New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.1 Professor: Kaja Kühl

ARCH501 Architectural Design VII : Thesis in Public Architecture New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 Tuesday, Friday: @:00 – 5:40 pm 5 credits Professor Kaja Kühl (kaja@youarethecity.com) I look at architecture as an intense form of inquiry and research. This research is pursued as a commitment to society. It is about the social contract. - John Hejduk

red + housing emergency architecture by obra architects, prototype exhibition to acknowledge the first anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake. image courtesy obra architects As the future members of our profession, it is vital to recognize the relationship between society and architecture; immersed in physical construction, we both shape and are molded by our environment. Thus, we must take responsibility for our influence on our constructed environment and, by extension, our society. Situating design as an act of social and environmental responsibility, this studio aims to develop proposals that tackle the limits of architectural design and the demands on the practice for updated relevance. With the current economic environment, private investments in buildings are being stalled, scaled down or delayed. This standstill provides us with the opportunity to re-think and re-evaluate, how public capital should be invested to provide innovative examples for livable environments for future generations.

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.2 Professor: Kaja Kühl

COURSE OVERVIEW

Constructing Site and Program The first half of this two-semester thesis studio provides a framework for students to develop a specific design and research process, where site and program are not given, but are treated as principal variables of design thinking. Working in multiple scales as well as multiple future scenarios will be an integral part of this investigation to design an architectural intervention that is relevant to the public. Emphasis is placed on a thorough definition of the project and its physical, social, and conceptual parameters to establish the foundation and boundaries for an architectural proposal to be refined and completed in the spring semester. Making Knowledge The techniques of investigating a site, its physical and non-physical context, –its physical, historical, or socioeconomic aspects, its boundaries and networks, its areas of influence and impact create knowledge about the site. They establish the horizon for a design project, a reference and means of communication between the different disciplines involved in the design process. In this studio, we treat drawings, diagrams and models not as final representations of a proposal, but as material evidence for a process of “thinking through making” You will be introduced to a variety of different techniques throughout the semester and will be encouraged to test, refine, and sharpen your skills of representation as a means of thinking and communicating your ideas. Hypothesis You will be asked to translate your investigation of site and program, the making of knowledge about your site into a series of conceptual hypotheses that operate on several scales and in several temporal dimensions. In establishing a hypothesis for your site, you are asked to clarify and indentify the relevance of your research for your site as well as the larger context of architectural discourse. In the second half of the semester, you will develop one or more scenarios, of how your hypothesis could be implemented in your site. What kinds of programs will be necessary? What kinds of users will be able to take advantage of your scenario?

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.3 Professor: Kaja Kühl

COURSE STRUCTURE

The studio will be structured as a series of exercises. While each of them can be treated as separate assignments, together they represent a comprehensive body of research, analysis and conceptual design. Each component will be supplemented with an introductory seminar in which we discuss readings or exhibitions as a group. WORKSHOP I : Public Architecture 1 week Introductory exercise to interpret and represent your idea of architecture as an act of social and environmental responsibility. Part I : Constructing Site 3 weeks You will develop a definition of your site through the generation of a series of researched, critically operative maps and diagrams at different scales, probing various aspects of the site area. WORKSHOP I I : Ecosystems 2 weeks In teams of 2 or 3 you will research environmental issues such as Water, Waste, Energy or Transportation. You will critically assess the environmental challenges present on your site(s) and relate them to regional and global challenges and potential solutions for re-thinking public investment and develop working hypotheses. Part I I : Manifesto 2 weeks In a series of diagrams and text, you will develop and represent your attitude towards your project. Diagrams serve as a tool for visually representing your conceptual understanding of social, spatial, environmental or economic factors driving your design process. MIDTERM REVIEW Part I I I : Scenario 3 weeks An exploration of program components relevant to your site and your choice architectural intervention. How is the program rooted in specific needs of the community or the location? You will study precedents and develop an understanding of the size and functional proximity of different program aspects. WORKSHOP I I I : Publishing 2 weeks In this 2-week intensive workshop, you will work on your skills to write your thesis and produce and present supporting material in a publication format. You will familiarize yourself with graphic design and layout software and will produce a draft for your final thesis publication. Part IV: Design Strategy 3 weeks In the last exercise of this semester, you will explore spatial, structural and material design strategies that will allow you to develop your proposal as a consequent result of this process. FINAL REVIEW

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.4 Professor: Kaja Kühl

STUDIO TOPIC: ARCHITECTURE AS AN ACT OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

600 volunteers photographed by Spencer Tunick on a melting Swiss glacier high in the Alps for a publicity campaign to expose the impact of climate change in 2007 Buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all green house gas emissions annually. Seventy-six percent of all electricity generated by US power plants goes to supply the Building Sector. Melting glaciers, rising temperatures, floods and droughts direct our attention to the climate but also to architecture. Human activity, and particularly the desire to shelter, enclose, illuminate, and condition that activity, to transport and control it reinforce a direct linkage between human settlement and climatic change. Situating design as an act of social and environmental responsibility, we aim to develop proposals that tackle the limits of architectural design and the demands on the practice for updated relevance. With the current economic environment, private investments in buildings are being stalled, scaled down or delayed. This standstill provides us with the opportunity to re-think and re-evaluate, how public capital should be invested to provide innovative examples for livable environments for future generations. In this studio we want to explore our role as architects and designers to develop recommendations for innovative solutions that would provide not only “shovel-ready,” but “shovel-worthy” projects. What kind of architecture should be designed, financed and promoted to serve the public? How can we design projects that perform on multiple levels (environmentally, socially and economically) and represent smart investments into our future?

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.5 Professor: Kaja Kühl

STUDIO WEBSITE

The studio weblog is available at http://publicarchitecture.wordpress.com/ We will maintain a studio blog and make regular postings. All material for the studio will be available online and all research will be posted in regular intervals. Students will make mandatory postings of their research at specified dates. (See schedule) SEMINAR

As an introduction into each phase, we will hold a 2-hour seminar to discuss certain topics as a group. On occasion, these seminars will take place in museums or venues in Manhattan. You will be asked to read certain articles, either on reserve in the library or available as PDF on the class website in preparation of these seminars. The discussion of these articles will be an integral part of our studio and your are expected to be prepared to critically discuss the text, the author and the context of the writing. In addition, you may get additional reading assignments and suggestions related to your individual research project. REQUIREMENTS

To attain an above-average grade (above B-/C+) in this course, you must come prepared to each class ready to discuss the progress of your work, ask critical questions and contribute to the class’s general discussions. You must deliver each assignment on time. In compliance with NYIT policy, two unexcused absences will result in a warning letter from the Dept. chairperson. A third absence will result in a grade of F, or a mandatory Withdrawal from the course. If you know in advance that you must be absent, or you have other problems that may affect your grade, speak to the instructor.

STUDIO ARCHIVE

For each of your assignments, you will deliver the most critical images, presentations, diagram, text in digital format. And upload it to the class website. Remember that your research is useful information for everyone in the studio and should be accessible to all, clearly presented and legible without your verbal explanation. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, Janet and Peter Hall, eds. Else/Where: Mapping New Cartographies of Networks and Territories

Aranda, Benjamin and Lasch, Chris, Tooling, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007

Bell, Bryan & Wakeford, Katie, Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism, Metropolis Books, 2008

Burdett, Ricky and Sudjic, Deyan, eds. The Endless City: the Urban Age project, (London Phaidon, 2007)

Burns, Carol and Kahn, Andrea, eds. Site Matters, Design Concepts, Histories and Strategies, Routledge, 2005

Easterling, Keller, Enduring Innocence: Global Architecture and its Political Masquerades MIT Press, 2005

Kelley, Kevin, Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World, Basic Books, 1995

Mau, Bruce, Massive Change, Phaidon, 2004

McDonough, William and Braungart, Michael Cradle to Cradle, North Point Pres, 2002

Nesbitt, Kate, ed. Theorizing a new Agenda for Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, 1996

Oppenheimer Dean, Andrea and Hursley, Timothy, Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency, Princeton Architectural Press, 2002

Reiser, Jesse & Umemoto, Nanako, Atlas of Novel Tectonics, Princeton Architectural Press, 2006

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.6 Professor: Kaja Kühl

Spector, Tom The Ethical Architect Princeton Architectural Press, 2001

Stohr, Kate, Sinclair, Cameron, Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises, Metropolis Books, 2006

Tschumi, Bernard & Cheng, Irene, The State of Architecture at the Beginning of the 21st Century, Monacelli Press, 2004

Tufte, Edward R., Envisioning Information (Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 1990)

ONLINE RESOURCES

Site Research:

UN Habitat – http://www.unhabitat.org/

UNFPA – http://www.unfpa.org/

USGS GIS Data – http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/globalgis/

US Census Tiger/Line Data – http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/

Social Explorer – www.socialexplorer.com

Maps and Arial Images - http://earthshots.usgs.gov/tableofcontents

Spatial Cognition 2008 Conference – http://conference.spatial-cognition.de/sc08/

Online Governmental and International Resources on Climate Change - http://www.istl.org/01-fall/internet.html

UN Climate Change Conference - http://en.cop15.dk/

US EPA on Climate Change - http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

UN Environment Programme - http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/

UNFPA Report on the State of the World Population, 2007

Design, Planning and Technology:

World Changing - http://www.worldchanging.com

Information Aesthetics - http://infosthetics.com/

Inhabitat – www.inhabitat.com

The story of stuff - http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Materials and Applications - http://www.emanate.org/

Institutions, Venues info in NYC:

The Municipal Art Society - http://mas.org/

The Van Alen Institute - http://www.vanalen.org/

Center for Architecture –www.aiany.org

Storefront for Art and Architecture - www.storefrontnews.org/

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture Fall 2009 A501: Thesis in Public Architecture p.7 Professor: Kaja Kühl

SCHEDULE WEEK TEACHING UNIT ACTIVITY DELIVERABLE/POSTING SEP Wk 1 T 08 WORKSHOP INTRO Introduction to Thesis F 11 Seminar: Public Architecture Wk 2 T 15 CONSTRUCTING SITE Pin-up PIN-UP: POINT OF DEPARTURE F 18 Seminar: Constructing Site Wk 3 T 22 CONSTRUCTING SITE Studio, desk crits F 25 Studio, desk crits Wk 4 T 29 CONSTRUCTING SITE Pin-up PIN-UP: CONSTRUCTING SITE OCT F 02 Seminar: Ecosystems Wk 5 T 06 WORKSHOP ECOSYSTEMS Workshop F 09 Workshop Wk 6 T 13 WORKSHOP ECOSYSTEMS Pin-up PIN-UP: ECOSYSTEMS F 16 Seminar: Manifesto Wk 7 T 20 MANIFESTO Studio, desk crits F 23 Studio, desk crits Wk 8 T 27 MANIFESTO Review with outside critics MIDTERM REVIEW F 30 Seminar: Scenario MIDTERM ARCHIVE DUE NOV Wk 9 T 03 SCENARIO Studio, desk crits F 06 Studio, desk crits Wk 10 T 10 SCENARIO Pin-up PIN-UP: SCENARIO F 13 Seminar: Publication Wk 11 T 17 WORKSHOP PUBLICATION Writing Consultation F 20 Lay-out Consultation Wk 12 T 24 WORKSHOP PUBLICATION Writing Consultation F 27 THANKSGIVING DEC Wk 13 T 01 DESIGN STRATEGY Seminar: Design Strategy DRAFT PUBLICATION DUE F 04 Studio, desk crits Wk 14 T 08 DESIGN STRATEGY Studio, desk crits F 11 Studio, desk crits PUBLICATION DUE Wk 15 T 15 DESIGN STRATEGY Review with outside critics FINAL REVIEW F 18 FINAL ARCHIVE DUE