Times Square: A Patient Revolution

"Humanity may have to settle for the distinction of being the first species ever to understand the cause of its own extinction."

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s r e : e n t tion T i m S q u a A P a t i Revolu

MarissaDwyer

STRATEGY

M a r i s s a D w y e r

Product Game Changer

Architecture Thesis 2012-2013 The Pennsylvania State University Department of Architecture Thesis Advisor: Darla Lindberg

Problem Agent

H u m a n i t yH u m a n i I N N O V A T I O NI N N O V A T ACCELERATIONA C C E L E R A T

An Architectural Thesis: April 2013

r e v o -r e v o l u t i lution!

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Contents:

ADS S P O T t e r

R A o n g

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ank l K c

d S t

vity

G E R

WAY A L c e u e

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1. Abstract 2. Thesis Statement 3. Area of Focus 3.1 Theoretical Issues 3.2 Architectural Issues 3.3 Archival Review

4. Case Study and Context Information 4.1 Site History/Development 4.2 Maps/Aerial Views 4.3 Site Documentation

5. Strategy 6. Program 6.1 Program Type 6.2 Programmatic Elements

7. Design Project 7.1 Building Plans 7.2 Building Sections and Wall Sections 7.3 Final Model

8. Bibliography

A critique on the overload of society- Value and significance are being tested, including in architecture.

“the future ain’t what it use to be” -Yogi Berra

“Don’t think of an elephant!”

1.

Abstract:

t

here has always been a strong correlation between revolution and innovation, but what was once recognized as monumental moments of time is now unrecognizable. In The Comedy of Survival Joesph Meeker states that "humanity may have to settle for the distinction of being the first species ever to understand the cause of its own extinction."

The comic way is described as means of survival -not to be the hero, but just to continue living. This representation will be the foundation of a new revolution, a revolution to survive. In a world of ever accelerating life, how will humanity slow down?

Living in the “information age,” we have brought on an information overload, an overload with unproductive networks. Innovation has become recognized as expected upgrades and solutions -resulting in products. Products only add to the density of what needs to be maintained. Therefore the problem is...

We do not change what we do -our behavior.

We only change what we use -the products.

2.

thesis statement:

This thesis addresses the current condition of society- claiming value and significance, including in architecture, are being tested. The thesis recognizes our acceleration and overload, places question in our future, and seeks a “cause for pause.”

The current condition of society is that there is no threat in the consquences of innovation. The thesis claims that the preferred state is to intervene in the problem/ product cycle -with every problem, as a society, we answer with products, and therefore, we create new problems. This intervention point is where we re-write the rules to replace the product with strategy.

The program is a composition of a public opportunity that meets a Think Tank -more commonly tapped into by government, politics, and acadameia.The program is intended to spark and facilitate a patient revolution- one associated with an unimaginable occurrence, yet presented as a constantly anticipating architectural space.

The anticipation is to motivate humanity and in a “cause for pause,” humanity is intended to create reflection and restraint. In the end, the green moves beyond the building into the landscape of Times Square and that may just be how it was meant to stand all along.

2.

3.

AREA OF FOCUS:

Joesph w. Meeker “Humanity may have to settle for the distinction of being the first species ever to understand the cause of its own extinction.”

Creating models of complex systems is itself a path towards knowledge.

Comedy

Illustrates that survival depends upon our ability to change ourselves rather than our environment.

Physicist, Werner Heisenburg, states “observers are participants in every process that they observe.” So, lets not be observers!

3.

Elinor Ostrom Game 1: exposes how we can cheat the system.

Game 2: monitor is implementated in a perfect situation to catch when bad and reward when good.

Game 3: the monitor is imperfect.

Game 4: Watch the watcher!

Game 5: re-write the rules in the weak spots. Game 1 defects are information.

XPresent + 1= XNEXT

andrey MARKOV

“But we can never do n ot h i n g”

GARRETT HARDIN That which we have done for thousands of years is also action. It also produces evils. Once we are aware that the status quo is action, we can then compare its discoverable advantages and disadvantages with the predicted advantages and disadvantages of the proposed reform, discounting as best we can for our lack of experience.”

3.1 Theoretical issues:

3.2 Architectural issues:

Is it time for society to enter a new epoch? This thesis claims that it is time we need a new era.

Society has the ability to control its destiny.

Revolutionary change has the power to enter a new epoch, a new era, a new state of being.

So, how can we define a revolution in todays world? How do we recognize a revolution as a society? What anchor can we bring to spark revolutionary change?

How can architecture create a transmission point for revolution? What is needed from architecture to facilitate change? The architecture is to emulate survival and strategy, but it won’t be either. The architecture will embody the conclusions, the final strategy, but it won’t be the strategy itself. So, what can represent strategy?

What architecture will capture the process of revolution, but won’t be revolutionary itself? The architecture is not to become the “product.”

His studies show that every creature gets slower as it gets bigger, but cities start accelerating; and conclusively there is no equivalent for this in nature. This acceleration correlates to our lifestyle, where we need 11,000 watts a day (greater than a blue whale) to function. He States,

“at some point, this cycle of moreness- our increasing whaleness- is going to hit the wall,” which is where we hit our point of collapse. In past times this point of collapse has been escaped through innovation, and more recently with a shorter reprieve time. It is time for our escape to be revolutionary.

The War of 1812 brought to attention that the poor road developments of America delayed the movement of troops and materials. The inadequate system was addressed through innovation with the Erie Canal, and the *Market Revolution was sparked. From the Great Depression to WWII the country was pushed to mobilize the economy for war. By the end of WWII the country sough postwar peace through GEOFFREY WEST innovation, and the development of *Think Tanks was sparked. The trend between event and action has accelerated, causing American e used to get a big lifestyle to accelerate, leading us to a history with unrecognizable revolution every few epochs of innovation. thousand of years. And then it took us a century to go from steam engine to the internal-combustion engine.

Now we’re down to about 15 years between big innovations.

What this means is that, for the first time ever, people are living through multiple revolutions. And this all comes from cities. Once we started to urbanize,

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we put ourselves on this treadmill. We traded away stability for growth.

And growth requires change.”

Geoffrey West, a physicist who set out to solve the city, explores the superlinear scaling and positive feedback loop of cities.

United States = 15,840,000 feet wide 1 Blue Whale = 100 feet long

100

1 inch = 3,000,000 feet 1 inch = 30,000 Blue Whales = U.S. Population

4.

Innovation Revolution

1776

American Revolution

1792

New York Stock Exchange [NYSE] Founded

1825

Erie Canal Completed

1860

1914 World War I

1929

market Revolution Progressive Era

1812 War of 1812

[NYSE] Crash / Great Depression

1939 World War II 1941 Pearl Harbor

2001 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

market revolution: “The importance of all this to the expansion of the American economy cannot be understated. But, the creation of this more extended market would have meant little if American producers and consumers

5.

had not embraced its opportunities with so much enthusiasm. In fact, the real key to the “market revolution” was the ideological and behavioral shift that accompanied the construction of the commercial infrastructure.”

4. Case Study: Times Square, NY, NY s a case study, Times Square, New York, shows evidence of the very thing this thesis critiques- the information overload and encouragement of “products” as solutions to problems. One iconic feature to be challenged by the intentions of this thesis is the Times Square “zipper.” Once manually operated as a tool for sharing news, the “zipper” has become a constant and continuous feed of information.

1980

1990

Broadway Thrives: 10.6 Million theater goers

1970

Surge in Broadway Plays: Disney rehabilitates New Amsterdam Theater

New 42nd Street Development: Clean up

1928 1929

Financial Crisis=:Theaters shut down, prostitution/pornography/crime move in

[NYSE] Crash

1917

The Times Square “Zipper” news scroll activated

1904 1906

First Electric Billboard

Adolph Ochs [NYT} owner, throws first New Years Eve Party in Times Square

1800s

New York Times Headquarters moves in, renamed Times Square

Longacre Square

a

1997

6.

4.1 site history/development: Humanity is defined as all human beings collectively. Harnessing humanity at Times Square will allow this thesis to use this untapped resource to lead the people towards productivity.

I

t began in the 1800’s, under the name of Longacre Square. Then came 1904, when the new headquarters of The New York Times moved in to define the area, and renamed it Times Square. From this point forward the crossroads thrived, darkened and then revitalized.

Attached to the new headquarters is the Times Square “zipper.”

The “zipper,” formally called the Motograph News Bulletin, wraps 380 feet around the Times Tower, and in 1928 it began flashing headlines. The first headlines included: “Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith,” “President Roosevelt is dead”, etc. The accessibility to news made Times Square “New York City’s oldest news app.”

New Yorkers learned election results, the end of both World Wars, the assassination of JFK, and even in recent times September 11th.

When the Great Depression and WWII arrived Times Square took a turn for the worse. The financial crisis led to theaters shutting down, and prostitution, drugs, and crime to move in. By the 1990’s it was time to take action.

7.

The 42nd Street Development was initiated to create a master plan for Times Square re-design. Reflecting back on the initiatives Robert A.M. Stern states that,

“there was no shortage of developers willing to acquire property the old-fashioned way- through private market. They just needed government to do its core job: ensure public safety so commerce could thrive.”

The spotlights were turned on, crime moved out, and game changers moved in to revitalize Times Square. Disney partnered with rehabilitation and took over New Amsterdam Theater where The Lion King was put on Broadway.

By 1997 Broadway was thriving again with 10.6 million theater-goers.

1. noise: Humanity

at its Most

Humanity not at its best, or worstbut at its most.

A u d i e n c e * On average, 350,000 pedestrians enter the Times Square Bowtie, while another 115,000 drivers/passengers pass through by car and bus each day.

8.

:

4.2 site 4.3 One Times Square Bldg.

[81-732]

Zoning: Article VIII: SpecialPurpose Districts Chapter 1: Special Midtown District Special Times Square signage requirements

The provisions of this Section shall apply to all #developments# and #enlargements# on #zoning lots# between 43rd and 50th Streets with #street# frontage on Seventh Avenue and/or Broadway in the Theater Subdistrict. No building permit shall be issued by the Department of Buildings for any portion or all of a #development# or #enlargement# on a #zoning lot# between 43rd and 50th Streets with #street# frontage on Seventh Avenue and/or Broadway without prior submission of drawings showing that the #sign# requirements related to #surface area#, location and number of #signs# set forth in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section have been met and that electrical power is provided in amounts and locations sufficient to illuminate all such required #signs# to the illumination levels specified herein.

ADK

$2.2M TOSHIBA/ADK

$3.5M TDK/ADK

$2.3M DUNKIN’BRANDS

$3.6M

ANHEUSER-BUSCH

$3.4M

*time NEWS AMERICA/ SONY

$4.0M DOW JONES

9.

***This thesis intentionally defies zoning negotiations as a statement of value. By valuing the exterior of the building, as is the case of the vacant One Times Square Building, we are valuing the “product” more than productivity. In this defiances, value is placed back on the architecture that facilitates internal and external productivity.

$1.1M

The project will specifically overtake One Times Square Building- a symbol and host to the celebration of time every year- New Years Eve. Vibrant on the outside, yet intentionally vacant on the inside. Value is placed on the exterior “products” of One Time Square Building- as the revenue of billboard rent outweighs the potential for productivity in the interior.

N

Bldg. e r a u mes Sq One Ti

10.

5. Strategy: A Patient Revolution

What comes first the chicken or the egg?

11.

In the approach for strategy, the classic scenario of “what comes first, the chicken or the egg?� is addressed.

Preferred State: Revolution is behavioral and behavior is to take place without the influence of the innovation.

chicken egg

innovation

Revolution

People

Place

Preferred State:

Preferred State:

Egg is to develop without the influence of the chicken.

People is to develop outside the influence of place.

12.

5. Strategy:

Problem/Product Cycle: Preferred State: Intervene between the problem and the product. A product is not an appropriate solution any longer. Intervening before a product is produced will replace the product with a new entity.

[1.]

Remove “product” from model.

[2.] Replace “product” with “strategy” in model.

[3.] Therefore, strategy becomes the “product” of the problem and agent.

[4.]Therefore, strategy is the game changer.

Problem

Product

[2.]

[1.] x Game Changer

Agent

Problem Agent

Strategy Game Changer

Problem

Agent

Game Changer

[3.]

Strategy

Problem Agent

Preferred State:

13.

Problem Agent

Product Game Changer

Intervene between the agent and the game changer, The game changer is not to be its own entity. The output of the agent will be a game changer.

Strategy [4.] Game Changer

Problem Agent

Game Changer

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arrowed down to a problem/product cycle- the thesis claims the preferred state is to intervene at the point between problem and product- replacing product with strategy. As the strategy expands to all its stages, the movements begin to inform the architecture.

Strategy x Game Changer

Problem Agent

Strategy

Problem Agent

Problem Agent

Problem Agent

Problem Agent

Product Game Changer

Strategy Game Changer

14.

*pause The thesis plants a seed in the heart of Times Square with patient intentions of a harvest. The roots ground the idea and the building, and seeks a “cause for pause.�

15.

Seeking a "Cause for pause�

16.

6. Program: 6.1 Think Tank + Fellowship program

t

he program is a composition of a public opportunity that meets a Think Tank -more commonly tapped into by government, politics, and acadameia.The program is intended to spark and facilitate a patient revolution- one associated with an unimaginable occurrence, yet presented as a constantly anticipating architectural space.

Brainstorm.

Publication.

A composition of a public opportunity that meets a think tank.

25ft.

17.

"a day in the life..."

The first three floors are designated to a public detox. The entrance is a slow progression from the noise of Times Square to the serenity of the lobby. The front facade begins to protect the public as they enter and the white interior and frosted glass becomes a buffer. The public explores an archive gallery of what we once recognized as revolution and the old zipper wraps around into the building.

6.2 programmatic elements: Archive Gallery + Catwalk “Zipper� Platform Fellows Office Space Brain Table [Pause]...

Genius Office Space

The remaining floors are designed to facilitate the Think Tank. The furniture designed for the spaces suggest the intended use of each floor. The desk for the fellows in the building and the partitions are suspended on tracks for manual movement so they can be combined and seperated. The brain table, where the fellows can input their continuous work, creates an archive for themselves and such input can be displayed on a public panel.

The table for the primary genius’ of the building is twentyfive feet long to capture the whole process on their intentions- from charettes to publications.

18.

7. Design Project: Te c h n i c a l D wg s .

a y w d a B r o

19.

strategy

2. tectonics: facilitating sitesection The site of One Times Square sits on the south end of the bowtie.

20.

7.1 Building Plans: First Level D e t o x S t a i r s P u b l i c E n t r a n c e S i l e n t L o b b y 3 0 5 0 S q . F t . [ A - 3 ] A s s e m b l y

5 4

3 2

B

1

C a D

E

p u b l i c * d e t o x 21.

5 4

3 2

B

1

C a D

Second+Third Level E

A r c h i v e Example+Evidence G a l l e r y

2 0 4 5 S q . F t . [ A - 3 ] A s s e m b l y

22.

Building Plans: Fourth Level 4-4.1 F e l l o w O f f i c e S p a c e DeliberateDiscourse T a b l e 4 3 0 0 S q . F t . [ B ] B u s i n e s 5 4

3 2

1 B a

C

D

E

F e l l o w ’ s D e s k *workspace

23.

f e l l o w s *braintable

5 4

3 2

1 B a

C

D

Fifth Level E

B r a i n T a b l e N e w EvidenceDisplay 2 3 0 0 S q . F t . [ B ] B u s i n e s s

24.

Building Plans: Sixth Level P a u s e [ W a i t f o r i t . . . ]

Seventh Level ManualPartition G a l l e r y ProgressionWalk C r a n k

5 4

4 6 2 0 S q . F t . [ B ] B u s i n e s s 3 2

1 B a

C

D

E

g e n u i s D e s k * 2 5 ft.l o n g

25.

5 4

g e n i u s *collaboration

3 2

1 B a

C

D

Eighth Level 8-8.1 E

G e n i u O f f i c e S p a c B r a i n s t o r T a b l

s e m e

4 3 5 0 S q . F t . [ B ] B u s i n e s s

26.

7.2 Building Sections:

27.

28.

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30.

31.

32.

7.3 final model:

33.

3. edit: but

in the end....

The floor sandwiched between the public and the think tank captures the patient intentions of the thesis. It is an undefined space- a constantly anticipated one- which in the long view may be revealed by the manual opening of the facade. The anticipation is meant to motivate humanity and in a “cause for pause� it is meant to create reflection and restraint.

In the end, the green moves beyond the building and into the landscape of Times Square, and that may just be how it was meant to stand all along.

34.

8.0 bibliography

Architecture of Consequence: Dutch Designs on the Future. Rotterdam, Netherlands: NAi Publishers, 2009. Print.

Hardin, Garrett James. The Tragedy of the Commons. [Washington, D.C.]: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1968. Print.

Here The Cooper Carry Magazine: Space Concerns. New York, NY: Cooper Carry 2005. Print.

Lehrer, Jonah. “A PHYSICIST SOLVES THE CITY.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Dec. 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t. html?pagewanted=all>.

Meeker, Joseph W. The Comedy of Survival; Studies in Literary Ecology,. New York: Scribner, 1974. Print.

Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.

Sorkin, Michael. All Over the Map. Brooklyn, NY: Verson, 2011. Print.

Workbook- the Official Catalogue of Workshopping: An American Model of Architecture Practice. New York, New York: 306090 Inc, 2012. Print.