scale and its lethal ability to dehumanize chicago neighborhoods
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
1/8
SCALEAND ITS LETHAL
ABILITY TO
DEHUMANIZE
CHICAGO
NEIGHBORHOODS
A MANIFESTO
WRITTEN BY
MATTHEW
MCGRANE
MID 50111/21/2009
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
2/8
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
3/8
3|P a g e
anobject. Itisaboutintimacy. Thepokeyartofcraftanddetailinabuildingissomethingthat
isconsideredcostprohibitive,andundetectablefromthespeedatwhichwemove. However,
weareindangeroflosingourownidentityasaresultofexpediencyandefficiency. Oncescale
islost,itwillbedifficulttoretrieve. InIntimus,thechapterentitledHome:Territoryand
IdentitybyWisemakesthefollowingassertion:
Theprocessofhomemakingisaculturalone. Theresonanceofmilieusandterritories
areculturalinthatthespecificexpressionofanobjectorspacewillbedifferentially
inflectedbasedonculture. Cultureismeaningmaking,andsothemeaningeffectsof
theaggregateofwhatIamcallingonesmarkers(onespersonaleffects)reflect(though
notreflect,ratherinflectorcreate)cultures1.
Wisewasreferringtointeriorspaces,butthemeaningextendstotheexteriorexpressionof
onesspace. Ifcraftandexpressionisaninherentpartofapersonshomeinteriorinsome
formoranother,doesnttheexteriordeservethesameconsideration? Doesntthatexpress
whoweareasacommunity,asacity?
UNIQUE BUILDINGS
ATTRACT UNIQUE
BUSINESSES
LetsbeginwiththecommercialstripsthatarethelifebloodofmanyofChicagos
neighborhoods. Therewasatimewhenthesehadoutpoststhatwerenestledamong
residentialbuildings,offeringthehighestconvenienceto
residentswhowerewithinstepsofwhateverproductwas
beingsought. Thesewereliterallyoneveryblock,along
withother
small
industry
buildings,
warehouses,
hospitals,andschools. Cheapfuelpricesalongwiththe
automobilekilledthese,andtheyhavebeenconverted
intoresidencesthemselvessuchtheonepicturedhere. It
wasamixedusefantasylandwhoselessonswewouldbe
wisetoremember,withpeopleseverincreasing
necessitytocommuteandworklongerhours. Worklife
integrationisavaluethatcouldeasilybeexpressedthroughneighborhooddesignandsmall,
mixedusebuildingsservingtheneedsofitsneighborsateverycorner. Assmallretailers,they
arenotpresentlyveryparticularlyfinanciallyviablespaces,butitiswithinthecitysinterestto
enable
them
and
their
independent
businesses
with
every
opportunity
available
to
enhance
the
attractivenessoftheentirecityitself. Theycouldbequitesuccessfulassmallofficespaces,
whichwillreintroducepeopletotheareaduringdaytimehours,graduallybecomingthe
mixedusefantasylandthatitalreadyoncewas.
1Intimus,InteriorDesignTheoryReader,EditedbyMarkTaylorandJulieannaPreston
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
4/8
4|P a g e
Modernmixedusebuildingsarepredominantlylocatedalongmajorthoroughfaresbecauseof
thefootandautomobiletraffic,butculturallythenewbuildingshavenotbeenparticularly
successful. Onceagain,thesearedeveloperdrivenprojectsthat,whiletechnicallymeetingthe
heightrequirementsofcodeandneighboringbuildings,aredismalfailuresfromascale
perspective. Theyarethesamemutestructuresthatpepperturnofthecentury
neighborhoods,but
often
have
afootprint
that
takes
the
place
of
56former
small
buildings.
Thisisadangerousprecedentforaneighborhood,andallowingevenforexceptionsforthe
footprinttocreepupmeansinferiorizingitsneighbors,allowingscaletocreeptowards
megastructurewitheachpassingiteration.
CASE STUDIES 2:
RETURNING TO A
HEALTHY SENSE
OF HUMAN SCALE
LouisSullivan,
in
his
writing,
OrnamentinArchitecture,statesthat:
.Ishouldsaythatitwouldbegreatlyforouraestheticgoodifweshouldrefrain
entirelyfromtheuseofornamentforaperiodofyears,inorderthatourthoughtmight
concentrateacutelyupontheproductionofbuildingswellformedandcomelyinthe
nude. Weshouldthusperforceeschewmanyundesirablethings,andlearnbycontrast
howeffectiveitistothinkinanatural,vigorous,andwholesomeway. Thissteptaken,
Original neighborhoodcommercial buildingsmaintained a strong sense of
independence, while expressinga close-knit dialogue withneighboring buildings. Thesetypically contain unique smallbusinesses that are specific to
the neighborhood.
Modern commercialdevelopments have the samedesign problems as
residential buildings, butthose problems areexponentially increased bythe mere issue of their size.They also tend to attract
national corporate retailersand businesses.
These new developmentsare also miserable to walkpast, with cheaply
considered design andnothing to engage thepassersby.
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
5/8
5|P a g e
wemightsafelyinquiretowhatextentadecorativeapplicationofornamentwould
enhancethebeautyofourstructureswhatnewcharmitwouldgivethem.2
Modernarchitecturehasnocharm. Ithasboldness,butitistheboldnessofasledgehammer
ratherthantheboldnessofintimacy. Intimacyrequireshumancontactandisanexpressionof
respectfor
its
inhabitants.
Intimacy
ages
with
grace
and
poeticism.
Modern
design
eschews
suchnonsense.
Wehaveseenmodernarchitecturewithoutornament,butitis
notgoodarchitecture. LovelyolderformsofVictorianbuildings
havesometimesbeenstrippedoftheirornament,butretaina
graciousexistenceinspiteoftheirruinedstate,suchasthe
examplepicturedhere. Whatisleftisgeometricalmasses,
puncturing,variouslysizedwindows,layeringstrategiessuchasa
porch(whichhasafunctionalpurposetoshieldpeoplefromthe
weatherandactsasatransition,somethingmanynewbuildings
haveforgoneinthepursuitofmodernism),awelcomingentryfor
visitorsandahintofexoticism. Couldsuchconceptsfindtheir
wayintoanewformofbuildingforthecityofChicago? The
birthplaceoftheskyscrapercouldbecomethebirthplaceofa
newresidentialdesignthatreengagespeopleandplace.
Itisimportanttostressagainthatscaleisnotaboutsize. Badly
scaledbuildingscanbequitesmall,evensmallerthan
surroundingneighbors. Whatismissinginthisbadlyscaled
exampleisthequalityofcraftsmanshipanddesign,adialogue
withcommunity
and
accommodation
for
its
inhabitants.
There
aremanywaystoappropriatescaleintoabuildingthatcouldbe
exploredhereandwillbediscussedlater,andwhileothermeans
mayalsoexist,wehavereachedapointwhereitisbettertobuild
nothingthantodangerouslydisregardthelessonsofscale. Thetimeforexperimentationwith
earlyInternationalstyleandBauhausmodernistformisoverithasbeenafailure.
IDEAS FOR
INJECTING SCALE
INTO BUILDING
DESIGN
Thereareseveralwaysofreassertingscalewhichshouldbeimplementedintonewdesigns
immediately.
2ArchitecturalTheory,VolumeII,AnAnthologyfrom18712005,EditedbyHarryFrancisMallgraveandChristina
Contandriopulos
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
6/8
6|P a g e
This photograph is anIllustrationof blocky volumedevoid of layer,ornament, color,art, and natural light into the bathrooms.
It is wildly out of scalein footprint,height, andform.
ORNAMENT
Thereisnothinginherentlywrongwithornament,inspiteofthetoxicwritingsofmodernists. It
isanexpressionofskillandissomethingfortheeyetofalluponanddelightin,makingthedaily
experienceof
walking
apleasurable
one.
It
brings
joy
to
the
monotony
of
daily
life.
Such
pleasuresarenotnecessarywhenthatexperienceismadebycar,whichthemodernistswere
designingfor. AdolphLoosinparticulartookaperversepleasureindenyingmanofhis
fundamentalanduniversaldesiretomakesomethingdecorative:
Myshoesarecoveredalloverwithornaments,whichresultfromnotchesandholes:
workwhichthecobblercarriedoutandwhichhewasnotpaidfor. Igotothecobbler
andsaytohim:Forapairofshoesyouareaskingthirtycrowns. Iwillpayyouforty
crowns.BydoingthisIhavemadehimhappyandhewillthankmeforitbythework
andmaterialswhichwillnotbearanyrelationintermsofqualitytotheextra
amount.andnow
Isay:
But
there
is
one
condition
which
Ihave.
The
shoes
must
be
completelysmooth. Bythat,Ihaveplungedhimfromtheheightofhappinesstothe
depthofTartarus. Hehaslessworktodo,Ihaverobbedhimofallpleasures.3
3ArchitecturalTheory,VolumeII,AnAnthologyfrom18712005,EditedbyHarryFrancisMallgraveandChristina
Contandriopulos
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
7/8
7|P a g e
LAYERING
Levelsofspacecreatedthroughlayeringarean
excellent
way
of
producing
scale.
But
those
levels
must
haveboundaries,orelseitisnotalayerbutaspatial
volume. Noteinthisexamplehowthecolumnssit
proudofthebalconywall,andhowthebalconywall
itselfislayeredbydifferentdepthsofbrickbanding.
Theporchsystemitselfisthenalayer,andthelayering
systemasawholeisdetailedandcomplex. Asimple
flatmassdoesnotachievethesameeffectitdoesnot
interesttheeyeinthesameway.
VOLUME
Ratherthanendlessfieldsofflatplanesandrectilinearangles,volumetricmasscanbeeasily
incorporatedintoabuildingthatismeaningfulandinteresting,andbreaksthemonotonyofthe
box. Itcanexpressafunctionandcreateintimatespaceswithinthatareexpressedwithout.
LIGHT
Thisconcept
is
absurdly
simple.
If
the
bathrooms
dont
have
windows,
then
the
building
is
out
ofscale. Naturallightandventilationmusthavetheabilitytopenetrateallareasofthe
buildingbyanymeansnecessary. Itisgoodfortheenvironment,goodforthepocketbook,
goodforthehealthofpeoplelivingthere,andwillcreateanappropriatelysizedbuildingof
humanscalethatlivesandbreathesonitsown.
COLOR / ART
-
8/14/2019 Scale and its Lethal Ability to Dehumanize Chicago Neighborhoods
8/8
8|P a g e
Greatcaremustbeexercisedinincorporatingcolorandartintoabuilding,butitcanbe
extremelyeffectiveinareaswherecolorisdesperatelyneeded. Giventhatthereisadriveto
createtheflashiestlandmarkintheneighborhoodwithmanymoderndesigns,colormustbe
appliedwith
an
extremely
careful
hand
and
only
in
the
appropriate
context,
something
that
residentialdesignmightnotbereadyforjustyet.
QUALITY MATERIALS
Lastly,thequalityofthematerialmustbehigh. Thebestwaytoenhance
anexistingecosystemistointroducesimilarmaterialsratherthanforeign,
buttheforeignapproachdoesworkincertainenvironmentsandshouldbe
consideredas
away
of
developing
anew
neighborhood
of
unique
componentsandstyle. Inanycase,thebuildingshouldbeconstructedina
waythattimeandweatheringeffectswillnotdetractfromtheappearance
ofthebuilding,butratherwillenhanceit,lendingitasoftness. Ifthe
claddingmaterialisntmeanttoagebuttobereplaced,itisafailurefrom
ascaleperspective.
THE TIME IS NOW
Ourneighborhoodsareindangerofbecomingsuburbanizedanddevoidofthequalitiesthat
havecelebrated
aunique
spirit
and
have
been
characterized
by
small
scale.
To
disallow
the
elementalpropertiesofaneighborhoodthatwelovebyrefusingtoincorporatethoseexact
sameelementalpropertiesisdangerous,irresponsible,andarrogant. Modernismhasfailedour
citiesandourneighborhoods,anditistimetoreclaimthem.