Review on Tuesday

Can we begin at 3 on Tuesday? I would like to combine our group with Marc Schaut's. this will make the day longer but will give you all a different and expanded view of the issues involved in research. Please let me know if you have class then. Sarah and Wasana, do you? if you come at 4 because of class, that should be fine.

for lexie

james turrell @ pace wildenstein until the 28th. each panel is like a time-sensitive rothko cloud floating on a field. interesting afterimage effects. adjacent room has light "planes" which change based on the viewer's standpoint. so not a new name for your list, but if you have time go check it out. some of the panels were quite mesmerizing.

http://www.pacewildenstein.com/Exhibitions/ViewExhibition.aspx?artist=JamesTurrell&title=LightLeadings&type=Exhbition&guid=ec6a2597-9f4b-4a96-a7bc-d6725d70caca

polemic draft 2

Therapy is a healing process. This process exteriorizes the individual’s emotional interior, so it can be viewed, discussed and understood from a different perspective. When the internal is projected outside, and perceived, transformation occurs. This transformation can occur through different means, including talking (talk therapy) and art-making (art therapy).

Talk therapy occurs in the therapist’s office, which often occupies an apartment in a residential building or a suite in an office building. Therapy lives in the borrowed architectural typologies of domesticity and work, neither of which was designed for this particular activity.

Art therapy occurs in a variety of settings: clinical, educational, executive or studio. Like talk therapy, art therapy does not have an architectural typology of its own.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and propose an architectural typology that facilitates the therapeutic process and its potential for transformation.

Therefore a definition of therapy is necessary. Talk therapy occupies linguistic space and involves verbal communication, while art therapy occupies visual space and involves visual communication. Defined in this broader context of communication, talk therapy and art therapy are given the freedom to walk out of the therapist’s office and perambulate within a broader spectrum of programming, users, and thus, architecture. If the hard core of psychotherapy involves a therapist and a patient, its concentric ripples involve any meaningful, healing interaction and communication of thoughts and feelings. An artist’s exhibition can be therapeutic, for both artist and viewer. A conversation with a trusted friend can be therapeutic, and so can a walk through a stimulating environment.

Therapy thus defined extends outward to people who may not see a therapist. Therapy thus weaves itself into the fabric of the community.

I am advocating the creation of the Urban Transformative. This will be space for therapy, its hard core and its ripples. This will be a multi-use space, or a series of spaces, with variable privacy, and which will include talk therapy, individual or group therapy, and art therapy with an exhibition component.

Seen in this light, the proposal of an architectural typology for the therapeutic process entails a multi-faceted investigation of the relationship between mind, body, and space. What is the relationship between sitting and talking, walking and talking, viewing and healing, inside and outside?

The exhibition component serves as a link to the general public. This project is located in Chelsea, an area densely populated by art galleries and traversed by the High Line, which will become a public outdoor space.

Exhibitions and the future development of the High Line involve perambulation. Traditionally, talk therapy is conducted while sitting on comfortable furniture. This project will investigate the relationship between therapy and perambulation in the context of the pedestrian interior. Can the pedestrian interior form a new architectural typology for therapy?

This project investigates an architecture that, in itself, transforms the traditional healing process by incorporating talk therapy and art therapy, by creating a therapeutic locus that can be experienced in a variety of ways, sitting and walking, private and public and by extending therapy to the general public via exhibition space.

Site/Program Diagram

Part of what I am considering is natural light. Since my site only has windows on three sides, this informs some of my adjacency's.

Site/Program Diagram

materiality

Why did I pick a church?

My interest in church typology has derived from personal experience and observation. Many Asian has come to embrace Christianity, which is fundamentally a western religion. However, most of the churches for the Asian communities follow western and modernist aesthetics. Therefore I believe that there resides a design opportunity to address church design for the Asian community that reflects Asian cultural and design sensibilities. I propose to draw upon (and further research) into the rich repertoire of Asian design that has traditionally engaged wide spectrum of human senses.

Light Artists

I have been collecting images from artists who work sculpturally with light like James Turrell, Dan Flavin and Robert Irwin to explore my "material" study. (Also looked at Anthony McCall per BRAD'S suggestion). Can anyone think of any others?

Here is one of my programming diagrams from last week.

Program as Narrative - POV No Close Theater

“This is even better than when the Sundance moved to the Lower East Side. The Gowanus area is so central to different areas of Brooklyn. It is in the middle of Park Slope and Carroll Garden and near the up-and-coming neighborhood of Red Hook. There are trains from southern Brooklyn (serving the BayRidge, Coney Island area) and northeast Brooklyn (Greenpoint, and Williamburg) via the G and F train. I had been watching movies at home because there had been no theaters near me, but now that I found a theater, I frequently go.”

Program as Narrative - POV Resistant to Theaters

“I don’t normally go to the theater. I prefer to watch at home, but there are always so many exciting things going on at this theater. I just ran into my friend at the cafe. He was getting something to eat and drink before he starts filming his short today. He told me to look out another one of his short films that is screening before the previews. The film center shows short films instead of advertisements. In a few weeks the outdoor screen will open up. The view from the roof is amazing. They use the roof as a production area during the day but there is public access in the evening. The acoustics in the theater are fantastic. And the space is really comfortable. It really is better to watch a film larger the way it was intended to be shown, instead of on my television or laptop at home.”

Posting the Program - Program as Narrative

POV – Independent Filmmaker.

“I am relieved I have my van to drive today. The DV camera on-loan from a friend, and the boxes of props would have been too bulky to carry from the Union N, R stop, even for the short 5 minute walk. Parking is easy in the area but tomorrow I can just ride the subway since I’ll leave my equipment at the film center. I could always check out equipment for the day too. I need to rent lights since I don’t own them myself. (Reminder: Put up a note on the bulletin board to find new assistant director since John has a new paid job and can’t volunteer anymore). I hope that the rest of the crew finished working on building the remainder of the set at the woodshop. The props and wardrobe are collected except for the last boxes I have with me. Everything else is ready. The cast is coming tomorrow. I didn’t have to give any of them directions since they had all been to a film screening at the center this past summer. They know exactly where to go.
The new studio space is huge. I can construct multiple sets in different corners so we can move from one scene to the next. This saves valuable time. Plus, I can watch the ‘dailies’ in the evening in the screening booths so I know exactly what needs to be fixed for tomorrow. I am only using the space for the few vacation days I took off, so having all the functions under one roof has been a great time-saver. Tomorrow I am going to try and check out the ‘new film-makers series’ screening at the center. A few of my friends have work in the festival. I’ve seen some early edits of their work on my laptop, but I really want to see it on a big screen.”

Site Images

Any ideas for a better way to show the modularity of the building than what I posted last week?

Material Question

So, I am thinking about materiality....Not much beyond that. I know that I want to do all sustainable materials. Preferably I want things that are cheap and beautiful. It would be nice to use local reclaimed/recycled materials. I think the qualities I am thinking about presently are public and private as well as something in between. To me this implies translucent, transparent, and opaque. I am also interested in materials that are malleable. Do any of you have suggestions of materials or suppliers?

Polemic

Polemic
New York is one of the largest cities in the world brimming with life at every corner. It is often marketed in television shows, movies, and the mass media as the place for young single people to live and connect with one another. However, New York can be a very lonely city if you do not have roots here. I speak from personal experience.

Prior to moving to Brooklyn (DUMBO) in 2005, I lived in a small rural community in Vermont. Even though I lived alone in Middlebury, I always knew that I was a part of the local community. I immediately felt the impact of this loss when I arrived in New York. It was like the loss of an old friend.

Over the past two years, I have been attempting to find my niche and to connect with a new community. I go to the local coffee house daily, I go to weekly yoga classes, and I have joined the neighborhood gym. Yet in DUMBO, because the neighborhood is new and constantly changing, this is a challenge. Moreover, DUMBO lacks many traditional neighborhood features that people who live in the neighborhood frequent regularly. There is no grocery store, pharmacy, local watering hole, etc. What does exist are high end boutique clothing and food stores.

In response to my personal experience in New York, I have decided to develop a cohousing project for people that want to live sustainably in DUMBO. The residents will be committed to living and working together towards a common goal. In this case, each resident is dedicated to living sustainably. This implies sustainable building materials and systems, decreased energy used, maximization of daylight, reduced consumption of both consumer goods and space required to live, extensive recycling programs, and a commitment to eating and living healthy through regular exercise and the consumption of organic food. In a sense, the community will be able to sustain itself while minimizing its impact on the local and global environment.

This project is based on Danish cohousing models and is inspired by Le Corbusier Unite d’ Habitation, R. M Schindler’s House, and the Smithson’s proposal for Golden Lane. It is my hope that through this housing project people young and old, single and married, will be able to connect and form a community together within their “home” as well as within the larger neighborhood of DUMBO.

Unfortunately, I am not alone in this plight. The notion of community no longer exists for many. Due to global surges in housing costs and the increasing mobility of the population, community ties have been broken. Our population has become transient with shallow roots. As a result, many do not feel like they belong to a community.

The traditional cohousing model was pioneered in Denmark. The Danes were frustrated by the available housing options and the loss of community. They were bothered by the isolation and impracticalities of single family homes and apartments. In response, they built housing that combines the autonomy of private dwellings with the advantages of community living (McCamant and Durrett 1988). Within each community, every resident has a self sufficient private apartment. Each apartment has sleeping, living, bathing, and cooking space. However, the majority of the living happens in the community house. The community house contains the communal kitchen, dining room, laundry facilities, etc. The amenities offered vary from project to project based on resident needs and goals. In each case, the individual apartments are connected to the communal amenities through a spine, or pedestrian street. Residents pass through this street on a daily basis to and from their homes. Much of the living happens in this space especially in the communities where the “street” is enclosed.

This idea of a pedestrian street was also important in both Le Corbusier and the Smithson’s work. In both cases, they elevated the street, and more broadly the spaces where people live, into the air. This became an integral part of their designs. For Corbusier, the street was a place to shop for daily needs. The Smithson’s approach to the “street”, or the “deck”, as they called it is much closer to Danish cohousing models. For the Smithson’s, each “deck” belonged to approximately ninety residents and was an integral living space recreating the stoop in the air.

Even though each cohousing project is different from the next there are some commonalities to note and consider beyond the “street”. First and foremost, the physical design of each community is meant to encourage a strong sense of community. The design promotes interaction between people through visual connection to the common areas. Transitions between public and private are critical. If the boundary is too firm and rigid, people will be less likely to interact with one another. However if the boundary is soft, interaction will be encouraged. The materiality of the project is critical in defining these boundaries. This boundary might be transparent or porous depending on the level of privacy desired. In the same way, the margin between the building and the larger community must be negotiated.

Beyond these issues of public versus private and the materiality that is implied, architectural flexibility should be considered. A variety of dwelling sizes and configurations allow residents to move within the community as their needs change. Resident stability is a key ingredient to a successful community.

In terms of site, I have chosen one warehouse from the old empire stores in DUMBO because of its endless potential. Beyond the breathtaking views of Manhattan and the accessibility to nature, the modularity of the buildings windows and columns suggests future expansion of my project beyond building seven to the rest of the buildings in the group. In addition, this site offers retail opportunities on Water Street. With retail at street level, the community within the building will be able to reach beyond its borders into the greater community.

As a result of Danish cohousing projects and other projects like them, the meaning of “home”, “neighborhood”, and “community” have been expanded and redefined. Furthermore, the boundary between public and private has been blurred.

Material Inspiration Images

One More Narrative

Windowed Water Street Resident

I moved into this building when my wife died last year. The big apartment we shared on the Upper East Side just didn’t make sense to me anymore. I did not need all of the space and I found myself feeling incredibly lonely without my wife. I often would ramble around the empty rooms of our apartment. The silence was horrible. We had lived in this building for years, but never interacted with our neighbors. I guess that is the nature of New York. When I was deciding where to live, assisted living was not an option for me. I am not old enough yet. I guess you could say I am a young widow. I had traveled in Denmark and was interested in their cohousing projects. The idea of people living and working together towards a common goal was inspiring to me. Naturally, living alone has been a big change for me. I don’t cook and I am just learning how to do laundry. My deficiency in these areas does not seem to be a problem here. Communal dinners are a way for me to eat and learn to cook at the same time. I am learning other new hobbies as well. I regularly attend daily yoga sessions on the roof as well as assist in running the co-op. It is nice to have something to do with my free time. My apartment is just the right size for me and me alone. I have all that I need to live. My small kitchenette is just big enough for me to make coffee and have a few staples in the house. When my children and grandchildren come to visit, I rent one of the guest rooms on my street. These rooms are great. Sometimes tenants rent them because they are working on something that requires more space. Other times residents rent them because they have friends coming to town.

Thesis Title

I am thinking of calling it "Soulful Reach"

Site Character

I am still struggling to find an ideal site. Below is what I wrote about the site character that I am seeking. If you guys know of any good site in Brookly or Queens, let me know. Thanx!

Building is not merely a shell that houses programmatically needs. It lives as we do. It is a living entity that cradles our lives as they unfold and play out within it. It shelters and protects us while we live and daydream within it. Long after we are gone, our footprints remain. It is a testimony of our existence and time.

“Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough, it can assume a quality that bears witness to the reality of past life.” (p.26) – Peter Zumthor

However, not all buildings are created equal. Some, more than others, have the ability to live and grow. It is up to the architect to breath life into it through the usage of sensuous materials in very specific ways. Peter Zumthor has a genuine approach in creating a sensitive living architecture:

“The sense that I try to instill into materials is beyond all rules of composition, and their tangibility, smell, and acoustic qualities are merely elements of language that we are obliged to use. Sense emerges when I succeed in bringing out the specific meanings of certain materials in my buildings, meanings that can only be perceived in just this way in this one building…If we succeed in this, materials in architecture can be made to shine and vibrate.” (p.10)

The building that I am seeking to conduct my sensory investigation hence must have the ability to exhibit the process of ageing, weathering and wear. Juhani Pallasmma asserts that such a building will mediate “our relation with the frighteningly ephemeral dimension of time and indulges one to lost oneself in the depth of time and space.” The poetic history of the building will add another dimension into the spatial experience as it actively engages our memories and imagination to dive into the complexity of time and space. Such site will be the ideal context for phenomenological and sensorial experience.

Narrative 1

A Tired Soul

I traced the contour of the building as I approached it. The texture on the church façade is glorious, yet mysterious at the same time. I gripped tightly of the door handle and felt the immense weight of the door as I opened it. Monday afternoon is always quiet. Hence the building was barely occupied as I had suspected. Walking down the main hall, I could hear each footstep that I had taken towards the chapel. From afar, I saw the gentle glowing light being emitted from the chapel. It welcomed me. The chapel door felt lighter than the main entrance’s door. It opened with greater ease. It was as though it knew that I had nothing left in me to give. I walked towards the seat at the corner. Behind me, I heard the door click shut. I sat and sank my body onto the wooden seat. The stiff seat helped to hold up my tired body. It was so silent. I heard my own breathing in an unusually slow rhythm. I lowered my head and closed my eyes. In the darkness, I could feel the light shinning upon me from above. All my senses and logic shut down as I emerged in deep prayer and thoughts. I sat alone in the room, yet I do not feel alone. I heard no sound, yet my prayer was answered. With each exchange of air, I was regenerated. Even though I don’t know how long I had sat there, the seat was warm when I left it.

Brick

Brick…the stories they tell

One thing I find very appealing and distinctive about the architectures in New York (especially in Brooklyn) is their brick façade. Similar in sizes, yet, varies in all shades of ‘brick’ red. Their colors, like wood grain, tell stories. The vibrant red ones are the younglings (10~20 years old); the dull pale ones are the elders with decades of experience. What is interesting is how they are able to co-exist in harmony. Often, when I look carefully, there will be patches of different red that dress a building. New bricks now block off an opening that no longer need be, or construct additional spatial components. As the usage of the buildings changes, the bricks grow with them and trap all the whispers of the past into their little cavities. We just have to sit quietly and listen to them telling us their stories.

Brick…the one that I got to know

I saw a pile of bricks in front of a yard a few doors down from me. I decided to take one home and get to know it. It felt very substantial in my hand. Its width (3.25”) occupied my entire palm (3.25”) as I stretch my fingers to grip it. If it is any bigger, I would have to flip it to its side to carry it home. But it was perfect. This brick was made with ‘me’ in mind.

Its size is 3.25 x 7.5 x 2.25 inches. I would imagine that its siblings are of similar dimension. Yet, no two bricks are alike (perhaps same skin within the same patch). This one is extremely porous. It has pores as large as 1cm and as small as those beyond my visual capacity, but within my imaginative scope. Each brick shapes its own identity with these pores in the constraint of the mould that they are made out of. The pores are their fingerprints. The pores are memory capsules that trap time and space of the past.

I gave it a quick sniff. I can almost smell the earth, dirt and layers of salt that have accumulated over the years.

My fingers pressed into its rough texture and felt the extreme coldness that it has absorbed from being outside. It warmed up quite a bit the next morning after a nice night indoor. Yet it still feels cool to my touch. Holding my palm 1cm away from it, I can still feel its cool breath. Its warm color exterior can be deceiving.

I still have to weight it before I can report its exact weight. However, I can tell you that it is heavier than it appears. I am glad that I had only taken one home.

Even though the bricks are modularity grouped, the surface is never completely flat. There are always subtle bumps that give them their charm.

Programming Narratives

DUMBO Resident

I have lived in DUMBO for several years and this neighborhood really seems to have come alive with the addition of the sustainable cohousing project on Water Street. On the ground level, they have some really interesting and affordable retail shops that are open to the public. There is an organic food market that carries locally grown produce, organic poultry and pork, grass fed beef, etc. as well as other eco friendly household goods and cleaning products. Some of these products are even grown in their hydroponics gardens. Regardless, all of these goods are used in their community kitchen, which serves dinner to all DUMBO residents outside of the community at least once a month. In the co-op, they also have a goods exchange. It is almost like a library. You can bring old items that you no longer use there for other people to borrow as needed. This allows people to share items that they no longer need or are not frequently used in the city. In exchange, they have reduced their impact on the world by reducing consumption.

Single Water Street Resident

I just recently moved to New York six months ago and am so fortunate to be living here. When I moved to New York, I knew nobody and was far away from my family and friends. Being in New York alone was a scary thought. In this building, I have made new friends and now have an extended family. I live in a small apartment. I have just what I need to sleep, bath, cook an occasional meal for myself, and store my belongings. I do all of my socializing in the common areas. The community living and dining room are where I spend most of my time. There are no televisions here. Watching TV can often be an individual, anti social act. I don’t mind. I often plop down and read a book, share in a friendly card game, or engage in casual conversation with one of my neighbors. In the summer, there are movies in the park just outside our front door. I can even see and hear them from my apartment. When it is not my night to cook community dinner, I often find myself helping anyway. I enjoy being around my neighbors and sharing in their lives. Cooking is not the only thing we do together. Everyone participates in the extensive recycling, composting, and gardening aspects of our home as we are all committed to doing what we can to help make the world a better place. The residents who have kids share in daily daycare responsibilities. I have also made friends outside of our home. Many DUMBO residents shop in the Co-Op and goods exchange as well as come to our open community dinners.

Married with Child Water Street Resident

Tonight is my night to cook dinner. I don’t mind. I only have to cook one day a week. That is not so bad. Prior to getting the meal ready, I will need to stop in at the Co-Op and pick up some ingredients. I think some tomatoes are ready in our gardens as well. Once the meal has been served and cleared, I will also have to help with clean up. We make an effort to compost all that we can on the rooftop. When it is ready, we use the compost in our rooftop vegetable garden. Everything that can be recycled is. Again, I don’t mind the work. Once a week, sure beats seven. Besides, I have other residents helping me with tonight’s meal. We have prepared dinner together so many times before that we have a routine and look forward to our evening away from the kids with each other. My husband is watching the kids in the daycare center this evening. We all have shifts so that we have free time for other things. It is nice knowing that someone responsible is watching your children, not a stranger. In the summer, the kids have a spot on the roof to run and play in. This makes my life easier as I can be working in the garden or line drying my laundry while watching them.

Programming Diagrams

Multiplicity

Trying to find ways to document the multiplicity of my site.

Brad's new site

here are some pics of my new site on South Oxford.

Spatial Diagrams

these are a few diagrams I did that address my two different user groups and the shared v.s private spaces they will in habit. Some emphasize a shared sapce, promoting the idea of a collective/ collaborative enviornment while others separate the 2 users. The scans came in very light so you'll get a better understanding in class.

what you missed last Friday

Petra Blaisse : www.insideoutside.nl

materiality

To amplify your understanding of your project it is important to think about how materials can create effects that will literally make the atmosphere of your thesis project. Pick at least three materials that you want to study and use. Document their effects. Make a drawing, perspective is good, that uses photocollage to get at effect and relate to to a spatial volume of your program. Think about the effects of the chosen materials in the space and relationship to all the surfaces of the volume.

posting the site

Post photos of place not just as evidence, but to capture qualities or a point of view on the building.

posting the program

This can and should be both verbal and visual and there are a few way to go beyond the list of spaces plus square footage:

the program as a narrative from at least 2 points of view (better 3). Write as a story with a point of view for each voice.

the program as a time sequence.. make this visual (a chart, a graph, drawing with traces). what happens in a day? a week? a season? a year?

the program as a series of spatial adjacency: visual. think about a spatial analogy of how space is organized (layered, intersecting, overlapped, aggregated, merged, sandwiched, etc). Avoid the usual bubble(s).