YES2021 – Studio II in Architecture – 5/5 (Amiot)

(un)COMMON GROUND A SEARCH FOR AGGREGATED URBAN DWELLING BASED IN HEDONISTIC HETEROGENEITY

STUDIO II IN ARCHITECTURE EVDA 682 / ARST 444 WINTER 2021 SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING, AND LANDSCAPE (SAPL)

INSTRUCTOR: VOLODYMYR (VLAD) AMIOT COVER: Collage of site synthesis drawings, all students in studio.

Beginning in the Enlightenment, Western societies extolled the virtues of the scientific method in its ability to produce knowledge both rationally and systematically. Very quickly, this form of knowledge production overtook other more “obsolete” and subjective ways of knowing. According to Georges Bataille, scientific progress became associated with a bourgeois “productive” constituent of society and its tendency towards “homogeneity,” whereas the “nonproductive” element of society was described as “heterogeneous.” While scientific knowledge assumed a privileged position, other ways of knowing were subject to censorship, as they might result in unproductive outcomes like violence, excess, delirium, and madness heterogeneous elements that surface when the rules of homogeneous society are broken. This censorship cemented the power of the privileged class while simultaneously masking other forms of knowledge production and the social classes to which they were associated.

Since heterogeneity operates at the scale of the society as a measure of diversity, fostering heterogeneity can be regarded as a social issue of inclusion. Whereas the Modernist agenda attempted to homogenize both site and human experience in the interest of finding a universal formula for architecture, this studio strove for its antithesis an architecture that promotes, accommodates, and celebrates heterogeneity and its opposing viewpoints, potential paradoxes, and incongruent adjacencies. During the course of the semester, we: searched for the latent, the aberrant, the curious, the fantastical, and the absurd in an effort to find, understand, and magnify marginalized views; used these as a lens through which to understand the site and “ground” of the project; and crafted an architecture that negotiates this diversity in an attempt to find new “commons” - alternative urban power dynamics that question existing political constructs and allow the pleasures of heterogeneity to be celebrated.

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VERONIQUE ULRICH 8

In this studio, we were tasked to discover and question the curious within our site of MillicanOgden. These initial discoveries then inspired the rest of my studio exploration, where I examined the themes of claiming space, calling attention, creating connection, and disrupting society through the interventions of architecture. Each of these themes developed differently throughout the three phases of the studio; however, all questioned the topics of heterogeneity, pleasure and the idea of the commons. In addition, the proposed architectural interventions offered an alternative to dwelling in an urban setting and provided a future condition that would reclaim the commons or public space.

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SITE EXPLORATION Through the initial site visit and synthesis drawing, I discovered that, in many cases, the community infrastructure was programmed as one thing and then used as something else. I then went back to the site with this lens to try and uncover more intimate situations of this occurring. That is when I discovered Bentley.

Subjective site mapping

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Bentley is this character I created after finding the name written throughout multiple places in the site. She used common forms of community infrastructure, like stop signs and lamp posts and mailboxes, and has written her name on it to claim sections of Ogden and let people know of her presence through the marks that she left. This character acted as the primary inspiration for the rest of my studio.

Subjective site map categorized

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URBAN DWELLING The narrative that I created for Bentley shaped my understanding of the dwelling unit. Therefore, instead of one physical space, I viewed the dwelling unit as a variety of spaces or tools that would aid individuals in their unique approach to living and being. For Bentley this meant, creating tools and spaces that would allow her to perform, create, clean, dispose of, cause havoc, gather, feel safe and move.

Rendering of dwelling units

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To create a connection between each dwelling tool, I sent clear design parameters, with the first being that each item would be used to alter the programming of a specific piece of existing infrastructure. I also wanted each of these items to be dependent on the infrastructure it was using. Finally, I wanted to play into the concept and the pleasure associated with claiming something that is not necessarily yours.

Isometric of dwelling units in site

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SPECULATIVE OBJECT The goal of the third project was to create an object that would ultimately reclaim the commons. In this section of the studio, I examined how the power of calling attention to yourself and letting your presence known plays into the concept of the commons.

There is great power in the ability to call attention to oneself and make one’s presence known. It is a way to draw interest to a place and individuals and can be used to bring people together and foster connections within a community. They take back the commons by creating a place where they can be seen and acknowledged and create a catalyst for future relations.

Like my last project, I wanted this object to take a common piece of infrastructure and transform it to serve the individuals in the community.

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Speculative object being used in the community

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A NOMADIC FUTURE As our world becomes more digital, individuals are no longer required to be in one spot for work or school, which has given them the freedom to re-kindle an inner nomadic desire.

This desire is primarily driven by the pleasure of new experiences and relationships. My final project questions what a nomadic future may look like in Millican-Ogden’s urban setting. This future was initial inspired from the first phase of the studio when I discovered Bentley. I wanted to create a dwelling that explores the idea of claiming space, calling attention, creating connection, and disrupting society.

This nomadic future occurs over time, first with a couple of units that appear in a parking lot and then find their way to each for a momentary spark of connection. As this lifestyle becomes more popular and more units appear, a

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scaffolding structure is deployed to continue to foster this community and commons of nomadic individuals.

The structure is made out of scaffolding because it adaptable and can be built upon or taken away as the demand shifts. Besides providing space and utility to these units, the structure also offers communal elements such as a kitchen, workspace, stage, skate boarding ramp and climbing wall to further inspire collaboration. Therefore, the structure is open and invites the community to take part, transforming the asphalt into a place for life.

The units themselves are small and lightweight not only so they can be easily hoisted up into the structure and transported from city to city but because it forces the individual out into the commons.

Units being transported

Units converging over time in Millican-Ogden

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spaces

play

relax

circulation

Elements of the structure

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utlility

Scaffolding structure assembly sequence

Experiential rendering

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Section through scaffolding structure

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Sample floor plan

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Winter rendering

Night rendering

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CAILTIN CAMPBELL 24

The enclosure of the commons has created an imbalance of power that undermines the autonomy of the community by rendering a shared resource scarce. My work explores a renewed idea of commons and embraces heterogeneity. Early on I explored the idea of erasure – a homogenizing force present in Ogden. Within the community, I identified that there is a desire to preserve but also to erase history. This developed into a line of inquiry that questioned who has the right to be visible, and who or what is made invisible. Culminating in my final project, I explored the trend in society to hide all cleansing activities from public view, which was apparent in Ogden through the historical demolition of public laundry facilities.

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SITE EXPLORATION Through my site analysis, I identified that there is a desire to preserve and erase in Ogden. While the community has a strong desire to preserve certain histories, there is also the desire to erase others. Ogden has a close relationship with the Canadian Pacific Railway, with many residents describing it as an old friend. However, this history is often put into token placeholders that are divorced from the actual history. These instances appear across the community and take different forms, but each alludes to a specific history.

Subjective site mapping - elevation

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In my site synthesis drawing (previous page), I placed emphasis on the large, ugly, unfiltered version of history. I combined historic images with the “new” monuments that are expressions of Ogden’s history. By blacking out certain areas of the image to heighten and conceal different elements, the monuments become entwined or indistinguishable from the authentic images.

Visually, they are turned into the industrial shards that they are trying to erase.

Through my research, I began to explore different narratives in the community in order to better understand the complex history of the place. Some of the interesting stories I found included the collection of well water from a standpipe, winter sports happening on a rink in the CPR property, and tales of riding the streetcar. I also discovered that there were a number of shops along Ogden road that have been demolished, their purpose effectively erased, including a public laundry, which is to become the focus of my future projects.

Subjective site mapping - plan

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Rendering of dwelling unit

URBAN DWELLING Through the site analysis, I discovered that there were a number of shops along Ogden road that have been erased. The public laundry is one of the buildings that has been demolished. The history of washing is closely associated with water which has social and cultural importance.

The power of water to clean, to detach what sticks to people, to their clothes or their streets,

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gives it the unique ability to collect traces of daily life, that is, to preserve. For this reason, I decided to engage the ritual of cleansing in my urban domestic unit.

Section through dwelling unit

Through the shifting of ground planes, my architecture attempts to unearth these specific histories or daily rituals that existed in the community. The sunken courtyard becomes a place for gathering, where the community may engage the cleansing ritual. Taking the shape of the former laundry, the void in the ground represents an absence made visible. As one

moves down the steps, they are taken back in time. Since the building no longer exists, history is accessed through engaging in the act of washing one’s clothes or body.

The dwelling unit itself acts as a space to perform private rituals such as sleeping and bathing.

The private bath is located on the same ground

plane as the public courtyard. The water levels align and draw from the same groundwater source, conceptually connecting the two spaces. The dwelling attempts to negotiate between the present and the past. It is dug into the ground, partially hidden, but rises towards the anticipated LRT line to the East.

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Speculative object being used in the community

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SPECULATIVE OBJECT Daily ritual, which used to play out in the space of the commons, has become gradually more private. The individual has become increasingly isolated from communal participation, with instances of social interaction occurring mainly in the privacy of the home. My speculative object attempts to bring a private ritual – cleansing – back into the public sphere. The object serves as a vehicle for transporting clothes to a laundry. It becomes more stable when used in groups which encourages interaction between neighbours and friends. The object will be deployed in multiple locations throughout Ogden but finds its home at my future site which will be in close to the Ogden Hotel and the LRT line.

Today laundering is domesticated, but it has never really been integrated into the domestic space. Everything concerning laundering – from washers and dryers to laundry baskets – is hidden in peripheral areas of the home and was never assigned a place of its own. There is a trend in society to hide all cleansing activities in these back-stage areas of the house: the kitchen, the bathroom and the toilet. Laundry has been relegated to those parts of the house that are hidden.

My object disrupts this trend by bringing these “cleansing activities” back into view. The transparent glass container of the object allows us to see what lies inside.

While the object points to a physical commons, it also engages a social commons that is based on communal participation in a public ritual – in this case, laundering.

Speculative object transporting laundry

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(IN)VISIBLE BODIES This project questions what parts of life are made visible and more so, who or what is made invisible. (In)visible bodies disrupts this trend by bringing the private cleansing ritual back into the public sphere to create a sense of commons.

(In)visible bodies is a multi-residential building composed of living units complemented by a public program that takes the form of a laundry and bathhouse. The baths and laundry play an important community role stripping the user of clothes and social distinctions. A space in which everyone is naked, social hierarchy begins to break down and the commons is restored. The new building fronts Ogden Road and is in close proximity to the anticipated Green LRT Line to the East. The glazed façade presents the “back end of life” by revealing the items associated

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Plan - ground floor

with living, specifically clothes. The project embraces heterogeneity, placing the clothing of the community on display. The laundering and bathing process are also revealed. As one moves through the public space, one follows a procession from clothed to naked which is paralleled in the living units. The baths provide a space to relax and soak the body while the clothes are washed, and the sauna offers a space to rest while the clothes dry. Curvilinear forms cradle the body and hide it from view while alluding to the cleansing activities happening inside. The body and associated cleansing rituals are made both visible and invisible.

Site plan

Plan - first floor

Plan - second floor

Plan - third floor

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Elevation of proposed building from Ogden Road SE

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Section of proposed building (through bathhouse and laundry facilities)

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Axonometric of first and second floors

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Axonometric of two adjacent dwelling units

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Program diagram

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Rendering of building entrance

Rendering of laundry

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MORGAN POSSBERG 40

How can architecture combat the commonly felt feelings of loneliness, lack of control over our lives, and lack of feelings of enjoyment / pleasure that many 21st century dwellers feel? Explorations of alternative ways of dwelling and living in a city were done with a focus on fostering feelings of belonging and ownership by the community and individuals. Fostering the commons as a place of equality, a place to learn, and a place of safety is more important than ever in our hyper capitalist, anthropocene reality. Through the commons the dweller can gain a sense of self worth, gain back more control over their life, and introduce more pleasure without capitalistic guilt back into the world.

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SITE EXPLORATION Through the process of abstraction and collage an exploration into the community of MillicanOgden was conducted. From this exploration it was discovered that three forces exist in the community; Nature (the other), Industry, and the common people who live in the residential areas of the community. These three forces are not always opposing, but not always at peace either. There are points in the community where they overlap and work in conjunction with each other, and there are also areas where there are scars from previous “wars” between the forces.

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There are monuments scattered throughout the community at various points which at times document the stories of these three forces, other times they only document the effects of one or two of the forces in the community.

These monuments (whether or not they were intentionally intended to be a monument, it does not matter) have a lore; the community has stories about these spaces, and has a collective memory about them.

Subjective site mapping

Definition of monument: 1. Monuments are spaces or things which sit outside of space and time - they are separate.

They sit in another world and yet we see them all the time. They are a part of our fabric, but a separate weave.

2. The community may have assigned the monuments a meaning or a purpose which may be different then their initial intended one.

Subjective site mapping

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Rendering of dwelling unit

Rendering of dwelling unit

URBAN DWELLING The circumstances to become a community monument: 1. The community has to have some sort of ownership over the space actual, or in feeling.)

2. The community has to feel welcome in the space, and it has to be a space which allows for communal experiences to happen.

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Rendering of dwelling unit

Through an examination of the community a set of 4 primal needs was identified for the urban dweller in Millican-Ogden: A place for contemplation, which could potentially be libraries, bedrooms, or observatories. This could be constructed of scrap metal and scrap glass or plastic to create a quiet contemplative space for the community.

A place for ritual, which could be bathrooms, kitchens, or chapels. This would be constructed of milk crates, locally sources if possible, as well as canvas, ties and a rain barrel to collect water for bathing etc.

Rendering of dwelling unit

A place for sharing, which could be living rooms, or areas around a hearth. This could be constructed of wooden palettes in a Stonehenge- like form to create a space for gathering and sharing.

A place for making which could be studios, kitchens, workshops, or garages. This could be constructed of wooden palettes and scrap metal to form a small “village” of studio-working spaces for the community to use.

Materials used in the construction of these spaces which fulfill primal needs for the people of Ogden should be easily accessible both in cost and sourcing for the community - materials that could be salvaged, many of them from the industrial area in Ogden. There should also be a low skill set requirement to the use of the materials - the building processes should be easily done by the community with a group of people at different knowledge and skill sets when it comes to construction. This will allow the community to build and source materials themselves, and feel as if these structures are “theirs”.

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Speculative object being used in the community

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SPECULATIVE OBJECT The kiln serves as a community gathering space, a place for elders to share knowledge and skills as a way and as a place for people to use their skills to carve out a place for themselves on the fringes of capitalism. It can be used in many ways: clay firing, glass firing, baking bread, for metal work, as a shelter, as a source of light and heat, or as a gathering and storytelling space.

The construction would be made of simple bricks, which could possibly be reclaimed locally, and a construction process simple enough for the community to take charge and create themselves without the need for outside forces.

The kiln itself would act as a commons for the community; a space where people of all ages, genders, experience, are welcome to come and use. However, it would foster and allow community leaders to emerge to share knowledge and stories with those who are less experienced or younger. This knowledge sharing is another type of commons. Finally, the heat and light emanating from the kiln itself is the third type of commons.

Model and illustration of speculative object / kiln

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THE BRICKWORKS This project explores ways to create spaces which foster feelings of community ownership and belonging - something that is not static and has the capability to spread to the community at large. It takes pleasure in storytelling, and the ability to become self sufficient, and therefore less reliant on capitalism to fulfill needs, wants or pleasures. The common spaces becomes a training ground for useful skills to earn incomes on the fringes of capitalism.

The structure is composed of locally sourced / salvaged bricks and rammed earth from the project site itself - the common space inside the structure serves as a studio space with a large kiln for the uses of the community and residents of the structure - a way for them to create an income through craft - baking, pottery, glasswork etc.

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Render +Informational diagram

Programming diagram

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Site plan and informational diagram of residential structure

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Partial model of 1st floor of residential structure

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MEGAN TAYLOR 54

This project began with a site analysis of the community of Ogden and was intrigued by the claims of ownership made by the community through objects. It explored how the objects left behind narratives of desire, and how they were able to transcend property lines. The project then engaged the pleasure of curation, display, and ownership.

It explores the idea that, through life, objects are a medium for nesting, safety, and expression.

The project appreciates the heterogeneity of the objects that can accumulate. It also aims to extend the life of objects and values the push towards a circular economy. The project revisits the idea that the display of objects has the ability to affect more than the single unit. It is this agency of the object that can lead to the perception of enhanced or diminished property value based on neighbours. This project amplifies this display through celebration to challenge this notion.

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SITE EXPLORATION Walking through the community of Ogden in Calgary you find a place that is home. It is evident that these people have claimed ownership to their property and beyond.

There is an ease at which the dwellers express themselves and their desires. Something about each dweller is project-ed onto the house or the landscape. In an area where the income status is

Subjective site mapping - plan

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lower, people use objects to express ownership and signify claim from their neighbors. These ideas framed the way in which the site was analyzed. It was a curation of objects that each told their own story. These objects were an accumulation of the life of Ogden. The objects that were found throughout the community then pieced together a narrative of the true life

and desires of the dwellers. The manifestations were abstracted into the theatrical stage play

of “life.”

Objects were moved on and off the stage to communicate aspects of the day. Common theatrical techniques such as mirrors were used to amplify the narrative of the found objects.

Subjective site mapping - elevation

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URBAN DWELLING ACT ONE The found objects created narratives which were pieced together in a fantastical world to carry out the play of “life”.

Desires of the objects were used to drive the design of elements of the stage. The imagined stage was an ordinary street in the community of Ogden. This was done to communicate how the objects on one house affected more than just that one.

ACT TWO The objects have an ability to transcend property lines. This leads to the belief that your property value can be appreciated or depreciated by your neighbors. The community of Ogden didn’t seemed to fall victim to these societal hindrances. The project as a whole celebrates this notion. These images show the dwellers objects existing in the commons of the street, reclaiming the idea of community.

ACT THREE At this point the objects were things which the dwellers acted around. It was about the life of the dweller, impacted and influenced by the object.

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Plan and model photos of Act 1 stage set

Plan and model photos of Act 2 stage set

Plan and model photos of Act 3 stage set

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Speculative object being used at LRT station

SPECULATIVE OBJECT Construction of the fantastical stage brought some confusion and needed a step back into reality and practicality. The previously discussed themes of claim of ownership through display, cu-ration of objects, and blurred property lines all became the driving force of the community intervention.

The intervention I designed was a clear locker for the future Ogden Green Line station. The clear walls give it a display case feel to communicate the celebration of the objects housed inside. The walls between the compartments are also clear to show how objects in Ogden bump up against each other to change the overall narrative.

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Some of the theatrical stage techniques like mirrors and vanishing point compartments were used to amplify the narrative of the objects.

Placing these lockers at the train stations gives those passing by a glimpse into how Ogden is challenging the social norms of perceived property value and is instead celebrating the objects of life

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East building elevation

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ACCUMULATION OF LIVING The proposed building celebrations the accumulation of objects as a curation of living. Here things like electrical wiring, gray water pipes, hot and cold water pipes, and garbage are all objects of living and thus are on display. Window cut outs on the left hand dwelling side ex-pose pipes and a clear garbage chute that mimics a bar graph displays the amount of trash each unit accumulates. The elevator is also clear on this facade to show how and when objects move. The project celebrates objects and

allows them to dwell alongside people. One side of the building is storage units and the other is apartment units. The first floor of the apartment side contains a second hand store, and refurbished furniture store to lengthen the life of the objects and disrupt the linear economy of objects. There are also donation areas on this floor for people to move objects from their apartment or storage unit that they don’t use anymore. A single object will have a long life in this building.

North elevation of residential building

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Program diagram

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Axonometric lighting study of unit

Each apartment unit has a small storage area that overlooks the LRT plaza. It is made of double two way mirrors on the front and back and regular mirrors on the sides to amplify the accumulation of the objects. The use of the two way mirrors change the condition for sight into the storage unit for different times of day

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Circulation of objects on the first floor

Circulation of objects on upper floors

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Building section

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Exterior view of building from LRT plaza

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Exterior view of building from Ogden Road

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BRODIE-LYNN FINLAYSON 70

The overarching theme of the studio was exploring ideas of the (un)commons, which deeply lies in much of my research throughout the semester. During each stage of the course, I thought about topics within the realm of surveillance through different approaches and lenses that allowed me to produce a variety of uncommon architectural projects. These uncommon grounds created narratives around how the increasing degree of surveillance in our society may be incorporated into our future dwellings and commons. The reoccurring pleasure in my research lay in (un)consciously playing with was the desire to see and to be seen, while simultaneously examining the role of powerful surveillance networks. A sense of irony lies within my studio work this semester where I exclusively completed site analysis and explorations through the powerful surveillance networks that I was trying to undermine in my projects.

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SITE EXPLORATION In early exploration stages of the site, I collected my “Cabinet of Curiosities” through Google Street View in hopes to find any heterogeneous elements or areas that peaked my curiosity. Through this lens I initially found an interest in looking at the urban context that was a neighborhood undergoing stages of gentrification and what the future of the

Subjective site mapping

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community may look like. My synthesis drawings reveal the unknown areas that resulted from visible open plots of land or the programs censorship algorithm. These blank spaces became an area of heterogeneity in my research and sparked a desire to unpack these spaces further. Digging deeper in explorations and collection I came to a realization that the

site I was searching was maybe not the right method, but how I was exploring and collecting the grounds was a more interesting approach.

Primarily documenting and diagramming what was known and unknown for a user in Google Street View became a valuable tool for me to understand where architecture and the commons could inhabit. Through this process

of discovery and mapping, I captured the place of dwelling by creating my own spatial story or narrative beyond the physical architecture. As the architect in my project I can only force so much on the personal act of dwelling, and in turn Google’s algorithm can only tell so much to the architect.

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Speculative object being used in the community

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SPECULATIVE OBJECT Focusing my findings and approaches to heterogeneity now to how they exist in the commons and what power dynamics lie within the project, created a more tangible architecture for this phase. Shifting from Google’s Street View censorship algorithm effects, I immediately found curiosity in the science behind Faraday cages to create an object that spoke to my concept of digital surveillance.

Physically modeling iterations allowed me to experiment first hand with the materials and their effects on our devices, which was a valuable opportunity for me to understand how the commons may react and live with my object. Additionally, this theme forced me to think deeper and question who holds power in our society and what the future conditions of this may look like. The implementation of my object proposes to reclaim a part of our commons that we rarely experience in our contemporary society, a complete digital cut-off.

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Section of residential structure

THROUGH A LENS OF SURVEILLANCE Throughout the semester my projects and ideas aimed to undermine the overpowering and growing digital world to create new types of commons for future dwelling conditions. In the final project I incorporated all of the aspects of surveillance I have collected through my explorations and continued to add more elements through architectural design. My design thinking throughout this process included working with relevant program spaces, effects of materials, and the human experience of the space. The desire to see and to be seen is an affordance that my project provides to the community of Millican-Ogden, while simultaneously compromising the power digital surveillance has over commons. This project tells a

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future narrative of how architecture can achieve alternative approaches to surveillance that is a conscious act among the commons. Surveillance in our society today has only grown larger and become more overpowering in our daily routines. Whether through our phones, computers, cameras, or internet connection, there is an ambiguous authority surveilling our activity and voices behind the screen. Some may describe the condition of our digital age as a game where we are unconsciously the pawns. With this, my project is designed to undermine the power of the “Big Brother” networks through altering the roles of who is allowed to surveil. Within the project these spaces of equal opportunity to observe creates a place where the

community can physically and digitally engage with one another. Every program is designed to have an inverse relationship with surveillance; a reason to watch and to be watched. With this desire to see and to be seen, the project aims to celebrate the people of the community and encourage engagement on the site. Embedding this theme in the design, challenges how social comfortability and approaches in architecture may be shaped with the growing integration of surveillance in our daily lives.

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Plans and rendering of residential structure

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Front render of structure

Back elevation of structure

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Views of building mediated by surveillance technology

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CORINNE OSMANSKI 82

The projects I created during this studio explored accommodating heterogeneity through affordances. Commons, to me, is a multifaceted term that encompasses both spatial relationships and human connection. To consider commons is to consider the intersection of physical properties and social consciousness, creating architecture with purpose. Personally, I believe power belongs to those with options. That is why my projects contain transformative properties, to allow the user as many choices as possible. Architecture that supports and empowers independence, especially within a community, has the capacity to change the world.

I enjoy addressing social topics with provocative design. I hope these project spark conversation.

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SITE EXPLORATION During this process of site analysis, I found that I was attracted to places that many would not consider places. I latched onto the idea of place making through experience. I was very intrigued by the idea of personal experience dictating whether these non places are actually places.

They change over time, as claims over spaces deteriorate and are claimed by something else.

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Exploratory site collage - Anywhere Millican Ogden

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URBAN DWELLING The Shopping Cart Shelter was a passion project for me. I was obsessed with the idea of a daily object transforming into an anywhere shelter. It was a challenge to design, but I enjoyed adding as many options as possible for use.

This project is aimed at providing temporary shelter for low income and homeless populations. The shopping cart provides a sense of independence for the world. It can be transformed into a shelter, chair, merchant space, and even a private shower. By providing options, I intend to give power back to the user.

Shopping Cart Shelter - unit aggregation

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Shopping Cart Shelter - exploded assembly diagram

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Shopping Cart Shelter - transformation states and sequence

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Future C-Train

Site plan

CUBED Cubed is an architecture targeted at providing options through unconventional living and working spaces. It is sited at the intersection of Ogden Road and 72nd Avenue, next to George Moss Park and across from the future C-train line. This location is ideal for any kind of transportation. The ground floor provides multiple options to the residents and visitors.

The east spaces are intended for merchant space, so that residents have an opportunity to sell goods. The southwest corner is a community garden, and the northwest block is a free trade community library with fixed public bathrooms in the middle. Centrally located, a park rental allows visitors and residents to rent equipment.

Axonometric of architectural proposal

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The beauty of this project is that it gives affordances to everyone. On levels above the ground floor, spaces are rented in 3 meter by 3 meter increments that can be enclosed by flexibly deployable and configurable wall units.

The floors can accommodate anywhere from 1 to 30 units. The residents can chose whether to share communal spaces like kitchen, living, and bathrooms, or to maintain a traditional unit. Adjacencies and spatial configurations are based on available space at the time of rental. An interest list is maintained within the residential community, and as space becomes vacant, the next in line on the wait list may choose the location and amount of space they wish to rent.

This allows for extremely unconventional ways of living and working. Socioeconomic segregation is stripped away here, where penthouses can exist next to dormitory spaces or offices.

Wall unit base condition

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Wall unit with double deployed shelves

Wall unit with single deployed shelves

Wall unit with retracted shelves

Door unit

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Various configurations of endlessly flexible floor plan

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AWANI KHATU 96

In this studio, the idea of heterogeneity as a felt experience was explored. Themes of comfort and discomfort in the urban realm evolved into an examination of the pleasures and displeasures of sharing an urban public environment. This was applied in the finding of the commons in Ogden, as a place that facilitates sharing, that brings to light the experiences of comfort and discomfort to challenge static and closed off notions of homogenized urban life. The commons was revealed to be a facilitator of a shared lived experience that engages the other who is welcome to take part in the sharing that happens between barriers.

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SITE EXPLORATION Through beginning to question systems beyond the quantifiable, the method of analyzing the site through an experience was a new way of interpreting the world. The ideas of comfort and discomfort was the basis of questioning why we feel the way we do in certain urban environments. Was this play between comfort and discomfort to be maintained in order to preserve the heterogeneity in Ogden?

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Subjective site mapping - experiential elevation

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URBAN DWELLING The site was approached at a subjective level. Places of comfort and discomfort were mapped. The moments of pleasure and displeasure were then translated into pieces of architecture, to generate a unit that produces moments of positive and negative alliesthesia. The unit becomes a collection of elements that induce comfort and discomfort from the whole of the community reflecting the heterogeneous sensations in Ogden that generate positive and negative alliesthesia. The program becomes the cabinet in which traces of the curiously comfortable and uncomfortable are collected to serve as inspiration for discrete moments of architecture.

Dwelling experiential vignettes

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Front elevation

Interior experience

Side elevation

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SPECULATIVE OBJECT In this project food will be developed as a commons through a community garden “module”.There will be no policing to allow for people to exist and interact as they please in order to create a judgment-free zone. This is to serve the purpose of “Mutual aid rooted in solidarity not charity”. Opportunities for interaction within the commons exist within the activity of gardening as part of a community. Anyone can come, anyone can garden and anyone can take the food grown there. The idea of commons as a judgment-free zone will be executed through the precise siting of the module such that those who are approaching the garden with the intent of taking something do not feel apprehensive. Here, alliesthesia in the commons works in the sense that space is shared with various actors who come from different backgrounds with different experiences. The psychological comfort of the community is accompanied by the slight discomfort of the mystery of operating within the public urban realm. It’s everyone’s garden now.

Community garden infrastructure

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OGDEN COMMONS Ogden commons strives to incorporate the nurturing associated with gardening into architecture that facilitates a routine of its nurturing in a shared manner. As a multi unit cohousing community, it centers on the sharing of life and more specifically, the sharing of food.

Food is the commons that drives the purpose of the housing. The proposal is complete with a community kitchen, rooftop garden, greenhouse, community living, laundry and separate living units. Within them, parallel spaces create room for others across from you to partake in the story of food without the imposition of a physical barrier. The community fridge, pantry and table exist as these equally accessible spaces that offer the sharing of produce or a meal in an open manner.

The units themselves are analogous areas that have the possibility to open up to converge into a larger shared area that is nested by individual kitchenettes. Pleasures and displeasures are experienced through the sharing of life, the slight discomfort in baring the interior of your space that’s accompanied by the pleasure of peering into someone else’s.

The form features the additional program of an open market, accessible from the street in front of it and the future Ogden LRT Station behind it allowing for people to directly circulate through the commons. The market behaves as a place for exchange between local producers. Exchange of food is additionally expanded through the implementation of time and energy as a viable object of exchange to acquire fresh produce that is grown in the greenhouse: available to anyone who can lend a helping hand.

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Axonometric of building

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West building elevation

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South building elevation

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Interior rendering - community garden and kitchen

Interior rendering - shared eating space in units

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ZAINNA DILAN 110

In the time we live, social isolation has become the new norm due to the pandemic. Fewer connections are created, and the less intimate they have become.

By examining the commons of belongingness, individuals are given the power to shift the effects and take back what was lost. It is more so now that we should focus on designs that allow for collaboration and socialization due to the lost time we had as a result of the pandemic restrictions. By focusing on design integrations to allow individuals to share new experiences, create new memories together and pleasures, we allow our community to reignite the lost time and rekindle a feeling of belonging and home again.

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Subjective site study

SITE EXPLORATION By not going for traditional diagrams or maps, it allowed me to learn something new. It allowed me to better communicate my ideas and thoughts through this new process. In a way, it allowed me to tell the story of this part of Ogden how Mom N Pop shops or other small businesses, has this similarity to an atmosphere of a home. It helped me to get started on my exploration for this studio which is the recipe for domesticity.

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URBAN DWELLING Located at the heart of Ogden, the research is on creating a dwelling where businesses can absorb characteristics of homes. Spaces can then be always be used and not wasted. The dwelling lives a double life, as a business and a home.

Vignette of urban dwelling

One of the approaches was modifying these structures. By blending the boundary between exterior and interior elements, it provides visibility to the place, as well as bringing in the public into the private space.

Another method of blending the boundary between exterior and interior were these movable walls to provide guests and residents multiple entrances into the place, and visibility.

To further enhance the idea, these elements are then connected to other elements, making them multi-purpose in terms of ways of living, rather than just being isolated objects. It would encourage more guests and customers to come into the area and create an inviting atmosphere.

Vignette of urban dwelling

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Vignette of urban dwelling

Vignette of urban dwelling

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THE PLAZA How can we encourage an open and public space in such a private space? What is the recipe for domesticity that enables individuals to be more open and vulnerable in such a public space?

Intending to tackle the social isolation that has increased over time, the project encourages individuals who live alone to engage and connect with other people in different ways through architectural elements and programs.

It gives them various opportunities to connect, share experiences, rekindle memories, and make one big “home” with other individuals. It’s a place where they will be more open to each other as it pushes them to immerse themselves within the community.

Exterior rendering of building

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Site plan

Building from above

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The Plaza provides the residents a small and simple unit. This space only allows them to store their basic needs and provides them with essential items such as a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and small living space. Individuals are then limited to bring in any “wants” into their unit. Instead, heir desires will be shared among other individuals, resulting in this communal living space. This strategy encourages them to leave their home, whether it’s to do an activity that requires more room to do or simply out of boredom.

By driving away their “wants” out of their home and putting it for the public to share subtly pushes them to connect with other individuals through various occasions. By encouraging a communal usage of activities and spaces, it enables them to engage and work together, contributing to that sense of community and celebrates the coming together of the community.

Program diagram

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Perspectival section through public spaces

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Communal lounge area

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Rooftop patio and gardens

Communal kitchen and dining area

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This rendering shows a laidback public movie night atmosphere, where everyone can sit anywhere, grab their chairs from their homes, and bring them out and enjoy the company of others.

Exterior rendering at night from street

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AARON CHEN 124

This semester’s work was driven by the idea that architecture may act as a portal to transport us, at least psychologically, to distant worlds. The projects explored the potential of bridging two conflicting human states - the reality and immediacy of the urban environment, and the pleasure of escapism in contemplating that which lies beyond, in an architectural “elsewhere.”

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Subjective site mapping

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SITE EXPLORATION The project is about the desire for leaving.

Ogden is a diverse neighbourhood and the longing to be elsewhere is strong. The German word ”Fernweh,” literally farsickness, describes the urge for distant places.

Rendering of dwelling unit

Subjective site mapping - plan

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URBAN DWELLING In the dwelling unit, the whole structure tilts based on the occupant’s movement, making the occupant only able to see it but impossible to reach it. The rocking motion amplifies the desire when the person tries to get closer to the sky: the view will change from sky to the moving trains and light rails, one connects to the world, the other to the city. At the inside, the use of water is the for the physics of the structure and to formulate an island-hopping experience. The water will follow the bodyweight of the person and the pontoon islands will float up, creating an feeling of staying at the same place.

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Sections of dwelling unit

Rendering of dwelling unit

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Rendering of Speculative Object

SPECULATIVE OBJECT The project is about silence and contemplation. The sky is a symbol of somewhere else, somewhere else that we all long for. There lies a seductive place at the blue of distance. The desire for the distant is a reflection of our lives. The bus shelter is an observing device where people can come in and escape from the world we are living in for a moment, and dream about the sky. Time slows down in here. The shadow of the sky opening shifts slowly following the movement of the sun. The sound of buses and people’s footsteps comes and goes. To appreciate the passing of time and observe the wordless thought is all for cultivating inner peace.

Acoustics

Circulation and views

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A NEW WAY OF DYING Humans, like many other creatures, will die eventually. From the moment we die, we are saying goodbye to this world, and saying hello to the next. Death is not the end of life, but the start of another journey. Where do we go after death? Is it the heaven above or the hell below?

Or somewhere else we can have another life?

Our body doesn’t belong to us anymore, but our soul stays with those loved us. The project deals with the afterlife differently from traditional

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burial practices. Rather than seeing death as the gloomy final destination, it accepts death peacefully and enjoys the pleasure of being somewhere else. The body is transformed back into earth after the funeral in the decomposition pods. The spirit turns into a tree planted in the cemetery. By living together before and after death, a community of afterlife is formed and death is no longer a terrifying idea.

Aerial rendering of residential structure

Aerial rendering of residential structure

Rendering of residential structure

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Section of residential structure

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