Master of Architecture Portfolio by Paul Vassos

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This collection of work is dedicated to: My parents, Patricia and George My wife, Allison And my sons, Randall, Nolan and Lucca Who gave of themselves - selflessly - to give me the opportunities which have fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming an architect, Whose continuous encouragement and support reassured me in times of self-doubt and uncertainty, Who have been and are the purpose for all that I am and all that I do

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According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, which translate roughly as: • Durability – it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.

• Utility – it should be useful and function well for the people using it.

• Beauty – it should delight people and raise their spirits.

According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible.

t is hard to put into words what I love about Architecture and it is difficult for me to focus that emotion on one single part of what it encompasses. With studies of architectural history I developed a true appreciation of the architectural masters of centuries prior and a curiosity of how they viewed their creations and what emotions were they trying to evoke. With design courses I found a love with understanding how the built environment affects us-moves us-while satisfying my need to know how things go together and why. My developing career caused me to have a yearning to learn more about what we do, as architects, why we do it and how it affect others while also sharing with those I came in contact with what I knew and how I cultivated an appreciation of what we design and build, far beyond the bricks and studs. This is also why I am back to pursue my Master’s Degree–to use my experience and knowledge to further my understanding of Architecture.

I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago which is where my journey into Architecture originated. Showing a promising aptitude for mechanical drafting, my parents nurtured my budding interest in Architecture, bringing me to see the masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright as well as to downtown Chicago to see the masterpieces–old and new–that made up the city’s skyline. Many of my favorite architects/ architectural firms–FLW, Louis Sullivan, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, John Wellborn Root, E. Fay Jones–originated from where I began this curiosity.

Since the time I first knew-my desire to become an Architect was based on my thirst to understand how things were built, how things worked and, most importantly, how did Architects know how to design? Those queries would continue and direct my pursuit towards this aspiration and, even today, are at the core of my continued pursuit within this profession and into those that are closely related.

What has subsided in these quests–until recently-is the development of my theoretical, philosophical reasoning behind design and its place within the built environment.

Throughout my professional career, most of my work has been within the realm that relies heavily on “form and function” and a relative level of architectural and aesthetic (i.e. constructible within a finite cost, minimally obtrusive to the environment and pleasant to the view of general population) and less on philosophical or culture. Designing Food Court restaurants, Fire Stations, Public Work facilities, Apartment Complexes and Single Family Homes–all with a client that has a budget more than a vision– left only small opportunities to improve or affect the development of my design work. As I have matured, though, I have found that my Design Motive-even within the context of these “utilitarian” type projects–is evolving as my experiences expand and my knowledge of the human psyche and the effects that the built environment have on it grow.

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The first breakthrough of this imbalance being corrected was with a simple site design. Without great pain or exasperation, the site layout of an apartment complex “naturally” developed–with a true balance of function, form and aesthetics–that took into account and spoke to the philosophical and cultural needs that were illustrated to be critical to the success of the project, but had not been taken into consideration in past projects. It was then when I began to feel that all of my teachings, experiences and beliefs had culminated into a personal design philosophy.

“My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.” ~Richard Rogers~

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y belief in design and architecture has always been a unification of many sources of inspiration as well as sources to be taken into consideration–nature, the built environment, the past/history, science, sociology, psychology and the human condition. I find myself captivated by the extreme and seemingly impossible design of magnificent structures as well as those that are so straightforward and uncomplicated that they fascinate both with what is there and what is not.

Below are two quotes that I refer to when describing my own theory/philosophy of Architecture: “My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we-architects-can affect the quality of life of the people.” 1 “According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, which translate roughly as: Durability – it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.

Utility – it should be useful and function well for the people using it.

Beauty – it should delight people and raise their spirits. “2 “According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible.”3 Throughout my graduate studies, I found myself becoming reacquainted with many theories that I recall being taught and discussing during my undergraduate studies–theories that, unfortunately, had been muted over time while navigating my career path and assisting clients and employers in their various business endeavors.

found it very encouraging and enlightening to revisit the philosophical and theoretical aspects of our profession–to again cultivate the reasons that caused me to develop a love and passion for Architecture and what it allowed me to do with my creativity and knowledge, instilled and taught. Overall, I was most intrigued with the readings that dealt with Truth and Meaning –causing me to re-evaluate what I wanted to become and provide as an Architect.

The ancient belief and theory of Plato is one that spoke to me the strongest: “The pursuit of knowledge, the pursuit of wisdom is the highest pursuit you can have because by the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom you understand fully your function, your purpose, and then you live fully to that purpose; that is virtue.”4 In addition, if the early theory of Aristotle is believed, then Meaning = Truth and that Truth is the essence of the experience, not just the visual. Therefore, one’s own experience is the path to Meaning and cannot be argued as being “right” or “wrong” as one’s experience cannot be judged in that manner–it just “is”. It does not need to acknowledge or interpret another culture's meanings, as it is tied to the individual, their encounter and their beliefs. We must understand that each person’s background, experiences and religion will greatly affect their Meaning and, therefore, accept the notion that no two person’s Truth or Meaning will be identical, but individual perceptions that cannot be argued or defined as being correct.

My graduate studies spoke to me, further highlighting that Art and Architecture were considered of the same discipline and that many philosophical theories were directly linked to them. We must work hard to return to the initial fundamentals of our discipline–to not only design to the standards justified and/or measured by math and science, but reflect in

our design our understanding of our world in a manner pure (well, as pure as possible as man is not a divine creature) to what we know and understand and perceptive to the ideals of our time and those that came before us that will allow our designs to achieve the highest level of greatness.

A reading/passage from the writing of Gavin Stamp, that I also connected with was the following in regards to those thoughts and ideas of 19th c. Theorist Alexander Thomson in response to a central architectural problem of his time - How is it that there is no modern style of architecture?:

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“Thomson’s ostensible solution to the problem was ‘to abandon with all convenient expedition the whole mass of accumulated human traditions under which we have been, as it were, smothered, and take earnestly to the study of Divine laws, and by-the-by we shall find it more difficult to keep running in the old rut than hitherto we have found it difficult to get out of it. Let us once fairly comprehend the living law, and we will once and for ever get freed from the bondage of dead forms.’ This may seem a radical and ruthless answer, but it was born of the awareness that the tragedy of his time was that architects simply knew too much. Architects were victims of sophisticated antiquarian and historical understanding of the age; creative innocence and spontaneity were undermined by the inescapable historical sense.” 5 Passion (from the Latin verb patī meaning to suffer) is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.

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urther, Thomson’s view on this matter: “Thomson’s alternative answer was to return to fundamentals, and for him that meant the pure, trabeated language of the Greeks–a language which, as he argued persuasively, could be developed both to accommodate contemporary conditions and to incorporate modern materials. . . So the past was not to be rejected–far from it.

The answer was to adhere to the eternal, divine laws of architecture, which were always there to be followed if only architects would see and learn.”6

These re-awakened inspirations have definitely raised my awareness of them–in my own works as well as those of others, including monumental structures that have always been captivating to me. I sense that I am viewing everything through a different lens, a clearer lens; I see the elements just outside of the normal spectrum of general observation–a glimpse of who we were, who we are and where we are leading ourselves.

In thinking of the role of an Architect and the Architectural profession, I wonder: is there a need for us to get back to Nature, to the Divine, to the essence of who we are (based on ancient and modern philosophers) to reacquaint ourselves with what Meaning and Truth is? What it should be? Furthermore–are we able to return to this sense of an Age of Innocence without discrediting the knowledge we have acquired over the centuries or must we endure another Dark Ages and/or Renaissance (similar to the thoughts and beliefs of Alexander Thomson)? Although without specific answers to these questions, these thoughts and concepts lend to me a belief that we must at least be cognizant of where we are headed, to allow us to correct our trajectory–if and as needed-before we are unable to do so.

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his personal belief is not always paramount to the considerations or concerns of those who I am contracted to design for. This is a dilemma that I believe most–if not all–Architects find themselves in, having to deal with this discord and a certain level of internal struggle.

One must not see this as a deterrent, but as a challenge. Not unlike the great monuments that have withstood time–whose sheer scale and magnitude must have been met with concern or dissent but constructed nonetheless – th is pro fe ssion re qu ire s diplom atic assertiveness to educate, enlighten and influence.

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“My approach to Design encompasses all that I am, all that I have experienced and all that I am taught. Who I am-as an individual-determines the uniqueness of what I think and create; my experiences expand my knowledge and understanding of the living space around me; what I am taught-and able to learn-allows me to view what others have visualized and discover what others have come to understand or experience of the world around them.�

rchitecture Per the 1993 Shorter Oxford English Dictoinary, "Architecture" has been known to mean: •

• •

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T h e a r t a n d s c i e n c e of designing buildings and (some) nonbuilding structures.

The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures.

The knowledge of art, science & technology and humanity.

The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.

The design activity of the architect, from the macro-level (urban design, landscape ar chi tecture) to the mi cro-l evel (construction details and furniture)

Philosophy allows one to pursue their own thoughts of who we are (individually and as a society) and the world that we live in. It is difficult to say that those that create, develop and ever change the landscape of our cities would not have to grasp the concepts of not only ancient philosophy (Socrates, Aristotle), but also of those that were developed during the Renaissance, the Enlightenment Period and the Industrial Revolution let alone those periods of time within those.

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Architecture involves envisioning, planning and designing form, space and ambience to reflect functional, technical, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative persuasion and coordination of concrete concepts like materials and technology, and of abstract elements like light, shadow and “sense of space”. Often, conflicting requirements must be resolved within the structure or space.

It is with these definitions and well known beliefs of what Architecture is and who Architects are that support the idea that reading of philosophy makes us both better builders as well as interpreters.

Interpretation is a significant aspect of the art and science of Architecture. Long before the first brick is laid, Architects must envision and interpret how the building and space we design/create will look, feel and how those that enter will experience it; Architecture is not much removed from the same discipline as Philosophy – almost kin in many aspects.

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rom one of our readings: “If concerns about function, scale and context are to be rejected, because they stand for the metaphysics of presence, aesthetic qualities are relative, and it is the engineers who worry about the structure of the buildings, then it becomes unclear what architects actually do.”7 In addition, from another earlier reading: “By the end of the seventeenth century, it became hard to explain what architects were doing if they were not producing buildings that reflected and participated in the harmony of the world.”8 Architects must understand the mathematics and physics of the structures they design, but they also must understand the intangible aspects of the form, space and environment they create within and around.

Earlier readings taught us that Art and Architecture were considered one of the same discipline and that many philosophical theories were directly linked to them, not unlike the Architectural Theories that we discuss today.

We must work hard to return to the initial fundamentals of our discipline–to not only design to the standards justified and/or measured by math and science, but reflect in our design our understanding of our world in a manner pure (well, as pure as possible as man is not a divine creature) to what we know and understand and perceptive to the ideals of our time and those that came before us that will allow our designs to achieve the highest level of greatness.

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Ancient Philosopher and Neo-Platonist, St. Augustine, is noted as saying “Beauty becomes a religious issue of transcendence; beauty is art of the knowledge of the Divine.” Continuing into the Renaissance, a basic Platonic principle of Renaissance Architectural theory was the Law of Proportion, derived from Nature, and Nature produces the most complete composition in which we all exist.10,11,12 With the beginning of the Enlightenment Period, though, man developed his desire to search and understand the Divine–developing his understanding of the world around him and how it is made–and also became preoccupied in using what he knew of the physical sciences to explain the unknowns of the Divine, reducing the mysticism and moving himself to the center of his being.

With this, once what was considered to be Beauty–Nature (Divine since it was believed to be created by a Greater Being) was eventually replaced with what man believed to be Beauty because of how he perceived it, experienced it and his desire to comprehend a way to measure it; to determine with more certainty what Beauty is.

French writer Stendahl gives his definition of modern anti-platonic beauty thus: “beauty is nothing but the promise of happiness.”13

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Immanuel Kant argued in the opening section of his Critique of Judgment: “The important aspect of the judgment of beauty, is that it is independent of any concepts one may associate with the things one judges to be beautiful. We have seen that understanding deals with concepts, and since, for Kant, concepts do not contribute to the beauty of things, this means that (within his scheme of cognitive capacities) the judgment of beauty is purely a judgment of the products Anschauung– the part of the cognitive apparatus that deals with shapes in space and time.” He continues, “It is impossible to state a rule that would determine which objects are beautiful and which objects are not. His point is that rules always have to work with concepts: One cannot know that a certain rule applies to a certain object without subsuming that object under the corresponding concept.”14

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eauty What is Beauty? Can it be defined or is it solely a personal/subjective manner of indicating or expressing awe, pleasure or joyfulness of something experienced through the senses? Through our previous readings, we learned and discussed Meaning and Truth which-although not concrete and measurable– have been provided through the centuries a way to be measured and defined. Beauty, though, is one topic that even from a purely philosophical perspective is still one of a personal and subjective opinion; as stated by Kant, “Beauty is in the mind of the beholder.”9

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I wonder: is there a need for us to get back to Nature, to the Divine, to the essence of who we are (based on ancient philosophers) to reacquaint ourselves with what Beauty - as well as Meaning and Truth – is? What it should be? Furthermore–can we get back to that Age of Innocence without letting go of the knowledge we have acquired over the centuries or must we endure another Dark Ages and Renaissance? Although without specific answers to these questions, the thoughts and concepts of our readings lend to me a belief that we must be at least aware of where we are going, to allow us to correct our trajectory before we are unable to do so.

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ruth The ancient greek philosopher Plato believed that it is necessary to know something, as it is-not as it appears-in order to get to the Truth.

Truth is important as the path to wisdom; wisdom is the highest development of the soul. Forms are original source of Knowledge; our “concrete” essential world is the first order of imitation; representation of our world–painting, sculpture–is the second order of representation/imitation.15 Truth is the understanding of our being, of our world. Without truth, we would have no cognitive intellect of who we are, what is around us and the meaning behind it all. Philosophers from ancient Greece to today have continued to dwell on the question of Truth, with the perception of it being modified over time as Divinity and Science were continually changed as the forefront of the theory behind Truth, with the premise of Truth having a basis in a Divine Being changing to scientific theory or fact in the 19th century with Darwin’s famous Theory of Evolution which explained the properties of plants and animals in a way that did not depend on the idea that their structures were preconceived by a mind (or God) that created the universe.16 It can be theorized that images can convey Truth if they contain enough information to place it in a proper context or are captioned with an truthful explanation by the artist, but the disconnect in this is the fact that whatever captivated the artist to create the image can be argued to be unable to be conveyed to the viewer through an image.

Whether it be a portrait painting of a distinguished gentleman, full of confidence and poise as the leader of our country or a crisp, color photograph of Mount Rushmore and the adjacent landscape or a crisp black ink rendering of Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright–what is conveyed to the viewer is a “tainted” truth of the experience that the artist had while creating the image; the interaction with the new-elect president, realizing that he is just as

human–fragile, anxious, concerned–as those that he shall lead; the sounds and scents of the refreshing outdoors of North Dakota in the fall while gazing at a man-made element just outside the realm of reason due to the sheer scale; the awe inspiring experience of seeing and being in one of the spaces designed by one of our history’s great Architect’s, almost understanding completely his vision and reasoning. Truth is the essence of the experience, not just the visual.

The early philosophers Plato and Aristotle believed that having or understanding Truth was only possible with certainty which was premised on the “matter of fact” school of mathematics and physics–which were argued to be eternal and imperishable. This later evolved to believe that our senses were not to be trusted–not that they did not have a place in the pursuit towards Truth, but they did not hold a key position in determining certainty; they were perceived as subjective and not “mechanical”; classified as “ideas” – the same as thoughts and reason.17,18 This thought process continued with Decartes who rejected sensory information and empirical observation as being able to provide Truth, believing that these types of observations can “trick” the mind. With the rise of Empiricism in the 1700’s, though, this belief would start to change.

Architect Camillo-Guarino Guarini believed that there was a necessary natural balance between the rigid mathematical concept and the sensation/natural concept.

Guarini believed that the Law of Proportion should be governed by the Rules of Perspective . . . in order to create an exciting visual effect, but that the designer should be able to modify the design if it was perceived that the change would “correct” or “enhance” the visual display of the design–adjusting the mathematics as needed to make the building

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appear more “truthful�. This departure from the c o n c ep t s d ev el o p ed t h r o u gh th e Enlightenment would continue to evolve.

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ubists were seen as a new school in the way to view the Truth; it is about the Reality and Truth, affected by the growth of modern science, to create a “profound reality�. Cubism formed an important link between early-20th-century art and architecture. Though there are many points of intersection between Cubism and architecture, only a few direct links between them can be drawn. Most often the connections are made by reference to shared formal characteristics: faceting of form, spatial ambiguity, transparency, and multiplicity.19 Architectural interest in Cubism centered on the dissolution and reconstitution of threedimensional form, using simple geometric shapes, juxtaposed without the illusions of classical perspective. Diverse elements could be superimposed, made transparent or penetrate one another, while retaining their spatial relationships. Cubism had become an influential factor in the development of modern architecture from 1912 with the simplification of building design by using materials suitable to industrial production and the increased use of glass.20 Cubists did not want to just represent what they saw as truly as they saw it, but represent how they conceptualized what they saw. To the Cubists, Truth was intellectual and time-based.

Their premise was to expand the number of viewpoints of an object to represent the subject in a greater context.

As translated by Lionel Abel for the 1970 edition of The Cubist Painters: Aesthetic Meditations: “Real resemblance no longer has any importance, since everything is sacrificed by the artist to truth, to the necessities of a higher nature whose existence he assumes, but does not lay bare. The subject has little or no importance anymore. Generally speaking, modern art repudiates more of the techniques of pleasing devised by the great artists of the

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past. While the goal of painting is today, as always, the pleasure of the eye, the art lover is henceforth asked to expect delights other than those which looking at natural objects can easily provide.”21 Truth must matter to us as Architects as we are championed with a great responsibility - and even greater challenge–to ensure that within the built environment that we create that we have a strong conviction and understanding of the Truth we are to follow so we may convey to the greatest extent this Truth to others. We must learn from our past–our own and those before us-to understand how we can effectively convey the Truth we comprehend so that we do not increase the separation of it from those we design for, but bring it and them together in hopes of providing them as much of a pure experience as possible. To paraphrase a belief of Aristotle, “In Architecture, Truth is the purpose of meaning”.22,23 The method of abstraction is not important as long as the design/image is created with honesty, with respect, with direct correlation to the Form–the original source of Knowledge.

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ontext Context is the window that frames our view, the background of a photograph that places a person or thing in a location or the description a traveler may give to help the listener better understand the environment visited and what was experienced; Context is the anchor that allows us to comprehend the idea or event being presented. Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason states that: “We cannot observe things outside space and time–we cannot perceive material things without conceiving of their being in time and space. This means that space and time are not properties of the world but matrices our cognitive apparatus uses to arrange our perceptions.”24 Our cognitive process is natural in establishing truths within the Context of time, place and space; it could be argued that these are what translate our thoughts into reason. “Those regularities of the world without which we cannot imagine the world are the result of the processes that make us know things. We cannot know what things-in-themselves are like independent of our cognitive processes.

All our knowledge about the work is acquired on the basis of the mental processes that convert our interactions with things-in-themselves into our experience.”25 I believe that deeply embedding our thinking in Context can be viewed both as an asset and a hindrance–a wall that we create to provide our thoughts and ideas a logical foundation, which in Architecture is a necessity to develop a design that suitable to the site and surroundings, but this wall can also cause us to only perceive or explore certain designs without any consideration of others.

As an example, the theory that the sun and the planets revolved around the earth–the geocentric system–was generally believed by early astronomers under the Context that relied on

complex speculations about the role of numbers and proportions in the structure of the universe, but nothing more.26

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Because this theory was fundamentally wrong, it was unable to explain or predict the movements of the planets as they were perceived from the earth and measured by astronomers. The Greek Astronomer, Ptolemy, assumed that the planets not only revolved around the earth, but also make smaller circles–called epicycles-along their path.

As measuring capabilities became more exacting during the Renaissance, newer and newer epicycles had to be introduced to explain the more intricate movements that were observed.27 Maintaining the Context that the earth was the center of the universe caused a further misguidance in and additional erroneous astronomical postulates until it was theorized that the earth was not at the center.

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question, though, about our Context that has come up recently–whether we live in a threedimensional world or in a two-dimensional hologram? This hypothesis, of course, is of a truly scientific origin and based on many other theories and perceived truths of our universe, but what if what we perceive as our “world”–through our senses and experiences–was not what we thought it was based on our interactions? If we are living within a hologram and made to think it is just our normal universe, there is not much of a known manner we could follow to determine if that is how it was/is designed, but if someday this is proven to be true, this means that the universe as we know it may be the result of processes happening on some other surface or plane. This then raises the question of “who created it?” and “who operates it?” Could this show that the theories of Pietro Pomponazzi (divine miracles and similar events as a result of astrological influences or heavenly spheres) and Pythagora’s (to define everything as the manifestation of numbers) were more accurate than previously believed? How would the revolution of this finding effect our perception of our Context?

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radition “Alienation of man from Tradition– the search for meaning and direction. Once tradition has been broken, there will be a constant quest for meaning to fill the vacuum in which the question of ‘why something was done’ was originally answered by all that came before.”

“Alienation of the modern man is due to the separation of man from nature. Design and Art are shifted from an Imitation to an Imagination – was of the natural, of representation, of rules and order and meaning that were found in nature; in nature was the divine. The shift was into being rational sense of subjectivity, centered in the mind of man, moved over to be the imaginative with contigenius as being the engine; man is seen as being higher than the natural.”28

At the same time as the Age of Industrialization, society was changing in the way that people lived, where they lived, and how it tied in with the new manner of work. With factories, cities grew with the transfer of people from the country to work in them and live nearby them–many people had great cause to “disconnect” from nature, as the modern world was beginning to be able to provide for them what nature had required them to work for. This, or course, results in a further change in the class structures. Because these items create a “convenience” to us as individuals and as a society, they can be seen as reasons we are alienated from each other and from nature. Picture the local park with kids playing on the swings and the moms and dads who are focused on their phone or tablet and not the children; picture the individual that uses his internet connection to:

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Many of the findings that man has come to realize through his pursuit of gaining knowledge were at the cost of losing his sight on the Divine, the cosmos (as a heavenly body) and the splendor and wonder of who we are, how we “became” and how we should proceed. We have come to believe that the expansion of media - mass delivery of information (perceived Truth or Meaning) in the many formats available to us–is helping us. But, without interaction–human interaction–the Truth or Meaning is lost in the transmission.

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purchase goods, view photos of scenery, learn about topics from listening to a presenter–all without having to have any social interaction with another human being; picture the many that travel to exotic locations in a large cruise ship that has all of the amenities of a small city that takes away the appreciation or experience of the journey, the sights in between, the connection with nature.

Nature appears to have become a “nuisance”; interacting with others an unpleasant task.

Mies Van De Rohe is credited for saying “If we succeed in carrying out the process of I ndustrialization, our social, economic, technological and even artistic problems will be easy to solve.”29 In reading this quote, I believe that this might have been more of a warning–that there is a certain way for us to succeed in carrying out the process of Industrialization–that would benefit the other aspects of our society. Viewing where our society is today, I believe that even Mies Van De Rohe would agree that we did not succeed in carrying out the process.

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he difficulty of enlisting the force of originality pushes contemporary avante-garde deeper into a more radical form of self-centredness (sic) and self– referentiality. The result is a higher level of autonomy and separation from everyday reality, accompanied by a desperate search for new sources of originality in the inventiveness of current technology and in the domain of private fantasies. In this situation it is no longer clear what the difference is between the product of imagination and imaginary reality.”30 Has our society lost focus on what Originality is or what it should be? If you believe you know the answer, I would ask you to just look at our media– the “re-make” of movies or television shows, songs that “sample” or “copy” other songs, a virtual world of media that can speak of everything and anything–instantaneously-but with no requirements of substantiation or verification, let alone of authoring.

My own perception is that there is a small, but strong, movement to get back to nature–to reconnect with nature and return to a simpler time; to resume a better understanding with the Divine; not de-voiding all known scientific information, but learning to have it and use it in harmony with the natural; to find a place to raise my family, to provide my sons with the opportunity to learn of God and his divinity, having a sincere desire to experience, understand, and respect nature and all of its beauty. It is with hope that this movement has the ability to continue and that our society begins to see that maybe we, again, need to revisit the Classics–or at least have another Revivalist Movement to return to previous movements, previous philosophies–to give us much need direction.

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urrent Issues in Architecture—Investigating current issues that influence architecture through a close examination of contemporary ideas, events, architects and buildings. This course offered a global perspective and exploration of case studies from around the world that illuminate critical environmental, societal and architectural concerns with exposure to a broad range of perspectives assisting in developing a more informed point of view.

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Globalization Urbanism and Landscape The Implications of Digital Technologies Sustainability and Scarcity Materiality and Signage The Diagram Design as Research

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Learn to look analytically and critically at space, cities, buildings, culture and the world around you today Identify forces at work in the world today that will have a significant impact upon your career and the architecture of our time and the future To better understand recent developments in architecture as well as why they are seen as having evolved from 20th century architecture (buildings and ideas) To increase awareness of a selection of wellknown contemporary architects and architectural writers.

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rbanism—In Terra Fluxus, James Corner, a landscape architect and theorist with the firm Field Operations, describes Landscape Urbanism as: “a hybrid practice, a break of defined limits and expansion of skills across complex urbanistic, programmatic and infrastructural areas – with certain elements within architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and planning moving toward a shared form of practice for which the term landscape holds a central significance.”28 In addition, he believes: “landscape urbanism suggests a reconsideration of traditional conceptual, representational, and operative techniques.

The possibilities of vast scale shifts across

both time and space, working synoptic maps alongside the intimate recordings of local circumstance, comparing cinema tic and choreo graphi c techniques to spatial notation, entering the algebraic, digital space of the computer while messing around with paint, clay and ink, and engaging real estate developers and engineers alongside the highly specialized imagineers and poets of contemporary culture – all these activities and more seem integral to any real and significant practice of synthetic urban projection. But the techniques to address the sheer scope of issues here are desperately lacking–and this area along, it would seem to me, is deserving of our utmost attention and research.”29 The union of Landscape and Urbanism would seem to be a futile unification of two polar opposite elements of the built environment, but by doing so, compels the design profession to evaluate and pull from each those characteristics that – when combined – will be greater than the individual parts and creates a new built environment that is more befitting of our current societal needs.

With a sense of optimism, Corner proposes: “The promise of landscape urbanism is the development of a space-time ecology that treats all forces and agents working in the urban field and considers them as continuous networks of inter-relationships.”30

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ustainability, Scarcity and Environments—In the essay “Never Mind All That Environmental Rubbish, Get On With Your Architecture”, Penelope Dean appears to argue that sustainability in architecture has become more about applied technology than being able to design the environment; as quoted at the beginning of the essay: “Much of the ecologically motivated work today, acclaimed as green or contextual, is nothing more than a catalogue of environmental technology and land conservation systems tacked onto otherwise conventional buildings and landscapes.”31 In my experiences, I believe this view to be very true–that architecture and design for sustainability has become more of applied engineering with subservient technologies and less about understanding the environment and pursuing an agenda that is driven by ideas and concepts.

During our higher education, we are exposed to concepts-that are far from new-that show how architecture and other design fields can utilize time tested theories and methods to design to the environment, to work in concert with it and understand the materials that are available to us that does not rob it of it’s resources. We learn about solar heat gain, indirect lighting, hydronics, sustainable/renewable materials and resources and wind power–let alone many other theories and concepts that are available to us to drive the design of the structure to fit within the site and environment. But, instead we are challenged more times than not with the wants and needs of our clients to build a structure with a certain design style and stick on “accessories” that make it efficient. This appears to be in line with the critique of Ms. Dean in her article.

The Thorncrown Chapel shows us how proper planning can reduce a building’s impact on its site. The selection of materials was also an important consideration-all the timber came from local sources (this was before Forest Council Stewardship), the floor is made out of flagstone, and the building is lined with a rock wall that links it with its surrounding environment.

But Thorncrown Chapel’s most important feature is the way it completely blends into its surroundings.32

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here are no solar panels, no fancy photovoltaic glazing, no ultra-technological HVAC systems “tacked on” to support the idea of sustainability– the concept, the design, the selection of materials and the method of construction did that. It is in this manner of addressing the site and environment, E. Fay Jones focused on the intellectual discipline of our profession and the “architecture”, allowing it to be the at the forefront of his concept–a concept that addressed the issue of sustainability but without sacrificing the essence of it–much aligned with the ideals of Penelope Dean.

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“What is at stake, therefore, is how the discipline might redirect and prioritize its ambitions in the context of an environment by design. Such a shift would not necessarily dismiss or eliminate the importance of environmental issues, but involve a change in mindset: a reorientation of architectural ambitions back towards the ends of a larger disciplinary agenda where the production of ideas and concepts would be reasserted, once again, as one of the central tasks of architecture.”33 ~Penelope Dean~

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he Sign and its Significance—From the article by FAT, “Post-Modernism: An Incomplete Project” as well as the writings of Hans Ibelings in “Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization” it was quite clear to me that the key element - that was mentioned in both - was that of Globalization and technological advancements and how it plays a part in how current PostModernism is different from historical PostModernism: “For the record, since the ‘death’ of architectural Post-Modernism in the late 1980s, architecture has been subject to a number of fleeting fashions, including NeoModernism, Deconstructivism, Minimalism, iconicism and parametricism. What these fashion cycles reveal is that Post-Modernism as an architectural style may have died, but post-modernism as a pervasive cultural condition certainly has not. In fact, it has only accelerated along with globalization and the neo-liberal free market economy.”34 “From a strictly art-historical perspective, the rise of such notions and undefinedness, boundlessness and neutrality can be seen as a reaction to the ruling tendency of the preceding, postmodern, period. Yet it is also possible to look outside architecture for an explanation for changes with the architectural domain. The first thing that to present itself is the complex phenomena collectively known as “globalization”.

Inevitably, increased mobility and telecommunications and the rise of new media, all of which have been ascribed a major role in the globalization process, also affect architecture and urban planning in that they alter our experience of time and– especially relevant in this context–space. . . (cont. on p.41) —>

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As a consequence, the world, especially for the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, has become both smaller and larger.

Smaller, because everything is, if not in reality then certainly electronically, closer; larger because thanks to telecommunications, the rising tide of information and ever-increasing mobility, a larger portion of the world is one way or another familiar, seems familiar or is assumed to be familiar.”35 In addition, it also appears that current PostModernism differs from the historical PostModernism in that it does not require a building or structure to make reference to the site or context of it’s location: “The realization that theoretically everything can stand everywhere, undermines the postmodern dogma that architecture must always have a unique, authentic relationship with context.”36 “Enclaves are springing up all over the place, turning cities and urbanized regions into a succession of autonomous worlds that have little or nothing to do with their surroundings.”37 Hans continues by going into more detail of this concept while also approaching the characteristic of a non-descriptive design or exterior – separated from the function or need of the interior space: “One area where the neutrality of contemporary architecture is most evident is in its relationship to the context. It seems that architecture is capable of being just as footloose as all those internationally operating corporations nowadays known as “global players” rather than “multinationals”

because they no longer have specific ties with any one nation. In architecture, these specific ties usually consist of references to the context and to the history of the building site. Since the early 1990’s, more and more buildings have been built worldwide whose sole involvement with their context consists of toeing the building line. For this architecture the surroundings constitute neither legitimation nor inspiration for these are derived from what goes on inside the buildings, from the programme. This autonomy is in many cases reinforced by the fact that the building has an inscrutable exterior that betrays nothing of what happens inside.

In this respect, too, supermodern architecture is essentially different from the postmodern variety whose practitioners always tried to find some way of expressing the buildings purpose, either by following the conventions of building typology or by adding symbolic pointers. In supermodern architecture this rarely if ever happens. In many instances these buildings look as if they might house just about anything: an office or a school, a bank or a research center, a hotel or apartments, a shopping mall or an airport terminal.”38 A structure that emulates these ideologies of current Post-Modernism would be the Illinois Institute of Technology chapel by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. With its autonomous elevation, devoid of any specific decoration or ornamentation to help decipher its function, it is mostly indistinguishable and is commonly known as the “God box” and referenced by campus tour guides as needing “. . . to have a sign on it that said ‘chapel,’ to distinguish it from the rest of the campus.”

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his is a sentiment that I–in general–agree with in regards to current Post-Modern architecture: with its ambiguity, it’s lack of context and it’s approach of having regions, locations, structures and spaces look the same, all of these elements of our built environment lose meaning. . . and it takes more than a sign to make up for it.

In his March 2012 article on the website for Chicago Magazine, Whet Moser writes: “That’s the funny thing about Mies. His buildings are sacred, not just because of his reputation, but because he brought a sacredness to the spaces he built: the combination of lightness and severity

that defines church architecture, particularly Gothic church architecture. It’s miraculous: designing an apartment building that its inhabitants treat with the gravity of a church, with Mies as its omniscient, judgmental Creator, is an extraordinary artistic achievement. But it’s also a problematic one. When everything is sacred, from corporate lawoffices to city administrative buildings, nothing is sacred.” offices to city administrative buildings, nothing is sacred.”39

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Above: contemporary architectural diagram – the “pure” concept. A two-dimensional representation of the abstract thought or concept or idea that is within one’s thoughts – in an “unfiltered, non-governed” manner that does nothing to control, adjust, or modify the pureness of the thought from the mind to the hand.

he Diagram-In regards to what constitutes a diagram, my opinion is shared with the concept that Mark Garcia provides in the opening paragraph of his essay, “Histories and Theories of the Diagrams in Architecture” where he writes:

I envision a diagram as a physical representation of the abstract thought or concept or idea that is within my thoughts – in an “unfiltered, non-governed” manner that does nothing to control, adjust, or modify the pureness of the thought from my head to my hand. As described in Garcia’s essay: “Vitruvius’ “Ten Books on Architecture” touches on topics in which diagrams are important: astronomy, astrology, geology, physics, anatomy, hydrology, optics, perspective, entarsis, color, music, acoustics, mathematics, painting, sculpture, geometry, meteorology, engineering, mechanics, armaments and ballistics.”41

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“A diagram is the spatialization of a selective abstraction and/or reduction of a concept or a phenomenon. In other words, a diagram is the architecture of an idea or entity.”40

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archetype, logo, brand, emblem, motif, allegory, index, impression, pictogram, ideogram, graph and doodle. Even in architecture and other spatial design disciplines, there is little consensus on any more precise way to define and distinguish, in all cases, the diagram from larger related things such as the drawing, sketch, illustration, visualization, model, map, process and metaphor. These . . . stretch the limits of the diagram . . . and indicate the complexity and confusion of the . . . meanings of the diagram in today’s architecture and spatial design.”42

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Therefore, the question of what a “diagram” is or what represents a diagram is much more difficult to answer than to say or opinion what it is not as, based on these adjectives that Garcia uses to define the word and concept of the diagram which can be perceived to cover most anything that is used to represent a “pure” thought or concept for the manner of communicating it to others with little or no interference or manipulation of the thought or concept from the individuals internal visualization.

Garcia mentions that with diagrams there is an important problem – the definition of “diagram” itself. Garcia continues: “The word and the concept of the diagram has evolved in a variety of different disciplinary, professional and functional contexts, complicating its understanding. . . .This abstract, general, and ambiguous definition has been extended, by various writers, to the point where at present the diagram overlaps with such diverse entities as the sketch, chart, symbol, icon, table, silhouette, cartoon, template, outline, notation, parti, typology/type, schema, format,

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herefore, the question of what a “diagram” is or what represents a diagram is much more difficult to answer than to say or opinion what it is not, based on these adjectives that Garcia uses to define the word and concept of the diagram which can be perceived to cover

most anything that is used to represent a “pure” thought or concept for the manner of communicating it to others with little or no interference or manipulation of the thought or concept from the individuals internal visualization.

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Above and on the opposite page: diagrams that represent the contemporary architectural diagram–although conveyed through a technological medium in lieu of a pencil or pen (“pure” concept).

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rawing and Representation—In reading “Drawing Time” by Nic Clear, I was immediately captured by the first paragraph and destined to read on: “At a time when the traditional role of the architect is undergoing profound changes due to transformations within the building industry brought about by the pressures of standardization and cost control, for many the architect is becoming, at best, an image consultant and, at worst, a CAD technician.”43 Mr. Clear’s statement–in my opinion–could not be more true as we architects are truly becoming relied upon more for the technical aspect of our profession and less for our building design and space planning. The following quotes from the article are quite in line with what appears to be occurring in some project types in the Midwest: “The goal of architectural practice is still highly predictable, especially in the way that representations remain focused on the production of buildings, and in the way that they remain static and lack the immersive qualities of phenomenal space. Across the profession, the adherence to plan, section and elevation, mitigated by the addition of an occasional perspectival render, operates in a paradigm that would be familiar to practitioners at the beginning of the last century.”44 With the technology that is becoming available, there is definitely more opportunity available to architects: “As the role of the architect in the building industry diminishes, and the need for designers with an advanced architectural understanding within other areas increases.”45

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hat is concerning, though, in the true aspect of the profession, is that there is becoming a discourse - between the technology and what is expected of the designer. Merely plugging in some information and expecting the technology to “finish the design” is not the true intent of our profession, nor should it be. The designer should still be in command of the whole process, using technology for what it is – an extension of the designer, a tool or a media to further express the ideas and thoughts of she or he: “. . . the last 20 years have witnessed unprecedented changes in the possible ways architectural and spatial ideas can be developed and communicated and the forms of the ‘drawings’ that can be created; either through 2-D computer aided design (CAD) and building information modelling (BIM), 3-D computer modelling and rendering, computational and processing techniques, image manipulation and collage, and immersive time-based techniques including animation.”46 But, with these new tools, it is still critical for the architect to understand her or his creation and how it must be communicated to allow it to come to realization– t still must be built by human hands and those that perform that work must know, in great detail, how it is to go together:

“As the use of these techniques becomes more central to architectural production, in all its various iterations, architects will need to develop a new attitude to existing forms of drawing.”47 Nonetheless, technology is part of our lives and, with no other reason to believe otherwise, it will continue to be so: “If we remove the creation of architectural spaces from the limited arena of commercial building production and begin to see architecture in the 21st century as part of a wider discourse of spaces of information, speculation and immersion, then the possibilities of what architecture can be and what architects can do becomes greatly expanded.”48 As architects, we should not be afraid or concerned with this, but be cautious and have the foresight to know when there is any glimpse of the human element being removed from the design of our built environment and do what is needed to change the course.

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see a true need for the digital technology that is present and available for the design profession. It has the ability to more accurately represent the thoughts and ideas that, before, were limited to static, two-dimensional drawings and/or unobtainable due to severely complex designs that were more than what our previous technology could comprehend, let alone calculate or develop. What, as designers, that I believe we should be cautious about, though, is not letting the technology take from us what is part of who we are–as designers and as a society–creativity, critical thinking, reason, theoretical, human. We should not give up these, nor our thirst for knowledge, because of technology. We should expand these because of technology, using it to answer the questions of yesterday and allow us to use that knowledge to think of the questions for tomorrow.

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ith previous experience working with anthropometrics, this studio helped expand my understanding of their reasoning in our physical, designed spaces while re-connecting me with theoretical and physiological implications that they can have - not only on how we experience our built world, but how we recall certain spaces as time passes. In addition, we engaged in thought provoking exercises to better comprehend how these spaces would be or are experienced by others, to promote an encompassing design process.

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Furthermore, this studio was the catalyst in my expansion of knowledge of design and graphic software currently in use in the design industry.

Being detached from the “design” and “production” side of the architectural profession, due to my career advancement, my reacquaintance with these “creative tools” proved to be challenging but fruitful as the work presented showcases my technological evolution and personal growth.

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uman Factors. The term Human Factors encompasses both physiology and psychology and covers most factors affecting human performance of tasks using tools or in man-made environments. The Measure of Man and Woman is an outgrowth of the human factors field, and it should thus prove useful to engineers, architects, industrial designers, interior designers, craftspeople, artists and students.

Today’s designers must be aware of the whole population. International air travel and the design of industrial and agricultural equipment all over the world have created a need for anthropometrical study of the world population.

This studio presented the challenge of knowing and understanding anthropometrics – individually and socially - and understanding how it affects our memories, thoughts and perception of the space we use and inhabit and develop an architectural project that is based on a clear theoretical position that demonstrates an advanced understanding of architectural design and expand a personalized program of architectural investigation.

Body | Mind | Experience: Foundations Our perceptions and experiences are framed by our physical form, our understanding, and perspective. As a starting point to understand our own physical form we measured ourselves using a standard Anthropometric Diagram, comparing our findings with others and understanding what this collection of data meant to us as designers. We continued by recalling a vivid (first hand) memory of a place, event, or experience by describing this moment using sensory perceptions, describing emotions tied to the experience and our mental/ emotional state - focusing our attention on the environment that was around us.

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Sense Memory Essay This memory was spurred from the symphony of crickets and the blanket of warm humid air coming through the window.

When I was younger, my family would avidly bicycle during the summer months–mostly local between neighboring towns, but one week in the summer, we would venture to a nearby state for a Bike Tour. The first time I was old enough to go, it was to Mackinac Island. It was a week filled with bicycling, sightseeing and camping. Even though I was out of school for the summer, it took this experience to make me feel like I was really away from everything and free.

To me, it was a completely different world–far from the hustle of the Chicagoland area. No driving on the expressways or interacting with the crowds; it was a week filled with country roads lined with pastures and farms, friendly passerby’s and small towns.

Each day was immersed in a variety of colors-100 different shades of green and yellow prairie grasses, changing color as the sun moved across the sky, which itself seemed to vary from deep purple to bright blue to autumn orange and crimson red until becoming a solid black carpet with what appeared to be millions of stars. Red barns and white houses contrasted against the landscape that seemed to be sliced with the deep black asphalt road.

The sounds were deafening, but in a pleasant, relaxing way. Crickets, cicadas, frogs and whippoorwills were the perfect background music to a setting so untouched–louder than the typical sounds at home, but so soothing in their rhythmic manner. Small chatter at the campsites accompanied by the crackle of the dying campfire where the last sounds heard before I would fall asleep.

The scents I remember are the strongest sensory recollection–the early morning dew and fog

recollection–the early morning dew and fog was itself wet with a slight bitterness from the native plants and the hint of the smoke from the campfire of the night before. The days would be filled with a myriad of smells–the sweet aroma of fresh hay, the earthy organic scent of the livestock (which, depending on the wind, you could smell before you could see them), the aroma of freshly picked produce at road side stands mixed with the fresh air, “cleansed” by the trees–all so strong that even the fragrance of the freshly laid asphalt could not overtake them. Even today, any combination of these scents can bring me back to this event.

Being younger, I do not recall much in the way of “feeling” different during this ride–I was too young to experience exhaustion or sore muscles or aching hands or feet-but thinking back, I can recall the vibration in my hands, going down a steep hill, going as fast as I could . . . feeling like I was flying, tears welling up in my eyes due to the wind blowing in them and feeling the rush of the air going by my ears, sounding like a tornado . . . until the next uphill arrived and it all slowly died down. I do seem to recall the aching sensation–a good sensation, in that–of my calves and thighs as they continually worked each day, a sensation of them becoming accustomed to the routine.

Emotionally, this trip was all about being excited at first but then at ease–with myself and with my family. Being in an environment that was so foreign to what I knew, exotic to those friends I would share my adventure with upon returning, and being with my parents where they could be more like who they wanted to be and not who they had to be–I recall being at peace, being able to cleanse my spirit and rid any worries or doubts of myself I may have had, having so much time alone on my bike but also having so much time to just talk with my family. I do not recall ever being upset or angry–even at the end of the week.

This, I believe, is why I still enjoy bicycling.

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Activity | Precedent | Interaction: Foundations Activity Associations Consider what it is to Play | Rest | Work. What are your associations most commonly attributed to this different activities / mindsets. Create a list of verbs / adjectives / nouns for each of the activity modes and briefly describe your favorite places to play, work, and rest.

Precedent Case Study Based on your associations for play, work, and rest: identify which most resonates with you. Select an environment or object (furniture, equipment, etc.) for the activity that most resonates with you.

Thoroughly investigate your precedent case.

Gather dimensional data, material data, etc. on your case.

For myself, it is a toss-up between Work and Rest that most resonates with me, as I am usually doing one or the other. If I had to choose, Work edges out Rest for the fact that Work gives me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment whereas rest sometimes leaves a sense of guilt, knowing I could have gotten something done instead of relaxing.

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ork - although my profession requires me to be at a desk most of the time, what resonates with me regarding work is when I am actually not at work, but at home or outdoors working on projects. Either being in my garage or workshop is where I feel most productive, whether working intellectually or with my hands-a slight scent of wood, grass, oil and gas; daylight streaming in from the open garage door, a blessing of a cool breeze in the right direction and the coldness of the concrete slab is my true creative environment.

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lay - ironically, play for me is usually related to work or rest, so my description relates to those activities as well. Mostly, play is associated with the outdoors, warm sunlight, gentle winds, canopies of trees and varying ground-from soft, wet grass to cold, slimy mud to calm and refreshing waters and soft, fluffy snow mounds. Play for me is to be in contact with nature - whether working or resting.

Manual labor outdoors with power tools is "Play" for me.

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est - true rest for me reminds me of my reclining chair - in the sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. Able to provide a variety of comfortable positions and within a space that can provide calming music or the "white noise" of a football game. It's ergonomics-although not intended to be specific to me, is quite perfect for support, comfort and cushion.

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Purpose | Perspective | Product: Synthesis

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e built upon the research activities conducted in the earlier assignments to develop the design of a unique, original project of our own. We Incorporated our perspective on Play | Rest | Work, the inspiration of our case study, and –with the application of collected anthropometric data-we formulated a question or problem that we were challenged to address or solve. with our design.

In our perspective, our house is ideal for what we want to encourage–interaction. The upper floor level contains all of our living spaces– Kitchen, Dining Room, Living Room and Bedrooms (along with accessory space)–while the lower level has a more “open floor plan” that allows interaction and different activities to occur. It is here where my dedicated workshop is located. It is in close proximity to our “family spaces” as well as accessory spaces commonly associated with the maintenance and upkeep of a household. It is here, my workshop, that I feel is an ideal space and location to introduce the combination of activities in a way that can promote not only family interaction, but also opportunities to share, explore and learn.

Front of house Upper Level Rear of house

Workshop

Lower Level

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Longitudinal View

Workbench

Opposite Wall

Longitudinal View

Adjacent Basement/ Living Area

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t is within this space that I am able to not only work on current projects, but also analyze and organize for future projects while also finding solitude to focus my thoughts.

Approximately 11 feet wide by 22 feet long, it has a clear height of 9 feet. Along one long side it has a workbench that is 40 inches tall and is approximately 9.5 feet long. One of the short sides is a utility sink with a 12 inch wide work surface between it and the sink. There is a 36 inch door opposite the work bench, near the first third of the space length that connects the shop to the rest of the basement. On the opposite end of the workshop is where the mechanical equipment for the house is located (furnace, water heater, water softener) and another door to the rest of the basement. It is all located to one side with a 5 foot by 7 foot Safe Room on the other side.

Mech.

Equip.

Existing Work Shop utility sink Safe Room

Work Bench

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ur two older sons are in Cub Scouts–the third year for my oldest son and the first year for my middle son. We have every expectation that our youngest son will join in two years. One of the activities that they all have enjoyed is the Pinewood Derby race.

Orbital Sanding Pinewood Derby Car Kit

Saw Cutting

The premise is that all of the scouts are given a kit with the same components and are allowed to design, build and finish a Pinewood Derby car–all within certain guidelines and rules–to compete against the other scouts in the pack.

This activity gives them opportunities to build and develop many skills related to design, construction and finishing while also learning about materials, physics and creativity; this quickly became a favorite activity of the boys, as well as myself, and we look forward to assisting and working with them on this project.

“We want to encourage children to find ways to learn, and to see learning as a positive experience. How better than by alleviating them of discomfort and distractions caused by inappropriate learning environments. Childhood is also a critical time to teach good work habits.”48

Painting

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nfortunately, in the existing workshop the surfaces to work on are all of one height and do not provide for a comfortable position for the boys (or my wife and I) to work on their Pinewood cars–whether standing on the floor or on a step stool.

PAUL ALLISON RANDY NOLAN LUCCA A

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FOR “C” - RESTING ARM HEIGHT OVER FLOOR

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ANTHROMPOMETRIC DATA - PROPOSED WORK SURFACE HEIGHT

Nolan - 29” Randy - 33” Allison - 36” Paul - 42”

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Taking into consideration the variety of tasks to complete a Pinewood car and the tools associated with them, the sake of safety and maintaining focus and interest and the ability to teach and instruct, a new workspace layout was in need.

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SHOULDER HEIGHT—30.5”

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ased on the measurements for the length of the upper arm (“J”), raised at an approximate 45 degree angle, to create the desired “resting” height of the arm (“C”) - and work surface height - was found to be on average 4” to 6” below shoulder height (“B”) for the children and 6” to 8” for the adults.

SURFACE HEIGHT—40.5”

M2 16”

Upon analyzing the general anthropometrics of our family members, it was inferred that even though we are all of different standing heights and reach lengths the data was able to be reduced to a few common denominators, allowing for the consideration of a modular system. This was most important in the data for the preferred height of a work surface where it does not cause stress or strain on the shoulders or arms-at a height allowing the arms and shoulders to comfortably rest while also allowing them to be used most effectively for certain tasks.

M2 16”

M1 8”

SHOULDER HEIGHT—47.0”

SHOULDER HEIGHT—38.0” (WITH 6” PLATFORM)

SURFACE HEIGHT—32.5”

M2 16” M2 16”

M2 16”

M2 16”

SURFACE HEIGHT—32.5”

SHOULDER HEIGHT—40.0”

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SURFACE HEIGHT—48.5”

M2 16”

M2 16”

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SHOULDER HEIGHT—53.0” “Pain can debilitate children as well as adults. Recent studies indicate that schoolchildren experience much higher degrees of discomfort and pain than had been commonly assumed .

Some researchers suggest that children’s neck and back pain rates compare with those of adults.”49

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M1 Module

M2 Module

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he bright colors are proposed to create a more enjoyable atmosphere as well as allow the users to “personalize� their workspace.

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With an anticipated weight of 3 to 4 lbs/ft3, this would result in approximately 4 pounds per each small module and 6 pounds per each large module. Any necessity for more weight, for stability purposes, could be achieved by increasing the density of the rigid foam to 8 to 10 lbs/ft3, creating a final weight of 20 pounds for the larger modules – to provide a stable base.

The modules are proposed to be constructed of 30 mil thick, vacuum formed plastic filled with rigid polystyrene foam to provide support to the panels and rigidity to the shapes overall without making the overall modules significantly heavy.

In addition to the interlocking characteristic, each module would also have a “roughened” surface on the bottom, to prevent any lateral movement when each volume is placed on top of each other. This will also prevent the transparent, acrylic work surface top from shifting during activities. Furthermore, this will provide stability if a module is used as a “step platform”, preventing it from sliding on the floor surface under any lateral load or force.

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he two modules provide an interlocking system, allowing four of the same size module to “interweave” with one another to create a square volume of a specific dimensional height–8” for the smaller module and 16” for the larger module. The voids for the interlocking system that face outward provide spaces for storage of individual projects and supplies as well as necessary tools–hand, power and bench. In addition, where necessary, one of the smaller modules can be used as a “step platform” where there may be a need to incrementally decrease the distance between the floor and work surface.

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The clear acrylic work surface is proposed for its durability, lightweight (approximately 3 lbs/ft2 for the ½” in thick material proposed) as well as for the ability to place any necessary written instructions or diagrams underneath, protecting it as well as giving “hands-free” access to the user. Any damage–scratches or abrasions–can typically be buffed out and/or polished.

VACUUM FORMED PLASTIC SHELL RIGID POLYSTYRENE FOAM CORE

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he proposed placement of the modular work surfaces is in the center of the long and narrow space. The existing work surfaces would be removed complete, allow the full width of the space to be used and opening a pathway around the new work surface–to not only promote easier access but also allow interaction across the work surface and/or assistance from behind.

When not in use, extra modules are anticipated to be placed along the open wall to storage extra materials and tools and also display previous projects and creations–on the floor or on shelving supports in the wall.

Premised on the concept of “building blocks” or LEGO® Blocks, it can be suggested that these may not only be useful in this situation.

With the Pinewood Derby races only occurring one a year and this activity typically lasting only a few months out of the year, these modules

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can be used for other activities–whether in work or play–or as storage and shelving -in the workshop or in other rooms.

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Based on the following Studio Brief, I envisioned an opportunity to extract from the experience concepts that might be beneficial to the Low Income Housing industry while also further investigating what housing–and site-design characteristics are beneficial to the success of community development:

“The studio goals will be approached through research and design which will emphasize investigation of relationships between human behavior, shelter, and community, as they relate to design processes, building processes, and place making. The work will consider habitats which not only perform by adapting to the diverse means and needs of both s i t e s / s i tu a t i o n s and r e si d en t s / communities, but also enable opportunities for long-term individual and community stability via design which cultivates ownership and

independence, as well relationships and growth.”

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cooperative

The studio had a more challenging design process due to the fact that the program for the assignments were very abstract and left us to our own devices to interpret and develop the integral program elements, challenging us to come up with solutions that encompassed as many of the possible situations that could be interpreted or envisioned. On a more personal level, it continued the challenge I had begun in Advanced Design Studio I with understanding certain design and graphic software and exponentially increasing my needed proficiency of them.

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his studio interested me for the fact that it dealt with a portion of the designed world that I had some experience with and have a great interest in – Temporary Housing. My most recent professional experience was in Low Income Housing and I know, first hand, how this effective approach to providing needed housing is still mostly reactionary and is a delay between the determined necessity and the implementation of the solution.

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Deployable Module Objectives: quickly engage with the topic of the studio via a short study which operates at the scale of the body and investigates where construction methods, materials, use, cost, and context begin to inform one another.

Outcome: create a temporary deployable module for one person, which can be assembled from standard parts at a minimum cost. The module must connect-to / converse-with / respond-to / play-on / (in other words, have a specific relationship with) an existing piece of exterior public infrastructure. The module's situation/siting, user/ usage/usefulness, assembly/deployment, material/ tectonics, and ultimately documentation/ presentation should all be carefully selected and developed such that individual components become responsive to each other, building toward an orchestrated whole which is greater than the sum of its parts.

Rules: • The module and its installation MUST NOT permanently alter public property in any way.

Obtain permission from proper authorities before installing any work. The module and its installation shall not alter public property in such a way that would cause hazard or nuisance.

Take measures to ensure no damage is done to the existing property and that the property is left precisely how it was found prior to installation.

• Cost of the module is limited to $40 PER UNIT of standard materials available from a local hardware / home improvement store.

• Components may be pre-cut or pre-drilled offsite using basic tools • Deployment of the module must be reproducible. Module must be able to be assembled AND disassembled by a single person using hands only or a provided tool.

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When visiting playgrounds and parks, there is typically fixed seating available. Unfortunately, these apparatus are not adjustable and are of a “one size only” premise. Knowing that-even at home-each boy sits differently at the table, due to their varying stature, I felt that there would be a “universal” need for a module that would allow for a eating/playing surface to be

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My experience with ADS I Studio primarily focused on my family experience and, more specifically, instances that revolved around my three young boys. Coming into ADS II Studio, those thoughts still remained fresh in my mind and influenced my initial concept for a deployable module.

temporarily attached to the existing facilities, providing a usable surface to accommodate almost any toddler or child’s need. Furthermore, the module was envisioned to be compatible with strollers, providing a child a way to eat or play while providing the parent comfort knowing their child is still secure.

The choice of materials came about through rigorous review of strength, durability, cost and weight in addition to consideration of the tools that I owned and their capabilities in regards to fabrication. Furthermore, some of the components were a result of viewing an item in a manner outside of their intended use and/or function.

Materials and concepts from this solution eventually became to be seen as the inspiration for the final assignment-a deployable living shelter.

PARTS LIST

COST

A— (1) 11”x 17” Shallow Prefinished Metal Pan

$4.17

B— (1) 1-1/4” dia. PVC Pipe – 16” length w/2” coupler

$1.86

C1/C2— (2) 1-1/4” dia. PVC Pipe—6” length with 1” coupler D— (1) PVC Tee Connector

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E— (1) Metal Pipe Clamp Assembly w/Electrical Tape

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*Includes: E1— 3/8” dia. Clamp, E2—Clamp Bracket, E3— (2) 3/8” dia. Nuts F— (1) 3/8” dia. Nut

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G— (1) 1-1/2” dia. Washer

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H— (1) 2” dia. Washer w/Grommet Assembly

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K— (1) 3/8” x 3” Threaded Rod

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L— (1) 3/8” dia. Nut

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M— (1) 3/8” x 4” Metal Bolt Plate w/(1) 3/8” dia. Nut

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N — (2) 3/4” dia. Washer w/Grommet

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P — (2) 3/8” x 3-1/2” Carriage Bolt

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R— (2) Manufactured Plastic Knobs

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Temporary Housing to Permanent CommunityDeployable Living Shelter Unstable political and environmental conditions which create large-scale crises can lead to significant displacement of entire communities, resulting in a substantial and immediate need for shelter. Oftentimes however, temporary solutions become longer-term than anticipated, to the detriment of the health and well-being of occupants. This studio aims to consider the culture and economics of displacement and its resultant housing needs, and will examine the potential of rapidly-deployable housing when reconsidered as a longer-term solution with the goal of individual and community sustainability. The studio goals will be approached through research and design which will emphasize investigation of relationships between human behavior, shelter, and community, as they relate to design processes, building processes, and place making. The work will consider habitats which not only perform by adapting to the diverse means and needs of both sites/situations and residents/communities, but also enable opportunities for long-term individual and community stability via design which cultivates ownership and independence, as well as cooperative relationships and growth. Design outcomes will be broadcast through various media, emphasizing communication and representation which extends and reinforces design intention, and at multiple scales–from 1:1 interventions to comprehensive strategies which imagine multiple scenarios and tactics.

Outcome: consider the culture and economics of displacement and its resultant housing needs, examining the potential of rapidly-deployable housing when reconsidered as a longer-term solution with the goal of both individual and community sustainability. Therefore, you are to design a deployable housing strategy which

simultaneously examines both singular residential typologies and aggregate settlement patterns. The work is to be considered as a responsive implementation framework such that the deployment, construction, aggregation, and adaptation of the project to different sites and situations augments the potential for both short- and long -term sustainable living for its inhabitants.

The work is intended to responsive, and therefore informed by potential opportunities for negotiations between elements both known and unknown. As such, the work should demonstrate, describe, and evaluate how the project performs as it relates to a set of scenarios, which address: • •

•

flexibility of form, material, and tectonics as informed by conditions and processes; variable uses, hierarchies, spatial relationships, patterns, phasing, and implementation between component parts; and sensitivity to identity, culture, and capacity of users and communities impacted by or having agency in the project.

The design then consideration of:

should

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Construction : tectonics scenarios– responsiveness to situation • Deployment, transport and mobility • Construction methods and materials • Land, climate and topography • Infrastructure Program: adaptive scenarios–responsiveness to user • Base typology(s), flexibility and adaptability • Life-cycle and phasing (immediate, intermediate, long–term, end of life) • Ownership / Participation / Vernacular

Context: aggregate scenarios–responsiveness to community • Scales of implementation: • Module–unit(s)–plot–cluster–settlement • Public/semi-public/private spaces as they relate to the above scales • Experience, place making and connection

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Connecting Temporary Communities

Housing

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Mission Statement To create an immediate shelter that can evolve to a long term solution for an individual, a group or community that is left without housing due to various events and/or conditions.

Thesis At all corners of the world, events occur that result in a loss of permanent housing and the immediate displacement of a community. These include sporadic incidents (i.e. natural disasters, acts of war or conflict) as well as events that are more steady or consistent (i.e. increase in local and global population explosion, poverty due to increase in population or decrease in economy).

I believe that immediate shelters should be able to evolve into more permanent structures, but not at the sacrifice of the efficiency of having shelter being able to be provided in the shortest timeframe possible. This should also require the immediate shelters to have a sense of “flexibility”– not only to become what is needed at one point and evolve into something else when those needs change, but to provide the opportunity for ease of relocation of the structure if the need arises.

In response to this need, I am proposing a modular/ tubular efficient construction system to allow immediate deployment and setup of essential shelter and protection in emergency situations. The premise of the design would be based on a universal connection system that would be proposed to work with local/natural or provided/ fabricated materials to create the frame of the structure. The intended result is to give the end users the ability to expand and evolve their shelter into a more personalized space, in essence creating a long term living space that can be “personalized”. Being modular in nature, this structure can be easily disassembled and

transported to a new area in case of a sudden change of situation or relocation of the settlement site. It also provides the opportunity to be disassembled and reused for other purposes as the settlement sites needs evolve.

In addition, I would propose that the settlements that these structures are intended to be used in be conceptualized in such a manner that the structures can develop and expand within the constraints of the overall site.

The intent here is to ensure that once a site is chosen, it allows ample space for the immediate needs but also for the temporary and long-term needs, reducing any potential of further relocation.

IMMEDIATE

TEMPORARY

LONG TERM

POVERTY

Rapid Urban Growth51 32% of urban dwellers live in slums-1 billion people worldwide-2 billion slum dwellers projected for 2040

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Housing50 • One-quarter of all urban housing units in developing countries are temporary structures • More than one-third do not conform to building regulations • Many people live “on the streets” or are simply “homeless”

The solution to slums is not to evict people, or to eradicate the dwellings . . . but to create conditions so that people can improve their own dwellings, with the assistance of the community.52

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The overwhelming majority of new housing built in the world today is built by the people themselves, by the people who live in those houses, and by the communities in which they live.53

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REFUGEE “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ~ Nelson Mandela ~

With more than 35 million refugees worldwide, it’s become clear that housing solutions for displaced people need to be made a priority.54 An example is Syria’s ongoing conflict has torn apart countless families. Entire communities have been uprooted, scattering large populations within Syria and driving over 2.2 million people into surrounding countries.55 Children have been particularly affected, many of them becoming refugees, some separated from one or both parents and sometimes with no adult caregiver at all.56

NATURAL DISASTER

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The often chaotic aftermath of a natural disaster is not a propitious moment for advancing new long-term housing sector goals or pursuing housing sector reform.

In the past two decades, 141 million people have lost their homes through 3,559 natural disaster events such as earthquakes, windstorms, floods, and landslides throughout the world.57 Nearly all the world’s disaster homelessness97.7% of the total-occurs in developing countries, where 72.2% of the natural disasters themselves strike.58 138 million people were made homeless in developing countries, against just 3.3 million in industrialized countries.59 Housing components of emergency reconstruction projects thus become primarily instruments of short-term economic and social recovery.

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Image from https://hoveringwaters.wordpress.com/tag/living-water-international

SHELTER - CONCEPT

In my solution–ISL (Immediate Shelter and Living module)–I am proposing a modular/tubular efficient construction system to allow immediate deployment and setup of essential shelter and protection in emergency situations.

It is based on a universal connection system that is proposed to work with local/natural

6’-0” Nom.

8’-0” Nom.

One (1) Module 48 square feet

PLAN

Scale model of module framework REAR ELEVATION

SIDE ELEVATION

FRONT ELEVATION

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WINDOW OPENING

DOOR OPENING

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Concept model of universal connector or provided/fabricated materials to create the frame of the structure. The intended result is to give the end users the ability to expand and evolve their shelter into a more developed space, in essence creating a long term living space that can be “personalized”. Being modular in nature, the ISL can be easily disassembled and transported to a new area in case of a sudden change of situation or relocation of the refugee settlement site. It also provides the opportunity to be disassembled and reused for other purposes as the settlement sites needs evolve. The flexible design aspect is intended to give the end users opportunities to be creative in designing their space – and their community overall – and give back the feeling of self-reliance, allowing them to regain a sense of dignity in a difficult circumstance.

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SHELTER - TECTONICS Durable Panelized Roof Sheathing

Pipe/Tube Frame Insulation

Supplemental Wood Blocking

Nominal 4:12 Roof Pitch

Canvas/ Durable Fabric Exterior Sheathing 4’-0” Wide Operable Fenestration

10’-6”

Shelter to Housing • Ability to Evolve • Flexibility (Site, Climate, Individual Needs) • Use of Available Resources (Local, Readily Available) • Deployment—capable over various terrains • Ease of Construction and Renovation

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6’-3” AFF Immediate

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4’-3” AFF 5’-7” Plywood Floor Deck

Pipe/Tube Frame

Durable Panelized Roof Sheathing Canvas/Durable Fabric Exterior Sheathing

0’-0” Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

Pipe/Tube Frame

Durable Int. Wall/Clg. Sheathing Plywood Floor Deck Over Insulation

4’-0” Wide Operable Fenestration Insulation Pipe/Tube Frame Concrete Pier Footing

6’-3” AFF 4’-3” AFF

Nominal 4:12 Roof Pitch

Durable Panelized Roof Sheathing

Long Term

Nominal 4:12 Roof Pitch

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Pipe/Tube Frame

12’-8”

Durable Panel Sheathing Exterior

Durable Interior Wall/Clg. Sheathing

Insulation

Plywood Floor Deck Over Insulation

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5’-7”

Concrete Foundation 1’-4”

11’-6”

0’-0” 8’-3”

Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

5’-7”

1’-4” 0’-0”

M A S T E R A D V A N C E D

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

SHELTER - MODULARITY

SLEEPING

8’-0” Nom.

STOR.

6’-0” Nom. The Sphere Project–or ‘Sphere’–was initiated in 1997 by a group of humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Their aim was to improve the quality of their actions during disaster response and to be held accountable for them. They based Sphere’s philosophy on two core beliefs: first, that those affected by disaster or conflict have a right to life with dignity and, therefore, a right to assistance; and second, that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict.60

ENTRY (ONE MODULE)

Space Requirements Approx. 50 SF Per Individual Immediate

Temporary

Spaces Sleeping, Storage

Long Term

12’-0” Nom.

8’-0” Nom.

STOR.

INT. CISTERN

BATH

KITCHEN

Space Requirements Approx. 100 SF Per Individual

SLEEPING (TWO MODULES)

ENTRY Spaces Sleeping, Space Conserving Kitchen and Bath Facilities, Storage

5 8 2 4

The SPHERE shelter recommends an area in excess of 3.5m2 (approximately 40 SF) per person to meet requirements of typical household activities.61

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Striving to support these two core beliefs, the Sphere Project framed a Humanitarian Charter and identified a set of minimum standards in key life-saving sectors which are now reflected in the Handbook’s four technical chapters: water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security and nutrition; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health action. The Core Standards are process standards and apply to all technical chapters.

Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

18’-0” Nom. STOR.

KITCHEN

12’-0” Nom.

BATHROOM

BEDROOM

LIVING AREA STOR.

(THREE FULL MODULES) (THREE HALF MODULES)

ENTRY

Space Requirements Approx. 100 SF Sleeping Area Per Individual; 40 SF Bath Space Spaces Sleeping, Storage

Kitchen,

Private

Bath

Facilities,

M A S T E R A D V A N C E D

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

Per the SPHERE Project: Shelter and Settlement Standard for Covered Living Space - in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, particularly in extreme climate conditions where shelter materials are not readily available, a covered area of less than 3.5 m2 (40 SF) per person may be appropriate to save life and to provide adequate short-term shelter. In such instances, the covered area should reach 3.5 m2 (40 SF) per person as soon as possible to minimize adverse impact on the health and well-being of the people accommodated.62

SHELTER - EVOLUTION

Immediate

Two (2) Modules

Four (4) Modules

Temporary

Long Term

One (1) Module

12’-0” Nom.

6’-0” Nom.

Entry Approx. 192 SF

Approx. 96 SF

8’-0” Nom.

Entry

12’-0” Nom.

16’-0” Nom.

8’-0” Nom.

Entry

Approx. 48 SF

Immediate

Two (2) Modules + (2) Half Modules

Long Term

5 8 2 4

Four (4) Modules + (2) Half Modules

Temporary

Two (2) Module

12’-0” Nom.

Entry

Approx. 144 SF

8’-0” Nom.

12’-0” Nom.

24’-0” Nom.

12’-0” Nom. Entry

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100

12’-0” Nom.

Entry Approx. 96 SF

Approx. 288 SF

Six (6) Modules

4’-0” Nom.

16’-0” Nom.

20’-0” Nom.

Entry

Entry 16’-0” Nom. Approx. 288 SF

12’-0” Nom.

12’-0” Nom.

Entry

12’-0” Nom.

Three (3) Modules + (3) Half Modules

18’-0” Nom.

8’-0” Nom.

Eight (8) Modules + (2) Half Modules

Entry 18’-0” Nom. Approx. 216 SF

1/8” =

Approx. 432 SF M A S T E R Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

A D V A N C E D

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

COMMUNITY PLANNING - URBAN Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

220.21’

220.21’

x1 = 485 SF (SITE AREA)

x100 = 48,500 SF (SITE AREA)

220.21’ Temporary

Long Term

5 8 2 4

110.10’

Immediate

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

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COMMUNITY PLANNING - SUBURBAN

220.21’

220.21’

COMMUNITY PLANNING - RURAL Temporary

Long Term

The SPHERE shelter recommends an overall surface area per person, including communal space for roads, foot paths, educational facilities, administration, etc. within temporary communal settlements should be 45 m2 (approximately 485 SF).64

110.10’ 110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

With regard to number of refugees two main issues should be considered which are number of people in different settlement groups, or the aggregation, and the maximum capacity of each complex. Roberto Bologna of the University of Florence has suggested three numbers of 100, 250 and 400 as appropriate ones for the maximum number of people in settlement groups.63

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

220.21’

220.21’

Immediate

220.21’ M A S T E R

A D V A N C E D

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

COMMUNITY PLANNING - URBAN Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

220.21’

220.21’

x1 = 485 SF (SITE AREA)

x100 = 48,500 SF (SITE AREA)

220.21’ Temporary

Long Term

5 8 2 4

110.10’

Immediate

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

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COMMUNITY PLANNING - SUBURBAN

220.21’

COMMUNITY PLANNING - RURAL Temporary

Long Term

110.10’ 110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

220.21’

220.21’

Immediate

220.21’

220.21’

220.21’ M A S T E R

A D V A N C E D

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

COMMUNITY PLANNING - URBAN Immediate

Temporary

Long Term

220.21’

220.21’

x1 = 485 SF (SITE AREA)

x100 = 48,500 SF (SITE AREA)

220.21’ Temporary

Long Term

5 8 2 4

110.10’

Immediate

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

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COMMUNITY PLANNING - SUBURBAN

220.21’

220.21’

COMMUNITY PLANNING - RURAL Temporary

Long Term

110.10’

The site layouts are based on the LinearCentral Settlement Model-a combination of linear and central models. Usually when there is a limitation of available space, this model-or variations of it-can better fit the area.

110.10’

220.21’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

110.10’

220.21’

220.21’

220.21’

Immediate

220.21’ M A S T E R

A D V A N C E D

O F

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D E S I G N

S T U D I O

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"We believe that the advancement of architecture is not a goal in itself but a way to improve people's quality of life."

"Given life ranges from very basic physical needs to the most intangible dimensions of the human condition, consequently improving the quality of the built environment is an endeavour that has to tackle many fronts: from guaranteeing very concrete down-to-earth living standards to interpreting and fulfilling human desires, from respecting the single individual to taking care of the common good, from efficiently hosting daily activities to expanding the frontiers of civilisation."

~Alejandro Aravena~

M A S T E R A D V A N C E D

O F

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D E S I G N

S T U D I O

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A R C 5 8 0 4

TABLE

OF CONTENTS

I N T R O D U C T I O N / D E S I G N

A R C 5 6 3 4

D E S I G N

A R C 5 6 2 2

C U R R E N T

A R C 5 8 1 4

A D V A N C E D

A R C 5 8 2 4

A D V A N C E D

A R C 5 8 0 4

C R I T I T C A L

P H I L O S O P H Y

2

T H E O R Y I S S U E S

1 0 A R C H I T E C T U R E

3 0

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 1

5 2

D E S I G N

S T U D I O

0 2

7 6

I N

P R A C T I C E

S T U D I O

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

1 1 0

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

P R A C T I C E

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A graphic investigation of ecological possibilities within urban design explorations. Led by Terreform ONE, seven design teams probed the possibilities of a merger between synthetic biology and urban infrastructures. The result is a true spectacle of ecology made visible through design technology and practices. Qualified by techno-scientific methods and routines, this publication is an event of the craft of green architecture and urbanism.

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Critical Practice Studio Ecotarium: Unlimited Life Cycle Design

The anticipation of a future species, part plant and creature, complete with a unique life-cycle, habitats, needs and social patterns. The Ecotarium cultivates investigations through synthetic biology and multi-scalar infrastructure insertion, pushing the forms of nature to retrieve the wisdom of mosaics, connectivity, bio-diversity, patches, matrices and et cetera. It is a signal of humanist intent.

Terreform ONE, a leading design practitioner, and collaborating faculty define a specific topic and process for an advanced design investigation exploring current issues in critical practice. Students research, generate and represent design ideas in a collaborative team format and working process, reflective of studio practice in the design professions.

Eco-Gram A primer eco-statement, an instantly recognizable graphic that expresses a specific notion of modern man’s relationship with the environment. A graphic diagram representing an ecological phenomenon of life cycle an al ys is: Bi rt h —Eat —W ast e —Gro wt h — Metabolism—Mate—Die—Decompose—Birth

This course-with a swift pace-stressed critical thinking and team work skills while extending my graphic, communication, and speaking skills. The built environment, advanced design skills and methodology were also emphasized. The class investigated ideas of site, construct, assembly, system, and materiality (to name only a few) in a rigorous environment of investigation and the tasks and assignments focused on understanding teamwork and individual-team contribution. A demanding yet thought-provoking experience.

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

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Physically superior and with proper scale, our vision is to use the Bluefin Tuna – a more evolved, hearty and aquatic species – and alter it at a molecular level to be utilized as a transporter and transmitter of seed banks, addressing together Conservation and Regulation.

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ith the continuation of current carbon pollution, it is projected that one-third of the world’s plants and animals will be extinct by 2050 and two-thirds by 2100. With this current imbalance of biodiversity, we envision the use of a hybrid species to alleviate certain issues while supporting a current practice, seed banking - a type of gene bank – where the seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity.

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W

A leader within its ecosystem, the Bluefin Tuna is able to regulate its habitat; it’s only significant and detrimental threat – overfishing. It has substantial influence both directly by regulating prey populations and indirectly through the interactions between their prey and other members of the ecosystem. These indirect effects that occur further down the food-web are referred to as trophic cascades. By altering the taste of their flesh through this hybridization, we intend to alter its biological and commercial value.

With static Seed Banks, this strategy presents an alternate trajectory - a tactic of seed preservation through the marine ecosystem. It also addresses the preservation of recalcitrant seeds - seeds that cannot resist the effects of drying or temperatures less than 10°C. These itinerant seed banks address/ improve conservation and regulate distribution – of the plant and marine ecosystem – striving for a more balanced biodiversity.

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

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A R C H I T E C T U R E

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Latin name: Glycine Max Common name: Soya bean

soy-selectively bred and genetically modified in order to be resistant to disease and famine. Less natural and more engineered, the species has become intellectual property and ultra-specialized to unique habitats and desired offspring.

Eco-Creature The anticipation of a future species, part plant and creature, complete with a unique lifecycle, habits, needs and social patterns.

Characteristics of this new species include all

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he Arkpod: the resultant of a meticulous genetic fusion of two strong, versatile and adaptable species – the bluefin tuna and the soy plant – taking the abilities of both species to adapt to a varied of environments while also acquiring the characteristics of strength, size and lifespan from the former and a durable, scaly epidermis and photosynthesis capabilities from the latter – using this hybridization to also develop a transportable “seed bank” to promote plant growth and development across varied habitats. These species, chosen to fashion the Arkpod, represent two extremes in the human races’ active role in effecting the diversity of species overall on the planet.

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T

Latin name: Thunnus Thynnus Common name: Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna bluefin tuna-a species on the brink of extinction due to over-harvesting, flawed policy and attempts to eradicate for market purposes and financial gains.

biological systems (food, digestive and reproductive systems) and environmental context (sunlight, air, water, soil conditions)

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

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he Arkpo d retains the following physiognomies from both the tuna and soy plant. Characteristics of soy pods are found within the intestinal cavity to operate as analogues of seed banks. Leafy scales with soy plant stem and leaves integrate with tuna morphology at top of dorsal fin. A strong propulsion tail is reinforced by a soy-based tentacle appendages (male only). The soy bean plant fuses with the tuna digestive system, allowing the ability to produce internal energy by photosynthesis.

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Latin name: Thunnus Glycine Max Common name: Arkpod [ärk päd]

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

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A R C H I T E C T U R E

P R A C T I C E

S T U D I O

1

2

3 4

5

6

7 8 9

1. Stomach 2. Gonads 3. Soy Pods 4. Speed Pouch 5. Muscle Tissue 6. Intestines 7. Spine 8. Liver 9. Heart

Dorsal Fin with Soy Stem Protruding and Terminating with LeafLike Structure

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Tendrils—Propulsion Section View With Integrated Vascular and Roof Systems

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Leaf Scales

Soy Pod Root System

Section Through Tendrils Seed Bank

Stomach

Intestine

Gonads

Seed Tract

A

rkpod: a combination of two highly politicized and commercialized species– both of their fates heavily reliant on human intervention - to restore biodiversity in a global ecosystem that was thrusting each of them individually to the brink of total exploitation and/or extinction.

Spawn Tract

M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

P R A C T I C E

S T U D I O

Soy Bean Fusion With ArkPod Digestive System

Soy Bean Pea Pods Soy Bean Stem

Stomach Liner

A

Stomach

Root System Fused With Intestines

Intestines

lthough solely a water based creature, the Arkpod is able to absorbs nutrients from the soybean plant and soil (during migration), with the soy broken down and used for energy –requiring 1-1/2 to 2 hours of direct sunlight to maintain/complete this photosynthesis food cycle. In between periods where this process is unavailable to the Arkpod, it is able to revert back to its carnivorous method of food intake by searching out fish, squid, and crustaceans as juveniles while the adults will feed on herring, bluefish, and mackerel. These dual abilities to obtain life sustaining nutrients coincides with the Arkpods natural manner of living near the surface in temperate waters but frequently diving to depths of 500 to 1,000 meters.

5 8 0 4

The Arkpod has an annual spawning event, guided by a biological migration pattern to search out shallower waters, which is also combined with a pre-determination of data to populate and dispense of Recalcitrant seed banks seeds (subsequently known as unorthodox seeds)-seeds, by and large, that cannot resist the effects of drying or temperatures less than 10°C that are normally found in the worlds current land based seed banks. The reproduction method follows the characteristics of the bluefin tuna-the female Arkpod dispenses her eggs into the water and the male Arkpod fertilizes them while they are in the water, but also releases the seeds near the shoreline to re-establish regional ecosystems.

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122

typical Arkpod will have a lifecycle of 1520 years with the first year of maturity occurring in year 5-6, giving the Arkpod approximately 10 to 15 years of reproduction as well as seed distribution. When fully mature, they will reach lengths of 2 to 2.5 meters and weights of 225 to 250 kilograms.

ArkPod Life Cycle

Natural Migratory Patterns M A S T E R C R I T I C A L

O F

A R C H I T E C T U R E

P R A C T I C E

S T U D I O

Eco-Habitat A habitat for the housing of the eco-creature, including full support for its life-cycle and environmental needs. The eco-habitat is hermetically sealed for at least one year (no external input or output).

The habitat of the Arkpod is a deep sea environment with varying water temperatures to simulate the range found in the Atlantic ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Mexico which are the original habitats of the bluefin tuna but also support the temperature range of the soy plant. It is characterized with varying features that mimic the natural and “manmade” threats that the Arkpod would have to recognize and develop a viable response to thrive in the true environment.

124 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Door Decompression Chamber Photo-Voltaic Reheating Coil Sheathing Diffuser Door Spawning Field Filtration/Oxidation Unit

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Plumbing Water Flow Unit Vachel Water Flow Tube Flexible Pump Tubing Structural Framing Mini-Habitat for Food Source Filtration Intake

5 8 0 4

430’-0” 1 2 200’-0”

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

290’-0”

eing a highly migratory creature, the Arkpod species live throughout the entire North Atlantic and its adjacent seas, including the Mediterranean. In the western Atlantic, bluefin are found from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico; in the eastern Atlantic, they’re found from south of Iceland to the Canary Islands, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Within their natural environment, the Arkpod are the top predators with larger creatures-sharks, marine mammals (including killer whales and pilot whales), and large fishes –being their only ecological threats. The Arkpod is well adapted to the long distances it travels and the ability to escape potential risks with their enormous muscular strength, which it channels through a pair of tendons to its lunate shaped caudal fin for propulsion. In contrast to many other marine species, the body stays rigid while the tail flicks back and forth, increasing stroke efficiency. In addition, the Arkpod retains the bluefin tuna’s efficient circulatory system which possesses a high blood hemoglobin concentration, which allows it to efficiently deliver oxygen to its tissues, and a countercurrent exchange process to prevent heat from being lost to the surrounding water.

With its pre-determination of data to populate and dispense of Recalcitrant seed banks, The Arkpod releases the seeds near the shoreline to re-establish regional ecosystems and support the world’s overall Biodiversity, which in turns strengthens the natural marine environment and assists the Arkpod in thriving.

A R C

B

15

16 17

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O F

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n Detroit, a fundamental underpinning of poor nutrition is the dearth of retail outlets that sell a range of nutritious foods at reasonable prices. Fast food and other fringe food outlets are everywhere, yet there are comparatively few quality grocery stores where fresh and healthy foods can be purchased. Particularly striking is the evidence concerning USDA Food Stamp retail patterns. The idea behind the original Food Stamp program was that poor families could use their Food Stamp allocation to acquire the ingredients of a decent diet. In Detroit, however, the Food Stamp program consists primarily of fringe retailers such as liquor stores, gas stations, and convenience stores– etailers whose range of food offerings is limited and dominated by products that are blatantly bad for your health. These circumstances are not news to the residents of Detroit.

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Yet it is often the case that problems that “everybody knows about” can go on for decades without anyone addressing them. What captures our attention is when someone finally measures and documents the magnitude of the problem in a reliable and compelling way.

Several things go into making the case compelling.

One is the use of highly detailed block, tract and neighborhood level data for Detroit and the surrounding region; aggregated data for the city as a whole or for major sub-areas would not have made the point. Another is the application of the Food Balance Score–a measure developed by Gallagher’s group that can describe the problem in a truly comparable way across different types of urban, suburban, and rural geographies. Evidence is presented that a balanced food environment– shorter distances to grocers and longer distances to fast food and other fringe food options–directly correlates to better diet-related community health.

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Eco-Transect Tranverse section across Detroit’s urban and peri-urban quality explores a range of different habitat conditions for Ecotarium interaction.

The transect contains five densities: hyperurban, urban, sub-urban, rural and natural.

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ECOTARIUM TERMINUM NON VITA CYCLUS CONSILIUM

~UNLIMITED LIFE CYCLE DESIGN~

“A true spectacle of ecology. Ecologies made visible in design technology and practice by tracing the paths of nature. The anticipation of a future species, part plant and creature, complete with a unique life-cycle, habitats, needs and social patterns. The Ecotarium cultivates investigations through synthetic biology and multi-scalar infrastructure insertion, pushing the forms of nature to retrieve the wisdom in mosaics, connectivity, biodiversity, patches, and matrices. It is a signal of human intent.� ~Melanie Fessel and Philip Plowright~

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IMAGE SOURCES Cover image (foreground): Bond of Union, by M.C. Escher; image courtesy of Stilema Ltd., http://www.stilemarete.it Cover image (background): Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Bella Vista, AR; image courtesy of INSinsideIDE - http://insideinside.org Title Page image: The Willis Tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, located Chicago, IL; image taken by Paul Vassos 2014 Table of Contents pages: The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci; image courtesy of Nexus Network Journal - https://www.emis.de/ journals/NNJ/RHF-fig17.html Introduction/Essay P. 3: Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Bella Vista, AR; image taken by Brian Zurita and courtesy of http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59880826 P. 5: The Jefferson Hotel, designed by Carrere and Hastings, located Richmond, VA; image taken by Paul Vassos 2015 P. 7: Old City Hall, designed by Elijah E. Myers, located Richmond, VA; image taken by Paul Vassos, 2015 P. 8: Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Eureka Springs, AR; image taken by Randall Connaughton and courtesy of Thorncrown Chapel - http://www.thorncrown.com Design Theory P. 11: pravent, designed by T. Jensen and D. Wolthers; image courtesy of http://www.complexlab.org/bulletin/ emergentarchitecturaldesign P. 12: Welcome to the Matrix; image courtesy of http://www.photoshop-designs.es/2010/11/50-bonitos-ejemplos-de-fotografia-dearquitectura/ P. 13: The Circular Temple According to Vitruvius. + Temple of Tivoli. Vitruvius. Ten Books on Architecture; image courtesy of http:// sangbleumagazine.com/2013/11/14/donato-bramante-sacred-geometry-in-rome/ P. 14: The Mereworth Castle, designed by Colen Campbell, located in Mereworth, Kent, England; image courtesy of https:// www.pinterest.com/sidneymaurice/the-best-laid-plans/ P. 15: Temple Types: In Antis and Prostyle, The Sangallo Family, artist unknown; image courtesy of http:// davidhannafordmitchell.tumblr.com/page/309 P. 15: Krzywy Domek (The Crooked House), Designed by Szotyńscy & Zaleski, located in Sopot, Poland; image courtesy of https:// www.ncptt.nps.gov/blog/form-concrete-establishing-common-ground/ P. 15: Petronas Twin Towers, designed by Kuala Lumpur; image courtesy of http://fmpfannihorvath.blogspot.com/2014/07/specialistlocation-photography-types.html P. 15: Columbus Tower, designed by Salfield & Kohlberg , located in San Francisco, CA; image taken by Wade Griffith and courtesy of http://www.gettyimages.com/galleries/photographers/wade_griffith P. 18: Palazzo Carignano, designed by Guarino Guarini, located in Turin, Italy; image courtesy of http://www.fotozona.it/foto/ guarise/torino-palazzo-carignano P. 19: Seated Nude, by Pablo Picasso; image courtesy of http://50.56.166.231/791150/seated-nude-pablo-picasso-tate P. 20: Wotruba Kirche, designed by Fritz Wotruba, located in Vienna, Austria; image taken by Lucy Reynell and courtesy of http:// armchairtravelogue.blogspot.com/2009/10/wotruba-kirche-church-made-of-concrete.html P. 20: Nord LB Building, designed by Behnisch Architekten, located in Hannover, Germany ; image courtesy of http:// designmodo.com/35-strange-and-awesome-buildings-architecture/ P. 21: Tunnel Vision; image taken by Joel (Julius) Tjintjelaar and courtesy of https://500px.com/photo/2169763/tunnel-vision-by-joeljulius-tjintjelaar P. 22: Broken Record; image taken by Robert Santafede and courtesy of http://robertsantafede.flavors.me/#robert-santafedewordpress

136 P. 23: Pier La Jolla at Scripps Beach, La Jolla, CA; image taken by David Balyeat and courtesy of http://davidbalyeat.com/ portfolio_tags/ocean/ P. 24: Drawing Hands, by M.C. Escher; image courtesy of http://stdaily.ghost.io/reality-and-mind-are-strongly-coupled/ P. 25: image courtesy of http://wonderfulengineering.com/52-hd-black-and-white-wallpaper-for-download/ P. 28: image courtesy of http://wallpaper.zone/wallpaper/4753344 Current Issues in Architecture P. 31: Falling Water residence, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania; image taken by Brian Donovan and courtesy of http://indaily.com.au/opinion/2014/01/17/can-architecture-shape-behaviour/ P. 33: High Line Park, designed by James Corner of Field Operations, located in New York City, NY; image courtesy of http:// inhabitat.com/interview-architect-james-corner-on-the-design-of-high-line/ P. 34: Lowline (Delancy Underground), located in Manhattan, New York City, NY; image courtesy of http://archinect.com/news/ tag/59117/low-line P. 35: Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Eureka Springs, AR; image courtesy of http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/21/arkansas-thorncrown-chapel_n_5515375.html P. 36: Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Eureka Springs, AR; images courtesy of https:// mstackman.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/ P. 37: Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, located in Eureka Springs, AR; image taken by Daniel Terdiman and courtesy of http://www.cnet.com/pictures/thorncrown-chapel-arkansas-great-glass-masterpiece-pictures/15/ P. 39/40: University of Chicago Power Plant, designed by Jahn, located in Chicago, IL; image courtesy of http://www.jahn-us.com/ projects/tech-lofts/uc-power-plants/1 P. 42: Carr Memorial Chapel, designed by Mies van der Rohe, located in Chicago, IL; image courtesy of http://www.metalocus.es/ en/news/mies-van-der-rohe-iit-chicago P. 43: Diagram image courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/stanzaundici/architecture-diagram/ P. 44: Diagram image courtesy of http://i2.wp.com/cleantechnica.com/files/2013/09/omega_2.jpg P. 45: inĂŠs garcĂ­a de paredes, diagram image courtesy of http://afasiaarchzine.com/2015/09/ines-garcia-de-paredes/ P. 45: Diagram image by Patrick Taft Architecture, courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/sarapellegrini/a-r-c-h-diagrams-sketches/ P. 46: image created by Jason Orbe-Smith and courtesy of http://jasonorbesmith.blogspot.com/ 2013/03/contemporaryvernacular.html P. 48: Impossible Spaces, created by Chris Kelly, School of Architecture, Design and Construction, University of Greenwich, London, 2013 P. 49: Space-Time Drift, created by Soki So, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), London, 2008 P. 50: Syn Emergence, created by Rich Bevan, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), London, 2009 Advanced Design Studio 01 P. 55: Frequency Distribution Curve; image courtesy of https://colinhansen.files.wordpress.com/ 2009/10/scan0079.jpg P. 56: Anthropometric Data; image courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/qehsDT/anthropometric-data/ P. 63: image courtesy of http://veganhomeschool.com/pinewood-derby-cars-2013/ P. 63: image courtesy of http://builtbykids.com/how-to-airbrushpaint-a-pinewood-derby-car/ P. 63: Pinewood Derby Car Kit, image courtesy of http://www.hanfordpack400.org/pinewood-derby/

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IMAGE SOURCES Advanced Design Studio 02 P. 77: Multi-Level Housing, designed by Shigeru Ban, located in Japan; image by JA+U Magazine and courtesy of http:// architizer.com/blog/design-for-disaster-stricken-areas/ P. 78: Temporary Housing Site - Katrina, located in Baker, LA; image courtesy of https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/ images/53372 P. 87: Temporary Shelters, located in the Philippines; image taken by Ted Aljibe and courtesy of http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/ christmas-mud-rain-pelts-philippine-disaster-zone?page=0%2C0 P. 88: Uber Shelter; image taken by Laurel Cummings and courtesy of http://ubershelter.blogspot.com/ P. 90: Photo/image from Cities of Slums - Slum Growth in the Developing World P. 90: Graphic courtesy of https://hoveringwaters.wordpress.com/tag/living-water-international P. 90: Photo/image from Cities of Slums - Slum Growth in the Developing World P. 90: Graph courtesy of from: https://tomrae.wordpress.com/2012/02/14 P. 91: Photo/image courtesy of http://www.my252.com/world-refugee-day-by-horn-of-hope/ P. 91: Graphic courtesy of http://depositphotos.com/53180279/stock-illustration-refugees-evacuee-war-stick-figure.html P. 92: Image courtesy of http://ausomscience.com/nature-worst-20-devastating-natural-disasters-2 P. 92: Image courtesy of http://www.emergency-response-planning.com/news/bid/49446/Economic-Consequences-of-2011-Natural -Disasters P. 95: Paper Tube School, designed by Shigeru Ban, located in China; image courtesy of http://www.treehugger.com/sustainableproduct-design/an-earthquake-ready-school-for-china-just-add-cardboard-tubes.html P. 96: image courtesy of http://www.muellerindustries.com/products/plumbing/tube-and-pipe/steel-pipe P. 96: image courtesy of http://africa-me.com/bamboo-africas-green-gold/ P. 107: Refugee Camp, located in Elbeyli, Turkey; image courtesy of http://www.standartgrup.com/admin/multiupload/test/elbeylimulteci-konaklama-kampi_23.jpg Critical Practice Studio P. 115: Soy Bean Plant; image courtesy of http://healthyliving.natureloc.com/soya-bean-wonder-bean-meat-without-bone-foralzheimers/ P. 115: Blue Fin Tuna; artwork by Stanley Meltzoff and courtesy of http://thejoeyherrera.blogspot.com/ 2011/09/featured-artist-stanley -meltzoff.html P. 122: Blue Fin Tuna Migration Routes; image courtesy of https://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/tag/fisheries-management

138 CITATIONS Introduction/Essay 1 - Quote by Richard Rogers, architect 2,3 - Vitruvius, De architectura, 1st century A.D. 4 - Plowright, Philip “Representation, imitation and knowledge of Forms”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design.

Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

5,6 - Mari Hvattum and Christian Hermansen, eds. Tracing Modernity – Manifestations of the Modern in Architecture and the City.

Routledge. New York, New York. 2004. Print. pp. 107, 109.

Design Theory 7 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 164 8 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 70 9 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 86 10 - Plowright, Philip “Neoplatonic – Beauty as transcendence experience + morality”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lectures.

11 - Plowright, Philip “Beauty as unity, proportion and order”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

12 - Plowright, Philip “Nature as access to truth which leads to access to beauty, proportions”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

13 - Mari Hvattum and Christian Hermansen, eds. Tracing Modernity – Manifestations of the Modern in Architecture and the City.

Routledge. New York, New York. 2004. Print. p. 25.

14 - Mari Hvattum and Christian Hermansen, eds. Tracing Modernity – Manifestations of the Modern in Architecture and the City.

Routledge. New York, New York. 2004. Print. pp. 84, 86.

15 - Plowright, Philip “Allegory of the Cave”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

16 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print.

17 - Plowright, Philip “Introduction of doubt as a tool to determine absolute truth”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

18 - Plowright, Philip “Perspective, visual effect and the appearance of truth”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

19 - Eve Blau and Nancy J. Troy. Architecture and Cubism. MIT Press/Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1997. Web. 20 - Green, Christopher. Cubism, II. Architecture, MoMA, Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 2009. Web. 21 - Kolocotroni, Vassiliki, Goldman, Jane and Taxidou, Olga, eds. Moderism – An Anthology of Sources and Documents. The University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print.

22 - Plowright, Philip “Representation, imitation and knowledge of Forms”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design.

Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

23 - Plowright, Philip “Forms and Knowledge”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

24 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 81 25 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 80 26 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 57

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CITATIONS Design Theory (cont.)

27 - Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. p. 59 28,29 - Plowright, Philip “Alienation – the crisis of meaning with the disconnection from history, tradition and progress”. Design Theory Course, College of Architecture and Design. Lawrence Technological University. Lecture.

30 - Mari Hvattum and Christian Hermansen, eds. Tracing Modernity – Manifestations of the Modern in Architecture and the City.

Routledge. New York, New York. 2004. Print.

Current Issues in Architecture 28 - Corner, James. Terra Fluxus. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006. Print. p. 23 29 - Corner, James. Terra Fluxus. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006. Print. p. 32 30 - Corner, James. Terra Fluxus. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006. Print. p. 30 31,33 - Dean, Penelope. Never Mind All That Environmental Rubbish, Get On With Your Architecture. Archit Design, 2009. Print. pp. 24– 29.

32 - Chapa, Jorge. Inhabitat, 26 April 2013, www.inhabitat.com 34 - Jencks / FAT, C., What is Radical Post-Modernism? / Post-Modernism: An Incomplete Project. Archit Design, 2011. Print. pp. 14–23.

35 - Ibelings, Hans. Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2002. Print. pp. 63-64 36 - Ibelings, Hans. Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2002. Print. p. 69 37 - Ibelings, Hans. Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2002. Print. p. 78 38 - Ibelings, Hans. Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2002. Print. p. 88 39 - Moser, Whet. Chicago Magazine, March 2012, www.chicagomag.com 40,41,42 - Garcia, Mark. The Diagrams of Architecture. Wiley, 2010. Print. pp. 18 - 22 43,44,46,48 - Clear, Nick. Drawing Time. Archit Design, 2013. Print. pp. 72-75 45 - Clear, Nick. Drawing Time. Archit Design, 2013. Print. p. 79 47 - Clear, Nick. Drawing Time. Archit Design, 2013. Print. p. 77 Advanced Design Studio I 48,49 - Leuder, Rani CPE. Are Children Just Little Adults? Ergosolutions, December 2003. Print. pp. 32-34 Advanced Design Studio II 50,51 - Conti, Marla Cities of Slums - Slum Growth in the Developing World, http://faculty.lacitycollege.edu/contimr/ CultGeogPresentations/CitiesofSlums.pdf 52,53 - A Roof is Not Enough - A Look at Homelessness Worldwide (September, 1998), http://www.share-international.org/archives/ homelessness/hl-mlaroof.htm 54 - 16 Lifesaving Temporary Emergency & Disaster Shelters, http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/12/lifesaving-temporary-emergencyshelters-buildings/ 55 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Mid Year Trends 2015 (December 2015), http://reliefweb.int/report/ world/unhcr-mid-year-trends-2015-enar 56 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) “Fractured Families” The Future of Syria Refugee—Children in Crisis (December 2015), http://unhcr.org/FutureOfSyria/fractured-families.html 57,58,59 - Gilbert, Roy. Doing More for Those Made Homeless by Natural Disasters The World Bank, Disaster Risk Management Working Paper, Series No. 1 60 - Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM), Guidelines for Humanitarians: Sphere Project Standards, https://www.cfe-dmha.org/Training/DMHA101/Guidelines-for-Humanitarians-Sphere-Project-Standards 61,62 - The Sphere Project - Shelter and Settlement Standard 3: Covered Living Space, http://www.spherehandbook.org/en/shelterand-settlement-standard-3-covered-living-space/

140 63 - J. Anhorn and B. Khazai. Open Space Suitability Analysis for Emergency Shelter After an Earthquake. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Copernicus Publications. 2015. 15: 789-803 64 - Forouzandeh, Hosseini, Sadeghzadeh, eds. Guidelines for Design of Temporary Shelters After Earthquakes Based on Community Participation. The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, October 12-17, 2008, Beijing, China.

Back Cover Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. pp. 61-62

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Is an architect’s creativity merely a product of his or her historical situation, or can creativity be based on genuinely individual reasoning?

Can architects decide what is good and bad in their designs independent of the spirit of their time, or should we assume that a superior force, such as the history of architecture or its spirit, uses them as mere draftsmen?

Is the history of architecture merely the sum of individual architect’s creativities, or is it a force in its own right, whereby architects are mere technicians who produce designs that are appropriate for a certain time?

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The problems of architectural theory are often the manifestations of wider philosophical problems with a much longer history