To Be Both [Static] and [Adaptive]

E.R.A Michael McClelland: Architecture and Value

From E.R.A Website:

This past November at Carleton University’s Forum Lecture Series, ERA’s Michael McClelland presented on how changing cultural values interact with how we practice architecture.

Seeking to expand the range of what we think of as architecture, Michael’s talk asks, What should architects do? According to him, they shouldn’t only make buildings, but conduct research, engage the public, study the world, respond to changing values, and… throw parties.

Future of the Past: Toronto Urban Palimpsest

Palimpsest [noun]

A manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.

Oxford English Dictionary 2014

Introduction 

Rem Koolhaas discusses how “we discovered that… a large part of the world’s surface is under a particular regime of preservation and they cannot be changed… that made us suddenly aware that the world is now divided into areas that change extremely quickly and areas that cannot change.”

Source:

Areas that cannot change are cities, where half of the world population is living in urban centres. Preservation then takes over heritage or significance sites that deems valuable. The value of the artefact, either physical or not, must be assess. Two questions must be asked, what is the value of the artefact? And who is it valuable too?

Heritage preservation and adaptive reuse traditionally demands of us that we strip away time, revealing the layers of palimpsest, to restore details, elements and/or structure to its original appearance, negating the strata of time so often so well revealed in a single wall. And we do it sometimes as a matter of taste, time indeed clashing with time until one era’s tastes and preferences win out.

“By finding ways to preserve these kinds of buildings, not as museum pieces but as palimpsests themselves, will add new layers of meaning and memory to the cities experience.”

Source: Nathaniel Popkin, Hidden City Philadelphia  Hidden City Philadelphia

Thesis Statement
The architecture of cities all over the world is constructed through the removal and superimposition of buildings that create successive layers of palimpsest, which contributes to the loss of sense of place. New architectural proposals are divorced from the cultural and physical palimpsest that exists, disengaging from the city. Architecture has the potential to mediate the relationship between the layers of palimpsest that exist, uncovering a narrative of memories that people can experience within a place; by understanding how memories are constructed within architectural spaces.

Purpose

The architecture of cities all over the world is constructed through the removal and superimposition of buildings that create successive layers of palimpsest, which contributes to the loss of sense of place.

Position
Current preservation and adaptive reuse strategies have been unsuccessful in revealing the cultural and physical palimpsest that exists within a city, disengaging it from the city’s sense of place and collective memory/identity.

Research + DESIGN: Keeping BOTH in mind!

Please remember the first slide of the term:

Though it would seem tacit to the studio that design is instrumental to success, over the past week a few issues came about that should be shared with the studio.

PROBLEMS, POSITIONS, and STRATEGIES... oh my...
Some of you have experienced difficulty or apprehension in starting the project on account of the nature of articulating a clear Problem (Purpose) and Position (Thesis). At this early phase, it may be worth testing your ideas by filling in the blanks in this basic statement:

Problem/Purpose: "The problem with contemporary architecture is..."
*Note that "contemporary" is not necessarily a stylistic issue, rather a matter of current praxis.

Position/Thesis: "I believe that architecture should..."
*Note that this statement is based upon your opinion.

Strategies: "In order to accomplish such a thesis goal, the design of architecture should: X, Y, Z"

THREE important issues should be highlighted:
A) All of the discussions should pertain primarily to ARCHITECTURE rather than architecturally-related issues such as planning, urban design, programming, typologies, industrial design, or interior design. The architectural issue can cascade and impact those facets but your work should begin with ARCHITECTURE. You are all pursuing a Master of Architecture degree - do not stray from that.
B) This framework does not propose that your work is a "solution" nor would it "solve" anything. Your position is merely demonstrated in your presentation of the design strategies.
C) Some of you have been too focused upon tactical or strategic goals before confidently articulating the key problem and your thesis. Doing this is backwards and will at best result in a force-fit of ideas and at worst will be an incongruous design project. Do not put the horse before the cart; ensure you have clarity on the problem and thesis before attempting strategic and tactical gestures.

DESIGN APPLICATION

Given that all of you successfully were accepted into the program with a letter of intent and most of you have since refined that to a proto-thesis within Professor Cirka's seminar, this first project should be understood as an opportunity to develop design strategies to assert showcase your positioned response.  Do not forget that you should be spending as much time refining your design as your text - especially in this studio.

If you have developed a clear architectural problem and positioned architectural thesis, the next step is to articulate architectural strategies. Such strategies would be more universal statements on what should be done in architecture to appropriately demonstrate and reinforce your position. Within the next few days everyone should have a confidence in their first draft of the proposition (Problem, Position, Strategies) and a rough design concept that showcases the ideas. Design work will be critical to begin.

BLOGGING

Some of you have expressed a desire to propose ideas outside of studio hours. Please use this platform as a vehicle to post your ideas and receive modest feedback. This allows everyone to collaborate and share their ideas, development, and criticisms of work. All of you should have access or at least received a request to join. If you have not, please contact the studio instructors and they will try again.