Paris Syndrome: Permanent Extensions, Temporary Grounds

Thesis Statement

X_

Mobility (n.)

1. the ability to move or be moved freely and easily

2. the ability to move between different levels in society or employment

Y_

“They [the metropolis, megalopolis, fragmented metropolis and megacity] are all present at once as patches in most cities, forming a network of interrelated fragments that have symbiotic relations with each other. “  – David Graham Shane

 Z_

“Our spectacles are live experiences that require communal participation.”  – David Rockwell

 The 20th century was a century of the world becoming “One” through the Expos, the Games, the World Wars and Travel. Cities became destinations, fantasies and a state of a mind. With the TV and the Internet, images of the city vaporized as moments of a distant memory.

“For the last time the aura emanates from the early photographs in the fleeting expression of a human face.  This is what constitutes their melancholy, incomparable beauty.”- Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1936

Diving into the 21st century, we recognize cities of having similar attributes, no longer city particular, as melting pots; for opportunities, identities and narratives. The specificity of one city from another loses ground as mobility for the Mass flourished, blurring the boundaries of authority and softening the thresholds of locality. The opacity of the City thickens as the locus of Travel emerges.

“A city is never more fully human than when expertise – our own or someone else’s – allows us access to ebullience, lightness and delight.” – Herbert Muschamp

Cities offer little to have a personal connection and often serve as grounds of economic and political attachment for the Mass. These “Citizens of the World” often identify themselves as having a Third Nature, an attribute that is interest and ideal specific, offering a sense of individuality.

Description of Project

The Thesis aims to speculate on the qualities of the “’City’ in the 21st Century” projected through Spectacles for the Utopic envisioning of future “Citizens.”

In formulation of the Project, the City will be addressed as Time-specific, Spectacle-specific and Ground-specific, offering a sense of belonging; a home to stay.

Outline of Research / Design Methods

_Actors

Identifying the demographics and behavior of the mobile population

_Scenes

Mapping out the relationships of the mobile population with the ‘City’ and its development

_Settings

Drawing out the conditions and guidelines of moments for architectural intervention

_Spectacle

Inspirational References

_‘Who’s Your City?‘ by Richard Florida

_‘Spectacle’ by David Rockwell with Bruce Mau

_‘Cinematic Urbanism: a history of the Modern From Reel to Real’ by Nezar AlSayyad

_ ‘Imagining cities: scripts, signs, memory” by Sallie Westwood and John Williams

_‘Starchitecture – Scenes, Actors and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities‘ by Davide Ponzini & Michele Nastasi

_‘Dandelion’ The making of the UK pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010 by Kate Goodwin

_‘Delirious New York’ by Rem Koolhaas

_‘Urban Design Since 1945 – A Global Perspective’ by David Graham Shane

Paris Syndrome: