Redefining Advertisements

Emma Lyne Pouch

           Any successful salesman knows that it isn’t just the product and location that makes a store flourish it’s the advertising. Today’s companies have to go beyond a big sign or a nice ad in the newspaper to be noticed, they must be innovative in a new approach to catch the attention of the buyer. A brand that has recently taken on this challenge and going further than imagined is Prada with their very own virtual campus. These projects use architecture to change the way we experience shopping as well as merging the design elements of fashion and construction. We see this in two different scenarios; one being the Prada flagship store in New York City while the other is a sculptural piece in Marfa, Texas.

            For the first major statement piece, Prada commissioned Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA to design their flagship store in New York City.  The building was designed to reflect the fashion and couture within. The center of the store is like the valley between two hills; standing there you find a smooth wooden hill on one side and enlarged stairs on the other. The hill contains a fold down element that serves as a stage for shows as well as display during business hours while the stairs can display merchandise or be seating for shows, films or other events taking place within the store. To compliment this design there is a large wall designated for a mural that changes with the new collections.  Another element that complements the rotating fashion designs is the use of technology within the space. Large screens along the walls and small panels hanging around the clothes show pictures and videos that relate to the themes and inspiration of the collection.  Upon the completion of this store, Prada had sparked an interest with the average shopper. Rem Koolhaas successfully created a space that people wanted to interact with and experience for themselves. That is the best kind of advertising, it isn’t a simple commercial or a nice picture that people might consider for a second and then never get around to. This project pulls them into the store and challenges the way the consumer is involved in shopping.

            The second radical move by Prada was commissioning artists Elmgreen and Dragset to create a permanently installed sculpture in Marfa, Texas. They found a comedic side to architecture in placing what is designed to look like a Prada storefront on the highway in the middle of nowhere. They kept the design simple with two large display windows and a nonfunctioning door that allows passersby to view the small collection of Prada shoes and bags chosen by Miuccia Prada herself. This is a second and very different form of advertisement through art and architecture. Instead of sparking interest through fancy modern designs in a big city, they choose the opposite approach in placing a simple, unusable space in a rural area to get people talking on the statement Prada is trying to make. In both approaches Prada is getting their name out there and expanded their art to more than just fashion, this is taking an interest in other ways of expression to showcase what this company is all about. 

Encasing History

Emma Lyne Pouch

           Architecture is something that needs to be experienced to fully understand how it works, the history behind it and the emotion it brings to those who enter. This semester has allowed for me to travel to many cities rich in history and experience architecture that I have only before studied in class. Each city has a contrast of the old and the new and chooses to approach it in different ways. Some cities are divided between an old town and new town; others integrate the two by building the new around the history of the place. The pieces of architecture that stood out the most while traveling are the contemporary buildings that are designed to encase ancient ruins in cities that are the birthplaces of major ancient empires. The best examples of this are Bernard Tschumi’s Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece and Richard Meier’s Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, Italy.

Interior: Ara Pacis 

Exterior: Acropolis Museum

            The starting point for the buildings is similar in that the architects are given a site that is deep in architectural history and they must incorporate an ancient element as the centerpiece.  For Richard Meier, the piece is the Ara Pacis, a sacrificial alter from 9 B.C. that is small enough to be boxed up and moved around but must remain along the Tiber River. Although the site is an odd shape the project was flexible as long as the Ara Pacis was properly housed and displayed. But for Tschumi the task was more difficult than simply arranging a building for a single piece. The Acropolis Museum not only houses ancient sculptures that once belonged to the famous complex but balances above ruins from the 4^th through 7^th centuries A.D. This factor must be carefully treated and therefore makes this task a greater challenge that pushes the design concepts and results in a stronger, more interesting building.

Ara Pacis: Glass Certain Wall

Acropolis Museum: Interior

            Another common aspect between the Ara Pacis Museum and the Acropolis Museum is the heavy emphasis on natural lighting. This leads to a similar use of materials specifically glass. In Meier’s design the most prominent feature is the glass curtain wall that opens up the space, allows for natural lighting and shows off the location that ties in the history and importance of the Ara Pacis. Although the design is simple I appreciate the use of the travertine and white marble which are materials indigenous to Roman and contrast yet enhance the natural lighting of the museum’s gallery space. But it is Tschumi’s design takes the use of glass to the next level. Not only does he use contemporary technology in glass but creates the ideal lighting for anytime of the day. For a museum this large that stands above it’s surroundings it is very impressive to see how Tschumi makes this work with the application of silkscreen shading. The use of glass, concrete and marble is simple and helps put the focus on the angles and shape of the building, the ruins that can be viewed beneath the glass floor, and the hundreds of sculptures housed within. 

            Each building design is a piece of art that should receive as much attention as the ruins it incases. Through the work of Meier and Tschumi we can see how a similar concept can be transformed in two different ways with many similarities but it comes to detail when realizing which is more successful. I think that Tschumi was not only face with a greater challenge, pushing him to go farther but also his use of materials and lighting is perfectly blended. He creates a space that you what to spend a whole day in just so you can experience and take in everything it has to offer.  

Cutting Edge

Emma Lyne Pouch

            In London’s Hyde Park, the pavilions of the Serpentine Gallery provide a constant change in architecture that allows for designers to experiment in making radical ideas a reality. The freedom in having no set budget and only worrying that the project can be completed in less than 6 months makes this challenge easily accepted. Looking back on the past 12 years of the pavilions, I find it interesting to see the approach the different architects take when being presented with the honor of creating a temporary masterpiece. There are two factors I recognize that divide the final outcomes of the projects, sharp versus soft edges. Although the soft edges are beautiful and fitting for the garden space, I appreciate architects who dare to create a piece that beautifully opposes its surroundings.

Libeskind Pavilion: Interior

            In 2001, Daniel Libeskind became the second architect to design a pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery and took the approach of using harsh, sharp edges. It was inspired and referenced to origami that is clear to see through the manipulation of aluminum panels. The aggressive sequence in which the metallic planes are connected makes for a space that is very similar to Libeskind’s Holocaust Museum. Within the pavilion it is a dark space that has sharp diagonal edges cutting across letting in fragments of light. Although I like the design for the museum in Berlin I feel Libeskind’s approach of this project is not as strong and not fitting for the space. The most interesting element is the use of the aluminum to reflect the light and the structure opposite from the pavilion. Clearly other designers for the future pavilion projects thought the same because this idea of reflection is repeated multiple times.

Ito Pavilion: Interior

          The following year Japanese architect Toyo Ito formed a new design with a different approach to sharp edges. What appeared to be a complex random pattern was actually derived from an algorithm of an expanded rotating cube.  The result was an arrangement of triangles and trapezoids with alternating materials. Instead of using heavy metallic like Libeskind to incase the space, Ito chose white, translucent and transparent materials for construction. This selection lead to a final result that implied purity and perfection from the white while beautifully reflecting surroundings in the glass. From within the pavilion it is light and airy in addition to providing a unique view of the outdoors from the abstract pattern, therefore creating a more inviting space that people what to experience. This soft, elegant feel contrasts the sharp edges to develop what I believe is a more successful design than that of Daniel Libeskind’s.

            In later pavilion projects this use of the sharp versus soft edges continues to appear, yet none achieve the balance as Ito’s design did. The fascinating element of the Serpentine Gallery project series is how so many ideas can be shown in this space. It is a one of a kind collection that is not only special for the architects who are able to take part in designing but also for the people who are able to engage in occupying the space.

Libeskind Pavilion: Exterior

Ito Pavilion: Exterior

Connecting the Pieces

Emma Lyne Pouch

Interior of Rucksack House

           As cities are growing and space continues to be limited, architects are forced to find new ways to produce designs that are moving forward in the new era and that are still pleasing to the eye of the viewers. New contemporary designs are vital towards progressing in architecture but what’s more important is that these projects are complementary to their surroundings. In our class lecture “Staying Together” many projects from the 2006 Biennale, Convertible City were addressed with their relation to redesigning a city block. Often in these situations architects are not given the option to tear down and start fresh with the buildings, instead they are forced to enhance the existing. The design strategies I found most engaging are addition, insertion and connection, words that strengthen the current conditions of a space. In the projects “Rucksack House” and “Polizei und Feuerwache” I uncovered the concepts of joining spaces on different scales that further define the purpose and use without complicating the original plans.

Shape and Section of Rucksack House

            Stefan Eberstadt’s design of the Rucksack House in Munich, Germany is a parasite in what it appears, as it’s simplest form. Parasites in architecture can be as simple or as complicated as you make them and in both cases can be very successful when serving the purpose for which it is intended. So when Eberstadt wanted to create a universal parasite that is prefabricated and can be easily transported, he broke it down to an uncomplicated form that balances art and architecture. His creation is a floating space that is light and open and brings a new view to the city. Its addition to the building connects any residential space to a room that appears empty but is filled with hidden furnishings. From the outside a passerby who notices the parasite sees a clear division created between the existing and the addition but from within the structures there is only a continuation.

Plan of "Polizei and Feuerwache" 

            Another project that stands out by it’s division between the old and new is the “Polizei and Feuerwache” project in Berlin, Germany by Sauerbruch Hutton. Designed as a new station for the police and fire departments of Berlin, this architecture connects a 19^th century Prussian-style structure to a contemporary design that plays with an irregular contrast. In this project we see the existing structure used as a backbone and support system to the addition, a concept that is evident in parasites but used here it a much larger scale. The greatest opposition in this project comes form the skin of geometric glass stretched over the new façade with the old brick façade emerging from the top. In plan we see how these spaces nicely join together and are reflected of one another yet it is the facade that we find the greatest division.

            These two examples from projects at the Convertible City Biennale identify with the strategies of creating complementary architecture. Although the project sizes are at a different scale they are similar in the use of addition, insertion and connection. They insert a new design and style by adding to the existing and creating a fluid connection in the plan arrangement. The divisions in space are evident from the exteriors but are nicely hidden within. As contemporary designs become prevalent, architects must continue using strategies of blending the old and new to create harmonious city blocks.

http://www.convertiblecity.de/projekte_en.html

Finding Opportunity in Unexpected Places

By: Emma Lyne Pouch

            Traveling takes you to the places you’ve always dreamed of seeing, the sites you have only been able to experience through pictures and settings that you only come across when wandering. Often times we are not prepared for the journey before us and something takes us completely by surprise. In my most recent travels to Venice, the Biennale was that experience that continued to take my breathe away as I turned every corner and ventured through each individual exhibit.  They succeeded in finding the perfect combination of lighting, materials, media and arrangement that kept my camera snapping and my eyes focused on each project, yet excited for what was still to come. The exhibition that undoubtedly captured my attention was Grounds for Detroit due to the way it took a single space and gave it a new rendition showing the opportunity to a part of the city in decay.

            This project began with five architects coming together and buying an abandoned single-family house located at 13178 Moran Street in Detroit. The house cost $500 paid in cash at auction and from there they let their minds wander and discover the potential of what that space could be. What we see of this project is not a livable home but concepts to give a new perspective to the existing. As you walk into the space you notice on the floor the original plans revealing the earlier condition. In this we see the kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedrooms that are outlined with a metal frame to represent the past as the new interiors put forward the ideas for the future.

            It is in these interior spaces where I find the most intriguing elements. They take shaping space to a new level giving it an entirely new purpose. Upon entering the exhibit we find on our right an outline of what was once a garage implied by a delicate yet dark form floating in space and casting shadows on the ground below.  It is mysterious and haunting, resembling the run down feel of the current condition of the neighborhoods near Moran Street in Detroit. But as we look to the left we see a house suggested by the mesh-covered frame, yet the first thing my eye noticed was the variety in materials. The sculpture like space creates an abstract form with forced perspective and opposing walls of wood and mirrors with slats that challenge the mind and make you question what is actually before you. As you walk around the space you find each room filled with new materials, colors and perspective that leave you wondering, “What is this?” We may not understand at first glance but it isn’t supposed to be easy. It is to spark new ideas and create a spirit for a place that is dead. To make us rethink what has so long been set in stone when giving purpose to space. This select group of architects molds a space to form future opportunities.

            To conclude this exhibit the back walls that you view before leaving this space supplies a collection of different medias that show the real transformation happening in Detroit. They put on display the new approach of architectural practice and reveal how our imagination can revitalize a city. In Diego Hernandez’s blog he states, “Architecture is cast as a means rather than an ends- a means to finding opportunity rather than solving problems- a technique that resonates with the contemporary condition of a city like Detroit.”

 http://www.archdaily.com/272445/venice-biennale-2012-13178-moran-street/

Morphing a Linear Cityscape

By Emma Lyne Pouch

            When I think of a landscape it is a view to vast, open spaces and scenery for miles and miles with varying greenery scattered throughout. Landscapes are spaces that are meant to be enjoyed at a slow place and inflict different emotions upon those who experience it. But what happens when you are surrounded in a city of millions of people where high rises are the view for miles. The idea of landscapes we originally formed in our heads has been transformed to something far different. Now we see architecture and find beauty in it instead of greenery. In these landscapes we lose the rebirth that comes with the changing of seasons and overtime the city areas’ quality diminishes. It is in these places that we have to step in and form new ideas and plans for a city.

            In New York City we find a division of spaces designated by the five boroughs all connected by bridges, tunnels and busy streets.  These elements form a moving landscape that take us through the city and allow us to see and experience the architecture at a different pace. In the late 1990s the Van Alen Prize in Public Architecture held a competition to redesign New York’s East River, taking it from overlooked to a highlight and vital space in the identity of New York City. The winner was Reiser and Umemoto whose “project proposed submerging parts of FDR Drive in order to create a continuous, linear park where the East River meets Manhattan.” This plan would bring together the diverse vehicular, pedestrian, commercial, and cultural infrastructures in a twisting manner that corresponds with the rise and fall of the FDR. The incorporation of public programming in the space breaks down space yet leaves it with the same continuing flow.

            It is this division that gives the area meaning and purpose. This theme has been studied and continues to be prevalent through design in architecture and landscape so it makes sense to see it occur when we study landscapes that are solely architecture based. In this proposal by Reiser and Umemoto we find the transition between the high speed of FDR and the low speed of the city grid. The two are interwoven in a way that the people occupying the space feel like they are part of something instead of a second thought to the traffic of the city. Those interacting with this stretch of the city can experience moments that are organized along the linear urban morphology whether they are walking along the street or merely passing by in the car.

            Reiser and Umemoto’s design revitalized a space that was once over looked and thought of as the grime of a city plan. Today the area of the East River Park allows for people to experience different views contrasting the powerful architectural designs to the traffic flow of the city and the water of the harbor along a single stretch. No longer is it a boring drive to work but a moving landscape that frames a view of a one of kind city.

http://www.vanalen.org/competition/recent/04_1998_EastRiver

Breaking and Creating

By: Emma Lyne Pouch


           In a building each room has reason and serves a specific purpose. It breaks down a large space to make it useful and give meaning. We even see this on a greater scale in city planning, a dividing of space to provide significance. With all of this organization it would only make sense to continue it into the landscape design of the surround areas. That is were a landscape architect comes into the picture. In today’s modern landscape designs we see an emersion of large spaces being broken down to create different views and surroundings. Particularly in the large cities it is nice to have a place to get away, to lose sight of the big city and have an escape. It Europe’s contemporary architecture we see the movement coming to life in places such as Paris, Bordeaux, and Amsterdam.

Masterplan of Parc Citroen

            In 1992, Gilles Clement completed the Parc Citroen project that involved breaking down 60 acres into two greenhouses, one central park area and 8 smaller gardens. Although the large open parks are what most people associate with Parc Citroen, it is the smaller parks that bring character. Each garden was assigned a metal, a planet, a day of the week, a state of the water, and a sense and then it is referred to by a color. All these factors come together to create different experiences, some soothing and peaceful, others filled with the sound of rushing water and movement. They are fabricated to produce the sense of being in a secret garden and traveling from one to another with free organic motions. But when we zoom out to see the master plan we find a clear, formal pattern with the center space reflecting the very geometric gardens in an 18^th century style. Clement broke down this sizeable open land and assembled a space filled with many emotions and experiences.

Ariel view of Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek

            Over a decade later Catherine Mosbach designs the Jardin Botanique project in Bordeaux with a similar idea and yet different approach to the concept of breaking up and dividing spaces. On this long promenade we find a mix of wet and dry land with varying types of plants. The geometric concrete path along a pond of water is broken up into many small pieces just big enough for people to weave through that each contains a different species of plant. Mosbach designs a field of cultures, individual miniature gardens that show the landscape of France over the seasons. This space is all about interacting with the space and being able to learn from it.

            Another example of dividing and repurposing spaces is the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. The park designed by Kathryn Gustafson in 2004, takes an old industrialized area and transforms it into a green environment meant for reflection and learning from the past as well as a culture center. Similar to Parc Citroen we find a central axis that links the small spaces and sites the stretch down the large acreage. Gustafson’s design also resembles the Jardin Botanique in the dynamics of vegetation and it’s use throughout the park. What is most successful about this collection of three varying parks is the breaking down of spaces. The designs are able to create different experiences within a setting that make the land more interesting and keep the people utilizing the space. 

Beneath the Surface

By: Emma Lyne Pouch

Today, Berlin is known as the central figure in the new modern identity of European architecture. The city has experienced a transformation from the Nazi architecture of the 1930s to a hyper modernist style shown by Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum. The pivotal point in this new movement towards modernism was Mies van der Rohe’s design for the modern art gallery in Berlin known as the Neue Nationalgalerie. With this project he discovered an element of architecture that would be an inspiration for other architects and their future designs in Berlin.

            The Neue Nationalgalerie’s most recognizable aesthetic conception is the steel grid roof with the glass box below. This look is powerful and expressive yet the pure geometry and transparent space leaves you with a tranquil feel. The smooth floors and open plan create space beyond boundaries as the light reflects off the polished floors. This statement in the design is what we associate with the building yet this level doesn’t even serve the main function of an art gallery. The art is all stored below ground with only a few pieces rotating on display in this glass space to give an indication of what is below and prepares the viewer for the experience. We are forced to go deeper to discover the substance of the place. What Mies van der Rohe didn’t know as the time was that is idea of going deeper would be carried into the more modern future of Berlin’s architecture.

Daniel Libeskind is the first example of using the idea of going beneath the surface in the Jewish Museum. The entire project is filled with symbolism and well thought out representation to create different suggestions and experiences for the people. From the outside we see an 18th century courthouse next to Libeskind’s modern design with no visible connection from the surface. Thus, a visitor must enter through the old courthouse and experience the underground entrance to the new building as a way to emotionally pull them into and prepare them for the experience, just the opposite of Mies van der Rohe’s art gallery going from above to below. In both scenarios we find that this change in levels can affect the experience of the visitor. If we look into these projects further we see they also use the light to enhance this change. At the Neue Nationalgalerie a visitor would go from a space letting in all light to a reserved, closed off space with soft overhead lighting. At the Jewish Museum, Libeskind carefully considered the shapes and spaces through which the light comes through as it leads the eye to voids that are not accessible. This gives the sense of the heavy history of the missing Jews and the personal stories of the people. At the end of the journey the visitor will once again be outside in natural light as a contrast to the restricted areas within the building.

In relation to these pieces of architecture in Berlin is the Holocaust Memorial designed by Peter Eisenman. He uses 2,700 concrete block structures all at different levels to fabricate an uncomfortable feel that is only further intensified by the way the light shines through the rows of blocks. An interesting element of this monument is that most of the blocks are below street level and then even beneath them is the “place of information” which resembles a small museum to list the names of those who died.

It’s this reoccurring element of going below that I find most intriguing. I often associate a great building by its height, showing power and making it stand out but these important structures head us in a different direction. They bring about this sense of emotion, a heaviness that makes you stop and think and take in your surroundings on a deeper level that you hadn’t originally prepared for. The architects’ use of light in these particular situations enriches the experience and leaves you with a lasting impression. That is what we should aim for in our own designs. Not something that gives a false sense of power from it’s substantial height but a piece that makes you go deeper, maybe not literally but figuratively. Make the visitors stop and think and remember the space. That is a successful building.