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theCharrette theCharrette tulane school of architecture tulane school of architecture August 2014
MISS
We are students interested in contemplating what it means to study architecture in a city as unique as New Orleans. The potential of journalism within the realm of architecture allows us to research, investigate, and theorize the future direction of design in a highly impactful profession. Due to the well-positioned nature of Tulane School of Architecture within both the larger architecture community and the city, we have powerful resources at our disposal and students who represent differing backgrounds - all converging to form what we call theCharrette. theCharrette is critical, interdisciplinary, and a positive force. It communicates and makes bold assertions. It creates a culture of debate and a voice for which we bring forth our agenda: a medium of ideas uniting in the form of a magazine.
SION On The Cover Delta Works | Europoort, South Holland, Netherlands
LET CAMERON CONKLIN | TULANE ‘14
FROM THE EDITOR
TER Hello all! I am happy to introduce the August 2014 issue of theCharrette. We are excited to be starting the school year off with another great edition. In this issue we explore a number of hot topics in the world of design. I first want to bring your attention to 2 articles by John Coyle that focus on creative industries integration in the form of art, music, and architecture. I also want to highlight a dual perspective on the effect of branding presented by Laura Aronoff and Chesley McCarthey. Lastly, Eric Bethany provides a compelling discussion of flood management and design, which is particularly poignant as we commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Along with our articles, I want to point out some of the design features in the issue- particularly experimentation with
font sizes and text placement. Unfortunately this will be my last issue as Editor in Chief. I want to thank all of my advisors, our editors and writers over the last 4 years that have made theCharrette one of the best parts of my college experience. I am excited to announce that Eric Bethany will be taking over as Editor in Chief. He is starting his 5th year in TSA and has written for theCharrette for the last 2 semesters. Look out for great things in the coming year! I know Eric will continue to push theCharrette forward. Lastly, thank you to all of our readers for your support! We couldn’t do it without you! All my best, Cameron
CREATIVE INTEGRATIONS JOHN COYLE
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BRANDED HUMANITY
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HISTOCRICAL PRECEDENTS ERIK BLANKENBAKER
LAURA ARONOFF
#NEWORLEANS
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CHESLEY McCARTHEY
DESIGN PERSONA JOHN COYLE
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KOSS
JOHN COYLE
LEGO
ERIC BETHANY
BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
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JOHN COYLE
CREATIVE integrations
BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
This March, over 12,000 people poured through the flood gates on Tchoupitoulas to attend the BUKU Music + Art Project. The young music festival is increasingly gaining national attention in its third year, thanks to headliners such as Nas, David Guetta and Ellie Goulding, the unique atmosphere, and the efforts of the BUKU Art Department. What sets this festival apart from others is the unique industrial ambience created by “What sets this festival the site itself, and by the four apart from others is the unique industrial major art instalambiance created by lations on site. takes the site itslef, and by BUKU place in Mardi the four major art inGras World, stellations on site.� with one of the main stages housed in the actual float den. As the site is bordered by the Mississippi and the floodwall, festival goers always have an interesting view. The Crescent City Connection provides a fitting backdrop to the event, characterized by large warehouses on the rivers edge. As attendees enter through the flood gate, they are greeted by the BUKU tower, an
installation designed by Tulane School of Architecture students Max Katz, Jonathan Sharp and Charles Boyne. This tower of aluminum box trusses and neon lights represents the beacon to the festival and beautifully contrasts against the weathering power plant behind it. Two shipping containers are creatively retrofitted to support a giant hammock and features work from local graffiti artists and a cell phone charging station inside. Fort BUKU, as it is affectionately called, provides guests with a comfortable area to rest while they enjoy the show. The top of each container is an accessible deck allowing an elevated view towards the stage. Towards the river another hammock supporting installation is known as the bukove. Multiple hammocks and benches are assembled as a kit of parts between 50 gallon drums. Inside the drums trees have been planted, the only plant material on this industrial site, to provide much needed shade. This material pallet and creative approach to design adds to the interest and identity of BUKU.
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BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
I was fortunate enough to speak with the Production Designer, recent Tulane School of Architecture graduate Christopher Berends, about his experience with BUKU Art+Music Project: What did your responsibilities include as Production Designer? To design and lead the execution of the physical site as well as the components that make it up, specifically art installations. We had a heavy hand in design of those four installations as well as the On Site dance tent and the overall layout of the festival. How did you get the ideas for these installations ? Ideas for these installations (specifically the hammocks) came from the need for certain amenities in a fairly empty site. We created stadium seating / lounging with the big hammock (fort buku), a live performance art space that allowed people to interact with artists and take a piece home (the live gallery). The bukove was created to provide greenery and a relaxation area in a rather desolate concrete site. How does your architectural education influence your decisions? Architecture is at the core of festival design. The major difference between your typical architecture typology and festival
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structure is its impermanence. Everything created for an event must be able to be quickly assembled, disassembled, and stored. My thesis focused on this concept and aimed to develop a new way in which this temporal architecture could both move from point A to point B as well as affect each site it approached.
What were your goals for the project this year? To ensure all of our installations were better and bigger and more reproducible than the year before, basically transitioning to launch a number of new installations for this coming year. How early do you start working before the actual day of the festival? Typically design starts about 2 months before an event, fabrication begins about 1 month out, and on site assembly begins about 2 weeks out. We are off site within about 4 days after the event. How has the festival grown as a result of the efforts of the art department? The Art department focuses on the identity of the festival which is crucial to the photogenics of the festival. Therefore all of the festival footage seen following the event is enhanced by our work.
Unevolved Brands | Graham SMITH
branded
HUMANITY
14 LAURA ARONOFF
Personal Logo | Micheal BLINDERBACH As the new generation of young adults - Generation Y we are called - begins to take over the professional world, it brings along new trends and influential change. We are a generation with a competitive drive to stand out from the crowd with our creativity and passion, and we thrive off the notion that “image is everything.” We are changing the professional world to revolve less around general hard work and more around fast-paced strategic planning. With this growing influence from our generation, successful businesses today focus on creative differentiation through branding. No matter what business or market, everyone from “To have a successful brand the product huge corporations to individual artists must be unique” now uses branding as a main component of their competitive advantage. To have a successful brand, the product must be unique. The brand image must immediately grab consumer attention and represent the product as a symbol of the brand. Today, consumers often value the brand more than the actual product. And for any industry that involves art or design, the visual symbol or logo of the brand is its most important asset. In fact, the logo has become an art form in itself. It involves strategic research, careful planning, and close attention to detail. So, how do you create the right logo for your brand? As explained in Entrepreneur Magazine in the article, “How to Create a Logo,” the logo tells a story about your company. The logo represents everything your company
stands for in a small image that can be duplicated and reproduced. Entrepreneur Magazine explains three types of logos: font-based logos, in which the font creates a distinctive vibe that represents the unique brand, logos that illustrate the literal service that the company offers, and “abstract-graphic symbols” that consumers can associate with the company’s brand (Entrepreneur 2014). The magazine highl lights certain key aspects of logo creation every new logo designer must focus on: Simplicity: Keep It Simple Stupid. Logos are not meant to be intricate masterpieces, but simple masterpieces. The image must be easily recognized, duplicated, and deciphered. It should be identifiable in any size, lighting, or atmosphere. Symbolism: First off, the logo should symbolize the industry. Consumers should be able to glance at the logo and immediately understand if it is for a pastry chef or interior designer. The logo should specifically reflect the message or purpose of you business. Authenticity: Your logo should not be trendy. It should be classic and unique to your brand. In 75 years, consumers should still be able to appreciate the same logo as a distinctive, appealing brand representation. These helpful tips are only the beginning of creating the best possible logo for a new brand. Now get started - you’ve got some serious branding to do!
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St. Louis Cathedral | New Orleans, LA
#neworleans:
THE BRANDING OF A CITY
18 CHESLEY McCARTHY
Streetcar | New Orleans, LA
Just like people, every city has a personality. More often than not, the natives understand the city’s character deeply; they hear the backbeat that never ceases and see the flaws, but forget about them in the face of forming a strong community. The outsider knows the city at surface level, only taking interest in where they find comfort and hearing only the main beat humming away. Of all the cities in the world, I think New Orleans must have “Out of all of the citthe greatest level of ies in the world, I think disparity between a New Orleans must native and outsider have the greatest level understanding and of disparity between interpretation. On a native and outsider one side, this city is understanding and a perfect balance interpretation. ” between energy and relaxation, offering immeasurable opportunities for exploration and discovery but in a very relaxed tone. Though the city never sleeps, everyone has a loose, take-it-slow attitude that you cannot find in any other community. On the other side, the city is a tourist trap, drawing in people seeking relaxation and pleasure but often limiting their search and exploration. These people enter the city with their own bias and opinions, tagging New Orleans cuisine with “#eatlocal” and “#nola” and discrediting the distinctive threads that hold the city together. These two perspectives have been especially conflicting over the past ten years
as the city struggles to rebuild itself in the hands of generations of natives and young transplants. I must confess, I am an outsider; my knowledge of the City Of New Orleans stems from a collection of anecdotes passed down to me from family members, from encounters with locals, and from the two short years I have spent in this city. Though my understanding breaches on just beyond skin-deep, I have heard the personality of this city once had vibrant streets and a vision of hospitality. Though most of these elements still exist, Hurricane Katrina cleared corridors of activity, opening up space for transplants to project their interpretations and visions. In the place of streets that over the years grew to cater to a certain scene lay blocks of vacated spaces and quiet whispers of what once lived there. After the storm, Freret Street, Oak Street, and Ma- “In place of streets that ple Street, to name over the years grew to just a few, devel- cater to a certain scene oped as corridors lay blocks of vacated of engagement and spaces and quiet whisentertainment, but pers of what was once there. ” catered towards a different crowd. Often these corridors developed in the hands of non-natives, people that entered a city with a bias and liking from wherever they travelled and holding their own interpretations of the comfort that was supposed to exist in the Big Easy.
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Wayfare | Freret St, New Orleans, LA
On a visit to Freret Street Hardware, I asked where I might find the nearest fabric store, assuming that on such an active street one would not be too far off the beaten path. She replied with a nostalgic smile, “The nearest one is in Metarie. There used to be a bunch down here before the storm, but they all got swept up and turned into something new after the storm.” In the place of those vacated shops on Freret, places such as Dat Dog, Mojo Coffee House, and Company Burger have sprung up. Though these restaurants are undeniably delicious and successful, they have brought a whole new sort of crowd to the table. There you will find college students and young adults, often iPhone in hand the second they receive their order, ready to upload a picture of their meal with captions and trendy New Orleans hashtags. Yet in doing so, they have completely forgotten about the essence of New Orleans. New Orleans once spoke for itself, but the growth of social media has projected New Orleans as both a lifestyle and a brand. Furthermore, many start-up companies have led to the branding of New Orleans. Tchoup Industries, a local company that creates backpacks from a houseboat on a Louisiana swamp, claims to create goods that “support a thriving local community” and “produce the most relevant products
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possible” for the local community. They construct the bags from recycled rice bags, handwoven fabric panels and genuine Louisiana alligator skin, taking care to address “the negative effects of oil” in Southern Louisiana. Though their mission seems tailored to the unique Louisiana community, each bag sells for $250 a piece. In selling “genuine Louisiana” goods, they effectively eliminate any profit from the local New Orleans community, one that has always, from my understanding, grappled with economic instability. Other stores also sell the Louisiana Brand, such as Krewe du Optic and Homestead on Lowerline Street. These places advertise a Louisiana lifestyle at a high cost, in a city that once held its own in music on the streets and good food. This is the challenge – how does New Orleans hold on to its roots in the face of change and growth? From what I have heard and seen, New Orleans was the perfect illustration of activity and history, masked by a layer of mystery and disillusionment that one could only understand from immersion. Today, these elements still exist, but they must fight to hold their own with those that think they know New Orleans - those that write “#eatnola” and seek a Louisiana lifestyle that is in conflict with how New Orleans was once understood.
Seattle Space Neede | LEGO
LEGO
The World’s
24 ERIC BETHANY
Greatest Toy In terms of quantity, Lego bricks are far and away the best-selling toy of all time, with more than 550 billion sold as of last year. Generations have grown up with the toy, sometimes passing the same sets down to kids and grandkids. LEGOLAND themeparks entertain millions of visitors every year, and this year’s LEGO Movie made over $400 million, with a sequel planned for release in
2017. These staggering numbers become even more impressive when one considers the Danish company’s modest beginnings in the wake of the Great Depression, as well as the fact that the company almost went bankrupt as it entered the 21st century. The timeline below contains the most significant dates in the history of the world’s third-largest toy maker, which turns 82 this year.
LEGO TimeLine | Eric BETHANY
1932: Ole Kirk Kristiansen 1970: Company 1952: Company founds LEGO Group (”LEGO” reaches 1,000 expands, first LEGO from Danish “leg grodt” or employees plant constructed “play well”); company has 6 employees and makes home 1996 goods and wooden toys la 1946: LEGO Group 1960: Wooden toy 1982: Company purchases their first warehouse burns; 19 production shifts to celebrates 50-year plastic injectionr plastic-only anniversary molding machine
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1930
1940
1950 1948: LEGO Group has 50 employees
1960
1970
1980
1961: First 1973: LEGO North logotype estabAmerican lished sales 1968: LEGOLAND Billund opens; company buys first computer
1942: LEGO workshop in Billund, Denmark burns down; OKK rebuilds and production resumes 1958: Modern studand-tube LEGO brick introduced
1990
19 Calif S
1994: Com nearly 9,00 ee
2005: LEGO Group sells majority stake of LEGOLAND theme parks; company has less than 5,000 employees 6: LEGO.com aunched 2014: LEGO Mo vie release d, ea rns 998: Company over $400 million records first worldwide deficits
000: Deal with Warner ros. to launch LEGO Harry Potter series
2000
2010
2020
2004: Major deficits recorded
2017: LEGO 999: LEGOLAND Movie sequel fornia opens; LEGO planned Star Wars series launched mpany has 2011: LEGOLAND 00 employFlorida opens es 2007: New leadership and major restructuring bring first profits in a decade
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Bridge | New Orleans, LA
KO
28 JOHN COYLE
SS on art and design
Hayloader | New Orleans, LA
Space, scale, form, context and composition: These terms are used in the language of architecture school on a daily basis. Yet these concepts are not exclusive to architecture, but also used to discuss works of “While art and architec- art. While art and ture share many of the architecture share same concerns, they many of the same often occupy different concerns, they often occupy different worlds.” worlds. Both professions are about the poetics of bringing pieces together. Art can be an inspiration for architects, and likewise architecture can inspire art. Architecture in New Orleans is one the many things that influence the work of Gene Koss. The artist believes that “New Orleans is a special place in terms of architecture”, and appreciates the formal qualities of the levees, facades, bridges, and courtyard gardens. Koss came to New Orleans in 1976 to teach at the Newcomb Art Department at Tulane University. He did not expect the tremendous support that allowed him to push the limits of the material and challenge the way people think of glass works of art. Successfully taking glass “off the pedestal, to stand on its own”, Koss has redefined the medium through his large scale cast glass and steel sculptures. Koss is inspired by agriculture, machinery, architecture, landscape and place. These are things
which architects are influenced by as well. Koss explains: “An artist is inspired by their environment”, and cites the work of Frank Lloyd Wright as innovative in the way in which the architect was inspired by the materials of the land. This consideration for siting and relationship to context is yet another way in which art shares some of the sensibilities of architecture. Some of the other ways in which Koss believes the two fields overlap is the consideration for how the piece comes away from the ground, how the materials work together as one composition, and the types of connections that allow this. In architecture, like art, beauty is often found in the details. Koss is also a fan of the work of Frank Gehry and Richard Serra, who coincidently use the same engineer for their sculptural work. The influence of architecture is very evident in Koss’s work, which often feature large wood or “The influence of steel members as architecture is very armatures for cast evident in Koss’s work, glass. A great ex- which often feature ample of this can large wood or steel be found directly members as armaoutside the architures for cast glass. ” tecture building on the academic quad. “Timber” is a large scale piece that looks as though a row of castglass units are counterbalanced by the massive piece of oak bolted to a steel base.
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Lake Neshonoc | New Orleans, LA In the world of art, his work continues to set the bar and aid in the growth of glass sculpture as a celebrated medium. He operates his own studio on the river and continues to teach at Tulane’s world class facilities for glass, offering one of the best programs in the country. The teaching style is very hands on, with the master artist giving demos on the very process he pioneered. Koss challenges his students to push boundaries and has them look at architecture for inspiration. Much like in architecture school, Koss encourages his students to maintain a sketchbook, and supports the rigor of fussing and fiddling with an idea. Architecture students are no strangers to exploring ideas through iterations, and Koss has found many architecture students take his class over the years and experiment with the material.
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Thames Flood Barrier | Newham, ENGLAND
BEFORE THE LEV
designing for floo
34 ERIC BETHANY
VEES BREAK:
oding
Oosterscheldekering | NETHERLANDS After researching the topic of flooding and rising water levels, it is hard to ignore the urge to take to the nearest street corner with a poster and a bullhorn and start shouting doomsday prophecies. The numbers don’t lie: in 2013 alone, devastating floods occurred in almost every region of the world, causing billions in damage and thousands of fatalities. While underdeveloped regions experienced the heaviest losses of life and property, countries like the United States, Argentina, and Germany also suffered. Many experts point to development as the reason floods are more frequent and destructive; deforestation, land subsidence, and poor drainage are all products of human development, and they read like an ingredient list for a catastrophic floods. In Louisiana, flooding is a part of life; levees are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget that they exist to keep the country’s largest river from picking a new path through New Orleans’ Garden District. Countries like the Netherlands have also adapted to living under “There is no shortconstant threat age of impressive of inundation man-made structures and have develdesigned to keep the oped some of the water out.” world’s most advanced infrastructural projects to keep their country safe. There is no shortage of impressive man-made structures designed to keep the water out. The Venetian government has spent the last ten years and nearly $7 billion building a system of massive gates to protect their
city. Kuala Lumpur has an enormous, three-level tunnel whose roadways can be closed to allow the entire tunnel to flood and save the downtown area from flash floods. The Dutch built a two-part gate - each part the size of the Eiffel Tower on its side - to protect Rotterdam. Each of these monumental infrastructure projects are successful as flood protection, but they also “Each of these monhave high capital re- umental infrastrucquirements, constant ture projects are maintenance, and successful as flood inevitably cause en- protection, but they vironmental damage. also have high capiThey are almost guartal requirments...” anteed to become obsolete at some point in the future. For this reason, many forward-thinking architects and planners are approaching the problem in new ways in search of more sustainable, efficient, and longer-lasting methods for mitigating the effects of flooding. Most people who have spent any serious amount of time in New Orleans are familiar with the love/hate relationship between the Mississippi River and the Crescent City. The city was built on natural levees created by centuries of sediment distribution. Over time, the river was contained and controlled with manmade devices, and the swampy areas outside the city center were pumped out and developed. Now, the Army Corp of Engineers fights a constant battle against a mechanized river that threatens to breach the levees and flood the city.
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FDR Drive post Hurricane Sandy | New York, NEW YORK
The Dutch followed a similar path in the development of their country, leading eventually to the construction of an ingenious network of dikes and floodgates. Recently, however, the Dutch have begun to follow a different tactic: instead of constantly building, rebuilding, and repairing structures to prevent flooding, they are now allowing certain areas to flood in order to keep the water out of more populated areas. Those who owned property in the new floodplains were forced to relocate, but were given financial assistance by the Dutch government. Relinquishing a certain amount of control over the river by allowing it to move more freely resulted in enhanced protection where it was most needed. Controlled flooding is not a new idea; Louisiana has near-identical systems in place at locations like the Morganza Spillway. During the 2011 Mississippi River floods, the spillway gates were opened, flooding three million acres of rural Louisiana, but critically relieving pressure on Baton Rouge and New Orleans. What is a new idea - and a hot topic for forward-
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thinking architects and designers around the world - is the idea of designing a landscape that treats rising waters as an opportunity for environmental improvement and social interaction. Hurricane Sandy was the secondcostliest hurricane in United States history and a huge wake-up call for designers and planners in New York and the surrounding region. As part of the recovery process, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has implemented a $17 billion plan to prepare the state for “Hurricane Sandy future storms, and a was...a huge wake up major component of call for designers and that plan deals with planners in New York.” the reconstruction of New York’s coastlines in a way that combines natural flood-protection strategies with public green spaces. Dating back to 2010, several New York-based architectural offices have conducted research and speculative projects on this topic, and two stand out for their relevance and potential for swift deployment: Architecture Research Office’s “Rising Currents” project, and SCAPE Studio’s “living breakwaters.”
“Rising Currents,” part of a 2010 Museum of Modern Art exhibition (predating Sandy by more than two years), calls for a drastic change to the articulation of the edge of Manhattan - namely, a shift from abrupt, “hard” edges of wharves, docks, and concrete embankments to a graduated and “soft” edge of porous organic material modeled after the wetland vegetation that once filled New York’s harbor. This green barrier would extend into the city’s streets, increasing the amount of public park space in the city, as well as improving the drainage performance of the city’s streets, which in their current form serve only to encourage water to spread “By combining three out into the city. By zones- marshes, wet- combining three zones - tidal salt marshes, lands and parks, the project aims to miti- freshwater wetlands, and a network of parks gate flooding.” - the project aims to mitigate storm surge and flooding. Architectural Research Office (the designers behind the new Zimple Residence at Tulane) continues to pursue rising water levels in their research, especially after efforts such as Governor Cuomo’s plan, which brings projects like “Rising Currents” closer to becoming a reality. Another firm that exhibited at the same Museum of Modern Art show in 2010, SCAPE Studio, has conducted an immense amount of research on the topic of rising water levels and flooding, leading to several speculative proposals for new waterfronts in and around New York City. The “living breakwaters” project proposes to transform the coastline of Staten Island into an expansive ecological buffer zone that reduces the effects of storm surge. This buffer zone extends from inland floodplains across the coastal edge and out to navigational channels; a layered system of tidal flats, protective vegetation, and natural breakwaters provide not only effective flood protection, but also enhance the community’s connection to the
water. The preservation of that connection was paramount to the design team out of respect for the historical importance the water has held as the economic and social heart of the community. By partnering with local schools and outreach initiatives, the project seeks to encourage new generations to respect and treasure the waterfront. In the same way that levees in New Orleans are both essential flood protection devices and places for social interaction, SCAPE Studio hopes that their vision of the Staten Island waterfront could become an engine for social and educational progress, as well as protection from rising waters. In addition to design professionals, students around the world are attempting to create a more harmonious relationship between water and developed land. The Jacques Rougerie Foundation, named for the French architect/oceanographer, holds an annual speculative competition, with a category in architecture adapted to rising water. Last year’s laureates in this category created a sustainable system for deploying mangrove trees - coastal plants known for their flood-mitigation abilities - along coastlines in need of increased flood protection. It is clear that flooding and rising water levels are going to become a central issue in the years to come, and the integration of sustainable flood-mitigation infrastructure into developed areas may likely prove to be the best solution. All of these projects feature an interdisciplinary approach to design resulting in a comprehensive and innovative solution to a common problem. While these theories have yet to be applied to New Orleans, it is not difficult to imagine how they might be highly effective. A shift from flood control to controlled flooding - and the creation of new, floodable landscapes - represents an exciting opportunity for designers seeking to serve the community through their projects. Hopefully, it will not take a major disaster for such proposals to become a reality.
Green Barrier Design | New York, NEW YORK
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Arie di Roma | Rome, ITALY
HISTO
42 ORICAL B. LANKKENAKER
precedents
237 years ago, a group of men redefined society’s most basic, most fundamental principles of the way the world works. Charged with a dream of self-governance in a global community in which such an idea was completely foreign, they rekindled the long extinguished idea that a group of free men have the courage and ca“The buildings of white pacity to decide marble in Washington for themselves the direction not only played off of their society. the architecture of the Greeks but also thier This revolutionary idea for a ideas and ideals.” new type of life drew heavily from the Anicent Greeks - in both architecture and social structure. The buildings of white marble in Washington not only played off the architecture of the Greeks but also their ideas and ideals. However, one can’t help but wonder if instead of recalling the classical styles of Greece and Rome, the founders of our country had instead ushered in an entirely new language of architecture, how our country would look today. The identity of Rome to this day remains largely determined by the genius of engineers thousands of years ago – yet while still a young country, “American” architecture in such a short period of time has established itself a new identity as that of a truly capitalist society; the language we have created is that of strip malls and surface parking – the cheapest and fastest wins. For a country so adept at innovating some of the largest breakthroughs of the modern era, which prides itself on its ability to create and think creatively, we are remarkably inept at envisioning a new world for ourselves. A world with our own architectural language that
responds to the new world we are quickly ushering in with networking, technology, massive advances in materials technology, and the culture established 237 years ago that nearly every American still holds dear to this day. We profess to be the leaders of the new, free world that we have created; yet the Italian futurists were closer to envisioning a new language over a hundred years ago than we have ever been. There have, of course, been attempts and stabs, however small, at establishing an identity for ourselves. The varied climate zones spanned by our borders give an astounding number of opportunities for a variety of “American” styles. Those meandering the streets of Chicago will recognize its own specific school of architecture, defined in large part by its three-piece windows “The varied climate which attempt to enzones spanned by courage airflow – but our borders give an they should also recall astounding number its foundation as an of opportunities for Art Deco revisitation a variety of “Ameriof the formal nature can” styles.” of a Greek column. Architecture schools throughout the country push their students to think beyond the historical limitations of the past and create something truly new, but they do so with a crutch when they emphasize endless studies of historical precedents and procedures. These ideas tend to be sampled and thrown together into a project which may be powerful and beautiful, but is not “new”. On the otherhand, architects are also limited and confined by the growing emphasis on high profits which often leads to cutting corners.
44 UNKNOWN | Chicago, ILLINIOS
My challenge to the American architects of tomorrow, those still in school today, is not to try and perfect or recreate the achitecture of the past or to choose between money and style. Instead, American design should represent the innovative and revolutionary way of life that our founders established 237 years ago. A way of life that was based on freedom of expression and fighting for ones beliefs and ideals “American design should represent the above all else. Yet I innovative and revolu- will admit American tionary way of life that history has not provided such inspiraour founders established 237 years ago” tion consistently. We are a country that stood up to the greatest power in the world proclaiming that all men are created equal, just to enslave others to do our work for us. We have been as intolerant as any society in history – even today we are accused of running a prison-industrial complex, or if not that then a military-industrial complex. There is little doubt that we are far from perfect. Even so, from the moment of our birth we have shook the foundations of society and con-
tinued to do so in ever-increasing levels until culminating after the Second World War. Our history has been short-lived but I personally refuse to believe that momentary falters are premonitions of our fall. Despite recent events, and despite the widespread global adversity, the world still looks to us as its leader. However, that means leading the world in all aspects, not just in military might. As a country, we should represent the forefront of thought on technology, education, and all other aspects that make a country what it is. These characteristics are represented in art and architecture and they are noticeably lacking in contemporary American culture. Whoever we are as a people must be represented in stone (metaphorically, of course – all materials are welcome) so that in another 2000 years, when the world is in ruins, another brave group of men may gaze upon the structures which define us and hope to one day again recreate the pursuit of a more perfect world: because for all the wrong deeds we have done, that is what we represent.
WAL-MART supercenter | Nicholasville, KY
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Cameron Conklin Editor in Chief Tulane ‘14 Baltimore, MD
Chesley McCarthy Editor TSA ‘17 Huntsville, AL
Christina Cheney Editor Tulane ‘14 Mobile, AL
John Coyle Writer TSA ‘14 Centereach, NY
Eric Bethany Writer TSA‘15 Charleston, SC K. Bernie Lakkenbar Writer Tulane ‘15 Raleigh, NC
Laura Aronoff Writer Tulane ‘15 Marietta, GA
We as a staff appreciate the usage of imagery in a fully academic context. All rights reserved by the owner.
FRONT AND BACK COVER
CREATIVE INTEGRATIONS
CRED branded humanity
#NEWORLEANS
lego
KOSS on art & design
BEFORE THE LEVEEES BREAK HISTORIC PRECEDENTS
image courtesy of , www.flickr.com images courtesy of buku.com; April Siese, flickr.com;
DITS images courtesy of Graham Smith, flickr.com; Neal Brooks, flickr.com
image courtesy of Kevin Yuel, www.flickr.com; Joshua Brasted, flickr.com
images courtesy of LEGO.com (info+some images); thebricklife.com (figure images); screencrush.com (movie poster); lego.wikia.com (duck picture)
images courtesy of KOSS
images courtesy of Frits De Jong, www.flickr.com; David Shankbone, flickr.com; dlandstudio, flickr.com image courtesy of Bug Malone, www.flickr.com; Jim, www.flickr.com