2012.11.24 18:55
22 November
So far t. is only imagining "a deliberately subversive (therefore simply 'subversive) reenatment would be interpretive - i.e. the actual aim/message of the subversive reenactment would be subversion not reenactment." I would like to see an example of "a deliberately subversive (therefore simply 'subversive) reenatment would be interpretive - i.e. the actual aim/message of the subversive reenactment would be subversion not reenactment" Also, can you provide an example of a "pure re-enactment [that] is perhaps too revivalist in nature to be subversive"?
Another example of Le Corbusier subversively reenacting the Villa Savoye is the upper half of the Governor's Palace designed for Chandigarh.
Actually, subversively isn't really the right term. Le Corbusier metabolically reenacts the Villa Savoye.
2012.12.04 17:35
How can architects help the Gaza strip people?
I have never maintained that "creativity is inherently metabolic." What I am fond of reminding you is that the metabolic process is a creative/destructive duality. [gwharton, if you don't see the distinction there, then perhaps you are not as smart as you think you are.]
Regarding Israel and (the) metabolic (process), here are two things I've already written:
A future chronosomatic note may concern itself with the Jewish psyche and it's relationship with reenactment, e.g., the contemporary state of Israel. With the Holocaust corresponding to the transverse colon, as do all contemporary genosidal purges, and the forthcoming end of assimilation in 2194, is today's Israel the ur-metabolic state?
2003.02.22
...the metabolic urbanism of contemporary Israel.
2004.02.13
2012.12.04 18:07
How can architects help the Gaza strip people?
Creativity is not inherently metabolic because creativity can just as well operate assimilatingly (or osmoticly, or conceptionally, or with omni-frequency).
Imagine how different Israel would be if it operated assimilatingly rather than metabolically.
Imagine how different Israel would be if it operated osmotically rather than metabolically.
Imagine how different Israel would be if it operated conceptionally rather than metabolically.
Imagine how different Israel would be if it operated with omni-frequency rather than metabolically.
2012.12.04 18:17
How can architects help the Gaza strip people?
Again, I never wrote about the metabolic nature of creativity (as if all creativity were somehow metabolic). I wrote about the dual, creative/destructive operation of the metabolic process, and, hence, the dual, creative/destructive operation of the metabolic imagination. But never did I infer that then all creativity stems from the metabolic imagination.
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2012.12.05 10:40
How can architects help the Gaza strip people?
tammuz, yes (to your initial question), and nicely done regarding the osmotic.
2012.12.30 13:05
In the future, everything will be a museum.
Of course there is the possibility of contradiction in my question--the contradiction was the point.
The question is mine, but not the quotation.
I believe in multiple choice:
a. Welcome to the Hotel Zeitgeist.
b. In the future, everything will be a Zeitgeist Museum.
c. In the futute, everything will be a museum shop.
d. One museum fits all Zeitgeists. (Period rooms of the world unite!)
e. In the Zeitgeist, everything will be the future.
2013.01.21 16:48
DEconstructivism and Baroque..
"Each subsequent development involved the re-working of the elements of the architectural language introduced in the establishing movement."
What exactly is meant by "the establishing movement"?
Are you suggesting that Gehry is a re-working of Tschumi, Tschumi is a re-working of Graves, and Graves is a re-working of Mies?
2013.01.23 14:43
DEconstructivism and Baroque..
So you're suggesting the Rennaissance established Modernism, Mannerism established Post-Modern Classicism, the Baroque established De-constructivism, and Rococo established Expressionism?
So you're suggesting Mies re-worked the Rennaissance and thus Modernism came to be, Graves re-worked Mannerism and Post-Moden Classicism came to be, Tschumi re-worked the Baroque and De-constructivism came to be, and Gehry re-worked Rococo and Expressionism came to be?
2013.01.23 16:58
DEconstructivism and Baroque..
But they're really not parrallel movements in [architectural] history, are they?
Such a notion is actually just a fiction. And a very simplistic fiction, at that.
2013.01.24 10:29
DEconstructivism and Baroque..
I saw (via television) history repeat itself the morning of 9-11-2001, with the first tower hit by a plane and then the second tower hit by a plane, and then the second hit tower collapse and then the first hit tower collapse, but, other than that, history actually repeating itself is not a regular or even common occurrence.
The Earth's position relative to the Sun repeats itself every 365.25 day, and when you sort out historical events into 365 individual slots you get calendrial coincidence, and every so often calendrical coincidences have an uncanny similarity, but finding history actually repeat itself is rare.
So, again, the notion of the Renaissance and Modernism or the Baroque and De-constructivism being parrallel movements is a simplistic fiction, or, in other words, a heavy distortion of reality.
"...in essence the Baroque involved: a) a bifurcation of reality and illusion, b) pervasive mirroring (figuratively and literally), and c) reality reenacting its own illusory mirror." De-constructivism isn't really anywhere near that. There are a handful of superficial similarities at best, and the only movement De-constructivism is/was parallel to is what was coeval with it--remember that never was there a time when De-constructivism was the only thing that was going on.
And further regarding "parrallel movements," consider the following:
"What I'm doing is trying to come to an understanding of the practice and manifestation of architecture as it exists today, and part of how I'm doing that is to look at trends both recent and older. I am interested in diversity actually because I have over the last few years become very interested in non-Western architectures. Additionally, I have been compiling a strict chronology of architecture on a complete global scale. Without the usual Western categorization of architectural history, it is very enlightening to collectively see exactly what architectures and styles were executed on this planet at any given time. For example, notice what Gothic cathedrals and what Hindu temples were built at the same time, or the temporal relation between Mayan and Romanesque architectures. Even regionally, look at the incredible diversity of architecture built within all of Europe between 1517 and 1636 when viewing on a year by year basis." (2001.01.27 or 12 years ago 2 days from now)
ps
Reenactment is not the same thing as history repeating itself.
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2013.01.27 10:40
DEconstructivism and Baroque..
And I'd say a quite satisfactory attempt.
As to "i dont think it is possible to be increasingly so anymore..." perhaps the Zeitgeist has been subsumed by the continuum.
2013.02.18 11:20
the architecture of gentrification
European colonization of the greater part of the rest of the world.
2013.02.25 18:02
25 February
Quondam question
1998.02.25
a chronosomatic architectures museum?
Quondam question
2013.02.25
program for a chronosomatic architectures museum?
4401
2013.05.20
the operation of the human imagination as a reenactment of corporal physiology and morphology
2013.05.28 09:32
Hitler's Classical Architect
elegant 1 a : characterized by refined grace or dignified propriety esp. in appearance or manner : tastefully correct and refined d : characterized by scientific precision, neatness, and simplicity 3 : of a high grade or quality
ominous 2 : indicative of future misfortune or calamity : causing anxiety and fear : potentially disasterious
powerful 1 a : having great force or potency 2 : endowed with talent or ability
sinister 1 archaic : ominous of evil or wrongdoing 2 obs : conveying misleading or detremental opinion or advise 3 archaic : dishonestly underhanded 6 : presaging ill fortune or trouble
2013.05.30 11:29
Hitler's Classical Architect
tammuz x, I agree that 'ominous' and 'sinister' are not easy frameworks, but I do see such characteristics within aspects of Speer's architecture. In line with the elegant, there is also an extremism. For example, and using the Vitruvian fomula, there is extreme firmness where even the commodity is rendered firm, and, at the same time, there is an extreme lack of delight (unless one delights in the extreme lack of delight). This particular unbalanced combination manifests the ominous and the sinister. Hence, paradoxical is also a word I'd use to frame an analysis of the architecture of Albert Speer.
I remember when I first saw Rossi's drawings for the Modena Cemetery that I felt there was something 'sinister' about the design.
Coincidentally, I'm just starting to read Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome where the back cover asks the question: How could civilized Romans enjoy watching the killing of gladiators, criminals, captives, Christian's and beasts?
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2013.05.31 13:44
Hitler's Classical Architect
tammuz x, I'm sticking with the notion of an extreme lack of delight concomitant with an (over) extreme firmness. The result is extremely elegant stiffness, rigidity, obduracy, and this overwhelming pertinacity verges toward acerbity. Notions of flexibility, playfulness, ambiguity are all absent.
Given that Speer designed for a government whose foremost objective was total conquest (at any cost), the architecture wouldn't be appropriate if it wasn't ominous.
There is a sour irony, however, in that flexibility and almost playfulness is evident within the plan of the Neue Reichskanslei, specifically the exalting promenade leading a visiting diplomat to Hitler's study/office/reception hall.
2013.06.12 19:08
Post something that soothes your soul, damn it !
image: Timepiece Gauge
The Time Machine Incarnate, the ever upward lift of the plane of the present.
In the year 2525, osmosis expanding outward, metabolism shrinking inward, and the structural network steadily growing toward full circle.
2013.06.27
architecture's self-reflective dialectic
2678b
2013.11.20 18:41
20 November
2013.12.05
5 December
2014.01.06 21:48
SHENZHEN
I really don't know Wigley, but fourteen years ago, he and I had a mostly private conversation over lunch (we both have a schizophrenic brother), and the next evening I sat next to him at a Zengelis/Gigantis Thankgiving dinner party. Plus we talked about bidding at eBay in the car that was giving me a ride back to my hotel--he was slightly upset by usually being outbid on items he wanted, and I teased him that I got that item. As I'm thinking back to those conversations, it's kind of refreshing how much I'm able to remember about them. I started our first conversation by telling him that (because I knew he too was going to be at the conference) I decided to read something written by him in case I might meet him. I read "Untitled: The Housing of Gender." I told him I had to stop reading it because it was making me uncomfortably question too many things about my own 'housing' and 'gender'. He broadly smiled in agreement because I seem to have gotten exactly what the essay was about. And from there we just started talking about all kinds of stuff.
In terms of set-piece or process, I'd say multiple choice as in:
column A
set-piece
process
column B
fertility
conception
assimilation
metabolism
pregnancy
osmosis
electromagnetism
all-frequency
column C
architecture
urbanism
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2014.01.25 10:00
Sam Lubell examines the U.S.'s trouble keeping top design talent
Architectural history has a very interesting and very diverse timeline when you strictly follow chronological order. Take a look at just a small sampling of the architectural diversity of the 20th century in chronological order, for example, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1939. The notion that one architectural style/attitude dominates or is better than another (coexisting) style or is best suited to its time is really only artificial historiography. The real fact is that architectural history (on a strictly chronological and global scale) is extremely diverse and always has been. Thus, it's fairly certain that the 21st century is going to turn out being extremely diverse architecturally as well, and it might just help for all architects and historians to just generally realize that fact.
2014.03.12 16:07
10 March
...an article, at Dezeen yesterday, regarding Koolhaas and the curatorial intentions of the Venice Biennale 2014 is perhaps an interesting coincidence to the topic here:
The research-driven exhibition, entitled Fundamentals, will examine the essential elements of architecture and chart the emergence of a global architectural style. As well as encompassing the Arsenale and the Central Giardini Pavilion, this theme will extend to the 65 participating national pavilions for the first time in the biennale's history.
"After several architecture biennales dedicated to the celebration of the contemporary, Fundamentals will look at histories, try to reconstruct how architecture finds itself in its current situation, and speculate on the future," said Koolhaas.
"With great courage and ambition, after having traced the history of modernity over the past 100 years to the present, he identifies and presents the elements that should act as references for a regenerated relationship between us and architecture," added Baratta.
For me, the main issue is the dissemination of histories, how the various 'narratives' are taught and/or used to create a common understanding of what and how things happened and, like the biennale example above, thus also "speculate on the future." As you mentioned, the histories disseminated can be 'true' as well as 'false'. Is the common understanding of the history of 20th century architecture more true or more false? Is the common understanding a full picture of what actually happened when? Unfortunately, I think the common understanding is not all that it could be. In a sense, I would rather a 1:1 scale appraoch where the common understanding is more in tune with just how diverse each year of 20th century architecture (considered globally) actually has been. At this point, I can only begin to speculate what the future of architecture would be if architecture students were taught just how diverse 20th century architecture actually was. Will "the emergence of a global architectural style" to come out of the 2014 Venice Biennale be a true history? Or will it turn out to be yet another partial truth?
I just today borrowed Vidler's 2008 Histories of the Immediate Present: Inventing Architectural Modernism (which I read most of like five years ago), and it seems important to read again in light of the topic here.
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