20070907
"I suggest then that a healthy ecology of human civilization would be defined somewhat as follows: A single system of environment combined with high human civilization in which the flexibility of the civilization shall match that of the environment to create an ongoing complex system, open-ended for slow change of even basic (hard-programmed) characteristics."
Gregory Bateson 'Steps to an Ecology of Mind'
SANCTUARY
Retreat
Since the early 1990s we observe a startling increase in the number of people looking for the solace and escape offered by religious and non-denominational abbeys, convents and monasteries. "Across the country, Catholic monasteries and convents, usually regarded as strange or the stuff of medieval myth, are besieged with would-be retreatants and booked months in advance." (Time Magazine)
As a broader and more general trend, Centers for Spirituality and Retreats are enjoying growing popularity.
Throughout North America there are over 1,000 monasteries and spiritual retreat centers. There people can reorient themselves from the hectic life to a place of spiritual, mental and physical refreshment.
Asylum
Parallel to the quest for inner calm and spiritual well being a New Sanctuary Movement was launched in May this year. In it congregations offer refuge to illegal immigrants. Other than the first Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s, it is open to immigrants from all countries, and "those who seek sanctuary are asked to make their names and situation public" (The Economist). In a climate of increasing pressure against undocumented immigrants and their possible employers, the hope is that by going public with specific fates of people, the movement might manage to influence decisions on a political level.
Ecology
The ecology of spiritual places and retreats is geared towards autonomy. Its food, product and waste cycles strive towards the greatest possible independence. The resulting care for and dedication towards material possessions and personal belongings result in a far lower accumulation of waste than any other society.
Here many different systems - from food processing to spiritual exchange and human interaction among others- create an ecology specific to a semi-enclosed environment.
Architecture
The rituals and teachings of sanctuaries, ashrams, monasteries, convents and retreats have evolved for thousands of years, elucidated by numerous enlightened minds. The fundamental philosophies became adapted to be relevant in our times. Their architectural language however often regresses to plump symbolism and iconographic metaphors.
The studio seeks to develop an architectural answer to the rich tradition of thought and wisdom of these centers. In its quest to do so, the studio will focus on the ritualized course of day and of activities at a sanctuary and their specific ecology.
The typical day in a retreat center is characterized by an uninterrupted string of events. An occupation is casually and loosely strung together with the next task, the next step ahead, the next assignment. Ultimately this has a soothing effect on the retreatant's mind. How could this flow of events, continuous and predictable, yet somewhat suggestive in its mellifluous continuity, reflect in the architecture of a spiritual center? How will its slow yet persistent turnover play out spatially?
Tools
The studio will set off by exploring hyperbolic geometry and in particular its approximation models in 3d space using crochet. In an initial exercise the concept of creating complex spatial geometries through employment of a single line (thread) is explored.
Probing performance characteristics of these strands as well as their compositional and feedback capabilities in computational and physical models as well as through scripting, a proposed spatial articulation for the sanctuary will surface.
Site
The site will be in New York Harbor, on Governor's Island. Its South-Western section offers stunning views onto the whole of New York Bay. A 5 minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan, the island could become a sanctuary by itself, offering seclusion and solitude right off New York's busiest quarters.
In 2006 GIPEC (the Governor's Island Preservation & Education Corporation) launched a competition to develop a new vision for Governor's Island's parks and open spaces. Five teams were shortlisted and presented their designs at the AIA Center for Architecture in New York's LaGuardia Place this summer. A decision on the chosen design team can be expected shortly.
Reading::
Gregory Bateson 'Steps to an Ecology of Mind', University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2000
Jesse Reiser, Nanako Umemoto 'Atlas of Novel Tectonics', Princeton Architectural Press, New York 2006
Martin Davis 'The Universal Computer, The Road from Leibniz to Turing', W.W. Norten & Company, New York, London 2000
D'Arcy W. Thompson, 'Of Growth and Form', Dover Publications Inc., New York 1992
W. Ross Ashby 'An introduction to Cybernetics', Science Editions, John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, 1966
Schedule
Week 1: Wed 5-Sep, Studio Selection
Thu 6-Sep, Studio (Introduction, Assignment 1 out)
Week 2: Mon 10-Sep, Round Table
Wed 12-Sep, Studio (Pin-up Assignment 1, Assignment 2 out)
Thu 13-Sep, Visual Studies
Week 3: Mon 17-Sep, Studio
Thu 20-Sep, Studio (Pin-up Assignment 2, Assignment 3 out)
Week 4: Mon 24-Sep, Studio
Wed 26-Sep, Studio (Pin-up Assignment 3, Assignment 4 out)
Thu 27-Sep, Visual Studies
Week 5: Mon 1-Oct, Site Visit
Thu 4-Oct, Studio
Week 6: Mon 8-Oct, Studio (Pin-up Assignment 4)
Wed 10-Oct, Studio
Thu 11-Oct, Visual Studies
Week 7: Mon 15-Oct, Studio
Thu 18-Oct, Studio
Week 8: Midterm Review Week (Project Proposal)
Week 9: Mon 29-Oct, Studio
Thu 1-Nov, Studio
Week 10: Mon 5-Nov, Studio
Wed 7-Nov, Studio
Thu 8-Nov, Visual Studies
Week 11: Mon 12-Nov, Studio
Thu 15-Nov, Studio (3/4 Review)
Week 12: Mon 19-Nov, Studio
Wed 21-Nov, Studio
Thu 22-Nov, Thanksgiving
Week 13: Mon 26-Nov, Studio
Thu 29-Nov, Studio
Week 14: Mon 3-Dec, Studio
Thu 6-Dec, Studio
Week 15: Final Review Week
.: gisela 10:24 AM
|
