EDITING ARCHITECTURE

a cloud of texts, to provide an alternative to the established architectural press

edited byFikret Can Kuşadalı

as a �nal participation for the course, Architecture Today , İTÜ, 2013

Prof. Dr. Arzu Erdem, Yrd. Doç. Dr. Funda Uz, Öğr. Gör. Dr. Sait Ali Köknar

architecturextoday.blogspot.comcontact fckusadali[at]gmail.com

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to �nd out the ways of editing architecture. Basically research is questionning the ‘construction’ of architecture. In the term editing architecture, 'editing' shall be construed to mean transformation via publishing.

Actually paper is based on a collage of texts. Every text mentions about just one magazine, and it's context. Aim of using texts from various archizines is to make audience asking more questions about the visions, representation ways of archizines and contexts of established architectural press (which creates mono-types). Overall approach is a cloud of text which is created from a wide selection of Archizines.

(*archizine: architectural -zines, **Archizines: an archive of new architecture fanzines, magazines and journals from all around the world which is launched by Elias Redstone, Archizines is exhibited at It’s Open.)

***every text is interpretated by just one photograph with a word.

Özet

Yapılan araştırmalar mimari düzenlemede yeni yollar aramayı amaçlamakla beraber temelde mimarlığın yapılışını, inşaasını sorgulamaktadırlar. Bu çalışma-da kullanılan ‘düzenleme’ terimi yayıncılık tarafından dönüşüm anlamında kullanılmıştır.

Aslında bu araştırma bir takım metinlerin kolajından ibarettir. Her metin bir yayın ve o yayının içeriğinden bahseder. Çeşitli mimari yayınlardan metinlerin kullanılmasının amacı, mimari yayınların görüşlerini, temsil şekillerini ve aynı zamanda tek tipleştirilmiş hale gelen mimari yayın içeriklerini sorgulamaktır. Bütün çalışma, Archizines’in geniş koleksiyonundan seçilerek yaratılmış bir metin bulutudur.

( **Archizines: Elias Redstone tarafından küratörlüğü yapılmış olan arşiv, 2000le-rden günümüze dünyanın dört bir yanından yeni mimari gazete, magazin ve fanzinlerden oluşmaktadır. Archizines bu süreç içerisinde Its Open’da sergilen-miştir.)

***her metin bir fotoğraf ve kelime ile birlikte yorumlanmıştır.

2ha a small, independent magazine interested in the suburbs. makes reference to contemporary standards of land measurement and de�nition, as in two hectares. ‘We believe that in the modern Irish suburb, the land, and the way it is used, is still inextricably linked to the people that use it.’ explores the relationship between photography and suburbia, and the extent to which photography has shaped both the perception and making of suburban space.

There is a value in suburbia the remains overlooked. edge of our capital city is a place of layers physically built up over thousands of years of use and occupation. a world where Luas lines leap over Viking graveyards. a landscape of faded aristocratic homes surrounded by encroaching housing estates. a �eld where farmyards sit beside shopping centres.

Within this context, suburbia is a place of potential.

2ha is an independent magazine interested in the suburbs.

territory is local. where we live and work and shop. provides the built fabric and daily routine of suburban life. o�ers a cultural landscape worthy of investigation.

[1]

local overlappings

ARCHITICALArchitical is a research-based zine motivated by design theory and criticism It was launched by Sarah Lyons to explore the notion that ‘architectural practice could be conceptual and theoretical, concerned with cultural criticism rather than the production of buildings’ ‘Architical is not a critique of propositions in its content, but rather a platform on which to consider the role that hypothesising, politics and architecture play in our current society, and the potential they obtain as a force for the future.’

s who revelled under the banner of this movement include Superstudio, Archigram, Archizoom and Studiodada. What motivated its production was my interest in the world of zines. What separates zines from other forms of publications is fandom; the format dictated by pure enthusiasm for a subject and a contraposition to professional maga-zines. As Elias Redstone of Archizines requoted, “Make your own culture and stop consuming that which is made for you.” Architical is a platform on which to consider the role of hypothetical design in the built world in regards to both social and structural contexts.

[2]

research based

FLANEURFlaneur Magazine presents one street per issue. seeks to communicate the street's complexity, layers and dynamic and fragmented nature with a literary approach. editorial ambition is to create meaningful correlations between places, stories, people and objects. ‘ collaboration between writers, photographers, illustrators, musicians, designers and architects is a vital conceptual aspect to push the boundaries of what a print magazine is thought to be.

A clear framework acts as a pillar to help suspend the various elements of the magazine and to continuously bring the reader back to a �xed point.’

[3]

�aneur �aneur

SETSET quarterly, single sheet zine explores the relationship between cinema and its architecture. , it focuses on �lms a�ected signi�cantly by a single set or location, looking at Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). Each consists of a plan or drawing of the location in question and a text describing the relationship between this space and the characters, narrative and tone of the �lm. SET architec-ture writer Lisa Cassidy considers the role of boundaries in Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture (2010), a �lm is mostly set in Dunham’s real-life family’s TriBeCa loft. examines how Aura interacts with the interior space of the home, and how her use of space represents thematic developments over the course of the narrative.

[4]

set &

MOINOPOLISMOINOPOLIS conceived as an international laboratory of thoughts on spatial matters, in the urban context. publi-cation is one output for the laboratory alongside events and workshops and responds to an absence of physical matter in architecture. ‘The architectural profession �nds itself in a condition of deep recession and, according to market forces, architects are able to build less. , the practice has shifted towards projects of more temporary, transient or non-conventional building forms. a new, experimental playground for architects – an opportunity to re-invent profession.’

information and images are over�owing our everyday life MOINOPOLIS focuses on relevant themes.Digital media rapidness of distribution and consumption of informa-tion, images and opinions paying the same attention to cursory and to thought-ful input. MOINOPOLIS is striving to understand, discuss and communicate fundamental spatial matters. explores contemporary issues related to society, culture, art, new technolo-gies, urbanism and architecture and bringing together a diversity of creatives and researchers throughout various disciplines.

[5]

ephemera

MAS ContextMAS Context quarterly journal, by MAS Studio in 2009, issues a�ecting the urban context. aim is to provide a comprehensive view of a topic by the active participation of people from di�erent �elds and di�erent perspec-tives; to instigate the debate. global approach and reach, a platform of discussion and collaboration where relevant proposals, ideas and experiences are shared to help advance the design �eld. approached through di�erent communication techniques, essays, photographs, diagrams, interviews and case studies.

based in Chicago, but reach is global. a platform that help advance the world of design. approach is simple and profound. unleashes a great debate. asks designers everywhere to act in new and unimagined ways. Think. Collaborate. Debate. Act.

[6]

debate

POST published by architecture students at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 response to mainstream architecture magazines that reviewed buildings almost immediately after construction. Originally conceived as a series of walking tours of Melbourne, POST Magazine estab-lished to revisit architecture beyond the ‘perfect moment of completion’, post-occupancy, to discuss ‘lived-in’ space. presents the opinions of practitioners, academics and students, provides a voice for occupants and participants of architecture and public space.

research for an assignment. noticed a distinct trend: each article that reviewed a project had done so almost immediately after its construction. The images were devoid of people, the spaces were shiny and unused, and the articles all spoke with great authority about how the project would achieve its intended purpose. thinking: “why are there no magazines that revisit spaces after they are occupied?” And from that, the seeds for POST were sown. series of walking tours of Melbourne, the POST group soon collected enough material from fellow students at RMIT and other architecture schools in the city with the theme of (anti) Social Housing.

Put simply, we like to make people think. POST to create a freer and more open dialogue between the architectural profession and the public. attempt to do this in a number of ways, “POST-inhabitation”, a series of vox-pops in which ask people who use certain public spaces of their opinions on what make them work, and what could be improved. postmagazine[dot]org aims to further this dialogue, by giving everyone an opportunity to have their say on what we publish, and to submit articles for publication themselves.

[7]

abandoned spaces

scopioscopio magazine semiannual publication on Photography, Architecture and Public Space, associated to the Cityscopio Cultural Association and the Espaço F-FAUP, from CCRE research group.

[8]

collage spaces

TOO MUCHTOO MUCH, about ‘romantic geography’, international writers and photographers with a Japanese design team. world enters an era of widespread urbanisation, The magazine also reports on migrations in and between cities, and the impact this has on race, nationality, language, tradition and customs. TOO MUCH – as a response to the recent catastrophic earthquake in Japan – looks at experiences rebuilding, relocating, shelter building and the construction of ideal cities.

TOO MUCH gathers thoughts about cities, the people who live in them, and the changes a�ecting our society and our environment.

There are more and more people who care not only about architecture and design, but also for the changes within the city and the impact of globalism, and have an international curiosity. TOO MUCH is for them.

[9]

minorities

The Unlimited EditionThe Unlimited Edition super-local newspaper focused on the street that connects the City of London to the new Olympic Park in Stratford. Against the backdrop of widespread change in the area, to record and explore the familiar high street and to celebrate and speculate on the possibili-ties that lie in its future. all invited to contribute creative snapshots of the area and the papers were distributed for free from dedicated news stands along the street. Published by We Made That, to capture the aftermath of the 2011 London riots and the opening of a vast new shopping centre in East London.

We Made That studio concerned with a broad range of di�erent disciplinary and cultural contexts — delivering work in the public realm.

Across all the disciplines that we work in, we are interested in fostering relationships between authorities, local communities, design teams and the public.

[10]

ceremony

PROPOSALSPROPOSALS series of projects related to built environments and building culture written, designed and published by Nene Tsuboi. presents architectur-al thoughts and proposals from a non-architect's perspective. , , looked at houses and homes. ideas and thoughts generat-ed while making Kultuurisauna, a public sauna on the Helsinki waterfront designed with her partner Tuomas Toivonen. The scale of the publication doubles as the number grows.

[11]

non-architect’s view

resources

[1] www.2ha.ie[2] www.architical.tumblr.com

[3] www.�aneur-magazine.com[4] www.setcollective.com

[5] www.moinopolis.org[6] www.mascontext.com

[7] www.postmagazine.org[8] www.scopiomagazine.com

[9] toomuchmagazine.com[10] www.wemadethat.co.uk

[11] www.napabooks.com

*all the visuals are created by me