Image Mashing it up in Otahuhu courtesy of Micheal McCabe
“as beautiful as the random encounter between an umbrella and
a sewing-machine upon a dissecting-table.” Andre Breton
Now the obligatory post studio counseling sessions are finished I may be
able to approach the last 12 weeks with some degree of objectivity and reflect
on what it was we set out to do.
As described in the Studio Brief:
An investigation of mixed use /
hybridization/ adaptation and evolving forms on the urban fringe.
The studio will act as a think tank relative to the
concept of “mixed use” as a development and urban planning strategy.
The studio
will investigate opportunities and present possible futures for a specific
piece of urban geography.
The studio will be a vehicle for architectural
proposals based on research, inspired analysis, creative vision and technical
rigor.
And so it goes ....As always a semester in the
studio at AKL uni school of architecture and planning a rewarding, challenging
and very busy time. A certain
level of stepping outside comfort zones, of trust, of risk taking and moving
into that space where anything is possible, bound only by time and energy
levels. Starting point Exquisite corpse a surrealist mash up, symbol of
creative freedom, collaboration, game playing and an approach to city
making.
“So what does Urban Futures Research Lab do any way”
one student was heard to ask “well we research urban futures” was the obvious
answer “specifically related to opportunities in the built environment but if
you want a new suit we might be able to help you with that also. “ UFRL was created as a catchall for
developing a cross disciplinary research based design practice. An urban think tank and design agency
with a deep interest in the design opportunities presented in the contemporary
city. We consider research is the key for unlocking opportunities for
innovation in contemporary design……with that as a basis we launched into a 12
week program of design research, thinking and making.
The
studio was based on the assumption research on the CBD is well resourced. That
the periphery is the new centre and that relevance in architecture is
maintained by addressing the issues of the day. Issues like the city, the
unitary plan, affordability, carbon neutrality, environmental remediation,
technology, place making in no particular order. That the city is the new
house, that Utopias are fine in concept but lets make it Aucktopia and use this
city as a living research and design laboratory.
On that basis Auckland City Properties was approached
to supply us with any sites they considered might require creative thinking and
unique solutions. Bingo, Purchas Hill on Merton Road adjacent Stone-fields, the
University Tamaki campus and a manufacturing zone, a site scarred by quarrying,
dumping and general neglect atop of Auckland’s 2nd largest aquifer.
Not challenging enough how about the ex recreation centre site in Otahuhu
adjacent the vibrancy of the strip pinched between two harbors, what next for
this piece of urban infrastructure ? Lastly a hectare of opportunity back of
main street Pukekohe, as close to a service town you’ll get this side of the
Bombays, ripe for reconsideration outside of its linear, one horse tradition
and targeted for intensification.
The Studio was considered firstly as a think tank with
a collective focus on quickly developing knowledge on the broad and rather
banal idea of “mixed use” as a planning concept and building type. That
knowledge then collectively ‘shared’ and to be the basis for an attitude
regards the opportunities inherent in future Auckland. We documented and mapped
some recent built examples of mixed use locally as well as internationally. The
results of that research confirmed that the notion of mix although desired for
all the right reasons was not always wholly successful in creating the outcomes
desired. That research is an ongoing part of my Practice.
We were primarily interested in an investigation of
opportunities for innovation when the idea of mix is pushed to become more of a
mash. Individual parts may lose their identity and assume a new one greater than
the sum of the parts, much tastier one student was heard to extol. In particle physics colliders are used as a
research tool why not in architecture. Replace protons with program and see where we end up.
The approach taken in this studio and others I have lead is about
establishing a space for students to work collectively and collaboratively,
collecting and sharing research information and ideas freely while developing
their own individual projects ideas and a critical focus within the context of
a wider educational framework. In that sense each project has potential as a
mini thesis. For this particular studio pedagogical outcomes were outlined to
the students with research as the key driver, whether the focus of that
research be the Unitary plan or broader in focus such as the constraints and
opportunities for architecture within a future city. The studio themes developed
from my own research and interest in future city and a critical engagement with
the potential in Auckland’s unprecedented growth.
The primary objective of the studio as a leaning environment was to
develop an enabling mechanism allowing students to create some exciting design
proposals that confirmed, challenged or refuted the status quo idea of what
how, where and what “mix” might happen in a super city by investigating
opportunities inherent in mash-ups and super collisions of programs, materials
and cultures.
Urban projects of scale are a big ask for a third
year design studio especially when aligned with the year’s over arching themes
relating to building systems and integration of technology and construction
details in final design proposals. In that sense a macro to the micro lens was
required that will hopefully be a
useful tool for students to draw on in other projects. The Studio at one level
then about urban futures at another a critical investigation of zone based
planning and context. At another level formal research into outcomes of
hybridisation taking a leaf out of Atelier Bow Wow’s Made in Toyko, NL
Architects Basketbar and Bike pavilion, BIG Architects numerous projects, OMA
Seattle library et al, MVRDV Market hall, DIY urbanism, all precedents with
more than a nostalgic new urban notion of city, live above, retail below,
parking hidden, minimums met, sweet. All precedents with an attitude regards
research as a basis for enabling innovative outcomes. We were looking for
exciting mixes and dynamic relationships, the unexpected, the WTF moment, the
zeitgeist.
Of course in the context of an election year, yawn,
where politics and architecture hold an uneasy alliance, where maintenance of a
“beige urbanity” is not only a cultural strategy but also one of maintaining
power and wealth. Let them eat ugly one Mr English was heard to say.
In terms of outcomes the range of responses as usual
thoughtful and diverse, highlighting to me the key concerns for this
generation, namely a deeply felt social and environmental responsibility That
architecture does have a social agenda and the market is not yet delivering the
types of development young people are interested in i.e. is not engaging with
an environmental and social agenda
at a scale that is relevant. That there is a need for critical engagement with
the likes of Stonefields and status quo, both as a process and product in order that new models can be tried
and tested. That there is an opportunity for community and “design” to work
together in a way that is currently not yet been exploited in the super city
matrix.
Ultimately the relevance of the profession rests in
the enabling of each generation to find ways for their thinking and approach to
percolate through and find expression in our built environment. The market may
need some catalysts in that respect as well as confirmation of insurance.
We can rest assured even under the burden of student
debt, massive,rapid, technological and social change, the shattering and
remaking of kiwi dreams of home ownership etc we shouldn’t be worried too much
as long as the energy, exuberance and idealism of youth are encouraged and
enabled in the profession.
That has always been the role of our institutions and educators.
Thankfully there remains some passionate people who take that role to heart .
Long may that be so.
Rock and roll is a young persons game but strangely
if Mick Jagger was an architect he would be seen to be entering the most
creative years of his career. What a city we might have if some of the talent
passing through the halls of academia were let loose on the world before age
and gravity start to take their toll. Rock and roll. Bricks and mortar……..we
built this city ( the worst song of the eighties coming back to haunt me ). In
the end it’s about just doing it by any means necessary.
