Tom Avermaete and Anne Massey ‘Hotel Lobbies and Lounges’ The Architecture of professional hospitality

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‘Hotel Lobbies and Lounges’ is a book, which includes series of essays, which investigates the historical, theoretical and practical aspects of interiors. It is edited by Tom Avermaete (Fig.2) and Anne Massey (Fig.3) in 2012. The book explores the architectural significance of the hotels through the history and their cultural and social reflection. (Avermaete and Massey, 2014)

Fig.2. f16_avermaetetom2.jpg

Tom Avermaete – an associate professor of architecture at the Delft University of Technology. His interests are orientated in the post-war public and the architecture of the city in Western and non-Western contexts. He is an author and an editor of a couple journals and books, and also an initiator of some exhibitions. (Tom Avermaete / persons / the Berlage, 2010); (Avermaete, Tom – CIAMX, no date)

Fig.3 Anne-Massey.jpg

Anne Massey – is Professor of Design and Culture, Associate Dean of Research and Head of the Graduate School at LCC and also a curator and writer who looks at the spaces between art and design. She also was a Director of Research in the School of Art & Design at Middlesex University before joining the LCC. She has written different books and journals about Interiors, Design, Architecture, Culture and more. She also has lectured in different museums, galleries, universities in the Italy, Holland, UK, France, USA and curated some exhibitions. Her interests are orientated in the Design, Architecture, pop-art, culture and historiography. (Team, 2016); (People, 2016)

Comparison between functional and emotional contexts – giving examples of the revolving doors and the receptions:

In his essay about the functionality of the hotel lobby, the author’s thoughts are fluctuating between the different functions of the various design elements contained in the microcosm of the lobby. It is interesting to read how the interior while it might have a very clear concept – e.g. for the revolving door to be made in such a way so it contains the climate of the interior without obstructing the flow of people visiting the establishment, while at the same time that same element has a much deeper significance in the subconscious perception of the hotel guests.

With that point of view, the author dissects and analyze every aspect of the hotel lobby and the customer journey through the different stages – from entering the hotel, registering and all the way to entering their room. The visitor at a hotel is in a sense just that – a visitor, a guest. Nothing more. He is permitted to enter and use the hotel, given the room key for a specified amount of time and then he must return it and leave. This creates a contradiction with the way how lobbies are created to seem accommodating and comforting with their grand open spaces, sofas, and friendly personnel.

It is also interesting to observe how these lobbies have evolved over time, how inventions like the elevator switched where the most desired rooms would be positioned and how technology and design are changing the lobby itself.

But the most intriguing part for me is the comparison between the revolving doors and bridges. According to the author of the essay, these two connecting objects have a very similar function.

They are made to connect two opposite sides – for the bridge that’s the two opposite banks of the river for instance, and for the revolving door these are the inside and outside. In that, their purpose bears the similarity of connection and transition but the similarity ends there. This is because the bridge lacks the clear aim based on which direction the person is going on the bridge. Meanwhile, based on what the visitor of a hotel is doing, either leaving or arriving, the function and subconscious purpose of the revolving door changes. As my main project for the course in MA Design (Interior and Architecture) is boiling down to two main subject – Bridges and Augmented Reality, this is really interesting because I want to change how people interact and use bridges and to create a more involving environment for the person walking on the bridge. Like mentioned earlier the revolving doors, and bridges have the similarity in connectivity but have that moment of divergence, I can analyze these little differences and apply methods to improve on the design of my future design.

hotel-lobbies-and-lounges-the-architecture-of-professional-hospitality

Questions:

1. How do you think the Hotel Lobbies might evolve in the future?
2. Which is your favourite hotel lobby and why?

New words:

quotidian – of or occurring every day; daily

panopticon – a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed.

realm – a field of interest

ditto – the same thing again (used in lists and accounts and often indicated by a ditto mark under the word or figure to be repeated).

 

REFERENCES:

Avermaete, T. and Massey, A. (2014) Hotel lobbies and lounges: The architecture of professional hospitality. Available at: http://books.bk.tudelft.nl/index.php/press/catalog/book/130 (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

Tom Avermaete / persons / the Berlage (2010) Available at: http://www.theberlage.nl/persons/tom_avermaete (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

Avermaete, Tom – CIAMX (no date) Available at: http://www.ciamxdubrovnik.com/participants/avermaete-tom/ (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

Team, W. (2016) Professor Anne Massey. Available at: http://www.arts.ac.uk/research/ual-staff-researchers/a-z/professor-anne-massey/ (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

People (2016) ADRI. Available at: http://adri.mdx.ac.uk.contentcurator.net/massey-prof-anne (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

 

Michel de Certeau ‘Walking the City’ in his The Practice of Everyday Life

Fig. 1. Screen_shot_2012-02-17_at_2.21.11_PM.png

Michel Jean Emmanuel de La Barge de Certeau (Michel de Certeau)(17 May 1925 – 9 January 1986) – Born in Chambery, Savoie, he was a member of  the religious congregation of the Catholic Church, with the hope to do a missionary work in China. His interests and work were between the history, philosophy, social science, and psychoanalysis.

He studied classics and philosophy in Grenoble, Lyon and also undertook religious training at a seminary in Lyon. In 1960 he earned his doctorate in the Sorbonne. Later he went to teach in different universities in Paris, San Diego, and Geneva. His work was influenced by Sigmund Freud. Yet, he was one of the founders of the ‘Ecole Freudienne de Paris’, which was an informal group served as a focal point for French scholars interested in psychoanalysis.

Michel de Certeau, in his poetic essay, outlines the way people walk in the city and what they experience. According to him the people walking in the city are engulfed by the building around the streets, in such a way that they don’t know the surroundings, don’t experience the city but just see what’s going on around them, when people walk in the streets “…they write without being able to read it.” [pp. 158]

He can observe the movement and the city skyline, the beauty and the changing landscape of the city like a “Solar Eye” [pp. 157] and experience the city unlike the people down below.

Walking and getting familiar with a city is an exhilarating experience and in the words of Charles Baudelaire “What strange phenomena we find in a great city, all we need to do is stroll about with our eyes open.” But to experience it such a way would be difficult based on Certau’s thoughts. So much that he proposes a three-step plan, a theory that opposes the “… ideals and theories of urban planners and managers…” [pp. 156]. The three step plan to a ‘utopian’ city:

1. Create it is own organization in ‘space’, ignoring the norms placed there by the “physical, mental and political” boundaries;
2. Create it’s own place in time, forgetting about established traditions;
3. Create the unique location which is the city itself.

In a way, Certeau asks about the possibility of approaching a city in a creative and innovative way, forgetting the norms and guidelines, with the aim to create something new, unique and better. Not always the rules help us. We now live in a world where almost everything is possible, new techniques, materials and ideas are generated on a daily basis and following the thoughts of the author, we should probably use these, to break the constraints of today, and the rules of yesterday to create a better and more enjoyable tomorrow.

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Questions:

1. What do you want to change in a city to make it better?
2. Which do you prefer bus or a tube, and why ?

New words:

superfluous – unnecessary, especially through being more than enough

well trodden – much frequented by travelers.

voracious – engaging in an activity with great eagerness or enthusiasm

expenditure – the action of spending funds.

mythification – to create a myth about (a person, place, tradition, etc.); cause to become a myth

Jesuit – a member of  the religious congregation of the Catholic Church

 

REFERENCES:

Michel de Certeau (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_de_Certeau (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

Gallery Visit Day :)

Fig.1 personal archive

On Tuesday 8th November, together with my colleagues we were invited from our amazing Critical Debates tutor-Daniel Davies, to visit three different galleries based in London. (Fig.1)

I left the tube on Moorgate station and walked to find the first place that we had to visit – ‘Barbican center'(first time I am going there). While walking in-between some huge and glassed buildings I suddenly noticed a big and obviously too old structure (Brutalist Architecture), with really different Design in comparison with the surroundings. That was the Barbican Centre, which is the largest in Europe performing arts center, based in London. The building consists classical and contemporary music concerts, theater performances, film screenings,art exhibitions,library, restaurants, conservatory and a lot of other activities. At first, while I was trying to find a way to go on the third floor (where our group meeting was), I got lost. The center is so huge, that never mind that I am an architect (I have experience how to move and find the fastest route in a building), I got lost. Or I was just so concentrated to watch at everything inside the structure, so I was distracted a lot. It is really nice and I want to say ‘strange’ place because it collects different activities and structures inside and outside. It is obvious that the building is old, but recently had some kind of refurbishment. It was interesting for me to see how the interior and exterior design was made. On the outside, it is really interesting that the plan of the building was very complex, and it consisted different (from height and style) architectural parts. There was a church in-between the whole complex and a school. Also, a really nice pond was made inside the whole complex, and it was surrounded by resident buildings. (Fig.1;2;3;4;5)

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The exhibition that we had to visit the Barbican center was called ‘Vulgar’. It was a real pleasure for me to go and see this place (I didn’t expect to see that good thing). I think that the art pieces that I saw inside were really AMAZING. I am not a Fashion Design student, but if I was I would be definitely very inspired. I felt like I want to steal all those apparels. The exhibition was organized in an interesting way also. The different clothes were divided by different meaning in the hall. To be honest, I think that I didn’t see anything which I can define as ‘vulgar’ for myself inside. As I already said, I felt like I want to steal and wear everything from inside.

Otherwise, the interior was organized in an interesting way and was combined really good with the apparels. The room was mainly dark (black and gray colors) combined with some white walls and the lights were placed in a different way. The role of the lights, actually was really good, because they were used to underline some of the art pieces. The whole hall was easily accessible and it was a lot of free space. Two main floors, where the center was open planned, so the visitor can see the second floor from the first one. It was an interesting place to see.

Another thing that took my attention was that there were a lot of different ‘bridges’ built inside and outside the building and the exhibitions. Because part of the project that I develop right now for the course ‘ART 4000 – Developing practice’ is based on a project about ‘modularity’, which for me is the footbridge. It was interesting and curious for me to see how that bridges were organized there. (Fig.6;7)

Fig.6 personal archive

Fig.7 personal archive

The next exhibition that we had to visit was based next to ‘Old Street station’- Sir John Soane’s Museum, a historic house, museum, and library. The author was an architect from the 19th century. From the outside, the building was planned in a really interesting way – with three different main doors, which was for one same building, designed by Soane himself.  The interior design was really ‘weird’ for me. (first time I see something like this). The interior was full with Soane’s exceptional collection of famous artworks, sculptures, furniture and artifacts, which were based everywhere through the building. Most of them were made from stone, so I was constantly afraid that something will fall on my head or that I will push something (not on purpose). I found that place interesting because it was really natural and I felt like the author is still somewhere there. There weren’t the usual notes everywhere next to each exhibit, which I found good. The place was also made in a really creative way. Obviously, the author had a passion for light and organization (I think). There were gaps on the floor on the different rooms, from which the light can come through. Also, I noticed that the whole house was surrounded by small and narrow corridors and cupboards. It was obvious that the author was such a unique person.(Fig.8;9)

Fig.8 personal archive

I am glad that we spent one really productive and inspiring day and I hope it wasn’t the last one :).

Iris Marion Young ‘Throwing Like a Girl: A Phenomenology of Feminine Body Comportment, Motility, and Spatiality’

Fig.1 Iris Marion Young.jpg

Iris Marion Young (Fig.1) – Born in New York City (2 January 1949 – 1 August 2006), she was a philosopher, who wrote about different topics and also a political theorist and feminist. She graduated with honours at Queens College. Her interests were in the sphere of the nature of justice and the social difference. She wrote notably about feminist phenomenology, ethics and social justice, democratic theory, global justice and security. The political activism was very important for her and also as a professor of Political science at the University of Chicago, she motivated her students to be part of their communities. (Iris Marion Young, 2016),(Ferguson and Nagel, 2010)

While talking about the behavioural differences between males and females the essay tries, with the help of different research papers, to define where lies the reason for the old saying “you throw like a girl”.

The author looks at different cases and in the end is drawn to the conclusion that the main reason for this proverb, and other specific  actions and behaviours have their roots not in a physical manner, like we might assume. Rather those differences are much deeper and can be attributed to something a bit more interesting – how males and females occupy space. The paper tries to prove that girls from an early space are thought to be fragile – to be careful, considerate and in general feminine [pp. 43-44]. This type of behaviour starts manifesting itself in later stages in life and is ultimately one of the reasons why girls are presumed to be the weaker of the sexes – this is not directly said by the author but rather hinted in the manner of speaking towards the end of the essay.

Going back to the thoughts of how women and men occupy their space differently. In the end the main reason that we can say girls throw like, and excuse me for repeating myself, “a girl” can be attributed to the way how girls and boys occupy their personal space. Girls perceive their personal space as a closed and limited, while boys tend to extend out of their their surroundings and perceive it more as an open type of space [pp. 39].

“He concluded that females tend to emphasize what he calls “inner space,” or enclosed space, while males tend to emphasize what he calls “outer space,” …”

This is an interesting rhetoric and it can make us think about how we perceive space – even more as interior designer we take care and create spaces for other people. Taking research like this one into account, we can start think on a broader scale how we can focus our designs to be more effective. Case and point – we should think about our “target audience” – “Particular group of people, identified as the intended recipient of an advertisement or message” (Business Dictionary, 2016). In other words – a target audience is the people we are designing for. By finding our specific audience and the purpose of our space, we can focus on little details that would make the interior a better and pleasant location for our “audience”. Another example – if we try to create a space targeted at males we should focus on a more symmetrical arrangement as this proves more pleasant for that sex, while a more asymmetrical and dynamic form is more appealing to the female side. (Izhaki, 2016)

 

Fig.2 w-Girlthrow.jpg

Fig.3 7047626-3×2-940×627.jpg

 

Questions:

1. Can you think of other examples where the different sexes would behave differently in such a way that it can influence our designs?
2. Do you agree with the statement that this manner of behaviour has its routes from patriarchal oppression?b

New words:

1. motility  – contraction of the muscles that mix and propel contents in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
2. comportment – behaviour; bearing

 

REFERENCES:

Iris Marion Young (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Marion_Young (Accessed: 7 November 2016).

Ferguson, A. and Nagel, M. (2010) Dancing with Iris: The philosophy of Iris Marion Young. Available at: http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/24487-dancing-with-iris-the-philosophy-of-iris-marion-young/ (Accessed: 7 November 2016).

Bussiness Dictionary (2016) in Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/target-audience.html (Accessed: 7 November 2016).

Izhaki (2016) Available at: http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/45453/is-there-data-supporting-the-theory-that-women-prefer-rounded-borders (Accessed: 8 November 2016).

 

Andrew Bengry ‘Howell and Christine Griffin – ‘Self-Made Motormen: The Material Construction of Working-Class Masculine Identities through Car Modification’

 

Fig.1 Christine Griffin & Howell Griffin

Andrew Bengry-Howell (one of the authors) is a higher level educator with experience of over 10 years with research interests in youths and identity (2015, 2012). The second author, Christine Griffin, is a leading figure in the development of qualitative research in social psychology. (web-support, 2016)

Both the authors specialise in social Psychology. While Andrew Bengry-Howell is a senior lecturer in Psychology in Bath university, Christine Griffin is a lecturer in Social Psychology in Bath Spa University.

Exploring the article we find two main key points to the thought of the authors. The first being the research of how and why working class males obtain their first symbol of individuality – their first car.

As this is a big step to show individuality and freedom the authors engage in conversation with these “modifiers” on why they do those types of improvements to their cars.

In the process of conversation, they reach the conclusion that the reason for this is hidden in a few factors. Firstly the dominantly male group of males does the improvements and changes to distance the cars from their original manufactured design and style. In this way the car becomes individually unique and different from any other car – it is personalised.  It transformed the simple “act of consumption into a set of practices through which car modifiers produced their cars as symbolic extensions of themselves”  [pp. 375] Secondly that creates a sense of accomplishment from the manual work through the physical work done on the cars.

The second interesting finding is connected more to the “why” they start modifying the cars. This is evident in the phrase of one of the modifiers which states that the vehicle was initially perceived as a “chick’s car” and that’s why they proceed to “de badge” and strip the car of it’s if you will, brand identity. The author of the text almost seems perplexed by these actions. As earlier mention both of them specialise in researching youths and psychology, so they are familiar with how they interact with brands and what kind of meaning they have in some areas, as is in the given example of the article, with clothes for instance. [pp. 337](Fig.2)

Brands have a psychological aspect as well as an experiential aspect.

Knowing how brands work (Nordqvist, 2015), and how the process of branding has evolved to make a product more recognisable and to attach feelings and emotions to it, it’s understandable why the authors are confused by the actions of the “modifiers”. Instead of buying a well-recognised brand, to prove and establish their masculinity by brand association, they invest in a vehicle that is not as popular or that doesn’t have a positive brand image to connect to and then proceed to de badge and alter the image of the car until it’s unrecognisable from the original.

It is an interesting phenomenon but when we think about it that type of behaviour could be found in another type of “subculture”.

Individuals with a taste for the unique, and a self-assured nature, have inspired the movement undeniably.

We call these individuals “hipsters” (Thorn, 2014). The hipster is an individual that strays away from the mainstream, in fashion or otherwise popular. In a similar way to the car modifiers from the Midlands of England they break the rules of branding and trends.(Fig.3)

The paper is an excerpt from an academic journal created from the collaborative research of two academic bodies.

Fig.3 hipster photo

 

Questions:

1. Where else can you see this type of cultural rebellion?
2. –

 

New words:

Commodity – a useful or valuable thing.

Incongruity – the state of being incongruous; incompatibility.

Intrinsic – belonging naturally; essential.

 

REFERENCES:

2015 (2012) Bath spa university – our people. Available at: http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/our-people/a.bengry-howell (Accessed: 6 November 2016).

web-support (2016) University of bath. Available at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/psychology/staff/christine-griffin/ (Accessed: 6 November 2016).

Nordqvist, C. (2015) What is a brand? How do brands work? Available at: http://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/brand/ (Accessed: 6 November 2016).

Thorn, J. (2014) Clever hacks. Available at: http://www.dailypooper.com/page/article/327/hipsters—where-did-they-come-from (Accessed: 6 November 2016).

Earl Tai ‘Decolonising Shanghai: Design and Material Culture in the Photographs of Hu Yang’

Fig.1. 6a0131100618d9970c013482423001970c-320wi

Earl Tai (Fig.1) – Earl Tai is a graduate in architecture and specializes in the cross-cultural design and social ethics in design and art. He holds numerous grants and certificates granted to him from prestigious institutions like Harvard, Columbia university and others. He takes part in not for profit organizations in the form of a design advisor and is currently on leave in Shanghai. (Tai, 2009)

‘It is always awkward for a designer to self-identify because it can become quite self-conscious and egotistical, so let me talk about the kind of designer I would like to be. I want to be a person who works at the intersection of design practice, design theory, education, and social justice. I would like think that I am the type of designer who is an educator/provocateur, pushing my audience to think about a topic in a new way and encouraging them to act in this world humbly and responsibly’ (Insight: Earl Tai, 2010)

In a world where colonization is a thing of the past and appropriating, consuming, adapting borrowing or just in general showing interest of different cultures is something made easy by the development of technology.

Hu Yang is a photographer that explores an interesting view of the personality by documenting people in their natural state and place and their environment. This is a more holistic and down to earth approach that has a clear aim in documenting the person at the other end of the camera, rather than trying to find a deeper meaning in the objects and images presented to the reader. This point of view is interesting and more pleasing leaving the interpretation of the image to the observer.

The author of the text, Earl Tai, analyses these images from his prism of colonization to show the advances and influences of the Western Culture into the Eastern. Looking at the photographs he analyses the objects, appearances, and behaviors of the subjects, by exposing them to the reality of colonization. He examines in detail the surrounding of a girl, the minimal sets of calligraphy, drawings and  a more traditional style of living without being forced to show that. It really draws Wang Uing as a naturally more inclined towards tradition kind of person. But in contrast, another object, a CD player, draws the attention of the author which shows the subject of the photo to be influenced by Western culture.

This and the other examples are given in the text are an interesting take on how colonization may affect a culture, but I’m more inclined to thinking that small memorabilia, souvenirs, and technology may be more influenced by the needs and interest of the person, rather than a bigger outside force.

This said I find the images compelling as they show the natural habitat, architecture, and organization of their personal space. This is a way to peek into an undisturbed and natural world otherwise reserved to the people native to that specific culture.

Analysing the images of Hu Yang and looking at the interpretations and thoughts of the author we can put another idea forward. It’s interesting how decorating these homes is a for of a statement from the occupants in an attempt to showcase themselves and their interest. But when you look closer and analyse their behaviour as well we can see that they give out an inconsistent message. Incorporating this idea in design terms, when you are creating something it should communicate the correct message on all levels, so we don’t give out a mixed or confused message.

 

Questions:

1. Does our personality affect our own personal surrounding?
2. Do you think colonization still takes part in the modern world?

New words:

gilt – covered thinly with gold leaf or gold paint.

occidentalism – is often counterpart to the term orientalism as used by Edward Said in his book of that title, which refers to and identifies Western stereotypes of the Eastern world, the Orient.

 

REFERENCES:

Tai, E. (2009) ‘Decolonizing Shanghai: Design and material culture in the photographs of Hu Yang’, Design Issues, 25(3), pp. 30–43. doi: 10.1162/desi.2009.25.3.30.

Insight: Earl Tai (2010) September. Available at: http://buildingthegoodcity.typepad.com/building-the-good-city/2010/05/insight-earl-tai.html (Accessed: 24 October 2016).

Basia Sliwinska ‘Transnational Embodied Belonging Within ‘Edge Habitats”

Fig.1. Basia-Sliwinska-definitive.jpg

Basia Sliwinska (Fig.1) – Born in Polland, she is an art historian and theorist. Her focus is on the feminist practise of contemporary women artists. She is a lecturer in Fashion visual culture at Middlesex University, London. In her teaching practise and research, she is concentrated on gender, women’s art and issues of the body and identity across differently conceptualised borders.She is especially interested on the topic of ‘how borders can be negotiated through in particular the female body as a site of learning.(People, 2016),(Middlesex university London, 2016)

In the text Sliwinska is contemplating the artificial borders created by social norms, politics and artificial borders. She is exploring how the female body is a part of the current events in migration and obtaining membership and citizenship. She looks at two examples that contrast the inclusion and exclusion of foreign bodies from different borders as perceived by global borders and laws.

The example of passive activism she gives with J. Rajkowska is an interesting take on interpreting politics and making a social statement on a public and national level. The author of that ‘open-ended’ performance is making a statement through her pregnant body in an attempt to invoke a feeling of unity and closeness between local and alien by showing the people that the foreign (Rosa) can become part of their place just by being birthed in the location of Berlin.

The second example given is of a more aggressive and direct form of expression where the author Nada Prlja shows the altogether more ugly and gruesome reality of migration in the context of globalisation. She is exploring how people are found in these states where they have rejected their own citizenship while not fully being accepted into their new environment completely. While there may be some kind of tolerance, a migrant will never be accepted with the same status as a local.

A big flaw of these concepts that I find in the thoughts and research material of Sliwinska is that she focuses, and to use a less positive term, limits her research just to the area of the Eurozone. The focus in the instances is based on history and personal relations perceived and created by a time of war and growth unique to this region. And while telling and interesting story of exploration, belonging and contemplating the meaning and interpretation of several terms connected to hospitality, borders and other spaces enclosed in a shroud of limitations, the text would feel more complete if it explored another point of view from another culture. Another culture that has grown with a different set of a crisis on its hand, and where the people have a different attitude towards immigration, hospitality, borders, and the significance of the female in developing these terms. Limiting to just the epos of one small part of the world will not yield the results necessary to make this, otherwise captivating piece of work, complete.

If she focuses more on the western cultures she might find a different frame of thought.

http://viola.bz/the-last-matriarchal-society-in-the-world/

Fig.2.women-ruled-the-world.jpg

Taking her research into account and considering the fact the world becomes a more cosmopolitan as well as the rapid globalisation around the world, it makes me think about how design can improve people’s lives. Incorporating research into history and people can bring a new level of design. Thinking about denizens and how to make them feel more welcome and included can influence the design and improve the functionality of a given space, in an appropriate context.

Fig.3. personal archives

 

Questions: 

1. Why does the author keep coming back to feminism if the main idea of immigration and exploring habitats in whole is more connected to politics and the self according to her?
2. Do you think if she explores bigger borders, she would find other examples?

 

New words:

transcend – be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or conceptual sphere)

predominantly – mainly; for the most part.

 

REFERENCES:

People (2016) ADRI. Available at: http://adri.mdx.ac.uk.contentcurator.net/basia-sliwinska (Accessed: 24 October 2016).

Middlesex university London (2016) Available at: http://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-directory/profile/sliwinska-basia (Accessed: 24 October 2016).

 

Panita Karamanea ‘Landscape,memory and contemporary’

Fig.1. 5ca30e786f2943929c962aea75af3a1f.jpg

Panita Karamanea (Fig.1) – Born in Athens, she graduated the Architectural school there in 1998. Later she persuaded her career studying MA in Landscape architecture in Barcelona, where she was awarded a scholarship from the National Institute. During her study and professional career, she has participated in a different Architectural and Landscape contests, some of which were awarded with the first and second award. Her interests are oriented in the relationship between the built environment and the landscape. Between Greece and other places, she is working as a leader consultant and also as a lecturer in Architectural design and Landscape Architecture in Crete. (School of architecture, technical university of Crete, 2011)

The text ‘Landscape, memory and contemporary’ concerns the topic about how the Landscape designers and Architects should organise their thoughts, ideas and conceptual approach before planning a project. The way the text is organised reminds me of an informal essay, but also for a personal portfolio and advertising. The author doesn’t expose his own opinion a lot, but instead of this, she uses a lot of professionals’ thoughts (philosophers, theorists, architects and etc..), opinions and statements to defend and rationalize her projects and concepts. The text is divided into three key points: prologue, main text, and epilogue.

According to Panita, the Architecture of a landscape should be designed in such a way to represent the history and memory connected to that specific location, while using contemporary design techniques to make the place more pleasant for the visitors. She uses Auge’s theory about ‘places’ and ‘non-places’ to tell us that when designing a public space, they should be designed in such a way that people have meaningful experiences and should preserve the collective memory of that location – the spirit of the place makes that location unique. The examples of her work explore through three projects how you can redesign a place with dark or disturbing history, in such a way that you can preserve the memories of the location while you make it a pleasant experience for the visitor.

According to my opinion, her way of organising places to preserve memory and history is not the most efficient way to do so. In her first project that she gives us as an example, she tries to preserve the Second World War story about the square. Later in her design we see she uses local materials and local flora to make the square part of the Greek surroundings and the only design aspect that is reminiscent of the event is a void place in the middle of the ‘urban forest’. Unless you are somebody who is familiar with the story or somebody has explained why that empty space is, you won’t see the subtle idea behind it. By adding such subtle hints of the history this defines the purpose to the common observer. A more efficient way would be adding monument, plaques and that type of commonly used memorials which give the history to the person who is interested in it, instead of giving a subtle hint about it.

This might be a cliche, but cliche’s become that way for a reason. ‘If these truths can stick with us, they’re there for a reason.’ (At the end of the day, cliches can be as good as gold, 2012)

If the reason for redesigning a landscape is to preserve its natural history and memory, or in other words to create a ‘place’ according to Auge’s definition, it is best to cater to the masses, the common visitor. By adding a subtle, creative, not readily understandable design element, that has to be explained in detail to the observer, then the said observed is at the risk of making that place appear to be a ‘non-place’ due to the lack of knowledge or interest. Yes, that design element (the void in the middle of the park) would be an interesting element to the chosen few who are well familiar with the concepts of the architect, but the rest, the common person, who is just passing by, will never understand the purpose of that opening in the middle of the forest.

 

Fig.2. Mt._Rushmore_Early_Morning.jpg

For instance, Mount Rushmore (USA) was created to represent history in an obvious way yet the location is not tightly connected to the specific historical event.

Extending that practice I would approach redesigning open spaces in a way to transform the into “places” (according to Auge’s definition) by adding something more obvious connected to the history of the location. By adding a plaque, monument or other similar design element we can attract more attention to the general public and the random visitor/tourist to the history of that location. This way the people who are interested in the history of the location can easily access it while there, just by looking at the plaque. (Fig.3)

Fig.3. 50840.jpg

 

Questions:

1. Do you think that creating a landscape should always be tied to the history of the location i.e. not all locations have a deep history?
2. Can the landscape just be a great modern design, but not representative of the history of location?

New words:

genius loci – the spirit of the place

dasein – being in space

REFERENCES:

School of architecture, technical university of Crete (2011) Available at: http://www.arch.tuc.gr/karamanea_en.html (Accessed: 16 October 2016).

At the end of the day, cliches can be as good as gold (2012) Available at: http://www.npr.org/2012/12/27/168149099/at-the-end-of-the-day-cliches-can-be-as-good-as-gold (Accessed: 16 October 2016).

 

 

Marc Auge ‘Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity ‘

 ‘Non-Places ‘

Gloomy space of big housing schemes, industrial zones and supermarkets, that the signs are placed inviting us to visit the ancient monuments; and alongside the motorways that we see more and more references to the local curiosities we ought to stop and examine, instead of just rushing past; as if alluding to former times and places were today just a manner of talking about present space. (Marc Auge)

Fig.1. Marc Auge timthumb.php_1.png

Marc Auge (02 September 1935) (fig.1) is one of the leading French intellectuals, anthropologists, and an author of a big number of books. Born in Poitier (France), he has spent a big part of his life, travelling to different countries to focus on the geographical and theoretical development. His exploring can be divided into three different stages : African, European and Global.

‘A day with Auge’ is a symposium, which is organised to meet teachers and students from different courses and institutions with Auge’s ideas and writings. (Posted, 2013)

Auge based many of his studies on the exploration of the globalisation. His works saw a substantial success, although some of them were criticised by the editor in chief of International Journal of Safety and Security in Tourism Maximiliano Korstanje. He claims that places like airports, which Auge calls ‘non-places’ in terms of their lack of enough significance to be regarded as ‘spaces’ , are ‘real meetings charged with high emotional arousal‘.(Marc Augé, 2016)

He explains the concept of ‘Places’ and ‘Non-places’ in detail in his work ‘Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity’. The text  is organised as a mix between narrative and scientific text. The reader could be anyone, who is interested in this type of writings and topics. He switches between giving examples in the form of a story, and academic writing  where he references other scientific texts and ideas. The first part of the text is an epilogue – probably his own experience that made him come up with the terminology of ‘places’ and ‘non-places’. The main part of the text flows from his definition of places and non-places through, the problems in properly defining due to linguistics (the term ‘space’ is more abstract in itself then the term ‘place’)(Auge, 82pp) and concludes with a more in-depth explanation of places and non-places. There is also an epilogue on his views on how that work can be beneficial.

The main idea of the text is rotating between the explanation of the exact words ‘place’, ‘space’ and ‘non-place’ according to the author’s opinion. He explains in a deep detail what emotions and feelings different people have while using these exact words. By giving different examples and explanations he tries to convince the reader that those definitions are not just random words, but something more important. While reading the text, I have the feeling that it reminds me of the idea of the ‘Heterotopias’ – places which may exist only in our minds, and are loosely defined by our physical conditions.

‘Αny living organism experiences the heterotopia at all stages of life and continues after death. I believe that the alternations that are subject to all stages follow heterotopic directions that are driven by the time. Heterotopia specifies the interpersonal relationships and the behaviours within the social environment'(Lountzis, 2016)

In a way when we perceive spaces analyse them and we are interested in their history, we transform them into places. On the other hand, while a tourist might be interested in one location, he is guided by books and signs and mindlessly takes pictures, which makes that same location a non-place for them.(fig.2)

‘If a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then a space which can not be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place'(Auge, 77-78pp)

Fig.2. uffizi-tourists.jpg

We as ‘space’ designers should try to make every location we visit a place by analysing and looking deeper into the details.(Fig.3)

Fig.3. personal archives

In his work, Marc Auge explains to the reader that the definition of the ‘non-places’ means places, which we usually use as a transit. The examples are supermarkets, airports, motorways and other places, which we use very frequently, but not because we want to go there with specific aim and wish, but because we have to. The difference is lying for the specific purpose of you existing in that place. What he is explaining is that any place, could be a ‘place’ and ‘non-place’, but some places are more inclined to be non-places. Commenting with peers and trying to explain better what these definitions are,  I encountered the person who said she doesn’t define an airport as a non-place. The reason being when she is travelling she has a purpose of finding and meeting people she can talk to and thus creates the experience of going to an airport, which usually is according to Auge a ‘non-place’, a social and memorable event. While some places are more inclined to be non-places, due to the semiotics symbols and purpose (Auge, 94-95pp, 108pp) it is us who define what that place is for us.

Looking deeper into that subject I find myself fascinated by bridges – the connecting points between spaces. Usually used as a form of transit, or as Auge would define a “non-place”, those spaces could be very captivating and interesting. With some research and moving beyond the bridges of London that connect the north and south bank of the river that divides the city, we find a handful of interesting modules that are used to connect buildings, but not at the street level. These interesting structures could be used to redefine how a bridge functions from the way we perceive it, by filling the in betweenness. With good planning, design, and a strong concept we can transform those non-places hanging above the city scape in a more sensible space of in betweenness of non-places.(Fig.4)

Fig.4. ber127-dist-ltdk-s2h550s0.5-q30.jpg

Questions:

1. Can you give us an example of a place wich mean ‘place’ for you?
2. Do you think that the definition ‘non-place’ has something in common with the definition of ‘heterotopia’ from Foucault ?
3. In your opinion, do animals experience ‘places’ and ‘non-places’?

New Words:

1. homogenisation – any of several processes used to make a mixture of two mutually non-soluble liquids the same throughout
2. Baudelaire’s modernity – the ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis and the responsibility art has to capture that experience, created by Charles Baudelaire
3. pilgrimage – is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance

 

REFERENCES:

Posted (2013) Professor Marc Augé in Melbourne. Available at: http://www.travelresearchnetwork.com/professor-marc-auge-in-melbourne-3/ (Accessed: 14 October 2016).

Marc Augé (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Augé (Accessed: 14 October 2016).

Lountzis, D. (2016) ‘heterotopias’. Interview with 13 October,.

 

Michel Foucault ‘Of Other Spaces’

Fig. 1. Michel Foucault, michelfoucault.jpg

Paul-Michel Foucault (fig.1) ( 15th October 1926 – 25th June 1984) was a French philosopher and historian, ‘who was one of the most influential and controversial scholars of the post-World War II period.’ (James Faubion). His life’s work aimed to analyse how power works (police, law, prison etc.) and to create an anarchist state. (Glover, no date)
In his early years, he had psychological problems, later discovered to have their roots in the inability to deal with his own sexuality. (The school of life, 2015)

 

Born in France, he was raised in a wealthy environment. From 1946 to 1952 he has studied philosophy and psychology in the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris. His doctoral dissertation under the title Folie et déraison: histoire de la folie à l’âge classique (“Madness and Unreason: A History of Madness in the Classical Age”) was very welcomed by the critics, but was left with only a few followers. After familiarising himself with the works of Nietzsche he focused on changing how we interpret and learn from history. (James Faubion).

Reading Foucault’s ‘Of other spaces’, and trying to understand what exactly ‘Heterotopia’ is, I concluded for myself that these are spaces that exist and at the same time are not physically part of our world in such a way that they might influence our behaviour but are just interpretations of our own mind – ‘Places of this kind are outside of all places, even though it may be possible to indicate their location in reality’ (Foucault, 1984). This by itself is a very abstract and hard to comprehend the idea, so much that I decided to manifest the concept into something real, that I could grasp and understand. While we are on the topic of exploring Tate Modern museum (and this being one of my favourite places in London), I decided to adapt Foucault’s six principals about the space into the design of the building to see if it is an actual heterotopia. I will go into detail to explain each principal’s connection:

Fig. 2. Tate modern museum, Architetturaxtutti-Tate_Modern_HerzogDeMeuron_London-005.jpg

• First principal – Crisis and deviation. Tate (fig.2) was designed to combine different spaces some of which can be classified as a crisis heterotopia. One of which to present an example is the disabled lavatory.
• Second principal – Historical change of function. Initially, Tate modern’s building was a coal burning plant which in time with the change of the needs of the people closed down and later evolved from a temporary exposition place to the museum we know now.
• Third principal – juxtaposing. In relation to the example from Foucault of the gardens and the cinemas, the museum is organized in such a way that you are enclosed in four walls in the exposition halls (fig.3), while those paintings create the heterotopia and connect you with the places and motifs that they express.

Fig. 3. Tate modern exposition hall, Tate-Britain-Tate-Gallery-London-pictures.gif

• Fourth principal – The link to slices in time. We are all familiar with the fact that Tate    is a historical building, and it has accumulated time and on the flip side, you can say that all the expositions inside are in a transitory state (temporary).
• Fifth principal – Illusion. While you are given the option to have free entry to the whole museum, but at the same time, you are greeted by paid barriers where you are no longer allowed unless you are invited (by paying a fee).
• Sixth principal – their function in relation to all spaces. Foucault explains this by giving us a metaphor with a boat (movable object). We can apply this principal in the new elevators in the building, which in relation to the building are never in a constant space while being very real and usable.

Doing research on my own and trying to explain better for myself what heterotopias are I found a few people applying the principles to existing projects (Victoria J E Jones, 2010).With this and the ability to apply the principles to Tate modern, we find the ability to stretch and bend the rules on those principles as they are not strictly formed. As such I see those principles as a way to analyse an existing structure rather than using it as a guideline for creating an interior.

The text has an introduction, which roughly explains how he came up with the concept of ‘Heterotopia’ and how it can be influenced by history.

After a short explanation of the terminology of ‘Heterotopia’, the text is divided in six different ‘principles’, which give examples on the different types of Heterotopia according to his definition.

The way the text is written shows that it is made for historians and psychologists – the scientific jargon and terminology make it hard to read and assess by people, not of the same background.

Questions:

1. In your opinion, can you say if Heterotopias should be the basis or guideline of your concept when designing or planning an interior or any other physical space?
2. Do you consider Heterotopias existing in our material world or just in the confines of our own minds?

New words:

1. juxtaposition – the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
2. emplacement – the process or state of setting something in place or being set in place
3. homogeneous – denoting a process involving substances in the same phase

 

REFERENCES:

Glover, R. (no date) The buildings, Tate modern, architecture. Available at: http://www2.tate.org.uk/archivejourneys/historyhtml/bld_mod_architecture.htm (Accessed: 9 October 2016).

Philosophy, I.E. of (no date) Internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Available at: http://www.iep.utm.edu/foucault/ (Accessed: 9 October 2016).

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2016) ‘Michel Foucault | french philosopher and historian’, in Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michel-Foucault (Accessed: 9 October 2016).

The School of Life (2015) PHILOSOPHY – Michel Foucault. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBJTeNTZtGU (Accessed: 9 October 2016).

Victoria J E Jones (2010) Foucault’s Heterotopia and the festival tent – Greenman festival 2010. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EmKK9KdB-w (Accessed: 10 October 2016).