Design Research Journal by Sadaf Pourzand

P30026 - Research Methods Diar y S a d a f P o u r z a n d - 6 th D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3

Carrying out research opens up oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind to different possible techniques. Designers have been using different research methods for many years. A research that is productive for a designer is a research that examines practices of the designer, the ways that the design is produced and the affects it will have on the end user. Research is fundamental in carrying out a good design. This journal explores nine different methods of research, some in more details than others. These research methods include diagrams, writing, walking, par ticipatory design, archiving, collages, videos and fieldwork. The aim is to have a great understanding of each method studied and find a relationship between design and research. Through exploration of each method mentioned, the possible influences to architecture will be discussed.

Chapter 1: Diagrams

s 3

Chapter 2: Writing Architecture

Chapter 3: Archives

Chapter 4: Fieldwork

Chapter 5: Critical Essay

Appendix Wanderlust

Par ticipary Design

Collages

Video

City in the City

Bibliography *

Lecture Notes

* The bibliography includes all references from all chapters and the image bibliography for your ease of reference

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design research is the investigation of how materials, ideas and systems operate and intersect in the processes and objects established by design.â&#x20AC;? Christopher Crouch

Chapter 1

‘A diagram is the architecture of an idea or entitiy.’ Mark Garcia

Since the 1980’s the diagram has become a preferred method for researching, communicating, theorising and making architectural designs. The rise of the diagram, as opposed to the model or the drawing has become one of the most significant new developments in the process of design in the late 20th and early 21st centuries (Mark Garcia 2010). For years, architects have begun to search outside architecture for new diagrammatic theories, methods and uses; to search and reflect on their work in more varied, multimedia and multidisciplinary methodologies (Garcia 2010 P36). ‘Diagrams are believed to be as old as architecture itself’ and today they are greatly valued and used in every aspect of architecture. As Mark Garcia mentioned ‘a diagram is the architecture of an idea or entity’. Much effor t has been spent in research into the theoretical influences and potential uses of diagrams in architecture (Garcia 2010 P18-19). Diagrams are considered to be the key design tool to illustrate thoughts, explore and communicate ideas either to the designer or the final user. In the process of architecture, diagrams are used as a method to explore, produce ideas and to generate a final design (Reader 2002 P243). Diagrams are described and valued in relation to architecture and spatial design (Garcia 2010 P19). Using diagrams in architecture is one of the most impor tant innovations; they are fundamental and have been used to explore all possible approaches (Reader 2002 P243). One vital and original characteristic of diagrams is the possibility of representation that they seize. Diagrams are able to represent information about physical form explaining orientation, layout and style as well as por traying information about physical elements, for example representation of wind, sun and materials at early stages of design (Gross 2001 P136). 5

By examining all possible meanings and approaches; it is very impor tant to try to understand what a diagram is, how it works and how diagrams can be applied to architecture. There are many different types of diagrams; they can be anything from a simple conceptual sketch to more complicated diagrams such as; dialectograms, typograms, and many more. This chapter will look into dialectograms in detail as well as discussing the role of diagrams in ‘urban design’. Dialectograms are a type of highly detailed diagrams, recording a space and mapping people’s movement through the space - ‘taken from the perspective of those who live and work there and the person who tries to interpret those perspectives’ (Miller 2011). Dialectograms are structured around the task of giving visual form to externally given content for a par ticular audience (Vormittag P64). Dialectograms focus on the user of the space and the ways in which the space is used, therefore creating a very loose and organic drawing style (Miller 2011). The research project attempted to visually capture two different public spaces of choice at two different times; Southampton Airpor t Parkway Station, Starbucks Coffee in Southampton (FIGs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4). Many hours was spent in each space, trying to connect with the building and mapping movements across the space. The public spaces were revisited to focus and capture the social meanings of ordinary and daily activities in the space. The more time spent in the space showed a higher amount of detail and mapping on the dialectograms and the more detail on the dialectogram presented an easier understanding of them. In architecture and urban design the use of diagrams, in this case dialectograms can be very useful. The designer studies a space carefully and maps the ways in which people move and use the area therefore this creates guidance for improving and designing a space around people’s needs. Diagrams have a great sense of communication and allow us to ‘see, comprehend and respond’ to more visual information that we can remember from verbal notes (Lockard 1973) therefore allowing dialectograms to have the potential to ‘become vehicles for discoveries” (Garcia 2010 P145). 6

7 FIG 1.1. Dialecto gr am - Southampton Air por t Par kw ay Tr ain station at 5.30 pm on Friday 27 th Se ptember 2013.

FIG 1.2. Dialectogr am - Southampton Air por t Par kw ay Tr ain station at 1200 pm on Sunday 1 st December 2013.

FIG 1.3. Dialecto gr am - Starbuc ks Cof fee in Southampton at 3.30 pm on 28 th September 2013

FIG 1.4. Dialectogr am - Starbuc ks Cof fee in Southampton at 3.30 pm on 30 th November 2013

A diagram compresses a lot of information about a proposition or argument into a small space, making it easy for many people who may find it difficult to read a complex analysis of a situation. Information and analysis through a diagram can be grasped quickly, in this case ‘a picture is wor th a thousand words’(Garcia 2010 P80). Diagrams can be of great use to urban designers in clarifying the structure of the city, its generic code in small patches and its dynamics between patches (Garcia 2010 P87). David Shane believes that diagrams are especially useful in urban design however they can be dangerous in complex situations. Diagrams can provide an illusion of a kind of genetic urban code for the design of patches that have a simple clarity. The danger is that the diagram will reduce the complexity of the city (Garcia 2010 P80). In his book ‘Recominant Urbanism’ (2005), Kevin Lynch stated a list of diagrams that he believes powers relationships in the city and map their urban spatial and architectural implications (Garcia 2010 P80-81). These diagrams are: ‘diagrams of emplacement’, these are diagrams concerning system of emplacement, setting up plans for a singular central place as the essential reference point. The essential diagram here is a circle which represents life cylces with four cardinal points with lines drawn to cross in the centre – marking a new central place (Garcia 2010 P81). Another example is ‘diagrams of extension’, they represent the spacing and interval between objects, a matter of great impor tance in the modern city with its accelerated personal mobility (Garcia 2010 P82-83). A third example is ‘diagrams of relations’, these diagrams por tray data flows in networks, mapping the patterns of individual and mass usage. Each site, in this mapping, consits of links or relationships to other sites therefore building a network (Garcia 2010 P85). Diagrams of urban design have their limitations like any analytic device; they are inevitably reductive and simplistic, they can blind us to see the city’s real complexity and fluidity. Shane concluded by stating that with all their simplicity, diagrams of the city can be ‘magical and scientific’ (Garcia 2010 P87). The use of diagrams successfully breaks down institutional barriers by creating clear information (Vormitagg 2013 P64). 11

FIG 1.5. Kevin Lync h, Boston Map and Key. Fr om â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;T he Image of the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; - Fr om these diagr ams Lync h built communal mental maps of physical r efer ence points used Current Space Syntax Diagram

Proposed Space Syntax Diagram

FIG 1.6. Space Syntax Diagr am - showing the busyness of str eets and r oads in West End Quar ter of Oxfor d - cur r ent and pr oposed sypace syntax - Pr oduced for Urban Design, Studio 1 pr oject 12

Chapter 2

W r i t i n g A r c h i t e c t u r e

‘Site-writing draws on spaces as they are remembered, dreamed and imagined, as well as obsereved.’ Jane Rendell

Architectural writing is a method of ‘constructing an architecture of ar t criticism’ (Rendell 2007 P117), Bal states that architecture creates the environment for ar t, and site writing is a method of extending proposals deeper into text (Rendell 2007 P1). There is a strong relationship between ar t and architecture. As Rendell suggested in her book – ar t and architecture have an on going attraction to one another (Rendell 2006 P3), she pointed out that ‘What appears to have been produced by a designer, under close investigation reveals itself to have been made by an ar tist…’ (Rendell 2010) The architecture of ar t criticism explores the sites being criticised in relation to ar t, taking in mind the materials, emotions, political and the conceptual. Architectural writing explores and investigates the psychic qualities and architectural dimensions of a par ticular spatial condition (Rendell 2010). Site writing creates architectural texts out of critics view towards a space, it draws on spaces as they are remembered, dreamed and imagined – as well as observed. Site writing takes into account the critic’s position in relation to a work and challenges (Rendell 2010 P18). For this project a building, Clive Booth Postgraduate Halls (FIG 2.1), was chosen to write narratively about, in terms of memories and emotions. The type of writing was majorly influenced by Rendell and Zumthor’s work. The workshop is similar to a project done by Jane Rendell in 2002, ‘Confessional Construction’, on a BookAr tBookShop in London. The project was pasted on the wall of the bookshop hoping for passer byers to get involved and make a comment about their feelings and emotions towards either the building or the text pasted 15

on the building (Rendell 2010 P53). Writing is a vital par t of conducting research (Crouch et al 2013 P159), It is impor tant to be able to produce a highly descriptive writing where the reader can imagine precisely the feelings and emotions being felt at the time of writing (Rendell 2010 P18). The aim of the workshop was to characterise the memory of a space by self-expression, the workshop intended to make the reader feel and connect with the writing to visualise the space being described. Architectural writing is believed to be a very detailed method of exposing a space through text rather than using an image. With architectural writing emotions are put into words and the text helps the reader visualise the space, with an image emotions and feelings are not seen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the blank image/building with no emotions is only seen. For this project connection with the building was considered emotionally and architecturally and the writing was written with high level of description. The workshop exercise investigated the relationship between the interior and exterior through spatial qualities and architectural dimensions. The intention was to observe both the interior and exterior spaces and create a text which explains the architecture and feelings in words. In conclusion, architectural writing is a very detailed method of describing a space through text. There are many other ways of exposing a space, for example by simply taking a photograph. Compared to other methods of research such as photography, or the use of diagrams (Chapter 1), architectural writing delivers the highest level of detail relating to ones feelings and emotions. Writing engages one on a different level compared to other research methods as the reader becomes involved visually to the text. In architecture, not only is the aesthetics of the building or a space impor tant but also the feelings that a building or a space can cause one to feel. This creates an architectural procedure from an understanding of a place through emotions and experiences. A highly detailed architectural writing is the only research method that can show the details of a building as well as the feelings being felt in the building or space, it is a very critical way of judging a space. 16

FIG 2.1. Clive Booth Post Gr aduate Centr e, Oxfor d

A distant memory

It feels like yesterday that I walked in through the automatic glass

5 October 2013

double doors to the Clive Booth Postgraduate Centre struggling

to carry an overloaded brown cardboard box labelled ‘kitchen equipment’ from the overcrowded car park. It was as the second automatic doors opened to the cour tyard that I felt a slight breeze on my skin. Feeling wet after soldiering through the rain; it was out of my control that I stopped, and was taken aback by what was to become my home for the foreseeable future. Immediately I spotted the single story Postgraduate Lounge sat in the centre of the beautifully designed cour tyard being made to look like an island as a water feature surrounds it on one side. The sound of the water from the water feature on the right sends a shiver down my spine as it reminds me of all the unanswered questions in my head; who will I be living with? Will I get along with all my course mates? Who designed this building?! The cedar cladding used on the student flats, Postgraduate Lounge as well as the balcony around and the four steps down to it was the first thing that caught my eye and stuck with me. I turned around to look at the buildings behind me and I couldn’t help the excessive smile, kindly pointed out by my brother, that was placed on my face as I felt I had made the right choice with my new home. Almost one month has passed and I find myself sitting down in the Postgraduate Lounge on a sunny Saturday looking out of the full length glass curtain walls in to that same courtyard and seeing my own reflection in 19

the glass thinking how quickly time flies and hoping this experience doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end too soon. I stepped out on to the balcony, feeling the texture of the wooden cladded flooring beneath my feet; I looked into the courtyard and saw the picturesque water feature holding the reflection of the surrounding buildings. I looked up to see the 10 almost identical blocks of student flats surrounding me and repositioned myself trying to get as much of the buildings in my view. After realising 20 minutes had passed and I was reassured that my favourite materials to use on building facades is definitely wooden cladding, I wondered to myself how much longer it would take for me to feel satisfied with my surroundings, and when I would want to look away. The blocks of flats are divided into two sections each with two wings, connected by full length glass cur tain walls, emerging in the block. It was when I looked back up to the Postgraduate lounge with a feeling of fulfilment that I spotted some students sitting and laughing on the rooftop of the building, enjoying the warmth of the rays of sunshine as much as they could, knowing it would be a while before they would experience it again. Walking around the cour tyard and admiring the gently sloped building roofs around me, I thought to myself how this enclosed courtyard makes me feel safe and relaxed, as if in my own territory, as it closed me off from the outside world even if for a short while. 20

1 st December 2013

Almost two months has passed and I find myself sitting on the same black leather sofa in the Postgraduate Lounge facing the same cur tain glass wall, as I did before. Whilst sitting in an absolute dead, cold, empty and silent room, attempting to do work, the sudden beat of music from the table across the room instantly gets my attention. Feeling anxious and stressed, I put down my half empty blue biro pen. To avoid feeling stressed and over worked, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but to sing along to the music from across the room in my head. I stood up and star ted walking across the room. Still struggling to deal with the stress and attempting to diver t my thoughts, I counted my steps from one side of the Postgraduate Lounge to the other. 23 steps overall makes the length of the lounge around 8 meters; less than it feels. I stared out the window, watching raindrops pattern the window, faint splattering sounds came from outside, hissing as lightning struck the sky. I could hear the rain falling down in the pond like a million stars. I stood up and walked towards the window to look out. I saw students running in the rain and looking for shelter, carrying folders and books. Small droplets of water left trails as they rolled down the full-length window holding my reflection. I looked up; the sky is dark but beautiful. After a few minutes, the rain slowed down and stopped, glimmering puddles laid still and calm. I quickly walked back to the desk and packed my books and laptop to walk back to my room before the rain star ted again. Car-

rying my books, I struggled to push the door open. As I stepped outside, rain star ted dripping on my head from the roof of the lounge. I scrunched my shoulders and started to walk faster. With every step I took on the wooden cladded floor, I could feel the cold more and more. I noticed the sweet smell of rain left in the cour tyard and I stopped to enjoy the cleanness and freshness of the air. The smell made me feel relaxed, the air smelled like paradise. I looked up to breathe in the amazing fresh air and I realised how the wooden cladding on the buildings surrounding me had changed colour with the rain. As I was enjoying the space and buildings surrounding me, suddenly raindrops the size of bullets thundered. The automatic door to the cour tyard opened and students followed with a sudden bellow of laughter hurried in to avoid getting wet. I was enjoying the raindrops and the feeling of calmness too much to care about getting soaked. As I looked around the cour tyard, the wind filled the area with a rustling sound â&#x20AC;&#x201C; creating waves in the pond. It made me smile. Remembering the day that I moved into Clive Booth Postgraduate Halls. Miles away from home, from my family. I am now in a place where I can call my home, my second home. A place where I have only been living at for three months. I have made great memories here, met great people. They say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;home is where the hear t isâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and I feel it here. I love the feeling I get every time I am standing in this cour tyard. I love looking around me and seeing students everywhere. I love this place that I can call home. 22

FIG 2.2. Image showing the text being posted on Clive Booth Post Gr aduate Centr e, Oxfor d

I stepped out on to the balcony, feeling the texture of the wooden cladded flooring beneath my feet; I gazed into the courtyard and saw the picturesque water feature holding the reflection of the surrounding buildings. I looked up to see the 10 almost identical blocks of student flats surrounding me and repositioned myself trying to get as much of the buildings in my view.

wards the window. I saw students running in the rain and looking for shelter, carrying folders and books. Small droplets of water left trails as they rolled down the full-length window holding my reflection.

FIG 2.3. Ima ge showing a computer gener ated ima ge with the text being posted as a w allpaper inside the Postgr aduate Lounge

I stared out the window, watching raindrops pattern the window, faint splattering sounds came from outside, hissing as lightning struck the sky. I could hear the rain falling down in the pond like a million stars. I stood up and walked to-

Chapter 3

‘A r c h i v e s k e e p t h e p a s t a l i v e . ’ Mark Wigley

There has been a striking growth of interest in the concept of the archive outside of the library and archival communities. In the past decade historians, politicians, philosophers, sociologists and anthropologists have had difficulties with the meaning of the word ‘archive’ (Manoff 2004 P9). Dutch Archivists, Muller, Feith and Fruin, defined archives as ‘written documents, drawings and printed matter, officially received or produced by an administrative or body or one of its officials, at least in so far as these documents were intended to remain in the custody of the body or the official’ (Leavitt 1961 P175). Archivists are exper ts at making sure that the documents found are not faded, wrinkled or damaged in any way (Wigley 2005 P11). As pointed out by Derrida, ‘nothing is less clear today than the word archive’ (Derrida et al 1995 P90). Many star t the understanding of the words ‘archive’ and ‘archiving’, simply with a standard dictionary definition (Manoff 2004 P10). In recent years, new ways of thinking and writing about archives has emerged (Craven 2008 P1). The technological changes and improvements that have emerged over the years have brought new archives and led to a new ways of thinking about archives (Craven 2008 P8). Today, as libraries, museums and archives increasingly make their materials available online in formats that include sound, images and multimedia as well as text, there is no longer need to separate the documents collected on the basis of objects (Mar tin 2002). All sor ts of rules, procedures and technologies protect archives both physically and ideologically. The purpose of all this protection is to create a space in which research can occur - allowing one to look closely at documents that may have got lost and out of reach if not 27

looked after (Wigley 2005 P11). From every archive one can highlight inferences from, institutive and conservative, revolutionary and traditional. An eco-nomic archive, keeps, puts in reserve, saves but in an unnatural fashion, that is to say in ‘making the new law or in making people respect the law’ (Derrida et al 1995 P12). Archives are very impor tant in terms of architecture. The common setting for most architects is that the ‘archive is what is behind them and design is what is in front’ (Wigley 2005 2011). For this research workshop, two collections of documents were archived. Since star ting architectural studies in 2008, many photographs have been taken during holidays. These photographs have been inspirational when designing therefore a box was created to hold these photographs. A second box was created to archive photographs of buildings designed by famous architects, such as: Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry, Mies Van Der Rohe and many more. It is always very helpful and inspirational to view other architects/building’s work. Architects develop an ideology of experimentation and design through the use of archives. For an architect, the highest ambition is to reach backwards and find the moment in time that a built structure acted as ‘a perfect bridge between the physical world and the cosmos, the moment in time in which architecture became a conduit to the timeless’ (Wigley 2005 P11-12). Every architect collects and records his or her drawings through time. It is believed that ‘The archivist and the architect are inseparable’. The larger the architect’s office, the larger the storage space is needed that keeps the documents in good conditions. It is impossible to imagine the act of design without thinking of the archiving gesture. Wigley (2005) believes that (architecture) buildings themselves can be understood as archives. They are mechanisms for storing, classifying and making historical research available. Buildings can act s a witness and storehouse of the memory of culture and changes happening in architecture and time through the years (Wigley 2005 P12-13). 28

FIG 3.1. Image showing a box (1) ar c hiving per sonal ar c hitectur al ima ges collected since 2008

FIG 3.2. Ima ge showing a box (2) ar c hiving ar c hitectur al/building images collected since 2008

Personal collection of images archived since 2008 - Box 1

Images 3.3.1. - 3.3.42.

Collection of architectural images archived since 2008 - Box 2

Images 3.4.1. - 3.4.39.

Chapter 4

‘Fieldwork in architecture is an unspoken design knowledge, a source for study of site and making of projects.’ Jeremie M. McGowan

Fieldwork is the ‘hear t of the ethnographic research design’ (Fetterman 2010 P2). It is the most characteristic element of any ethnographic research. This approach shapes the design of all ethnographic work (Fetterman 2010 P8). Fieldwork has gained an overwhelming and meaningful status in anthropology. It has been given the title of ‘primary research’, making the equally impor tant value of secondary research and archival work unspoken and unconsidered (Konopinski P57). Ethnographic research is a type of ‘action research’ as it involves a lot more than observing. In terms of data collection, ethnography typically involves the researcher par ticipating, over tly or cover tly, in people’s daily lives for an extended period of time (Hammersley 2007 P3). Action research is a procedure that grows, develops, shifts and changes over time; it is about knowing in the pursuit of wor thwhile purposes, which may be described as the ‘flourishing of human persons, communities and the ecologies of which they are par t’ (Reason 2004 P273-274). Good action research emerges over time in an evolutionary and development process, ‘as individuals develop skills of inquiry, and as communities of inquiry develop within communities of practice’ (Reason et al 2001). Action research is emancipatory; it leads not just to new practical knowledge, but to new abilities to create knowledge (Reason 2004 P274). Ethnography is one of many approaches that can be found within social research today. Additionally, the title is not used in an entirely standard fashion; its meaning can differ. A consequence of this is that there is a considerable overlap with other labels such as ‘quali37

tative inquire’, ‘fieldwork’, ‘interpretive method’ and ‘case study’, these have fuzzy semantic boundaries (Hammersley 2007 P1). According to Pelto (1970), research design ‘involves combining the essential elements of investigation into an effective problem solving sequence’ (Fetterman 2010 P8). Fieldwork in architecture is unspoken design knowledge (Ewing 2011 P6); it is believed that in architectural studies, genuine experiences of living in the field remain rare and infrequent (Ewing/McGowan 2011 P8). In architecture, fieldwork remains something of a mystery and any definition seems indefinable (Peacock 1986 P49-54). Anthropological approaches to fieldwork may be used in architecture as a method of observation, data attainment and representation; a way of interacting, documenting and responding to specific people, time, place and circumstance (McGowan 2011 P8). Ewing (2011) stated that architecture has much to learn from critical discourses of fieldwork (Ewing 2011 P6). The position of fieldwork in architecture, including ar t and architectural history, is far less defined; it is viewed as ‘a historical and contemporary ambiguity that points to a range of problems and potentialities in architectural thought and practice’ (McGowan 2011 P8). In terms of architecture, fieldwork can be as simple as carrying out a ‘site analysis’ before a design. Site analysis is a vital step in the design process. It involves the assessment of an existing or potential site in relation to the development program, environmental impact, impacts on the community and many other matters (Zimmerman 2000). When carrying out a fieldwork, the research team must consider the ways in which the data must be used; how it might begin to be interrogated as a way of understanding the relationship between architecture, landscape, society and culture (Ewing 2011 P67). In seeking new methodologies for interfacing with magnetic fields, a series of practical and theoretical design process are beginning to emerge from a wide variety of industrial, academic and creative context. These new methodologies are collapsing previous distinctions between 38

science and ar t and are new interdisciplinary methods of research (Ewing 2011 P61). Many architectural urbanists/theorists have used ‘fieldwork’ as a method to research to define the quality of an environment; such as, William Whyte’s Street Life Project (Ewing 2011 P62) As par t of the weekly research workshop, appropriate techniques had to be identified, developed and prepared to carry out observation, par ticipation and conversation in Cowley Road, Oxford. The research team had to categorise the mentioned matter regarding what is necessary to classify ‘How graffiti contributes to the local identity of Cowley Road’. The subject that the research chooses, guides the entire research work. It typically dictates the shape of the research design, including the budget, the tools to conduct the research and even the presentation of the research findings (Fetterman 2010 P3). To carry out a fieldwork it is necessary to understand what is needed first, in this case it is impor tant to look into the background and history of graffiti ar tists and the area. After understanding the area and the reasoning behind the graffiti, the research team can put together techniques to identify, develop and prepare the fieldwork. Cowley Road: Located in Oxford, Cowley Road is an ar terial road. It is the main thoroughfare through East Oxford, connecting the academic and touristic hear t of the city with the Cowley Works. Its name has derived from the Anglo-Saxon, a combination of the word ‘lea’ and the name ‘Cofa’. Cowley road is lined with businesses that seem to represent every nation on ear th (Atlee 2007 P16). Cowley Road has high levels of congestion, both pedestrian and vehicular. Oxford City Council has spent more that £300,000 cleaning up after graffiti vandals since 2010. The cost to residents and businesses is likely to be much higher as the authority cannot clean off graffiti and street ar t from private proper ties. According to a streetscene team supervisor “It definitely does put a downer on the city. It does take away the beauty of Oxford city itself. However as a council we do have rapid response to remove it.” (Wilkinson 2013) 39

Graffiti: The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions and markings found on the walls of ancient ruins, such as in the civilizations of Greece and Rome. Graffiti was used as a method of communication about daily life and events. Even pre Greek and Roman civilisations graffiti was used as a way to leave markings on the walls, these have been found in caves in France (Mar tinez 2009 P8). Through graffiti, the ar tists communicate attitudes and feelings they would hesitate to utter publicly. Unlike spoken communications, graffiti provide safety from direct rebuttal. They are more permanent than the spoken word and reach larger audiences over a period of time (Gach 1973 P285). Graffiti are much more than doodles or vandalism. They are the written thoughts, wishes, hopes and dreams of individuals. From a historical viewpoint, graffiti record contemporary events with ordinary people’s outlooks (Gach 1973 P287). Graffiti ar tists recognise their ar t as a form of creative expression rather than ‘crime’ or doing wrong (Gach 1973 P285). Rober t Reisner wrote in his book, ‘Graffiti: Two Thousand Years of Wall Writing’, graffiti were, are and will continue to be ‘a sensitive barometer of change in popular preoccupations… a twilight means of communication between the anonymous man and the world’ (Gach 1973 P287). How graffiti contributes to the local identity of Cowley Road? To find out what the residents and employees of Cowley Road think of the graffiti plastered around the area, different methods of investigation will have to be delivered by the research team. Carrying out a survey is one easy method which ends with easily structured answers, another way is by interviewing the community either through structured or semi-structured interviews. In this case, semi structured interviews are more suitable for the topic. They are an attempt to capture something of the ‘control’ of structured interviews without the need to use closed-ended questions. They are a chance to develop a conversation that accompanies the subject of research- this creates a less formal relationship between the researcher and the interviewee (Fife 2005 P94-95). Other ways of finding the contributions of the graffiti to Cowley road is by using photography and video sources. 40

FIG 4.1 and 4.2 - Images showing examples of a w alls plaster ed by gr af fiti

FIG 4.3 - Image showing an example of a w all plaster ed by gr af fiti

Chapter 5

C r i t i c a l

E s s a y

Importance of interdisciplinary research in architecture

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Interdisciplinary research explores the boundaries of disciplinary knowledge to allow for the production of complex forms of research...â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jane Rendell

The world of designers is already close to the world of researchers (Crouch et al P1), there has always been a link between ‘designing and researching’ (Crouch et al 2013 P17). Research that is productive for the designer is research that examines the practices of the designer, the ways in which design is produced and the effects of design upon the end user (Crouch et al 2013 Pix). Research in design is an informative process that allows and guides designers through an understanding of how their proposals influence the world (Crouch et al 2012 Px). There are different methodologies in research, interdisciplinary approach is one that integrates more than one discipline and it has become an impor tant and challenging technique over the years (Jones 2010 P76). Rendell has noted the impor tance of communicating and engaging with a ‘diagonal axis’ across disciplines as this significantly challenges the way one perceives and thinks about methodologies (Rendell 2004). It is becoming increasingly critical to be able to relate ideas and experiences from many different fields into design research. For designers today, it is par ticularly impor tant to be able to interact with different subjects and to produce new ideas, research and products (Svensson P193). Architecture as a subject incorporates several disciplines and draws together methods of research that would not typically be interlinked therefore this provides possibilities for interdisciplinary research (Rendell 2004). Rendell suggested with interdisciplinary research individuals operate at the edge and in between disciplines and by doing so it questions the ways in which they usually work (Rendell 2004 P144). The process of carrying out interdisciplinary design research and using it is best described through examples. This essay aims to explore the benefits and difficulties of interdisciplinary research into architecture through discussing three different research methods. Firstly the relationship between architecture and diagrams will be discussed, 46

Secondly the connection between architecture and writing will be looked into and lastly the link between architecture and archiving will be explored. The first method of research being discussed is the connection between diagrams and architecture. It is believed since the 1980’s the diagram has become a preferred method for researching, communicating, theorising and making architectural designs (Mark Garcia 2010). For years, architects have begun to search outside architecture for new diagrammatic theories, methods and uses; to search and reflect on their work in more varied, multimedia and multidisciplinary methodologies (Garcia 2010 P36). Diagrams are considered to be the key design tool to illustrate thoughts, explore and communicate ideas either to the designer or the final user. In the process of architecture, diagrams are used as a method to explore, produce ideas and to generate a final design (Reader 2002 P243). A dialectogram is a specific type of detailed diagram. They record a space and map people’s movement through the space - ‘taken from the perspective of those who live and work there and the person who tries to interpret those perspectives’ (Miller 2011). The research project (chapter 1) attempted to visually capture two different public spaces of choice at two different times; Southampton Airpor t Parkway Station, Starbucks Coffee in Southampton. Many hours was spent in each space, trying to connect with the building and mapping movements across the space. The public spaces were revisited to focus and capture the social meanings of ordinary and daily activities in the space. Dialectograms are structured around the task of giving visual form to externally given content for a par ticular audience (Vormittag P64). Dialectograms focus on the user of the space and the ways in which the space is used, therefore creating a very loose and organic drawing style (Miller 2011). Finally, the research that was carried out to find the connection between diagrams and architecture showed that there is a strong link between the two. As detailed and helpful 47

as diagrams can be, it can be argued that diagrams of architecture can be highly obscure and personal therefore making it difficult for others to understand (Garcia 2010 P33). Diagrams have a great sense of communication and allow us to ‘see, comprehend and respond’ to more visual information that we can remember from verbal notes (Lockard 1973) therefore allowing diagrams to have the potential to ‘become vehicles for discoveries’ (Garcia 2010 P145). The second method of interdisciplinary research being discussed is the link between writing and architecture. Writing is a vital par t of conducting research (Crouch et al 2013 P159); architectural writing is a method of ‘constructing an architecture of ar t criticism’ (Rendell 2007 P117). Bal (2001) states that Architecture creates the context for ar t and site writing is a method of extending proposals into text through essays and installations (Rendell 2010 P1). Rendell (2007) believes architectural criticism has an impor tant role in the design process with vast potential to be used as a method of interpretation, and site writing is a method of research that can inform architectural criticism (Rendell 2007 P117). It is impor tant to be able to produce a highly descriptive writing where the reader can imagine precisely the feelings and emotions being felt at the time of writing (Rendell 2010 P18). The aim of the workshop (chapter 2) was to characterise the memory of a space by expressiveness and originality in a highly descriptive way. The workshop intended to make the reader feel and visualise the space of writing as the author expressed emotions and events felt in an imaginative manner to arouse emotions of the reader. Conclusively, architectural writing is a very detailed method of exposing a space through text rather than using an image. Compared to other methods of research such as photography, or the use of diagrams, architectural writing delivers the highest level of detail relating to ones feelings and emotions. Writing engages one on a different level compared 48

to other research methods as the reader becomes involved visually to the text. In architecture, not only is the aesthetics of the building or a space impor tant but also the feelings that a building or a space can cause one to feel. This creates an architectural procedure from an understanding of a place through emotions and experiences. A highly detailed architectural writing is the only research method that can show the details of a building as well as the feelings being felt in the building or space. It is a very critical way of judging a space and therefore creates a method in which architects and designers can refer to for a successful design. The third method of interdisciplinary research being explored is the relationship between architecture and archiving. There has been a striking growth of interest in the concept of the archive outside of the library and archival communities. In the past decade historians, politicians, philosophers, sociologists and anthropologists have had difficulties with the meaning of the word ‘archive’ (Manoff 2004 P9). In recent years, new ways of thinking and writing about archives has emerged (Craven 2008 P1). The technological changes and improvements that have emerged over the years have brought new archives and led to a new ways of thinking about archives (Craven 2008 P8). For this research workshop (Chapter 3), two archives were created to store collections of architectural images which have been gathered for years. Architects develop an ideology of experimentation and design through the use of archives. For an architect, the highest ambition is to reach backwards and find the moment in time that a built structure acted as ‘a perfect bridge between the physical world and the cosmos, the moment in time in which architecture became a conduit to the timeless’. Archives are very impor tant in terms of architecture. Every architect collects and records his or her drawings through time. It is believed that ‘The archivist and the architect are inseparable’. The common setting for most architects is that the ‘archive is what is behind them and design is what is in front’ (Wigley 2005 P11-12). 49

In conclusion, interdisciplinary research is â&#x20AC;&#x153;not only critical and intellectual but emotional and political. In demanding that we exchange what we know for what we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t knowâ&#x20AC;? (Rugg, 2007, pp60). It is crucial to use interdiscpilnary research for the development of innovative and uncer tain forms of knowledge (Rug 2007 P67). Rendell (2004) stated that as a singular discipline, architecture can lead to new knowledge through imaginative concepts within buildings, however through indisplinary methods of architecture with; writing, drawing and doing, new approaches and understnadings are formed which result in varying representations (Rendell 2004). Each research method explored proved to be a successful methodology in terms of architecture. Research into the connection between diagrams and architecture showed that diagrams are a very rigorous, detailed and clear way of presenting a space. Site writing proved to have a very strong link to architecture, it is obvious that this methodology can be used to encourge new ways of thinking and understnading a space through using descriptive and critical words. A very powerful connection was found between architecture and archiving as it is believed to carry out a good design each designer needs to look into past. Through carrying out studies regarding different types of research methods in architecture, it is evident that there are many impor tant aspects found through introdisciplinary research.

6 t

‘A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Lao-tzu

The history of walking can be found in a thousand passages in books, as well as in songs, streets, and almost everyone’s adventures. Walking has an unrecorded, secret history. The physical history of walking is that of bipedal evolution and human anatomy. Most of the time walking is simply an unconsidered locomotive means between two sites. It is in some sense about how we invest universal acts with par ticular meanings for example eating or breathing. Walking can be invested with wildly different cultural meanings, from the erotic to the spiritual, from the revolutionary to the ar tistic (Solnit 2000, P3-4). Walking is a method of research where each person can have a different experience by it. Looking back into history, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Genevan philosopher and writer used walking as a technique to put his thoughts in order (Rousseau 1992). Walking is a way to develop deep thoughts; it allows us to be in our bodies and in the world without being made busy by them (Solnit 2000, P5). Today, many ar tists such as Richard Long, Hamish Fulton Janet Cardiff and many others create their famous ar t pieces by being inspired during walking. The specific study of the ar t of walking has garnered high attention over recent times. The ar t of walking as a subject matter can be interpreted through anthropology and tourism however as an actual ar tistic practise it has not quite been defined. (Robinson et al 2013). Richard Long is an ar tist who has been involved with the landscape since the sixties creating many different ar tworks. The landscape is both the medium which he chooses to create his work from and the subject (Jacket 2013). His childhood experiences have influenced his passion to work with landscape. He receives the most pleasure and greatest inspiration by walking and working on landscape (Long et al 2005, P7). In relation to the work of Rich55

ard Long, Francesco Careri comments, ‘Here walking is not only an action, it is also a sign, a form that can be superimposed on existing forms, both in reality and on paper’ (Careri 2001 P150). Richard Long’s work embraces walking as an aesthetic practice within a space, and through connection to that space, unknown landscapes become places for the viewer (Vaughn P320). Walking is a sensorial means for engaging with space and for transitioning from place to place (Wunderlich, 2008, p. 125). It enables us to learn about and to develop connections to specific places (Tuan, 1977). Filip Matos Wunderlich (2008, p. 126) argues walking as ‘both a purposeful activity and as a creative and critical spatial practice’, Walks have been organised since 1995 by the group Stalker; photographs were taken and a diary was kept whilst spending 4 days walking around the periphery of Rome (O’Rourke 2013, P234). They propose that this is what architects should be doing; reclaiming land by exploring it and taking occupation as the star ting points of architectural design. Stalker got to know a city by walking as it allows neglected par ts of the city to be linked up as well as areas that may be physically proximate but have been separated by obstructions to make way for roads and other urban developments (Rendell 2006, P188). Walking can be used as a simple research method for architecture. Getting to know an area before designing anything is very critical. Walking provides an understanding of the site and the surrounding area. Through the act of walking new connections are made and remade. Walking creates a design method that enables one to imagine beyond the present conditions, as one can be made to see past the existing features of the site. One’s mind opens up to creativity along a walk. Using Pevsner’s method of visual analysis, a walking exercise was under taken in Oxford for ten minutes. The aim was to create a tourist pamphlet of the walk to hand out to others. This pamphlet was designed to help and encourage tourists to view Oxford above the eye level, hoping to create a different experience. Exploring Oxford or anywhere else above eye level is a journey of discoveries. It is truly fascinating to find how much detail can be seen yet only some few people seem to look up to notice them. 56

57 Images from ‘Oxford above the eye level’ Pamphlet

Images 6.1. - 6.16.

P a r t i c i p a r y

7 D e s i g n

‘Participatory design’ has been recognized as a means to develop more engaging and bespoke design responses’ Harriet Harris

Par ticipatory research design, which is a form of action research, has been recognised to develop more engaging and adapted design responses (Harris 2010 P1). Action design is perhaps one of the strongest and liberating forms of research available to designers. There is a close connection between ‘philosophy of action research and the idea of praxis’ (Crouch et al 2012 P143). Since active research focuses on human action, it suppor ts a focus on the activities that designers engage in and fur thers the development of design communities of practice (Crouch et al 2012 P157). A key principle of action research is that people’s practices are not fixed but can be changed to produce a more ‘ethical, socially just or sustainable outcome’ (McNiff et al 2006). Action research has become a familiar tool for professionals in many settings such as business, nursing and education. It explores possibilities for making changes to improve practices to meet people’s needs (Crouch et al 2012 P143). Rendell stated that many theorists have studied a deeper understanding of the viewer’s experience through observation of a place and the ways it varies to other places. It is thought that this relates directly to architecture and can be viewed as an ar t form that has a use open to individual’s responses and interpretations (Rendell 2010 P3). Action research designs are necessarilty flexible, allowing researchers to put together a range of research strategies according to the specific needs (Crouch et al 2012 P143-144). Par ticipatory design forms a direct interaction with par ticipants through actions and dialogue. It is believed to be a powerful tool for developing new strategies and designs, enabling 61

the researchers to highlight issues and to engage in new solutions (Crouch et al P143). ‘Par ticipation’ is currently being defined within mainstream architecture as a process that involves the user in the early stages of production which therefore leads to an environment that has a sense of ownership (Harris 2010 P1). The use of par ticipatory action research in design is informed by ‘par ticipatory design movement’ that invokes the need to involve all stakeholders (Foth et al 2006 P93). To carry out a successful action research, one must stick to the ‘Action Research Cycle’, it is charactersied as consisting of a series of disinct phases of research. The cycle incorporates processes of observing, reflecting, planning and acting – with the end result being the development of new practices (Crouch et al 2012 P146). By using collaborative, playful and interdisciplinary research methods, we can approach how we ‘problematise the problem’. By questioning and analysing, we can probe and interrogate what is more meaningful and deeply more impor tant (Harris 2010 P12). Games and playfulness in research is a par ticipatory way of carrying out design based on field studies, rather than assuming what is needed. Par ticipatory design aims to view public’s needs from different angles (Johanson 2005). The workshop for this rearch method included a par ticipatory game. The aim of the research method is to get involved with the public. The game was aimed at a senior age group, using a playful method, information can be gathered to design a community centre meeting their needs, views and interests. The game was designed to be an Origami For tune Teller, enabling par ticipants to be invovled in the construction and design of the community centre. Par ticipatory research plays an impor tant role in design as first hand information is gathered however this can be a very time consuming method. To carry out a detailed and accurate research, a large number of par ticipants would have to get involved which could be difficult to gather. Using par ticipatory research, the study gains more from the process when the researchers attain greater sensitiviety and self-awareness of the problems (Crouche et al 2012 P144-157). 62

FIG 7.1. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h game

FIG 7.2. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h g ame

FIG 7.3. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h game

FIG 7.5. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h game

FIG 7.4. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h g ame

FIG 7.6. Image showing the par ticipator y r esear c h game

‘Collage can be practiced to capture spatial and material characteristics of the built environment.’ Jennifer A. E. Shields

Collage combines feelings and ideas, it involves abstraction and private symbolism and features overlapping mixture of materials rather than representing them in formal framed patterns (Burke 1959 P232). Its characteristics of layering, cutting, pasting and sampling are all par t of our everyday language (Douglas 2011 P3). While some of these characteristics are par t of effective bulletin board and poster work, in combination, they represent something beyond the purpose of these moral literal media (Burke 1959 P232). Collage as a medium is not new, it has existed and has been used for centuries. Collaging has either been used as the assembly of materials to make ar tworks or the gathering of memorabilia or abjects. In the 20th century, collage came to be recognised as an ar t form with the rise of popular culture and photography. Today, collage persists as an ar t form as well as a concept (Douglas 2011 P3). It is an intensely personal medium, its process bring it naturally close to the body. Materials used are often equally intimate and the collation of these represents a framentary (Douglas 2011 P7). Collaging, which star ted as a formal tradition of making ar t, is now not only associated with the viusal ar t but has become a concept used in areas of creative production such as photography, architecture, music and many others – demonstrating collage’s currency in the modern life (Douglas 2011 P3). For years ar t and architecture have been an on-going attraction to one another (Rendell 2006 P3). The use of collages provides a medium that captivates sensory, spatial and perception; collage as a tool for analysis encourages the evaluation of a built ar tefact from the perspective of the inhabitant as well as a tool within 67

a design methodology that pursues a multivalent experience in a work of architecture (Shields 2013). In the production of these ar t and design works, three key preoccupations emerged: first, an interest in the use of the imagination in the oppression and of resistance; second, an understanding of imagination as a space of ambiguity between designer and user; and third, a desire to combine the traditionally separated design process of drawing, writing and modelling in new hybrid forms of ar t, design and architectural practice (Rugg, 2007, pp67). Traditionally interiors were shown using flat architectural sectional drawings as there was far more emphasis and stress on the exterior detailing of buildings (Evans 1997 P201). In the 18th century a new development in the visual representation of architecture developed. This created a link between visual and social objects (Evans 1997 P198). The development in the representation and illustration of interiors modified the earlier techniques being used. Thomas Lightoler produced a collage (FIG 8.1), showing the plan in the middle of a group of four elevations which look as if they have been folded out from their upright position and flattened into the same place as the plan. At this time, Lightoler’s drawings involved no new content but was a relatively unfamily sor t of representation. The new technique introduced by Thomas Lightoler became a method of ‘turning architecture inside-out’ – suggesting that after the 18th century focus was began to be put on the interior as well as the exterior (Evans 1997 P202). This form of illustration became viewed as a type of collage ar t. Many contemporary architects have followed the footsteps of Le Corbusier, Bauhaus and many more; they have explored alternative photographic practices, such as the use of photomontage. Collage or photomontage can be seen both to reflect an aesthetic sensibility aligned with their design intentions and to inform their conceptualization of the site, 68

the building process and the future form of projects in development (Higgot 2012 P14). Early 20th century experimental ar tists were using photomontage or collages frequently. More than photography as the photomontage could transfer other contexts or seek to deny or entirely remove a context (Higgot 2012 P270). Robin Evans suggested that ‘architectural drawing affects what might be called the architect’s field of visibility. It makes it possible to see some things more clearly by suppressing other things: something gained, something lost. Its power to represent is always par tial, always more or less abstract.’ (Evans 1987 P202) - this can be easily applied to collage and photomontage. After looking into the history of creating architectural collages and the impor tance of them within the field, a research project was carried out. Collages were made to explore the surface drawing technique to form an understanding of spatial and material characteristics of the space. Figure 8.2 presents the existing state of the bedroom and figure 8.3 demonstrates the ‘inspirations’ and ideas for future changes - influenced by Lightoler. A fur ther research was carried out into the more recent technique of collaging which involves using three-dimensional computer program as well as using Photoshop. Today, architects all around the world use computer generated images to show proposed techniques and ideas – either for the benefit of themselves to analyse the final design or to present the proposed design to a client. In conclusion, collage can be practiced to capture spatial and material characteristics of the built environment as an analytical and interpretive mechanistm. Collages are an impor tant instrument for analysis and design and have been used for decades in relevance to ar t and architecture (Shields 2013). As par t of the weekly research project, six collages were made to try

to understand the characteristics (materi-

als, movement, size) of each chosen space. Through this understanding, one can design and build with consciousness and intentionality to respont to the multivalence extant in sites and cities (Shields 2013). 69

FIG 8.1. Image showing a plan placed in the middle, with elevations on each side - Lightoler’s method of ‘turning ar c hitectur e inside out’

71 FIG 8.2. Colla ge inspir ed by the 18 th Centur y r e pr esentational collage developed by Lightoler - Collage r epr esenting the cur r ent state of bedr oom

FIG 8.3. Colla ge inspir ed by the 18 th Centur y r e pr esentational collage developed by Lightoler - Collage r epr esenting inspir ations and ideas for bedr oom

‘Video is the medium that conveys most of the detailed richness of a real setting’ Yirisku et al

In the modern era new ways of viewing buildings and cities have emerged, star ting with railroads and photography in the mid 19th century and continuing with automobiles and motion pictures, and later air travels and of course television (Schwarzer 2004 P12). While moviemaking has achieved some legitimacy as a medium for presenting architectural concepts, greater attention has been focused on the role of computer graphics (Mark 1985 P10). The use of video recording as a research method in terms of architecture has expanded massively over the years. It is believed to be a powerful and effective medium with the ability to present high quality and realistic presentations of design proposals (Mark 1985 P14). While transpor tation and camera technologies do not replace direct encounters with buildings and places, their existence has altered architectural aesthetics (Schwarzer 2004 P12). Schwarzer (2004) pointed out in his book, Zoomscape: Architecture in Motion and Media, ‘A photograph shows a unique building, but there might be thousand copies of the photograph therefore as many cultural and commercial contexts in which the image of the building is perceived. Using camera media encourages the diffusion of two-dimensional images of architecture; they do not ease the aura of the three-dimensional original’ (Schwarzer 2004 P24). Video recordings enhance an architect’s understanding by creating a threedimensional image conveying motion, texture and sound – highlighting design issues and therefore resulting in a more successful and fully resolved end project (Mark 1985 P14). Videos illustrate detailed sensory information and can unveil the inner, hidden meanings, distinctions and the unnoticed characteristics of the everyday objects and life. Video is an insightful 75

and spatial practice with the capability of representing current conditions. One key aspect of video recording is the ability to record the experience of the user and this is significant in design; representing an understating of the user’s point of view, often overlooked (Kamvasinou, 2010). As par t of the weekly workshop exercise, a one-minute video was recorded in groups of four. This project was a motionless video recording of a staircase at Oxford Brookes University. To begin with, the video camera was placed facing the staircase to record people’s motion and movement through the stairs, then a number of books were placed on the top stair to create a deliberate obstruction. The aim of this video was to explore people’s movements through a built environment without anything in the way then explore the movement after creating an obstruction. The findings were that people were rushing up the staircase to get to their destination as quickly as possible without any obstruction in the way. As soon as the obstruction was placed, a change of speed in people’s movements through the staircase was obvious. The obstruction created a calm feel to the chaotic flow of users. There was a major attention towards the rethinking and reorganising of the design of places in the 1960s. Theorists such as Gehl, Jacobs, Whyte emphasised on the need to focus on the experience and use of an environment (Wheeler et al 2009 P99) – suggesting it is impor tant to study a space to be able to carry out a successful design. Whyte, himself, took par t in many different fieldworks to engage with spaces and understand people movement and use of spaces. In conclusion, the use of videos has many oppor tunities in the field of architecture. Video is ‘the medium that conveys most of the detailed richness of a real setting, as compared with text, photos and auto recordings’ (Yirisku et al 2007 P27). Unlike fieldwork and any other research method that involves par ticipation, videos can be viewed as often as needed, they can be paused and reflected upon if required. Along side all the qualities and oppor tunities provided by videos, it could be argued that videos record ‘too much information’ and at the same time ‘too little information’ by excluding the peripheral vision of the human eye (Kamvasinou 2013). 76

Still images from the video

City in the City- Oxford

‘ C i t y w i t h i n t h e c i t y ’ , ‘ C i t y m a d e by I s l a n d s ’ O.M. Ungers

The idea of the ‘city in the city’ began as a basic concept for future urban planning of Berlin after the Second World War ruins. It was sustained in the image of Berlin as a city-archipelago. The aim of the ‘urban islands’ was to identify in keeping with the history, social structure and the social characteristics of the city. The city as a whole was a federation of all single towns with different structures, developed in a deliberately antithetic manner (Ugners P6). For two decades now, the notions of the urban archipelago or the archipelago city have appeared with increasing frequency in debates in urban design, both describe the ways in which urban areas actually function and the shed light on how they should be conceived (Ugners et al 1977 P6). In the 1970s, following the ruins of Second World War, Berlin was divided into two cities, the east and west which were defined by the Berlin Wall. The wall divided and transformed West Berlin into an island ‘a city-state enclosed by a perimeter wall and surrounded by a hostile territory’. The city contained vast tracts of empty space in which buildings seemed to be isolated islands that lead to its population decreasing in the 1970s (Aureli 1990 P177). In 1977 a project lead by Oswald Mathias Ungers and other architects including Rem Koolhaas, Peter Riemann, Hans Kollhoff, and Ar thur Ovaska, permitted Berlin as a Green Archipelago -attempting to transform this city (Aureli 1990 P177). They derived a scheme focused on the powerful model of ‘cities within the city’ – or ‘city made by islands’ (Aureli 1990 P177). Ungers’ aim was to maintain the current distinctive divided character of the city however this approach was completely against the urban design principle of the perimeter block developed by the Krier brothers’ (Davies 2010 P64). Ungers turned away from urban planning and developed several fragmented islands with individual characteristics “each of which was conceived as a formally distinct micro-city” (Aureli 1990 P177). This approach is reflected 81

in the housing developments that are not a typical extension to the city but “as finite ar tifacts that, in their internal formal composition, were evocative of an idea of the city” (Aureli, 1990 P179). In using this methodology the fragmentation of Berlin transforms into the very project of the ‘architecture of the city’; derived from Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s approach which proposes singular architectural interventions (Aureli 1990 P178). Berlin’s fragmented reality—a city whose ruins registered the destruction of war, yet whose political intensity reflected its position as the “capital” of the Cold War—provided Ungers with a basis for interpreting the city as an entity no longer reliant on large-scale urban planning but rather composed of islands, each of which was conceived as a formally distinct micro-city. Ungers derived this approach from Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who was the city architect of Berlin during the first half of the nineteenth century. Schinkel had envisioned the capital of Prussia as a fabric punctuated by singular architectural interventions, rather than as a city planned along the principles of cohesive spatial design typical of the baroque period. For Ungers, this approach could overcome the fragmentation of postwar Berlin by turning the crisis itself (the impossibility of planning the city) into the very project of the architecture of the city (Aureli 1990 P178-180). The history of Berlin is the history of the transformation of one type of city into another. In the course of 700 years, Berlin has changed into several different cities (Ugners P14). The pluralistic project for a city within the city is in this respect in opposition of the city as a single whole. This corresponds to the contemporary structure of society which is developed more as a society of individuality with different demands, desires and conceptions. The project also involves an individualisation of the city and therefore moving away from typization and standardization. To conclude, Ugners methodology towards creating cities within cities represents a theory that contradicts urban design principles and focuses on a remote and isolated section of a city and the internal spaces created ignoring the surrounding area outside this division. 82

Chapter 1: Diagrams Bal, M (2001). Louise Bourgeois’ “Spider”: The Architecture of Ar t-writing. USA: The University of Chicago Press. P. Garcia, M (2010). The Diagrams of Architecture. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Lockard, W (1977). Design Drawing Experience. USA: Pepper Publishing. Miller, M. (2011). On Mitch Miller, and the Groundbreaking invention of the dialectogram. Available: http://dialectograms.co.uk/about/. Last accessed 28th November 2013. Reader, S. (2002), The Cities of Everyday Life, Diagramming: LARSSPUYBROEK interviewed by CHO IM SIK Vormittag, L. (2013). Making (the) subject matter: illustration as interactive, collaborative practice. Journal of Illustrations. 1 (1),

Chapter 2: Writing Architecture Crouch et al (2013). Doing Research in Design . New York: Bloomsbury. Pxxx. Rendell, J. (2005). Architecture Writing. Available: http://www.janerendell.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2009/03/Rendell-Architecture-Writing.pdf. Last accessed 29th November 2013. Rendell, J. (2006). Seeing Time/Writing Place. Available: http://www.janerendell.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2009/03/seeingtime.pdf. Last accessed 29th November 2013. 85

Rendell, J (2006). Ar t and Architecture: a Place Between. USA: I.B.Tauris. Rendell et al (2007). Critical Architecture. USA: Routledge. Rendell, J (2010). Site-Writing: The Architecture of Ar t Criticism. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd.

Chapter 3: Archives: Craven, L (2008). What are Archives?. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Derrida et al. (2). Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression. Diacritics. 25 (1995), P12. Leavitt, A. (1961). What are Archives?. The American Archivist. 24 (2), 175. Manoff, M. (2004) ‘Theories of the Archive from Across the Disciplines’, Libraries and the Academy, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 9–25. Mar tin, R. (2002). Sharing the Wealth. Available: http://www.rlg.org/events/sharingthewealth2002/mar tin.html. Last accessed 2nd December 2013. Rober to, R. (2009). What Are Archives? Cultural and Theoretical Perspectives: A Reader by Louise Craven Review by: Rose Rober to. The American Archivist. 72 (2), P527. Wigley, M. (2005) ‘Unleashing the Archive’, Future Anterior, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 10–12. Wigley, M. (2005) ‘Unleashing the Archive’, Future Anterior, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 14–15. 86

Chapter 4: Fieldwork Attlee, J (2007). Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey. United Kingdom: Transworld Publishers. P. Ewing et al (2011). Architecture and field/work. United Kingdom: Routledge. P. Fetterman, D (2010). Ethnography: Step-by-Step. 3rd ed. United Kingdom: SAGE . Fife, W (2005). Doing Fieldwork: Ethnographic Methods for research in Developing Countries and Beyod. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. P94-95. Gach, V. (1973). Graffiti. NCTE. 35 (3), P285-287. Gauthier, L. (2001). Confessions of an Ethnographer: Reflections on Fieldwork with Graffiti Writers in Montreal. Canadian Anthropology Society. 43 (2), P274. Hammersley et al (2007). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. 3rd ed. USA: Routledge. 1-5. Konopinski, N (2014). Doing Anthropological Research: A Practical Guide. United Kingdom: Routledge. P57. Mar tinez, S (2009). The ar t & technique of Graffiti. Canada: Impact Books. P8. Reason et al (2001). Inquiry and Par ticipation in search of World Wor thy of Human Aspiration. England: SAGE . P1-14. Reason, P. (2004). Critical Design Ethnography as Action Research. Anthropology & Educa87

tion Quar terly. 35 (2), P273. Reeves, S. (2008). Qualitative research methodologies: ethnography. Available: http://www. bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a1020. Last accessed 2nd December 2013. Gach, V. (1973). Graffiti. NCTE. 35 (2), 285-287. Wilkinson, B. (2013). The ugly truth about graffiti ar tists’ work. Available: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10734699.The_ugly_truth_about_graffiti_ar tists__work/. Last accessed 2nd December 2013. Zimmerman, F. (2000). Site Analysis. Supplement Architectural Services. P1. [PDF available on http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab089275.pdf]

Chapter 5: Critical Essay Bal, M (2001). Louise Bourgeois’ “Spider”: The Architecture of Ar t-writing. USA: The University of Chicago Press. Crouch et al (2013). Doing Research in Design . New York: Bloomsbury. Gray et al (2004). Visualizing Research: A guide to the research process in ar t and design. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Jones, C. (2009). Interdisciplinary Approach - Advantages, Disadvantages, and the Future Benefits of Interdisciplinary Studies. ESSAI. 7 (26), 76.

Laurel et al (2003). Design Research: Methods and Perspectives. USA: The MIT Press. Lockard, W (1977). Design Drawing Experience. USA: Pepper Publishing. Nissani, M. (1997). Ten Cheers for Interdisciplinarity: The Case for Interdisciplinary Knowledge and Research. The Social Science Journal. 34 (2), P201-216. Miller, M. (2011). On Mitch Miller, and the Groundbreaking invention of the dialectogram.. Available: http://dialectograms.co.uk/about/. Last accessed 28th November 2013. Reader, S.(2002), The Cities of Everyday Life, p.243 - 248, Diagramming: LARSSPUYBROEK interviewed by CHO IM SIK Rendell, J. (2004). Architectural research and disciplinarity . Cambridge Journals. 8 (2), P141-146. Rendell, J. (2005). Architecture Writing. Available: http://www.janerendell.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2009/03/Rendell-Architecture-Writing.pdf. Last accessed 29th November 2013. Rendell, J. (2006). Seeing Time/Writing Place. Available: http://www.janerendell.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2009/03/seeingtime.pdf. Last accessed 29th November 2013. Rendell et al (2007). Critical Architecture. USA: Routledge. Rendell, J (2010). Site-Writing: The Architecture of Ar t Criticism. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Rowe et al (1978). Collage City. England: The MIT Press. 89

Rugg et al (2007). Issues in Curating Contemporary Ar t and Performance. United Kingdom: Intellect LTD. Sullivan, G (2010). Ar t Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Ar ts. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd. Vormittag, L. (2013). Making (the) subject matter: illustration as interactive, collaborative practice. Journal of Illustrations. 1 (1), P61-64.

6. Wonderlust: Careri, F (2001). walkscapes: walking as an aesthetic practice. Spain: Gustavo Gili. 150. Jackett, S. (2013). Walking the Landscape: The Ar t of Richard Long. Available: http:// landarchs.com/walking-landscape-ar t-richard-long/. Last accessed 15th October 2013. Long, R (2005). Richard Long: Walking the Line. England: Thames & Hudson. 7. Murray, J (2007). London Above Eye Level. United Kingdom: Frances Lincoln Limited. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hagan, S. (2009). One Step Beyond. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/ar tanddesign/2009/may/10/ar t-richard-long. Last accessed 15th October 2013. Rendell, J (2006). ART AND ARCHITECTURE: A place between. USA: Tauris & Co LTD. 182 190. Robinson, A et al. (2013). WALK ON: From Richard Long to Janet Cardiff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 40 years of Ar t Walking. Available: http://walk.uk.net/por tfolio/walk-on. Last accessed 15th October 2013. 90

Rousseau,J (1992). The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. USA: Hackett Publishing Company. Solnit, R (2000). Wanderlust: A History of Walking. USA: Penguin Group. 3-4. Vaughn, L . (2009). Walking the Line: Affectively Understanding and Communicating the Complexity of Place. The Car tographic Journal. Vol 46 (4), pp.316–322. Wunderlich, F. M. (2008). ‘Walking and rhythmicity: sensing urban space’, Journal of Urban Design, 13, pp. 125–139.

Participatory Design

Crouch et al (2013). Doing Research in Design . New York: Bloomsbury. For th et al. (2006). Par ticipatory Design and Action Research: Identical Twins or Synergetic Pair?. Par ticipatory Design Conference 2006: Expanding Boundaries in Design. [PDF on http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4347/] Harris, H. (2010). Ludic Architecture: playful tools for par ticipation in spatial design. Design Principles and Practices: International Journal Common Ground. 4 (5), [PDF on https:// www.academia.edu/1952090/Ludic_Architecture_Playful_Tools_for_Par ticipation_in_Spatial_Design] Johansson, M. (2005). Playful Collaborative Exploration: New Research Practice in Par ticipatory Design. Journal of Research Practice. 1 (1), [PDF on http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/ jrp/ar ticle/view/5/10]

Jones et al (2005). Architecture and Par ticipation. United Kingdom: Spon Press. P3-5. Mcniff et al (2011). All You Need to Know About Action Research. USA: SAGE publishers. P3-5. Rendell, J (2010). Site-Writing: The Architecture of Ar t Criticism. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd.

8 Collages Burke, V. (1959). Why not try Collages. NCTE. 10 (4), 231. Burke, V. (1959). Why not try Collages. NCTE. 10 (4), 232-234. Douglas et al (2011). Transmitter Receiver: The Persistence of Collage. United Kingdom: Hayward Publishing. P3. Evans, R (1987). Translations from Drawings to Buildings and Other Essays. United Kingdom: Architectural Association. P202. Higot et al (2012). Camera Construsts. United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing Company. P270. Rendell, J (2006). ART AND ARCHITECTURE: A place between. USA: Tauris & Co LTD. 182 190. Shields, J. (2013). collage and architecture. Available: http://collageandarchitecture. com/?page_id=7. Last accessed 2nd December 2013. 92

9. Video Jewitt et al. (2012). An Introduction to Using Video for Research. National Centre for Research Methods. [PDF on http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2259/] Kamvasinou, K (2006), “Reclaiming the Obsolete in Transitional Landscapes: perception, motion, engagement”, Journal of Landscape Architecture, Issue 2, Autumn 2006, pp.16Kamvasinou, K (2010), “Notation Timelines and the Aesthetics of Disappearance”, Journal of Architecture, Vol 15 (4), Kamvasinou, K (2010), “Editing the field: video tales from globalised cityscapes” in Ewing, S., McGowan, J. M., Speed, C., Bernie, V. C. (Eds) Architecture and Field/Work. London, Routledge, Kamvasinou, K. (2013). Video in architectural research. [PDF on httpsz://moodle.brookes. ac.uk/pluginfile.php/354654/mod_resource/content/1/Oxford%20Brookes%20151113. pdf] Mark, E. (1985). ARCHITECTURE IN REAL TIME: The interdisciplinary Use of Film, Video and Computer Graphics For Representing Architecture. P. [PDF on http://dspace.mit.edu/ bitstream/handle/1721.1/75984/15805677.pdf?sequence=1] Schwarzer, M (2004). Zoomscape: Architecture in Motion and Media. USA: Princeton Architectural Press. Shrum et al. (2005). Digital Video as Research Practice: Methodology for the Millennium. Journal of Research Practice. 1 (1). 93

Wheeler et al (2009). The Sustainable Urban Development Reader. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Routledge. P 19.

10. City in the City Aureli, P (2011). The possibility of an absolute architecture. United Kingdom: MIT. Ugners et al (1977). The City in the City - Berlin: A green archipelago. Germany: Lars Müller Publishers. P177. Ugners. (-). Cities within the city. Available: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1031999.files/March%209/Ungers_Cities%20Within%20the%20City_1978.pdf. Last accessed 5th December 2013.

Images Bibliography: Front Cover: http://www.cgtextures.com/texview.php?id=28267&PHPSESSID=0smbgigdmo8f4m9svf325 hl1c5 Edited on Photoshop (Last accessed: 15th November 2013) FIG 1.1: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 1.2: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) 94

FIG 1.3: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 1.4: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 1.5: http://openset.nl/blog/?cat=4 (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 1.6: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 2.1: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 2.2: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 2.3: http://www.gssarchitecture.com/?page_id=3317 (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 3.1: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 3.2: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013)z 95

FIG 3.3.1 to 3.3.42: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 3rd December 2013) FIG 3.4.1 to 3.3.39: (No need for referencing as advised by Igea Troiani) FIG 4.1: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cowley%20road (Last accessed: 4th December 2013) FIG 4.2: http://www.ifimages.com/public/image/1585842/view.html (Last accessed: 4th December 2013) FIG 4.3: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cowley%20road (Last accessed: 4th December 2013) FIGs 6.1 – 6.16: Author’s own images (Last accessed: 16th November 2013) FIG 7.1: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 7.2: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 7.3: 96

Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 7.4: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 7.5: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 7.6: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 8.1: Evans, R (1987). Translations from Drawings to Buildings and Other Essays. United Kingdom: Architectural Association. P202. (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013) FIG 8.2: Author’s own image (Last accessed: 2nd December 2013)

L e c t u r e

N o t e s

Lecture 1: Introduction Diagrams

Lecture 2: Literature Review Writing Architecture

Lecture 3: Wonderlust

Lecture 4: Participatory Design

Lecture 5:Archives

Lecture 6: Collages

Lecture 6: Videos

Lecture 8: Fieldwork

Lecture 9: City in the City

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