Carchitecture v4

Carchitecture

Cars, architecture and the American way

Consider the typical suburban home. It front is dominated by the driveway and the garage!

Thesis

The automobile culture of the past century was a driving force behind many architectural developments, specifically suburban sprawl and all the elements that came with it: the suburban home dominated by the driveway and garage, isolated residential communities, commuter office parks, and shopping malls. Burgeoning environmental and socio-economic pressures have primed Americans for a shift toward Existence Minimum.

Theme

The Existence Minimum movement of the early 20th century, was almost exclusively a European phenomenon. I propose that a re-examination and furthur development of its theories will make it applicable in [AWS1] the [W2] United States. The new Existence Minimum will encompass more than the most efficient living in the smallest space possible: it will be highlighted by a move toward making a smaller imprint environmentally.

This issue needs to be addressed not only on the organizational scale, but also on the urban[W3] scale [AWS4] — how can urbanists and city planners begin to think in a way that is less about sprawl and more about infill and effiecient use of already developed land; and on an architectural scale — based on developments in materials and methods that allows architecture to make a minimal impact on the environment.

I will pursue three major urban ideas: urban infill, suburban infill, and nomadic[W5] architecture.

The effect of the automobile in this discussion cannot be ignored. The automobile is an omnipresent element in American society, culture, and economics — so pervasive that its impact is often overlooked not only by the average American, but often by civic leaders and city planners. It is a factor that must not be ignored, but recognized as an essential component of American history and culture… and that could potentially lead to further advances in Existence Minimum theory and[W6] application[AWS7] . The urban ideas will be investigated primarily in theory, as the majority of the application of the work will be invested in organizational and architectural[W8] studies[AWS9] .

Vehicle

A series of small projects will be pursued to test the needs and limitations of this lifestyle as well as to establish potential cultural implications. Three types of buildings will be developed: residential (single family and bachelor living), retail (cafes, clothing stores, etc), and business. In addition to architecture based on site, a portion of the investigation will be dedicated to mobile architecture. I will pursue two types of [W10] investigation[AWS11] . The primary one will be a re-thinking of the traditional RV. The second will center on the manipulation and renovation of existing vehicles (cars, trucks, and[W12] SUVs[AWS13] ).

Site

Sites will be chosen from various locations across America to get varied data based on climate, culture, and traditional building types associated with the various areas. The urban sites will be from Boston, MA; Denver, CO[AWS14] ; and New Orleans, LA. The suburban sites will be Somerdale, NJ; Aurora, CO[AWS15] ; and Metarie, LA[AWS16] .

---

[AWS1]And accepted? Do we care?

[W2]accepted? bah! the proletariat cannot even understand let alone appreciate the complexities of architectural mumbo jumbo.

i'm not sure. i think that a series of interviews of people would help establish whether it would be a reasonable thing to ask of contemporary americans. i don't even know if i would be prepared to live in a truly existence minimum lifestyle. we'll see. i'll burn that bridge when i get to it.

[W3]urban scale: the biggest scale. grand sweeping hand gestures. the scale of a city or a neighborhood. organizational scale: the scale of a block. the way buildings relate to each other. how a space is organized. floor plans and sections of the buildings. architectural scale: how it looks. primarily aesthetics, but at the existence minimum scale this would be a major consideration. ex: how storage is handled specifically. how furniture would be handled (what type of furniture, and maybe some of where it would go though furniture placement falls on the border between organizational and architectural).

from what i can tell these are fairly well understood concepts in the profession, but i'm going to define them so that there is absolutely no confusion.

[AWS4] Tell me what is entailed at the organizational, urban, and architectural scales. Are these terms of the craft that your reviewers understand?

[W5]i found this in one of my sketch book notes and liked the sound of nomadic architecture better.

[W6]I agree. A substantial portion of my research has to be dedicated to a serious look into "Autormobile Minimum utopia". i might quote you on that.

[AWS7]You hint at a grand scheme, where the automobile could become a vehicle of change [sorry, couldn’t resist!] toward Existence Minimum. Can you back it up? I think you need to make a fairly brief foray into Automobile Minimum utopia, from an architectural perspective – and acknowledge that the non-architectural challenges will have to be dealt with in tandem.

[W8]I am definately wussing out. I think I'll propose that the urban issues will vary so widely from place to place that a set of generalized rules backed up by investigation into the level of detail that actually concerns architects is the best way to operate. That and I'm not interested in urban design.

[AWS9]You presume to tackle an [broad, sweeping gestures] urban design challenge… then wuss out. Do you dare acknowledge that architecture doesn’t always lead the way – but certainly can shape and steer the path?

[W10]i like that idea a lot and it's being experiemented with in europe. taking your home with you when you move.

[AWS11]Leverage existing resources: Big, efficient trucking companies load trailers on railroad flat beds for long-hauls, then hitch them to trucks for pinpoint delivery. Imagine an RV doing the same – or a modular home that can be relocated by similar means.

[W12]SUV planters. i like it!

[AWS13] Turn them into planters? Recycle as building materials?

[AWS14]Best of/ Worst of/ Local hopes for the future?

[AWS15] Real world example of Existence Minimum: Heather Gardens; Liight Rail

[AWS16]Acknowledge special nature of NOLA: lower ratio of cars to people (is this true?), strong European influence, (local anomaly?), Katrina impact. I suspect the urban/suburban relationship between urban New Orleans and suburban Metarie will mirror the national experience.