Presentation Working Outline

Theory

Thesis Statement

Definitions

Analytical vs. Systematic

_Isolated vs. Integrated
_Hyrdogen + Chlorine- Hydrochloric Acid- Acid Effect

Architecture

Towards a New Architecture _ Corbusier -
_Greek Temple- Automobile- Maison Domino

Refabricating Architecture _ KTA
_House Frame- Boeing Assembly- KTA Loblolly House

Systems Integration_
_Loblolly House- Coral- Integrated Network Diagram

Integrated Systems Strategies
_Coral- arch + site integration- Modular system which integrates and creates site
_Motorcycle- user+arch integration- Frame facilitates systems which integrate with user to create experience
_Scuba- user + space integration- Body is framework for integrated spatial experience

Context

Water is transforming the edge of our land based reality and architecture is still isolated, not prepared to integrate.
_images_ dhaka, new orleans, united kingdom

NYC_
Sea Level Rise + Hurricanes forcing themselves on city and culture.

Bedrock allows buildings to stand strong but an architectural system must mediate the water + facilitate function once again.

Affect

“Architecture within this context is not a singular entity nor is it permanent, but can become a cooperative and adaptable part of the systematic world.”

Diagram of systems integration (beginning, growth, full integration)

Systems' Effect
Image: Boat in times square
Image: Scuba diving amongst skyscrapers

Hurricanes, Sea Level Rise + NYC

Columbia University: Center for Climate Systems Research: Hurricanes, Sea Level Rise + NYC

http://ccsr.columbia.edu/information/hurricanes/index.html

NYSea

After about an hour of discussion...

Sites Out_

Great Lakes_ Receding water = more of the same... Land. Hard to approach.

Dhaka + New Orleans_ Unstable land and invading storms, what's more viable stabilizing land or heading to sea? Dhaka-Mangrove system seems promising but there seem to be too many variables for in depth investigation without visiting the site.

UK_ The problem is country wide, making it pertinent but almost too fantastical, a system which reveals itself through erosion could secure the buildings but it cannot and should not attempt to control the shore's recession as this would simply be delaying the inevitable. Maybe i'm cold but i have little compassion for Mrs. Creighton's Tea Shop, sorry AH, i've got a New York State of Mind.

The Site_ New York City_ Deals with inevitable forthcoming of water with an attitude of embrace and adapt rather than flee, truly allowing a system to integrate the rarely explored edge of water and land and allows systems to change the experience of the city through use, space, and perception while still maintaining and revitalizing the culture of New York.

I am provoked by the idea that a half-submerged civilization as enriching instead of destructive, if planned for. Bedrock allows existing buildings to be retrofitted with a new skin which serves as a language for the system. The diverse urban fabric requires multiple derivations of this system where as the Happisburgh, UK site is relatively monotonous.

The scale of the specific investigation is oil-rig sized (200'x 200' roughly), for lack of a better comparison, but will also address the scale of its systematic growth from conception, growth, adapted city and even proposed expansion (the life cycle from polyp to reef). Site access was also a large factor in this decision as photography is important to my process.

To look at: Venice and Thames tide-scapes

Was I right at first?

John's points_
-I don't know if your architectonic-coral processes are best utilized here, in these such places, to stabilize and control, to meet rising water with rising boundary conditions? Or maybe this is just a slightly updated version of the old Holland/dikes scenario? And, really, these are not problem-solving solutions to the bigger global issues-

-A coral-based construct would be an incisively new approach with somewhat more longterm results.

-the water/notion hasn't yet gelled into a compelling strategy or a specific challenge. I do wonder if you are working just too hard to conceptualize a truly amazing, provocative set of drop-dead intentions...without a firm idea behind it.

in response to john's comment_

this is also the problem that i'm having as i try to apply strategies to these sites i realize that it is only a somewhat more longterm fix, in the end i'm proposing no solution to the root of the problems and i've strayed away from my original ideas about tectonics and making. systems thinking can be applied to the way cities react to a new environment but this involves urban planning, transportation and infrastructure much more so than architecture...

the oilplatform is a way of addressing these changes in a strictly architectural manner as an example or realisation of what architecture can be in a world where water is exerting its presence. At the same time the oilplatform IS the problem, a monument to the greedy selfish escalade driving oil tycoons that caused global warming and made water so unavoidable in the UK, Bangladesh and New Orleans... An architectural system attached to this monument of self-destruction transforms it into, dare i say, a "monument to sustainability." suggesting a direction for architecture which is adaptable and integrated with natural systems rather than opposed to them, and that in conjunction with systematic planning IS a long term fix and not simply a LEED Platinum one.

Maps

Dhaka, Bangladesh (expansion and flood structures):

1<http://www.sdnpbd.org/sdi/international_days/wed/2005/map/doc/dhaka/Map_4_City_of_Dhaka_including_cantonments.jpg>

2<http://www.sdnpbd.org/sdi/international_days/wed/2005/map/doc/dhaka/growth_of_city.jpg>

3<http://www.sdnpbd.org/sdi/international_days/wed/2005/map/doc/dhaka/ancient_dhaka_around_2.jpg>

Happisburgh, England, UK :

1 compiled by Nathan Scrivo

2 "UK geology" <http://www.coastalguide.org/england/figure2.gif>

Mississippi Delta (structure for expansion):



















1<http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/miss_hires.jpg>

New York City (Transportation Structure):

Port Severn to Parry Sound, Lake Huron, Canada:

1 "map 2202 port severn to parry sound" <http://dowsar.com/georgian.htm>

Beginning Process

Get maps of regions at different scales and outline areas of conflict to narrow field to possible site scales for intervention.

After finding areas to address, using the ideas from my original thesis statement,

"Breaking down complex devices reveals simple logical systems which work in coordination. Architecture within this context is not a singular entity nor is it permanent, but can become a cooperative and adaptable part of the systematic world."

"When you build a thing, you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature as you make it."-Christopher Alexander A Pattern Language

then dissecting the complex device (site + crisis) into managable elements_

Climate_ Weather Cycles, Change in Patterns
Culture_ Social Groups, Specific Social Activities and associated Patterns + Cycles
Context_ Topography, Geology,
Crisis_ Cause, Result, Attempted Control / Diversion Tactic

The forces and limitations of each site + crisis define the systematic intervention

Applying Systems Theory

As with many crises, religious, political and social, the environmental crisis has been cause by our analytical view which isolates us from the world. Analytical processes which ignore the reactions of the components which support them are inevitably undermined by their own existence. This is the advantage of systematic processes, realization of the whole, the balanced network and inter-reliance. Systematic processes and strategies are then applied to the current network of environmental crises relating to the increasing impact of water on cultures around the globe. Using these places and events as a framework gives a basis for the application and evaluation of the systematic interventions. The following is a list of regions and cities affected by ongoing wars with water and how a systematic architecture might react to or mediate the situation.

Eroding Boundaries

In the United Kingdom, “about 1,062,000 flats and houses, 82,000 businesses, 2.5 million people and 2m acres of agricultural land, worth about £120bn in all,”[i] are at risk from flooding and erosion brought on by global sea level rise. Some of them will be saved, and some will simply drop to the sea." The wave actions of increasingly violent seas have washed away and over natural barriers which hold off erosion.

A systematic approach to this situation provides structure for existing elements while also allowing for the coastline to recede at a more controlled rate. This controlled rate provides more planning to occur which will move people away from unstable conditions. It is important that the architectural system not try to entirely control the natural system but somehow use its energy to provide a service other than erosion, rather than simply putting up a sea-wall, why not implement a power generator run off the wave action which redirects the force of the surge, or extensions of the land which act as levees in the desert. The mass erosion spans an entire country’s edge and so the apparent simplicity of the conflict is both what makes it solvable yet difficult, beautiful yet tragic. Examples or ideas for diverting of oceanic force might be found in Venice, Belgium and the Netherlands. The second picture suggests that erosion isn't the only problem if sea rise continues and so the intervention must consider its position in a long term phased interaction with the sea.

[i] <http://pruned.blogspot.com/2006/10/climate-ghettos.html>
























1 http://pruned.blogspot.com/2006/10/climate-ghettos.html
2 http://pruned.blogspot.com/2007/09/retreating-village.html

Washed Dirty

Dhaka is threatened from the interior by its own massive expansion and pollution and also by the increased levels of water rushing towards the city from the rapidly melting Himalayas. The wetlands which normally slow the passage of water to the Buriganga River have been plugged with multi-story living complexes and so when the rains of the monsoon season come they flood the city and mix with the sewage creating a cesspool of infectious disease.

First the city must deal with the infrastructural problems by moving them above the unstable soil. Next a housing system can be inserted which does not inhibit the water from saturating into the soil, which includes removing and reusing the materials from existing buildings which plug the wetlands.

Purposeful separation of the confused landscape into layers allows the over populated city to de-densify. For instance elevated landscapes can allow children to play out of the water during the monsoon season while also add layers to the urban fabric, insulating Dhaka.















http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/development/waterlogging.html

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/07/29/southasia.floods/index.html

No Balance

Concluding that the system is not program driven but program accommodating the next thing to do is explore multiple sites and begin to integrate an architecture to develop the systems theory, then see which systems become more or less successful, maybe even all stay and get developed to different levels as examples of how the architecture is truly a 'system' (maybe i'm just crazy). Also water is the present theme through all the examples right now, each deals with and has different problems concerning the water and so the system must adapt to these different conditions. I feel these sites are very strong independently and as a group, for individual systems process as well as critique + dialogue about system adaptation to context, climate, culture and crisis.

Oilrigs engage the Louisiana Coast_

The first problem is climate change increasing the number of violent hurricanes in a fragile sub-seas level area such as New Orleans. Only a few years ago the city fell into a near apocalyptic state following these events and now the question is what becomes of this place? It is unwise to rebuild the city without considering that the situation could easily happen again and yet there is a culture and way of life which was destroyed by one hurricane that must be revitalized.

The second problem is a perfect example of wasteful tendency related to “permanent” buildings which do not adapt, a set of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure abandoned by oil companies after the resource veins have been pumped dry. Instead of costly deconstruction the towers, some as tall as nineteen hundred feet, are blown up, killing as many as fifty thousand fish in the process. This infrastructure or literal framework provides the opportunity to diversify the ocean ecosystem while introducing human activities pushed off-shore by hurricanes. The boost in fish population could create the necessary push to jumpstart the still floundering Gulf coast fishing industry.

The transformation from industrial skeleton to a skyscraper scaled framework gives the chance for architecture to re-define the city through spatial and aqueous experience while maintaining common scale. While the singular platform is at the scale of a modern skyscraper there exists more than four thousand platforms in the northern gulf which will one day become unused. Connection to the city and the entire coastline will be defined by the type of activities which occurred nearby their adjacent coast. The structure can become programmatically mixed for social and economic diversity with above water, generally two hundred to three hundred vertical feet of structure, cultural insertions intended to maintain the vibrancy of the culture. The lights from the activities will shine over the sea to commemorate a city still alive. The submerged skyscraper becomes less a symbol of a corporation and more of innovation and cooperation. Rather than isolating itself from natural systems with levees and walls the culture engages the ocean as a necessary and dynamic part of life.





















NYC Underwater_

The “What if NYC” architectural competition (http://www.nyc.gov/html/whatifnyc/home.html) provides a realistic setting to understand what the reality of New York could become. If hit by a category three hurricane New York becomes submerged by twenty-three feet of ocean water, subways are flooded and streets are closed. The competition suggests a rebuild scenario involving emergency housing but is this really the appropriate action? Maybe for a fast recovery but New York offers the chance to explore a large scale system which transforms existing structures and adapts them to the new reality.
The oceans will inevitably rise and the city must shift skyward, or into the sea, certainly this includes retrofitting the structure of the existing buildings to survive in the ocean, adding to them a new resilient skin, a metamorphic adaptation of the city. Important to life of New York is adapting the transportation system to become aqueous and reinstituting public space taken by water.

Great Lakes Archipelago_

A Network of the 10,000 Islands region of Georgian Bay, Canada is just one specific region affected by the gradual draining of the great lakes. Residents watch the water slide away each summer dropping as much as a foot, some years returning only to drop further away the next year. The altered hydroscape changes the navigation in the channels for even the smallest watercraft and limits the capacity of cargo carrying vessels. The monolithic rock and windblown treescape seems unspoiled by human development but the water is a reminder of its connection with humanity. The concerned social and economic realm needs an adaptable living system which can address the change in water level rather than building and rebuilding docks and channels every year and also allow respect the regions conservative values.

1 "Baldpate Platform"http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/baldpate/images/pate8.jpg>

2 "Katrina" http://paulbuckley14059.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/uscg_new_orleans_under_water200508291.jpg>

3 "New York Underwater"http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/images/entries/new-york-underwater.jpg>

4 "Georgian Bay"www.eu2006.fi/.../default/archipelago.jpg>

5 "Yankanuck Sunset" Nathan Scrivo

Finding an Argument

This is for Kate and Sneha, still preliminary, further research will likely change these points.

Using Le Corbusier’s Towards a New Architecture in relation to the historical context and shift which it brought about and comparing that to the shift which is occurring now towards a systematic architecture, somewhat defined by Refabricating Architecture but not thoroughly enough. Case studies begin to define a way of thinking about systems architecturally and present systematic techniques / strategies for design.

Towards a New Architecture (tana):
Reaction to Industrial Technology + Mass Production
Refabricating Architecture (rfa):
Reaction to Industrial Complexity + Craft
Systems Integration (si):
Reaction to Systems Thinking + Adaptation

Technology and Architecture
tana_ The Aesthetics of the Engineer
rfa_ The Aesthetics of the Process Engineer
si_ The Aesthetics of Performance

Construction Logic
tana_ Regulating Lines + Maisson Dominoe System

rfa_ "Quilting" a 2-dimensional logic

si_ Systematic Logic

Defining Language
tana_ Mass, Surface, Plan
rfa_ Grand Block, Joint, Whole
si_ System, Integration, Network

Spatial Experience
tana_ The Illusions of Plan
rfa_ Not about space "Increased Complexity"
si_ Dynamic Space

Site Specificity
tana_ Universal Language and Materials not based on site
rfa_ Module and Language based on efficiency but not related to site
si_ Language, Construction and Materials based on systems study which adapt to site conditions.

Adaptation
tana_ Non Adaptable
rfa_ Assembly process allows for disassembly and replacement
si_ Networks are based on adaptable systems

Inhabiting Hydrospace: Scuba + Gravity

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free, buoyed by water, he can fly in any direction-up, down, sideways-by merely flipping his hand. Under water, man becomes an archangel." _Jacques-Yves Cousteau

The Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (scuba) is specifically designed to allow humans to explore and experience the underwater environment as Cousteau has described it. The system in this case is a life-support system which attaches directly to the diver and allows compressed air to be breathed at one atmosphere of pressure even at extreme depths of more than five hundred feet. The purely mechanical system uses springs and valves to regulate air flow to the diver on demand. Simply breathing and lowering the pressure in the mouthpiece opens one way valves releasing air into the lungs. Exhaling closes the same valves and carbon dioxide is exhaled into the water. The body holds the energy which activates the system and gives order to the arrangment of the entire network.

The Buoyancy Control Vest is used in conjunction with the scuba system to act as an air bladder and support the scuba system on the body. This vest mimics the function of the air bladder organ found in fish which allows them to remain neutrally buoyant at different depths.

The network is weightless when it becomes neutrally buoyant, unhindered by gravity, orientation is lost, up is the same as down and space is truly experienced, close your eyes and cease to exist, the diver becomes the 'archangel.'

Generally this is the type of network which is operating best when it is unnoticed and the human experientially becomes the fish with gills. The system is integrated to the point of parasitism, so much that life itself depends on the functionality of the network.

The Architecture_

_User Framework: Matter, energy and information transfer structured entirely around the form and order of the user, a dynamic framework.

_Dynamic Space: Altered perception of space by changing basic premises which are taken for granted.

Functional Networks: Ducati 1098 Superbike

The systems of a the Ducati 1098 Superbike, and most performance motorcycles, are arranged in accordance to the human scale and without the rider the motorcycle is an incomplete and nonfunctional network. The structural frame facilitates systems which mediate the five dynamic factors, positive acceleration, negative acceleration, lateral acceleration, the human body and aerodynamics.

Positive acceleration utilizes the engine, intake, exhaust and fuel systems. The exhaust and intake systems are aerodynamically tailored to provide the path of least resistance, allowing the engine to become more efficient. The engine itself is designed to control combustion energy and transfer it into rotational energy to propel the network.

Negative acceleration requires the engine in a reverse role for engine braking and the wheel braking system which is designed to put vast amounts of anti-rotational friction on a system directly linked to the wheels and tires. A system of holes in the brake rotors allows the system to ventilate itself to prevent wasted heat energy.

Lateral acceleration is controlled as much by rider weight transfer as by the handle bars which allow the bike to lean into turns. Throttle and braking also play an active roll in the suspension stability while turning. Motorcycles are at equilibrium while standing centered and so the rider must upset this equilibrium. The suspension moderates the upset chassis and keep the wheels in contact with the road. The suspension is designed react to the forces presented by the road as well as apply the forces of rider input towards the road while providing feedback to inform the rider.













[i]

Aerodynamics is important to the stability of the network which is capable of speeds near 200 miles per hour. The outer sheathing of the motorcycle is shaped by the aerodynamics studies of the human body in conjunction with the machine as well as the functional breathing requirements of the engine. Apertures in the skin coordinate with intake and cooling systems. Every material is scrutinized and each system is whittled to an optimum state to achieve peak performance. The complete network, including the rider, performs at a level beyond the sum of each aforementioned system.

The systems of input from the rider are based on visual information as well as critical evaluation of feedback from the systems which affect the rider’s senses, primarily audible and vibrational. Feedback is vital to the performance of the machine because it acts as the nervous system in the body, acting as a mediator and interpreter for the road. The advanced rider is so much a part of the experience of the road that knee pucks are worn to allow the rider to slide his knee on the ground through turns in an effort to lower his center of gravity. In this way the motorcycle is acting as an artificial appendage which extends the capabilities of the human. When man integrates himself this fully with a machine the experience is out of body or more appropriately super-bodied, enhanced and enlivened.

[ii]

The Architecture_

_Form follows Force_ dynamic forces have direct relation to the form and consequently the intended reaction of the system to that force.

_User Integration_ the user is the motorcycle and the motorcycle is the user. When separated neither system operates to the ability of the combined network. Super-bodied experience can be achieved.

_Framework_ a single spine facilitates the connection and orders the interaction of all the other systems in accordance to their performative duty and forces which inform them.


[i] “ducati 1098 bare,”

[ii] "Casey Stoner integrated" <http://www.gameguru.in/images/moto-gp-1.jpg>

Biological Systems: Coral

Coral reef ecosystems are the most dense ecosystems, in terms of biomass, on this planet and their survival relies on the connection of coral polyps to their structure. Coral depend on their efficient light structure and strong filaments to attach themselves permanently to their site.

“An essential part of this control is the cellular feed-back mechanisms which direct the accretion of material to places where it is most needed, resulting in adaptive structures. The shape of a tree is the history of the forces which were acting on it while it grew.”[i]

The coral is a keystone element in the reef network but also depends on the organisms which hosts upon it for nutrients and in some cases fertilization, much like flowers. The fleshy polyps gather food or light and secrete their calcium byproduct (ions found in seawater) directly to the skeleton below them as an active growth mechanism. Millions of genetically identical polyps may cover one coral head and so the crenellated patterns which appear are dictated by the health and production of the individual polyps and the dynamicity of the wave action of their environment. Environment also dictates what types of bacteria grow on the coral and subsequently what organisms feed or hide amongst the created reef network.






























[ii]
Once a coral dies and only the calcified head remains its crenellated surface becomes a site for the next generation of coral to grasp onto and grow from. Building upon the layers of calcified coral creates a complex living environment which amounts over time to become a haven for even very large organisms. Integration with sea life is extensive as coral systems directly or indirectly support 33% of the ocean's organisms while only actually taking up .02% of the ocean floor. [iii]


The Architecture_

_Form follows Force: dynamic forces have direct impact on the surface / space which they create / alter, both internally and externally.

_Network Strength: reliance on environmental or existing structure as well as inter-coral relationships, order is consequence of forces or interactions levels.

_Module Variety: different species interrelate through similar connection mechanisms allowing for diverse but unified network.

[i] Page 44, Vincent, Julian (essay in Lightness entitled Smart by Nature) [ii] <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Report_on_the_Florida_Reefs%2C_Plate_IV.jpg>
[iii] <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Coral/>

Towards a New Architecture

i sit now with towards a new architecture in hand, and i realized that this book is the basis for 'refabricating architecture' (the structure of the arguments) which i read and have based my paper and a lot of my thinking on in the past. this gives me a great basis to structure my own examples and thinking to begin the process.

last night really clarified a lot for me, as compared to 2 wks ago when i left feeling lost... i understand that I myself cannot create a paradigm shift but i would like to present the ideas that embody a new way of thinking, designing and making.

it is not about sexy images and trendy sites but i think there is real value in both the metaphor of biological design and the isolation/approachability/change of preconceptions of the ocean.

expansion of the case studies of what to do: the motorcycle, the coral as well as the anti-case studies: Dubai, KieranTimberlake will inform the process next

Architecture or Revolution

"Architecture or Revolution.
Revolution can be avoided."
_Le Corbusier

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free, Buoyed by water, he can fly in any direction-up, down, sideways-by merely flipping his hand. Under water, man becomes an archangel." _Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Architecture with no gravity and no ground plane is similar to the transformation of the Baroque when Piranesi etched spaces with no hierarchy and no narrative explaining the order of the space; rethinking how form is ordered. Water not only transforms the way we move in space but the way we percieve distance and sound. Form in Hydrospace is created by different forces and has no relation to a ground plane or horizon.

The New Land (What not to do)

Japan, China and the United Arabian Emirates have already resorted to manufacturing land. Tokyo, Nagasaki, Odaiba, Hong Kong and Dubai have each expanded their cities into the ocean because of overgrowth or to expand valuable coastline property near cities. This could be seen as an act of reclaiming the edge which is eroded by the sea, but is this a solution or a diversion? How do we inhabit the new land?


<http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html>

<http://www.nakheel.com/>

War and Water

In a world where territorial boundaries extend only 12 nautical miles off the coast, and the reach of ballistic missiles is over 1000 miles international waters become a haunting presence. Physical social interaction on the ocean is in fact almost entirely limited to piracy and acts of war, all others simply use radio and pass through to ports. This is a curious juxtaposition coming from a nation where the public uses the ocean to recieve our manufactured goods and take luxury cruises.

<http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/nimitz/images/nimitz9.jpg>

<http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/BoatTrips_5/IMG_2006a.jpg>

<http://www.geocities.com/finbagger1/images/ohio1342.jpg>

<http://www.nuclearfiles.org/images/key-issues/missile-defense/sea-based-radar.jpg>

Definitions and Questions

System_ a group of devices or objects which address a particular performative task(s) in transferring energy, information and / or matter

Integration_ bringing systems into coordinated interaction

Network_ assemblage of systems working in coordination to an affect greater than the sum of the singular systems


::


How does architecture affect a network of skeletal towers in a liquid landscape?

How can an architectural system integrate into the systems of the ocean?

What is the future expansion of the city, the new land?

What can we learn about form making and fabricating process on land from design in the ocean environment through changing perspective and preconceptions of what architecture is?