The Art of War: World Conflict Informs Urban Intervention

It is the goal of this Blog to put forth regional influences which shape architecture in a constantly evolving world. Since the landscape in which we dwell is always changing, we must be open to the departure of existing systems and preconceived notions of building. This abandonment of common thought should also be applied to our understanding of hierarchy and public space within the urban cityscape. In my previous post, titled “The New Multi-Purpose Room”, I referenced a topic that is deserving of some further discussion. Within the last few decades there have been many political conflicts that have occurred across the globe, but until recently, they have remained distant events in regards to the architecture community. It is this unconventional realm of architectural influence that I raise the issue of conflict urbanism. In this post I will present two ensuing projects that were designed as a response to regional conflicts and hopefully create some dialogue within the discussion.

Conflict urbanism can be described as architectural and urban responses as a result of opposing regions of tension. An example of this can be seen in the Berlin Wall. The project mentioned in my previous post is “Metastructure” by Lebbeus Woods. In this exploration, Woods examines the conflict involving the Serbian and Croatian invasion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The nature of these attacks was governed by the NATO enforced no-fly zone and thereby forced to be grounded. As a response, Woods proposed to erect an artillery-impenetrable wall that would have to be engaged by foot (rendered at left). The extreme thickness and labyrinth-like spatial quality of the Metastructure would prolong invasions and eventually separate large battalions into smaller groups. These groups of soldiers would ideally become famished and be forced to post stations and form eventual colonies within the confines of the buffer zone. Within these settlements, local economies could emerge as local Bosnian farmers penetrate the spatial wall in order to trade food and water for other goods and services.

Although this response to the Bosnian war is a bit romanticized, it continues to be a worthwhile discussion for the creation of boundaries. Even though this exact scheme probably would not work in the real world, the ideas that are infuses into the design promotes a new use for walls as spatial mechanisms rather than vertical boundaries. In a world full of property lines and retaining walls, where else might this idea be incorporated?

Another area of conflict that has influenced a recent project takes place among the Israelis and the Palestinians. This sensitive situation, if for nothing else, has yielded a particularly interesting architectural intervention in Viktor Ramos’, “The Continuous Enclave: Strategies in Bypass Urbanism”. As a result of the Oslo Accords, modern day Israel is subdivided into communities that form an intertwining network of Palestinian and Israeli settlements. The physical division of these neighborhoods creates a disconnection between each group. The continuous enclave creates a break in the vertical boundaries and bridges the gap between each cluster of Israelis or Palestinians (seen at right). These mega-structures create opportunities for housing, transportation, and even agricultural complexes. While providing a means of traveling safely through Israel, the proposal also provides a means for expansion for each group as the current system of sharing the landscape is simply isolated nodes making up a larger network of cities.

The fantasy of the continuous enclave remains to be just that, fantasy. Realistically, I would like to see the project deal directly with the hostile situation in Israel. Instead, it offers an over-the-top solution that, rather than confronts the issues, ignores them. As seen in the title of the article, the continuous enclave simply “bypasses” the conflict. Inversely, as a theoretical thought, it is basically a literal interpretation of bridging over vertical boundaries. The simple move of elevating the ground plane into a synthetic layer of habitable space has been seen in many theories such as Constant’s New Babylon as well as Yona Friedman’s Ville Spatiale. Unlike this project however, Constant and Friedman’s ideas were projected around half a century ago. The two structures proposed in these theories also happened to be open-trussed, airy solutions that appeared much lighter and sensitive to the existing context. This Ramos’ enclave appears to be a bulkier design that would cast mammoth shadows that would eclipse the land that it passes over, possibly creating further conflict.

Perhaps there is no architectural intervention that could possibly solve a war between nations. To say that good design of an environment can solve issues of this magnitude and complexity is a bit of a stretch, however, these projects can also be described as an idealistic approach to a greater issue. These solutions, at the very least, serve as vehicles to deliver awareness abroad and the theory provided can give a point of departure for the end product that actually produces change.

The New Multi-Purpose Room: Hardships Yield Inspired Solutions

I have recently written about the effects of development in Shanghai, China and argued for and against the various emerging forms of building that are occurring in the region. Local phenomena that spawn from urban developments can be seen across the globe in every city and in varying scales. These occurrences are informed by factors such as, local government policies, cultural norms, the economy, and social forces. Therefore, In order to form judgment on any one locale, it is not only essential to look at what is occurring in other parts of the world, but it is also important to distinguish the cause and effects of the solutions that are implemented. In this post I will be examining an article found in BLDGBLOG by, Geoff Manaugh, entitled “Mathscape”. Manaugh, aside from being the creator of BLDGBLOG, is also the senior editor of Dwell Magazine. In addition to the aforementioned post, I will also be commenting on the post, “Posh to Be Poor: Housing”, that focuses on the future effects of the economic downturn in America. This article, written by Marc Couillais, can be found on Where or by clicking on the corresponding link to either of the above articles (found below).

“Mathscape”
Comment

First and foremost, I would like to say what an interesting project this is and, as well, the ideas and discussions which it evokes. I think it is clear that Project H has an obvious goal in mind with the math playground and after seeing this, I believe that it is successful. Their manifesto states that they are here to “encourage the reorientation of the design industry towards a more socially-impactful and humanitarian entity”, and therefore the design of their projects must inherently serve dual-roles. The primary or realistic role (in this case the playground and place to study), and secondly, the role in which you call the “spatial pedagogy”. Your questions of a society in which our environments are geared towards education are interesting when applied to schools and even universities, but unfortunately, I would argue that when put in a situation such as your everyday commute to work they would prove as wasted design efforts. Nevertheless, the fact that we are discussing this is reason enough for Project H to inject such a project. In addition, to further the discussion, I recently read an article by acclaimed architect Lebbeus Woods, titled “Metastructure”. In this, he proposes a fantasy-driven idea towards a defense mechanism for the conflict in Bosnia. This is relevant in that the idea was basically a wall that would serve dual purposes. The fortification would be built as a spatial labyrinth that would separate and slow groups of soldiers to either their death or their eventual inhabitance of the wall. To further the fantasy, Woods goes on to say that the metastructure could eventually become a city in itself as the Bosnian farmers would move closer to supply food and water to the soldiers as a means of economy. Although both of these ideas have dramatically different trajectories, I see them as both being relevant in that no matter how effective they are in their primary roles, their secondary purposes are worth studying in order to achieve a greater design initiative. In this case, one in which conventional architectural elements, such as the wall or classroom, is pushed beyond the realm of typical uses and thus an entirely new entity is created.

“Posh to Be Poor: Housing”
Comment

It would seem that the issues regarding housing and the economic downturn in the United States will never become exhausted; however, it is refreshing to finally see an interesting take on the subject. You have thankfully laid out some intriguing ideas with respect to the current state of the nation and the way in which a designer looks at such issues. We are experiencing a unique era in which innovation is necessary in order to progress past the hardships. Being as bold as Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur suggests in stating that families should “stay put” in their foreclosed homes is a realistic approach to the situation in that she is simply advocating the use of existing resources to house displaced families. Why expend additional energy in relocating families and erecting temporary housing when perfectly good homes are left vacant and unsold? While this approach seems to be the sensible solution, it is the various designers’ ideas that interest me. The Homeless Chateaux, for example, is a fascinating idea that goes beyond the obvious use as a minimalist room. To me, the merit in the idea of this “chateaux” is less about how it works and more in how it is used contextually. As James Westwater proposes it to be a room within a room, perhaps there could be a series of these modular Homeless Chateauxs that could than start to inform a greater community. And further, could this begin to suggest a new system of modular living units that could be inserted into a realistic context of perhaps the aging warehouse loft? These units would have to be improved dramatically, but as an idea I find them to be quite interesting and perhaps even hip to the times. Your thought on the gradual migration to the aesthetics of the poor is proof that Westwater’s Chateaux is an idea worth developing. The investigation into the adaptive re-use of everyday items, such as the street sign and pallet used in this project is sure to yield a worthwhile product.