CONSTRUCTING LOCALE
CONSTRUCTING LOCALE
1.) Derivation of thesis statement: The thesis seeks to approach architecture as dwellings, by borrowing definitions that Martin Heidegger gave and explained in his lecture in 1951 “Building Dwelling Thinking”, differentiated meanings of buildings and locale in the process of place making with the example of a bridge. The intent is derived from observations on several incidences. Firstly the forced nomadic lifestyles and unprecedented rate of migration in both scale and frequency in between cities in the process of urbanization in contemporary China. Secondly the unveiling of ghost towns and abandoned mega projects such as Ordos and amusement park near Beijing. With the increasing complexity and scale, mega projects are apt to fail when facing contexts of spontaneity. As a result, presented as a horrifying moment yet as stimulus of anxiety towards a potential collapse of economy, Ordos strikes the global market with images of abandoned constructions that adopt prolonged planning and construction strategies. The purpose of buildings expired together with the prosperity in mining industries before they are completed. Government strived to stimulate migration into the newly constructed areas by implementation of various policies as the solution. These phenomenons reveal a mismatch in time of construction processes and demand on building completions in modern planning strategies. The idea of locale and place making, involve process of building and activities, lose their significance under the utility of money, time, space and industrial production in capitalistically driven development. Hence the thesis begins with asking questions on the possibility or validity of locale within contemporary context. Secondly the relationship between construction completion and occupation. Thirdly the potentials of control or manipulation which strategy and timespan of development for societies’ benefit.
2.) What the thesis is about: the possibility of locale Contemporary practice shows distinct boundaries between stages in construction process in a sequential manner in most projects, function of place begins after completion of construction. However, the duration, which hoardings cover up the site completely, has not been taken into consideration in relation to the impact on surroundings. Rather than acknowledging time separation of construction and its function, both historic and contemporary precedents show coexistence of the two. HSBC Headquarter in Hong Kong was built in several phases in order to allow minimal disturbance to daily operation in the original headquarter building. The entire new building are packaged in a number of individual bays and constructed in several stages. Construction, demolition and function coexisted in the same site. Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that is currently under construction, which is mainly funded by donations, is one example which is simultaneously under construction and is open for public visit. Its construction processes are exposed to public that, over a century slowly evolve from activities to a place or a locale. Ningbo Museum, shows consideration on selection of materials and participants within a particular context can also facilitates this construction processes. It suggests the possibility, through allocations of various activities, resources and participants during building process, can cultivate a place in a certain context. The definitions between construction and completion therefore can be blurred or overlapped. The thesis attempts to consider construction processes are parts of the events take place in locale as a whole and it would focus on several questions:
Construction process for HSBC
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
3.) Research methodology The research would cover various elements and develop perspectives in relation to time. This includes precedent studies of context & program, technological impact on construction and contemporary of construction. The elements would form the basis and the tools for exploring the limits of thesis. Precedent studies: context & program
Technological impact
Contemporary Practice Analysis and research on processes, stages and duration that are involved in contemporary building construction, in order to seek for various possibilities and potential architectural interventions parallel to the overall construction process.4.) Precedent HSBC headquarter, Hong Kong: Coexistence of construction, demolition and operation in the same space. The structure and construction have been carefully designed and sarcastically expressed to a level which reveals uncertainty of current political situation in relation to British owned corporation in Hong Kong. Sagrada Faimilia, Barcelona: Coexistence of construction and program. Ningbo Museum, Ningbo, China: Reuse resources and labours from local area were employed for construction. Labours were given to a certain degree of freedom to participate in design and construction with materials that they are familiar with. The construction process is also part of the dwelling process Ise Shrine, Ise, Japan: Architecture of process, the shrine is rebuilt every 20 years, as a spiritual ceremony. The space is for annual visit of the emperor. Therefore maintenance and reconstruction become significant part of the architecture. Yurt: Settlements built with light, detachable materials and techniques that allow them to deploy in any potential sites. The use of tents and textiles created temporary settlements with adequate privacy and hierarchy. However, the argument is, since the settlement is constantly removed and rebuilt in the same configuration within the region, the settlement itself is relatively permanent to habitants. Floating village, China: An example from Ming dynasty that the settlement was built to last for several months, its purpose is to harvest wood from rural areas along yellow river as it moves downstream, and ultimately delivered wood for constructions in Beijing and cities along the coast. Ordos, China: A famous ghost town developed based on demands of mining, her demands and prospects were over speculated yet the new town construction did not integrate with any existing infrastructure. The new town is dead before its completion. Abandoned Amusement park, Beijing: An amusement park is abandoned during its construction, suffered from economic recession bankruptcy of developer. Architecture died before its birth, which proves the failure of construction as a process.
5.) Biblography & Current related readings Money, Time & Space Robert Heilbroner- “Capitalism” The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 688-696 David Harvey- “Money, Time, Space, and the City” The urban experience (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989) 165-199 Nomadism & Mobility Bernard Rudofsky-architecture without architects (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1964) Felicity Scott- “Allegories of Nomadism and Dwelling” Sarah Williams Goldhagen and Rejean Legault, eds, Anxious Modernisms: Experimentation in Postwar Architectural Culture (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000), 215-238 Dwelling & Place Martin Heidegger- “Building Dwelling Thinking” In David Krell,Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings (San Francisoc: Harper Collins, 1977), 343-364 Peter Zumthor- Thinking architecture (Peter Zumthor and Lars Muller Publishers 1998) Fabrication Techniques Ryan E. Smith- Prefab Architecture: a Guide to Modular Design and Construction (John Wiley & Sons, Inc 2010) Other Andrei Tarkovsky- Sculpting in Time (University of Texas Press, 1987) Joshua Comaroff & Ong Ker-Shing- Horror in Architecture (ORO Edition 2013)
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