RE-HUMANIZATION: implantation of cellular architecture to catalyze habitation and development in large scale urban degradation
tyson phillips
for my mother, father, sister, and brother
Over the summer, I was working for a few weeks in an abandoned textile mill to be converted into artists studios. I quickly became infatuated with the idea of “urban exploring� but was deterred by the lack of vision that it currently holds. The popular ruin destination is often teetering on the edge of an entire district of decay - areas of town that, for various reasons, have been completely vacated of all business and residence. These areas are ripe for production, yet they remain unattended because people only desire the blog fodder that comes with exploring an urban ruin...
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Biology VS architecture (idea) Mass media/interest and site selection Process/Development More detail/beyond the metaphor Singular project development
image: progression of a 10 cm bone graft at 9 weeks and 23 weeks after surgery respectively new marrow begins to form around the ceramic implant and eventually disintegrates the bridge with 100% tissue reproduction
metaphor and inspiration: human anatomy
...However, this popular trend lends itself to distinct opportunity. These ruins have a following that could promote the area of degradation, and thanks to twitter, flickr, and tumblr, the buildings themselves are hotspots for the young and adventurous. I propose that these sites can be utilized. In erecting a new building adjacent to the ruinous structures, we can begin to reinhabit the border of the district. The two neighboring districts desire to be reconnected, and as the two pieces of bone involved in a graft, they only need a medium over which to travel. The ruin acts as a destination, drawing people to the area using clever publicity. The new architecture then works to direct (or bridge) those inhabitants toward the dead zone, presenting it as a new opportunity promoted by recent attention...
image: geotagging map of detroit by eric fischer blue represents posts on twitter, red represents photos on flickr, and white is dense combination of both
means of inquiry: mass media and information access
...As publicity of the architecture was derived from such media as flickr, twitter, and tumblr, these are the means by which I set out to find ruins to work with throughout the Great Lakes area. Aided greatly by the geotagging maps of Eric Fischer, I began to find places that were heavily photographed by everyone, or pockets that seemed to be of particular interest to local photographers. After cross referencing these with local stories and “trending� topics, I narrowed the scope down to a few ruins that fit the bill for urban exploration and provided an opportunity to build adjacently. Adding parameters such as location and accessibility revealed three sites of varying scale, material, utility, and building type...
image: abstraction of three great lakes sites theater in detroit MI, grain silo in buffalo NY, telescope mill in cleveland OH
means of production: three site interplay
...I then set about working with these at the same time, attempting to establish a set of architectural rules that apply to every situation. Working simultaneously allows for the architecture not to become too reliant on the context for its decisions. The goal for this study is to define an architectural style that is distinctly mine and may be applied to or at least provide influence for situations all over the United States.
image: sketch model of grain silo @ 1� = 16’ sunlight is brought to the north face of the massive silo through a simple refrlector at the top
means of production: three site interplay
the end... for now