[precedent].

memory project using photo manipulation:

http://prote.in/taxonomy/term/4715

[case as thesis].

enCASE

The key, encased in ice, represents the duality associated with perceptions of state mental institutions. The work can be interpreted such that the key embodies freedom from the asylums, only to be held as the ice is melted and the patient is freed. On the other than, the key can represent safety. When the ice melts, the patient's world is unlocked to the overwhelming discomforts of the outside world.

As the project melts, the memory of the ice is present in the liquid water, indicative of the state change capabilities of the human memory.

The installation is based on a photograph by Christopher Payne, featured in "Asylum". The photo is of a patient's poem, written a basement wall in an asylum.

Below is a series of photographs of the project changing state, taken over the course of a 7 hour period.

[program as thesis].

Images from the Program As Thesis assignment are below.

[christopher payne].

In his book, Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals Christopher Payne explores the desolation of abandoned mental institutions, representing them through photographic imagery. The representation takes on a more neutral, passive tone, effectively displaying the beauty of the architecture, the sadness of the ruin, and the complexities of the self sustaining community, yet also hinting at the confines and medicinal nature of the institutions.

http://www.chrispaynephoto.com/

I am interested in using his work as a set/stage/site for the development of my project. Text as site > photos as stage.

[precedent].

Student thesis- crematorium

http://www.presidentsmedals.com/Project_Details.aspx?id=2535&dop=True&year=2010

[paradigm map final].

Final images from the Paradigm Map are below:

[paradigm map draft].

Process images from the Paradigm Map project are below:

Inspiration images for the Paradigm Map project are below:

[site as thesis].

Images from the Site as Thesis project are below:

[demo set].

Images from the Demo Set are below:

[house as thesis].

Images from the House as Thesis project are below:

[paradigm map research].

Below is the current trajectory for the Paradigm Map. Research is organized into branches and sub-branches, and will be combined with other student research to generate a graphic based off of transit/subway maps.


MEMORY (main branch)

GENERAL MEMORY
Memory and architecture/Bastea
Memory and architecture/Bourgeois
Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die/Heath and Heath
Architectural psychology: proceedings of the Lund Conference/Kuller

METHODOLOGIES
Psychology of architectural design/Akin
The art of memory/Yates

MONUMENT/OBJECT
The destruction of memory: architecture at war/Bevan
Body, memory, and architecture/Bloomer and Moore
The art of memory/Yates
A tour of the monuments of Passaic, New Jersey/Smithson

PROJECTS
Zollverein Kohlenwasche/Koolhaas (monument)
Gas Works Park/Haag (monument)
Column of Marcus Aurelius/Roman ruins (methodologies and monument)
Igualada Cemetery/Miralles and Pinos (monument)


PLACE EXPERIENCE (main branch)

SPACE/PLACE
Caring for places: what does it take to make a place?/Lyndon
Genius loci/Norberg-Schulz
Mythologies of placemaking/Wortham-Galvin

HOME
Place advantage: applied psychology for interior architecture/Augustin
Some place like home: using design psychology to create ideal places/Israel
A world of their own making/Gillis
The not so big house: a blueprint for the way we live/Susanka
Patterns of home: the ten essentials of enduring design/Jacobson
House as mirror of self/Cooper-Marcus
Symbolic meanings of house styles/Nasar
Corporeal experience: a haptic way of knowing/O’Neill

COMMUNITY
Civic meaning: the role of place, typology, and design values in urbanism/Groat
Creating community: does the Kentlands live up to its goals?/Kim
The edge and the center: gated communities and the discourse of urban fear/Low


SENSES (main branch)
Place advantage: applied psychology for interior architecture/Augustin

[site as thesis].

The site as thesis focused on how memory influences experience and likewise how experience influences and creates memory. The different scales at which this interchange operates becomes the site.

First, on the larger scale, memory is influenced by a collective experience. Culturally and socially shared pre-dispositions, prejudices, and preferences combine to color the perception of events, places, and people, and thereby color memories of those moments. The notions passed from person to person within the social network form a memory map through society, with each individual as a node of transmission.

Next, on an individual scale, memory is shaped through each unique experience. As recollection occurs, the mind sorts through the cloud of memories in storage. The first layer of recollection achieved is association. When an experience/place/person is recalled, associations are first made- was it a joyous or negative experience? Next, more specific details about the experience come to life- how did the situation play out, what actors were present, what nuances change the course of events? Finally, the deepest level of the memory is where negative feelings reside (perhaps as a level of protection for the body). Certain memories reside too deeply to even be recovered clearly.

Junk Drawer: the junk drawer represented a physical site for memory, contained in two parts. One, the objects contained, and two, the mental associations with those objects. The relationship between object and memory, the physical with the mental, is what I'm hoping (at this point anyway) to pursue architecturally.

[place].

I've been reading articles on place and experience, and am attaching to certain arguments presented by J. Gillis and B. D. Wortham-Galvin (among others, including Norberg-Schulz). When framing the thesis as site exercise, I'm trying to consider the mind, and how space exists in both the physical and emotive sense. Gillis discusses how the people we surround ourselves with and model our lives by (families specifically) are really separate entities. One is physical, the other is a construct. Similarly, Wortham-Galvin describes this theme in terms of place- that place is both physical space and the mental associations that come with. Further, Norberg-Schulz discusses that place is composed of both "structure" and "character", again referring to the doubled sided construct of space. I feel the site for my thesis then is both one that is real and one that is imagined/constructed/experienced. The site seems to unquestionably need dual dimensions.

*J. Gillis, "A World of Their Own Making"
*B. D. Wortham-Galvin, "Mythologies of Placemaking"
*Norberg-Schulz, "Genius Loci"

[ruin architecture links].

Two dissertations on ruin architecture:

http://www.presidentsmedals.com/Project_Details.aspx?id=1208&dop=False&year=2009

http://www.presidentsmedals.com/Project_Details.aspx?id=1196&dop=False&year=2009

[reflections].

Following the first pinup of the year, I wanted to distill comments brought up in the critique and also to talk through ideas on moving the work forward.

First, I seem to be struggling to define a clear objective of this year's research. For this past project, I spent more thought on the house/project itself, rather than the larger conceptual frameworks that surrounded the work. Therefore, I felt a bit behind not having nailed down these concepts, not having a site/region chosen, and not having worked through some of the specifics. I realize that a thesis is not a studio project- but rather a set of ideas and topics of discovery that might produce 10+ studio projects. So, reframing, perhaps I'm just having a difficult time knowing how specific I should be at this point in the process, or how general my ideas should come across.

Following the discussion on Wednesday, I am also concerned that my topic is not original enough. There is a large body of work regarding memory and space, which causes me to further question the originality of this topic and its worth as a U of M thesis project.

Conversation was raised as to the purpose of architecture in the realm of memory that I feel is important to restate here. Should architecture act as a repository of memory or a space to elicit memory? (eliciting memory seemed to have the panel more excited).

Looking ahead, I now need to proceed with the DEMO assignment to capture ideas on how to break the work down and build it anew.

[family chapel].

EXiT architetti associati's Family Chapel:

http://www.archdaily.com/74718/family-chapel-exit-architetti-associati/#more-74718

Inspiration for what I'm currently working on for my "house as thesis". A space that isn't about space, but rather what the space allows people to feel and experience. A blank canvas for thought, recollection, and discovery.

[the senses].

I've been giving thought to the presence of the senses in nostalgia and memory. Memory is kept alive in the vessel of the body through what I understand to be mainly a sense of feeling and visual recollection. In other words, you remember an event through how it made you feel, and how that event looked in the mind. But, can you remember how something smelled or tasted? I for one, cannot draw up a memory of an exact scent or taste. I know that I could recognize it if it occurred in the present, but scent and taste seem to be more elusive in memory. Sound and touch are a bit more complicated. I can recall how something sounded or felt, though I cannot actually hear it in my head or feel it in my fingers with the same effect as in the present.

"Allegory of the Five Senses" Gerard de Lairesse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1668_G%C3%A9rard_de_Lairesse_-_Allegory_of_the_Five_Senses.jpg

[the bridge].

With the completion of the readings and the development of my lexicon in place, it is time to reveal some of my thoughts and inspirations toward the semester's work.

I entered the summer with a broad idea of my interests and fascinations within the discipline and through self investigation coupled with summer readings, I've begun to hone in on certain concepts for the development of my thesis. More specifically, my general interests include history and psychology. More specifically, I'm interested in Classical and Renaissance history and space psychology. More specifically, I'm interested in the idea of nostalgia and memory and how it is elicited by design, captured, or recreated.

With that in mind, I plan to begin my thesis journey with an investigation of memory and space. I'm fascinated by the emotive qualities of the mind and how we hold onto certain memories of time and space, while excluding others, and how space, design, and environment shape those memories and recollections.

sloterdijk [air/condition].

TERM [surrealism].

"Surrealism," as a period of artistic and theoretical thematics, can be viewed as visualizing modernistic impulses. In other words, the surrealist movement provided a physically present reading of an evolving creativity in thought, social culture, and of course art. The artistic work represented visuals collected from the unconscious; the work broke free of creative latency in a "revolution" of sorts. Sloterdijk explains that surrealism's purpose was, "to render the content of dreams and deliriums objective" (p. 76), and to use, "technical objects not in the conditions specific to them but as symbolic draperies" (p. 74). This methodology resulted in artistic creations that challenged mediocrity and rivaled normalcy. In short, surrealism gave the arts a, "right to be mad" (p.83).

TERM [psychoanalytic].

Perhaps the term "psychoanalytic" can be used in the definition of "surrealism." Likewise, concepts that collectively define a surrealist idea can also be applied to the definition of psychoanalytic. Though, one term is not a synonym for the other. Psychoanalytic can be differentiated by its roots in Freudian psychology. Psychoanalysis can be seen as a, "strategy for reading signs and manipulating background givens" (p. 82). It is a topic which delves into the explainable and unexplainable past and provides subjective readings into the confused present. Yet, similar to surrealism, psychoanalysis delves into the "unconscious" to produce explanations, connections, and symbolic attributions in revolutionary ways. Like surrealism, it becomes a methodology to explain the unexplainable and make sense of the mind's madness.

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Though I chose two terms that occurred in the first portion of the reading, I wanted to briefly address the latter half of the text which dealt with authorship of the atmosphere. Sloterdijk discussed the collective atmospheric organ which is controlled by all creatures at all scales. The atmosphere's life is given through each organism, meaning that the whole is comprised of many small assemblies. Yet, the atmosphere's condition is entirely out of one individuals control, since a simple change can have a ubiquitous effect on the whole. Thus, holding control over the all-encompassing entity (authorship) seems entirely possible and impossible at once.

easterling [introduction].

TERM [network _____].

"Network" can be used to describe the systematic organization of any number of different topics, modes, theories, etc. Hence, the term "network [fill in the blank]" might be appropriately completed using the following: architecture/design/planning/process/analysis/theory/etc. Regardless of the specific subject, a network defines itself through its constituent parts. The individual pieces that make up a network can be dependent, independent, static, or dynamic and yet still contribute to the overall fabric of intelligent connectivity. The "network _____" is the bigger picture, the deeper meaning, the encompassing reality behind the study of simply one object.

TERM [generic optimization].

Heterogeneous to homogeneous, independent to dependent, compartmentalize to generalize, defining to unifying - these terms describe the shift from the specific to the common. Such movement is the result of a desire for "generic optimization" following the theory that mass production and simplification produces efficiency, clarity, and idealized performance. (This conversation can be linked to the previous post on the term "routinization" from De Landa.) Yet, the generic can only be defined in light of the eccentricities that remain/are born after generic optimization occurs. The exception proves the rule, so to speak - you cannot define one without the presence of the other. So while the banal may prove to be idealized, the rouge eccentricities that float along the perimeter are responsible for constantly challenging, testing, and proving the status quo. After all, optimization is ever changing (thanks to market economics), and therefore demands that certain eccentricities are absorbed into the generic mass, evolving it ever so slightly enough to continue its propulsion forward.

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Do generic optimizations make life easier for the indecisive, uncertain, or over-indulged? Are they limiting to the progress of individuality? Which outweighs which? Perhaps it depends on the individual personality deciding, and if they fall into the category of the generic or the eccentric...

de landa [geological history 1700-2000 ad].

TERM [positive feedback loop].

A "positive feedback loop" is an essential part to any surviving ecosystem. Each member of the network must work to support the others in such a way that the output of these energies perpetuates the life of the ecosystem. While trying to maintain this balance, participating units must be in a consistent state of adaptation and evolution. It is an active system which requires both give and take between members, "while some species complexify, others simplify" (de Landa, p. 75). de Landa uses the international Industrial Revolution to exemplify this point. The evolution from coal powered steam energy to electricity and the resulting societal impacts speaks to a system that is constantly adapting for the most efficient survival. In short, a positive feedback loop can be defined as a self-sustaining ecology.

TERM [routinization].

A "routinization" speaks to a move from a personalized, heterogeneous skill set to a mechanized, homogeneous process. Routinization was experienced when machine labor replaced hand crafts during the Industrial Revolution. The result was an increase in production efforts, efficiency, and the ability to interchange parts. However, less richness and diversity could be found in the product, removing the individual from the greater economy. A global shift toward routinization lead to a more sterile market, lacking flavor, interest, and diversity (at least in the products manufactured).

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

The "sterilization of information" ideas brought about on p. 98 are especially interesting. With the proliferation of information availability, somehow the product itself holds less weight, interest, and richness. Yet, we often look at the incredible possibility this access holds for the global society.

wigley [recycling recycling].

TERM [prosthetics].

In this article, Wigley describes "prosthetics" as an "extension" of being, whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, theoretically, or cosmically. A prosthetic can be seen as an outreach of a body or thought into the inner workings of mesh networks at a planetary scale. Wigley describes prosthetics as transfering the flow of energy throughout the world, which relates it to "qi" (from traditional Chinese culture, also associated with Taoism). The flow of qi embodies living and non-living beings, energies, and dynamics. It can be thought of as the very breath of the collective ecosystem. Prosthetics become the methods by which qi travels, the paths that connect all elements in the cosmos. Prosthetics bridge the gaps between disparate elements and weave all components of society into an interconnected mesh, helping us to make sense of the conglomerated universe.

TERM [ecology/house].

According to its Greek etomology, Wigley discusses "ecology" as "knowledge of the house." Here, a house can be defined as anything that contains or shelters. A house can exist at a wide range of scales. As a cosmic ecosystem, a house exists at a planetary level. It becomes an encompassing environment which contains a breadth of life. On a smaller scale, a house exists in each prosthetic extension of life (as described above). The prosthetic house contains even the most subtle flows of energy throughout a larger mesh network. Regardless of scale, each house is a vessel for thought, for being, for living, and for breeding new growth. A house is a home for energy. It is a moment of containment of qi- a fleeting pause in the breath of life. A house therefore is perpetually transforming, evolving, and redefining the life of its inhabitants.

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

This piece, notably the latter half, is especially pertinant to our upcoming design projects. It raises the issue of what a 'house' might contain in all of its definitions, scales, and possiblilities.

corner [eidetic operations and new landscapes].

TERM [landskip].

representation. static. picture. designed. passive. scenic. object. nostalgic. observer. appearance.

TERM [landschaft].

working model. dynamic. image. evolved. active. scene. system. ever changing. participant. performance.

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Since I viewed the above terms as both topical and descriptive/active, I wanted to use a comparative format to outline the meanings of and differences between the terms. Each is best defined in relation to its counterpart- to understand one term is to value the uniqueness of the other. Though Corner describes each term in the context of landscape, the underlying principles behind the terms are widely applicable to any number of design solutions, systemic relationships, social behaviors, or even human personalities. I find these parallels to be of interest- the points at which design behavior mirrors that of human psychological impulses. Yet, it is a chicken or the egg scenario. Which came first? Do we impart these personalities on systemic solutions, or, do these solutions take on increasingly complex relationships that cite human characteristics? Is the psychology behind these ecologies attributed or experienced, and what causes either result?

smithson [a tour of the monuments of passaic, new jersey].

TERM [monument].

In this text, Smithson explores the "monuments" of Passaic, New Jersey, though the rationale of what qualifies a monument from another moment or artifact remains up to the reader's discretion. How is a monument defined? What makes it relevant and under what circumstances? If an object or moment is monumental, it must take on some relevance to the observer. Yet, from another vantage, this same object or moment can be irrelevant against monumental qualifiers. It is a question of perspective and scale. The space between relevance and irrelevance perhaps is what ultimately qualifies a monument. What the object becomes in the "in between", a space devoid of the observer's judgement, speaks of its essence as a monument. Can/should a monument therefore exist without human appropriation?

TERM [historic absence].

Smithson describes the suburbs as a place that, "exists without a rational past... just what passes for a future" [pg. 72]. Being without a historic context implies that an object or place exists only in the present moment, without regard to previously established systems, historic calamities, or deep cultural underpinnings. Can an object or place have a future without a past, or will it be perpetually stuck in the present? The perpetual present is "of the moment" but over time will continually evolve to give the object or place at least a shallow measure of past and future. "Historic absence" therefore can only be defined as a temporary condition, one that will give way to at least a glimpse of historicity and the potential for future growth.

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

The stream of consciousness dialog style of this text further exasperates the ideas of living in the perpetual present and of the space between relevance and irrelevance as described above. The reader must sift through the presented information to find what is monumental not only in terms of the author's physical journey, but also in the greater theoretical context around which this tour of Passaic travels.

kwinter [wildness].

TERM [approximate systems].

Kwinter refers to the research done at the Santa Fe Institute for the Study of Complexity http://www.santafe.edu/ to introduce the concept of "approximate systems". These systems could be defined with similar descriptors such as "complex," "adaptive," "wild," or "intricate" (all of which Kwinter uses in the text). They can be thought of as a haphazard collection of unplanned planning, where everything is seen as sensible and logical, yet not sense nor logic went into the making of such systems. The parameters of these approximate systems are only defined in the present. What the systems are at the present moment is perfect and absolute. Yet what they are in the past and future is both indiscernible and critical. The natural world seems to be the most obvious example of an approximate system. The delicate balance of species co-existing in a series of ecosystems is a complex, messy, enmeshed collection of cooperation. Everything is dependent, but has potential for independence. Traffic seems to be another likely candidate for an approximate system (either that or my daily commute seems to still be weighing on my mind). In traffic, people move at varying degrees of speed in a multitude of directions that intersect and converge in fleeting moments. Using feet, bicycles, cars, trains, etc. people weave through the urban grid dodging each other, red lights, and the occasional roadblock to form a kind of rhythmic dance that is never repeatable in any given moment. Always evolving, adaptive, spontaneous, and unrehearsed, this movement is interdependent while maintaining individual agencies.

TERM [wilding].

Though this term seems to be an obvious choice for the article, I feel its definition is important to explore. Similar to the approximate system, "wilding" is also a force which is unplanned, unpredictable, and unrestrained. It is messy. Yet, it differs from the aforementioned in its absence of logic and sense. Whereas a complex system works together to maintain balance, a wilding system is inherently off balance, out of control, shocking, and oblivious. Dependence and balance are the enemy. Guerrilla warfare (to cite an example from Kwinter) is the goal. Wilding can best be imagined as an image. Kwinter displays a photo of a flock of Red-billed queleas to make this point. The birds fly together in a swelling and contracting mass that undulates as individuals follow one another's lead. A similar phenomenon can be seen in the swimming patters of large schools of fish. What individual moves first? Who is the leader? How do the other individuals decide who to follow? How do so many move as one? What happens to the system if an individual chooses the opposite path? In short, if an approximate system were to rebel, it would be called "wilding."

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Kwinter discusses the urban environment as a complex system of wild and numerous contributors (a familiar argument). Though, the discussion of planning for the unplanned wildness of a city seems interesting in this context. If wilding is to be unplanned, how does one plan for the known unknown? If it is a planned complexity, is it still approximate or does it become trite and sterile? Which begs the greater question- can these approximate systems and wilding behaviors ever be created, or just discovered?

the beginning.

The creation of this blog marks the beginning of a journey into the confusions, controversies, and revelations that will become the basis for my thesis work. This blog will be the venue for dissecting text as well as thought, and for fostering conversation around work that emerges in the upcoming year.

Like the title implies, I hope that this medium will act as a central node of my research and design. It will collect the swirling mayhem that undoubtedly surrounds a thesis project and distribute it in a more intelligible fashion. Though, I hope that "the eye." also creates as much chaos as it seeks to untangle, propelling my work upward, outward, backward, and insideout.

With that, I welcome you to "the eye."