Thesis Prep Book_Fall 2010

8/3/2019 Thesis Prep Book_Fall 2010

1/38

Excavat

A reOrienting trajectory ac


2/38

03

09

17

27

41

55

61

R

E

SE

A

R

C

H


3/38

Maximum 64

Minimum 0

HUMAN INFLUENCE INDEX

[on terrestrial ecosystems]

CIESINatColumbiaUniversity,andWildlifeConservationSociety,comps.

TheHumanInfluenceIndexVer.2.Map.TheLastoftheWild.CIESINatColumbiaUniversity,

07Mar.2008.Web.17Nov.2010..


4/38

Architecture is a thing of art, a phenomenon of the emotions, lying outside

questions of construction and beyond them. The purpose of construction

is to make things hold together; of architecture to move us. Architectural

emotion exists when the work rings within us in tune with a universe whose

laws we obey, recognize and respect.1

LE CORBUSIER

TOWARD AN

ARCHITECTURE


5/38

The Path of Life

THE EXPULSION

Although this conceptual diagram is rooted in a s criptural mode of coming-into-being (the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the

Garden of Eden), it represents both a quintessential distinction bet ween cultivated and untamed wilderness as we ll as a universal

concept of mans coming-into-being, whether scriptual or evolutionary. The notion of being expelled into the wild equates

to man emerging as an unknowing being, where knowledge must be gathered in his journey through the forest; orientation

is gained by reaching the clearing, where on e can make sense of their surroundings. In this sense , the wilderness (specifically

the forest) serves as a space of disorientat ion which man must skillfully navigate in order to gain orientation (knowledge)

and ultimately an 'existential foothold' through dwelling, as Norberg-Schulz states, thus making his existence meaningful. 4

Contemporary society, specifically in America, has tended to disassociate itself from these primal notions of

orientation, existing instead in what architect Juhani Pallasmaa describes as an estrangement and detachment from

reality [...] leaving the body and the other senses, as well as our memories, imagination and dreams, homeless. 5 This

process of disassociation is multifaceted and has occurred over a great period of time, although the diagram extracts

three primary issues which I feel are the most current, pressing areas of concern: Ocularcentrism and its suppression

of the human bodys perceptive capacities, technocentric globalization and its compression of time and space into a

flattened sense of reality, and the rise of virtualization and its despatialization of place into an acontextual and ephemeral

wandering. These issues will be further examined and scrutinized in an attempt to understand a relevant insertion

point for an architectural intervention that will attempt to reconnect the user with the timeless architectural task of

orientation while simultaneously addressing contemporary societal issues which largely inhibit them from doing so.

W A N D E R E R

l i f e

w o r l d

virtual

w o r l d

Image: Cole, Thomas. Expulsionfrom theGarden of Eden.1828.

Oil on Canvas. Museumof FineArts, Boston, MA.


6/38

By being sunk into the ground [architecture] becomes primarily an

opening to something primitive and elemental.6THOMAS

THIS-EVENSEN

ARCHETYPES IN

ARCHITECTURE


7/38

W I L D E R N E S S

E C O C E N T R I S M

ANTHROPOCENTRISM

Any place in which a person feels stripped of guidance, lost, and perplexed.3

Where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is

a visitor who does not remain [yet can find solitude & recreation ...] These lands may also

contain ecological, geological or features of scientific, educational, scenic or historical value.

- Wilderness Act, 19644

A malleable concept representing mans interpretation of nature, acting as an essential

embodiment of the primitive interface between humankind and the natural world . Over

time it has come to offer man spiritual, recreational, and educational value as a quintessential

space to lose oneself and gain a meaningful orientation to ones environment.

[Also known as biocentrism or deep ecology] Belief structures that value the symbiotic

interdependencies of the natural world [...] and the importance of nature beyond what it

offers humans.5

Human-centered belief structures that value nature for its potential for direct human use

as a material resource.6

1

2


8/38

IDENTITY PLACE TIME

A knowledge and understanding

of oneself through physical

(perception), psychological

(cognition), and social (religion,

culture, profession, gender)

awareness.

A space which has a distinct

character [...] a concrete

manifestation of mans dwelling,

his identity depends on his

belonging to places.13

A quantitative and concrete

natural phenomena, experienced

in the periodicity and rhythm of

mans own life as well as in the life

of nature.14

O R I E N T A T I O N

IDENTIFICATION

[Traditional] The ability to locate oneself in ones environment with reference to time, place, and identity.11

Knowledge of ones own temporal, social, and practical circumstances in life12

An act through which meaningful interpretations of unknown phenomena and spatial structures are

transformed into comprehensible systems of order. A clearing in a forest of disorientation.

To become friends with a particular environment, [...] complementing its natural situation by gathering it in a

meaningful manner 15

33


9/38

Man dwells when he canorientate himself within and identify himself with an environment,

or, in short, when heexperiences the environment as meaningful [...] In modern society

attention has almost exclusively been concentrated on the practical function of orientation,

whereas identification has been left to chance. As a result true dwelling, in a psychological

sense, has been substituted by alienation22

To gather the world as a concrete building or thing.23

D W E L L

21

20

W A N D E R

From the emergence of mankind (Following the expulsion from Eden in Judeo-Christian

origin), man has wandered the path of life attempting to regain paradise (Eden) and find

meaning in his existence (a process of orientation and identification resulting in dwelling).24


10/38

1

A Wilderness Condition

For centuries the etymology of the term wilderness has challenged and bewildered those

attempting to define it, resulting in multifarious yet indeterminate interpretations. Over time,

the very process of defining wilderness can itself reveal not only a distinct American history,

but additionally what historian Michael Lewis describes as a global history of modernity

and its discontents: our values, our hopes, our blind spots, and our fears, overlaid on a

rapidly changing planet.3 Beginning with precolonial ecocentric native interpretations to

the anthropocentric ethos of Judeo-Christian European settlers, the American definition of

wilderness has deep roots indeed. In recent history, three crucial events proved to set the

foundations for modern definitions of wilderness: First, and perhaps most importantly, was

the creation of the National Park system following the Civil War, setting an international

precedent for wild land preservation. Two decades later, Frederick Jackson Turners Frontier

Thesis of 1893 noted the importance of wilderness as a Frontier which helped to define

American identity, thus signifying the importance of preserving what was left of it. Half-a-

century later, postwar America once again discovered the impor tance of wild spaces, leading

to the pioneering environmental crusades of the 1960s, culminating in the creation of the

Wilderness Act of 1964 . These events not only reconstructed the ideological and physical

frameworks of wilderness, but further represent significant crossroads in American history.

The rise of American transcendentalist thought in the mid 19th Century through the work

of prominent figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau brought to

life the ideas of finding spirituality not through established religious doctrines, but individual

perception, and wilderness was no longer a biblical space of moral confusion and despair but

rather one of existential quality. Consequently, the movement suggested that God could be

found in the natural world as opposed to the works of man, and perhaps Eden was outside

the Garden walls, unconfined. Thoreaus own investigation in his work Walden revealed his

belief in the restorative qualities of nature as a way of escaping the corruptions of civilized

life [and] finding a more innocent self; returning to who [we] really are. 4 Not surprisingly,

Thoreaus call for a system of little oases of wilderness in the desert of our civilization

was adopted by naturalists such as John Muir, who helped to raise public awareness of the

importance of protecting wild places through his own ecocentric spirituality and published

adventures through places such as Yosemite Valley, California. In a nation stricken by Civil

War, Muirs work lead to legislation declaring Yosemite a state-protected land in May of

1864. Eight years later, President Ulysses S. Grant furthered this cause by signing an historic

The value of wilderness is not static [its value] alters over time in

accordance with changes in the need s and attitudes of society.

-Hall & Page, The Geography of Tourism & Recreation2


11/38

civilizedmetropolis

NATURE = PARK

wild nature

CIVILIZATION = OUTPOST

14

15

that wilderness is as much a physical space as it is a state of mind, existing subjectively in

the imaginations of those who describe it; with the potential to define itself. 16 However, this

theory gains little ground in determining the actual physical boundaries of the wild. Thus,

Nash introduces the concept of a [polarized] spectrum of conditions or environments

ranging from the purely wild [...] to the purely civilized, allowing wilderness to spatially exist

in variations of intensity rather than on absolutes.17 As his diagram illustrates, the metropolis

(civilization) sits at one end of the spectrum, with cultivated nature existing in bounded

regions such as city parks. On the other end of the spectrum sits wild nature (wilderness),

with pockets of civilization existing as outposts. The space between these identities exists

as cultivated landscapes (rural/pastoral) where a certain balance between the two poles

is approached.18 The emergence of this complex dichotomic understanding of wilderness

brings us to contemporary realms of discourse, and the Great Wilderness Debate of the 1990s.

Between Two Poles

Captured in the publication The Great New Wilderness Debate in 1998, a number of heated

discussions surrounding contemporary conceptions of wilderness and its subsequent

management emerged. Prime among these were the butting arguments of environmental

historian William Cronon and environmentalist and EarthFirst! founder Dave Foreman.

Cronons argument was directed towards the traditional definition of wilderness as manifest

in the Wilderness Act as a polar distinction between that which is natural/wild, and that

which is human/civilized. Attributing this polarized development to historical notions of

the sublime and the frontier, Cronon contends that wilderness is a cultural construction

rooted in the ideology of national renewal on the Frontier and religious redemption in

sublime landscapes. Thus, a polarity emerged between the indistinct spaces of civilization

(representing a confined, false, and artificial landscape), and wilderness (representing

a free, true, and natural landscape). Cronon believes this ahistorical concept we label as

wilderness only serves to offer us the illusion that we can escape the cares and troubles

of the world in which our past has ensnared us.19 Furthermore, by constructing this illusory

dualism, we grant ourselves permission to evade responsibility for the lives we actually

lead [...] encouraging us to believe that we are separate from nature [and thereby] likely to

reinforce environmentally irresponsible behavior.20 In this way, he believes wilderness can

act as a threat to the very environmentalism efforts attempting to define and preserve it.

In response, Foreman utilizes his vast on-the-ground conservation background to dismiss


12/38

Setting the Stage

As Linda Pollak illustrates in her essay Matrix Landscape: Constructing Identity in the Large

Park, America was initially conceptualized as the new garden of the world, developed

earlier through 18th Century British landscape gardens (ie. Stowe Gardens), especially

in their representation of the sublimity of nature, addressing its infinite complexity in a

tangible, picturesque manner.26 The fear of the American wilderness thus emerged from

these very same concepts of sublimity, or that which was beyond human comprehension

and control, resulting in the taming of the sublime upon the charging frontier line . Following

the conquering of the American wilderness captured in Turners Frontier Thesis of 1893, the

sublime American landscape was facing complete eradication. Accordingly, the American

parks movement was twofold in its agenda: first, to preserve the most extraordinary wild

spaces left in the country (ie. national parks), and second, to capture the essence of those

places in the design of urban parks for city-dwellers to experience. The urban park was thus a

work of man (simultaneously attempting to conceal such work) evoking the sublime aspects

of nature, aimed at preserving not simply the magnificence of the American landscape, but

also the embodied history of the Americ an people within it.

Although not the first city park in the United States, New Yorks Central Park is hailed by

many as a crowning achievement of American park design and the most important public

space in the United States". 27 Responding to the ever-expanding boundaries of New York in

the mid-19th Century, city officials elected to designate a central plot of stagnant wasteland

on Manhattan island for future development as a city park. In 1857 a competition was held

to design the park, resulting in the selection of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vauxs

Greensward Plan on April 21, 1858 as the clear winner. From a functional standpoint, the

park was revolutionary for a number of reasons. For example, integrating various system of

circulation which operated collectively as well as independently, granted access to the park

for many types of traffic. The park also provided the city with vital drinking water through its

intricate system of subterranean infrastructure and expansive reservoirs.

From a social perspective, the concept of a democratic public space that would disintegrate

class hierarchies and unify peoples of differing ethnic groups was not only revolutionary

but especially vital in the midst of a national divided by Civil War. Supporting this ideology,

Central Park is entered through twenty decorative gates dedicated to the laborers (ie.

scholars, engineers, farmers) who illustrated the free, honest work that developed the

city. Furthermore, 29 sculptures dot the park landscape, donated primarily by individuals

SOCIAL

IDEOLOGIES

ECOLOGY &

INNOVATION

CULTURAL

INSTITUTIONS

NATIONAL

VALUES

NATIONAL

IDENTITY

CULTURAL

IDENTITY

The meaning of Central Park - its ce lebration of democracy, technology,

nature, and popular culture - is written in its stones and reflected in its waters.

-Sarah C. Miller, Central Park, An American Masterpiece 28


13/38


14/38

WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AREAS

[Federally Managed]

Designated Areas

Bureau of Land Management

Fish and Wildlife Service

Dept of Agriculture Forest Service

National Park Service

Where are the

protected wilderness

areas(omit AK & HI) under

the 1964 Act (followed

by similar acts in 1975 and

2009)...

National Atlas, comp. "Wilderness Preservation SystemAreas."Map. MapMaker . National Atlas ofthe

UnitedStates, 17 Sept. 2009. Web. 20Oct. 2010. .


15/38

PROTECTED WILDERNESS AREAS

[Federally Managed, by Millions of Acres]

Excluding: Hawaii (.1%)

No Wilderness: CT, DE, IA, KS, MD, RI

DISTANCE FROM NEW YORK

[Miles]

Excluding AK, HI

Mapping Worlds, comp. "Wilderness."Map. SHOWUSA. Mapping Worlds, 16Dec. 2009. Web.

10Nov. 2010. .

Ohio

Massa

chus

etts

Pennsylv

ania

Miss

issipp

i

New

Jersey

Nebr

aska

Indian

a

Louisia

na

Kentucky

Main

e

O

klaho

ma

Illinois

North

Dak

ota

Alab

ama

Ten

ness

ee

SouthCarolina

Miss

ouri

W

iscon

sin

SouthDa

kota

Texa

s

Verm

ont

North

Caroli

na

WestVi

rginia

NewH

ampshi

re

Florid

a

Arka

nsas

Virgini

a

Mich

igan

Wyo

ming

Georgia

M

innes

ota

Utah

NewM

exico

Oreg

on

Neva

da

Monta

na

Color

ado

Washing

ton

Idaho

Arizo

na

New

York

500

1

2

3

4

5

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

C

alifo

rnia

Alaska


16/38

MANHATTAN

1,537,195QUEENS

2,306,712

BRONX

1,397,287

BROOKLYN

2,567,098STATEN ISLAND

491,730

JERSEY CITY

242,503


17/38

MAJOR GREEN SPACES OF NEW YORK CITY

PROTECTED LAND

GRAVEYARD

GARDEN / ZOO

PARK


18/38

The most unusual and surrealistic place in New York City is Central Park. 1CHRISTO

ON THE GATES

OF CENTRAL PARK

PROJECT, 2005


19/38

HISTORICAL CONTEXT[National + Social Division]

THE MALL + BETHESDA TERRACE[Unifying, Democratic Space]

Afocalpointofthe park,and theonlystraight

lineinits843acres,TheMallanditsculmination

i n B ethe sda Te rr ace was designe d a s a

grand avenuewhere urban hierarchies were

temporarily erased, yielding a democratic

space for residents of all social classes to

partake.2 Whereasthe Mallwasdesignedas a

naturalcathedralofelms whereonecouldsee

andbeseen,the Fountainserved asa criticalmomentof unifyingthe naturalistic landscape

withthe architectural promenade, a symbolic

gesture to the life-giving power of water.

Theangel was sculpted by Emma Stebbins,

thefirst woman to receive a major publicart

commissionfrom the city in 1859,inculcating

thespacewith afurtherlayerof social equality.

When Olmstead and Vaux submitted their

Greensward Plan proposal for Central Park

in 1858, America was in the midst of heated

division that would eventually break out into

Civil War in 3 years time. This division also

manifested in social class segregation,

particularly evident in New York during a

period of influx in immigration. Thus, Central

Park was a monumental effort of democracy

and unification even when the Nation

around it seemed destined for separation.

ANationDivided: Americaasseenduringthe Civil War (1861-65) Divisionwasalsoseenin thedistinctsocialstrataof thecity.During

the mid-18thcenturythe FivePointsexemplifieda distinct where

the stratifiedsocial geography ofpoverty and race(particularlywith

immigrants)wasespeciallyevident.

Bethesda Fountain still serves as afocal point of gathering in the parkTheMallasa grandavenueofsocialinteractiontoseeand beseen


20/38

Late Ordovician [450 Ma]

Late Precambrian [550 Ma]

_An active volcano emerges (thin strip ofland) offshore due to subduction (when

one tectonic plate moves under another)

on the eastern edge of the continent,

narrowing the Iapetus Ocean

_NA continent folds downward due

to accumulating sediments andcompressional forces in the crust from

increased subduction

_volcanic ring grows

_Shallow water carbonate deposition gives

way to fine-grained clastic deposition and

deeper water conditions

_volcanic ring sinks into subduction

mantle to create the Taconic island arc as

well as transforming its micra-rich shaleinto schist (later bedrock of Manhattan)

_Taconic island arc collides with NA

continent, creating mountains and

intensely folding and faulting sedimentaryand igneous rock (NYC), marks the end of

the Taconic Orogeny

_Camerons Line marks the suture zone ofthis massive continental collision

Middle Ordovician [470 Ma]

Late Cambrian [500 Ma]

Blakey, Dr. Ron. North American Paleogeographic Maps.Map. Paleogeographyand GeologicEvolutionof NorthAmerica .Ron Blakey, July 2010. Web. 08Dec. 2010. .


21/38

Middle Ordovician(470 Ma)

CameronsLine

InwoodHillThrust

FordhamGneiss

CameronsLine

InwoodMarble

ManhattanSchist

HartlandSchist

WalloomsacSchist

Early Ordovician (485Ma)

Cambrian (500-550Ma)

Proterozoic (2.5Ga-543 Ma)

MANHATTAN COMPOSITE

KEY

TIMELINE

CENTRAL PARK [Camerons Line Composite]

McCully, Betsy. Cityat the Waters Edge: a Natural Historyof New York. NewBrunswick, NJ: Rivergate, an Imprintof Rutgers UP, 2007. 8, 12. Print.

Baskerville, Charles A. BedrockandEngineering Geologic Maps ofNew YorkCounty.Map. USGeological Survey. Reston [VA]: US Geological Survey, 1995. Print.


22/38

OPENRECREATIONSPACES

WATERFEATURES

SURFACECOMPOSITE

26,0

00+Trees,3

0TennisCourts,2

6BallFields,2

IceRinks,1

SwimmingPool,Theater,36Bridges,1

0

millioncart-loadsofrawmaterial,4milliontrees/shrubs/plants

SUBTERRANEANGEOLOGICAL


23/38

1863

5 Million

1873

10 Million

1973

12.5 Million

1982

14.8 Million

2007

25 Million

2010

35 Million

CENTRAL PARK

NATIONAL MALL & MEMORIALS

DISNEY WORLD

NIAGARA FALLS

BROADWAY THEATERS

EIFFEL TOWER

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

STATUE OF LIBERTY

YOSEMITE

2000

20 Million

CENTRAL PARK VISITATION [Millions/Yr]

ANNUAL VISITS COMPARISON[Millions/Yr]

TIMES SQUARE

3.5

4

5.2

6.5

12

14

17

25

35

37

CENTRAL PARK VISITOR ORIGINS[2005]

NYC70%

International15%

Remaining U.S.12%

NYC Metro Area3%

Central ParkConservancy, comp. 843Acres, 35Million Visits.Chart. TheOfficial Websiteof Central Park.Central ParkConservancy, 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 01Nov. 2010.


24/38

Bounded Island Condition

GROWTH = DENSITY

Developing new subterranean typologies for this region will provide not only ameans of producing new space along the park, but also a radical means of reading

the city.

Because of Manhattans bounded island condition, growth for the city meansredefining preexisting sites, typically resulting in vertical expansion . However,along the historic boundary of Central Park, this option is limited.


25/38

HOW CAN CENTRAL PARK, ITSELF A REPRESENTATIONOF NATURE [A QUINTESSENTIAL SPACE OF ORIENTATION],

BE UTILIZED AS A MEANINGFUL SITE OF ORIENTATION?

45.6 Million [disoriented] Tourists Visit New York City Every Year

CANADA: 880,000

MEXICO: 234,000

UNITED STATES : 37,000,000

SOUTH AMERICA: 525,000

OCEANIA: 450,000

ASIA: 749,000

EUROPE: 4,249,000

MIDDLE EAST: 524,000


26/38

WHATISTOURISM, & WHAT IS ITS SIGNIFICANCEIN NYC?

Human and business activities associated with one or more aspects of

the temporary movement of persons away from their immediate home

communities and daily work environments for business, pleasure, and

personal reasons. 1

TRAVELLERS

The movement of peoplefor business, pleasure,

& personal reasons,including their needs &

wishes

SERVICES

A sector of the economyor an industry including

the management &

promotion oftourist activities

DESTINATION

Local culture, residents,attractions, interactions,

character, personalconnections

TOURISM


27/38

WHATMOTIVATES TOURISM?Renowned psychologist Abraham Maslows motivation theory

as illustrated in his Hierarchy of Needs demonstrates human

motivations for personal growth as a pyramidal concept. As an individual

fulfills each need, they become aware of the next level of motivation

and strive to attain it, eventually leading to self-actualization as an

ultimate aspiration.

Thus, personal growth is facilitated only when a sound network of needs

can be fulfilled during the tourists experiences. This network relies in

part upon essential elements of architecture: quality of shelter, safety,

security, fostering a strong sense of belonging and place.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION/PERSONAL SELF-FULFILLMENT

ESTEEM

BELONGING & LOVE

SAFETY + SECURITY

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS[hunger,rest,thirst, shelter]

Hall, Colin Michael, andStephen Page. TheDemandfor Recreation andTourism.TheGeography of Tourism andRecreation: Environment,Place, andSpace . London: Routledge, 1999. 29. Print.


28/38

WHO & WHATARE TOURISTS?RESIDENTS VISITORS

Non-Travellers Travellers

Withinscopeoftravel& tourism

Othertravellers

DomesticInternational

Intercontinental Continental Interregional Regional Crews

Students(4)

Migrants(5)

Temporaryworkers

Commuters

Otherlocaltravellers(3)

SameDay(2)

Primarypurposeoftravel

Stayingoneormorenights(1)

Business

Primary ActivitesConsultantsConventionsInspections

SecondaryActivitesDiningOutRecreationShoppingSightseeingVFR

Primary ActivitesSocializingDiningInHomeEntertainment

SecondaryActivitesDiningOutPhysicalRecreationShoppingSightseeingUrbanEntertainment

Primary ActivitesShoppingVisiting ProfessionalMedicalAppointment

SecondaryActivitesDiningOutVFR

Primary ActivitesRecreationSightseeingDiningOut

SecondaryActivitesVFRConventionBusinessShopping

Vistingfriendsorrelatives(VFR)

Otherpersonalbusiness

Pleasure

(1)Touristsin internationaltechnicaldefinitions

(2)Excursionistsininternationaltechnicaldefinitions

(3)Travellerswhosetripsare shorterthanthosewhich qualifyfor

travel&tourism(e.g.under50 mifromhome)

(4)Studentstravellingbetweenhome& schoolonly- othertravelof

studentsis withinscopeof travelandtourism

(5)All personsmovingto a newplaceof residenceincludingallone-

way travellers such as emigrants, immigrants, refugees, domestic

migrants& nomads

Hall, Colin Michael, and Stephen Page. Urban Recreation andTourism.TheGeography ofTourism andRecreation: Environment,Place,and Space. London: Routledge, 1999. 60. Print.

GrandCentralTerminal,NewYork


29/38

WHAT FUNCTIONSDOES TOURISM EXPLOIT?USERS

[demand]

CITY + REGIONAL RESIDENT

HISTORIC

MONUMENTS

MUSEUMS,

GALLERIES

THEATERS,

CONCERT HALLS

NIGHTCLUBS

& RED-LIGHT

DISTRICTS

CAFES,

RESTAURANTS

SHO PS OF FI CE S

VISITOR CONFERENCE WORK PLEASURE

FUNCTIONAL LINKS

[program overlap]

USERS

[resources]

Burtenshaw, David, M. Bateman, andG. J. Ashworth. TheCityinWest Europe. 2nded.Chichester[England]: Wiley, 1991. Print


30/38

MAJORSHOPPINGDISTRICTS[5thAve,M

adisonAve]

MAJORHOTELS[Capacity]

MAJORMUSEUMS[AnnualVisitors]

37%ofNewYorkstotalinventory

78%$400+/night

47Museumstotal[2006]

TheMetandAMNHaccountforhalfofvisitors


31/38

HOW DOES ACITYFACILITATE ORIENTATION?As we have seen, the essential act of orientation in a disorienting environment can be traced through the wilderness

concept to the origin of man (whether navigating the forest as primitive being or following the expulsion from

Eden), emphasizing its importance in our comprehending the natural world and producing meaningfulexperiences within it.

In The Image of the City, Kevin Lynch developed a visualsystem of spatial networks to understand how individualscreate cognitive maps of new environments such ascities.2

This constructed reality is vital in that it contrasts againstan individuals expectations, yielding a critical reaction.Furthermore, if a citys spatial structure is weak, it inhibitsorientation and leaves one feeling lost & disconnected.From an economic standpoint, the stronger a citys spatialorienting structure, the more likely visitors are to visitfurther reaches of the city ( distributed $).

These mental images also holds values of the places they represent, illustrating how onesinteraction with a city can be altered by the built and natural environment in order to conveysocietal values, morals, etc. During the period of mass immigration of the early 20th Century, theStatue of Liberty served a distinctive orienting landmark which signified important national values such as freedom & hope.

PATHS

Ch

annels

ofM

otion

(ie

.str

eets

,sid

ewalk

s)

EDGES

DefiningBoundaries

(ie.w

alls,b

uilding

s,s

h

ores)

LANDMARKSExt. Reference Points

(ie.hospital,monument)

DISTRI

CTS

Distin

ctiveregion

s

(ie.chin

atow

n,wa

terfr

ont)NODES

FocalPoints

(ie.Mall,Station,Hotel)

MAP


32/38

Information

SignalsThe Real

World

Sense

Perception

Cognition

[filtered byknowledge,

va lue s, &attitudes]

Mental Image

of Place

The city and my body supplement and define each other.

I dwell in the city and the city dwells in me 5

Vision separates us from the world, whereas the other

senses unite us with it [...] buildings have turned into

image products detached from existential depth and

sincerity6

JUHANIPALLASMAA

THE EYES OF

THE SKIN

=

Hall, Colin Michael, and Stephen Page. Urban Recreation andTourism.TheGeography ofTourism andRecreation: Environment,Place,and Space. London: Routledge, 1999. 171. Print.


33/38

JUHANI

PALLASMAA

THE EYES OF

THE SKIN

Buildings and cities are instruments and museums of time. They enable

us to see and understand the passing of history and to participate in time

cycles that surpass individual life. (EotS 52)


34/38

STONEHENGE Rangeof MoonriseRangeofMoonset@


35/38

[3000 BC - 1600 BC]

STONEHENGE

MidwintersSun

Rangeof Moonrise@major standstill

Rangeof Moonset@minorstandstill

RangeofMoonset@majorstandstill

Rangeof Moonrise@minor standstill

This mysterious work of rock and earthhas confounded historians for centuries

as it was continually reshaped and

reinterpreted by nearly 1.5 millennia of

inhabitants

_Many experts believe Stonehenge to

be an ancient temple of the cosmos, or

prehistoric observatory which translated

the vital phenomena of the sky (sun and

moon) into a comprehensible system of

order which gave their cyclical processesmeaning

_As the sun, moon, & fire were the only

sources of light at the time, & no gods oridols were worshipped at this point, these

celestial bodies were an essential fact of

life to those who constructed & used the

ancient site

_Others believe that in conjunction with

the surrounding sites (Woodhenge &Durrington Walls), these constructions

represented a path of life, where ones

journey between life and death was actedout, beginning in the domain of the living

(Woodhenge) & concluding in the domain

of the dead (Stonehenge). Materials and

celestial alignments would thereforesupport such allegorical narratives, &

produced a meaningful interpretation of

the eternal cycles of nature (life & deathof man was juxtaposed with the life &

death of the sun).1

MidsummersSun

Chart: Richards, Julian C. Why Was StonehengeBuilt? Stonehenge: theStoryso Far.

Swindon, UK: English Heritage, 2007. 220-28. Print.

CONTENT I ONCOVER


36/38

1 L e Co rb us ie r.Towardsa NewArchitecture.[UnitedStates]:BNPub., 2008.19.Print.

2 Thenotionoforientationentailsonetounderstandthenotionsoftime,placeandidentity,

subsequentlyrequiringa tangibleconcretizationofnaturalphenomenawhicharchitecture

provides.

3 This detachment referstomans increasingseparationfromwhat Norberg-Schulzdefines

asconcretelife-situationswhichinhis terms,anchorus tomeaningfulexperiencesofour

Being.14 Thisdetachmentfromrealityis resultantfromanumber offorces,many ofwhich

stemfromforcesmightincludeour increasingrelianceupontechnologicalinstrumentsthat

provideasuperficiallevelof orientation.Furthermore,as FinnisharchitectJuhaniPallasmaa

explainsin TheEyesof theSkin,our evolutioninto anocularcentricsocietyhasleadto adramatic

shatteringof theinheritedconstructionofrealityand aseparationof theselfand theworld.15

4 Norberg-Schulz.GeniusLoci.5.

5 Pallasmaa,Juhani .TheEyesof theSkin:ArchitectureandtheSenses.Cichester:Wiley-Academy,

2005.19,21.Print

6 Thiis-Evensen,Thomas.TheSunkenFloor.ArchetypesinArchitecture.New York:OxfordUP,

1989.79.Print.

7 TermreferstotheevolutionofHomoSapiensasdescribedintheSmithsonianMuseumof

NaturalHistorysTimelineofHumanEvolution.16

8 ThisdataiscollectedfromaColumbiaUniversitysCIESINstudyontheHumanInfluenceIndex.

CIESINatColumbiaUniversity,and WildlifeConservationSociety,comps.

TheHumanInfluenceIndexVer. 2.Map.TheLastof theWild.

CIESINatColumbiaUniversity,07 Mar.2008.Web.17 Nov.2010.

.

9 Ibelieve,asNashstatesinhiswork,thatthereisasubconsciousneedforthewildingrainedin

thepsycheof humanbeings.Wehave aninherentneed toexperiencethewild forit humbles

usin itspresence,reconnectinghumanwiththeirprimitivebeginnings.Phenomenologists

wouldarguethatthe geniusloci(spiritofplace)embeddedin naturalplacesbrandsa deep

impressionon themindwhichstrikesa primalchordinour psyche;forwe arebut productsof

CONTENT I ON

1 ThisdataiscollectedfromrecentstudiesconductedbytheWildlifeConservation

SocietyinconjunctionwithColumbiaUniversitysCenterfor InternationalEarth

ScienceInformationNetwork,wherethe groupidentifiedthat83%of theearths

landsurfaceis influenceddirectlyby humanbeings.2 Thisdata,togetherwitha 2003

reportconductedby theIUCN/UNEPinwhichthe groupidentifiedCategory1a

Wildernessasunmodifiedorslightlymodifiedareas,retainingtheirnaturalcharacter

andinfluence,withoutpermanentor significanthumanhabitation,whichare

protectedandmanagedso asto preservetheirnaturalcondition[]strictly

protectedareas,generallywithonlylimitedhumanvisitationyieldsthenoteddecline

indefinedwildernessareas.3 WhiletheIUCNstatesthatonly11%oftheworldis

protectedcategory1awilderness,theWCS dataservesto relatethisdatamore

directlytohumanhabitation,henceits usein thisdocument.However,as onlyspaces

thatare managedandprotectedby anadministrativebody haveenteredthe said

definitionof wilderness,thisleavesmuch ofthe residualwildspacesofthe world

(ie.Forestland inAmerica)inquestion.

2 CIESINatColumbiaUniversity,andWildlifeConservationSociety,comps.

TheHumanInfluenceIndexVer. 2.Map. TheLastof theWild.CIESINat Columbia

University,07Mar. 2008.Web.17Nov.2010.

.

3 InternationalUnionforConservationofNatureandNaturalResources.

GuidelinesforApplyingProtectedAreaManagementCategories.

Ed.NigelDudley.Gland:IUCN,2008.

COVER

I N TRODUCT I ON

1 Peezza82.Pantheon.2006.Photograph.Rome[Italy].Flickr.Yahoo,09 Apr.2006.

Web.04Nov. 2010.

.

R E S E A R C H //P th f L i f


37/38

.

18 Eliade,Mircea.SymbolismintheCenter. ImagesandSymbols:StudiesinReligiousSymbolism.

Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUP,1991.48-51. Print.

19 WorldTourismOrganization.CollectionofTourismExpenditureStatistics.Rep.no.2.Madrid

[Spain]: WorldTourismOrganization,1995.WorldTourism Organization.1995.Web.05Dec.

2010..

2 0 Mac ,Roy. InsideaCliffDwelling.1994. Photograph.Mesa Verde.Flickr.Yahoo,03Feb.2008.

Web. 29Oc t. 2010..

21 Cole,Thomas.Expulsionfromthe GardenofEden.1828.Oil onCanvas.Museumof FineArts,

Boston,MA.




25 Wallace,AndrewC.250307Home .2007.Photograph.Samaria[Victoria]. Flickr.Yahoo,

25Mar.2007.Web.03 Nov.2010.

.

26 Norberg-Schulz.GeniusLoci.58,63.

27 Norberg-Schulz.GeniusLoci.5-23.

28 LeCorbusier. Towardsa NewArchitecture.[UnitedStates]:BNPub., 2008.4.Print.

29 Birksted,J.K.LeCorbusierandtheOccult.Cambridge,MA:MIT, 2009.317.Print.

30 Temple. Dictionary.com Unabridged .Ed. RandomHouse,Inc.Web. 02Oct.2010.

.



33 Photograph.Flickr. A,01May 2010.Web.14Oct. 2010.

1 Norberg-Schulz,Christian.GeniusLoci:Towardsa PhenomenologyofArchitecture.NewYork:

Rizzoli,1991.Print.

1 K li ng er ,Ph il ipp.UrbanLayers.2009.Photograph.NewYork. Flickr.Yahoo,15 June2009.Web.

30Oc t. 2010.

2 C.M.H al l,S . J.Page .TheGeographyofTourismandRecreation:Envrionment,Place,andSpace.

NewYork:Routledge,1999.223.

3 Lewis,MichaelL.AmericanWilderness.Introduction.AmericanWilderness:ANew History.

Oxford:OxfordUP,2007.12.Print.

4 TheNationalParks:AmericasBestIdea:PartOne.Dir.Ken Burns.Perf. AdamArkin,PhilipBosco,

KevinConway,PeterCoyote,AndyGarcia.PBS,2009.DVD.

5 Burns. TheNationalParks.

6 Turner,FrederickJackson.TheSignificanceoftheFrontierinAmericanHistory.TheFrontierin

AmericanHistory.[UnitedStates]:H. Holtand,1920.3. Print.

7 Tur ne r. Frontier.38.

8 Harvey,Mark.LovingtheWildinPostwarAmerica.AmericanWilderness:ANew History.Ed.

MichaelL.Lewis.Oxford:OxfordUP,2007.188.Print.

9 Harvey.LovingtheWildinPostwarAmerica.187.

10 WildernessActof1964.Pub.L.88-577.03Sept.1964.Stat.16U.S.C. 1131-1136.

11 Wilderness.Dictionary.com Unabridged.Ed. RandomHouse,Inc.Web. 02Oct.2010.

.

12 Dunleavy,Steve.RitterRange:AnselAdamsWilderness.2010.Photograph.Yosemite,CA. Flickr.

Yahoo,25Aug.2010.Web.30 Oct.2010.

.

13 Nash,Roderick .Wildernessandthe AmericanMind.London:

YaleUniversityPress, Ltd.,1973.ix. Print.

14 Sant-Amant,Martin.Panoramaof theNorthof Manhattan.2008.Photograph.New York.

R E S E A R C H / /P a th o f L i f e

R E S E A R C H/ / D e f i n i n g W i l d

R E S E A R C H / / W i l d e r n e s s T i m e l i n e of1964.Wilderness.org.Web.05Nov. 2010.


38/38

R E S E A R C H/ / W i l d e r n e s s T i m e l i n e

1 Nash,Roderi ck .Wildernessandthe AmericanMind.London:

YaleUniversityPress, Ltd.,1973.ix. Print.

2 Car r, K ar en .Sahelanthropus Tchadensis, Male.2010.Photograph.SmithsonianNationalMuseum

ofNaturalHistory:DavidH. KochHallofHuman Origins.SmithsonianInstitution.Web. 05Nov.

2010..

3 Gurche,John,andChipClark.Australopithecus Afarensis.2010.Photograph.Smithsonian

NationalMuseumof NaturalHistory:DavidH. KochHallof HumanOrigins.Smithsonian

Institution.Web.05 Nov.2010..

4 Cole,Thomas.ExpulsionfromtheGardenofEden.1828.OilonCanvas.MuseumofFineArts,

Boston,MA.

5 Wyclif fe.Photograph.MyTwoCents.WordPress.com,24Oct.2008.Web. 05Nov.2010.

.

6 Palmer,FrancesFloraBond.PioneersHomeintheAmericanWilderness.1867.Oilon Canvas.

Artchive.1st-art-gallery.com.Web.05 Nov.2010..

7 Bierstadt,Albert.SunsetintheYosemiteValley.1868. HagginMuseum,Stockton,CA.Wikipedia,

theFreeEncyclopedia.WikimediaFoundation,Inc.,12Jan. 2008.Web.05Nov.2010.

.

8 TouristatGlacierPoint.1902.Photograph.YellowstoneNationalPark,WY. TheNational

Parks:AmericasBestIdea .PBS. Web.05Nov.2010.

.

9 Bresson,HenriCarter.Arizona,USA.1947.Photograph.[Arizona].HenriCarterBresson:City and

Landscapes .London:Thames &Hudson,2001.105. Print.

10 PresidentJohnsonSignstheWildernessActin1964.1964. Photograph.TheWildernessAct

of1964.Wilderness.org.Web.05Nov. 2010.

.

11 Moosemonger.AlaskaOilPipeline.2006. Photograph.[Alaska].Flickr.Yahoo,03Sept.2006.

Web. 05Nov. 2010..

C E N T R A L P A R K

T O U R I S M

1 Christo.ChristoQuotes.QuotesandQuotationsat BrainyQuote.Web. 08Dec.2010.

.

2 Mil ler,SaraCedar.CentralPark:anAmericanMasterpiece.[NewYork]:HarryN. Abramsin

Associationwiththe CentralParkConservancy,2003.28.Print.

3 Mil ler,SaraCedar.CentralPark:anAmericanMasterpiece.188.

4 NewYorkNature.net.NewYorkGeology.NewYorkNature- Welcome!NewYorkNature.net.

Web.08Dec. 2010..

1 Hall,ColinMichael,andStephenPage.TheDemandforRecreationandTourism.

TheGeographyofTourismandRecreation:Environment,Place,and Space.London:

Routledge,1999. 274.Print.

2 Hall,ColinMichael,andStephenPage.UrbanRecreationandTourism.

TheGeographyofTourismandRecreation:Environment,Place,and Space.London:

Routledge,1999. 171.Print.

3 Pallasmaa,Juhani .TheEyesof theSkin:ArchitectureandtheSenses.Cichester:Wiley-Academy,

2005.11.Print

4 Pallasmaa,Juhani .TheEyesof theSkin:ArchitectureandtheSenses.72.

5 Pallasmaa,Juhani .TheEyesof theSkin:ArchitectureandtheSenses.40.

6 Pallasmaa,Juhani .TheEyesof theSkin:ArchitectureandtheSenses.25,30.

7 Hall,ColinMichael,andStephenPage.UrbanRecreationandTourism.170.

Date post:	07-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	jeff-kamuda
View:	220 times
Download:	0 times

Thesis Prep Book_Fall 2010

Documents