Reading 1

Fraser, “A Two Fold Movement”

Question 1:

“Design research in architecture thus needs to see itself as being entirely framed by socio-economic and cultural factors, with, as noted, these largely located within urban practices and processes.” Is Fraser stating that all design research needs to do this? Or is he saying this in response to what the Architectural ideology is in the previous paragraph?

Question 2:

Is the example of Rem Koolhas looking at history in reverse an new way of looking at how research is done? When looking at design research, don’t we generally find precedents that relate to what we are trying to do and then research the history of the particular type of design we wish to research?

Question 3:

The idea of “research toward design” is an interesting way at looking how one might conduct research. But is it practical? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to design while researching? This method would allow one to gather information and put it to use simultaneously rather then collect all of their information and then react to it afterwards.

Reading 2

Rendell, “A Way With Words”

Question 1:

Does design provide the best avenue to work in an interdisciplinary way? It is true that many other professions, especially the sciences, only focus on their own sector of research. Does design include so many fields that it is inevitable that almost all design research will require one to work on a diagonal axis? From the aspect of gaining new knowledge, interdisciplinary research makes sense, but does it then make you a “jack of all trades” and a “master of none”?

Question 2:

Is feminist architecture a new form of practice? Does it help further architectural design, or is it being used as a statement against the norms of it?

Question 3:

The design by writing approach is an interesting idea when thinking about conceptualizations of positionality, subjectivity and textuality, but is it enough to just write about design? Should there be a physical act of making besides writing pen on paper?

The aim of this study is to explore the subtle yet ever present relationship between Dwelling and Dweller, so as to magnify this condition and procure a more acute sense of how are physical surroundings impact our individual identity and vice versa. The work will utilize myself as both the investigator and the investigated, with my current residence (59 Englewood Ave.) acting as the site and instigator of the research. Broader subjects expected to be confronted through this experiment will be topics such as Rituals/Habits, Familiarity/Nostalgia/Memory, Self-Reflection, Comfortability, and Utility/Functionality.

Investigations into the Dweller Dwelling relationship will be conducted via extensive reading, writing, documentation, and many forms of making. The work produced and discussed will help to clarify this relationship and to flush out the broader topics listed above. As of now the proposed product of the research is a series of imagined installations or interventions upon the home itself that will engage both Dwelling and Dweller in curious and pattern altering ways. It should be made clear that the proposals are not intended to enhance the quality of life for the resident or improve the buildings performance in any particular way. The purpose of the interventions are to manipulate habits, instill curiosity, generate self-awareness, and foster a more robust bond between Dwelling and Dweller.
The larger concern fueling the research is a general dissatisfaction with the residential relationship. More and more commonly it seems  dwellers take less pride in, know less about, and interact less meaningfully with their homes. This is not only troubling when considering the field of architecture but also in regards to personal identity.

“A Way with Words” by Jane Rendell

1. The comment that design research puts “work first, and then later considers the larger field”; to me is only partially true. Do designers not have an overarching problem that drives the research, are they simply making in a vacuum?
2. I find Diller’s “Choreographed Shirt Folding Project” very fascinating, primarily through the lens of locationally informed skill sets or habits. Does the viewing of the product made through this manipulated skill, generate a new viewing of the space in which it was presumably performed?
3. “Black Tent consisted of a flexible structure, a number of steel framed panels with black fabric screens stretched……..” Even though Rendell argues for a more creative and thoughtful use of writing within Architecture she still describes her first work that would fa along these lines in a very typical way. Must all Architectural writing at some point be so purely spacial?

“A Two-Fold Movement” by Murray Fraser

1. The practicality and social benefit associated with critical practice makes it a very honorable and appealing way to conduct one’s practice. Would  contributing solely to these critical issues however alter the nature and skillsets of the Architectural Designer?
2. Lebbeus Woods writes, “To the knowing , this is supposed to be read as ‘irony’ or ‘critique’. To the regular people it is just business as usual in an authoritarian state.” I often find that Design carries with it an attitude of superiority, that in many ways causes an inappropriate value system. How can this be combatted in such a visually motivated field?
3. Is the shortcoming of Architectural Theory, in regards to its relevance and success over time not a result of misinformed design decisions but more so a factor of Architectures physical and permanent nature? Society and technology are changing at very rapid rates, whereas a built work is a permanent fixture that despite intense research for the time is undoubtedly going to become obsolete.

Student Housing

For some people, leaving home for the first time can be a challenging thing. It is starting a new life and stepping into a whole new world, especially upon entering college. Students go through a transition during those years of school. Instead of having parents to help with everything, students have to do it on their own and become more independent. This includes shopping, food, and finding balance between the schoolwork and relaxing. The transition helps with the correct environment within their school, more especially their housing.

Student housing is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a university or college. It is where the student spends most of their time. It’s where they work, sleep, shower, relax, and sometimes eat. So, having a quality residence hall that satisfies the needs and comforts of students is essential. While this statement could mean something different to each student in regards to their satisfaction, there is no denying that there are common needs and wants for various students.

For the interior, there are issues of privacy, convenience, and community. This refers to how the rooms are structured and what are offered as amenities to students. It is important for students to feel comfortable living with strangers, but at the same time, the building should create a sense of community. This can be seen in regular dorm rooms where students sleep in the same room or if they share an apartment where while they have their own bedrooms, they have shared common areas for interaction. Convenient access to amenities are also important. Students need to have access to food, laundry, spaces for social interaction, technology, fitness, and other facilities and services.

If one or more of the above can’t be placed within the residence hall itself, it is imperative to place them close to the building. Students should have easy access to stores, food vendors, and other businesses without the need to take a bus or find other means of transportation if they are unable to drive or find parking.

The goal of this project would be to design a university dormitory within Buffalo that satisfies the needs and comforts of students throughout their education. This would be done through literary review, precedent study of existing dorms and projects, and talking to people through surveys, interviews, and/or focus groups.

Murray Fraser, “A ‘Two-Fold Movement’: Design Research as Dialectical Critical Practice”

1. Sharif states that even though she knows her design proposals regarding Palestine/Israel doesn’t solve anything between them, it can be a “creative tool of resistance when backed up with a clear strategy”. Is it possible that architecture can be more than that, that one day it could help solve conflicts as big as this one?
2. “Architecture is, first and foremost, a process of creating knowledge. Because of this, the making of architecture is a major coalescing activity in society, bring together many flows into a single complex stream.” Is this the goal of what Lebbeus Woods hopes architecture could do, bring peace and fix damaging cities?
3. The definition of two-fold movement Saarinen describes is having town-design from the future toward the present and town-design from the present toward the future. Is this a concept that would still work today as Saarinen’s book was written 70 years ago? Have we gotten to a place in regards to technology and methods that we would want to work backwards?

Jane Rendell- “A Way with Words: Feminist Writings Architectural Design Research”

1. The concept of a diagonal axis is mentioned when talking about interdisciplinary and calling the construction of one a difficult business. However, what is a “diagonal axis”? Is it interacting with colleagues and sharing information or is it something else?
2. The article states that muf has had a huge influence on the development of feminist architectural design even though muf isn’t referred to as being feminist. If this is so, then why relate the two together? How could it be considered feminist architectural design if they claim not to be?
3. “One particularly important aspect of feminist critical spatial practice has been its desire to relate theory to architectural design, to make connections between built practice and written text.” Is this really anything new? Haven’t people done this in the past and still use it in non-feminist critical practices?

Thesis Abstract V2

“Keep up with modern facilities if you want to remain in Buffalo”. – Roger Goodell NFL Commissioner. With the lease of the current Buffalo Bills stadium coming to an end after the 2023 season, there is little doubt that a new stadium is envisioned for the Bills in the near future. The current stadium, New Era Field, opened in 1972 and is one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL still in use. While only used 8 games a season, there is a large financial gain for the local business at each game. Outside of those 8 games, it is an empty structure. This stadium represents the history of the Bills and the NFL. There has been triumph and tragic loss experienced in those seats and there would be more than one Bills fan wanting to hold onto that history as this team means so much to the community and its identity. There is a special bond that the fans of Buffalo have with their team and it would be a benefit to the community to both maintain that history as well as expand on it.
With the future stadium of the Bills likely being moved from the current complex in Orchard Park, the town has a conundrum of what to do with the old stadium once the main tenant moves out. Do they knock it down or can it be repurposed? With so much history for the town, it would be a great loss to the community to lose. My thesis aims to not only save this history of Orchard Park, but also serve as a “Blueprint” for other communities that have stadiums that are empty, or going to be, to have a guideline as to the steps and process at which to repurpose the structure for the benefit of the community.

John Mellas_Week 3

Fraser

1:  There are plenty of instances where the assumed correct method of design was implemented but investigation years later reveal that it was almost the worst possible design. Fraser uses the example of Tafuri’s 1920’s social improvement and economic redistribution by architectural means, to highlight this dilemma.  How then, can we be certain of the right thing to design? Is there a “correct” method of design?

2:  Can the architect’s role extend beyond the realm of design? The Palestine Regeneration Team (PART) that Fraser founded with Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzari raises a question as to how impactful architects can be in conflict stricken areas. The conflict between Palestine and Israel is one of the oldest in history. Can architects take this conflict and enable a new generation of Palestinians and Israelis to carve out their own cultural identity with design? Is this something that architects should take the forefront on in other areas of conflict or destress?

3:  “How one might design a whole city which would take decades to realize, and thinking of how one might possibly be able to do that.” In those decades, things will undoubtedly change. How can we plan for a future that might never materialize, or one that we never saw coming? How can we design for a future (especially in this day and age) where our cultural, social, political, and economic realities change so fast?

Rendell

1:  If interdisciplinary, and even multidisciplinary, are such a key element in today’s design process, why are we only taught architecture in school? It seems that to have a greater understanding of the world around us and not just design, theory, and history architecture classes. Why isn’t a broader curriculum taught to architecture students to give them a better understanding of the world around that they design in?

2:  Jennifer Bloomer’s work “demonstrates that the feminine, and perhaps theory, can be a radical element in architectural practice.” Has there been a separation between theory and architectural practice? If so, what would the benefit of bringing theory into design work?

3:  Rendell mentions “active writing, which aims to perform the spatial qualities of an artwork or piece of architecture through textual approaches, reconfiguring the sites between critic and work, essay and reader, as an ‘architecture’ of criticism. Here site-writing operates as a form of architectural design research exploring how architectural processes of structuring and detailing spaces through can work through textual media, offering new insights into what architecture is and what it might be.” Is the written word of architecture (theory, history, critique, etc..) just as important as built, and even unbuilt, designs? Can Rendell’s site-writing be a form of architecture in and of its self?

Reading 1: “A Two-Fold Movement”

1. Based on the article, the author mentioned that “Design research in architecture thus needs to see itself as being entirely framed by socio-economic and cultural factors”. Isn’t it mean giving people what they want but not what they need?

2. According to the two-fold movement, one of them is town-design from the future toward the present and the other one is town-design from the present toward the future. How can we make balance between these two?

3. Based on Lebbeus Wood’s comments about Rem Koolhaas design, how is it possible to judge the outcomes of a design if it was never built? Doesn’t it imply that the chosen design which was built is less worthy?

Reading 2: “A Way with Words”

1. In the previous articles the main focus of architectural design was to provide solutions. A new concept is introduced in this article: What are the examples in which architectural design research can raise questions and make ‘problematic’ artifacts instead of solutions?

2. The author believes that “critical spatial practice” projects are situated at a triple crossroads: between theory and practice, between art and architecture, and between public and private. Public and private are antonyms therefore, they can be compared. On the other hand, art and architecture are not antonyms and also theory is perquisites of practice. So, my question is that how they can be compared with each other?

3. Based on muf’s work which implies that process is the product, can this notion extend to the thesis in academia? To be more precise, is this method acceptable as the outcome for thesis of a Master of Architecture student?

‘A Two Fold Movement’: Design Research as Dialectical Critical Practice -Murray Fraser

1. “Nothing can be prefigured. All has to be questioned.” At what point can researchers stop uncovering new investigations?
2. Would Wood’s process of research be considered social research/design?
3. “It was sort of functionalism in reverse. But what he was attempting most of all was to switch who held the power over what kinds of spaces were built in cities, who could use them, and for what this was to be removed from official governments and design professionals.” To some extent, would society be considered as the designers?

A Way With Words: Feminists Writing Architectural Design Research – Jane Rendell

1. Rendell mentions in the text “the importance of exchange across art and architecture, the participation of users in the design process…” Is this movement essentially stating to the world “we care about people now”?
2. “Although muf architecture/art have never referred to themselves as feminists…” Then why use this practice as an example?
3. “One particularly important aspect of feminists critical spatial practice has been its desire to relate theory to architectural design, to make connections between built practice and written text.” Isn’t this done everywhere?

One of the major concerns of the architectural design is what features make a place meaningful. My question is what features can transform space to place, to make it meaningful in terms of encouraging social interaction among strangers. Tehran as capital city of Iran, despite of having so many parks, restaurants, coffee houses and shopping mall centers, it still misses something; Real social interaction and passion.

Unfortunately, with passage of time, the passion of people to go to the parks decreased because of safety issues and therefore enjoyability has decreased. Parks became places for homeless and addicted people. On the other hand, restaurants and coffee houses in Tehran are typically designed in a way that they do not engage people in social interactions. This can be due to different design characteristics; for example, furnitures are arranged in a way that does not easily provide an opportunity for individuals to have informal dialogues with one another. In addition, furniture arrangement is mostly focused on separation of spaces, meaning that they provide a private space for groups of people and do not take into account the individuals.

Also, in these kind of places there are no special events to provide a foundation for connecting people with different backgrounds, cultures and thoughts. So, you can usually see individuals enjoy their privacy for relaxing by having a snack or a meal or groups of people who usually have history in between them from before. Therefore, it is unlikely to see sparks among strangers.

The focus of this study is to explore new methods and information about features that will support social interaction in public spaces in one of the significant historical streets in Tehran. Valiasr street is a tree-lined street which divides this city into eastern and western parts, which makes it one of the major paths for both pedestrians and motorists. Even though it is one of the major attractions of Tehran, lack of a decent public space is sensed. Although it has a lots of common public spaces such as parks, restaurants and cafés, as a developing country there is a lot of room for improvement.

To achieve this goal, multiple methods of gathering data such as archival information, observation and surveys will be used. A part of this study relies on social science to find trends and patterns in people’s behavior. Also historical research has to be used to study the past and present state of the area to develop a design for the future.

Deconstructed Landscape:

Landscape and Architecture through the lens of Building Waste

Construction and demolition, and by association architecture, create prolific amounts of waste each year. The building sector created 530 million metric tons of construction and demolition waste in the United States in 2013, 90% of which was purely demolition related (EPA. Advancing Sustainable Materials Management. 2013).  For scale, the United States produced 254 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW consists of residential and commercial garbage and recyclables) in 2013.   Between 1996 and 2003 New York City saw a $400 million increase in its sanitation budget due to the closure of its last remaining landfill in Freshkills, Staten Island causing the city to start exporting its solid wastes to other states(NYC Sanitation 2004).  Connecticut is running out of landfill space rapidly, in particular for C+D wastes and Massachusetts is considering a ban on the disposal of C+D waste products entirely(NYC Sanitation 2004).  

A vacant, derelict building on a property in the city of Buffalo is not the best use of that parcel. The objective of this thesis is to explore ways of using and/or storing materials from demolished or deconstructed abandoned properties on site in order to address the environmental impacts created by demolition waste.  Temporary rebuilding on site utilizing recovered materials could serve as a way to avoid having to transport a portion of the materials off site to recycling facilities or waste facilities by serving as a creative way to store construction materials on site for future projects. Through  this process, we can begin to take a landscape up approach to building that could provide ways to blur the boundaries between building waste, landscape, and architecture.  The installations would be both performative and informative and would integrate with the landscape to allow the former house site to become a positive environmental influence by augmenting any existing positive ecological functions and perhaps providing additional ecological functions such as water runoff control, filtration, and C02 sequestration.  The architecture of the constructs would address the importance of aesthetics in ecological design and the impact that it has on public perception of waste and “green” design. The economics of ecological design through the reuse of existing materials would also be furthered by showing what is possible with the introduction of closed-loop material practices. The site-holistic designs could open a new social dialogue, which would address the value and utility of reused materials and their potential for positive environmental impacts.  

The end goal of this process is the transformation of a vacant, derelict property into an environmentally regenerative, socially stimulating, and commercially viable site.  Repetition of this process at multiple sites across the city could begin to develop a network of temporary socio-ecological interaction sites that begin to store reusable materials for future construction, therefore exhibiting the evolutionary characteristics of a living system at the urban scale.

Fraser:

1. Fraser critiques the modes of research through design put forth by Le Corbusier’s idea of process as a spiral form and Donald Schon’s as a sequence of iterative loops. These modes, although based in design are still chronologically linear as opposed to the two-fold movement which alternates between past, present, and future.  How might a two-fold approach relate more clearly to the interdisciplinary nature of design research?
2. “Design research in architecture thus needs to see itself as being entirely framed by socio-economic and cultural factors, with, as noted, these largely located within urban practices and processes.” Cultural and socio-economic factors are always shifting.  How can critical practice best address these shifts?
3. “But what architecture is certainly able to do is to examine, and experiment, with the conditions under which it is conceived and produced, which means that a very real task for design research is to act as a mechanism for a wider critique of architecture itself.” Is a two-fold approach more effective at this than other methods?

Rendell:

1. Rendell defines four critical research methodologies. Research in building science, social sciences and humanities in buildings, history and theory, and practice led research in architectural design. How can these be applied to Fraser’s analysis of historical and two-fold approaches?
2. There is a clear ascertain that muf does not identify as feminists yet they identify their work as furthering feminist architectural design. How do we clarify the distinction between design research and feminist design?  Is there a distinction?
3. Site-writing is defined as taking the location of the critic into consideration to condition their interpretative role. How do we navigate this condition in design research?