human being on Tue, 16 Dec 2003 16:38:42 +0100 (CET) |
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Re: <nettime> Time to Remaster the Master Plan |
On Friday, December 12, 2003, at 07:17 PM, martha rosler wrote: > here are some further thoughts on the tower plans. but you cannot > seriously be suggesting that those truly awful towers be rebuilt. As a > New Yorker I don't care how many people sentimentally or definatly > choose the option of repeating a mistake. I am not even remotely > pleased with libeskind's proposal and find the freedom tower moniker > an annoying and embarrassing bit of populist bravado, but let's get > some architecture here, not the last gasp of an ill-conceived > modernism, thankyouverymuch. (and why is this stuff on nettime > anyway? wrong kind of architecture) > > martha rosler <snip> responded to Martha's good post offline, to try to explain, yet feel that acknowledging publicly that the post sent may not have been properly clarified as to why it was nettime specific is a good point and thus share why so in brief, as it is important to qualify some of the basics... 1) i sent the URL because the issue has been engaged on nettime previously, which i participated in, and so it was assumed there was a basic literacy of architecture to make a connection. the investigative report somewhat confused a private proposal for the site with a reporting of the process, and these were easy to confuse in the first URL but not the second one, which was fantastic in describing the use of digital imagery to change the scale of the buildings (in computer-generated perspectives)- basically, the point that images can lie, and the computer and digital aesthetics can do the same when supporting architectures which are based on aesthetic ideas alone. and that this is a transparent example of the vacancy of modernism as an ideological approach, seen in what is being proposed as the 'master architecture' of ground zero, the 9/11 memorial, etc. and that nettimers of theory and conference settings often invoke architecture, so it was thought an architectural literacy exists on the list in enough complexity to derive the basic meaning, but still it should have been prefaced with falsifying online polls, false proportioning of computer renderings, et cetera, and this was mentioned by myself on this list at the time (polling data being managed, etc.) as was the idea of an open-plan, open-development, open-architecture for the site plan, which is now being called for-- which was sent to the NY NJ Port Authority for these public purposes, as part of the networking aspect of architecture, it could be compared to tactical media but it seems it is not of the same assumptions as a form of information beyond its aesthetic use for legitimating a view of the world, instead of a complex understanding and reasoning of built ideas. the open site plan: http://www.electronetwork.org/bc/GZ/ 2) in addition, after sharing correspondence another view of the same data was made, along with an essay which further describes these efforts to bring open-development, open-planning, networking of communities and public- and private-sectors, for the cultural foundation at GZ. this is nothing short of a challenge to establishment architects and is in effect an ultimatum, either there is change or it will collapse into utter failure-- architecture needs to now change its power center, change directions, or if will fail. architects will choose sides, the status quo or change. and it will be seen who is left standing, who is going to concede and join the efforts of change and open- and collaborative- development, and those who want to go on with this charade, fight, and lose. as such, this is the battle of ideas, online and offline, which has been going on for awhile now, and a bloody or bloodless coup is in the offing for the architectural establishment in the .US-- do the right thing or get out of the way, out of the schools, and out of the profession, as change is coming.... plus, hell's bells by AC/DC is repeatedly playing on the radio, so there is a theme song for what is going to go down... design-l post: new WTC zoning/site plan (img) http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0312&L=design-l&O=D&P=3771 diagram/image: basic zoning concept: http://www.electronetwork.org/bc/GZ/4.jpg ** site plan (2001) open zoning concept, sketch 12-13-2003: http://www.electronetwork.org/bc/temp/zoningsite1.jpg [related to:] memorial 'design' issue ....post follows: Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:03:53 -0600 Sender: "Basic and applied design (Art and Architecture)" From: human being <human@ELECTRONETWORK.ORG> Subject: memorial 'design' issue something dawned on me which i'd like to share, i believe it is a basic and fundamental flaw in the approach to the WTC and 9/11 memorial design as it now stands... and i think it results from what the difference is between art and architecture, to add in that the memorial is being approached as if it exists in an architecture context, which is itself actually being presented in terms of being 'Art', at the same time the memorial contestants are in an environment which can be approached as a kind of architectural or artistic vision, yet also which is then defined in terms of memorial "Architecture" -- while neither actually exist in the planning of the site itself-- and this makes apparent the lack of a depth of architectural knowledge in the memorial in addition to the lack of it in the site development as it defers to the abstraction of art- there are too many unknowns in the equation, but answers are given as they are imagined, all dependent upon a non-existent consistency in the fabric of place. if, instead, the ground zero site planning were to considered in terms similar to those of precedent, such as the Acropolis, this is today's equivalent in terms of what is needed, necessary, and how it should be approached to reach collective vision. there is neither art nor architecture in the process, so far, as the culture it represents cannot represent what is actually unique at the site, to history, to the epic story and scale of human action. by building in ideological terms for both the memorial and the surrounding area, it extends the ideas which are part of the problem, unreflective development of some subjective universal said to be modernism, instead of modern, it is retrograde ideology which bases itself on itself for its rationale: bureaucracy. this 'discourse' is an architectural one. no one was saying that 'art' was what fell on 9/11, it was a direct hit on western architectural ideology- and ideas- and instead of building on the resilience of the ideas, it is instead being rebuilt on the ideology that is, has and will continue to fail to provide the human context for the issues we face together. that is why, as a type of planning approach, the Acropolis is a better model than the Roman Forum, in terms of the regeneration of something unique to this place and time, not as a derivation of previously successful planning patterns. this is a one of a kind place, not a repeatable site, as such it should be treated as such-- and all the arts and sciences should be involved-- yet when it is a question of 'context' and the site planning, it is not the domain of artists to design the buildings, it is proposed, as the full knowledge of the issues such as energy, economics, transport, politics, materials much exceed that of a work of art, as a model for site planning of the Acropolis precedence model. this is to say that even the memorial should be one of architectural construction, an architecture of a quality that responds to what has happened and does so with full appreciation of the questions at hand with the site, the history of architecture, the history of architectural aesthetics of the WTC, the issues of zoning, land-use, development involved in the previous and current processes-- and then to build in this fully embedded context what is an architectural response to the tragedy of 9/11 and the WTC with a force of architectural ideas versus those of physical violence through architecture, and a memorial and redevelopment which is a failed attempt at an equally oppressive ideology. this is the central battleground in the 'war of ideas' about what is good about society, people, today. beyond the definitions of any one group or cause. it is what is meant to unite, and can do, if honestly realizing what connects and is of shared value. this is to make the greatest urban and civic space in America which resolves issues between public and private realms, if only temporarily, to build upon what is known by all who have had a chance living in free society and have a chance to do something. that is a shared quality, it is not individualism that turns into celebrity, it is not one building of many, it is of a city, of a scale that is now a world-axis. and this axis could tie the axis of evil to it in the perpetuity of ill-fated charlatanism, or it could instead become an axis for the regeneration of improvements, self-reflection, but also evidence that we are free enough to challenge, to change, we are strong enough to do the right thing, and we will not lose this battle at any cost, no matter how long, the public will strive to survive with a value that transcends a simple capitalization of ideas, to sell these out for the ideology of money. the private definition of the questions are easy to answer in terms of the past, they are no longer questions, only architectural or visual aesthetics. this is something else. this is structure, this is of values, this is beyond surface, beyond mediation of insurance repayments, this is beyond simplistic height of accomplishment and its ruse to sell the future another day, while it falls apart before our eyes. this is about the earth, about the ground, about connecting with where things are at, with the environment, with the physicality of ideas and their impact-- and architecture is the discourse in which this is happening-- and today, sadly, not yet happening, in order to respond with what is unmistakeably self-evident-- everyone loves NY. even in al Qaeda country-- that american dream that is the real thing- the idealism that can, with the collective will of individuals, make it into the realm of larger realities, without the need for a religious invocation of morality certainty upon which to decide actions, while respecting the right and truth of the private worlds of ourselves which may transcend what is otherwise transient. this is the .US' architectural response to Osama's architectural statement-- and we have neither the architecture nor the ideas to win this war of ideas with the force of ideology and power of aesthetics. this question is about truth, about reality, about the complex situation we face, and our success-- or FAILURE at winning this war of ideas-- so that those posters of the greatest place of our time is known throughout, sought throughout, to visit as a force beyond words, beyond worlds, beyond a simple vision, which transcends throughout the public and civic sphere with a historical gravity the full weight of this question and its response. it is the duty of the city, the state, the nation, and the world to get this right, as it can bring about transformation at the scale of ideas to do direct battle with the false premises which legitimate terroristic acts, and even misguided anti-terror campaigns in a language unrealistic to what is now faced-- and this is not a single artwork, it is an idea which has many forms, many translations, many representatives, yet the 'architecture' is one that only an architecture of such a dimension can succeed at developing, not to rebuild the old but to rebuild the new, also, to reframe the questions, and propose a better world in which to inhabit. architecture, and architects, can do this, together. education is central, key, and core to the process. of students, professionals, citizens, relationships. this is the time to do the impossible, to go beyond, to make it happen, at any conceptual and physical and mental cost-- to do what is right, needed, and necessary. all architectural licenses in the .US should be voided if this does not happen-- as it is the 'civic' duty and 'cultural' responsibility of every architect to invest their skills in making sure this is the outcome, it is a question of integrity of such dimension it cannot be ignored as architectural aesthetics, as massing, as transportation-- it is a philosophy which will rise from memory and from the hands, from the fundamental actions of composing ideas in buildings, nature, and the environment they create together, as manifest of greater ideas, greater goals, greater good than now may otherwise exist in built forms. this is not a competition-- this is a realization of the value that is shared-- and to propose the best development which organizes around this idea. the idea of a public realm, the idea of religious tolerance, of multiple perspectives, views, and vantages. it is to bring about, through reflection, a regeneration of a better approach, yet also a triumph of the human spirit which exists in the world today, and needs to find itself prominently of absolute value at the Ground Zero site-- it is the idea that is the architecture, not only images. and the ideas are of epic proportion, epic scale, and are now to be distorted in mistaken lessons, in unquestioning righteousness, in brazen self- celebration and vacancy of the truth before us. this is a call for an architecture, a total and new architecture, not of architects, but of ideas, with an architecture that engages the questions in the ways they have been received, reflected upon, though yet to be communicated in built form, as ideas, -- this is the chance -- this is the time to fight to the last person to get this right-- to stop the process is equivalent to destroying a possibility of change in the near term, and this change is going to come about by working together and doing what is in everyone's best interest- in some way- to recognize the scale of the issues, their importance, their value, the possibilities afforded us by the loss of others, and we still are around-- we can do something to change the outcome- and we must try to do everything to go beyond the stalemate and get to a conceptual resolution of ideas, of a basic philosophy of approach, of shared values and interests, and to build and see this being built, and allow everyone to participate in this sphere. it is architecture which can triumph over tragedy, with the arts, yet it is an architectural response to 9/11 and the WTC disaster which is needed, and it is not a simple question of rebuilding what was there, it is a question of how to rebuild, and to do this primarily through architectural aesthetics, to not allow references to the depth of the field in which this context emerges, and to expect any- thing less than mediocrity is naive and unworthy of being built in this great space. it is architecture which is needed, it is a plan which is greater than that of any one designer, which has a logic which is cultural, which is shared, and is envisioned in many ways and on many levels of experience. it is both the extension of the ideas of classical origin in the present day, the background they provide for meaning, in addition to the inclusion to date of other cultures into a modern fabric of ideas, of shared civic space and values-- that are deteriorating all around us today as ideas have been cast aside for simplicity of ideology. architecture can fight this war of ideas and win. architecture needs to be the medium in which memory is constructed, not an outdoor art gallery. art is needed and critical in all dimensions, yet without buildings placed with a resonating sense and built with an understanding of the present, can what exists in lower Manhattan today be realized in architectural form, except for folly in the foolhardy attempts at not asking questions, not asking more of ourselves, not doing more to change the outcomes that are predictable, and not working together to get what needs doing done. more ruins are not the answer, the ruins of possibility and potential- nor is perfection of processes even possible or manageable in a democracy, unless it is that of a total dictatorship which dissolves the power of ideas for the false power of physical force as a response to calls for action. physicality of ideas, of truths, which are evident, and can and will be self-evident if the architecture is strong enough, real enough, true enough to accomplish this realization, then there is still a chance for an architecture which transforms this continuing tragedy into a clear and unmistakable statement of civic virtue, of the power of ideas, and the respect and advent of the unique qualities of architecture to do what only architecture can do, by the hands and minds of architects, with or without license. brian thomas carroll: research-design-development architecture, education, electromagnetism http://www.electronetwork.org/bc/ # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net