CASE STUDIES ON THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGIES IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN FABRIC

Master’s thesis research

The reason why I started this research was my admiration of the music and a great desire to go beyond the negative connotation of this cultural movement. I perceived it as an explorer. I was surprised to descover that it all began in Detroit, USA, as it was a hub for electronics production, but at the same time place of extreme segregation and marginalization of Black people.

Berlin

The advent of my research coincided with the pandemic, and I landed on an article describing the importance of this music to the Berliners and how it resulted in a kiosk for streaming.

Case study on borders

Berlin, Germany good-bad good-good

Belfast, Northern Ireland search of individuality and expresion through music

Factors that led to the techno culture outburst in Berlin

1. decadence (for example, segregation led to extreme and spatial separation)

2. existing material border - the Berlin wall that generated a powerful desire for runaway

3. opposition of ideologies where one of them is perceived as good and the other as bad

4. critical group of individuals in transition that want to construct their own ideology marginalized communities in search of identity

References

Nightlife, in popular culture, brings to mind leisure, debauchery, narcissism, excess. But when you talk to the people most involved in the scene, that is not at all how they describe it. They talk about transcendence, healing. They speak of the soul.

- a quote from a magazine article

Characteristics of Tempelhof airport area

An island is any object lost in an endless extension of a uniform element. As such, the island is isolated. The island is by definition remote, separated, intimately alternative. The island is elsewhere.

San Rocco Magazine: Islands

Cocepts appropriated by Gilles Deleuze”s Desert Islands open-closed fortress wall illusional access experimentations with models

O. M. Ungers’s “Berlin as Green Archipelago” the project consisted of approximately sixty isolated “urban islands” floating within the ocean of open spaces surrounded by the Berlin Wall continental island - a fragment, a remnant in the city’s urban fabric; could be explored and understood through its connection to the environment and history oceanic island - an autonomic system whose outer borders relate equally to the outer world in a defensive manner

Typewriter “Olivetti”

Olivetti and his ‘human city’ - industrial city measured by the human

Around the production of the typewriter, Adriano Olivetti built a whole community. He created his understanding of an utopian industrial city, with giant windows and the bright spaces.

Nearby the dwellings for the workers were located, and apartament design was caarefully conducted. Overall, this is a positive approach that evolved around technological mass production, but it reflected positively on assembling architectural spaces and narratives.

Objective

The research aims to explore cultural phenomena rising from the rapid technology development in the context of the 21st century and its influence on transcultural environments.

In addition, it questions freedom in the context of constant influences and the information overload directly related to creating a sense of self and belonging to space and communities.

If, in times of the Cold War, techno music is a way to free oneself and non-identify with an ideology, now the individual is challenged to seek unceasingly external self-association.

The research framework sets off from the example of the industrial revolution’s provision of new experimental tools that combined with human creativity, led to the invention of a unifying music style (techno music)

Defining modern (contemporary) forms of commoning and the spaces they occupy.

Variety of tools

- interviews to gain a broader perspective through people’s personal experiences

- onsite exploration and experiments

- visual and audio archives

Target group

Varies in terms of age, social identity, religion, etc., depending on the investigated context

References

The metodology will not depend solely on phenomenological approach but will use it to some extend.

By developing his extensions, man has been able to improve various functions. The computer is an extension of part of the brain, the telephone extends the voice, the wheel extends the legs and feet. Language extends experience in time and space while writing extends language. Man has elaborated his extensions to such a degree that we are apt to forget that his humanness is rooted in his animal nature. Man has shifted evolution from his body to his extensions and in so doing has tremendously accelerated the evolutionary process.

-The Hidden Dimension Book by Edward T. Hall

When

defining new forms of phenomena or inherited ones and their transformation

WHERE starting point observations and places brought through the master theis research

- leaves room for discovering locations or entites in the process

-squated places

-reference to practicies in my own country

-East and West Germany

Contrast as tool

Perceived contrast is crucial for triggering change and is a quintessential part of human nature.

Architectural morphologies and their symbolic meaning will be questioned, interpreted, and documented.

Buzludzha, Bulgaria

- publications archives

- architectual magazines

- architectual zines

This part aims to investigate further the information blackout in the Cold War and compare how we relate to historical events 30 years later when we have further understanding.

It would focus on censorship and mass media as a tool to navigate popular beliefs.

It would further explore the role of propaganda through architectural design and how it enhances firming borders on a political and ideological level rather than developing peculiar styles.

Possible outcome

-Ground of further exploration of the topic;

-Models or typologies that could benefit communities in transition.

Dear Members of the Evaluation Committee,

My name is Stanimira Getova, and I am applying for the Doctoral Position in History and Theories of Architecture, Technology, and Media advertised on the website of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

I am currently working in an architecture studio called Studio HO_ RA based in Sofia, Bulgaria. However, on January 30, 2023, I defended my master’s thesis project, “Island of Desire,” which examined the sociocultural conditions in Berlin that resulted in the outburst of techno culture and its influence on the built environment. Working on this challenging project allowed me to work on a subject that aligns with my interests and pursuits to positively influence people and their surroundings through noticing and consciously exploring contemporary problems.

My visit to Berlin enabled me experience the place and address problems that otherwise would have remained overlooked. Therefore I believe a personal approach is essential to comprehending the intricate combinations of conditions that led to a particular architectural and not only issue.

The project resulted in a proposal to reuse Tempelhof airport but keep its symbolic meaning and structural organization of the area, characterized by an opposition between the center and periphery and the appearance of the building as a giant protective fortress. I gained further knowledge of historical events, building techniques, and advanced engineering constructions such as the 40 meters span console.

During my Master’s degree I successfully further expanded my analytical and theoretical skills. That said, I would like to mention that I noticed repetitious themes in my projects that ended up being my field of interest and inquiry. I have concentrated on archetypal elements and forms in architecture, such as towers as the spiritual vertical axis, gateways, defining healing space for humans as an atmosphere, and gardens in their iconic sense. Furthermore, I have always been passionate about how architecture shapes a person’s perception and culture, poetical interpretations of space, and morphology.

My academic education includes a variety of theoretical courses, practical design projects, modelmaking and international internships. In the first year of my Master’s studies, I executed an Erasmus internship at the Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy, where I worked on group projects in multinational teams. During that experience, I molded my work ethic and conveyed personal opinions without being vigorously assertive or forceful. I think this quality is of utmost significance for any advancement to occur.

What’s more, I believe diverse experience and ideas.coming from people with different backgrounds is much more beneficial and would result in better project quality. Also, I have learned to manage my time efficiently since I accomplished projects on several topics with other international students, each having a different working routine and flow.

In addition to my teamwork background, together with a university colleague, we have conducted a workshop for the European Assembly of Architecture Students in 2021. It was named “Hidden existence” and consisted of the theoretical and experimental part focusing on experiencing different realities, in this case, the one of a blind person. We designed four different scenarios of home organizations and let the blindfolded participants explore them. We witnessed different results, but the most intriguing was that the most organized linear space provoked a contemplative effect and caused the people to feel as if they were part of the prosecution in a sacred space as we had placed the sofa, candles, and blankets at the end of the room. In contrast, the most chaotic one carried out the inner child of most of the participants, eliminated any inconvenience, and pushed them to explore childish curiousness in the space.

Due to the mentioned appeals and the proximity to my graduation, I am presently probing for new challenging prospects. Consequently, I would suggest a research idea in coherence with the publicized topic based on ‘‘Emerging cultural phenomena concerning technological advancement and its influence on people and the built environment in borderline conditions.’’ I notice it as an incredible opportunity to broaden my knowledge.

Moreover, I am confident that moving abroad and working in diverse research groups worldwide is an enriching experience for both partakers and contributes to the knowledge exchange and the ongoing research dialogue. Therefore, I see this opportunity as the possibility of earning a greater degree of maturity by reinforcing the skills I already have, and cultivating new skills in a multidisciplinary environment could consolidate my prospect as a researcher and my long-term career.

I am highly motivated to start a new career path and benefit the architecture research field. I trust that my resume, academic history, and personal interests will be relevant to you. Thank you for your time and your consideration of my application.

Yours faithfully

,Stanimira Getova