growth and decay add up to a larger arrow of cultural evolution under which the arts of writing, agriculture, handicraft, construction, and trade and government advance towards more complex networks of interde- pendence. One useful idea that has a risen as a result of this cultural advancement is democracy. Nearly a universal goal, it has become the global lubricant for the proliferation of trade and culture. However, locally democracy can tend toward decentralization which appears to make an argument for fragmentation.This makes its appearance in demands for local con- trol over schools, infrastructure and building codes. This decentralized democracy also has a visual component that seems to prefer the jumble of individual buildings to singular images that represent a con- nected whole. In its less benign form this decentralized democracy can form isolated groups such as communities surrounded by gates, or need-specific buildings surrounded by barriers of parking and roadways which suppress the interaction of diversity, trade and culture. If Shaw- nessy Centre is the result of our increasingly complex culture, would it
not be best to accept the inevitable and embrace this place? No. At this centre we can see only the emerging evidence of evolving cultural needs.These will require tact and thoughtfulness from the design com- munity, among others — for right now it is far from a good solution. It is not enough to mimic the past, as has been done in the New Urbanist communities, the problem is in accepting the virtues of fragmentation while combating its tendencies to isolation. This necessitates innovation in form (see, for example, Harvard Design Review, Summer 1999, ‘Hous- ing and Community. Spaces of Democracy’ by Richard Sennet). The theme for On|Site 7 acknowledges the evolutionary environment under which design and architecture occur. Each writer, architect and student in this issue has taken a critical and ingenious view of this condi- tion. Through varied topics such as transforming skins, processes, prac- tices, perceptions and form, this issue looks at the role of architecture in transformation.
Tom Strickland graduated from TUNS in 1997 and practices architecture from High River, Alberta. Currently he is curat- ing an architectural exhibit for Art City and is guest editor of this issue of On|Site.
tion des structures, les proces- sus, les pratiques et la forme, cette question vient révéler le rôle que l’architecture vient jouer dans la transformation.
formuler une argument en faveur de la fragmentation. On voit cette tendance apparaître sous forme de demandes visant le contrôle des écoles, des codes liés à l’infrastructure et aux bâtiments. Cette démocratie décentralisée com- prend aussi une composante visuelle qui semble accorder une préférence au méli-mélo d’immeubles individuels au lieu
des images singulières qui tentent de représenter un tout relié. Sous sa forme la moins bénigne, cette démocra- tie décentralisée peut mener à la formation de groupes isolés, telles les communautés entourées de clôtures, ou les immeubles visant à répondre à un besoin précis et entourées de barrières de stationnement et de routes qui viennent
supprimer toute interaction avec la diversité, le commerce et la culture. Le thème de On|Site 7 vient reconnaître l’environnement évolutionnaire sous lequel la conception et l’architecture se produisent. Chaque architecte qui a dû traiter de cette ques- tion a examiné cette condition de façon critique. Par le biais de sujets variés, tels la transforma
T ransformations
O n S ite review
5
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator