Theory // Materialism, Paul Rudolph, & Politics

MATERIALISM

I've had the privilege at USC to be exposed for the first time to architecture in terms of philosophy. Not philosophy in terms of architecture, which tends to explain design through top-down, esoteric means while glossing over pragmatic intention, but rather a way of thinking that exposes the root  self-organizing generators of cities and buildings as functions of the behavior of people and their various hierarchical structures (government, regulatory agencies, neighborhood councils, etc.). In other words, in many real cases the question has to be asked, where does architecture come from? As opposed to, what is it, or what is it trying to be, or why does it appear a certain way. This approach to understanding architecture holds great appeal for me, as I am strongly interested in the connection between life, particularly American life, and the built environment.

[Manuel de Landa, trying to communicate his theories to architects...]

Discussion // BOOM & Street Art

BOOM!!!

I was astounded, shocked, appalled, surprised, inspired...a whole host of verbs...to see a proposal on ArchDaily for a new large, low-lying luxurious residential / resort complex in Palm Springs entitled "BOOM." Geared towards retirees from the LGBT community*, the project is a bold and creative approach to the standard American mega-development, and raises some fascinating questions about economy, sustainability, timeliness, sexuality and social living.

[*Palm Springs is a mecca for LGBT's on the West Coast / in LA]

The "fact sheet" is standard for recent models of  high-end, large-scale development in the United States: not-too-densely-packed apartment and condo units; unique internal "neighborhoods" each designed by a different well-known architect, in this case by boundary-breaking contemporary firms including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, J Mayer H, Joel Sanders, Surfacedesign, Lot-Ek, etc; and a variety of amenities including swimming pools, gyms, restaurants, nightclubs, and on and on. I've worked on a similar project, albeit of different scope and style (think: New Urbanist) that has collected dust on the drawing board for the past three years; landmark proposals of this sort are common, but not often built.

Discussion // Potpurrtecture

Wide range of topics on tap for today, starting with some links...

How Skyscrapers Can Save the City (The Atlantic)

A sociocultural look at the benefits of high-density living, the article makes some interesting points about the perceived economic influence of scale and provides a counterpoint to the timeless cries of Jane Jacobs for preserving the scale of the street. The author is correct in his assertion that "historic districts," though they acknowledge the sanctity of heritage, actually become completely unaffordable in comparison to more dense models. The authors suggestions are not so helpful - if neighborhoods are allowed to determine the extent to which their individual characters are maintained, the status quo will unquestionably be maintained - but they at least make for stimulating debate. The article also ignores the technical aspects of tall buildings - production, fabrication, transportation of materials, assembly, carbon footprint vs. sprawl, etc. I'm not an expert on the science so it's not my place to critique tall buildings on it.

I have mixed feelings on the subject. First, it's obvious and irrefutable that our current use of land is wasteful and destructive. LA, naturally, is the poster child for a decaying ecology as a result of sprawl. Second, it's impossible to ignore that there are problems with housing of any typology without adequate transportation infrastructure. Skyscrapers demand a high-speed, 3d mass transit system of multiple levels. Unfortunately, these types of systems are fading away in the United States, leading to more and more surface sprawl - it's difficult to blame someone for destructiveness when there are so few alternatives, but our thinking definitely needs to change fast.

[Wouldn't be so bad to live here, don't you say? PSFS, Philadelphia, Howe + Lecaze, 1932. Can we update this model to fit our needs? Interesting that this pathfinding building is also in one of the most historical and traditional cities in the U.S.]

There are, of course, examples of good residential density at the skyscraper scale - Hong Kong, Singapore, New York (somewhat) - but also a lot of bad examples. And, tragically, there's no good way to hide a poor skyscraper as opposed to say, a cheaply-built Type-5 courtyard box. So who gets to design these things? How can we be sure that the design will (1) address urban and human scale on the ground level, (2) be as sustainable as possible, to whatever extent technology will allow, (3) be sensitive to surrounding urban fabric, (4) be affordable to a large sample of the population and (5) respond to the future to the degree that the building will initiate positive changes in infrastructure and land use? A tough task, indeed.

Project // Fall Semester Recap

[View from the penthouse of City National Plaza, where our final reviews - called "Blue Tape" - were held. More information on the event here and here.]

Fall semester at USC was like a romantic fling; at first, school work occupied my every thought, consumed my time and required my physical presence at all hours of the night, but I needed the pace - after all, I hadn't been in school for a long, long time. So I wanted it, and I got it. Hard. And then the semester crept along, and it became more and more difficult to maintain the pace that seemed so natural at the beginning. At certain points, I had to ask myself, "Why even bother? What am I getting out of this? I'm so busy I can't even think straight!" Towards the end, fatigue and frustration made the work unbearable, but I had to give it once last necessary push at the end, if for no other reason but to test myself. Then it all came to a halt - done - over. While in a way its saddening to detach yourself from the routine and the familiar faces, the end also brings a sense of incredible relief and a release of a massive burden. It's at that point you sternly assert, "I never want to go back to school ever again!!!"

But enough of the amorous conceit. I won't spend too much time discussing the work, just displaying it and providing some background. I would prefer to respond to comments rather than wax poetic about my own feelings, as conversation is always preferred to dictation. So, my loyal readers (all three or four of you), let me know what you think and I'll be happy to explain or clarify any confusing points.

First, some quick thoughts:

Place // San Diego, CA

Though there are few truly vital reasons to leave LA's urban soup for San Diego's relative towniness, there are a few compelling ones. Most of them involve fantastic CaliMex food, the insane Tijuana border--for which I had neither the stones nor the time to visit, instead choosing to guide my lovely female companions to relative safety/sanity--and NFL football, SoCal-style. But if you're a student of architecture, conquistadors, or just like the beach, it's worth a look. But first a little history...

The area was first explored by Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602 and named for a Spanish saint, San Diego de Alcalá. In 1769, a group of Spanish missionaries established a permanent colony on a site now known as "Old Town" San Diego. Later, the colony transformed into a military outpost, displacing the missionaries a few miles to the east, and was the location of a few small skirmishes between Spanish soliders and the indigenous Native American tribe, the Kumeyaay. Mexico gained indepedence from Spain in 1821 and San Diego progressed under Mexican jurisdiction until the resolution of the Mexican-American War in 1850 (known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) ceded the city to the U.S.

Discussion // Mode & Motives

Strikingly similar quotes:

The vision is an answer to the fundamental question: what shall we build in any given place, where a project is to be undertaken. This question does not ask how it is organized, how it is designed, what character the architecture has…but simply the most fundamental question of all: what is it? What is going to be there?

In today’s development, this question is asked, and answered, almost exclusively in economic terms. What can pay for itself there? What can make money there?

Of course the projects which are built, in answer to this question, and after the necessary consumer surveys, are machine-like, abstract, lifeless. They are uninteresting, not vivid. They are incapable of exciting us, or moving us, because they are not human in their quality. 

-Christopher Alexander, A New Theory of Urban Design (1987)

The discovery of building as a new paradigm in our work happened at the same time as a change in the situation of the western city, which involved the extensive reformulation of conditions affecting contemporary architecture as a whole : the gradual privatization of the public space of the city. Faced with a complete lack of public funds, cities and local authorities found themselves increasingly unable to play an active role in urban planning developments, and instead sold out to investors, who helped themselves to the biggest and best pieces of the city. It was a game whose end could be predicted: architecture would end up as infrastructure built to maximize the profits of a global economy.

-Wolf D. Prix, Coop Himmelblau - Philosophy

Both of these statements address the following phenomenon: the end of the era of master planning and a renewed interest in the piecemeal / naturally evolving urbanism that preceded the Modern Movement. Just through observation, one can recognize the the traces of corporate interest inhabit nearly every piece of American architecture [which encompasses all building construction] over the last fifty years, save a few exceptional examples. It will be fascinating to see how the relationship between economics and architecture - which at the moment is strained to the breaking point - changes over the next few years.

[Even existing innovative / experimental / controversial buildings like this (Buckhead Library, Scogin Elam & Bray, 1989) are under threat of demolition for economic concerns. Is there room for a shift in values for exceptional cases?]

Discussion // Complexity & Contradiction

(This will an evolving post, so don't be alarmed by the length. I will continue to update it as I notice further relationships.)

The rhetoric over theory vs. practice in architecture is tired and worn out, and if you've ever worked in an office you don't need to be told the differences. But for my generation, there are some new wrinkles in this complicated - and often criticized - relationship that are starting to affect the discipline as a whole. In the traditional model of architectural education and practice, the conflict could be modeled simply as a push and pull between design (form, art, sculpture, independence) and reality (economy, gravity, dependence).

Design < >  Reality

[Sant Elia - Futurist, but still with pen, paper, and straight edge. The forms are recognizable as buildings.]

Now I believe there is a third element to this conflict: technology. More specifically, computers and visualization software. For centuries, since the days when Brunelleschi doodled the famous structure of the dome, the methods of architectural representation remained relatively constant: drawing tool, straight edge, and paper. The use of such devices limited our ability to conceive of form beyond what was structurally possible or referential to some previous typology. Computers, on the other hand, have allowed our imaginative powers to far outrun our ability to practically create, because they not only translate what we think but also generate based on complicated sets of parameters or algorithms. As a result, a new style, or field of research (I don't really know what to call it) of "virtual architecture" has emerged, championed by the likes of Zaha Hadid / Patrik Schumacher, Roland Snooks and others, whose bearing on real architecture has yet to be fully explored or even explained clearly by those who profess it.
 

[Diaz Alonso - what in the world is this without context? How was it made?]

What all this leads to, at least with me since I feel like I'm not brilliant enough to decipher it all, is an incredible confusion as to what architecture - especially in this country - actually is and where I should focus myself in school. Should I look into parametric design simply because it's new and innovative, to broaden my horizons? Should I avoid it if I think it's irrelevant to my own interests? Should I even bother looking at history if the tools of the trade have evolved so much? These are questions I have to deal with even as I'm forced to struggle to catch up with learning new software (I've found out so far I'm very much behind). So now the conflicts in architecture look like this:

Design (Practical) < > Design (Virtual) < > Technology < > Reality < > Generational

Sometimes it's all a bit too much to handle, I'll admit. Now with the conflicts mapped out, I'm going to start keeping a list of contradictions in architectural practice vs. education, the purpose of which is not to completely discount what I learn, but simply to refer it to my ultimate goal of becoming an architect who builds buildings. Sure it's been done before many times, but I think it's healthy for every student of architecture to develop his or her own. I'll start off with a few, feel free to add, contribute, suggest, refute, etc.

1. The Role of the Architect in the Realization of Projects

This one is obvious. In school, you are taught ways of making cities better one building or project at a time, as if you are the spontaneous generator of the need.

Place // Santa Monica, CA

Posts may be sporadic as I get into the thick of the semester, but I'll try to get on here as often as possible. I mean, I accept the fact that my readers love me and demand more, but I'm a tease and that's just the way it's gonna be. I think you like it that way. Mmhm.

Moving on...not much to report about Santa Monica except that it's a gorgeous beach community with sky-high property values and high-rollers on every corner. It was there I also had my first celebrity sighting (Nick Cannon). Not high on the list, I'll admit, but it's a start. I'm just waiting for the day I meet Tom Cruise. Mr. Tommy C. I wonder, if I shake his hand, does the universe implode? Because you know, the same matter can't occupy the same space at the same time. [If you don't understand what I'm talking about, that's okay - just watch Timecop.] So far that makes for a celebrity sighting, a party at which I was asked if I was in the porn biz, an exclusive Hollywood club outing, a trip to the Getty, a Dodgers game, a few tours, my first kind of exposure to the entertainment industry...pretty crazy first few weeks amongst the sheer wackiness of Los Angeles.

Eventually I'll get all these pics on the Flickr album...I've just got to wait until those (nice people) give me more storage space.

[Parking Deck. I always forget the architect...]

[Store. Pugh + Scarpa I believe?]

[Yes, it always looks like this here.]

[Excellent 80's mod!]

[Getty. Of course.]

Discussion // "Lucky" Buildings

Just a little link here as I wind down for the weekend...I'll start posting some LA experiences here pretty soon.

I wonder what is it about a particular building that makes it lucky for tech businesses. Sure, there's the old adage of "location, location, location," but that applies more to marketability of real estate relative to local amenities and proximity to potential customers. Software companies, who themselves deal in the "virtual architecture" of computer programming, need neither retail nor on-site storage space to market their products. 

When successful tech companies, like Google and Pixar, do commission real architecture, the typical model of commercial construction, where businesses stay close to exposed and accessible city centers, seems not to apply. This is partly a result of the evolution of commodity to include transactable goods that are imaginary, i.e. data-only, and which impose no logistical demands of any kind, save bandwidth. [Hmm, that's an idea for a study of the economic geography of virtual infrastructure. Is that already a field of interest? I don't know.] Hence, many campuses of tech companies tend to first focus on catering to the health and welfare of the corporate employee (gasp!) to foster innovation. Yet, in doing so, they have already done something innovative  by shaking up the paradigm of corporate architecture. Some examples are even whimsical or theme-parkish in the ways they differ from or reject traditional American corporatism. Check out "Ebay Park" and "Googleplex" and "Pixar Headquarters," the last of which I've already posted a little bit about.

[eBay Park: the tech-bubble era funland]

I would say the one critique of "corporate utopianism" [to coin a new term] is that it is too suburban; it doesn't engage the city, as some might suggest architecture must for the benefit of our posterity. Though both Google's and Pixar's HQs are constructed "sustainably" using similar methods, and house suitably happy employees, there is a question over whether their isolation is an irresponsible rejection of urbanity. Maybe, maybe not. There is not enough information about the  long-term influence of the variable in the future equation: the substance-less commodity. As it is I'm in the process of learning a bit more of the philosophy behind urban design so I might be able to tell you in the near future. Until then, it's up for discussion.

I also can't tell you why that one building is so good at producing business blockbusters. The landlord did start his career selling Persian rugs, maybe there's a magic lamp hidden in the attic, who knows.

Project // Street Mapping

We were assigned a project on due on the first real day of studio (!!!) which required that we walk a street, in this case Hoover Street north of campus, and abstractly document the nature of the urban geography through our own individual perceptions. I chose to focus on graffiti, which plays a large role as a means of communication in urban subculture in Los Angeles. The graphics are themed to that effect. I assigned single words to images based on the intent or construct of the graffiti, and posed questions seeking additional insight.

The major critique of this sort of diagram, whose focus is primarily artistic, personal, and social, is that it doesn't convey in useful statistical or demographic data. Granted. I didn't put in the effort to truly "map" each occurrence, but in a sense my professor was right in another comment that he made, that each project is highly autobiographical. I am more interested in the personal. What are the people like? What is the "vibe" of the space? That's more the focus of this blog and my work. So I'll take the criticism.

I could write a lot about the neighborhood but I'll save that for another time. I can say that Hoover Street from USC to Wilshere Blvd consists primarily of low-income immigrant communities from Korea and Central America above the 110 and USC housing/buildings below. The northern section is also notorious for its high incidence of crime. Here's the location if you're curious.

View Larger Map

Discussion // What's In It For Me?

Sorry to interrupt, for those of you who are following, my highly entertaining tour of the good ol' U.S. of A., but I discovered a few debates taking place in Los Angeles and New York about the value of architecture in terms of economy and context.

Our first reading for an urban design seminar postulates the theory that we as architects only remodel what is existing, whether it be the landscape, site ecology, urban context, infrastructure, or existing buildings, and can include such things as local economy, cultural traditions and values. The latter more intangible principles tend to incite more debate and outrage among the general public than the former, because they involve sentimentality and the preservation of those aspects of life that are irreplaceable (home, family, career). Design becomes less important.

The New York example is a simpler issue of that sentimental attachment to identity, but the one here in Los Angeles questions why the school system would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on what it called "Taj Mahal" schools; there are currently in the city, each with a cost of over $200 million and the latest at a cost of over $500 million, the costliest in the nation. The article goes into thorough detail about the process through which these projects get built, and the reactions within the community. Many aspects are viewed negatively, and with good reason, because an honest assessment of the benefits can hardly convince anyone that 3 buildings-which few can access in one of the most overcrowded districts in the nation-justify the expenditures. 

[I visited one of these schools today. More to follow on this...]

One example, though, touches on an important aspect of the already fragile relationship between architects and the public. A spokesman for an urban school construction group in D.C. states rather dismissively that "architects and builders love this stuff, but there's a bit of a lack of discipline here." The discipline she refers to, of course, involves the distribution of funds to a select amount of schools, the extravagant use of taxpayer money to fund huge building projects, and the lack of proper administration within the school district to run the new schools. In other words, these projects are for and by the people that control the funding, and are NOT the direct result of architectural irresponsibility or lack of restraint. They highlight the critical disjuncture in public perception of the commission of design versus the result. The commission comes from the city; its provide the budget, the program, and the freedom by which the architects can synthesize a solution. They also choose architects based on past work so the end results can hardly come as a surprise. In a down economy, architects are neither obligated nor motivated to reduce fees or change their design style if the city is willing to accommodate both...or should we be? Do we really have the power to fight money? It's a tough question.

Enough musings for today. Probably didn't make much sense. First day of class tomorrow...

Place // Albuquerque, NM

>Albuquerque, New Mexico
Founded: 1706
Population: 528,000 (inc) 857,000 (metro)
Claims to Fame: Bugs Bunny, Aliens, Nuclear Tests & Route 66

[Is there a Bugs TomTom voice?]

Albuquerque marks the westward transition from the flat grassy plains of Oklahoma and Texas to the undulating desert topography and low-lying brush vegetation by which Southwestern cities are commonly identified. The city's character is derived from its heritage as a Spanish, and later Mexican, military garrison, and is expressed most clearly in numerous examples of Pueblo Revival style architecture.

[Transit Station. The city has been a hub of SW travel since its origin.]

[Quirky bungalow in a historic district.]

What you immediately notice about desert cities is the bolder use of color on urban edifice. Three factors contribute to this phenomenon of intervention: the lack of canopy vegetation (i.e. dense leaf deciduous trees), the use adobe stucco as the primary building material, and abundant, unobstructed sunlight. The sparsity of localized visual cues creates the impression of the building against the distant landscape rather than neighboring objects. Flanking the urban core of Albuquerque are mountainous ridges that offer little in the way of chromatic variation; as a result, bright pastels are popular color choices, as are deeper reds and purples. [The works of Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan - both Mexican - are better examples of how color can bring visual energy to desert architecture.] Adobe stucco is a great surface on which to apply color because it's naturally neutral and the surface texture accepts paint and disperses natural light.

[Townhomes]

[Don't worry, the town ain't radioactive...]

As far as tourist sites go, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, the only congressionally-chartered museum of its type, is worth checking out. New Mexico, of course, is well-known as the location of nuclear weapons development and testing during to WW2 (See: The Los Alamos Laboratory and The Trinity Test). The museum's exhibits describe the history of the implementation of nuclear science towards facets of our everyday life, from military to medicine to energy.

The University of New Mexico is also an important component of the urban fabric to the northeast of downtown; Antoine Predock, a former student of the University whose practice is based in Albuquerque, designed the recently-completed School of Architecture building, shown below.  

[UNM School of Architecture. Almost applied here.]

[Pueblo Brutal?]

[The desert]

Place // Oklahoma City, OK

>Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Year Founded: 1889
Population: 560,000 (inc) 1,200,000 (metro)
Claim to Fame: Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995

OKC's development is marked by 4 important events - the "Land Run" at the city's inception around 1890, discovery of oil within the city limits in 1928, the Pei Plan of 1964-1966, and the terrorist attack of 1995.

[Pei Plan, 1964. Rendering.]

The latter two events are contrasts in the how large-scale urban design is conceived, executed, and received by the public. The Pei Plan, which could be seen as an early prelude to post-modernism mixed with references to Corbusierian urbanism, intended to combat urban sprawl of the post-WWII era through the establishment of a superblock system with parking decks, indoor shopping arcades, pedestrian bridges, enclosed courtyards, etc. The scope of this project was immense and required the demolition of a large percentage of the existing core of the city. 

Eventually, financial support for the project ran dry and construction stopped around 1980, leading many private developers to seek more inexpensive opportunities in malls outside the downtown district and leaving important historical buildings destroyed without much renewal to replace them. What remained are disparate remnants of an unfulfilled vision; streets blocked by office arcades which fail to offer any pedestrian incentive, and a lack of architectural character. I can understand why the project has been viewed in an increasingly negative light as time has passed. [Side note: IM Pei has had a pretty amazing influence on modernism/post-modernism in America, hasn't he? His work in OKC remains relatively unknown, but projects elsewhere are recognizable even in international circles. Fortunately, he's done enough good work to cover for his mistakes.]

The Oklahoma City bombing, however, universally mourned as a tragic day for the people of our nation, inspired some positive architectural and urban interventions, the most notable of which being a memorial on the former site of the destroyed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Designed by local firm Butzer Design Partnership, it not only offers a reminder of those who died in the attack, but also provides an open and contemplative green space in an otherwise uncompromising urban core. Its prominent location at the top of a ridge at the north end of the city also lends to an excellent view of the OKC skyline. The memorial is now one of the most popular downtown tourist destinations.

Check out the pics below, there are more in the Flickr gallery.

[Lots of Federal Bldgs in Downtown OKC. It is a seat for the region.]

[Wide medians, wacky overhead bridges and empty streets. Part of the plan?]

[OKC Memorial Reflecting Pool]

[OKC Memorial "Field of Chairs"]

[Postmod attacks the street...AIIIIEEEE!]

[Fascinating blocky building. Stage Center, 1970, by John M. Johansen]

[OKC suburbs at sunset. Silos and Elvis hamburgers, nothing better.]

Place // Little Rock, AR

>Little Rock, AR

Founded: 1831

Population: 192,000 (inc) 842,000 (metro, including North Little Rock and Pine Bluff)

Claim to Fame: Home of Bill Clinton

[If you'd like to see more pictures, please visit my Flickr gallery]

About two hours drive west of Memphis on the Arkansas River, Little Rock is best known at the Arkansas state capital and hometown of Bill Clinton. It is a modestly populated town, similar in size to Tulsa, Sarasota, Knoxville, Omaha, Baton Rouge, etc. The construction of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library to the south of downtown coincided with a major urban revitalization and the establishment of the pleasantly accommodating River Market District, a pedestrian-friendly corridor (named President Clinton Avenue...I'm sensing a trend..."I did not, have, sexual relations, with the person in charge of naming the streets and buildings.") with shops, residential units, hotels, and civic buildings terminating at the library's prominent hilltop perch.

The library is the city's architectural landmark. Built in 2004, the building's design anticipated then-upcoming LEED credit ratings through a series of sustainable initiatives. Exposed structure references a nearby bridge than spans the Arkansas River and provides a nice backdrop for the dramatic cantilever at the east end. The expansive library grounds border the nicely-sited Heifer International, which features its own fabulous green architecture and whose purpose is to study and educate in the field of sustainable agriculture.

"I may not have been the greatest president, but I've had the most fun eight years." –Bill Clinton

Side note: Is "Market" the new buzzword of this decade for public, urban open spaces? In the 70's and 80's it was "Plaza", in the 90's it was "Arts District." At least that's what it seems like, I haven't done any research on the subject.

[Heifer International]

[William J. Clinton Presidential Library]

[River Market on Clinton Avenue. Narrow streets + Trolley...]

Place // Tupelo, MS

At long last, my ship has struck shore at the Golden Coast. It was an arduous journey, not only because of the time and mental stamina required to drive 2300 miles over four days, but also because it was hot as blue blazes pretty much everywhere we went. Note to self: do NOT drive through Arkansas in the middle of August ever again.

But now that I'm here, it's time to reflect. Most of the following posts will be brief portraits of places and towns that inspired me, or at least gave me some reason to stop and think, or wander about, so enjoy!

[Downtown Tupelo. Check the extreme width of the main street.]

>Tupelo, Mississippi

Founded: 1870

Population: 34,000 (inc) 134,000 (metro)

Claim to Fame: Birthplace of Elvis Presley. Long Live the King, baby...

The story of Tupelo is an interesting case of one of the first truly modern municipalities established in the Deep South. Founded in 1870, Tupelo, like most Southern towns, was extremely slow to industrialize after the Civil War and consequently sparsely populated until 1934 when it became the first city electrified by the Tennessee Valley Authority, prompting President Roosevelt to dub it "The First TVA City." It evokes the same hospitality and gentility as Southern towns of similar stature, but Tupelo's modern roots reveal themselves in its urban features.

The initial plan obviously caters to the newly-popular automobile culture; the primary thoroughfare is 6 lanes across - 4 for traffic, 2 for parking - and approx. 12' wide sidewalks provide an almost excessive buffer for the storefronts against the cars. Though some homes from the initial settlement survive, most of the primary commercial/civic buildings - Fire Station No. 1, the city high school, theater, etc. - date from 1925 and later, which coincides with the TVA intervention. Many are designed in the Art Deco style - also popular in the 1920s and 30s. Plantation homes and other iconic examples of Antebellum architecture that appear in older, more traditional Southern cities like Savannah, Madison, Augusta, or Charleston, do not exist in Tupelo.

And yet, the town still retains the down-home, laid-back Southern vibe that makes the region so unique and wonderful. Excepting the brief flurry of activity brought about by Federal involvement, the town has been slow to develop and slow to grow, typical of the pace of Southern life. It is a snapshot of the earliest period of American Modernism.

Sweet tea, anyone?

[Lyric Theater.]

[Vintage home, early modern.]

[Tupelo Police Dept.]

[Fire Station No. 1. Art Deco Pilaster Caps.]

[Milam High School, ca. 1928. Architect - Ben Price.]

Lifestyle // Mobile Munchies...Modern!

To continue on the topic of gastronomic delights, we bring you the exciting news (at least among foodies) that the City of Atlanta has, at long last, granted its first mobile food truck permit to an outfit called Yumbii. Food trucks, which generally dish out local and ethnic specialties like tacos in Los Angeles or cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, are the hot trend in American culinary circles; the Atlanta variation serves southern-style Korean tacos (huh??).

The phenomenon of the food truck represents some ideas about architecture and urbanism that have been floating around in my head the past few days. The following little doodles sum them up pretty well. By no means are these ideas original, they simply illustrate the evolution of the archetypal American lifestyle over the past 150 years, with watershed changes occurring in increments of about 50 years or so with the introduction of a new tool - the car, the computer, etc. I'm channelling my inner Roger Lewis here...

1900: A New Century.

1950: Baby Boomers.

2010: The Internet Age.

 The first image shows urban life at around 1900: high density, near the urban core, with food, entertainment, and other necessities in close proximity. Your own two feet were your primary means of locomotion. By 1950, automobile and suburban culture had taken hold. The single-family detached house became the desired dwelling unit, and people traveled from their home in their cars to achieve their necessities - a "destination" culture. Today, the personal computer, along with a complex delivery infrastructure, allows us to summon our necessities directly to our McMansions, where we also work and find entertainment. The arrows represent the behavior of the consumer in relation to the flow of goods, and commodities; first, goods and consumers revolved closely around the home, then consumers extended directly outward from the home, and now goods come directly inward.

Food trucks are, in essence, symbols of the inward lifestyle. They become units of mobile architecture that bring goods (in this case wacky tacos) to wherever people request them. Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook facilitate this interaction.

It would be a good exercise to try and draw a diagram for the year 2050, the next step in the series.

(Top photo Christiane Lauterbach / Carson Young / Atlanta Food Carts blog)

Building // Wal-Mart's Green Roof

This short demonstration explains the details behind the world's largest monitored green roof, which was recently installed on a Wal-Mart in Chicago. We have so much unused roof space in this country--I hope this project encourages more like it.

Intro // A Particular Brand of Building

Here I intend to showcase the best and most interesting American commercial architecture with particular emphasis on corporate retail. In many ways this series of posts will be an ode to Venturian postmodern ideologies, but many companies are eschewing the “decorated shed” for a more integrated, design-oriented approach to edificial marketing that constitutes a more thoughtful response to urban conditions than the traditional American strip-mall, fast-food restaurant, etc. The posts about urban spas and garage reuse can be thought of as precursors to this topic.

^^^Target, Atlantic Station, Atlanta, GA. The actual Target logo is tiny, but the architecture is successful in conveying the brand image. Below, some Green features - plantings, trees, outdoor furniture, permeable surfaces.

The iconography of American commerce in a historical sense is tied to our automotive culture. Rather than acting as agents of restraint, bureaucrats, city planners and architects yielded to, and in several instances created, the changes in lifestyle brought about by the car’s popularity. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 established the interstate highway system, replacing the train as the primary means of long-distance ground transportation and connecting major cities to satellite towns called suburbs, which became the new standard of American urbanism. With the expansion of infrastructure, the Modern movement, which had taken hold in Europe decades earlier, began to flourish in American art and architecture.

Circumstance, meanwhile, forced businesses to adapt to these changes. Centers of American commerce shifted from town squares to mega-malls. Brand imagery became increasingly important as companies sought new ways of attracting transient suburban customers. Billboards, marquees, and other forms of signage, whose exaggerated scale and aggressive graphics were necessary persuasive devices, came to represent the physical division between businesses and the fast-moving traveling consumer. Cities that embraced the shift, like Las Vegas, a mere rail stopover before the construction of nearby Hoover Dam in 1935, seemed to emerge overnight and attract immediate attention.