o Basic criteria for an intelligent building 1.

Input system 2.

A processing system that analyzes this input 3.

An output system which reacts to this input 4.

Response or reaction occurs within a consideration of time 5.

Learning ability (has not yet been found in the practice of architecture) • DYNAMIC STRUCTURE o Fox/Kemp’s control system for kinetics (taxonomy): 1.

‘Internal controls’ such as a mechanical hinge, which do not have any diret control of mechanism 2.

‘Direct control’ where movement is actuated directly by an energy source external to the apparatus 3.

‘Indirect control’ where movement is based off of a sensor feedback system 4.

‘Responsive indirect control’ uses optimization of multiple feedback sensors 5.

‘Ubiquitous responsive indirect control’ uses a network of controls with predictive algorithms 6.

‘Heuristic, responsive indirect control’ uses algorithmically mediated networks that have a leaning capacity • 1-3 might be actuated by a hand, motor or switch directly, while 4-6 are mediated by a computer Kinetic theory: • Zuk and Clarke’s Kinetic Architecture o A “taxonomy of machines” prefiguring the Fox/Kemp control taxonomy 1.

Level 1 Machine – perform singular function (water clocks, rotating machines) 2.

Level 2 Machines – perform multiple functions 3.

Level 3 Machines – included automatically adaptable control systems 4.

Level 4 Machines – link adaptive control system to a computer for higher level processing o Zuk: “Since time is the basic measure of motion, it becomes an important factor in design. This suggests that kinetic architecture must be considered as a continuum. The movement unfolds, but what form has been or what it will be, are a matter for recollection or conjecture. This architecture can never be confronted whole. A definition of form which is time-dependent must be recognized… The sense of motion, itself, then, can be a visual aesthetic much as has traditionally been the case with basic elements like color, texture and pattern.”

4. Ornament: The Politics of Architecture and Subjectivity

by Antoine Picon INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH NOTES

• French poet Paul Valery – “nothing is actually deeper than the surface, the skin” (13) o “Man is only man at the surface. Remove his skin, dissect, and immediately you come to machinery.”

CHAPTER 1 – A Problematic Return • Revival of ornament in contemporary architecture is inherently diverse with some trying to draw systematic conclusions from its diversity o Greg Lynn – “The Structure of Ornament” o Farshid Moussavi – The Function of Ornament • Modernism (Adolf Loos) dooms ornament as a fetish of the past, not alike culture at the turn of the century • However traces of ornament can be found in many modernist works of architecture (eg. Barcelona Pavilion, with its lavish choice of stone and cladding) • Reintroduction of ornament in the post-modernist movement, even the return to architectural orders in some cases, but often secondary to issues of symbolism and semiotics • Contemporary design software and CAD tools have opened up new trajectories for ornamental solutions within architecture o Weakening tectonic approach and rising importance of ‘surface’ o “This evolution is linked to broad technological and programmatic evolutions. With regards to technology, the battlefront has moved towards the periphery of the building the new energetic and environmental requirements implied by sustainability. The distribution of stresses and strains inside its structural members tends to matter less today than the exchange of heat and light between exterior and interior. The evolution of the programs reinforces the strategic character of the envelope that appears often disconnected from the interiors, which should be as flexible as possible to allow for periodic change of destination. One is confronted with a growing number of ‘blank’ type building types, department stores, shopping malls, even museums that do not presuppose an organic relation between the outside and the inside…” o Texture versus image – digital tools and control or lack-there-of blurs the line between the two in implementation o “Pixellation” or “wallpaperisation” o The managing of complex patterns through “deformation, tiling and transformation” o Structural elements might also have ornamental character, as might holistic forms if read as such • Renaissance and baroque ornament acted as embellishment at key points within buildings of the age, but as time progressed into the 18th-19th century, ornament became overabundant in nature and its importance became questionable for specific elements within architecture • 19th century mass production may have led to a “decorative spree” that is denounced by modernists as bourgeois by early 20th century modernists.

• Contemporary ornament is potentially a superficially condition, as it is impossible “to imagine the building’s envelope without ornamentation.” In part linked to typology of contemporary ornament as pattern, texture, topology and not much more. Also related to fabrication techniques developed recently.

• Traditionally, ornament is seen as a departure from construction for the sake of itself, lending itself to symbolic craftsmanship and artistry.

• Ornament etymology – “order of things” and also “cosmetics,” and “cosmos” (Latin, Greek) o Derrida – ornament the supplement, being neither “outside nor inside” and neither “accidental nor essential.” Architects viewpoint on this is seemingly equally as paradoxical as Derrida’s description. Not strictly structural but not defined as outside of the scope of the building’s articulation and spatial agenda.

• Reiser and Umemoto, Atlas of Novel Tectonics – architecture must use ‘asignifying signs’ so as to present its own qualities and not be explained explicitly.

• Function of ornament, that it must literally have a function so as to not be considered exterior to the architecture (Kubo and Moussavi)

• In the context of the book, ornament and its comeback is explored under two different scopes: o ORNAMENT AS SUBJECTIVITY  Ornament of old was an expression of the maker and craftsman, saying something particular and subjective about the maker  It was also meant to be appreciated and observed critically be the receiver or the user. An owner’s subjectivity could be mirrored in the ornamental expression of the architecture. o ORNAMENT AS POLITICS  As a display of political power or political significance  Containing philosophical or ideological notions  Transforming inhabitable spaces into habitable ones  Accessible knowledge and lesions to society based on tectonics and décor  Reemergence of politics as ornament is incomplete: might convey pleasure and beauty, rank and prestige, communication and knowledge  Though ornament as pleasure and prestige may have returned with high-end programs, “intelligible content related to knowledge remains utterly absent. Contemporary ornament [in architecture] has not yet been willing or able to reconnect with the cognitive dimension of the ornamental tradition, as if affective experience were incompatible with knowledge… Beyond mere delight, this mix introduced the spectator to one of the most fundamental dimensions of architecture: that of a reflection on time, past, present and future, and on the fate of human institutions” (54).

• WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED WITH THE RETURN OF ORNAMENT? o Coexistence with a public determinacy of the functional usefulness of architecture, if it can provide for a sustainable livelihood o Ornament is directly related to a pursuit of knowledge in which visual recognition and pleasure lead participants to a reflection upon the “resources that make architecture expressive” o Reconnection with the reflexivity of the discipline o Architecture AS ornament might reestablish its position in the AEC industry CHAPTER 4 – Reinventing the Meaning of Ornament • A New Architectural Subject o Material and manufacturing innovation – range of options and diversity is increasing exponentially due to new manufacturing techniques and improved computational power o Materiality in itself provides a relational subjectivity in matching material and human experience, categorically o Animated materiality and ornament, engaging all senses (but really though?) o Immersive nature of contemporary ornament o Deleuze – affect as primitive form of experience and emotions, a generic superficial condition (isn’t this contrary to the subjectivity of ornament? Can’t ornament provide a variety of effects and consequently affects depending on its function and appearance?) o In this way “the subject…can no longer be envisaged as a separate substance; rather, it appears to be kind of inflexion or as a zone of peculiar intensity in a field. This conception leads to placing the accent on entities like forces, fields, flows and gradients, and on actions like twisting, bending and folding” (135). o QUALIFICATION – Does contemporary architectural ornament truly extend beyond expressive function?  Seems to be primarily concerned with pleasurable affects  Subliminal enjoyment  Pleasure may have returned, but prestige is ambiguous and knowledge is invisible  No clear gradation exists from monuments and prestigious cultural buildings to more modest programs  Feelings of “helplessness” when distinguishing between socio-economic differentiations  Deprived of any subjective or specific social character – who is contemporary ornament for?

RESEARCH NOTES

 “Digital Ruskinism”  Predominance of affect is responsible for political shortcomings.

• Political Uncertainties o “The performalist attitude adopted by so many contemporary designers, which might eventually replace functionalism, has not yet reached a sufficient degree of maturity. It is not enough to envisage architecture in terms of how buildings behave and what they produce. The question remains of how performalism translates concretely in the design process.”

5. Smart Surfaces and Their Application in Architecture and Design

by Thorston Klooster Coming soon.

6. Occupying Political Science ed. Emily Welty, Matthew Bolton, Meghana Nayak, & Christopher Malone 1. Introduction • Pace University – primarily an accounting university, located just north of the NYC Financial District • Zuccotti Park >>>> Liberty Square • “…giving ourselves to this ecstatic moment of political change… while maintaining the distance our discipline demands?” (2) • “If we learned nothing else from Liberty Square, it was renewed awareness that we “occupy” all the time – our bodies occupy physical space, we occupy an historical epoch, vocation, class, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and many other social spaces of human life.” (3) • Beginning of OWS was a polygenesis, events that sparked it may include: o Tuition hikes and protests by students in the UK o Occupation of the Wisconsin capitol building by teachers’ unions and supporters o Self-immolation of Mohammed Boauzizi in Tunisia (set himself on fire) o Tahrir Sqaure Movement in Cairo o Indignados movement in Spain • Adbusters, New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), Anonymous • “To ‘occupy’ in the specific context and reference of OWS became not just about occupying Wall Street the place, but also Wall Street the symbol, something that could occur in the symbolic realm of art, blog posts, tweets, conversations or donation of resources… to shift and change the qualitative meaning of any street, any location, any social position, any to problematize it, queer it, interrogate it, confront it.” (12) 5. The Space Is Occupied!: The Politics of Occupy Wall Street’s Expeditionary Architecture and De-gentrifying Urbanism or what to do.

• The building as a “technology of separation” (135) • Architectural program is inherent: “On Spt 17, flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street.”

• Materiality: tent poles, tarpaulin, cardboard, plywood, and polystyrene = village or “micro-city” as a symbol for those ideas represented • “Commoning” or opening and sharing rights to space vs. “enclosing” or constricting and regulating rights to space – can exist simultaneously in unstable dialects • NYC is not necessarily as relentless as one might think – facades and faces of buildings offer the potential of “hacking” via the public artistry of the architect • Connection of streets and sidewalks within Koolhaas’s “culture of congestion” offers opportunities for a rippling effect, as one single mutation could network across an entire city sector

• Robert Moses’ decongestion of Manhattan, Giuliani’s “broken window” policy of policing and “cleaning” up the streets • “Urban village” versus “corporate city” • Zuccotti Park: o Result of developers obtaining concessions on building regulations (set-backs, air rights, FAR, whatever) by giving a POPS (Privately Owned Public Space) to the city o Deal between US Steel and the city – One Liberty Plaza Tower (ominous black steel and glass) o Plaza became a “vacuum” result of the commercial success of the tower, both parts of a whole o Architectural design = “linear geometry, tightly regimented rows of mature trees protected at the roots by square metal grates and ubiquitous stone paving” – prioritizes order, cleanliness, maintenance over social gatherings or public formations; “a space for workers on lunch breaks” o Aggregation and dispersion versus mixing and flourishing o October 2011 – Brookfield properties announce a mass “cleaning of the park,” instead Occupy members organize into the Sanitation Working Group to ensure its cleanliness so as not to be evicted – Brookfield accepts this and announces their willingness to negotiate an agreement with the protestors o Give and take: the Manhattan Grid owned OWS members but they also owned the Grid, utilizing its principles in order to make themselves a sustainable assembly o Working out an arrangement with the Manhattan Grid – though authorities justified need to evict OWS by the level of crime present, an even greater factor may have been the ability of OWS to negotiate these issues themselves, in the form of some kind of reflexive mitigation o “Violence [by the police] appears when power is in jeopardy” – Hannah Arendt (152) o A vital politics – basic human needs brought to the forefront o Techno-scientific urbanism o Neo-liberal encroachment on commonality and citizenship – “Liberty Square stands as a collective rejection of the rendering of urban life in terms of consumption, imagining instead forms of participation structured around common humanity and ideas of social justice.”

6. barricades dot net: Post-Fordist Policing in Occupied New York City or what not to do.

Empire emerges from the twilight of modern sovereignty…

It does not rely on fixed boundaries or barriers.

It is a decentered and deterritorializing apparatus of rule…

Empire manages hybrid identities, flexible hierarchies, And plural exchanges through modulating networks of command.

– Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (163) • Argues, contrary to majority beliefs, that the policing structure surrounding OWS mirrored the structure of the movement itself • Uniforms of “white shirts with yellow vests” denied an understanding of the connection between police and their contracting organizations • Outsourcing and decentralization of policing that is “beyond the capabilities of human bodies alone.”

• Post-Fordist assemblages of social control – internationalization, deregulation, flexibilization, technologization, and outsourcing of economic production and risen parallel to globalization • Increasing responsibility to non-humans and delegation of execution of rudimentary roles down the socioeconomic ladder • Lower risk of worker resistance • Actor Network Theory (ANT) – delegation of human practice and action to non-human systematic entities • Multiplicity of forces involved in the eviction and control of OWS and Zuccotti Park including Fire

RESEARCH NOTES

and Sanitation, Brookfield Properties, US Parks Police, Port Authority Police, Federal Reserve Policy, NYC Enforcement Control @ the Department of Parks, NYPD • Private securities companies were hired and networked with local public authorities to survey the physical and digital workings of OWS • Ex. JPMorgan gave the Police Foundation a “gift” of over $4.6 million to fund new capitol; Paid Detail Unit of NYPD sells off-duty police force to private corporate identities – no way for citizens to know who the police are working for?

• Use of technology and animals to enforce policing in three ways: 1. Contain  Channeled Occupiers into linear and Cartesian arrangements  Mobile prisons, preventing metastasizing through urban corridors  Galvanized steel FX7 barriers manufactured by Louisiana firm Frederichs Custom Manufacturing, Inc. @ barricades.net  NYPD has enough of the above to encircle all of Manhattan 2. Surveil  Limiting spatial occupation facilitated surveillance  Personnel positioned on roofs and high floors with binoculars  CCTV camera mounted above Zuccotti  ICx Skywatch surveillance tower  Panopticon, “a technological black box”  Klieg lights that confuse and temporarily blind OWS members 3. Project  Stationed outside of OWS confines, in public institutions like Pace University  Riot gear, batons, flex-cuffs, other technologies  Barricades, scooters and horses were “weaponized”  Intimidations of occupiers that would coerce them into arrest  Pepper spray and netting, violation of NYPD’s own policies by not providing victims of these technologies with medical aid • Resistance tactics: 1.

Satirize and dramatize the police using art, music and performance 2.

Publicize and expose public and private organizations policing OWS 3.

Humanization of interactions between OWS and police 4.

Disable the so-called “black box” 5.

Judicialize the conflict by publicizing it and pulling it into the courts • Occupiers created improvisational tactics to reduce the effect of policing upon the movement, destabilizing the socially contradictory “black box” tactics • Relabeling police CAUTION tape with the slogan OCCUPY – characterizes the object of arrest in a motivational and engaging light • Rap battles, teddy bear protest, dressed in police uniforms – not weaponized technology, weaponized sociality • Objectivity vs. Subjectivity, ANT versus humanity

7. More Mobile: Portable Architecture for Today ed. Jennifer Siegal •

Japanese ply-wood alternative called Kirei – recycled product of sorghum grass and non-VOC

paints • • • •

Shigeru Ban – paper tubes treated with paraffin and glue and sunk into concrete and steel Mark Fischer – concert sets, including the Rolling Stones’ Bigger Band tour from 2005-2007 LOT-EK’s crate stores for UNIQLO Atelier Bow-Wow

William J. Mitchell – A House Is a Robot for Living In • Trade of between high functionality and energy with static vs. non-static components • Scale and movement: bigger and slower things have lower-frequency patterns in contrast with faster, smaller things that have high-frequencies of state change • Big, heavy things move best as a series of parts, moving in conjunction to one another • Characteristics of motion (general) o Rigid connectivity o Translative connectivity o Rotational connectivity o Random • Rotational and hinged connections in modes of transport – animals vs. cars • Franz Reuleaux – kinetic combinations, based on simple components • Non-rigid movement o Balloon expanding is reliant on scalar elasticity o Elastic actuation, air or living muscle o Tensegrity - a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially (Wikipedia: “tensegrity). o “Clothing” a building – projects of Christo, burka-like structures; what if these skeletal systems could transform the reading of skin similar to humans or animals • Discontinuous Transformation o Replacement of individual or aggregate components o Easiest when parts are most similar o Different types of interface  Synonymous components  Equal form, differentiated materiality  Equivalent joinery, differentiated form, differentiated materiality • Control Systems o Microprocessing o Definition of robot is expanded with the embedding of networks and microprocessors o Institut de Monde Arabe – Jean Novel… “landmark project” o “Until recently, the only practical way to preserve spatial relationships… was through joints and mechanical linkages… Now, by means of embedded sensors, intelligence, and actuators, it is increasingly possible to preserve relationships through dynamic control. A work of architecture might be more like a flock of geese flying in formation or a military marching band. Each autonomously moving element is responsible for preserving the correct relationships with its neighbors. Architectural composition becomes robot choreograph, or the planning of plays in robot team sports.

• Objects versus processes, fields versus components and everything in between Precedents: • Studio-Orta 1.

Portable minimum habitats bridging architecture and dress 2.

Dwelling – consists of free-formed space frame structure with outer inflatable, patterned membrane

RESEARCH NOTES

3.

Nexus Architecture – investigates the power of solidarity through symbols of linkage; overalls with hoods are linked via fabric tubes in a grid to create a sort of 2D “human space-frame” • Dre Wapenaar 1.

The Birthing Tent – literally what it’s titled; spherical enclosure with circular oculus, open to the stars; alternatively could provide a home for someone living in a public space autonomously 2.

Newspaper Kiosk – object like tent for reading in with readers sitting back-to-back 3.

Tree Tents – Originally designed for the Road Alert Group – fighting highway construction in Britain, dewdrop shaped (max. volume/min. surface area) • Andreas Vogler 1.

Desert Seal – inflatable tent for the arid environments; a fan at the peak of the conical, curving tent blows cooler air from the above the Earth’s surface down to the lower areas of the tent (solar film to power electric fan still in development) 2.

Mars Cruiser One 3.

Moon Base Two • Horden Cherry Lee Architects 1.

Micro-Compact Home and Village – deployed layout is influence by Japanse Tea House architecture, central axis with amenities and large public space 2.

Micro Dwellings – modular polygonal dwellings that stack and rearrange • Office of Mobile Design 1.

Globetrotter – deployable theater from single mobile shipping pod, with inflatable changing rooms and seats

8. Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for Use of City Spaces eds. Florian Haydn, Robert Temel • Affirmation – long term, permanence versus short term, temporary: activisim versus politics • Dysfunction - Uselessness in the dysfunctional nature of the unused, versus the capital or potential • Independence - Governing through the community, self-organization and aggregation; “independent community” with small or little costs and DIY mentality (no state intervention) • Guerrilla - Comparison between the “guerilla” and the interim user, knowing the particularities of a site or location, understanding how the architecture can enliven or reinforce the atmosphere of place • Master Plan – Interim use means the opposite of the master plan, it means using what exists in a productive way over a short period of time • Needs – Can result from culture, constraints, fluctuation, mobility, lifestyle or security variables • Network - Metaphor and physicality of the network: users overlapping can lead to a variety of possibilities • Participation ¬¬– instead of privatization • Property – the dynamics of urabn development and changing residents needs oppose the static nature of property ownership in the city; temporary users can fill in this gap • Public Space – In the debate on this issue, temporary uses can examine and expose the possibilities of user and ownership • Strategy – Like ‘tactics,’ a form of development of defense that emerges from a central power, and then is deployed and delegated down the ranks, potentially ignoring limitations and forcing its opponents to cede to its autonomy (comparable to the Master Plan) • Tactics – Focus on short-term planning versus long-term autonomy; using the resources presented and relationships established to a specific advantage (equivalent to temporary use) • Temporality – Might be counter-intuitive for urban planning, but potentially a concept that could be applied to the idea of a decentralized or grassroots focus of organization; users of this type are not often the decision makers for spaces like this