Mode of Culture: Tourism (Class Notes)

Tourism is an optical and sensorial operation.  We discussed the creation of a copy from an original and what effect that has upon our psychological, sensorial and optical perception.

The Parthenon in Nashville is a copy of the original in Athens.  By recreating the structure, there seems to be a sense of history taken away from the original.  It almost seems as if the designer of the Nashville (copy) building set an idealistic view on what the building SHOULD be like.  However, the original in Athens is the way it is based on the historical events and turmoil which the county endured to make this grand monument.   It makes more sense to label the structure in Nashville 'a version of the Parthenon', rather then a copy.

Copying something gains a new meaning, even though it's supposed to be a replica.  Information is lost in translation, so a copy is never really a copy.  It's just another version.  For instance, when playing the childhood game 'telephone' you attempt to translate a phrase through a chain of people.  Usually, by the end of the chain, the phrase is misconstrued and the original phrase is lost.  Details can never been completely translated to perfection.

Why are we obsessed with identity?  

How do we create identity and value?

How do we source what authenticity generates from?

What constitutes authenticity and why is it important?  Society automatically generates an opinion that authenticity means importance.  Tourism is based on structures with meaning, identity and authenticity.  If a tourist site did not have authenticity it wouldn't be as interesting to visit.  People want to see where Marilyn Munroe lived, not a replica of the house she lived it.  If tourists knew the site was not authentic, it would loose it's popularity.

Homebodies on Vacation

“Homebodies on Vacation” begins introducing the world of tourism as a highly valued, peaceful, yet modern piece of people’s lives.  Tourism has the ability to fulfill fantasy and enable people to view pieces of history, culture, and authentic heritage without a time machine.  We now have the ability to visually observe landmarks, preserved historical landsite and authentic cultural settings due to ease of travel. Tourism = observing. 

The article references the word authentic frequently.  It also references that a narrative, or reproduction of a real object is as good as reality to most people.  History, geography, cultural settings, objects can be bought, sold and moved.  So what is ACTUALLY authentic? 

Immediately the point is made that a characteristic of modernity is authenticity and modernity can be recovered in culture.   

Dean MacCaell sees a modern tourist as a theorist; theory deriving from a Greek word meaning “site” and “spectacle.  A tourist utilizes space and time.  Theorization is promoting the potentials and decoding composition.  A tourist finds the potentials in an environment by discovering attractions through a planned course. 

Going further into the article it explains the ‘slow house’ as a Long Island waterfront vacation home.   The view from the house through the picture window is what makes this home so valued and sought after.   This view privatizes and edits the world for the resident, making the world positive and carefree. However, the real estate advertisements reference the fact that these vacation homes are perfect escape from civilization yet close proximity to all your office anxiety needs.  Home is where work/office is, vacation is enabling you to free yourself of work. So is a vacation home a double standard?  What is authentic about that a work filled vacation?

Critical Architecture (notes)

Tectonic

Tectonic explains how things are built and constructed together - process of layers build to theorize, explain and contrast ideas with value judgments including:

• Act of Construction – how things are produced, created, intentions behind the process
• Layering of frames and materials
• Poetry of active design

Theory in design        

• A discourse that describes practice and productions that identifies the challenges. 
• Essential quality: anticipates certain potentials, it allows for potential connections and discoveries within the work.
• Recurring themes and theoretical questions:

• Origin and limits of design (architecture)
•  Relationship to history and context
• Issues of (architectural) expressions and their meaning

Intention – Production – Consumption

-        Competition in the economy influences the production line

-        Pertain to be as a “public act” rather than “private” (architecture)

Cultural Context

Modernity involves mass production, suppression, function, dogma, clarity. It was a cut throat generation where the distinction between social and cultural segregations were obvious. Function seems like such a practical word in the midst of derogatory terms. 

Post Modern – The right for individual interpretation was evident – “Readers rights”.  Cultural conformity began, and where formal architecture made its mark. Experimentation with design encourages criticism and translation. There is more chance of mistranslation (fuzzy possibilities).

Beyond Romanticism/ Into Realism

• The commercial world changes you can’t account for and architecture might seems like a mere tool/vehicle for something rather noble 
• Architecture as objects or passage
• Post modernism is usually regarded as awful

Critical Architecture

Engages cultural mechanism.  It explores what is contained.  It is now not only about how the construction looks, but how it functions and the experience that is evident within it.  

-        Design away from the norm

-        What other uses do a door and window have?

-        Out of the box thinking

Thriving Time For City Architecture

Brent Bellamy, Thriving time for city architecture leading lights from across globe leaving marks on our landscape, Winnipeg Free Press Monday Sept 19th B5, Editor Steve Pona, Design Architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.

This article discusses critical and unique Winnipeg architecture. Winnipeg’s distinctive architectural was created because of our strange urban growth pattern in the last century. There have been two boom periods or architecture in Winnipeg and its upsetting we are leading towards rapid expansion of urban form. This article speaks of Winnipeg’s popular architectural firms such as McKim Mead and white who as they built our city were designing in Chicago, New York and Toronto. Winnipeg’s past in the 1950’s promoted this new movement of architecture and we are internationally acclaimed as a city recognized for its provocative contemporary design. An example was Antoine Precock designing the Canadian museum for Human rights. “Local architects are slowly establishing an outside reputation for beautiful innovative and technologically advanced design.” There was a recent announcement that local firm 5468796 and Jae-Sung Chon will represent Winnipeg in the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious international art and architecture exhibition. Critical and inspiring architecture forms Winnipeg’s distinct land and this article helped prove Winnipeg is full of outstanding design potential.

Credits: Winnipeg Free Press

Critical Architecture: Between Culture and Form

Hayes interpretation of critical architecture explains opposing theories of architecture and culture.  This article discusses critical architecture that is different resistant to the norm, but reducing the dominant culture.

Formalist position vs. historical positivist methodology

Historical - defined, precise, assumed, natural science approach

Formalist - interpretive, analytical, takes risks, spontaneous, internalized, pure and original idea

Formal architecture shows that culture influences how you choose to build a form. The observer studies the environment and creates an object on those values, which creates an object with form harmonious of culture. This means architecture is seen as already completed and used with its original meaning. As time passed the form of architecture will be displaced. There are no historical foundations, nor does it rely on any historical importance to society, so it gains a sense of purity.  Form is created based on formal operation and outside of "reality."  

Cultural architecture is something that is already created, the architect just guides the ideas already evolved from its original meaning through historical methods.  It's not hard to interpret culturally based architecture since history has already formed it's meaning through artifacts. 

Mies van der Rohe is an example of critical architecture that uses cultural values through an abstract system.  He worked on the relationship between a city and the building. He went away from the classical approach and worked with a formal theme, relating it to the city and space.  His work seemed repetitive, which represented neither a cultural bond nor a formal authority.  Mies was aware of historical architecture and his social surroundings, which shows that his type of architecture was an in-between of the two, and shows him as a critical architect of a worldly view.