This new MONU issue on the topic of Post-Ideological Urbanism probably touches on one of the most fascinating and biggest issues of our time and in our culture, or what is left of it: the non-ideological – or better post-ideological – conditions of our society when it comes to cities. Today, ideology ap…pears to have become, and to have been reduced to, something merely aesthetic, something you can buy yourself into as Wouter Vanstiphout explains in an interview with us entitled “Acrobatic Narratives”. In that sense cities have become suspicious territories where hypocrisy and fakery prevail when it comes to urban ideologies…and a new sincerity is obviously needed in a world consisting of a multiplicity of choices and urban outcomes without a single consistent urban ideology as Melissa Dittmer, Jamie Witherspoon, and Noah Resnick point out in their piece “Choose Your Own Urbanism Presents: The Case of the Missing Ideal”.

The following text is an excerpt from an article entitled “CHOOSE YOUR OWN URBANISM PRESENTS: The Case of the Missing Ideal” that has been recently published in the latest MONU magazine:

It’s a hot, dry and dusty afternoon… But, then again, all the afternoons are hot, dry and dusty in Sin City.  You’re in your shoebox of an office with the top three buttons of your white cotton shirt undone, a damp towel on the back of your neck, and the sound of a rickety two-dollar fan blowing in your face.  The A.C. is on the fritz again, and you’re just about to phone up that good-for-nothing building super to complain, when you hear three soft taps on the glass pane of your office door – the one that reads: Calvin Lynch, Private Detective.

You ask her to have a seat in the worn leather armchair and offer her a cigarette and a glass of flat ginger ale.  She accepts neither and says she prefers to stand. 

“I’m searching for something,” she finally says, after standing in front of the window, staring out through the half-closed blinds. “They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but this thing didn’t stay.  Or, maybe it never existed to begin with. Either way, I need your help.”

And then she says the magic words that for the first time since she walked through the door, piqued your interest: “I’m willing to pay you whatever you need to find it.”  You button your top three buttons, walk over to the window to open the blinds, and sit on the corner of your desk directly across from the slightly agitated but determined young woman looking you keenly in the eyes.

“If you’re ready to start now” she says “I’ve got a car downstairs waiting to drive us to the City Planning department.”  You ask her just what it is she thinks you can help her find, and she replies in a subdued, but urgent tone: “Las Vegas’ urban ideology.”

 If you grab your fedora and your decommissioned, but trusty police revolver, and hop into her waiting car to search for the guiding principles that shaped the city’s morpholgy: turn to page 69

 If you pull another cigarette from your crumpled pack, and explain to her that Vegas rejected urban ideology from the start, in favor of the capitalist gamble: turn to page 666

Las Vegas has perpetually been a city of conflicted narratives. From the dry desert ecosystem to the seedy commercial enterprise to the themed mega-resort to the recent trend of chic high-rise hotels and condominiums, the city is a collection of contradictions. Each identity exists as a totalizing world, literally and conceptually distinct from one another, yet occupying and often denying the same physical space. While these narratives sometimes overlap, there is the tendency for each to maintain its own independence. Las Vegas is built on storytelling. The city is as much about the stories it enables as the buildings, population, and hidden infrastructure that support it. It is a place where one goes to escape the weight of normative urban structure in favor of the whimsy, adventure, and multiplicity of urban outcomes without a single consistent urban ideology.

Architecturally, the image of Las Vegas is always referential. Drawing on the cultural exoticism of places like Paris, Venice, Egypt, or even ancient and Medieval Europe, the built environment of the downtown does not so much imitate but rather capitalizes on our hidden desires for these exotic encounters. This desire is not for the actual experience of visiting these places, but for the unique eclecticism and historic ideologies that each of these referential cities offer, all within the safety and comfort of the United States. The city itself is constructed like a “choose-your-own-adventure”, or interactive fiction storybook, where one’s experience is finely orchestrated by the various choices one makes as they flip non-sequentially through the pages.

To read one of these young-adult detective noir novels in numerical page order, rather than the non-sequential path, would yield a disjointed presentation of the text and result in an incomprehensible narrative. In an analogous way, a geographically linear excursion from any two locations on opposite sides of the Vegas Strip will provide a similarly incoherent urban phenomenon, in sharp contrast to the highly controlled encounters of the establishments that line the Strip itself.

A study of Las Vegas suggests that in a city with no overarching ideological framework, each inhabitant is given the opportunity to choose their own.  This choice, however, is made from a highly curated menu of theatrical pastiche and capitalistic excess. The urban environment is designed to lead visitors through a multiplicity of destinations, via a selection of predetermined pathways, rather than provide a sequential unfolding of city fabric. 

For a full version of the article, click here.

This article was co-authored and designed by Melissa Dittmer, Jamie Witherspoon, and Noah Resnick.

rogueHAA is pleased to announce the next event in its 2011-2012 panel discussion series: Provocations: Challenging Detroit’s Design Discourse

PANEL DISCUSSION 04: “INCENTIVES – Funding Advocacy”
November 15, 2011 – Panel Discussion: 6pm-8pm, reception to follow
Cass City Cinema at The Burton Theatre
3420 Cass Avenue

Detroit’s deep history  of commercial innovation and industrial production has created innumerable stories of prosperity and devastation.  From this spectrum of aspiration and consequence has emerged a fertile environment that gives root to new creativity and opportunity, while establishing a remarkable legacy of philanthropic and institutional support. This environment has created a sophisticated network of resources, where large scale national foundations, anchor institutions, and influential local leaders work alongside small scale arts groups, community development coalitions, entrepreneurs, and development advocates to cultivate locally focused programs. 

In the space of this network, numerous projects are underway, and many more are yet to come.  Our discussion will catalogue these efforts, discuss their impact, and outline new and innovative strategies for grants, incentives and other programs in the future. 

Participants:
Melinda Anderson – Detroit Creative Corridor Center
Heather Carmona – Woodward Avenue Action Association
George Jacobsen – Kresge Foundation
Rishi Jaitly – Knight Foundation
Sue Mosey – Midtown Detroit Inc
Dan Kinkead – Event Moderator, HAA

Following the panel discussion we will post a video and written summary of the event.  We will also provide an open comment board for others to share their thoughts on the dialogue.  As always, this event is open and free to the public.

RETHINKING THE POST INDUSTRIAL CITY: DETROIT<>LONDON.  On Wednesday, February 9^th, HAA participated in a London conference regarding Detroit, and the Post-Industrial City.  The conference, sponsored by Buro Happold, and coordinated by the World Architecture News, convened over 20 urban designers, planners, governmental leaders and architects to discuss the status of Detroit, and how lessons learned in London’s recent redevelopment could provide some insight into how Detroit may navigate toward to a more sustainable, viable future.

HAA attended as a design representative from Detroit, along with Jess Zimbabwe of the Urban Land Institute, whose current work focuses on the redevelopment of the Livernois corridor, and Marja Winters, the Deputy Director of the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department.  John Gallagher, writer for the Detroit Free Press, and author of Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining the American City, also attended remotely, via videoconference.   

The event, entitled Rethinking the Post-Industrial City: Detroit<>London, was focused on four segments of analysis, dialogue and recommendation, including governance, ecology, development and society.  This structure provided a platform to develop a series of potential strategies and considerations that may inform future efforts to engage the post-industrial landscape, and performance of Detroit. 

While looking at Detroit through a European lens has arguably been as fashionable as it has been somewhat implausible, the discussions in London provided a unique opportunity for the candid exchange of ideas that might otherwise be dismissed if posited locally.  Here, simple gestures and heroic concepts, often based on real London precedents, were discussed on their merit, and how they may be reconceptualized for use in parts of Detroit.  From staged post-Olympic demolition strategies, to the Southwark rebirth that included the Tate Modern, and “free zones” for speculative limited risk redevelopment, each idea was examined for its intrinsic strengths and relevance.

The geographic, economic and cultural distances between places such as London and Detroit may be difficult to bridge at times, but we also know that being open to new ideas, methodologies and points of view, can be extremely powerful.

Our attendance at this event provoked the following questions:

• If Leipzig, Turin and Manchester are the current international post-industrial  “success stories” what might Detroit’s narrative be in 10, 20 or 30 years?
• When the economic and developmental realities of London and Detroit are so different, what are common denominators that ensure relevance and applicability?
• What if the next Detroit<>London event occurred here?  Who should attend, and what should be the subject matter?  What lessons might London and other world cities learn from Detroit?

What do you think?

HAA would like to thank our sponsors and hosts, Buro Happold and the World Architecture News.

“Two cities and two themes: voids and density.  In one city, voids have been expressly created, in the other, the voids are the result of decline.  In one, voids are defined by the surrounding density, in the other, the empty spaces neither define nor are defined.  Milan and Detroit have very little in common.  Indeed they seem opposites, like positive and negative images of the same picture.”  -Maurizio Sabini

In the latest edition of the Italian design journal, THE PLAN, two editors compile an assortment of city specific urban design articles.  Milan’s essays illustrate the extreme densification of their Italian city and the deliberate insertion of strategically programmed voids.  While the Detroit contributors expand upon the current dynamic state of this city, urban creativity resulting from the many voids of Detroit, and the need to redefine the previously negative connotations of Detroit as void. 

Hamilton Anderson expands upon Detroit’s descriptive relativism.  As stated in their article, “MULTIPLICITY AS RESOURCE: A Combined Architectural Narrative”, Detroit provides a unique opportunity to study how the urban architect may engage the vast plurality of perceptions and beliefs that define a city, and how they can inform the future trajectory of its built environment.  As the infamous case study of our current international economic and social condition, it is fashionable to expound on what should be done with, what will become of, what happened to, Detroit.  As an object, Detroit is a land of multiple narratives, and in the vein of descriptive pluralism, all of these narratives are true. 

Detroit credits and contributors included:

CURATOR
Amy Deines – Professor of Architecture at University of Detroit Mercy

LOOKING AT THE VOICE OF THE CITIZENS, OUTREACH
Toni Griffin – Urban Planning and Design for the American City
Amy Deines – Associate Professor of Architecture at University of Detroit Mercy

CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS OF DETROIT
Karla Henderson – City of Detroit Urban Planning
Amy Deines – Associate Professor of Architecture at University of Detroit Mercy

MULTIPLICITY AS RESOURCE :
A COMBINED ARCHITECTURAL NARRATIVE
Melissa Dittmer, Dan Kinkead, James Witherspoon
Hamilton Anderson Associates

DETROIT AND THE IRONY OF SPACE
Matt Clayson – Director of Detroit Creative Corridor Center

DETROIT OPEN SOURCE
Will Wittig – Associate Professor & Director of Architecture, University of Detroit Mercy

ROOSEVELT PARK: GRASS ROOTS INITIATIVES
Noah Resnick – Principal of uRbanDetail
Tadd Heidgerken – Architect

TRANSPARENT URBANISM
Dan Pitera – Director Detroit Collaborative Design Center, University of Detroit Mercy

In July, HAA submitted a design proposal for the DesCours design competition.  The Dich (2) otomy design proposal was recently selected for installation in December.

DesCours is a week-long, contemporary architecture and art event that looks towards the future in showcasing experimental, cutting-edge new media and interactive installations while embracing New Orleans rich cultural heritage.  During DesCours, internationally recognized architects, designers and artists transform unique, hidden spaces within the French Quarter and Central Business District into destination places for visitors and locals alike.

Following an international design competition, a total of 11 artists and architects (individuals and teams) have been selected through an invitation and proposal process to participate by creating installations for French Quarter courtyards, downtown building lobbies, rooftops, walkways and other ‘hidden’ New Orleans spaces.   Overall, the AIA New Orleans was seeking installations that react and respond both to the historic nature of the sites, and to the public audience that views them.

Congratulations to the design team: Melissa Dittmer, Carl Bolofer, Jamie Witherspoon, and to all of those who helped influence the design submission.  Over the next two months, rogueHAA will update the website with design developments, construction images, and final photos of the event.  For further explanation of the design proposal, refer to previous post by clicking here.

Last Friday, HAA joined hundreds from around the world to celebrate Park(ing) Day, a one day event that highlights the need for more livable and vibrant public spaces in our cities.  With some help from Unilock and Landscape Forms, pavers and sod where placed on a parking spot at the corner of Gratiot and Woodward.  Soon, there was a green patch of space, an unusual site especially when one is accustomed to see a car in its place instead.  Onlookers were curious. Drivers paused. Parking enforcement stopped, then questioned, and questioned some more, but finally drove off.  This was the idea—to get people to notice, ask questions, and interact. For those that stopped by, they got the message and left with a smile on their faces.

For more information on Parking Day: http://parkingday.org/

City Bird and Bureau of Urban Living Park(ing) Day

In 2005, ReBar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single 2 hour metered parking space in downtown San Francisco into a temporary public park.  The goal was to provoke an examination of the values that generate public urban space by briefly transforming territory typically reserved for vehicles. The intervention aimed to address a broader range of public needs by providing a public green space.

Today, Park(ing) Day has evolved into an annual worldwide event that empowers the community to enact urban change by creatively altering parking spots for the betterment of the public.  This year, Park(ing) Day will be on Friday, September 17^th.  HAA will be participating in this unique project, and is in the process of selecting a location and designing the Park(ing) spot.  Please check back for updates.

If you would like to create your own Park(ing) space or would like more information, please click here: http://parkingday.org/

License to Participate: http://parkingday.org/src/NPD_license_2010.pdf

Park(ing) Day network: http://my.parkingday.org/

DesCours is a week-long, contemporary architecture and art event that looks towards the future in showcasing experimental, cutting-edge new media and interactive installations while embracing New Orleans rich cultural heritage.  During DesCours, internationally recognized architects, designers and artists transform unique, hidden spaces within the French Quarter and Central Business District into destination places for visitors and locals alike.

Following an international design competition, a total of 11 artists and architects (individuals and teams) will be selected through invitation and proposal process to participate by creating installations for French Quarter courtyards, downtown building lobbies, rooftops, walkways and other ‘hidden’ New Orleans spaces.   Overall, the AIA New Orleans is seeking installations that react and respond both to the historic nature of the sites, and to the public audience that views them.

In July, HAA submitted a design proposal for the DesCours design competition.
Our submission can be viewed in the above graphics and in the following text:

“Waters,” religious historian Mircea Eliade explained in the 1950s, are “spring and origin, the reservoir of all the possibilities of existence; they precede every form and support every creation.”  The waters of New Orleans permeate all aspects of life.  Literally, culturally, and economically, the city is defined by the waters that surround it.   Historically, the waters have permanently marked the city, bringing great destruction, followed by great renaissance.  In whatever form or context, waters invariably retain their greatest natural function; they disintegrate, abolish forms; they are at once purifying and regenerating.

Along with great natural power comes great human responsibility.  It is these dualities of power/responsibility and human/nature that we will choose to celebrate through our proposed DESCOURS installation.

“I must live near a lake,” wrote Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who waded into the depths of the psyche and equated water with the unconscious.  “Without water, I thought, nobody could live at all.”

The body thirsts.  So does the spirit of New Orleans.  Located in a back alley, three long horizontal planes will imbibe the waters of this great city.  Each specific to scale (Bayou, Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico), the three planes playfully overlap, transforming the night time hours of this urban space into an interactive gallery, a dynamic and newly occupiable space.

“It is through water that the world becomes transparent, is able to show the transcendent.” – Mircea Eliade

The waters of New Orleans contain memories.  Exposing these memories, the alternating literal and phenomenal transparencies, celebrate the tenuous relationship between Human and Nature.  The long and narrow alleyway provides an ideal backdrop for this duality.  As participants move through the urban threshold, they are both reflected and exposed to the urban environment.  Is it the city that controls the water or does the water control the city?  More importantly, what is the power of the individual within this already established tension?

“Contact with water always brings a regeneration.” – Mircea Eliade

The lighting level fluctuates; human movement through the space strategically turns on specific water pumps.  Participants playfully rearrange the magnets, altering the submerged LED’s.  As the LED’s move, the changing water patterns stir the previously unnoticed sediments.  Each user unwittingly alters the display, illustrating the power of one individual within a previously serene canvas.

As multiple users engage the alleyway, participant reflections are first merged with the water’s refracted historic context, and then merged into one.  All become submerged in the water’s disturbances.  Does a person distort the water?  Or does the water distort the person?  These planes represent the city’s regeneration.

Along with great natural power comes great human responsibility.  It is these dualities of power/responsibility and human/nature that we will choose to celebrate through our proposed DESCOURS installation.

The United States Green Building Council 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition challenged young designers to envision a LEED platinum home in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans.  Due to recent stipulations which require new homes to be raised above flood levels, the brief asked that entries find creative ways of addressing this prerequisite, while also maintaining strong ties to the neighborhood context, and designing under a $100,000 construction budget.

HAA’s design approach focused on the stoop as a critical physical and social space. By emphasizing this literal and conceptual middle ground between the public street and private home, the design attempted to mitigate contextual issues brought on by lifting homes above Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters.  The resulting design directly opens traditionally public functions to the front of the home and the stoop, reinforcing the connection of the home to the community.

The design team also sought to mine and reinterpret the rich architectural history of New Orleans.  Drawing from influences of traditional shotgun and side gallery shotgun homes, we developed an architecture informed by cultural and historical traditions, which capitalized on the embedded logics and efficiencies of these traditional forms in new and unique ways.  The result is an elongated, 850 square foot, two-bedroom home that will fit in nearly any urban lot.  The design is strikingly contemporary in materiality and detail, but contextually referential in form and scale.

Environmental sustainability was also a key component in the development of the project. The home achieves a LEED Platinum rating through an integrated strategy of site and building components.  Major site features include minimized and pervious paving surfaces, native plantings, runoff/ rainwater collection and storage, family vegetable gardens, and strategic tree planting for shade.  The design was also required to provide one on-site parking space, which became seamlessly integrated into the overall site strategy.  Architecturally, the home’s reduced square footage minimizes the ecological footprint.  Solar shading and efficient mechanical and electrical systems reduce energy consumption.  Used for wall construction, the Structurally Insulated Panels provide efficient thermal and air barriers, reduce waste, and reduce material consumption.  The design also features low-flow plumbing fixtures, including toilet flushing from rainwater, increased building insulation, a healthy and safe interior air environment, and a graphic manual for the education of the homeowners.  This will assist the homeowner with the maintenance and efficient operations of the home.

Recognizing an aging American population, the competition further challenged designers to provide barrier free elements in the home. Thus, the spatial flexibility to accommodate physical disabilities was integrated early into our design process.  The home’s elevated floor level is made accessible by a stair with a landing midway and lower risers with longer tread depths to ease the burden of the steps.  Internally, the master bathroom and kitchen are to be ADA ‘Type B’ compliant and accommodate generous clearances in corridors, rooms, and door access areas.

Entries have been submitted and winners at the regional level will be announced July 15.  Following the regional evaluation, another round of judging will occur at the national level.  Afterward, the Salvation Army will then fund the construction of four ‘semi-finalist’ homes.  These newly constructed homes will then be evaluated on their occupancy performance.  Two teams will go on to receive finalist awards following the evaluation period.

In many ways, this competition challenged young designers from across the country to consider the collective issues that will determine the design and construction of American homes in the coming years.  Accessibility for the aged and disabled, ecological sustainability, environmental stewardship, energy efficiency, housing affordability, and design sensitivity are all paramount challenges that will require innovative and sensitive design solutions.