My Thesis Diary

2004-11-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

Three weeks from the deadline and I'm set to conquer. One thing that's been slowing me down is the plan. Howard had mentioned that there would be no difference between an organic "Gehry-like" plan, and a plan inspired by longtong housing- I can go either direction, and still have a thesis. However, I've been working on both simultaneously since the last crit, and both have advantages and disadvantages. I was thinking of combining the roofscape of the organic fragmented plan with the long tong geometry. It could be interesting. I also need to think about vertical circulation. Right now, I need to focus on the big box plan, a simple longtong module, and key buildings. I may not be going in circles, but actually tightening up my plan.. this is good.

2004-11-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Steaming Ahead

I finally seem to have a plan that is workable, and scaled. Still having trouble creating the vertical penetrations. Also need to consider the economics of the project. My gut feeling right now is that it is partly infrastructure, partly architecture. Since it is infrastructure, it should be possible to get government funding for such a project. Since I'm creating a new ground plane, perhaps it will have its own economics. Buildings are bought and sold by the cubic foot (by volume). To alter a building, one could dig into the big box, providing that adequate links are provided into the big box. The big box would essentially "sell" volume, which would then be bought by the owners above.

2004-10-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Crunch Time

I need to get my act together and start firming up the architecture. Right now, I'm still playing with concepts- some that I like, some that need refining- and I'm still searching for a grid that can organize everything. The long-tong grid is a real Chinese grid, but it is structurally inefficient. The big box in the bottom is now divided into three zones: the grocery store, the technology store, and the home furnishings store. The scale of this project will be around 100,000 sqft times 3. I will probably design the architecture first and foremost, and context will not be important. The roof of the big box will be structured by the gardens and the roofs above. Everything will be enclosed in a permeable membrane.

2004-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Worlds

The world of the car, machine-made spaces for machines- everything dangerous, everything safe. All you really want to do is to transcend this space.

The world of the big box- things reorganizing themselves in infinite possibilities, creating new situations, new ambiences, structured for the commercial world.

The world of the village green- light wooden houses with big roofs, some roofs floating away, some roofs peeling off buildings. Festivals in public plazas, trees everywhere, people mowing the lawn.

2004-10-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

What If?

What if strata disappeared, and all that is left are surfaces, slightly sloped, slightly out of alignment? What if the aquarium could be viewed from below and was gigantic? What if the building was this big long section that hovered over buildings and even houses? Maybe charter planes can land on the roof? What if trees could be planted above, below, on top, inside, outside, upside-down? What if the roofs could fly away?

2004-10-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

New Babylon

Constant's New Babylon was thinking about the city as an entirely artificial construct, based on psychogeography and situationalism rather than form. Architecture does not create atmosphere, atmosphere creates new architecture. This idea opens up new possibilities in architecture as social space, as conventions are thrown out. This cloud that hovers over the flat land, supported entirely on a handful of supports, becomes a playground of situations, no longer bounded by land.

2004-10-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

On Tectonics

Michael suggested that I should look into the vertical circulation between each strata of this complex. Vertical circulation consists of atria, elevators, escalators, and stairs. He suggested that the roof of the big box should be this mega-truss, with columns holding up this truss, which bears the buildings. Alternatively, the buildings could act as the structural anchors for the roof. The parking lot would be made of concrete, the big box out of steel, and the buildings out of something lighter. Could the truss taper into something paper thick at the edges? The floor plates do not have to be flat either, then can slope, or even curve. Also, Robert briefly asked what the diagram of my building is. Is it a middle strata with objects above and below? Can there be a way to eliminate strata?

2004-10-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

New Inspirations

What if these constructions would somehow be the structural pylons of the whole building?

2004-10-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

A Great Lull

These past few days, I've experienced a great lull in design. It seems like there are so many battles to fight, and I don't know where to begin. Right now, the problem isn't program, or site. One problem is articulating the tectonics of the project. How it is Chinese? What exactly am I questioning? It seems like this jump to the tectonic is much harder than I first thought. I knew this from the start, but now it's becoming a bigger beast. Today was a low point- I was etching out parking lines in the form of a Chinese pattern. Although it could be an interesting take on parking cars, it doesn't address anything architecturally. I have this puzzle like model that was the last interesting thing I've done. Even that, as Barbora mentioned, was a result of the bandsaw, not an effect that is realizable in real life. Tommorrow, I face Michael Carroll about tectonics, and I'm actually very unprepared. I'll probably show a section of a Holl building that resembles mine, but I really want to ask him about my problem. AutoCAD's been stifling creative exploration. Viz models have been better, but are still only just study models. I really am uninspired at this point. My roof idea is losing steam. I'm cutting all sorts of roof sections, but none make much sense. Tommorrow, I think I'll just try to ask the right tectonic questions, and hopefully some fruitful discussion will come about.

2004-10-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

Meeting with Howard

I started by talking about Gao Xingjian's book "Soul Mountain", and the idea of the myth collector. He mentioned that the idea of the myth and architecture is well studied. Perhaps the myth of the building is created by the programs inside, like the "acupuncture fragment" could look long and thin. Is there a difference between myth and character? Don't write narratives for each fragment- there's too much elaboration. I should watch "Shangri-La." The drawing of lines from buildings around the site is not an entirely convincing one, but perhaps I could merge those lines with a typical Shanghai hutong. So the trajectory could be this: move from plan to narrative to how the building's cultural character engages 2005.

2004-10-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

It's been three days since the Friday presentation. This past week has been fairly relaxed. I talked with Lillian, a filmaker, about the cultural identity of Asian-Americans, about looking at culture hermetically, without stereotype or comparisons with the host culture. I looked at the first draft of her amazing film about a child who missed her dad, away in HK to work. I talked also with Cecilia, a Master's 2 student, about Pacific Mall and ethnoburbs, about the relationship between the Chinese suburbs and immigration laws. The critique on Friday centered on the context of suburbs, the myths of living in the suburbs, the need for clarity when critiquing the suburbs, the facts of surface parking, interesting projects that deal with suburban life, the potential for this project to play up Chinatown with all the senses (smells, tastes, sights), for it to be a kind of urban island in a sea of parking, a walled city. The two strata- the big box and the fragments above- allow for a new game to be played, with vertical and horizontal relationships. Falling in and out of reality. A virtual world, except that instead of a TV it is a real place.

2004-09-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Eight Constructions

The main inspirations behind "Eight Constructions" are from several things. Looking at the Masques of John Hedjuk, I realized that the final building- architecture- isn't always the most important thing. For Hejduk and his drawings, they are more about the drawings as they are, and not how they can be translated into an idea or a building. They are complete in and of themselves, and they reflect nothing except the drawings. Recently, I have been preoccupied with "play", the non-referential, and the non-rational- that architecture doesn't have to read as a singular object, but perhaps an unreadable collection of objects where the object itself wasn't as important as the spaces around it and above it. John Hejduk's objects are not objects, but primitive constructions that try to find the initial motive behind the idea. The so-called Volume Zero. At the same time, I've been fascinated by Chinese storytelling, esp. of Gao Xingjian and his novel "Soul Mountain"- that one can experience narrative without plot or character development but with just a series of myths of different people that the narrator meets. The narrator himself is broken down into several points of view as well, and the whole book reads as a fragmented novel that plays with the idea of storytelling. All of these things point to non-rational, explorative and experimental artificing. In the end, my constructions will attempt to contain some of these ideas, bringing significance to the public realm. How can one drive this kind of creativity, knowing that the end is within reach, but just out of sight?

2004-09-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Some very strong criticisms from Martin today. Again, I wasn't able to articulate everything I wanted to say, so I pretty much had to swallow my pride. The main issue is that I'm wasting too much time thinking about other things that my idea of generating the design from the roof down is losing steam. I had some sketches depicting the idea of corbelling, but all they really looked like was highway infrastructure, not the dominant roof. The big roof might be a good starting point, or the village of smaller roofs might be interesting too. Ultimately, what exactly do I want? The beauty of the silhouettes is a phenomenological product of the Chinese roof. The site is apparently too complex, and I need to forget the huge parking lot and the bus station. Actually, that criticism is fair, and I think that losing the large site will improve my thesis. Just focusing on the mall, and its constituent parts, focusing on the detail perhaps, condensing the program into a smaller site might make for some interesting forms. It becomes a mini-city, unable to escape its invisible boundaries. Martin actually likes the redundancy and weirdness of my tectonics section. That's pretty strange, considering that it's a really bad section. However, what he did extract from that section was the play of the silhouette of the wall surface.

2004-09-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

A very poor showing today for the tectonics crit. I wasn't prepared at all to commit to anything, and it really showed on the panel. I couldn't decide whether to pursue a gigantic big roof, or smaller pavilions. As well, there are awkward geometries on the site, which is actually quite huge. Tonight, I was thinking maybe to look at the program in terms of layers- parking, shopping, gardens, etc- all systems that are linear circuits that come together one on top of another, and snake across the site and overlap each other. The whole building would be a long ribbon, and its cross-overs produce courtyards and places to park. The roof would be a unifying element, only in the sense that it will cover some of the site. Porte-cocheres will be created, and as the building cantilevers, the building itself becomes a roof element. Views will be made as transparency slices through the site. The overall effect is to evoke the idea of corbelling evident in Chinese roofs, and also a seminal museum artifact that I came across, where there is a sculpting of positive space. This kind of form has been done in the past, from a Holl project, to a Japanese Museum. Hopefully, I can generate the appropriate program soon, and get a prototype model soon so that I can refine it, and make it feasible.

2004-09-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Site Visit

Today's visit revealed several things. First, the site is in a continual state of flux. Cars fill up the parking lots in the morning and leave at night. Cars dictate whether businesses can survive or not. The intersection of Panama and Taschereau is the most important one because that is where the traffic jams occur on every side. The congestion is felt most in the early morning commute. Cars are parked in the site so that people can take the bus into the city. The site, viewed from the road, is one massive parking lot, almost as if it was a old car dealership. There is tremendous land waste, culverts and embankments with odd geometries, the fence around the RTL parking is also oddly placed. Buffet Kirin can seat up to 550 people, the carpet store has been in business for 15 years, the dollar store is gigantic, and Le Sketch nightclub is very popular. The battle for economic power is between the big box stores and the small local shops. In this war, it is the local community that loses as full-time positions from smaller stores are replaced by low-wage positions of the big box retailers. People cannot live on $10/hr. In terms of the greater context of the site, it is definitely bounded by the Highway. There are potential glimpses of downtown Montreal and the Laurentian Mountains. It is difficult to see how this particular site can tie together adjacent buildings. There are no vistas, no important landmarks. Maybe the question now is, how is the site perceived from various places.

2004-09-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sitethrombosis

Meeting with your advisor is kind of like meeting with your psychiatrist. Martin's first line was something like, ok, what exactly do you want to talk about today- what's the problem? After I talk, he suggests a treatment plan, a cure to the present problem. I could follow his diagnosis and fill out the prescription, or I can go to another doctor for an alternative diagnosis. Right now the diagnosis is "sitethrombosis", or in layman's terms "the clotting of the site." The site is sick and needs severe medical attention. The treatment, according to Martin, may be to visit the site, and perform a series of dislocations- chiropractics for the suburbs. Bring the existing context into a dialogue with the project, through sight lines and geometries. He showed me studies of farmhouses and how there can be order in chaos. Very interesting studies. Also looked at some graphical work by Hedjuk.

2004-09-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't know exactly what polymer composites were until today: basically a plastic that contains fibres that give it tensile strength. They could be used as a primary structure for a complex skin. It could be interesting to see what I can do with this material. Also, I interviewed Uncle Henry today, and he was suggesting that the mall has to be feasible. There may not be a critical mass of Chinese people in Brossard. This may bring down the scale of the project. However, he did mention the need to read Chinese newspapers. The idea that one needs to be informed of what's going on in the homeland is quite intriguing. He also mentioned that there is not much difference between a flea market and a night market: both are free-form markets that sell oddities. The night market is a very specialized form of shopping: it is really a social event, and there is something pleasurable about just looking, not pressured into buying. The idea of bargaining, of play too.

2004-09-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering what I should be doing tommorrow. The thing with thesis is that there's no milestones, no deadlines. It's a free-for-all until the very end. I do need to finalize my program. At the same time, I need to start master-planning the site, and define the limits of my site. I already have a model, which is a good thing, so I can start defining things and placing things. Since this thesis is not particularly program-driven, I do need to focus on the tectonics. So I need to read up on curved roofs, and curtain wall systems. I also need a vision for the final presentation. So here it is:

1. A great model, at a fairly large scale, showing at least a clear understanding of materials
2. Plans, sections, and elevations and details that are carefully worked out.
3. Schematic panoramas/perspectives that include the project and the surrounding suburban buildings.

In terms of the project itself:

1. Clear formal gestures, nothing typical
2. A good reason why the structure is Chinese-influenced
3. A visual on how people move and interact
4. "Micro-section"
5. Critical understanding of the situation, the site, the users
6. Feasible alternative to what's out there
7. Critical study on night/day
8. Critical position on tradition and innovation, not just the obvious distinctions.

2004-09-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Had an interview with Lat, Lynn, and Pris about what they need as Chinese people. Quite interesting actually that in many ways, we do need a place where we can gather together as strangers, eat good food, walk in a garden, enjoy a show, shop, in a carnivalesque environment. It can't be completely real, it could be nostalgic in the sense that it evokes nostalgia in us. Why are we attracted to Disneyesque places? Although often tectonics remains unnoticed by the common man of today, I still feel that it can be used as a generator of place, in combination with the scenographic.

2004-09-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

So the first presentation is over, and so far so good. It was a healthy critique, one that opens a door for me to continue to explore. I focused my thesis idea on working out tradition through the tectonic, rather than plagarising it. Perhaps by doing this, one can overcome the non-place urban realm. They raised a few flags though. Howard wondered if this thesis could be in Shanghai instead, since Brossard really doesn't change. Bressani defended me by saying that the conditions in Brossard, with an ethnic community needing cultural conveniences is a unique and interesting thing. Howard warned that one shouldn't take the suburbs for granted; they are designed for reasons. Bressani is interested in seeing how decorative masks can be incorporated into the project, analogous to the traditional politeness mask of Japanese, even though they are very modern people. Content has to be reinforced, because so far it is too weak. Instead of inventing program, I need to see what Chinese people actually do and need. I cannot have preconceived notions.

Later, meeting with Martin, he wants us to ask what the method of work will be. He likes the roof idea, but it needs to be developed. I'm intellectually falling back. He doesn't think the rooted/unrooted will work, because what is rooted? Don't dream a past, but observe. Perhaps study a dislocated form, carnivalesque, Disneyesque, going a bit back to scenography. He says that fundamentalism doesn't work in a thesis, and the closest to the most dangerous is most interesting. How does the building appear? Create a need that is not currently here? He wants me to check out Adonis, a store in L'Acadie.

2004-08-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

I was just glancing at the structural systems of Butler Buildings, and I realize that I'm looking at the reality of constructing in the suburbs today. Structural elements have "already been designed by Butler engineers" so I don't have to. I get maximum use of interior space, and the only mathematical calculation I really need to do is to calculate the number of 25' bays I need. I could pick a skylight option, add an overhanging eave, perhaps even a translucent clerestory ribbon window. Every attempt is made to create the most cost-saving solution.

The main problem of these popular systems is that they do not inspire. They are meant, essentially, to keep water out. The question is, does a mall NEED to inspire? We go to them, we shop, and we rarely look at how the building is made because it is pretty much obscured by drywall. If the interiors lack interest, the exteriors are even more dismal. Just thinking about these things give me a headache. The answer, though, is yes- malls do need to inspire. They are the only public places in the suburbs. They do need to be more than just warehouses.

How do I reconcile the fact that any deviation from the normal is only going to be expensive? How do I justify acrobatics? What is the appropriate architectural response? Does it matter what kind of materials I choose?

2004-08-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

Simply put, there are two hermeneutics to my project:

Transience and Translation

rethinking the social within the mall type: an effective public realm for the suburb that recognizes our necessity to be freed from the dependence of the car
the cultural role of the tectonic: a reconciliation of Eastern and Western tectonic paradigms that reflects the heterogeneous cultural identity of the Chinese Canadian

2004-08-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

What's scaring me right now, and after losing some sleep last night over this, is that I have to have a clear thesis. What am I trying to do? At the moment, I don't know how tectonics is going to enter the question, because frankly we have not been trained to actually turn a building into reality. If tectonics is going to be a mainstay for my project, it has to be more than just an articulation of a joint- and I've thought of many things already: pre-fabrications, geometries. However, I'm also in favor of a more populist approach where things don't necessarily have to be designed, but simply fall where they fall. That's what makes cities interesting. I may need to jumpstart this project by looking at Cor-ten steel again. However, I'm also interested in combining materials, especially along the Semper's paradigm. Reinforced concrete versus steel. How do you merge the Chinese pagoda-podium paradigm with Greco-Gothic of today because this merging would be symbolic of the merging of the two worlds within a Chinese Canadian. Can there be a modern architecture that stems from both traditions?

2004-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

The German figure that joins the 19th century Enlightenment and the 20th century Chicago School, at least from a tectonics point of view, is Semper and his belief that architecture originates and is inspired primarily from textile production. Wright and his use of "wire-reinforces, tessellated block construction" in some of his most important works show this very textile nature of building. This is very interesting, because the nature of weaving is very culturally specific, and always has a functional idea engrained in it. What differentiates a Turkish rug from all the rest is perhaps not so much the surface pattern, but the actual weave itself. Intriguing as well is Wright's construction details, which reallly do show a clear understanding of material, how even glass can be woven in a wall. Frampton also argues that, unlike Semper, Wright indeed embraced technological advances, including reinforced concrete because they had the potential of bringing a new order of design that is less labour-intensive, and more democratic.

There is also a fascination with form and essence (form and spirit, form and content) that preoccupies German philosophy. Hegel would show the different manifestations of cultural form, from the symbolic, to the classic, to the romantic where form and content are disengaged. Botticher split form itself into Kernsform and Kundtsform (Core-form and Art-form). I could see a similar distinction in Chinese Architecture, between what Peter Rowe calls the "ti" and "yong." Ti would eventually be seen as the essentially modern and the yong as essentially Chinese. Now, he argues, there is almost a complete reversal, with the Chinese being the form, and the modern as the content.

2004-07-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

When Frampton is describing the Greco-Gothic tradition, he extracts key moments within the 19th century and explains how each time, within a cultural framework, the tradition shifts. A period of doubt of the Classical orders occurred between Claude Perrault's Ordonnance in 1673, to Abbe Laugier's L'Essaie and the primitive hut in 1755. Soufflot's Ste. Genevieve (1755) to Labrouste's Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve were important monuments that synthesized the trabeated columnar form and the vaulted form. Constructional logic and ornamental expression was not an arbitrary theoretical discourse, had an essential and vital role in the development of modern constructional methods and materials. The major crux of his argument is that the possibilities of reinforcement and the cultural and technological changes of the century allowed the schism between between the Greek and the Roman to be finally bridged.

2004-07-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back at home, I started to re-read Frampton's Studies in Tectonic Culture, hopefully to finally grasp the totality of his argument. And it is now increasingly apparent to me that within the core of Frampton's thought is an almost Christian belief that the act of creation in architecture is a sacred act that first marks a place on the earth, and then transforms it. The basis of architecture rests on its relation with natural forces, and the physical properties of its materials- what Frampton describes as "cosmogonic implications." Semper's separation of 4 distinct elements of construction, a counterpoint to Vitruvian thought, depicts architecture strictly as the interplay between structure and construction: the earthwork, the hearth, the framework, and the lightweight membrane. It is also interesting to note that in the foreword, there is the mention of Schinkel's Altes Museum, and how the language that he used- the Ionic pillars, the recessed wall, the staircase- resisted his contemporaries' structural rationalism. The gap between tradition and innovation can only be bridged by the tectonic, in the way the architect himself inflects cultural forces through construction. Architecture will always be in dilemma- constant dialogic/dialectic (what's the difference?). Veer too far towards tradition, and you end up with nostalgia that has no relation with today. Steer too far ahead, and architecture again becomes meaningless- a meaningless utopian object. The eternal present is something that relates both to Paul's teaching (to live is Christ) as well as a hope that architecture can indeed settle in the context of the present.

2004-06-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

just testing my friend's pda...

2004-06-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

After a 2 month long break, I think I need to concentrate and start hammering out a schedule for my thesis. I know that I need to find more references for malls in general, as well as the Chinese mall as well. What do tenants need, and in their opinion, what makes a Chinese mall different from any other one? What is the latest discourse on malls? In terms of steel, how can it be expressive of Chinese heritage? What are some interesting programs out there? These are questions I need to answer, and answer soon.

2004-03-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

The danger in being avant-garde is that everything else becomes irrelevant.

Float a giant box. Skew it. You have Swiss minimalism.

Canada is cold. People just don't walk outside. So make it interior in the winter, and exterior in the summer. Is that so hard to do? Open the stupid windows!

People drive. How to store a car? Surface parking is the cheapest way to go. Underground parking just doesn't cut it. Break up the surface parking into pods.

Construct a giant box with the cheapest materials. It looks bad. It looks too heavy. There's no visible roof. So you make a box that hugs the ground, and then you put a roof on top. The roof wants to ascend, so you put windows underneath the roof. Kinda like corbelling. Kinda like what Mies did.

The box has got to attract attention. That's what commercial architecture is all about.

2004-03-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

I've been looking more closely at Brossard, and its development. I did a short study on the surface parking of the area, and I talked to Thiago about the suburban condition. There are several interesting issues about the suburb, including the New Urbanists and the Smart Growth theories of planning- a good article can be found in the Harvard Design Magazine this month. I've also looked at the origins of the Chinese population in Canada, and the socio-economic profile of Montreal.

Now is the time to say: what is the point of all of this?

Well, first, the greatest success of my thesis thus far has been the idea of nostalgia and transience. The two notions are intimately tied with the conditions of mass society, the advent of the car, and globalization. The suburban sprawl only aggrevates these problems. Now, Frampton is definitely against all this, and architecture is fighting a losing battle against the world of commodification. If tectonics is supposed to be a way to resist the trends of mass society, how does it happen? How does it even begin in the very heart of the matter- our suburban neighborhoods, our highway interchanges, our shopping malls? New Urbanism is very much about returning to a small town image, and Smart Growth, from what I know, isn't quite the answer either- sensibility and environmental awareness? Neither address any form of tectonic critique that we so need.

Well, first of all, is tectonics the answer? To Frampton, tectonics is more about a reevaluation of the practice of architecture. Architecture cannot continue its trajectory of subverting its own ontological basis for surface effect and fashion. If it does, then it becomes ineffective as a world-making device. It becomes a parady of itself, looking at concepts and art for legitimization.

So the point is that first, define what architecture is- first and foremost structural and constructional. Second, address the problem of inadequate public realms- especially for the Chinese community. The two are linked- it's NOT a paradox.

Well, first, a Chinese mall has to be really CHINESE, not simply a sign tacked on the door- a representation of Chineseness. For one to enter, you must have a sense of belonging. Therefore, it must resist transcience. How can you gain a sense of belonging in a shopping mall, the last place you'd want to stay for extended periods of time? How do you do it without some feeling of nostalgia.

In Swiss architecture, the focus is on the nature of materials, and the nature of structure. An exercise in these two things alone constitutes the basis of thoughtful, critical architecture.

So instead of horizontality, how about verticality? Instead of sea of parking, how about hidden parking- or even multi-use parking? Instead of urban scale, how about an architectural scale? Instead of using the car, how about taking the bus? Instead of accepting the status quo, why not rebel against it? Instead of boring, make it interesting. Instead of no windows, how about 100% windows?

How can the Chinese community feel relevant in today's suburb?

2004-03-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a month now, and so far, I've been led on many different tangents, some of which have been quite unfruitful. The latest meeting was a bit of a disaster, as I still don't have any clear idea as to my research paper. Martin wants me to concentrate on the idea of the tectonic argument in relation to Arendtian terms of work and action. I think that Frampton may have addressed that already in his essay "The Status of Men and the Status of his Objects" but I'm not too clear about that either. For the past few months, I've been asked the question, what does Frampton mean by tectonic culture and each time, the answer that I give is not completely right. I think everything is all there but I just to concentrate and find it. What kind of expressive construction is Frampton arguing for? How does that construction relate to the space of public appearance? How can tectonic procedure faciliate the space of public appearance? These are questions I need to find answers to, and quickly before the summer starts.

Also, it is important that I start my own tectonic procedure in terms of the shopping mall. From the top of my head, I need to familiarize myself with the context of Brossard (of which my interview with Thiago should help). I also have to find examples of steel construction- and focus on a specific tectonic parti related to steel. My program is still not solidified. Lastly, I need to experiment with the tectonic aspects of steel. What can I do with steel as a tool for criticism of the suburban condition? Why steel, and not concrete? Or wood, for that matter?

2004-02-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Last week's meeting was probably the first productive session this year. The results of the seminar was following: I should look at Stanford Anderson and his ideas on critical conventionalism, which might relate to Frampton's discourse on critical regionalism. Second, that the absence of the joint in blob architecture is evidence of how architecture has lost its critical language. Third, there's an amazing reversal that is happening with my thesis- that the Modern is now the essence, and the Traditional is dressing. The question posed is this- in the context of Frampton's proposal for the double hermeneutic- grounding practice in tectonic procedure while addressing itself in public appearance, does the architect mediate and invent culture, or does he play with found construction systems and cultural forces (like in critical regionalism).

2004-02-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'm in a better position today than I was a week before. Last week, I was still struggling with focus. This week, I know what my thesis is, and where to direct my energy. Anyways, the point of my thesis is to approach it as a dialectic; striking the most beautiful chords with the most mediocre of site and program. Of course, the end result can be two things: first, it can become really banal. As in, there is no thesis. However, the great risk taken can reap rewards far greater than I've ever imagined. As in, a great thesis.

Anybody can do a museum, a housing project, or a cultural institution. Link it by starting with another discipline (be it biology, fine art, or literature) and you have a project. From what I've read, and with the mindset I have right now, I think this way of design and building is esoteric, superficially interesting, and culturally insignificant.

So be it that I'm doing a suburban shopping mall. So be it that I look at this typology in a different light, and turn it completely upside down. Don't let the real world scare me, or fool me into thinking that that's the only way to approach this building type. I've started a dialectic: let the ball keep rolling.

2004-02-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

di·a·lec·tic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-lktk)
n.
The art or practice of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments.

The process especially associated with Hegel of arriving at the truth by stating a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coherent synthesis.
Hegel's critical method for the investigation of this process.

The Marxian process of change through the conflict of opposing forces, whereby a given contradiction is characterized by a primary and a secondary aspect, the secondary succumbing to the primary, which is then transformed into an aspect of a new contradiction. Often used in the plural with a singular or plural verb.
The Marxian critique of this process.
dialectics (used with a sing. verb) A method of argument or exposition that systematically weighs contradictory facts or ideas with a view to the resolution of their real or apparent contradictions.
The contradiction between two conflicting forces viewed as the determining factor in their continuing interaction.

2004-02-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Judging from the reaction to my presentations this past week, there are a few things that I need to work on. First, stop thinking about the task at hand, or trying to please the professors. The thesis has to stand on its own, the architecture has to stand on its own. So far, everything that I've read has been helpful in solidifying my thesis. However, I need to distill this information down to its fundamental spirit- my question ought to be, what is Frampton trying to say in his tectonic argument? Of course, my findings may be irrelevant in my final design, but at least it would be a step forward. I will also need to finish my reading of Gregotti as well, to get a firm basis of how his writings pertain to Frampton's argument.

At the same time, I have to somehow respond to DRM. So far, the project is splitting in separate parts due to the conflicting interests in Bressani's research and DRM. With Caroll, my project seems to be leaning towards the role of technology and placemaking. In every precedent I discussed, there was a strong focus on the structural poetic of architecture. Skin and structure both become tools to generate a critical dialogue with the site. How does the tectonic argument hold up to the nihilistic setting of the suburbs?

2004-01-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Finishing my first reading of Studies in Tectonic Culture, the idea of using tectonics as a basis for design is not so much about the emphasis of the construction detail, but about an all-encompassing attitude of building and design. Our design choices are too often predicated upon simulation and economy which creates a culture of commodity. Architecture should never be a commodity because it is shapes and forms culture. Architecture cannot be individualistic either because it responsible for the public sphere. Therefore, more and more, I understand that Frampton is getting at an "architecture of resistance" that requires more than just observance by a few architects. It requires a social conciousness of the degeneration of our culture. And it requires architects to lead the way to a reconstitution of a culture of permanence.

2004-01-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

The topic I proposed yesterday was this: "The double hermeneutic for architectural practice: tectonic procedure and the space of public appearance. A critical look into the writings of K. Frampton, V. Gregotti, and H. Arendt on tectonics and social space." In retrospect, I think I may need to understand Frampton a little bit better before proposing one of his ideas as a suitable topic of research.

First, back to the root of my thesis- How should architecture engage both the transient lifestyle in the Chinese suburbs and the cultural nostalgia that is so visibly apparent.

I have in my mind what's been done in already in Toronto, but what is more suspect is what I'm intending to do. Am I saying that a simple expression of the material and tectonic qualities of architecture will solve the problem of cultural degeneration? Is rootlessness even a problem? Is cultural nostalgia a true emotion or one based on false and outdated experiences? I haven't yet answered a single one of these questions, but coming to grips with these pressing concerns is required in order to move forward.

I also need to be more choosy in what I read. So far, I have a dozen of unrelated texts that somewhat loosely pertain to this discussion. Will looking at the above authors advance my thesis? I'm not entirely sure.