Thesis Book - Sirina Law by Sirina Law

////////// 5TH YEAR ARCHITECTURE THESIS STUDIO OSBORN / SIRINA LAW SEPT 2020 - JUNE 2021

////////// TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface

Introduction

The Role of a Consumer

The Role of a Business Owner

Identifying the Infrastructures

Methods

Conclusion

Bibliography

106

Thesis 9 Studio

110

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////////// PREFACE I’m really excited for you to read through my Thesis Book today. I’ve dreamt a lot about what I wanted my senior project to be since I’ve gotten accepted to Cal Poly SLO for the Architecture program. As I’ve grown as a designer over these years, I’ve also grown in my knowledge in sustainability and environmental consciousness; in Architecture and in my regular lifestyle. I’m stoked to be able to explore ways I can combine 2 of the few things I’m passionate about, Architecture and Sustainable Living. I’m thrilled to see where this senior project takes me, but most importantly excited for everything I get to learn along the way about Sustainable Living and Architecture theories through podcasts, readings, and more readings.

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Enjoy the ride,

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INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been a lot of technological advances

production.

These

new

innovations

are fascinating and beautiful in creating efficiency, improvements and growth. Each country has played a part in creating and mastering a certain part of an industry to share with the rest of the world. Culturally, our planet has constantly strived for improvements and better innovations, all to end up in the hands of humans to improve their experience.

FIG. 01 Image by Fashion Checker/Clean Clothes campaign

FIG. 02 Image by Fashion Checker/Clean Clothes campaign

Human consumerism stems from the human desire for manufactured goods to satisfy one’s need or satisfaction. We constantly find ourselves purchasing a new device, clothing, or simply an item to satisfy our needs and desires, oftentimes without hesitation. Although the goods that the manufacturing industry produces may not be “essential” things, we find ourselves purchasing them to fit in the culture we’re a part of. A culture that promotes the high-speed consumption oriented way of living. This culture is a huge factor that encourages the existence of infrastructures that result in unethical care of the environment and human rights. The temporary satisfaction that results from retail therapy and the act of purchasing manufactured goods unconsciously creates environmental consequences that we choose to omit from the plain sight of our everyday lives. Infrastructures like factories and retail spaces exist to support and encourage the high speed consumption oriented way of living. If humans were to not want to purchase anything materialistic, none of these infrastructures that create environmental and ethical damage would exist.

The conditions and realities of these infrastructures are often overlooked and not addressed in affluent areas because of the tunnel vision larger brands present that hide the true costs consumers are actually paying. While we often look at residential and commercial buildings as the affected scope of the carbon emission problem, issues exist in both the environmental and ethical realm within the industry. Environmentally, toxic liquids are required to run the factories. Likewise, the pollutants from the smog are harmful to people, animals and plants. Ethically, the workers are not treated properly with the expectation to produce high quality products in a short time frame. Overall, human consumerism is a leading contributor to both our ongoing relationships with environmental degradation as well as the exploitation of labor. The built environment is complicit in encouraging high-speed consumption oriented lifestyles, as is evident in the privatization of public space, resulting in an infrastructure of capitalism which supports retail therapy as our primary mode of self-healing and fulfillment.

The redefined “Fulfillment Center” will allow for a less high-speed, consumption oriented way of living in order to introduce deeper levels of fulfillment without the cost of the environment.

FIG. 03 Growth of Clothing Sales & Decline in Clothing Utilisation since 2000

Graph by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

FIG. 04 The Textiles Industry uses Significant Amounts of Resources

Graphics by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The act of consumption by humans encourages the existence of infrastructures like factories and malls. Factories exist to meet the demand of humans and what they want to purchase on the production side. Whether humans are purchasing out of necessity or out of pleasure, the increased rate of consumption for self-indulgence has also drastically affected the ethical conditions of the factories. The mall on the other hand is the infrastructure where the culture of expenditure happens even though it was supposed to be the “third space”. Ray Oldenburg, a sociologist, further elaborates Victor Gruen initial ideas of a “third space” as “an oasis outside of the places we live & work, where quality time could be spent mingling with other people”. 1 While the mall is supposed to be a “third space” for people to relax, connect and socialize in, it has turned into a materialistic trap.

Oldenburg, The Great Good Place.

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THE ROLE OF A CONSUMER

FIG. 05 Various Customer Types that Exists & their different needs

Graphics by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

FIG. 06 Reasons for Disposal / Donation / Sale of Clothing in the UK

Graph by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

It is estimated that around the world, about “107 billion units of apparel and 14.5 billion pairs of shoes were purchased in 2016” and in America specifically, a US consumer purchases on average “one mid-priced item of clothing per week”. 2 Kate Soper critiques the act of ‘consumerism’ by stating that there could be a more sustainable way of consumption if it was driven by “eudemonic” well-being, coining the term ‘Alternative Hedonism’. Quoting Soper, “consumerism is now questioned not only because of its ethical and environmental consequences, but also because of its negative impact on affluent consumers themselves, and the ways in which it comprises both sensual pleasure and more spiritual forms of well-being”. This should leave us questioning what we are losing as we give into capitalism, are there less tangible things we are missing out in the process of the investment of materialistic items. Soper speaks of alternative hedonism as an advocate of a “new form of desire - rather than fears of ecological disaster, hoping that it would encourage sustainable modes of consuming”. 3

“Volume and Consumption: How Much Does The

World Buy?” 3

Soper, “The Trouble with Consumption.”

One of the few things this high-speed consumption oriented life has created is Fast Fashion. “Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand. The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the height of their popularity, and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears.” The issue to this culture is that it has formed a “toxic system of overproduction and consumption that has made fashion one of the largest polluters in the world“ . 4

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

FIG. 07 Textile Workers

Photo by The New York Times

FIG. 08 Landfill of Clothing

Photo by The New York Times

FIG. 09 In a New Textiles Economy, for Various Customer Types

Chart by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

It encourages consumers to participate in the “throwaway” culture because of “both the built-in obsolescence of the products, and the speed at which trends are produced”. This type of trend makes us “believe that we need to shop more to stay on top of trends, creating a constant sense of need and ultimate dissatisfaction”.5 Darmo worded it beautifully saying, “By thinking of the garments we wear as short term tools rather than long term investments, we contribute to wasteful consumption patterns that inevitably lead us towards drastic climate change”.6 A statistic that proves this overconsumption problem is that one in three young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old”.7 Unfortunately, the average American throws away around “81 pounds of clothing yearly”.8

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

Darmo, “20 Hard Facts About Fast Fashion.”

Siegle, “Fast Fashion Is on the Rampage, with the

UK at the Head of the Charge.” 8 Crisis.”

Gilmore, “Ready-to-Waste: America’s Clothing 21

Acknowledging

that

the

normalized

capitalist

consumerism is driven by self-indulgence gives hope that we can do something different to solve the issue. In the article, “Is A Minimalist Wardrobe The Key To A Happier and More Sustainable Lifestyle?”, it speaks of Minimalism as the “growing trend in opposition to consumerism and fashion, which creates benefits such as more time, decreased stress, better financial health and sustainability. And the best part is, we can all do something right now that will impact our overall happiness and footprint on the planet” .9

9 22

Pater, “Is A Minimalist Wardrobe The Key To A

Happier And More Sustainable Lifestyle?”

FIG. 10 Minimalist House

Photo by Interior Zine

THE ROLE OF THE BUSINESS OWNER Fortunately and unfortunately, business owners know where to target for better engagement in their sales. Acknowledging that our society is stuck in the belief that “we need the best, trendiest and up to date goods”, businesses work to advertise just that. This is apparent in the aggressive advertisement on social media and with item they advertise. Unfortunately for most companies, they are focused mostly on the high profits and selling the most amount of products.

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celebrities, in hopes to tempt viewers to purchase the

FIG. 11 Cotton Picker in Shayampet

Photo by World Wide Fund

FIG. 12 Workers in wool manufacturing plant in Bangladesh

Photo by Asia Development Bank

Business owners have the power to make decisions that could lead to ethical results. While we read stories and realities of workers’ rights of the manufacturing industry being violated, we should also recognize that it can be easily avoided by the decisions of the company. “93% of surveyed brands aren’t paying garment workers a living wage”.10 While this is only a statistic of workers in the fashion industry, it is seen as a similar percentage across all other industries within the manufacturing industry due to the increased rate of human consumerism of manufactured goods in general. But why are the majority of brands not paying their workers a living wage? Clearly there are other areas of their company that are more important to them than ensuring ethical treatment to factory workers. Unfortunately, many companies participate in the exploitation of labor as a result of prioritizing

profit

over

purpose.

Quoting

Fashion

Checker, “Brands put forward all kinds of excuses for not committing to a living wage: that it is the responsibility of suppliers or governments, that it is impossible to pay as it would price them out of the market, that consumers don’t want to pay more, that there is no consensus on how to calculate it, etc. But while production can be outsourced, the responsibility to respect human rights and pay a living wage remains with the brand.11

“What Is a Living Wage?”

For fashion specifically, it affects the garment workers as the low marketed prices result in “dangerous environments for low wages and without basic human rights”.12 Therefore, although fast fashion allows for consumers to experience the act of purchasing at a ridiculously low price, it often comes with a “huge cost to the lives of the workers who make the clothes, as well as the environment”.13 According to Nature of Climate Change, “clothing costs have risen slower than other consumer goods, increasing their affordability, [and] there will be continued growth as the middle class expands and purchases increase to match this demographic shift”. Unfortunately this is expecting to result in a “tripling of resource consumption by 2050 compared to 2000”14

FIG. 13 Garment factory in HCM City, Vietnam

Photo by ILO

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

Darmo, “20 Hard Facts About Fast Fashion.”

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

FIG. 14 Garment factory in HCM City, Vietnam

Photo by ILO

FIG. 15 Garment factory in Hung Yen

Photo by ILO

FIG. 16 The Global Supply Chain - Paying Living Wage

Infographic by Clean Clothes

Areas that companies should consider in their operation is their impact on their people, planet and animals. Their impact on workers across the supply chain is important, this includes policies and practices implemented that speak to human rights. Companies’ consideration and action towards their resource use and waste management is also important, this ranges from their policies in carbon emissions, microfiber pollution and usage of energy, water and chemicals. Although these decisions are often times for the CEO to make, simple actionable strategies like choosing to support coffee shops for an office meeting is better for the long haul. Even purchasing office stationeries from companies that manufacture products in the same country can make a bigger difference than we imagine.

While it is normalized for businesses to prioritize profits over purpose, WEconomy explains ways that prioritizing purpose would use companies to create positive social impact. While it may seem like the issue for big corporate businesses and that it can only be implemented by a CEO, it can also be applicable to day to day operations in many companies working behind the process of the manufacturing operation.15 To maintain the unrealistic affordability, companies are forced to settle with decisions that dismiss ethics. According to Nature Climate Change, as the affordability of clothing has remained low, it allows for the continued growth of purchases in the middle class. It is projected that this, with a combination of other factors, will result in a “tripling of resource consumption by 2050 compared to 2000”.16 Quoting from the article, What is Fast Fashion?, published by Good On You, “the pressure to reduce costs and speed up production time means that environmental corners are more likely to be cut. Fast fashion’s negative impact includes its use of cheap toxic textile dyes - making the fashion industry the second largest polluter of clean water globally after agriculture.17

Kielburger, Branson, and Kielburger, WEconomy.

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

FIG. 17 Positive Company Environment

Photo by Getty Images

FIG. 18 Positive Company Environment

Photo by Social Chorus

“Profit becomes growth, which becomes investment in more solutions. Companies can be one of the greatest forces for social good because they have resources to scale and make change on a massive level. Still, most companies mistake purpose for a passing trend, forfeiting the chance to solve both social issues and business challenges. We can help you do purpose right, and cash in on the new normal. No matter who you are or where you are on your career path, you can find a place in the WEconomy”.18 It is crucial for businesses to recognize the importance of a balance between profit and purchase, rather than turning a blind eye to the implications these actions set. Some examples they listed are “making sure they have good staff benefits, looking out for the community giving their customers very good consumer choices, supply chains are ethical, and doing their bit for the planet.19 Unfortunately, “68% of fast fashion brands don’t maintain gender equality at production facilities” .20

FIG. 19 Better Work Factor in Vietnam

Photo by ILO

Kielburger, Branson, and Kielburger, WEconomy.

Kielburger, Branson, and Kielburger.

“The 2019 Ethical Fashion Report.”

Transparency is an important bridge between companies and consumers. While the manufacturing industry has been successful in making products for the capitalist society, the slow shift towards transparency has shown that the efforts to create these products are harming the environment and the workers in the factory. Our generation’s technological advances have opened the door for progress in fast production but it has also gifted the ability to be more educated; exposing hidden logistics to be seen in a more transparent lens. All companies should be “responsible for, and transparent about, their impact”. Quoting Good on You, “Transparency is a key precondition for industry action to eliminate human rights violations, treat workers and communities with respect and eliminate or reduce pollution and unsustainable resources”.21 Fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova, Boohoo, Revolve, Pretty Little Thing and Forever 21 all score less than 10% on the Fashion Transparency Index” .22 The lack of transparency between these companies and their consumers are often used as a device to hide the realities of worker rights of the fast fashion being violated and other dirty realities .23

Darmo, “20 Hard Facts About Fast Fashion.”

“Fashion Transparency Index.”

Katanich, “Is Fast Fashion Slowing Down?”

FIG. 20 Social Responsibilities in Fashion Companies

Graphic by Ethical Fashion Report

FIG. 21 Models in Girlfriend Collective

Photo by Girlfriend Collective

FIG. 22 Models in Girlfriend Collective

Photo 38 by Girlfriend Collective

Fortunately, there are a number of companies that have shown outstanding performance in their ethical, sustainable and transparent practice, one being the Girlfriend Collective. Quoting the first sentence on their About Us page is “When we started Girlfriend Collective our first goal was to be as transparent as possible. So many companies tout transparency but only offer flashy headlines instead of substance. We chose every part of our process, from our raw materials to our facilities to our partners, with care.” This company also prioritizes being eco-friendly, having their Compressive Leggings made from 79% recycled polyester, LITE Leggings made of 83% recycled nylon, tees and tanks out of 100% cupro, which is a delicate fiber made from waste the cotton industry leaves behind, and their packaging that holds all their mailed our good is a reusable pouch made out of recycled polyester. In addition, they have made sure that “every drop of water used to dye their fabric gets sent to their wastewater treatment 100 feet away from the machines” ensuring that their dyeing process is not environmentally destructive. In addition they include a rewards program that supports positive social impact. For example, you can get more rewards points if you do community services like planting a tree and picking up trash and post a picture of you doing it while wearing their clothes.

Another company that demonstrates a less traditional way of marketing within the retail industry is For Days. They ensure that every item they create is 100% recyclable while using the highest quality, sustainable materials. But most importantly, they have created a SWAP program where it allows you to purchase an item for a cheaper price if you swap in an old, purchased item from them. Quoting from their website under their About Us page, “that means for a great price, you can swap out anything, anytime, for any reason. Everything you send back gets recycled. This is called a closed loop system and it’s pretty revolutionary.”

FIG. 23 Swap Program from For Days

Photo by For Days

FIG. 24 Models from For Days

Photo by For Days

FIG. 25 Models from For Days

Photo by For Days

FACTORIES INFRASTRUCTURE HARMING THE ENVIRONMENT The current manufacturing methods used to create products are harmful to the environment. “The fashion industry is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions”.24 According to the World Bank, it is estimated that globally 20% of all water pollution is the runoff created from textile dyeing and rinsing of natural fabrics. “Washing, solvents, and dyes used in manufacturing are responsible for one-fifth of industrial water pollution”.25 The waste produced by the factories are often also thrown into the landfills, destroying the fertility of the soil with the toxic chemicals in the wastes. “Fast fashion brands use openloop production cycles that pollute water and land”.26 Unfortunately, within the textile sector, there is about “10 to 20 percent of pesticide use.”27 In addition, “63% of textile fibers are derived from petrochemicals”28 . the factories increases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart diseases and other illnesses for humans, plants and animals.

Nijman, “UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion Ad-

dresses Damage of ‘Fast Fashion.’” 25

Balchandani and Berg, “The State of Fashion in

2020: Navigating Uncertainty.” 26

Schlossberg, “How Fast Fashion Is Destroying the

Planet.” 27

Balchandani and Berg, “The State of Fashion in

2020: Navigating Uncertainty.” 28 44

Sandin and Peters, “Environmental Impact of Tex-

tile Reuse and Recycling.”

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The toxic gases released into the air from the running of

FIG. 26 Apparel purchasing habits

Graphics by Common Objective

FIG. 27 Number of Apparel Units Purchased per Country, 2017

Graphics by Common Objective

“Clothing production is the 3rd biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries. Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined”.29 Not only is our culture still producing garments for the fashion industry, but the rate of production has drastically increased. According to Nature Climate Change, “it has been estimated that there are 20 new garments manufactured per person each year and we are buying more than 60% more than we were in 2000”. But why is this an issue? Why are we buying so much more drastically? While everyone has their own reasons , it is clear that the reality is we are not using the purchased goods long enough before disposing of them, resulting in a shorter lifespan and higher manufacturing emissions.30

“Fixing Fashion: Clothing Consumption and Sus-

tainability.” 30

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

While simply allowing the factory to run is detrimental to the environment, the degree of emissions from the manufacturing varies from the type of material produced. Although most fashion garments are created with polyester and synthetic fibers, their emissions for productions are higher than other materials because they require the use of fossil fuels such as crude oil to be produced. To put into perspective, in 2015, 706 billion kg of CO2 was produced from the manufacture of polyester for the textile industry. In addition, “5.5 kg CO2 and 2.1 kg CO2 was produced with a single polyester t-shirt and cotton t-shirt.”31 Nearly 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the world’s polyester fiber, which is now the most commonly used fiber in our clothing. But it takes more than 200 years to decompose”.32 Polyester also sheds microfibers that add to the increasing levels of plastic to our oceans but is often chosen because it is a cheap textile for the industry.33 Fashion accounts for 20 to 35 percent of microplastic flows into the ocean.34 Unfortunately, even though cotton produces the least amount of CO2e with its production it actually has a greater impact on land and water because the growth of this material requires more water and land space.

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

“Making Climate Change Fashionable - The Gar-

ment Industry Takes On Global Warming.”

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

Balchandani and Berg, “The State of Fashion in

2020: Navigating Uncertainty.”

FIG. 28 Pollution from the Clothing System

Graphics by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

FIG. 29 Comparative Energy Use in Fiber Production

Graph by Forbes

FIG. 30 Global Material Flows for Clothing, 2015

Graphics by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

FIG. 31 The Production, Use and After-use Phase

Graphics by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Unfortunately, this risks the cause of droughts, stress on water basins and competition of land and water resources with the local communities.35 Although it is a natural instinct and assumption that we can always recycle the stuff we purchase we don’t end up wanting, the option and ability to recycle may not always be possible for certain textile materials. It is estimated that only 1% of clothing materials have the ability to be recycled.36 “More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and the lack of recycling”.37 But even so, less than 11% of brands are implementing recycling strategies for their items”.38 This results in almost 60% of clothing to be dumped in the landfill within a year of its production.39 Three out of five fast fashion items end up in a landfill”. 40

Rauturier, “What Is Fast Fashion?”

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

“A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s

Future.” 38

Lush, “2019 Ethical Fashion Report.”

“The Price of Fast Fashion.”

“Waste and Pollution.”

BUILT ENVIRONMENT INFRASTRUCTURE DEFINING THE CULTURE While a big influence is the psychology of human consumerism in which our brains believe that the act of consumerism could give us more than a temporary satisfaction, our built environment plays a huge role in tempting us as well. While we are striving for a less high-speed,

non-consumption-oriented way of living,

the buildings that surround us suggest otherwise. With shopping malls being a type of third space, it is encourages the exact culture we are criticizing, the high speed, consumption-oriented way of life as you can find a shopping mall located within 15-30 minutes of each other.

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an example of how we live in a built environment that

Disposable Income by Region $203,000 $133,000 $102,000 $79,000 $56,000 US Average - $45,000

This chart shows that residences of the Bay Area are spending almost just as much on Retail Good as Housing.

FIG. 32 Disposable Income

Amount spent on Retail Goods $92,000 $63,000 $46,000 $32,000 $22,000

Retail Stores

located in close proximity to freeways shows that they are designed to be convenient for those traveling by vehicles.

FIG. 33 Amount Spent on Retail Goods

Acknowledging that the existence of factories and retail stores are driven by human consumerism, one of the methods is to find a place where human consumerism is encouraged and is more prevalent. Research shows that unconscious human consumerism is a lot higher in areas of growth in wealth.

The physical subject chosen for this stage of the project is Silicon Valley and more specifically, Santana Row and Valley Fair Shopping Mall area. Silicon Valley because it has a significantly higher Disposable Income than the US average. While the average Disposable Income in the US is $45,000, according to the OECD Better Life Index, Silicon Valley ranges between $56,000 to $203,000. This area also shows a significantly higher expense on Retail Goods than the average, ranging between $22,000 to $92,000.

FIG. 34 Southdale Center

Photo by Life Magazine

This site holds many types of retail stores and consumerism. Within a 2000 feet radius, the site holds a strip mall, a traditional indoor mall as well as a few big box stores. The saturated consumerism based programs in this site enables people to buy things even if they may not intend to originally.

Types of Retail Stores Chico’s

Lululemon Athletica

Zara

Brandy Melville

Abercrombie & Fitch

Athleta

Loft

Justice

Old Navy

Ted Baker

Pacsun

Gap

H&M

Forever 21

Garage

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China

using the grid from the residential neighborhood

trying to create an “old town” downtown feel

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Italy but some sourced from China

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China & some India, Pakistan, Vietnam

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: UK, India, China, Portugal

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Alot of places in the world

Scale: 1” = 1,000’

FIG. 35 Types of Stores

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China, Cambodia, India, Vietnam

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: US, China, Germany, Turkey & more

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Asia, Spain, Portugal

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Petaluma

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, more

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: Saipan, Bangladesh, China, more

Ethical Index: Environment: Transparency: Location of Factories: China, India, Bangladesh

Types of Buildings Retail Parking Church Commercial School Residential

Scale: 1” = 1,000’

FIG. 36 Types of Buildings

Amount spent on Retail Goods $32,000 $46,000

Scale: 1” = 1,000’

Is this area really designed to serve this part of the Bay Area? Why is it that Santana Row is averaging a much higher value tha what the neighborhood can afford?

FIG. 37 Amount Spent on Retail Goods

FIG. 38 Aerial View of Abstract Project

FIG. 39 Front View of Abstract Project

METHOD 1 ABSTRACT This thesis is driven by the issue of the “disconnect between product and process” or the “lack of transparency between production and consumer”. The abstract project shows the rigid and systematic methods of the factory that allows for the efficient work flow of manufacturing and the ways that the consumers (social aspect) are unaware of the realities of the behind the scenes.

FIG. 40 Graphic of Abstract Project

Acknowledging that the factory is a huge part of the environmental issues, this thesis seeks to find the root of the issue that feeds into the cycle; human consumerism. The question that drives this thesis is “How can we create a space for personal fulfillment?” Some initial techniques to allow for some preliminary disturbance of a capitalist setting, like the mall, are “interlock to reflect”, “conglomerate to disturb” and “bend to distract”.

FIG. 41 Southdale Center

Photo by Malls of America

FIG. 42 Interlock to Reflect Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 43 Interlock to Reflect Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 44 Interlock to Reflect Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 45 Conglomerate to Disturb Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 46 Conglomerate to Disturb Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 47 Conglomerate to Disturb Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 48 Bend to Distract Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 49 Bend to Distract Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 50 Bend to Distract Question / Technique / Form

FIG. 51 Question / Technique / Form

To further criticize our current definition of fulfillment, the mall, the Diorama acts as a tool to explore ideal behaviors in a redefined third space or “fulfillment center.

FIG. 52

METHOD 2 DIORAMA Diorama (Behaviors)

To further criticize our current definition of fulfillment in shopping which happens at a mall, the Diorama acts as a tool to explore ideal behaviors in a redefined third space or “fulfillment center.

METHOD 3A THINK FORMALLY/SPATIALLY In this part of the project, I have chosen to focus on the two big box stores fronting Santana Row. The Best Buy and The Container Store that are at the corner of Santana Row, are examples of the many other big box stores that feed and encourage the culture of capitalism. Acknowledging that the capitalist culture is encouraged by the lack of transparency between the production and consumer, the first iteration of the intervention is driven by the verbs “Twist” and “Bend & Taper”. These verbs are to formally interrupt what exists currently.

FIG. 53 Twist Diagram

FIG. 54 Bend & Taper Diagram

FIG. 55 & 56 Bend & Taper Diagrams Second Iteration

While “Bend & Taper” was a good initial strategy, I wanted the second iteration to work with the existing buildings. Since the problem addressed has negative impacts on the environment, I wanted to take on the challenge to work with as much of the existing as I could to avoid demolitioning FIG. 57 Intrusion Diagram Existing Buildings

too much. Thus, the second iteration was driven by the verb “Intrusion”. The idea is to intrude into what exists on the site, as an attempt to create more dialogue between production and the existing consumers. While the Santana Row site is mostly all retail and a few housing sat on top of it, my intervention is to challenge the single program retail on the ground level by interfering with small manufacture and leisure type programs to emphasize the need for alternative fulfillment and challenge the idea of consumerism. While this site is traditionally known for it’s fast consumerism practices, the goal of this intervention is to allow for true fulfillment without the masking from

FIG. 58 Intrusion Diagram Kept Buildings

FIG. 59 Intrusion Diagram Intrusions into Existing Buildings

expending.

FIG. 60 Intrusion Diagram Intrusions into Existing Buildings

METHOD 3B INTEGRATION WITH SITE Sloping part of the building to ground level attempts to allow for a seamless experience from the existing site to the intervention. This intervention is to serve those who want to actively make a lifestyle change against human consumerism and for those who are unaware of the environmental and ethical issues of consumerism. Therefore, while the vehicle and customer entrances are to be intentionally designed to allow for trouble-free experience, so are the circulation from sidewalks and existing pathways, for those who are just stumbling across the project.

third space (shopping mall)

shopping

socializing

LEARN & ADAPT

4 2

SMALL MANUFACTURE Flexible Manufacturing Continuous Manufacturing Intermittent Manufacturing Custom Manufacturing This allows the transparency of the manufacturing process of the product and allows for more control over quality of the product and work environment.

NEW RETAIL Rental subscription Short-term rental Sale of high durable clothes Resale

INTEGRATED MANUFACTURE Learn how to tailor Learn how to design Learn how to create

FIG. 61 Program Web Redefined Third Space

ALTERNATIVE FULFILLMENT Being near water Walking & playing with dogs Place to read a book Bird watching Phone free zone Meditation area Farm sanctuary Yoga / meditation area Outdoor area for sunbathing Donation / Kon Mari-esque place Unlimited books library Karaoke / place to jam to music Place to socialize with others Greenhouse Place to watch a movie The ultimate video chat experience Place for alone time Gratitude corner Napping pods Arts & Craft area Coffee Shop Dance floor

Alternative Fulfillment / 1 0

T H E S I T E - S A N T A N A R O W, S A N J O S E , C A

stevens creek blvd.

c ns

blv

c ns

ste

blv

winchester blvd.

ste

Alternative Fulfillment / 1 1

FORM DIAGRAMS

FIG. 62 Intrusion Diagram Existing Buildings

ste

lvd

. Alternative Fulfillment / 1 2

FORM DIAGRAMS

e ev

FIG. 64 Intrusion Diagram Sloped Intrusions

FIG. 63 Intrusion Diagram Intrusions

lvd

. Alternative Fulfillment / 1 3

FORM DIAGRAMS

d blv

e ev

ste

FIG. 65 Intrusion Diagram Overall Building with Intrusions

lvd

ste

lvd

Alternative Fulfillment

PROGRAM DIAGRAM

e ev

alternative fulfillment

k ee

d blv

/ 14

blv

small manufacture new fashion/retail integrated manufacture

FIG. 66 Program Diagram Overall Building with Intrusions

ste

lvd

Alternative Fulfillment / 1 5

C I R C U L AT I O N D I A G R A M S

k ee

v ste

alternative fulfillment

blv

small manufacture new fashion/retail integrated manufacture

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FIG. 67 & 68 & 69 Circulation Diagram Overall Building with Intrusions

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FIG. 70 & 71 & 72 Circulation Diagram Overall Building with Intrusions

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METHOD 3C ZOOMING INTO THE INTRUSIONS The strategy of intrusion is apparent in 2 different scales within this season of the project. The bigger scale intrusion is represented with the small manufacturing program mass intruding into the existing retail store. While the initial design iterations were more gestural, in this phase of work, the details and floor plans of how the interrupting masses interact with the existing big box store are being worked out. Being intentional with what walls to keep, demolish and working out how each of the program spaces relate to each other. The integration of an in-store recycling system turning garments into new ones is already developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel in collaboration with the non-profit H&M foundation. Their invention of the ‘Looop’ is currently the only in-store recycling machine, located in the H&M store in Stockholm. According to DesignBoom, it allows customers to be “able to watch the containersize machine recycle their old textiles into something new”. The way it works is that “unwanted garment is fed into the machine to get cleaned, shredded and spun into yarn. After about 5 hours, a new knitted garment is made from the piece put into the machine”. It is claimed that “the system uses no water and chemicals, thus having a significantly lower environmental impact than producing garments from scratch”.41 The hope for placing an onsite recycling and manufacturing system right by retail is to challenge the practice of consumerism.

Azzarello, “H&M’s ‘looop’ Recycling System

Transforms Unwanted Garments into New Fashion Favor78

ites.”

FIG. 73 Photo by DesignBoom

FIG. 74 Photo by Design Boom

FIG. 75 Photo by DesignBoom

FIG. 76 Photo by Design Boom

FIG. 77 Existing Buildings

FIG. 78 Intrusions to Existing Building

FIG. 79 Sloped Intrusions

FIG. 80 Overall Building with Intrusions

FIG. 81 Material Flow Diagram

FIG. 82 Retail Spaces

FIG. 83 Sloped Intrusions

FIG. 84 Overall Building with Intrusions

The smaller scale intrusion introduces an unconventional and forced way for customers to see alternative fulfillment at work while they participate in the fairly opposite activity. This iteration consists of glass tubes of integrated manufacture circulating the overall building, interrupting the normal experience of the retail spaces and small manufacturing. This is to challenge the consumers’ love for buying things and offer the opportunity to consider other methods of fulfillment.

FIG. 85 & 86 & 87 Interior views

FIG. 88 2nd Floor Plan

FIG. 89 1st Floor Plan

FIG. 90 Qualifying Review Poster

METHOD 3D REFINED DESIGN The Fulfillment Center is redefined in it’s form and program planning in this section of the book. While the overall form shows the big gestural movements of an element intruding to the existing form, in this final phase of work, details like material and connections of the intervention were explored. Since the intrusion of the boomerang was already pronounced, I decided to retain the same material used for the previous Container Store through the whole project for visual clarity.

FIG. 91 Exterior View from Winchester Blvd

FIG. 92 Exterior View from Winchester Blvd without trees & parking lot

FIG. 93 2nd Floor Plan

FIG. 94 1st Floor Plan

FIG. 95 View from vehicle drop off path

FIG. 96 View from sidewalk to drop off zone

FIG. 97 View from ramp towards factory/retail

FLOOR 06

FLOOR 05

FLOOR 04

FLOOR 03 92

FLOOR 02

FLOOR 01

FIG. 98 Program Diagram exploded by floors

FIG. 100 West Elevation

FIG. 99 Circulation Diagram with comparison

The placement of the alternative fulfillment programs and

retail

and

manufacturing

programs

were

intentionally placed throughout the building. The retail and manufacturing programs are in the center of the 2 buildings (existing Container Store and Best Buy) so that consumers have to pass by alternative fulfillment programs before they are able to get to the programs of retail. The diagram on the left illustrates the retail and manufacturing program with the bigger yellow circle while the many smaller circles show that every circulation entry and exits are tangent to an alternative fulfillment program. This allows for the alternative program to be used as a tool to interrupt the normal flow and circulation of consumers. The distribution of the alternative fulfillment programs are also separated by voice volume from ground to the highest floor. The first floor consists of programs that are more loud while the seventh floor consists of programs that are more quiet. In addition to creating the circulation along the curves and flow of the intrusion, there is a direct vertical circulation from the ground floor to the small manufacturing program on the second floor for material flow only. The intention for this circulation is to allow for consumers to see the direct pathway of material sorting of old fabric to production, producing all the products needed for the retail stores in the new Fulfillment Center.

CONCLUSION As seen with the consistent pattern in retail spaces in our built environment, it is clear that our culture is driven by satisfying retail therapy. The built environment is complicit in encouraging high-speed and consumption oriented lifestyles, as is evident in the privatization of public space, resulting in an infrastructure of capitalism which supports retail therapy as our primary mode of selfhealing and fulfillment. Unfortunately, the reality of human consumerism is that it is in an ongoing relationship with environmental degradation as well as the exploitation of less high-speed, consumption oriented way of living to allow for a deeper level of fulfillment without the cost of the environment.

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labor. The redefined “Fulfillment Center” will allow for a

FIG. 101 Photo by Good on You

Are there ways technology, aesthetic and psychology could shift the normalized architectural designs for industrial production. Although this problem may seem

untouchable

and

unapproachable

with

the

implications that only business sectors have the direct say in the factory production logistics, it should be considered to everyone who participates in the act of consumerism. Like Soper states, we live in a society that encourages “environmental crisis, consumerism, instant gratification, capitalism, and neoliberalism”. How could we shift our society in a way that partakes in sustainable consumerism? Can psychology and culture play a part of this thesis argument? While there may be opportunities for infrastructure design improvement to decrease the amount of waste being produced, it is important to acknowledge that the problem is rooted in humans and our psychological desires.

As our generation has been more aware of the ways our actions have negatively impacted the environment, through

social

media,

educational

articles

and

experiencing first hand with drastic and unpredictable change in climate. Fast Fashion is a huge contributor to climate change as it encourages the use of factories and the exploitation of labor, raising alarming ethical issues on the environment as well as humanity. According to Nature Climate Change, “textile production creates 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year, which is more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping”. Although, these issues stem from the bigger issue of human consumerism. That is, “human’s desire to own and obtain products and goods to meet one’s basic need” in our generation, one’s basic need to feel satisfied.

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FIG. 102 Photo by Good on You

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FIG. 103 Initial Collage of Factories

Acknowledging that the existence of factories and businesses are driven by human consumerism, What would it look like for us to rethink human fulfillment ? Quoting Kate Soper, a philosopher who coined the term ‘Alternate Hedonism’, what would it look like for us to dwell on the pleasures to be gained by adopting a less high-speed, consumption-oriented way of living. The highspeed consumption-oriented way of living is encouraged by the types of infrastructure we’re surrounded by. While the shopping mall was originally intended to be a design solution for the “third space” by Victor Gruen, which is “an oasis outside of the places we live & work, where quality time could be spent mingling with other people”, it has turned into a place that encourages the “highspeed consumption-oriented way of living. A sociologist, Ray Oldenburg later states, “What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly and pleasurably, a place on the corner, real life alternatives to TV, easy escapes from the cabin fever of marriage and family life that don’t necessitate getting into an automobile”.

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Could altering our current design response of the “third space” for our society play a

positive impact on the

ethical and environmental issues from the manufacturing industry? As Kate Soper states in the article The Trouble with Consumption, “consumerism is now questioned not only because of its ethical and environmental consequences, but also because of its negative impact on affluent consumers themselves, and the ways in which it compromises both sensual pleasure and more spiritual forms of well-being”. Re-visioning our society’s definition of the “third space” and “fulfillment” could allow for a new, more transparent level of consumption without the cost of the environment or the encouragement into capitalism.

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FIG. 104 Photo by Good on You

BIBLIOGRAPHY “A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future.” Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2017. https://www. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/A-NewTextiles-Economy_Full-Report_Updated_1-12-17.pdf. Azzarello, Nina. “H&M’s ‘looop’ Recycling System Transforms Unwanted Garments into New Fashion Favorites.” DesignBoom, October 16, 2020. https://www. designboom.com/technology/hm-looop-recyclingsystem-transforming-unwanted-garments-10-16-2020/. Balchandani, Anita, and Achim Berg. “The State of Fashion in 2020: Navigating Uncertainty.” McKinsey & Company, December 1, 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/ retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion#. Benton-Collins, Kendall. “3 Questions That Will Help You Avoid the Black Friday Hype.” Good On You, November 23, 2020. https://goodonyou.eco/black-friday/. Darmo, Jennifer. “20 Hard Facts About Fast Fashion.” Good On You, July 27, 2020. https://goodonyou.eco/fastfashion-facts/. “Fashion Transparency Index.” Fashion Revolution, 2020. https://issuu.com/fashionrevolution/docs/fr_ fashiontransparencyindex2020.

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“Fixing Fashion: Clothing Consumption and Sustainability.” House of Common Environmental Audit Committee, February 19, 2019. Gilmore, Nicholas. “Ready-to-Waste: America’s Clothing Crisis.” Saturday Evening Post, January 16, 2018. https:// www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/01/ready-wasteamericas-clothing-crisis/. Katanich, Doloresz. “Is Fast Fashion Slowing Down?,” April 29, 2019. https://www.euronews.com/living/2019/04/29/isfast-fashion-slowing-down. Kielburger, Craig, Holly Branson, and Marc Kielburger. WEconomy, 2018. Lush, Emily. “2019 Ethical Fashion Report.” Peppermint, April 17, 2019. https://peppermintmag.com/2019-ethicalfashion-report/. “Making Climate Change Fashionable - The Garment Industry Takes On Global Warming.” Forbes, December 3, 2015. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ jamesconca/2015/12/03/making-climate-changefashionable-the-garment-industry-takes-on-globalwarming/?sh=1796751779e4. Nijman, Shari. “UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion Addresses Damage of ‘Fast Fashion.’” UNEP, March 14, 2019. https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/ press-release/un-alliance-sustainable-fashion-addressesdamage-fast-fashion.

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Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place, 1999. Pater, Reece. “Is A Minimalist Wardrobe The Key To A Happier And More Sustainable Lifestyle?” Good On You, October 19, 2018. https://goodonyou.eco/minimalistwardrobe-sustainable-lifestyle/. Rauturier, Solene. “What Is Fast Fashion?” Good On You, May 10, 2020. https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/. Sandin, Gustav, and Greg Peters. “Environmental Impact of Textile Reuse and Recycling.” In Journal of Cleaner Production, 184:353–65, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jclepro.2018.02.266. Schlossberg, Tatiana. “How Fast Fashion Is Destroying the Planet.” The New York Times, September 3, 2019. https:// www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/review/how-fastfashion-is-destroying-the-planet.html. Siegle, Lucy. “Fast Fashion Is on the Rampage, with the UK at the Head of the Charge.” The Guardian, June 21, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/21/ fast-fashion-is-on-the-rampage-with-uk-at-the-head-ofthe-charge. Soper, Kate. “The Trouble with Consumption.” Places Journal, November 2020. https://placesjournal.org/ article/alternative-hedonism-and-the-trouble-withconsumption/.

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“The 2019 Ethical Fashion Report.” Ethical Fashion Guide, April 2019. https://media.businesshumanrights.org/media/documents/files/documents/ FashionReport_2019_9-April-19-FINAL.pdf. “The Price of Fast Fashion.” Nature Climate Change, January 2, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0058-9. “Volume and Consumption: How Much Does The World Buy?” Common Objective, May 14, 2018. https://www. commonobjective.co/article/volume-and-consumptionhow-much-does-the-world-buy. “Waste and Pollution.” Clean Clothes Campaign, 2019. https://cleanclothes.org/fashions-problems/waste-andpollution. “What Is a Living Wage?” Clean Clothes Campaign, n.d. https://fashionchecker.org/living_wage.html.

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THESIS 9 STUDIO Thesis section 9 is an undergraduate architecture thesis studio at California Polytechnic State University led by Brian Osborn. The studio pursues architecture as a medium for questioning the ontological assumptions that operate, largely under the cover of the status quo, to give shape to our built environment. We are especially curious about distinctions between right and wrong, true and false, mine and yours, in and out, us and them, queer and straight, black and white, domestic and wild, and so forth... During the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, Section 9 has championed the Wild Forms Initiative—a platform for of the methods and conventions of architecture and its discourse. A link to the studio prospectus is included below, as well as links to the work of its recent participants.

Idene Abhari, Abigail Anderson, Taelynn Dalle, Reii Nelle Del Campo, Rafael Gali, Jacob Good, Jake Hamilton, Serah Kallerackal, Kaleena Klimeck, Nadthachai Kongkhajornkidsuk, Heidi Kovalevsky, Sirina Law, Scott L’Esperance, Tammy Nguyen, Tejal Patel, Inno Yoro, Katherine Young, Olivia Young.

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spatial and formal speculation based on an interrogation

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