Accepting Accidents @ Re:View Contemporary Gallery

Works by Cedric Tai

September 11 – October 9, 2010

Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 11, 7 pm – 11 pm

In Accepting Accidents, Detroit-based artist Cedric Tai’s solo exhibit at Re:View Contemporary, Tai explores the unintentional and how we adapt, react, adjust, and create in response to accidental and unexpected circumstances. click here for more information

Deconstruction Detroit: A [RE]generation Strategy from HAA on Vimeo.

Last week, over 150 people gathered at Recycle Here! for the most recent installment in the lecturesHAA series. The event brought together representatives from Architectural Salvage Warehouse, C3LL3C, Recycle Here!, University of Detroit Mercy, and Design Evolution Workshop to discuss Deconstruction as an approach to managing Detroit’s many vacant and abandoned buildings. Each panelist began with a brief presentation framing his specific role in and approach to the deconstruction process. The presentations were followed by a panel discussion which both affirmed the position of Deconstruction within Detroit, as well as exposed the challenges facing the industry here and elsewhere.

The conversation ranged from the techniques and tactics involved in dismantling structures, to its economic feasibility and related public policy. The dialogue exposed the negative ecological impact of traditional demolition practices and demonstrated how Deconstruction and recycling techniques offer a sustainable alternative. Yet it also exposed the obstacles facing the Deconstruction industry as it competes with demolition. Because it is a labor intensive process, Deconstruction generally takes longer and is therefore more costly than traditional practices. And so it was with both optimism toward deconstruction’s possibilities and a realistic understanding of its difficulties that the evening unfolded. Though it was clear it will be some time before Deconstruction becomes a mainstream alternative to demolition, the passion and enthusiasm of the panelists and audience alike were testament to a collective belief in the value of this burgeoning industry.

Nature as Commodity
In the mid to late 1800s, the great lakes region was known for its vast of timber resources. At the time, Michigan white pine was an essential commodity both in the development of east coast cities as well as the populations spreading into the frontier regions of the west. The conceptual transformation of the natural world into commodity pervades the history, rapid growth, and development of the great lakes region. The lumber industry which transformed much of the region from dense tracts of forest into cleared agricultural land also enabled the regional population explosion that followed.

At the time, the commodities exchange of Chicago became uniquely poised to collect, store and distribute vast quantities of wood from northern areas to the plains. As William Cronon writes in Nature’s Metropolis “Ecology and Economy had converged: the city lay not only on the border between forest and grassland but also on the happy margin between supply and demand.”

City as Natural Resource
In many rustbelt cities, buildings left abandoned have become transformed from one commodity to another. From icons of failed real estate speculation, the built environment has now become a resource similar to the dense forests that once populated these areas. Deconstruction provides an opportunity to reclaim those materials which would otherwise end up in a landfill for use either in the construction of new buildings, as fuel, or even recycled as art objects. Buildings are now surveyed not only for their historical value and architectural significance, but as a composition of resources of various values in the materials market.

According to the Deconstruction Institute, the demolition of a typical 2,000 square foot home can be expected to produce 127 tons of debris. Meanwhile, that same house if deconstructed properly can yield 6,000 board feet of reusable lumber, which is equivalent to 33 mature trees, or the yearly output of 10 acres. In addition to wood, the vast majority of building materials can be recycled in some way or another if properly handled and separated. However, under current regulations and because of Michigan’s low waste disposal fees, Deconstruction has yet to become an economically viable alternative to demolition.

Constructing Value
Part of the challenge facing the panelists is to educate the public to the economic, ecological, and social advantages to Deconstruction. For example, while Deconstruction is labor intensive, and therefore costly relative to demolition, it also creates jobs. On average, deconstruction laborers earn an average of $1.90 more per square foot than demolition laborers. On a typical 2,000 square foot house, this equates to 38 more worker-days at a living wage than would be provided by demolition. Job creation and the resale of materials allows deconstruction to compete with demolition in areas where landfill ‘tipping fees’ are high. In Michigan where these fees are the lowest in the region, there is little financial incentive to seek alternate means of waste management. Therefore it is important that policies be considered which incentivize industries like Deconstruction while encouraging recycling and better waste management practices.

Beyond the financial hurdles, however, there is the inherent social and environmental value in seeking responsible alternatives to landfills. With a high density of vacant buildings awaiting demolition, Detroit is uniquely poised to serve as both resource and distribution center for this growing industry.  Abundant, affordable warehouse space and access to rail lines could link Detroit’s Deconstruction efforts with a greater context, helping to cultivate the market for recycled materials at multiple scales. Related businesses could emerge- builders, furniture makers, artists, craftspeople – which incorporate raw recycled materials into their products, adding an intrinsic history and narrative to their work. Likewise, this expanded presence could position Detroit as a regional leader in sustainable stewardship as the city continues to address its urban condition.

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/

While the City of Detroit begins to take steps to define its future, existing community assets remain as important as ever to our shared quality of life.  City parks, when well-maintained, have the potential to not only provide space for recreation, but also a venue for community engagement and interaction.  Now, as the city works to keep parks open in the face of extremely limited resources, several community groups and other volunteer organizations have begun to form partnerships to ensure some parks move beyond survival, and begin to thrive once more.

A group of neighborhood coalitions, non-profits, and the City of Detroit General Services Division, are planning a public participatory design charrette for Palmer Park on Saturday, September 25, from 9am to 12pm at the Detroit Unity Temple, 17505 Second Avenue, Detroit, MI 48203.

The event is being coordinated by Helen Broughton of the Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative, and includes contributing leadership from the 12^th Precinct Neighborhood Coalition, Palmer Woods Association, Palmer Park Conservancy, Greenacres Woodward Civic Association, Bagley Community Council, Woodward Avenue Action Association 6-8 Mile, and the University District Community Association.  Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA) has provided pro-bono design and planning services to assist the civic associations in outlining the charrette format, goals and core presentation.

The event is designed to provide the public an opportunity to shape the future of the park, with topics ranging from long-term planning, preservation and programming, to necessary maintenance, and the reorganization of the Palmer Park Conservancy.  This is a unique opportunity for committed citizens to come together, sharing insights and hopes for the future of one of Detroit’s oldest and most notable parks.

For additional information, contact 313-394-1034.

It’s impossible to avoid the deterioration and vacancy abundant within any post-industrial City.  Optimistically, these voids and vacancies are also the City’s possibilities for the future.  In fact, our City and the Great Lakes industrial region have persisted in this state of duality for many years.  While many see the bad and the ugly, others see the good, the beauty, and most importantly, the potential.

Hope is found on multiple scales.  In the photo, we find it at a small scale, bursting forth from the most unexpected place…

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.

Last weekend, the greater Detroit design and culinary communities coalesced in a three day event to benefit the Michigan AIDS Coalition. The Dining by Design tour, which has been visiting six cities a year for the past 13 years, made its debut in Detroit at the Benson and Edith Ford Conference Center at the College for Creative Studies in the recently renovated Argonaut building.

Organized by Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), the event offers an opportunity for local designers to turn a 150-200 square foot dining area into a work of art. Each installation becomes a unique interpretation of the dining experience limited only by the design team’s creativity. Works ran the gamut from luxurious to theatrical to rustic. One could find a tranquil garden set adjacent to a vibrant typographic environment. One installation was built entirely from cardboard.

The event culminated Saturday night in a dinner for the designers, sponsors, and donors to enjoy a meal, completing the artistic visions. The other cities in this year’s line-up include: Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Columbus, Atlanta and Kansas City, where the event began.

lecturesHAA is dedicated to creating a broader creative discourse through open and collaborative dialogue. The program includes lectures and discussions throughout the year that will consider important contemporary design issues associated with the urban environment.

The 2010 program for is titled, “Challenging Detroit: (Re)generating Urbanism.” This program provides an important platform for consideration of innovative, multidisciplinary strategies designed to help the city not only create reinvestment and redevelopment, but also begin to regenerate the social, economic and environmental attributes that define it. Now, more than ever, we need to come together to understand how we can effectively participate in the thoughtful, creative regeneration of Detroit.

The public is encouraged to attend these free events. Please visit our facebook page or return to rogueHAA for post lecture discussions, future topics, and dates.

EVENT 08: Panel Discussion
“DECONSTRUCTION DETROIT : A (Re)generation strategy”

Deconstruction is the selective dismantling of building components, specifi cally for re-use, recycling, and waste management. If this practice is integrated within the city of Detroit and the metropolitan region, the effects may be profound.  Physically, deconstruction facilitates the extension of a building material’s lifetime, providing a sustainable alternative to the conventional demolition of several thousand vacant buildings.  Economically, at a regional scale, a well organized deconstruction program promotes a viable industry. While socially, stewardship of the deconstruction effort provides a positive image for our city and region.  During this August event, five local professionals will present their past and current deconstruction efforts. Following their presentations, an informal panel discussion will query balanced, and sometimes contradictory, dialogue on the (Re)generation of Detroit, one deconstruction effort at a time.

August 17, 2010 @ 6pm
Recycle Here! Warehouse
1331 Holden Street, Detroit

Participants presenting in the “DECONSTRUCTION DETROIT” panel discussion include:

• Derek J Roberts, Design Evolution Workshop
• Jill Ferrari, Wayne County
• Will Wittig, University of Detroit Mercy
• Tom Friesen, Architectural Salvage Warehouse
• Matt Naimi, Recycle Here!

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.

The World Expo 2010 is currently underway in the city of Shanghai, China. Staged along both banks of the Huangpu River, more than 190 countries and 50 international organizations from around the globe have come together to share pavilions and exhibitions. The theme of the exposition is Better City – Better Life, and is an opportunity for countries from around the world to showcase their artistic, cultural, and architectural talents.  With an estimated 70 million visitors, the event is said to be the most expensive and also largest World’s fair site – 5.28 square km – in history.

The tradition of World Expositions stretches back to the Great Exhibition at Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace in London. At that time, the Exposition provided a unique opportunity for the convening of cultures which otherwise would remain largely separate. Today, even in an era when globalization drives this cultural fusion, the Expo continues to hold an important position both as a cultural venue, political platform, and an opportunity for Shanghai to demonstrate its international significance both to its citizens and the world.

Additionally, the event provided an opportunity for the City of Shanghai to develop its infrastructure system, which will benefit the city long after the exposition closes at the end of October. After a flurry of construction over the past months, the city now has a new airport terminal, new metro lines, roads, parks, and public areas which will greatly enhance the city’s future.

Working in China over the last few months, HAA employees were able to tour many of the iconic National Pavilions and experience firsthand this historic event.