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The 1300 Building.

The Fisher Building during its construction. I took this photograph during our field trip to Detroit. It reveals the interior steel frame of the building. It represents the transition from masonry to steel framework.

#kess

A photograph of what is left of the loading dock at the Packard factory. It shows that when the factory was functional there where a lot of truck deliveries and loading of finished products. It is an enclosed loading dock, because of the cold winter months in Detroit.

#kess.

The recent 2010 movie Tron: Legacy is a great example of techno-utopia. Initially planned as a perfect digital world in a computer, the architecture is very focused on heavy machine-like buildings with lines of light providing the intricate details. Whatever is not the heavy metal buildings are often very transparent and light, providing a sharp contrast. Like most utopianistic movies, Hollywood chimes in at how unreachable utopias actually are to achieve as things go drastically wrong.

#Lecture 23 #Matt Anderson

"Sky Stack" by asdfg

This structure, designed by German architects asdfg, is unique for the way in which it interacts with its surroundings. The five mirrored rings towards the top allow part of the smoke stack to "disappear", creating a surreal effect of half-presence, as if part of the structure had failed to materialize. This is a unique use of ornamentation in architecture; the cladding, rather than adding any symbolic function to the building, is in fact reductive to the overall structure. The image of a building that is only partially visible is striking, and it prompts the viewer to question the relationship between architecture and natural space. Perhaps there are times when a structure can express its purpose by minimizing its presence to the onlooker. The smoke stack serves a technical function, but doesn't need to be seen; it can serve its purpose just as well if it is partially, or even wholly, invisible.

#nick hazen #section 5

About the Detroit Trip

As a Detroiter, I had a lot of fun touring with people who hadn't been there before. It helped me see the city with new eyes. It reminded me of how much I love Detroit and how much pride I have in my city. Most students saw the number of abandoned houses as a sad thing, and not that it generally isn't, but it a weird way I'm glad they're there. To most people, those abandoned houses hold memories and to some they are a source of inspiration. There are SO many beautiful things happening on a creative and innovative level in response to that inspiration to ever view those ruins as a sad thing. In my opinion, the only sad thing is that Detroit's true potential isn't recognized not nearly to the extent that it should.

#Caron Miller #Detroit

Response to Nick's post on Detroit

I couldn't agree more with Nick's thoughts on Detroit. I had heard what Detroit was like and had seen pictures, but visiting Detroit in person for the first time was quite a shocking experience. It is completely different than hearing about it or seeing pictures. Those just simply introduce the city's situation. Practically everywhere we went, there were buildings in ruin, abandoned buildings, and buildings not well maintained. The landscape is so uncharacteristic of any major city I have visited, with many open spaces in the residential and small business area. Yet along the river, in downtown Detroit, large buildings (all seeming to be relatively new or well-maintained) rise up from the streets and leave little room for open space. This dramatic contrast does not only exist between the downtown area and the area surrounding downtown Detroit -- it is evident throughout the city. Even in areas of ruin, there exist buildings that stand out due to lack of needed repairs. Then there are some areas that may look like a stable city at first glance, with buildings lining the streets, few open spaces, and no buildings laying in ruin; however, even here there are buildings boarded up and fallen into disrepair sitting right next to buildings being well-maintained. Overall, I found this contrast quite surprising and wondered how a city could be in such ruin yet have a downtown area void of any of that but full of grand, new structures.

#tim walker #detroit trip

Robert Taylor Homes were completed in 1962 and named for Robert Rochon Taylor, an African American activist and Chicago Housing Authority member (CHA)At one time, it was the largest public housing development in the country, and it was intended to offer decent affordable housing. It was composed of 28 high-rise buildings with 16 stories each, with a total of 4,415 units. Robert Taylor Homes faced many of the same problems that doomed Pruitt Igo. These problems included dugs, violence and povrety. Planned for 11,000 inhabitants, the Robert Taylor Homes housed up to a peak of 27,000 people. At one point 95 percent of the housing development's 27,000 residents were unemployed and listed public as their only income source, and 40 percent of the households were single-parent, female-headed households earning less than $5,000 per year. The city's neglect was evident in littered streets and poorly enforced building codes. Police were rarely present and gangs and subsequent drug wars ensued.Its landlord has estimated that $45,000 in drug deals took place daily. Ultimately the Robert Taylor homes were torn down as a lack of maintenance, crime and lack of payments doomed the homes from the very beginning.

#max klein #section 5 #lecture 25

What I found most striking about the trip to Detroit wasn't any of the buildings considered independently, but the juxtaposition between the structures when considered in context of the city as a unified whole. A site such as the decaying, long-abandoned Packard Plant is made all the more poignant when contrasted against a structure as extravagant and bizarrely lavish as the Renaissance Center. The grandeur of the Fisher Building cuts a sharp contrast against the sparse and at times desolate landscape of what was once a booming metropolis. The architecture of Detroit has taken on qualities of the city's changing economic and cultural climate and the result is a uniquely dynamic, if bleak, experience.

#nick hazen #detroit

I stumbled across this building as I was looking for examples of techno-utopian architecture. Although this may not be a techno-utopian style like we looked at in class, it is certainly a utopian style, and I would even argue that it is just a different style of techno-utopia. Nonetheless, it is a great example of hybridization. It combines the ideas of techno-utopia, montage, and even monumentality. The unique part of the tower is the fact that it will be "invisible". The technological ability to do this is why I would classify it as a variation of the techno-utopia we looked at in class. The interesting part of how this would be achieved is that they would create a reflective skin on the building using LED's and specially positioned optical cameras. The reflective skin reminded me of the how the Glass Skyscraper does the same thing as a form of montage, so I thought the Cheongna City Tower (or Tower Infinity) would also be a form of montage with its reflective exterior. However, I am not sure how the idea of invisibility would be accomplished through this.

The monumental aspect of the building is achieved in a couple of ways. The first is that it strives to do the exact opposite of what most other skyscrapers try to do by being less visible. In its attempt to be less visible, it becomes a monumental building because of its sharp contrast to the typical skyscraper. The second way it achieves a monumental aspect its inspiration from Louis Kahn. Louis Kahn often referred to the power of "absence" and the strength of "nothingness" and also aimed to create architecture with the same monumentality as the ancient ruins he had seen in Greece and Egypt. The designers of this skyscraper were influenced by these ideas and attempted to design a building that was both monumental and "invisible".

Currently, it is just a proposed design but is hoped to be completed in time for the 2014 Asian Games in September of that year.

#tim walker #lecture 23 #Lecture 11

This building is an addition to the Jewish Museum in Berlin and is connected to the original museum building by an underground passage. I find it to be quite an interesting building because of its unique shape and its "broken" facade. It is a post-modern building with its sharp features and symbolic design. The shape of the building is supposed to represent a warped Star of David, with a floor to ceiling void slicing through the whole building. Next to the building there are the Garden of Exile and the Holocaust Tower. These three parts are meant to symbolize the continuity with German history, emigration from Germany, and the Holocaust. In a sense, then, this building could be considered a monumental building for the Jewish population.

#tim walker #lecture 23 #Lecture 25

During one of the classes where three guests lecturers came to talk about Detroit, one of presentations, titled "Detroit Disassembled," highlighted the ruins and abandoned buildings prevalent in the city. But a key point brought up in one of the presentations was how, after 1913, the automobile factories began to be built outside of the city. The automobile industry was the highest source of income for the city, and to see them leave meant practically saying goodbye to the city's money. The images above are a clear representation of the power of the automobile industry. The GM Renaissance Center contains an assortment of stores, multiple vehicle displays, and a lavish 73-floor hotel.

#Evan Zimny #Lecture 20

Archigram's David Greene, Mosque Project

David Greene's project for a Mosque in Baghdad serves as an exploration of form more than a structure dictated by functionality. Because the Mosque has so few functional requirements it allows the architect a good deal of leeway on spatial arrangements and practical considerations. As a result Greene's design is very conceptual; the project is primarily concerned with relationships between shape, surface and structure rather than with the Mosque as a place of worship.

#nick hazen #lecture 25

Going back to examples of Le Corbusier's Five Points, this home in Bled, Slovenia was constructed between 2001-2004. The residence exudes openness, as many of the exterior walls are made up of extensive ribbon windows. Not only does the structure remind me of Corbusier, but its use of natural elements also reminds me of our lecture regarding the private home and Frank Lloyd Wright's style of design. I think it serves as an exemplary model for modern architecture, as it is a hybridization of different elements of modern design.

#Andrea Partenio #LeCorbusier

Response to Evan's post on Techno Utopia

After reading Evan's post, I was intrigued by the idea of The Pocket of Active Residence. The image is certainly bizarre, but it reminded me of the above building. Such a design is hard to picture in a typical city setting, but the Honeycomb Apartment complex in Izola, Slovenia makes it a reality. Constructed between 2003 and 2006, this public housing project was the winning entry for a design competition. Selected for its effective handling of economic and functional problems, it has been a successful experiment.

Although the balconies that protrude from the face of the building and the units themselves do not disconnect or "plug in" to the frame, they certainly give off a similar look. While many of the Techno Utopia designs we studied in class never became a reality, they definitely have a style associated with them that is seen in modern architecture today.

#AndreaPartenio #Lecture23 #Response

Amsterdam Orphanage- Aldo van Eyck

Built in 1960, Aldo van Eyck designed this orphanage on the outside of Amsterdam, hoping to combine the qualities of a home and a small city in one complex. After being a previous CIAM member, van Eyck was a founding member of Team 10. He criticized post-war architecture for its lack of consideration for the human, and the Amsterdam Orphanage was the first large scale project he was able to put his beliefs into physical effect. In order to break down individualized spaces, he designed in-between conditions to allow more interaction for the children living there. To create balance between areas, a large courtyard connects administrative spaces and residential units. Although it is a break from CIAM beliefs, van Eyck's orphanage is his idea of a balanced community for its inhabitants.

#AndreaPartenio CIAM

Techno-Utopia, the idea that advancements in science and technology will create a utopian, or ideal society, led many architectural groups to design some incredibly far-fetched ideas. One such group, Archigram, came up with the design of a plug-in city, where small housing modules would be lofted on a more permanent frame, and could be removed and replaced as needed.

Similar ideas have been showing up in modern day designs. The Pocket of Active Resistance (above) is a similar design where modules are attached to a larger infrastructure, and are connected via long catwalks and scaffolding. According to Stephane Malka, the housing complex was built to "Unite the forsaken, the marginalized, refugees, demonstrators, dissenters, hippies, utopians, and the stateless of all kinds."

#Lecture 25 #Evan Zimny

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