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.]