Condencity_9 city time

Not far from where I live in San Francisco is a magazine shop. A section of it's storefront exists as a memorial time piece, honoring those who have recently died. Images are placed, frequently changing as a reminder of our own temporary place in city and life. The images are of people who have made impressionable impact on society through fame or otherwise. I'm fascinated with each passing in my own brief time and the seemingly time unchanged of this city neighborhood. The pictures are framed in the city unmoving; a resistance to change while projecting a face of temporality. This is the contradiction of the city; side by side.

Condencity_8

Sometimes...

silence in Architecture matters.

Condencity_7 room anywhere

'Rooms' can exist anywhere.

The room anywhere is ubiquitous in Seoul. For purposes of rest, pleasure, entertainment; the singular room has multiplied to a barrier free position. One can argue the need for a framework in which to house these varied spaces but is such a structure really necessary?

Architecture and memory

"If you could see what I've seen, with your eyes"

R. H., Bladerunner 

Local re_action

photo credits: L. Coar

As the saying goes "think locally" truly takes root in actions which do just that. My good friend and colleague, Lancelot Coar guided his University of Manitoba students in the re-use of materials from an abandoned school house in the rural town of Clearwater, Manitoba. Over the last two academic semesters students demolished and preserved wood planks and boards from the early century school house, slated for demolition. Through recent months students then designed and constructed from the salvaged lumber various installations which, were relocated within the community of Clearwater. Students devised a bridge, gazebo and community space, giving back to the small town where the empty school house had left off years ago.

Urban_voice

June 6, 2008

As many as one million protesters have erupted in the city of Seoul in direct response to recent trade policy changes with the United States. Korean citizens have been incensed by the national governments bow to US trade policy by admitting US beef older than 30 months into Korea for consumption (which by the way is not allowed to be consumed in the US under FDA guidelines). The newly elected Korean president is currently under intense pressure to renegotiate the deal with US trade policy makers.

What has grabbed my attention is the collective Urban voice (not new to Korea) and passion about standing firm for social safety and well being in a concious society. The city of Seoul has become in recent days grounds for change and action against the decisions of few.

The streets can speak.

In_Memory

Rauschenberg was a master of making dense.

An assembler of life's 'things' transformed in historical collections of artifacts. For me his work is both simple and immensely complex. He inspired a generation of artists and will undoubtedly continue to do so for generations to come.

Condencity_6 abandoned form

Ewha Women's University Student Center: Dominique Perrault, Architect
Subterranean form- invisible- given way to a new cultural landscape

Le Fresnoy: Bernard Tschumi Architect
An anti-form born of site driven circumstances. Reuse of existing buildings combined under a unifying roof shelter: combining space, function and experience.

Architecture [what we might consider environmental design] requires a kind of pervasive permeability; a seamless relationship of the greater natural and constructed environments. Building must be an active participant in the environment in which it exists.

'Co-existent' architecture is against style- anti-form. Arguably, deconstructivism has uncovered what has become a need to reconnect the fragments of city/ place and a desire to go beyond formal design language and image; more specifically architectural 'style'. Outcomes predicated upon ideas and theories, extended to challenge the processes by which architecture is conceived. Our generation is challenged to take a step further in creating architectures which, in effect, are one with place; where form making is purely a product of analytic search and spatial necessity. 

How might we go further to dissolve 'image making' in order to promote a seamless connection within the environment at large?

Condencity_5

As designer's of the built environment we have the incredible responsibility of acute contextual awareness. Beyond that we must seek to predict future conditions that anticipate new and yet to be seen environmental and urban conditions. All of this sometimes seems impossible to incorporate in a project and yet without broad dimensional considerations architecture falls well short of it's potential as a contributor in the environment.

My partner and I began this modest student housing project in South Korea with the intention of an expanded typology for student living given the realization of current residential practices in the region. Each dwelling was designed as self sufficient and autonomous spaces within a collective sustainable building 'unit'. The macro planning of each residential 'unit' is positioned between what we considered unconditioned spatial 'buffers'; corridor and patio space. Each plan takes advantage of site solar orientation as well as serving basic functional needs for student occupants (cooking, laundry, storage etc.) 

The layout of the building intended for a sequence of experiences as one passes from street side entry to dwelling space. A long, straight stair at the flanking west side of the building connects to each of three floors of studio apartment units. A single loaded corridor off of the stair establishes an informal entry and internal seasonal buffer. Each exposed end of the studio unit is 'padded' with enclosed patio space providing necessary environmental and privacy insulation for each apartment. The corridor and patio spaces function as  previously mentioned 'buffers' in both intense summer heat and cold winter months.

The growing urban area in which the apartment is located will soon be a major urban center for the city of Gwangju. It is projected that in the next decade much of the vacant ground around the site will be developed.

Gallery Opening

Currently on display at Gensler- San Francisco through July 25th 2008 are a few of my recent paintings alongside some impressive works by professional colleagues.