Elevation Update

Most Recent Rendition....

things in the near westside

holiday/working day

Facade Progress

After some "lively" discussion and debate, a process version of the facade - check back for an update by Wednesday.

better late than never

Well actually now is probably a good time to look at these again. Thoughts expressed to consider as the design moves forward: visibility and vitality, intergenerational interaction, a place to give people hope and support, beautiful and clean.

Manifesto

Manifesto
-A glossary of ideas-

Reincarnation – 601 Tully preserves the Near West Side’s spirit as a permanent structural manifestation of the community’s evolving consciousness within the city as a whole; an evolutionary process represented and exemplified by the building’s interactive interface and fluid social/educational programming.

Cutting the Key – by interacting and forming a relationship with 601 Tully, persons in the community around it are in the process of cutting individual keys to the Jewelry Box; yielding, ultimately, its precious contents: personal and community ownership of building and memory.

Jewelry Box – 601 Tully is a receptacle for precious memories; from rough trinkets to polished gems. Maintaining original façade and reusing materials prevents people from losing their Keys.

Dream – 601 Tully is structurally adaptable. Facilitating a colorful, sensual experience in which the self is both present and transcendent in time, existing within the space between layers and through windows.

Portland Food Carts

Portland Food Vendors

Sept 9 Focus Group Photos

More Photos after the jump.

manifesto thoughts in brief culled from our collective research and design work:
1. 601 Tully is a relationship
2. the overriding formal element is the window, fenestrations, doors, openings - but mostly the window
3. beautiful collaborative moment (of which we could quote many) Andrew's lattice work above 601 Tully's twin; Marion says it looks like a grape grove; Lindsay says grapes grow well in CNY; and Kristen finishes with our first menu item: jam!

tomorrow:
Lindsay - review reading
have mainfestoes ready
look at three new models
divide into same groups to resolve openings for structural drawings using manifesto
divide into new groups for coming week: drawings; desing;business plan!

Thoughts on Assignment #1

What follows is a summary of concepts gleaned from Assignment 1 – the re-interpretations of the work of various contemporary artists and architects in relationship to 601 Tully. In general terms, the conversation we had can be distilled into two concepts that can help us integrate the building into the fabric of the Near Westside – building as narrative and building as interactive object.

Narrative

The concept of narrative relates to our interest having the building somehow represent the past, present and future of the Neat Westside. This can be accomplished in a concrete way, through the process of casting physical objects, or in more abstract ways – eg. oral histories, neighborhood questionnaires, or video/photographic projections. 601 Tully has the ability to serve an archival function, to operate as a sort of memory bank for the neighborhood and to also measure change within the neighborhood in real time. The juxtaposition between the relatively permanent elements of the neighborhood – surrounding buildings, Skiddy Park, Blogett Elementary – and the transitory, day-to-day evolution of the Near Westide and 601 Tully can provide a metric for understanding and marking how the neighborhood evolves.

Interaction

Our conversation also established the importance of showing what’s going on inside the building as a means of creating a dialogue between the community-at-large and the goings-on in 601 Tully. This dialogue is seen as a means of integrating the building into its context. Projecting the program of the building outwards into the neighborhood, or inserting the character of the neighborhood itself inside the building is one way to accomplish this. Accordingly, it is important to think about the building not only in terms of aspect – how it is seen as an object and presented to the community, but also prospect – what is seen from the building or how the community is viewed/framed from the building. The threshold between community and building – and interaction from both sides of it – helps make the project about community as a whole, rather than the building as a discrete object. If these values are pushed to their (illogical) extremes, does this mean the disappearance of the building itself?

Some important concepts from everybody’s presentations:

Enric Ruiz Geli – Michael Performative skin, lattice – the idea of individual elements comprising a larger whole. Wrapping surfaces begin to negotiate corners and direct pedestrian traffic.

Daniel Buren - Andrew Collapse of image of the building – continuation of surfaces as a way of integrating into the community

NDSM – Yun Pei Identity is shown thru the interior space. No façade – no building?

Gordon Matta-Clark - Phoebe Reacting against authoritative models – dismantling the center – the most important part – as an institutional critique.

Rachel Whiteread - Mario Representing air, memory by casting negative space. Making concrete (literally and figuratively) the unseen and impermanent.

Tracey Emmon - Sam Collecting memory –personal events turn into a sounding board for a broad audience.

Takashi Horisaki – Jessica Re-presenting the object in a new way to uncover what isn’t seen conventionally.

Tyree Guyton – Kristin Using objects found in one’s local context as a building material to develop a strong sense of place.

Krzysztof Wodiczko - Jamie Building surface as a sounding board. Project out to other buildings to expand the space of 601 Tully.

Agnes Martin – Marion The idea of a trope – the building isn’t what it appears to be.

Teddy Cruz – Zach Using relationships between authority and community as a place of intervention. Understanding local manufacturing processes, spatial practices and projecting from them.

Teddy Cruz and Materials

One quote I like from the Teddy Cruz article:

“The emptiness of affluence annoys him.” (in talking about McMansions and all the empty, unused space they contain)

Mostly for the alliteration but also for the message. This statement connects to the last article we read as well as ideas the materials group wishes to pursue. We discussed using materials we could find around the area, for example from the habitat for humanity restore or from lumber manufacturers’ scraps, to build in a cost effective way while also giving the building some character. Using recycled materials will help to make our final object ‘sing’ of the process used to create it. While the materials themselves might be silent, a house-turned-business made up of multiple reused materials will say something. Also, our interaction with members of the community in coming up with ideas about program and creating a design grounds the project in the neighborhood and helps protect against the emptiness that can occur when something is placed in a community which does not belong.

Also, here are a few interesting links I found related to partition wall systems (and the restore), if we’re still interested.

http://gizmodo.com/282583/mio-nomad-system-create-a-wall-anytime-anywhere

http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-arts-acoustic-partition-system-made-from-recycled-plastic-fiber/

http://www.syracuserestore.org/

context - facilitators

Walking through the Near West Side, I've noticed that there are not many open and inviting places that draw people in besides the Church. There are many convenience stores, but nothing where people can stop by and gather. There are many very young people and many elderly people in the neighborhood. At the community meeting last Wednesday, there were some great insights about what can potentially become of 601 Tully. The elderly thought a cafe would be nice where they can gather together with other locals and just have a cup of coffee. The younger kids seem to need a place where they can hang out or even a place where they can work at to keep themselves out of trouble. Some suggested being able to work and help out the older people of the neighborhood with yard work or carrying groceries.
The community meeting was a great way to get to know the neighborhood more and understand who we are designing and building for. The project is most successful when it is supported by the community.

a broad range survey of near westside facade

Boggled

We are apart of helping to rebuild the near west side. In one aspect i think that this is a wonderful concept. Bringing new positive views about the west side and bring new concepts and hope for a better, safer community. While walking the community i have heard about all the wonderful changes that have been made for future plans. Such as rebuilding the residential and commercial neighborhoods and creating an arts community, attracting new technology businesses and designing new community and commercial spaces, on top of other things you can find out about the initiative at www.nearwestsidestory.org.

So while all these great concepts are starting to happen. I have to wonder how the people in the neighborhood feel, if they even want change, or if they are comfortable with how the neighborhood is now. When we change a neighborhood to make it "better" is it really making it better? or is it just taking money and pushing people out the place they call home?

Can us as outsiders really change a neighborhood and still have it be able to be comfortable for the people that live in it? How do we get to the point of being able to comfortably interact with the neighbors if we don't even live there? How do we mesh together comfortably?

I guess what i am so boggled by is the more i interact in the west side, the more i feel i am an outsider. I will never get certain things, because i don't live there. I now wonder if I will ever truly get to the point where i feel like i am getting real interest from someone who does live in the west side. Or if anyone will feel that they have some reason to have interest in me, other than curiosity.

At what point do i not seem like an outsider to the insiders?

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"Today, the Near West Side Initiative combines multiple projects aimed at rebuilding the residential and commercial vibrancy of the neighborhood -- through creating an Arts community, attracting new Technologybusinesses and Designing new community and commercial spaces, as well as revitalizing the Economy of the neighborhood, by increasing owner-occupancy by current residents." www.nearwestsidestory.org

New York Times article, Trash to Treasure

Did people see the article in the NYTimes Home Section yesterday about the guy who used all these recycled (sometimes trash) items to create low income housing? You can see it on line or I will bring to class on Wed.

The Article

Un-Annotated Elevations for Sketching On

Quick sketch of what could be a logo / letterhead for the invitation to the community focus. Let me know of any suggestions or ideas.