interesting infrastructure blog

http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/04/12/is-3-d-imaging-the-future-of-infrastructure-design/

Sprawl, Megacity, (Post)Urbanism

Key readings:

Jameson, F. (2003) Future city. New Left Review 21 (May/June), pp65-79

Koolhaas, R. (2003) Junk space. In Chuihua, J. C. et al. (Ed’s). Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping: Project on the City 2. Cologne: Taschen, pp408-21

Lin, N. (2001) Architecture: Shenzhen. In Chuihua, J. C. et al. (Ed’s) Great leap forward, Harvard Design School Project on the City. Cologne: Taschen, pp161-263

Koolhaas reads as an extended rant, almost like a stream of conciousness, he seems to describe everything he could possibly imagine Junkspace is or could be. This feeling of never ending rambling is intensified by his use of dot, dot, dots! I imagine that the intention is that his text, in describing Junkspace, [as the only way perhaps possible to describe Junkspace] becomes Junkspace itself.

“Junk-Space:-

–        is the residue mankind leaves on the planet

–        is what remains after modernization has run its course

–        is the sum total of our current achievement

–        seems an aberration, but it is the essence, the main thing

–        is the body double of space

–        is best enjoyed in a state of postrevolutionary gawking

–        is hot

–        sheds architectures like a reptile sheds skins

–        is fanatically maintained

–        will be our tomb

–        pretends to unite, but it actually splinters

–        will assume responsibility for pleasure and religion

–        is space as vacation

–        turns into biojunk

–        is duty-free space

–        is a look-no-hands world”

At first it seems like he is possibly redefining infrastructure in terms of modern rapid expansion. But eventually he also includes infrastructure under this exhaustively complex idea.

“Now, massive injections of lyricism have enabled an infrastructure the one domain previously immune to design, taste, or the marketplace to join the world of Junkspace, and for Junkspace to extend its manifestations under the sky.”

Jameson is essentially attempting to make sense of the rants of Koolhaas and friends, unpicking their collective volumes. I’m not convinced he adds much to the argument, merely re-emphasises the bigness.

He mentions several heterogeneous disciplines,

“Perhaps this kind of immense disciplinary range is no longer quite so astonishing in a postmodern era, in which the law of being is de-differentiation, and in which we are most interested in how things overlap and necessarily spill across the disciplinary boundaries.”

I think this concept is probably what I take from this theory. Urbanism has expanded into so many disciplines that overlap but do not really interact or work well together resulting in apparent chaos. In order for sprawl to be combated it requires collaboration.

See also, Koolhaas, R. et al. (2001) Mutations. Barcelona: Actar. In which Koolhaas states,

“We think it possible to argue that Lagos represents a developed, extreme, paradigmatic case-study of a city at the forefront of globalizing modernity.”

Fireworks

There is something compelling about the spectacle of intentional demolition. This short film perhaps highlights the apparent enjoyment gained, particularly from reversing the process and re-destroying some buildings. The slightly perverse destructive nature of humankind is revealed, with reference to Bataille’s descriptions of the potlatch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1qgx95SFds&feature=related

Entropy, Maintenance, Waste

Key readings:

Bataille, G. (1985) The notion of expenditure. In Stoekl, A. (Ed.) Stoekl, A. et al. (Trans.) Visions of excess: Selected writings, 1927-1939. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp116-29

Crisman, P. (2007) From industry to culture: Leftovers, time and material transformation in four contemporary museums. Journal of Architecture 12 (4), pp405-21

Hetherington, K. (2004) Second-handedness: consumption, disposal and absent presence. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 22, pp157–73

I enjoyed reading Hetherington and particularly liked the part where he disposed of Douglas. He argues for greater discussion of disposal rather than waste in order for thoughts on consumption to make sense.

Hetherington refers to Douglas’ view that,

“Rubbish is made invisible by putting it beyond a certain threshold.”

I think that littering is an interesting phenomenon to consider because one person’s disposal results in another’s problem as it becomes re-visible.

Fishing for litter:

http://www.kimointernational.org/FishingforLitter.aspx

In Charlesworth’s Architects without frontiers, the destruction of familiar surroundings providing nostalgia as a lethal weapon within historic urban societies is discussed. This links to Bataille’s ideas that the principle of all processes of expenditure is loss.

“Men find themselves constantly engaged in processes of expenditure. Variations in form do not in any way alter the fundamental characteristics of these processes, whose principle is loss.”

Particularly vernacular architecture holds physical memories, which is evident in the heartache felt with the destruction or loss of a home [loved one] caused by war, or even more so when inflicted by government officials. The demolition of high rise flats is interesting as even though many tenants didn’t really like living there or felt isolated the destruction still provokes feelings of sadness.

Commentary on the demolition of the Red Road flats:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8432856.stm

The Kunstler Cast

The Kunstler Cast features some quite engaging discussions of New Urbanism with the author of The Geography of Nowhere.

http://kunstlercast.com/shows/KunstlerCast_51_Seaside_Revisited.html

Kunstler tells us that New Urbanists unfortunately became hostages to Production Home Building and,

“The New Urbanists as a term or concept in some ways only really had meaning in opposition to the Suburbanists… and now that the conventional Suburban guys are biting the dust so to speak the New Urbanism becomes just good Urbanism or Urbanism per se.”

Also for a scary water coloured vision of a possible New Urbanist future for Scotland visit the following site.

http://www.tornagrain-newtown.co.uk/Vision-g.asp