Inside the Outside of Architecture

ELIZABETH PIGOU-DENNIS

Caribbean School of Architecture

Theme: A. Studio based research

Keywords: Theory+Practice / Research+Design / History+Context+Practice

Abstract: The perspective of this paper is that of the non-practitioner of architecture, a historian who has been allowed as an “outsider” to participate in architectural education. This participation takes place via a number of courses within the discipline of Architectural History and Theory which is taught in the Caribbean School of Architecture (CSA) as an entity “outside” of design studio. Another “outside” discloses itself, this concerns how to interpret the architectural creations of the Caribbean in relation to dominant existing nomenclature and typologies of European architecture. Each of these “outsides” comes with an advantage, and a downside. On the positive side, there is ample room for experimentation and fresh approaches freed from the constraints of actual design outcomes and design studio requirements. Yet, paradoxically, these same advantages can work against themselves, as what has become a kind of “alternative studio” of history and theory is limited by the structure of the CSA in terms of its impact on real modes of discourse and practice within the studio. This proposed paper explores efforts to surmount this potential disadvantage through selected History/Theory research projects. It raises the issues of the need for greater research within studio, or applied to studio, especially of the peculiar spatialities and concerns of the Caribbean, as well as the positioning of Caribbean architectural products within the histories and contemporary potentialities of global space. Interestingly, there was a strong critique by the students themselves, of the distance between theory and practice in the curriculum of the CSA, as well as the over-dependence on first world architectural precedents in the design studio. By extension, the students perceived a weakness in the architectural profession within the English-speaking Caribbean region, which seems to distance itself from the intimate knowledge of local realities. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on the respective roles of

Design and Research within the discipline of Architecture by reflecting on specific

experiences of curriculum design and implementation within the Caribbean School of

Architecture, located in Kingston, Jamaica.[1] Within the School’s curriculum and

activities multiple domains of “research” exist, but only one recognized domain is

“design.” Design relates to activities which are for the most part studio-based, and the

output, which unequivocally defines the process as design, consists of sketches,

working drawings and building models. In the real world of architectural practice, the

final product would be the constructed building. The design process incorporates a

domain of enquiry which may be classified as one of the domains of Research.[2]

Several other research domains exist within the School.(6)Thus, for

example, fourth year students carrying out housing and civic projects for a rural town

must undertake site visits to grasp the spatial conditions and social behaviour typical of

the town.[]3 They must conduct secondary research into the town’s history and current

conditions, and be able to interpret maps as well as create maps and scaled models of

the urban context. More detailed Urban Study Tours conducted within the Caribbean

region provide readings of layout, scale and relationships, with a view to understanding

possibilities for interventions done in later studio projects. []4 Other aspects of enquiry

that accompany the design process relate to materials and structure - such as the

acoustic requirements of a proposed Symphony Hall []5 - and inspirations for form.

Thus, one graduate student researched the form of an insect wing to derive the physical

form of a proposed Children’s Museum.(5) Enquiry into precedents - who has done

similar projects, where, when and with what results, is also a significant element of the

enquiry that informs design.

There are Research Dissertations at undergraduate and graduate levels,

(7) the outputs of which are texts, meeting criteria of hypothesis, argument, verifiable

body of enquiry and conclusive discussion. Also, courses in architectural history and

theory have outputs which are mixed in terms of media, but never produce a designed

structure. The goal of these outputs is to enable the student to understand aspects of

architecture, but not directly to produce design solutions.

The School sponsors a number of projects which may be classified as

Research and Publication. These are the Heritage Inventory Project, (8) and

publications of the Architecture Monograph series(9) and axis: Journal of the

Caribbean School of Architecture. (10) Taken together, the inventory project and the

School’s publications record rather than produce architecture and the publications

provide a forum for discourse about architecture.

However, “research-as-process-culminating-in-design” somehow seems in a

different category from other purely research efforts. The simplest perception of the

difference is that Design produces buildings and Research produces texts, or texts with

images. Notwithstanding that in more recent times, the definition of “doing architecture”

may have been extended to include theorizing and writing about architecture, (11) or

that some architecture schools are very conceptual in their design output,(12) at the

School there is a clear distance between the products of design on the one hand and

research or theory, on the other. In some ways, to be discussed below, this may have

a possible disadvantage, whereby the insights gained through “pure research” may

percolate somewhat slowly to the realm of design.

Within the University of Technology, Jamaica(13) of which the School is a

part, there is a certain amount of unresolved tension in the understandings of

professional practitioner, practitioner/academic and academic. Thus, in the context of

the School, pivotal part-time staff who teach design studio, are outside of the

University’s definition of an academic career, and without access to research grants and

and other benefits which facilitate exposure to an international community of academics.

Even architects who may be on full time staff may not always desire to follow a tenure

track academic career - practicing architecture is their priority. This has implications for

the development of a “research culture” which is design-orientated within the

School.(14)

The rest of this paper is concerned specifically with the experiences of the

author, (15) in terms of seeking to develop research approaches in architectural

history/theory which are relevant to architecture students. In what may be termed the

“curriculum brief” the relationship between history/theory on the one hand, and design

studio on the other, had originally been structured as parallel, yet with some hope of

osmosis-like cross-fertilization between the two.

More recent course development has unofficially blurred the “curriculum

brief” so to speak, and sought to erase the boundaries between history/theory and

design. Thus course activities have been structured so as to relate as directly as

possible to issues raised in design contexts in studio, and the media of expression have

been extended beyond the text, to include installations, models, digital presentations

and performance, creating a kind of “alternative studio.” Studio tutors have also been

invited to participate in specific history/theory projects, and outcomes have been

promising, with greater dialogue between the project-specific research in design studio

and the wider enquiries of history/theory projects.

Another challenge in teaching history/theory has been to grapple with the

realities of the local and regional in Caribbean space and architecture, to acknowledge

our own terms of reference and to define our own perceptions and behaviour. (16) This

is a challenge which is faced by every postcolonial culture.(17) In the case of the

Caribbean, with its history of multiple colonization by Spain, England, France and the

Netherlands, the prototypes of the region’s architecture have always been defined as

European. Yet, the region’s architectural history is far more complex than the

reproduction of imperial prototypes. [Figure 1] The majority of the population has its

origins in imports from ancestral bases in Africa, with inputs from India, China and the

Middle East. Thus, the possibilities for cross-fertilization and invention has been almost

infinite, and it is a complex past which now comes under the impact of an even more

complex postmodern, global present.

In this context, an uncanny contradiction within the discipline of architecture

reveals itself. This is, that much as it is concerned with producing actual buildings, in the

European and related traditions, it has also been accompanied by a vibrant and rich

textual discourse of criticism and theory. Thus, architecture has a kind of double-matrix -

it is embodied in physical space, but it is also embedded in the human mind and word. It

is somewhat uncanny, because even while architecture is embedded in the word and

text, yet, design, as discussed above, tends to distance itself from text-production. Yet,

it is difficult to envisage the course of development of European/Western architecture

without the impact of such seminal texts as those produced by Vitruvius, Alberti, Le

Corbusier, or Tschumi. The texts are significant validations, and even precursors of the

built product. (18)

In the Caribbean, particularly the English-speaking islands, there is a dearth

of an autonomous local or regional discourse critiquing, validating and transmuting the

architectural product. (19) The student’s primary resource in this regard consists of texts

which emerge from the historical and contemporary contexts of the “First World.” Thus

reinforcing the conflicts within postcolonial space by postponing the process of coming

to terms with our own environment. The solution to this problem, in the context of

history/theory classes, has been another kind of blurring of boundary - this between the

text and reality as the locus for learning. And so, projects have been devised which

while not releasing students from the obligation to read or create texts, focus on

developing their ability to “read” the real spatial environments of their habitats and to

formulate their own images and texts as authoritative statements concerning Caribbean

space. It is hoped that this is an area in which the Caribbean School of Architecture, as

the only English-speaking architecture school in the Caribbean region can make a solid

contribution, through developing vibrant discourse, via text, image and design solutions,

a more sensitive awareness of Caribbean spatiality.

Two history/theory projects will be highlighted.. Both were carried out by

groups of fourth year students (AS4) in the past academic year. The first was entitled

“Nomadic,” and its objective was to “Explore Alternative uses of space, which challenge,

or nullify, planned uses.” (20) A “brief” was suggested, although students were free to

make alterations. This brief called for the students to stay on the street for 24 hours and

record exactly what they experienced. The first lesson they learned was that they

resisted this suggestion, out of naked fear. They had to confront the fact that the urban

realities of Kingston - or their perception of urban realities - engendered this gut fear.

They opted to override this fear by taking up the challenge, going at intervals over 24

hours. What they learnt surprised them, and generated a great deal of enthusiasm.

They realized that certain streets had “double lives,” closing down for official business at

night, when they came to life with the operation of a large population of marginal urban

inhabitants, in an “informal” street economy. They interviewed illegal street vendors and

prostitutes, videotaped street scenes and wrote their observations. They realized that

the roofs of some commercial buildings doubled as shelter and as illegal storage for

vendors’ goods and pushcarts. They saw that vendors developed their own rules

regarding turf and justice in deploying themselves along the sidewalks. They gained

some insight of the daily life cycle of homeless persons, who scavenged by day and

slept on sidewalks by night. And perhaps most of all, they learnt that the people who

they had feared were, after all, quite approachable

In the process of carrying out this research, documenting their findings,

mounting an installation simulating a street segment, [Figure 2] and discussing their

findings with invited guests, the students uncovered issues relating to urban planning,

to tenure, legislation, and economic sustainability. They concluded that the host of

“nomadic” persons who used the streets illegally to provide economic sustenance for

themselves were the result of the city’s incapacity to absorb vast numbers of migrants

from the underdeveloped rural areas. They found that for the most part the official

planning and organization of urban space did not take into account the needs of the

self-employed vendor who is a ubiquitous element of Kingston’s cityscape. They found

one example of an official commercial establishment which rather than evict illegal

vendors or turn a blind eye to their doings, allowed, with the collaboration of the local

authorities, vendors to carry on their sidewalk trade in properly constructed stalls with

sanitary conveniences. (21) A spin-off of this activity was that in a concurrent design

studio project for a multi-use project, two students opted to include planned spaces for

similar informal commercial use. However, interestingly, they concluded that their briefs

could not accommodate the “extra” space, so they felt they had to abandon this option.

Space does not allow more than a very brief summary of another project

- this one providing the opportunity for a critique of Caribbean architecture and

architectural education, through an essay and a CD presentation. This directly engaged

the students with the concept of Regionalism, (23) and in the course of this project the

students expressed some very strong opinions. They were critical of the reliance on

“first world” precedents in design studio, and emphasized the need for greater

opportunities to conduct research in local and regional realities which could inform

design decisions.

As part of the project they did an investigation of a recently completed

project, “Island Village,” in the north coast town of Ocho Rios. This is a recreational,

shopping and entertainment centre with beach frontage, designed primarily for tourists,

its design simulating a traditional village context in form and materials. While the

complex is a very sensitive and aesthetically pleasing approach to architecture, and its

intentions were explained by the architect, yet, the students were not sympathetic to the

use of traditional forms in this project. [Figure 3] They construed this as referential to a

colonial past which they thought had no relevance in the Caribbean present or future.

They rejected an interpretation of Regionalism which was equated with traditionalism or

historicism.

Two main points emerge from the author’s interaction with students in the

above described projects. First, in the case of the “Nomadic” project, an interesting gap

was disclosed between what students were learning by firsthand enquiry into the real

spaces of their locality, and how they thought their brief in design studio might be

interpreted. This suggests the possibility for more active dialogue between those

involved in studio and history/theory to ensure that lessons learnt by research outside of

studio may inform decisions within studio. Second, in the case of the project on

Regionalism, the students’ response suggests a need for a closer investigation of

those interactions, behaviours and inscriptions on the earth’s terrain which may together

be called spatiality as this relates specifically to the Caribbean and its various localized

spaces. Herein lies that somewhat uncanny position of being “Inside the Outside of

Architecture,” so to speak. There are two “outsides” which continue to lay claim for

“admittance” to the informing of design. One has to do with enhancing the existing

research processes that take place in creating designs by allowing interpretations of the

studio design briefs - or selected briefs - to be more susceptible to transformation by

research findings. The other relates to the ways in which Caribbean people, including

design professionals are inside the outside of their own spaces, occupying without

always understanding. Thus far, the Caribbean School of Architecture has offered a

fruitful ground for experimentation in both these “inside/outsides,” with the promise of

even more positive inputs as more graduates of the School eventually return to shape

its educational approaches.

ENDNOTES:

1. Linda Groat and David Wang, Architectural Research Methods, John Wiley & Sons,

New York, 2002 offers a detailed discussion on research as part of the design process,

particularly in Chapter Five.

2. Fourth Year (AS4) Housing, Multi-Use and Civic projects for the town of Savanna-La-

Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica 2002-3, Caribbean School of Architecture.

3. Third and Fourth Year Study Tours for 2002-3 took place in Georgetown, Guyana and

San Juan, Puerto Rico respectively.

4. Marcus Irons, Final Year Graduate student (M.Arch II) Final Project, 2002-3

Caribbean School of Architecture.

5. Sharni Bullock, Final Year Graduate student (M.Arch II) Final Project, 2002-3,

Caribbean School of Architecture.

6. Linda Groat and David Wang, Architectural Research Methods, discuss various types

of architectural research, particularly in Part II.

7. Recent graduate dissertation topics include investigations of housing issues in the

inner city areas of Kingston, Jamaica and the creation of a manual of small tropical zoo

design.

8. This project, carried out by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, in collaboration with

the Caribbean School of Architecture, and funded by the Environmental Foundation of

Jamaica has completed a pilot program of recording selected heritage structures and

producing a database of images and factsheets.

9. Jean and Oliver Cox, Naval Hospitals of Port Royal, Jamaica, The Caribbean School

of Architecture, Kingston, Jamaica 1999.

10. Jacquiann Lawton (ed) Axis: Journal of the Caribbean School of Architecture,

Kingston, Jamaica Volume 6, 2001/2 is the most recent issue.

11. Li Lian Chee, “Cracking it Wide Open: Loosening the Boundaries of Architecture,”

Southern Crossings: Proceedings for the Sixth Australasian Urban History/Planning

Conference, University of Auckland, Auckland, 2002.

12. First Year Architecture Students 1997-2000 Department of Architecture, University

of Westminster, Nighthawk City, Aedes, Berlin. Undated.

13. The University of Technology, Jamaica is in the process of transforming itself from

a technical college employing qualified practitioners in various disciplines to impart

specific skills, to a university with a “Research Culture.” In this process, the standards of

traditional academic accomplishment - multiple publications and higher degrees - are

the standard against which the achievements of professional disciplines such as

architecture are measured.

14. Linda Groat and David Wang, Architectural Research Methods, p. 107 addresses

difficulties of this kind.

15. The author has entered the field of architectural history and theory via doctoral

research as a social historian, specializing in interpretations of spatiality, the built

environment and material culture as expressions of social attitudes and behaviour.

16. Edouard Glissant, Caribbean Discourse Third Edition, The University Press of

Virginia, Charlottesville, 1999; Kamau Brathwaite, Words Need Love Too, House of

Nehesi Publications, Phillipsburg, St. Martin 2000, are Caribbean literary texts which

explore, from different perspectives contemporary meanings in Caribbean space and

culture.

17. Gulsum Baydar Nalbantoglu and Wong Chong Thai, Postcolonial Spaces, Princeton

Architectural Press, New York, 1997.

18. Hanno Walter Kruft, A History of Architectural Theory: From Vitruvius to the Present,

Princeton Architectural Press, Princeton, First Edition, 1996; Neil Leach, Rethinking

Architecture, Routledge NY, First Edition, 1997 offer overviews of architectural theory.

19. Descriptive texts on historic Caribbean architecture include: Edward E. Crain,

Historic Architecture of the Caribbean Islands, University of Florida Press, Gainseville,

1994; Andrew Gravette, Architectural Heritage of the Caribbean: An A-Z of Historic

Buildings, First published in Jamaica by Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston, 2000. A more

complex discussion of a Caribbean spatial and architectural problem is represented in:

Coop Himmelb(l)au, Morphosis/Thom Mayne et al, The Havana Project: Architecture

Again, Prestel, Munich, 1996.

20. This objective relates to the ubiquity with which planned uses are unsuccessful, and

disrupted by the public, in Kingston, Jamaica.

21. Site at Barbican Roundabout, Kingston, Jamaica, Shopping Mall under construction.

22. Prof. Richard Aynsley and Mr. Stanley Kennedy, External Examiners to the

Caribbean School of Architecture, Meeting with CSA staff on June 17, 2003.

23. Alexander Tzonis, Liane Lefaivre, Bruno Stagno (eds), Tropical Architecture: Critical

Regionalism in the Age of Globalization, Wiley-Academy, West Sussex, 2001 offers

detailed discussions of Regionalist issues within tropical contexts.

24. Elizabeth Grosz, Architecture from the Outside: Essays on Virtual and Real Space,

The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001 offers valuable perspectives by a

non-practitioner of architecture.

IMAGES:

Figure 1 Puerta Plata

“Victorian” Dominican

Republic (Photo by Author)

Figure 2 Part of Installation “Nomadic” (Photo by Author)

Figure 3 “Island Village” (Photo by Author)

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