patchwork site

warning: work in progress!!

plan diagram

archizoom: the revolution of kitsch

machine for working

cognitive map

object inventory

scavenging

thesis research

plumbing

sprinkler system

septic system

floor drainage system

In order to analyze the conceptual framework behind the building, I treated the space as a typology of buildings of this kind, where repetition of columns and the volumes of space that remain within the structural grid define the space. In buildings such as these all other components are subordinate to the structural grid, thus those other components and systems follow that logic.
By drawing only the various systems of plumbing one begins to describe the volume of space, without having drawn the actual volume. As the system of plumbing is dependent on the grid of the columns, that network mirrors that behavior and cohabits the volumes.

vertical shack

The image at the top is from the 'Hybrid House' exhibition at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art. It depicts the nature of the shanty construction of Caracas, being a careful negotiation between units and private and public space. Each unit distinguishes itself from the other given its material composition, however they are integral to a larger whole. Perhaps the ice shack can be implemented in such as manner, as they are both modest and informal constructions of salvaged and scrap materials.

life narrative

Certeu writes of ones private space as being the reflection of ones character and daily routines; “This private territory must be protected from indiscreet glances, for everyone knows that even the most modest home reveals the personality of its occupant. Even an anonymous hotel room speaks volumes of its transient guest after only a few hours. A place inhabited by the same person for a certain duration draws a portrait that resembles this person based on objects (present of absent) and the habits that they imply”. The arrangement of furniture, the colour and quality of materials, one’s possession their books and newspapers, the sources of light, the care or negligence of ones space, are all indications of a “life narrative”. The interior space of the ice shack is no less symbolic of the modest and makeshift subculture of the average ice fisher.

ice village

The ice fishing village is a unique phenomenon of American culture. It challenges the conventional notions of property and boundaries as it exists on temporary land. The ice villages are ephemeral communities where one takes possession of their space simply by being there. The villages behave cyclically, appearing with the onset of the winter months and disappearing with the arrival of the spring. The villages operate with an unusual attitude towards public space, as each fisher locates as close or as far as they like to their fellow fishers. Each fishing shack is a modest structure that satisfies the basic needs of shelter and is small enough to be pulled by a vehicle.

long lot

interim occupation

HauseHalten is an association in Leipzig which was created as a response to the city's nearly 1000 vacant sites. The project establishes new occupants in vacant buildings by transferring temporary ownership from the original occupants. The original occupant is then relieved of the maintenance costs of the building which fall upon the responsibility of the new occupant. The city also awards the new occupant with 15 euros per square meter with which to repair and build their own additions to the vacant space. Such spaces are desirable for sectors of soceity seeking alternative lifestyles which they cannot satisfy within the traditional market.
http://www.haushalten.org/de/english_summary.asp

vacancy

The phenomenon of vacancy and abandonment are commonplace in the neighborhood of Point Douglas, which is overcome by a downward spiral. The community is so plighted by crime, violence and decay most of, if not all, its potential is negated.

participation

Lucien Kroll's la MéMé student residences is a project that involved the future inhabitants in the design and construction. The structural grid is such that columns are seemingly random allowing units to vary in size and configuaration via movable partitions. The facade is also composed of a grid and fitted with various demountable windows and panels of differing dimensions. The residents then worked with Kroll's team to select the pieces that would in the end make up their unit, allowing units to reflect the desires of the dweller and to anticipate changes from future dwellers.

infiltrate

Perhaps not entirely related to what I am researching, but still an interesting website that documents people across the country and internationally who explore abandoned and off-limit sites, like mental hospitals, underground tunnels, rooftops, etc. Certainly there is a counter culture of people who value and are drawn to the abandoned spaces tucked deep within our cities.
http://www.infiltration.org/abandoned-whitby.html

'Manufactured Sites' is a project by Teddy Cruz, where he obtains homes from San Diago slated for demolition and transports them to Tijuana, Mexico, where they are set within a framework of scaffolding. Cruz's project behaves as a layer of infrastructure where residents are enabled, within a permanent structure, to scavenge, buy, and assemble makeshift houses or to purchase these appropriated homes from across the border.
http://www.informalism.net/2008/11/estudio-teddy-cruz-manufactured-sites.html

urban gleaning

'The Gleaners and I' is a documentary by Agnes Varda which explores a cultural phenomenon in France of gleaneurs, which historically were the poor and indigent who collected food that was left behind after harvest. Gleaning remains as a source of livelihood or pleasure within the realms of the law. The practice of squatting is in some sense the urban equivalent of gleaning, and denotes the fleeting nature of space within modern cities. Cities become porous with abandoned and disused buildings, which is certainly the case in the downtown, exchange, and point douglas discticts in Winnipeg.

ad hoc / informal comunities

Part of what my project is trying to challenge is our current practice of static, linear building. I am trying to suggest that there are other ways to explore the practice of building and living in a way that is conducive to change, and reflects the somewhat organic and unpredictable nature of human occupation. The Open City of Valparaiso, Chile is one example of an ad hoc community, however I am trying to establish a similar social phenomenon but in an urban setting, within the framework of an existing building. One of my challenges has been trying to find documented examples of this kind of development. If anyone has any suggestions for me I would love your input?

west side

red lights on the prairies

Bit of an interesting fact; I have been reading this book which recounts the history of prostitution and the seedy underbellies of cities on the Canadian Prairies during late 1800's and early 1900's. I discovered that Annabella St. has a well established history of prostitution, and was the center point of the red light district in Winnipeg in the early 1900's. Apparently the street boasted the brightest red lights of all such districts, and was famously the brightest street in the entire city.

in.de.ter.mi.nate

1.a: not definitely or precicely determined or fixed: vague b: not known in advance c: not leading to a definite end or result. 2. having an infinite number of solutions

field: a free journal for architecture

http://www.field-journal.org/index.php?page=introduction
the first issue discusses architecture and indeterminacy in a series of papers

simultaneity in architecture

“This architecture, call it architecture of chance, is all architecture: it is the architecture of the moment, indeterminate, vulnerable to accidents, but constructively so; it gains from failures and imperfections, and accepts chance as an essential element of existence.” >Yeoryia Manolopoulou

the space

My site is the J.R Watkins building on the corner of Annabella and Higgins in Winnipeg. Built in 1914, the building was the distribution warehouse for Watkins natural apothecary products to central Canada.

fleeting moments in time and space