cdottdot
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34 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
cdottdot · 12 years ago
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vertical city detroit.
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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Under construction.
Real URL to come…soon…
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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Thesis Book ordered.
Now kindly remove yourself from my radar for a couple of weeks.
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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It's time to resurrect this bitch.  By bitch I mean blog. I'm going to try to chronicle my thesis.  Thesis started in September but I really just started...Since I anticipate deliria and dementia over the next 4 months, it's best to document things...
As you can see by my dashboard, my patience is low - overall and in general. 
So with that, my mood is best summarized with this image.  
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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Education is a car & this is my dashboard. The end is near... 
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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20% of Michigan's homeless population live in Detroit Metro.
It will be part of Cass Community Services' effort to help some of the estimated 19,000 homeless in Detroit, according to Homeless Action Network of Detroit, which seeks solutions to homelessness in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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"New Far East Side was an ambitious property development project intended to revitalize several blighted neighborhoods on Detroit’s east side.
In the 1940’s and early 50’s the east side was according to Thomas Sugrue “the epicenter of the auto industry,” with 23 major manufacturing plants. “Between 1953 and 1960,” however, “the area lost 10 plants and 71,137 jobs” and “had become an economic slum in the course of a decade.” Today fewer than 4,000 people live there, down from 24,000 at its peak in the 50’s.
The area was chosen for several reasons: to the east is Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit that is relatively affluent, with stable neighborhoods that have high property values. Two of the bordering streets, Jefferson and Warren, are high-traffic and well developed.
Planning began in the early 2000’s by Archive Design Studio. The site chosen covered 1,200 acres bordered by Conner, Warren, Alter, and Jefferson avenues. 68.5% of the lots in this area were vacant; the overall quality of the remaining housing was rated as “poor.”
The New Far East Side project would be completed in phases, with a projected cost of $258M dollars. Houses would be arranged in neighborhoods centered around parks or other landmarks. The plan called for commercial areas, including big box retailers. The total project would consist of about 3,000 houses with an average cost of $180,000 to $250,000. Six different models of two story homes were designed, five being traditional brick and one being an “urban modern” design. The first phase, known as Fox Creek, would consist of 650 homes across eight blocks, with construction starting in 2008.
As part of site preparation, the city of Detroit spent at least $4 million dollars purchasing property, razing homes, and rebuilding streets, sidewalks, and installing streetlights.
That was as far as the project ever got.
A global economic downturn and the collapse of the US housing market effectively ended the project before it began. One of the developers went bankrupt, and a key person working on the project passed away.
Today the east side area is one of the most deserted stretches of land in the city. Mixed in with the few occupied houses are dozens of vacant homes and apartment buildings. New sidewalks and streetlights snake through vacant neighborhoods, occasionally dead-ending at an intersection. The last school in the neighborhood, Carstens Elementary, closed last year, as did the beautiful Montieth branch Detroit Public Library. While development has halted, the city is keen on reviving the plan or a variant of. The east side is an important part of the city desperate for urban renewal, and with much of the property purchased and cleared, it is hoped that new financers will step up to support the plan. In the meantime, the trash continues to collect in empty lots."
All of this information was found this by researching Amy's link to DetroitUrbex.com.
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cdottdot · 12 years ago
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Youtube Videos of someone driving downtown Detroit
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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We upgraded from cupcake to sheetcake.  
This test panel will hopefully stand on its own when broken from the form.
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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Parti Diagrams
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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Diagrammatically Speaking...
Project Intensive 2.0 - Pavilion de L'esprit Nouveau Diagrams
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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Reading: Privacy & Publicity ~ Beatriz Colomina
This reading focuses on interior spaces (and Adolf Loos).  It raises the question, “how are interior spaces imprinted?” 
The reading then begins to discuss windows as a method of light versus a device for “gazing.”  Adolf Loos’ houses become a main example of the reading.  In his houses, he arranges the furniture with their back to the windows rather then at them.  It allows the occupant to observe their surroundings and provides a sense of security.  Loos is quoted as saying, “[The] exterior view depends upon a view of the interior” [Colomina, p.244].  He appears to design from the inside-out.  
Drawing from his design practice, it is evident that he creates a “theater box” which allows a viewer to look out into larger spaces and creates a point of control.  In some cases, the “theater box” idea is the house itself rather than being IN the house as Loos designs.  The idea is that being inside the box creates a sense of protection but it also draws attention when you are ultimately overlooking intimate areas of the house.
I thought that the following quote was intriguing: “architecture is not simply a platform that accommodates the viewing subject.  It is a viewing mechanism that produces the subject” [p.250].  It suggests that architecture encompasses every aspect of the viewing realm.  I think of architecture as being the subject rather than a medium for viewing.  
The author suggests that Loos tries to blur the line between inside and outside through the use of mirrors which appear to be openings.  ”[They] promote the interplay between reality and illusion, between the actual and virtual, undermining the status of the boundary between inside and outside” [p.255].  It’s interesting that he uses this method of illusion.  Rather than creating actual openings and using those openings AS openings, he tries to create impression that there is an opening where there is not. 
I get the impression that Loos believes that architecture is a full-sensory profession; which I agree with.  One cannot be solely concerned with exterior appearance or interior appearance, the experience that one gets when entering a space is crucial in design.  Loos is quoted as saying, “[The] architect first senses the space, then he visualizes it” [p.265].  Because he believes that the architect must consider the sensation in a space, he believes that 2D representation such as drawings and photos are not able to fully convey the intended impression.  He believes that architecture is the “practice of representation” [p.273].  I agree with this statement in that, if architects could not take the ideas from their head or the head of others and communicate those ideas in a coherent form, be it on paper, on a computer, then architecture is rendered impossible.
The author suggests, “In every Loos house, there is a point of maximum tension, & it always coincides with a threshold or boundary” [p.276].  What I do not understand about Loos is his focus on the interior with no emphasis on the exterior.  Any way you cut it, architecture is a visual product.  The shell must pass certain visual tests before it can be accepted.  While I understand the attention paid toward the portion of a structure that is most inhabited, I believe the most successful architecture takes both inside and outside into account.  
Questions:
Can someone explain this diagram?
What modern day architect designs with the idea of the “theater box”?
If the furniture in Loos’ houses were rearranged so that furniture faced the windows, would that break every rule and idea that Loos had for the house?
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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Sketches/Diagrams/Pics from the Glass Pavilion in Toledo
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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This is the a great tour of the Pavilion - Considering the original house no longer exists, this is the closest you'll come to viewing the space...Or you can go to Bologna and see the replica...
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cdottdot · 14 years ago
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Pure Corb
Corbusier referred to the pavilion as a Gesamtkunstwek which was "a grand summation of Purist aesthetics."
The building itself exhibited two distinct elements: the pavilion which displays large curved dioramas of the Voisin Plan of Paris, and the open courtyard.
The Voisin Plan of Paris, in Corbusier's design, proposed a grid system standardized plan.  I believe he advocated openness in this city plan because he also proposed to knock down several city blocks to make way for the grid.
The right side of the house was referred to as a cell of immeubles-villas which is essentially a bundle of units.
[Eliel, Carol. Purism in Paris, 1918-1925 L'esprit Nouveau. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002.]
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cdottdot · 15 years ago
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Readings: De Landa & McCullough
Philosophies of Design : The Case of Modeling Software ~ Manuel De Landa
The main point of this article is to contrast two philosophies of design; as the author calls it, "the genesis of form."  The first philosophy states that design is a mental conception.  From that, it can be taken and translated into a literal form by use of various materials; this is said to be homogenous - able to be molded.  Adversely, the second philosophy suggests that the material used to translate is not merely a medium in which to convey, they are actively apart of the "genesis of form."  By use of heterogeneneous materials in which the properties must be taken in consideration in the process of creation.
James Gordon is introduced in this article as one of the pioneers of the science of materials where he conjoins several areas from ceramic engineering to metallurgy.  He implies the lack of importance in the use of new materials and states that the material behaviors have been completely disregarded and reduced to "routine properties."  He clearly takes a stance on the side of materiality and its linkage to the genesis of form.
The article continues on to suggest that craftsmen dealt with the complexities of materials and that they have no choice but to respect the individual properties of such things as impure steel.  This leaves no room for routine.  The author also states that, though the craftsmen had plenty of knowledge and carried out that knowledge by use of his hands, the knowledge could not be articulated verbally or written down.  With today's technological advancements, it is easier to generate a mechanism for creation, however, it is still difficult to translate the knowledge of a craftsmen into usable applications.
Phase transitions is introduced which are the "changes that occur in the structure of material at certain points of intensity" [De Landa, p.134]. These transitions affect architecture in many ways.  
The question is posed whether the philosophy of non-routinized design procedures are inevitably lost today.  The introduction of new materials, which are inherently heterogeneous, one would think, would aid design skills but in fact, it may actually be hindering our skills.  It is because we have created new devices in which to bring our conceptions to life but we have no physical interaction with the material itself until it has been through a mechanized process which limits our own creativity in a way.  Computer assisted design virtually eliminates the need for physical interaction between the designer and the material.  It is close to being, but not quite, a tool in which to exercise design creativity while involving the designer in the manipulation of materials.
I think this article was interesting in suggesting that advancements in CAD are rendering the "craftsman knowledge" obsolete.  I'm unaware of the publish date but I think that it was written before the popularity of 3D modeling in which case, I would argue that the interaction between designer and material has actually increased.  I don't fully understand what the author means by "routine process."  Is he suggesting that designers begin to care less and put less thought into a process which leads them to fall back on a "routine" ?
1.  Was this written before BIM, and if so, would BIM now be considered a successful medium that allows the proper interaction between the designer and the material?
2.  Would it be successful to teach a craftsman some form of CAD and would that span the gap of "lacking craftsman knowledge"?
3.  How can BIM advancements be integrated with physical interaction rather than virtual?
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Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand ~ Malcolm McCullough
As evident with the title, this article focuses on the hand.  The article suggests that the hand is a "conduit" for knowledge.  The hands are a vital extremity through which we experience things.  
In many ways, the hands illustrate ones own skill which can be described as the ability to implement learned skill effectively.  It is implied that skill and talent are separate.  Talent is the result of schooling whereas skill is the result of hands-on learning.  
The hands are often slighted in the analysis of the mind even though it is intimately connected.  Michael Polanyi's study of scientific defends skill successfully in "Personal Knowledge" (1958).  The hands are arguably the most skilled part of the body.
The way in which practice becomes habitual develops a relationship with the tools that are being used.  The hands represent the most knowledge because it is the most receptive part of the body.  "Through the hand, authorship involves execution, and expression involves workmanship" [McCullough, p.8].  
Art is briefly touched on and the author suggests that it has no other function than to simply be.  Art is arguably the greatest expression of creativity and usually the creation of art requires the use of the hands.  Industrial objects, however, are strictly for function and its principle is efficiency.  "The destination of the work of art is the air-conditioned eternity of the museum; the destination of industrial object is the trash barrel" [McCullough, p.10].  Handcrafted objects resonate qualities of art and industry harmoniously.  
There was a separation of craft and fine art in Europe by the Renaissance.  Art was then praised more and thought of with higher regard.  With this, eventually the word "Artisan" was used to distinguish intellectuals from skilled manual worker.  
Craft is used for professions that require the use of hands.  The article continues on to describe definitions of craft, artisanry, industry and technology.  Technology has increasingly become an interface for human-computer interaction.  It allows the development of abstract concepts into a visible output.
I agree with the article in that I believe that the hand is the best tool in which to communicate concepts.  I also believe that it has a lot to do with hand-eye coordination.  I have a tablet and I think that it would be difficult to use it if I did not have decent hand-eye coordination because I find that I don't look at where I'm physically drawing on the tablet, but rather, where the pen lies on the screen which is the opposite of what you're inclined to do.  I believe that, for example, when drawing, your hands aid you in developing your skills rather than the hand guiding and holding the skill in itself. 
 If we are still using our hands to translate thoughts into the computer, why is that not considered craft?  
Similarly, we are still using our hands with touch-screen - we are still creating - why is it not considered craft?
Are there more studies that link the hands to the mind? 
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