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

Schedules? Schedules? and more updates and info.

Thesis folks,

I want to forward some information to you guys, you should by now have received an email from Kate detailing the submission of your papers and what not to blackboard.

Evidently our group is the only group really up on the blogging (am i surprised?) So please post, whatever she is asking of you to post to Blackboard to your blogs for our review.

In addition I'll take this key moment to remind you that it was agreed that schedules of next semester would be posted to you blogs by this Monday past. So, as finals come to a close, let see get those schedules posted.

Additionally after meeting with John and Lisa last night and today Kate and Sneha and the rest of the thesis advisers it is clear that all of thesis needs - no - must keep moving forward and plugging holes and polishing your work over break. As I've pointed out before we have limited time that will quickly get sucked away from us.

You've got work to do over break like it or not - the last bit of research, double checking your paper, rewriting your thesis statement to reflect the current state of affairs, i could name more possibilities, but you know them and for each of you it is different. The thing to remember is that we cannot afford to stop, we can slow up and reflect, and use that to move ahead but we cannot stop.

I'll be emailing you more information, blogging some responses post finals grading, and looking for those promised schedules - while I'm at it maybe I'll put up a festive background - i know you can't wait.

This email will, of course, be up on the blog in a short while.

-A

Keep the updates rolling

Everyone,

Our meeting Monday I think was on average good. We're not yet great but you guys are slowly eeking out a way of working with yourselves, your project and us advisers that feel is working.

To me the trick remains consistency in your progress and your work and your communications. Leaving everything for the Sunday posting can work, but so far I think the process is flowing much better when you guys are constantly making yourselves thinking about the project in words, images, and other descriptions that you are sharing with each other and with us.

To that effect i'm very pleased to see not only yourselves commenting on your work but that you are sharing it with an even wider audience.

The only thing we didn't talk much about this week was the schedule, so please be advised that I will be interested in your proposed calendars for the rest of the semester into next semester when we meet this Monday.

Keep on rollin'.

-A

full intergration

Interview on Lebbeus Woods' scab-itecture.

Assignment summary

Thesis-ers I heard through the grapevine that you have an assigment due for thesis prep. tomorrow.

Why not post it for us too?

of course add the disclaimer that it's for prep. but I think it would be good for us to have an idea of what you are doing there as well.

I'm only asking this thinking that you probably typing it up and therefore it only takes 5 minutes to post it up on the blog to.

If it's more time than that please disregard this.

For those who have updated so far it's been really helpful and I hope the comments back are helpful as well.

For those who haven't yet posted either summarizing statements or a thesis statement. I would ask that you take 20 minutes and post some info. it will allow us to better prep over the weekend.


As I said all the work i've seen has been very good, so thank you for that!

-A