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theCharrette August 2014
tulane school of architecturetheCharrettetulane school of architecturec
MISSION We are students interested in contemplating what it means to study architecture in a city as unique as New Orleans. The potential of journalism within the realm of architecture allows us to research, investigate, and theorize the future direction of design in a highly impactful profession. Due to the well-positioned nature of Tulane School of Architecture within both the larger architecture community and the city, we have powerful resources at our disposal and students who represent differing backgrounds - all converging to form what we call theCharrette. theCharrette is critical, interdisciplinary, and a positive force. It communicates and makes bold assertions. It creates a culture of debate and a voice for which we bring forth our agenda: a medium of ideas uniting in the form of a magazine.
MISSION On The Cover Delta Works | Europoort, South Holland, Netherlands
5
LETTERFROM THE EDITORCAMERON CONKLIN | TULANE ‘14
Hello all! I am happy to introduce the Au-gust 2014 issue of theCharrette. We are excited to be starting the school year off with another great edition. In this issue we explore a number of hot topics in the world of design. I first want to bring your attention to 2 articles by John Coyle that focus on creative industries integra-tion in the form of art, music, and architecture. I also want to highlight a dual perspective on the effect of branding presented by Laura Aronoff and Chesley McCarthey. Lastly, Eric Bethany provides a compelling discussion of flood management and design, which is particularly poignant as we commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Along with our articles, I want to point out some of the design features in the issue- particularly experimentation with
font sizes and text placement. Unfortunately this will be my last issue as Editor in Chief. I want to thank all of my advi-sors, our editors and writers over the last 4 years that have made theCharrette one of the best parts of my college experience. I am excited to announce that Eric Bethany will be taking over as Editor in Chief. He is starting his 5th year in TSA and has written for theCharrette for the last 2 semesters. Look out for great things in the coming year! I know Eric will continue to push theCharrette forward. Lastly, thank you to all of our readers for your support! We couldn’t do it without you!
All my best, Cameron LETTERFROM THE EDITOR
CONTENTS
CREATIVE INTEGRATIONSJOHN COYLE BRANDED HUMANITY
LAURA ARONOFF13
41HISTOCRICAL PRECEDENTSERIK BLANKENBAKER
CONTENTS
BRANDED HUMANITY
JOHN COYLEDESIGN PERSONA
23
27KOSSJOHN COYLE
#NEWORLEANSCHESLEY McCARTHEY
LEGOERIC BETHANY
JOHN COYLE
BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
CREATIVEintegrations
8
This March, over 12,000 people poured through the flood gates on Tchoupitoulas to attend the BUKU Music + Art Project. The young music festival is increasingly gaining national attention in its third year, thanks to headliners such as Nas, David Guetta and Ellie Goulding, the unique atmo-sphere, and the efforts of the BUKU Art Department. What sets this festival apart from others is the unique industrial ambience created by
the site itself, and by the four major art instal-lations on site. BUKU takes place in Mardi Gras World, with one of the
main stages housed in the ac-tual float den. As the site is bor-dered by the Mississippi and the floodwall, festival goers always have an interesting view. The Crescent City Connection pro-vides a fitting backdrop to the event, characterized by large warehouses on the rivers edge. As attendees enter through the flood gate, they are greeted by the BUKU tower, an
installation designed by Tulane School of Architecture students Max Katz, Jonathan Sharp and Charles Boyne. This tower of aluminum box trusses and neon lights represents the beacon to the festival and beautifully con-trasts against the weathering power plant behind it. Two shipping contain-ers are creatively retrofitted to support a giant hammock and features work from local graffiti artists and a cell phone charg-ing station inside. Fort BUKU, as it is affectionately called, pro-vides guests with a comfortable area to rest while they enjoy the show. The top of each container is an accessible deck allowing an elevated view towards the stage. Towards the river another hammock supporting instal-lation is known as the bukove. Multiple hammocks and bench-es are assembled as a kit of parts between 50 gallon drums. In-side the drums trees have been planted, the only plant material on this industrial site, to provide much needed shade. This mate-rial pallet and creative approach to design adds to the interest and identity of BUKU.
BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
“What sets this festival apart from others is the unique industrial ambiance created by the site itslef, and by the four major art in-stellations on site.”
10
BUKU Music + Art Project | New Orleans, LA
I was fortunate enough to speak with the Production Designer, recent Tulane School of Ar-chitecture graduate Christopher Berends, about his experience with BUKU Art+Music Project:
What did your responsibilities include as Pro-duction Designer? To design and lead the execu-tion of the physical site as well as the components that make it up, specifically art installations. We had a heavy hand in design of those four installations as well as the On Site dance tent and the overall layout of the festival.
How did you get the ideas for these installations ? Ideas for these installations (specifically the ham-mocks) came from the need for certain amenities in a fairly empty site. We created stadium seating / lounging with the big hammock (fort buku), a live performance art space that allowed people to interact with artists and take a piece home (the live gallery). The bukove was created to provide greenery and a relaxation area in a rather desolate concrete site.
How does your architectural education influ-ence your decisions? Architecture is at the core of festival design. The major difference between your typical architecture typology and festival
structure is its impermanence. Everything created for an event must be able to be quickly assembled, disassembled, and stored. My thesis focused on this concept and aimed to develop a new way in which this temporal architecture could both move from point A to point B as well as affect each site it approached.
What were your goals for the project this year? To ensure all of our installations were better and bigger and more reproducible than the year before, basically transitioning to launch a number of new installations for this coming year.
How early do you start working before the actual day of the festival? Typically design starts about 2 months before an event, fabrication begins about 1 month out, and on site assembly begins about 2 weeks out. We are off site within about 4 days after the event.
How has the festival grown as a result of the efforts of the art department? The Art depart-ment focuses on the identity of the festival which is crucial to the photogenics of the festival. Therefore all of the festival footage seen following the event is enhanced by our work.
12
Unevolved Brands | Graham SMITH
HUMANITY branded
HUMANITY
14LAURA ARONOFF
As the new generation of young adults - Generation Y we are called - begins to take over the pro-fessional world, it brings along new trends and influential change. We are a generation with a competitive drive to stand out from the crowd with our creativity and passion, and we thrive off the notion that “image is everything.” We are changing the professional world to revolve less around general hard work and more around fast-paced strategic plan-ning. With this growing influence from our generation, successful businesses today focus on creative differentiation through branding. No matter what business or mar-
ket, everyone from huge corporations to individual artists now uses branding
as a main component of their com-petitive advantage. To have a suc-cessful brand, the product must be unique. The brand image must im-mediately grab consumer attention and represent the product as a sym-bol of the brand. Today, consumers often value the brand more than the ac-tual product. And for any industry that involves art or design, the vi-sual symbol or logo of the brand is its most important asset. In fact, the logo has become an art form in itself. It involves strategic research, careful planning, and close attention to de-tail. So, how do you create the right logo for your brand? As explained in Entrepreneur Magazine in the article, “How to Cre-ate a Logo,” the logo tells a story about your company. The logo rep-resents everything your company
stands for in a small image that can be duplicated and reproduced. En-trepreneur Magazine explains three types of logos: font-based logos, in which the font creates a distinc-tive vibe that represents the unique brand, logos that illustrate the literal service that the company offers, and “abstract-graphic symbols” that con-sumers can associate with the com-pany’s brand (Entrepreneur 2014). The magazine highl lights certain key aspects of logo creation every new logo designer must focus on:
Simplicity: Keep It Simple Stupid. Logos are not meant to be intricate masterpieces, but simple master-pieces. The image must be eas-ily recognized, duplicated, and deci-phered. It should be identifiable in any size, lighting, or atmosphere.
Symbolism: First off, the logo should symbolize the industry. Consumers should be able to glance at the logo and immediately understand if it is for a pastry chef or interior designer. The logo should specifically reflect the message or purpose of you busi-ness.
Authenticity: Your logo should not be trendy. It should be classic and unique to your brand. In 75 years, consumers should still be able to ap-preciate the same logo as a distinc-tive, appealing brand representa-tion.
These helpful tips are only the beginning of creating the best possible logo for a new brand. Now get started - you’ve got some serious branding to do!
Personal Logo | Micheal BLINDERBACH
“To have a success-ful brand the product must be unique”
16
THE BRANDING OF A CITY #neworleans:
St. Louis Cathedral | New Orleans, LA
THE BRANDING OF A CITY 18CHESLEY McCARTHY
Streetcar | New Orleans, LA
Just like people, every city has a personality. More often than not, the natives understand the city’s character deeply; they hear the backbeat that never ceases and see the flaws, but forget about them in the face of forming a strong community. The outsider knows the city at surface level, only taking interest in where they find comfort and hearing only the main beat humming away. Of all the cities in the world, I think New
Orleans must have the greatest level of disparity between a native and outsider understanding and interpretation. On one side, this city is a perfect balance between energy and relaxation, of-
fering immeasurable opportuni-ties for exploration and discovery but in a very relaxed tone. Though the city never sleeps, everyone has a loose, take-it-slow attitude that you cannot find in any other community. On the other side, the city is a tourist trap, drawing in people seeking relaxation and pleasure but often limiting their search and exploration. These people enter the city with their own bias and opinions, tagging New Orleans cuisine with “#eatlo-cal” and “#nola” and discrediting the distinctive threads that hold the city together. These two per-spectives have been especially conflicting over the past ten years
as the city struggles to rebuild it-self in the hands of generations of natives and young transplants. I must confess, I am an outsider; my knowledge of the City Of New Orleans stems from a collection of anecdotes passed down to me from family mem-bers, from encounters with locals, and from the two short years I have spent in this city. Though my understanding breaches on just beyond skin-deep, I have heard the personality of this city once had vibrant streets and a vision of hospitality. Though most of these elements still exist, Hurricane Ka-trina cleared corridors of activity, opening up space for transplants to project their interpretations and visions. In the place of streets that over the years grew to cater to a certain scene lay blocks of va-cated spaces and quiet whispers of what once lived there. After the storm, Freret Street, Oak Street, and Ma-ple Street, to name just a few, devel-oped as corridors of engagement and entertainment, but catered towards a different crowd. Often these cor-ridors developed in the hands of non-natives, people that entered a city with a bias and liking from wherever they travelled and hold-ing their own interpretations of the comfort that was supposed to exist in the Big Easy.
“Out of all of the cit-ies in the world, I think New Orleans must have the greatest level of disparity between a native and outsider understanding and interpretation. ”
“In place of streets that over the years grew to
cater to a certain scene lay blocks of vacated
spaces and quiet whis-pers of what was once
there. ”
20
Wayfare | Freret St, New Orleans, LA
On a visit to Freret Street Hardware, I asked where I might find the nearest fabric store, assum-ing that on such an active street one would not be too far off the beaten path. She replied with a nos-talgic smile, “The nearest one is in Metarie. There used to be a bunch down here before the storm, but they all got swept up and turned into some-thing new after the storm.” In the place of those vacated shops on Freret, places such as Dat Dog, Mojo Coffee House, and Company Burger have sprung up. Though these restaurants are undeni-ably delicious and successful, they have brought a whole new sort of crowd to the table. There you will find college students and young adults, often iPhone in hand the second they receive their order, ready to upload a picture of their meal with cap-tions and trendy New Orleans hashtags. Yet in do-ing so, they have completely forgotten about the essence of New Orleans. New Orleans once spoke for itself, but the growth of social media has pro-jected New Orleans as both a lifestyle and a brand. Furthermore, many start-up companies have led to the branding of New Orleans. Tchoup Industries, a local company that creates backpacks from a houseboat on a Louisiana swamp, claims to create goods that “support a thriving local com-munity” and “produce the most relevant products
possible” for the local community. They construct the bags from recycled rice bags, handwoven fab-ric panels and genuine Louisiana alligator skin, taking care to address “the negative effects of oil” in Southern Louisiana. Though their mission seems tailored to the unique Louisiana community, each bag sells for $250 a piece. In selling “genuine Loui-siana” goods, they effectively eliminate any profit from the local New Orleans community, one that has always, from my understanding, grappled with economic instability. Other stores also sell the Louisiana Brand, such as Krewe du Optic and Homestead on Lowerline Street. These places ad-vertise a Louisiana lifestyle at a high cost, in a city that once held its own in music on the streets and good food. This is the challenge – how does New Or-leans hold on to its roots in the face of change and growth? From what I have heard and seen, New Orleans was the perfect illustration of activity and history, masked by a layer of mystery and disillu-sionment that one could only understand from im-mersion. Today, these elements still exist, but they must fight to hold their own with those that think they know New Orleans - those that write “#eatno-la” and seek a Louisiana lifestyle that is in conflict with how New Orleans was once understood.
16
LEGO The World’s Greatest Toy
Seattle Space Neede | LEGO
LEGO The World’s Greatest Toy
24ERIC BETHANY
In terms of quantity, Lego bricks are far and away the best-selling toy of all time, with more than 550 billion sold as of last year. Generations have grown up with the toy, sometimes passing the same sets down to kids and grandkids. LEGOLAND themeparks entertain millions of visitors every year, and this year’s LEGO Movie made over $400 mil-lion, with a sequel planned for release in
2017. These staggering numbers become even more impressive when one considers the Danish company’s modest beginnings in the wake of the Great Depression, as well as the fact that the company almost went bankrupt as it entered the 21st century. The timeline below contains the most significant dates in the history of the world’s third-larg-est toy maker, which turns 82 this year.
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
1932: Ole Kirk Kristiansen founds LEGO Group (”LEGO”
from Danish “leg grodt” or “play well”); company has 6 employees and makes home
goods and wooden toys
1942: LEGO workshop in Billund, Denmark burns down; OKK
rebuilds and production resumes
1946: LEGO Group purchases their first plastic injection-molding machine
1948: LEGO Group has 50
employees
1952: Company expands, first LEGO
plant constructed
1960: Wooden toy warehouse burns;
production shifts to plastic-only
1961: First North
American sales
1968: LEGOLAND Billund opens; com-
pany buys first computer
1970: Company reaches 1,000
employees
1973: LEGO logotype estab-
lished
1982: Company celebrates 50-year
anniversary
1994: Company has nearly 9,000 employ
ees
1996: LEGO.comlaunched
1998: Company r
1999: LEGOLAND Califor
Star W
2000: Deal with Br
1958: Modern stud-and-tube LEGO brick
introduced
LEGO TimeLine | Eric BETHANY
2000 2010 2020
1994: Company has nearly 9,000 employ-
ees
1996: LEGO.com launched
1998: Company records first
deficits
1999: LEGOLAND California opens; LEGO
Star Wars series launched
2000: Deal with Warner Bros. to launch LEGO
Harry Potter series
2004: Major deficits recorded
2005: LEGO Group sells majority stake of LEGOLAND theme parks; company has less than 5,000 employees
2011: LEGOLAND Florida opens
2014: LEGO Movie released, earns over $400 million
worldwide
2017: LEGO Movie sequel
planned
2007: New leadership and major restructur-ing bring first profits
in a decade
26
Bridge | New Orleans, LA
KOSS
28 KOSS
JOHN COYLE
on art and design
Space, scale, form, context and composition: These terms are used in the language of architecture school on a daily basis. Yet these concepts are not exclusive to architecture, but also used to discuss works of
art. While art and architecture share many of the same concerns, they of-ten occupy different worlds. Both profes-
sions are about the poetics of bring-ing pieces together. Art can be an in-spiration for architects, and likewise architecture can inspire art. Architecture in New Orleans is one the many things that influence the work of Gene Koss. The artist be-lieves that “New Orleans is a special place in terms of architecture”, and appreciates the formal qualities of the levees, facades, bridges, and courtyard gardens. Koss came to New Orleans in 1976 to teach at the Newcomb Art Department at Tulane University. He did not expect the tremendous support that allowed him to push the limits of the mate-rial and challenge the way people think of glass works of art. Success-fully taking glass “off the pedestal, to stand on its own”, Koss has redefined the medium through his large scale cast glass and steel sculptures. Koss is inspired by agricul-ture, machinery, architecture, land-scape and place. These are things
which architects are influenced by as well. Koss explains: “An artist is inspired by their environment”, and cites the work of Frank Lloyd Wright as innovative in the way in which the architect was inspired by the materials of the land. This consider-ation for siting and relationship to context is yet another way in which art shares some of the sensibilities of architecture. Some of the other ways in which Koss believes the two fields overlap is the consideration for how the piece comes away from the ground, how the materials work to-gether as one composition, and the types of connections that allow this. In architecture, like art, beauty is of-ten found in the details. Koss is also a fan of the work of Frank Gehry and Richard Serra, who coincidently use the same en-gineer for their sculptural work. The influence of architecture is very evi-dent in Koss’s work, which often fea-ture large wood or steel members as armatures for cast glass. A great ex-ample of this can be found directly outside the archi-tecture building on the academic quad. “Timber” is a large scale piece that looks as though a row of cast-glass units are counterbalanced by the massive piece of oak bolted to a steel base.
Hayloader | New Orleans, LA
“The influence of architecture is very
evident in Koss’s work, which often feature large wood or steel members as arma-
tures for cast glass. ”
“While art and architec-ture share many of the same concerns, they often occupy different worlds.”
30
Lake Neshonoc | New Orleans, LA
In the world of art, his work continues to set the bar and aid in the growth of glass sculpture as a celebrated medium. He operates his own studio on the river and continues to teach at Tulane’s world class facilities for glass, offering one of the best programs in the country. The teaching style is very hands on, with the master artist giving demos on the very process he pioneered. Koss challenges his students to push bound-aries and has them look at architecture for inspiration. Much like in architecture school, Koss encourages his students to maintain a sketchbook, and supports the rigor of fussing and fiddling with an idea. Architecture students are no strangers to exploring ideas through iterations, and Koss has found many architecture students take his class over the years and experiment with the material.
32
BEFORE THE LEVEES BREAK:
Thames Flood Barrier | Newham, ENGLAND
designing for flooding
34BEFORE THE LEVEES BREAK:
designing for flooding
ERIC BETHANY
After researching the topic of flooding and rising water levels, it is hard to ignore the urge to take to the nearest street cor-ner with a poster and a bullhorn and start shouting doomsday prophecies. The numbers don’t lie: in 2013 alone, devastating floods occurred in almost every region of the world, causing bil-lions in damage and thousands of fatalities. While underdevel-oped regions experienced the heaviest losses of life and prop-erty, countries like the United States, Argentina, and Germany also suffered. Many experts point to development as the reason floods are more frequent and de-structive; deforestation, land sub-sidence, and poor drainage are all products of human develop-ment, and they read like an ingre-dient list for a catastrophic floods. In Louisiana, flooding is a part of life; levees are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget that they exist to keep the country’s largest river from picking a new path through New Orleans’ Garden District. Countries like the Netherlands have also adapted to living under
constant threat of inundation and have devel-oped some of the world’s most ad-vanced infrastruc-
tural projects to keep their coun-try safe. There is no shortage of impressive man-made structures designed to keep the water out. The Venetian government has spent the last ten years and near-ly $7 billion building a system of massive gates to protect their
city. Kuala Lumpur has an enor-mous, three-level tunnel whose roadways can be closed to allow the entire tunnel to flood and save the downtown area from flash floods. The Dutch built a two-part gate - each part the size of the Eiffel Tower on its side - to protect Rotterdam. Each of these monumental infrastructure proj-ects are successful as flood pro-tection, but they also have high capital re-quirements, constant maintenance, and inevitably cause en-vironmental damage. They are almost guar-anteed to become ob-solete at some point in the future. For this reason, many forward-thinking architects and planners are approaching the problem in new ways in search of more sustainable, efficient, and longer-lasting methods for miti-gating the effects of flooding. Most people who have spent any serious amount of time in New Orleans are familiar with the love/hate relationship be-tween the Mississippi River and the Crescent City. The city was built on natural levees created by centuries of sediment distribu-tion. Over time, the river was con-tained and controlled with man-made devices, and the swampy areas outside the city center were pumped out and developed. Now, the Army Corp of Engineers fights a constant battle against a mechanized river that threatens to breach the levees and flood the city.
Oosterscheldekering | NETHERLANDS
“Each of these mon-umental infrastruc-
ture projects are successful as flood
protection, but they also have high capi-
tal requirments...”
“There is no short-age of impressive man-made structures designed to keep the water out.”
36
FDR Drive post Hurricane Sandy | New York, NEW YORK
38 The Dutch followed a similar path in the development of their country, lead-ing eventually to the construction of an in-genious network of dikes and floodgates. Recently, however, the Dutch have begun to follow a different tactic: instead of con-stantly building, rebuilding, and repairing structures to prevent flooding, they are now allowing certain areas to flood in or-der to keep the water out of more popu-lated areas. Those who owned property in the new floodplains were forced to relo-cate, but were given financial assistance by the Dutch government. Relinquishing a certain amount of control over the river by allowing it to move more freely result-ed in enhanced protection where it was most needed. Controlled flooding is not a new idea; Louisiana has near-identical systems in place at locations like the Morganza Spillway. During the 2011 Mississippi Riv-er floods, the spillway gates were opened, flooding three million acres of rural Loui-siana, but critically relieving pressure on Baton Rouge and New Orleans. What is a new idea - and a hot topic for forward-
thinking architects and designers around the world - is the idea of designing a landscape that treats rising waters as an opportunity for environmental improve-ment and social interaction. Hurricane Sandy was the second-costliest hurricane in United States history and a huge wake-up call for designers and planners in New York and the surround-ing region. As part of the recovery pro-cess, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has implemented a $17 billion plan to prepare the state for future storms, and a major component of that plan deals with the reconstruction of New York’s coastlines in a way that com-bines natural flood-protection strategies with public green spaces. Dating back to 2010, several New York-based architec-tural offices have conducted research and speculative projects on this topic, and two stand out for their relevance and po-tential for swift deployment: Architecture Research Office’s “Rising Currents” project, and SCAPE Studio’s “living breakwaters.”
“Hurricane Sandy was...a huge wake up call for designers and
planners in New York.”
“Rising Currents,” part of a 2010 Museum of Modern Art exhibition (predat-ing Sandy by more than two years), calls for a drastic change to the articulation of the edge of Manhattan - namely, a shift from abrupt, “hard” edges of wharves, docks, and concrete embankments to a graduated and “soft” edge of porous or-ganic material modeled after the wetland vegetation that once filled New York’s har-bor. This green barrier would extend into the city’s streets, increasing the amount of public park space in the city, as well as im-proving the drainage performance of the city’s streets, which in their current form serve only to encourage water to spread
out into the city. By combining three zones - tidal salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, and a network of parks - the project aims to mitigate storm surge
and flooding. Architectural Research Office (the designers behind the new Zimple Residence at Tulane) continues to pur-sue rising water levels in their research, especially after efforts such as Governor Cuomo’s plan, which brings projects like “Rising Currents” closer to becoming a reality. Another firm that exhibited at the same Museum of Modern Art show in 2010, SCAPE Studio, has conducted an immense amount of research on the topic of rising water levels and flooding, leading to several speculative proposals for new waterfronts in and around New York City. The “living breakwaters” project proposes to transform the coastline of Staten Island into an expansive ecological buffer zone that reduces the effects of storm surge. This buffer zone extends from inland floodplains across the coastal edge and out to navigational channels; a layered system of tidal flats, protective vegetation, and natural breakwaters provide not only effective flood protection, but also en-hance the community’s connection to the
water. The preservation of that connection was paramount to the design team out of respect for the historical importance the water has held as the economic and social heart of the community. By partnering with local schools and outreach initiatives, the project seeks to encourage new gen-erations to respect and treasure the water-front. In the same way that levees in New Orleans are both essential flood protection devices and places for social interaction, SCAPE Studio hopes that their vision of the Staten Island waterfront could become an engine for social and educational progress, as well as protection from rising waters. In addition to design professionals, students around the world are attempting to create a more harmonious relationship between water and developed land. The Jacques Rougerie Foundation, named for the French architect/oceanographer, holds an annual speculative competition, with a category in architecture adapted to rising water. Last year’s laureates in this category created a sustainable system for deploy-ing mangrove trees - coastal plants known for their flood-mitigation abilities - along coastlines in need of increased flood pro-tection. It is clear that flooding and rising water levels are going to become a central issue in the years to come, and the inte-gration of sustainable flood-mitigation infrastructure into developed areas may likely prove to be the best solution. All of these projects feature an interdisciplinary approach to design resulting in a com-prehensive and innovative solution to a common problem. While these theories have yet to be applied to New Orleans, it is not difficult to imagine how they might be highly effective. A shift from flood control to controlled flooding - and the creation of new, floodable landscapes - represents an exciting opportunity for designers seek-ing to serve the community through their projects. Hopefully, it will not take a major disaster for such proposals to become a reality.
“By combining three zones- marshes, wet-lands and parks, the project aims to miti-gate flooding.”
40 Green Barrier Design | New York, NEW YORK
HISTORICAL
Arie di Roma | Rome, ITALY
42HISTORICAL
precedents
B. LANKKENAKER
Arie di Roma | Rome, ITALY
237 years ago, a group of men redefined society’s most ba-sic, most fundamental principles of the way the world works. Charged with a dream of self-governance in a global community in which such an idea was completely for-eign, they rekindled the long ex-tinguished idea that a group of free men have the courage and ca-
pacity to decide for themselves the direction of their society. This revolution-ary idea for a new type of
life drew heavily from the Anicent Greeks - in both architecture and social structure. The buildings of white marble in Washington not only played off the architecture of the Greeks but also their ideas and ideals. However, one can’t help but wonder if instead of recalling the classical styles of Greece and Rome, the founders of our country had instead ushered in an entirely new language of architecture, how our country would look today. The identity of Rome to this day remains largely determined by the genius of engineers thousands of years ago – yet while still a young country, “American” architecture in such a short period of time has established itself a new identity as that of a truly capitalist society; the language we have created is that of strip malls and surface parking – the cheapest and fastest wins. For a country so adept at innovating some of the largest breakthroughs of the modern era, which prides itself on its ability to create and think creatively, we are remarkably inept at envisioning a new world for ourselves. A world with our own architectural language that
responds to the new world we are quickly ushering in with network-ing, technology, massive advances in materials technology, and the culture established 237 years ago that nearly every American still holds dear to this day. We profess to be the leaders of the new, free world that we have created; yet the Italian futurists were closer to envisioning a new language over a hundred years ago than we have ever been. There have, of course, been attempts and stabs, however small, at establishing an identity for ourselves. The varied climate zones spanned by our borders give an astounding number of op-portunities for a variety of “Ameri-can” styles. Those meandering the streets of Chicago will recognize its own specific school of architec-ture, defined in large part by its three-piece windows which attempt to en-courage airflow – but they should also recall its foundation as an Art Deco revisitation of the formal nature of a Greek column. Architecture schools throughout the country push their students to think beyond the his-torical limitations of the past and create something truly new, but they do so with a crutch when they emphasize endless studies of his-torical precedents and procedures. These ideas tend to be sampled and thrown together into a proj-ect which may be powerful and beautiful, but is not “new”. On the otherhand, architects are also lim-ited and confined by the growing emphasis on high profits which of-ten leads to cutting corners.
“The varied climate zones spanned by
our borders give an astounding number of opportunities for a variety of “Ameri-
can” styles.”
“The buildings of white marble in Washington not only played off the architecture of the Greeks but also thier ideas and ideals.”
44 UNKNOWN | Chicago, ILLINIOS
My challenge to the Ameri-can architects of tomorrow, those still in school today, is not to try and perfect or recreate the achi-tecture of the past or to choose between money and style. Instead, American design should represent the innovative and revolutionary way of life that our founders es-tablished 237 years ago. A way of life that was based on freedom of expression and fighting for ones
beliefs and ideals above all else. Yet I will admit American history has not pro-vided such inspira-tion consistently. We are a country that
stood up to the greatest power in the world proclaiming that all men are created equal, just to enslave others to do our work for us. We have been as intolerant as any so-ciety in history – even today we are accused of running a prison-indus-trial complex, or if not that then a military-industrial complex. There is little doubt that we are far from perfect. Even so, from the moment of our birth we have shook the foundations of society and con-
tinued to do so in ever-increasing levels until culminating after the Second World War. Our history has been short-lived but I personally refuse to believe that momentary falters are premonitions of our fall. Despite recent events, and despite the widespread global adversity, the world still looks to us as its leader. However, that means lead-ing the world in all aspects, not just in military might. As a country, we should represent the forefront of thought on technology, education, and all other aspects that make a country what it is. These characteristics are represented in art and architecture and they are noticeably lacking in contemporary American culture. Whoever we are as a people must be represented in stone (meta-phorically, of course – all materi-als are welcome) so that in an-other 2000 years, when the world is in ruins, another brave group of men may gaze upon the structures which define us and hope to one day again recreate the pursuit of a more perfect world: because for all the wrong deeds we have done, that is what we represent.
“American design should represent the innovative and revolu-tionary way of life that our founders estab-lished 237 years ago”
46 WAL-MART supercenter | Nicholasville, KY
Cameron ConklinEditor in ChiefTulane ‘14Baltimore, MD
Chesley McCarthyEditorTSA ‘17Huntsville, AL
STAFF Christina CheneyEditorTulane ‘14Mobile, AL
K. Bernie LakkenbarWriterTulane ‘15Raleigh, NC
Laura AronoffWriterTulane ‘15Marietta, GA
Eric Bethany WriterTSA‘15Charleston, SC
John CoyleWriterTSA ‘14Centereach, NY
STAFF
FRONT AND BACK COVER
CREATIVE INTEGRATIONSbranded humanity
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CREDITSlego
KOSS on art & designBEFORE THE LEVEEES BREAK
HISTORIC PRECEDENTS
image courtesy of , www.flickr.com
images courtesy of buku.com; April Siese, flickr.com;
image courtesy of Kevin Yuel, www.flickr.com; Joshua Brasted, flickr.com
images courtesy of Graham Smith, flickr.com; Neal Brooks, flickr.com
images courtesy of LEGO.com (info+some images); thebricklife.com (figure images); screencrush.com (movie poster); lego.wikia.com (duck picture)
images courtesy of KOSS
images courtesy of Frits De Jong, www.flickr.com; Da-vid Shankbone, flickr.com; dlandstudio, flickr.com
CREDITSimage courtesy of Bug Malone, www.flickr.com; Jim, www.flickr.com
