0920

The research I'm doing now focuses almost exclusively on my case studies and their solutions; because quite a bit of research into the social ills and current conditions of Englewood is being done in my current studio, I'm taking this opportunity to look deeper into //how and why// these architects designed the way they did, and get a better understanding of some of the philosophy behind their work (for example: twinphenomena, the importance of site to regional vs. modern practice).

Working Bibliography
Coleman, Nathaniel. //Utopias and Architecture//. Abingdon England: Routledge, 2005.
 * A very useful book that provides examples of the ability of modernist architecture to create meaningful, well-used spaces. Good overview of utopian thought from a sociological and architectural point of view, and of van Eyck's ideas concerning twinphenomena and the experience of architecture. Also discusses the work of other mid- and late-twentieth century architects. Highly recommended.

Eggener, Keith. "Expressionism and Emotional Architecture in Mexico: Luis Barragan's Collaborations with Max Cetto and Matthias Goeritz" //Architectura// 25.1 (1995): 77-94. however, interesting insight into Goeritz's work with Barragan, in particular, and into all three men's process of working.
 * As this essay focused on the collaboration of the three artists across many projects, it was not as useful a source on El Pedregal than Eggener's 1999 paper (below). It was,

Eggener, Keith. "Postwar Modernism in Mexico: Luis Barragan's Jardines del Pedregal and the International Discourse on Architecture and Place" //Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians// 58.2 (1999): 122-145. //JSTOR//. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
 * Informative and easy-to-read discussion of El Pedregal in the context of modernism, Mexican and Hispanic vernacular, and landscape design (or lack thereof). Gives information about the project's origins, practical concerns such as advertising, and influence by and on other architects of the era. Highly recommended.

Lejeune, Jean-François, ed. //Cruelty and Utopia: Cities and Landscapes of Latin America.// New York: Princeton Architectural, 2005.
 * A nicely curated collection of essays on the Latin American landscape as it relates to the people it serves (or doesn't) and their past/present/future. Overall this book gives a good overview of the milieu for someone, like me, who is not particularly familiar with Latin American modernism. Some essays are very useful (for example, de Oliveira's entry on Lina Bo Bardi); others are interesting but irrelevant for my purposes.

McQuade, Walter. "Where Are the Parked Cars?" //Architectural Forum// 113.1 (1960): 108-11.
 * A follow-up to the earlier //Architectural Forum// article "Pioneering in the City", this short, well-illustrated piece gives more information on the parking strategies of Lafayette Park. I suggest reading it together with "Pioneering."

"Pioneering in the City (A Tower Plus Row Houses in Detroit)" //Architectural Forum// 112.5 (1960): 104-113.
 * In combination with the other //Architectural Forum// articles listed, a good overview of Lafayette Park at the time of its (partial) completion. Some analysis of the site, finances, and building types; also includes information on early-adopter residents and their social situation. Many large images.

"Preservation as Confrontation: The Work of Lina Bo Bardi" //Future Anterior// 2.2 (2005): 24-33.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Another essay that is less about the individual work of the architect I am studying (in this case, the Sesc Pompeia) and more about the architect's working milieu (Lina Bo Bardi as artist). For someone who needs background information on Bo Bardi, I would recommend; I feel that for someone more familiar with her work, this article would be somewhat elementary.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Case Studies
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">1. Amsterdam Orphanage <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> Designed by Aldo van Eyck, built 1957-60 in Amsterdam <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> This project is for an orphanage on the outskirts of Amsterdam which would combine modern architecture with consideration for the daily emotional needs of children. Of paramount importance was to de-institutionalize the institution - children were housed in smaller, family-like groups within the wings of the fractal-like building. In an attempt to bring a human, emotional element back into modern architecture, van Eyck chose to integrate the children's living, learning, and playing spaces into a homelike and interesting (visually and psychologically) building which emphasized transition, movement through space, and the experience of time.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Coleman, Nathaniel. //Utopias and Architecture//. Abingdon England: Routledge, 2005.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Van Eyck, Aldo. "Commencement Address." //JAE// 35.1 (1981): 5-8. //JSTOR//. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">2. Jardines del Pedregal <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> Organized by Luis Barragan et al., promoted 1945-53 in Mexico City <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> This project is an upscale subdivision located in the wild, geographically unique El Pedregal lava field outside of Mexico City. In an attempt to create a true oasis from what he saw as the hassles of modern city life, Barragan purchased a large tract of land and promoted it as an ideal place for the progressive upper-class family. Through collaboration with other artists and architects, Barragan built case-study houses to promote what he considered to be appropriate architecture for the Pedregal - low, white, uncompromisingly modern, and with no trace of 'California Colonial' or other offensive or lesser (in Barragan's eyes) styles. Although design control (of both style and infiltration of elements) remained less than desirable, Barragan and his co-designers launched an ambitious organic town plan including schools, shopping centers, public gardens, and infrastructure all designed to work in harmony with a rare and unique landscape.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Eggener, Keith. "Expressionism and Emotional Architecture in Mexico: Luis Barragan's Collaborations with Max Cetto and Matthias Goeritz" //Architectura// 25.1 (1995): 77-94.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Eggener, Keith. "Postwar Modernism in Mexico: Luis Barragan's Jardines del Pedregal and the International Discourse on Architecture and Place" //Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians// 58.2 (1999): 122-145. //JSTOR//. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Lejeune, Jean-François, ed. //Cruelty and Utopia: Cities and Landscapes of Latin America.// New York: Princeton Architectural, 2005.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">3. Sesc Pompeia <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> Designed by Lina Bo Bardi, built 1986 in Sao Paulo, Brazil <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> This community center and sports facility sits on the grounds of an abandoned steel-drum factory in a formerly industrial area of Sao Paulo. By reusing the existing factory and building two new towers to house indoor playfields and a swimming pool, Bo Bardi discusses ideas of recycling, adaptability, and the reconfiguration of the past (absent people) to suit the needs of the present (living, active people). In response to site conditions including rainwater culverts and 'waste space' between massive structures, Bo Bardi creates multilevel outdoor spaces - circulation through the towers requires going outside and between them by way of sky bridges - and unexpected green spaces in juxtaposition with city views. Her desire to reuse //these// buildings at //this// place is itself a response to a site condition - while on a preconstruction visit, she noticed the local children had already claimed the abandoned factory as their play space; she chose to redesign and repurpose the unsafe building into a more welcoming, inclusive, free playroom for all.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Lejeune, Jean-François, ed. //Cruelty and Utopia: Cities and Landscapes of Latin America.// New York: Princeton Architectural, 2005.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">"Preservation as Confrontation: The Work of Lina Bo Bardi" //Future Anterior// 2.2 (2005): 24-33.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">4. Soe Ker Tie House <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> Designed 2008 by TYIN Tegnestue Architects, built 2009 in Noh Bo, Thailand <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> This project added 6 sleeping rooms to an orphanage located along the Thai border. The existing orphanage, serving mostly Karen refugees who have fled from their native Burma, was in dire need of expansion (it grew from 24 to 50 children); the architects enlisted the aid of local craftspeople to help design structures appropriate for the local conditions and optimized for fast, easy installation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> In an attempt to give these children a more 'normal' living environment, the sleeping rooms were built as freestanding structures analogous to houses; their construction includes traditional methods and decorative elements. Attention was paid to rainwater management - shelter during wet seasons and collection during dry - and to economical use/reuse of materials. The six units are arranged along a 'street' with play areas in front of and between them, in an attempt to recreate a neighborhood feel. Landscaping, although minimal, reinforces the connection between each unit, the common outdoor 'street,' and the neighboring units.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">"Soe Ker Tie House." TYIN Tegnestue. 2010. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://www.tyintegnestue.no/>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">5. Lafayette Park <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;"> Designed by Hilberseimer/Mies van der Rohe/Caldwell, built 1960 in Detroit <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">This large-scale urban renewal project, the first of its kind in the United States, also has the distinction of being one of the few that works well. Built on land reclaimed by the clearing of a central Detroit slum, Lafayette Park included apartment towers, two-story rowhouses, single-storey courtyard homes, landscaped parks, shopping centers, a school, and a library; most of these amenities remain today (however, as in most of Detroit, the one completed shopping center has closed down). Unlike many renewal projects which followed it, the buildings of the Park sit in a truly parklike landscape, designed by Alfred Caldwell and used not only for recreation but as a screen for unwanted elements (for example, parking lots). Unusual for its time was the Park's social mix - it was integrated through racial and socioeconomic lines, and was at the time of its opening considered a convenient place for families. The Park remains well-preserved today, and is among the more popular housing choices for young urban professionals.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">McQuade, Walter. "Where Are the Parked Cars?" //Architectural Forum// 113.1 (1960): 108-11.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">"Pioneering in the City (A Tower Plus Row Houses in Detroit)" //Architectural Forum// 112.5 (1960): 104-113.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">"Redevelopment Program for Detroit" //Architectural Record// 127.4 (1960):170- 173.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">"Design for Urbanity" //Architectural Forum// 112.5 (1960): 114-117, 226.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">Alternates (because at least one of my case studies has very little information available):
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">6. Taliesin, Spring Green, WI; Frank Lloyd Wright <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; size: 10px;">7. Saynatsalo Town Hall, Saynatsalo, Finland; Alvar Aalto