The Wall of Padua

Walls are not just built in historical Germany, or modern day Israel, or on the border of the US and Mexico.

This is a link to a 20 min. documentary on the Italian City of Padua, and their problem with immigration.

Would it come to this much an extreme here in the states? I'd like to think no...but then again.

It has become a de facto knee jerk reaction...but does it reinforce problems or solve issues, or create more?

power of people

more images about and on walls

put some banksy on it

cast concrete floaters, iron towers, and other tall ocean going rigs

Back of the Envelop Competition ENTER TODAY!

Here's a link to the George W. Bush Presidential Library Back-of-the-Envelop Competition

Basically you draw a sketch of your idea (any idea) on the back of an envelop and send it in to The Chronicle of Higher Education for your chance to participate in an architectural commentary on politics...and incidentally, an Ipod Touch.

The results, in March, should be interesting.

SUBMIT SOMETHING! WHY NOT!!!

if you guys want I'm posting here some submissions me and my college's are sketching up too, you can send me yours, it would be a welcome diversion to the usual stuff.

Walls, Edges, Power, Opposition, Reaction

Let me preface my observations here by stating that I am neither pro or anti anything in the middle east politically, I do think it is an excellent example of what happens when people fail at communication and succeed in misunderstanding a mutual desire to live. That being said, the inherent tensions there have pushed people, policy and the functions of living (and inherently building) to their limit, and thereby highlighted these elements with far more power than they are otherwise accorded in other places. It is these extremes and these actions and reaction, as they happen architecturally that I find fascinating and incredibly unfortunate, simultaneously.

These photos I collected from the AP reports on the situation last week along the Gaza/Egyptian border. Facing a complete closure of access to Israel, the Gaza Strip started to tear down sections of the border fence between Gaza and Egypt which Israel had constructed when they were the arbiters of the region. This is situation represents a most extreme version of events focusing on a wall separating communities from their needs. Granted that is dangerously oversimplifying the ongoing issues, but regardless of the politics in the background, walls such as this are the architectural manifestation of disconnection and control and the destruction or injury to that barrier as an act of need, for survival, is an act of architecture just as potent as building the wall itself.
What we are left with is not just a strong argument against walls and in favor of promoting interconnection of communities, but we also see beyond the mere argument to the actions of the response.

Here we can see the reaction against a 'real' physical barrier, however lines of demarcation are sometimes not as distinct and therefore not as easily identified. It is much more the case that these borders or edges are not at all fixed or perceivable by the unsuspecting observer. Yet the effect of these boundaries on communities is none the less powerful. Consider that as much as the construction and existence of the wall is powerful the act of tearing it down is equally powerful and symbolic. Other photos of the wall indicate that the materials of its construction varies. Perhaps there was a section that was easier to knock down or even sneak through/around/under? The question being why not knock that section down? Maybe the reason is that it is is just as quickly repaired. I would argue instead that breaking the wall at its strongest point is the architectural equivalent of defeating the wall's manifested purpose, instead of nibbling at the edges and weak spots, by reacting against the strongest section the very existence of the wall, and therefore what the wall stands for is challenged and that will not easily go unnoticed.

Boundaries can be reinforced, challenged, sculpted to make a point, perforated or torn down. I fully expect that no single design solution responds to all the unique situations that arise, but they are all something to keep in mind.

As you move forward, all of you, these edge conditions real and perceived are something you should be aware of - racial and economic divides in the Philly and Reading, sacred ground green earth and the temporal qualities of the built in Gettysburg battlefield, the expansiveness of the sea, the grain of the small town community.

Monday Meeting Topics

Monday meeting, same time same station, same group.

We'll meet for a little while, but probably end up splitting up to one-on-one as needed.

To that affect I'm compiling lists of items i'm interested in for everyone's work/schedule/resources/pace/progress/output

Adam
Site visit
Scale, scale, scale which buildings, how big, how much of them do you want to build, what is manageable, what is a smart amount, what is good for starters
Case Study visits and large sculpture information - storm king etc. what did you learn
linking into the community
looking down the road where is this project 50+ after it's built

Jesse
Site drawings, setbacks, info from the county/township
E.P.A. information
Design schemes
What scales will you be working in
What should we be linking to around the community - are there existing programs you can connect with to strengthen your design?

Kristin
Site visit! we need see good site drawings and analysis of the social/economic/political status of the neighborhood you want to bind together
how are your contacts- Tim McD, the soc. dept. etc. what info can you get from them
where do we start - inside and deisgn out (classroom -> community) or reverse?

Nate
Site photos and reponses to your NYC experience
sketches? i'll be looking for more of your image/constructs
nailing down some specific (unique?) and powerful places for you to inject the new nate way of living in freespace
small- medium- large- growing the architecture from begining to maturity, from the small coral infestation to the all consuming and encompassing NYCoral reef

Paul
Potential Site visit?
What did the break and time on the site get you?
design philosophy-how are you 'touching' the ground, the site
How are we altering everyday gettysburg?
how are we altering visitors?
small things = big difference - how does this translate into architecture?
program program program


Tim
Site visit site visit site visit
We should walk/drive/bike this and check out what where your looking
over break experience - what'd you get out of your site and time?
what are the particular places of interest that you will be blowing up big scale to explain your new vision for the site?
dressing, prepping and preforming surgery - what are the steps? how does it heal?
designing the operating theatre to do the operation, what will our vocabulary be and where will it take us?


I'll see you all on Monday with my respective list for each of you.

-A