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TECH[NO]TOPIA: FOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
by
Erin Hicks
A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
in partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree of Master of Architecture
Charlotte
2013
Approved by:
______________________________ Professor Charles Davis, Ph.D. ______________________________ Professor Peter Wong ______________________________ Betsy West ______________________________ David Walters
©2013Erin Hicks
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ABSTRACT
ERIN HICKS. TECH[NO]TOPIA: FOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
(Under the direction of CHARLES DAVIS, Ph.D., PETER WONG, and BETSY WEST)
The association between architecture and the Utopian discourse has been viewed
through many lenses throughout architectural theory. Though many have written about
specific Utopian communities, very few have investigated the Utopian intent and its
correspondence to contemporary society. Though often defined as a perfect oasis, Utopia,
derives from the Greek translation meaning “no place”, which begins the question, is
Utopia in fact attainable, or has this previous Utopian model disintegrated into dystopia,
or bad place?
The objective of this discourse is to begin defining a new Utopian rhetoric that
is applicable to contemporary society. This thesis has rooted itself in the belief that
technology is what defines todays society, creating a Tech[no]topia. Much like the
“workers paradise” model predominate during the Industrial Revolution, there was an
emphasis on the machine and production. This machine not only rooted itself within the
site, but in the lifestyle of the workers. In today’s society, technology has manifested
itself within all realms of our lifestyle. We are immersed in a world where the cloud is
an invisible fragment of complete connectivity. As society [we] are always connected to
technology and information and without relief [we] have now begun merging the physical
realm with the virtual realm. This experiment will intervene into a once Utopian model
during the Industrial Revolution, in Cliffside, North Carolina. Through the Tech[no]topia
rhetoric, this research will begin to challenge a new vitality for Cliffside Mills.
ii
DEDICATION
This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of the loving
people around me. To that, I would like to thank my family, who have been a constant
support in my education, and have continued to push me and encourage me every step of
the way.
I would also like to thank my studio mates who have endured this journey with me.
Through all the sleepless nights, the tears, the struggles, the pep talks and the success we
have truly achieved greatness together.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Betsy West,
who has provided me great insight into many sources of information. She continually and
convincingly conveyed a spirit of adventure, curiosity and excitement when discussing
the world of Utopian discoveries. Without her guidance and persistent support, this
dissertation would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank Charles Davis, Ph.D. and Peter Wong, who have given me
great support throughout this process. Through their guidance, both have fostered my
knowledge of the Utopian discourse and challenged me to find my voice.
v
6 | Thesis
Discourse | 7
CONTENTS
09 Discourse Narrative
13 Literature Review Narrative
17 Literature Map
26 Case Study Analyses
45 Project Description
?? Bibliography
?? Appendices
Gasometer The Tanks3027
page 35
TECH [NO] TOPIA
Contributing DesignErin Hicks
Contributing Information for GasometersGasometers
Contributing Information for the Tanks at Tate ModernHerzog de Meuron
Contributing Information for Instant CityArchigram, Peter Cook,
Contributing Information for The Walking CityArchigram
Contributing Information for A City: Sector 1576NLebbeus Woods
8 | Thesis
Discourse | 9
his dissertation will not pretend to be a
comprehensive history of the Industrial
Revolution nor will it be a complete chronicle
for Modernism and/or Postmodernism. Instead,
it will begin to critically examine the Utopian
intentions of each movement, to gain a different
understanding for the Post-Industrial ruins that
are left disseminated throughout the urban
fabric. In continuation, this thesis will begin to
create a critique of scholarly debates concerning
the nature and structure for social reform in
modern Utopian architecture; primarily during
the modernist period; and will reflect on how
this research can pertain to contemporary
architecture. From the research collected, this
thesis will begin to define a new Utopian rhetoric
for contemporary society, building from the
information of previous utopias. This theory
will work with a comprehensive definition that
utopianism is a response to the machine, that once
fostered the workers paradise. By creating and
overlapping information about the critical and
transformative nature of utopianism, it can then
be determined if in fact this notion of Utopianism
remains applicable to the needs of contemporary
architecture. Much like the work of Paolo Portoghesi
and Leon Krier, among many others, this thesis
research will propose an architecture that returns
to its roots in practical needs. This architecture will
strive to re-mediate the decomposing urban fabric
that has suffered due to Industrialization and will
seek to revive a sense of community and growth
by re-investigating the modernists ideals of Utopia
and applying those same ideas into contemporary
design.
The Modern Period
It is evident that modernism became
a dominant influence in the early 20th Century
and has continued to inspire the generations
that would proceed. This movement, unlike some
seen in the past, wasn’t merely an opposition to
aesthetics, but instead was a new social agenda for
a new social reform, and would become a reaction
T
Discourse Narrative
10 | Thesis
to the Industrial city. For example, R.M. Hartwell,
a historian of the British Industrial Revolution,
caused great controversy in his article ‘History and
Ideology’. Through his perspective of the Industrial
Revolution and the economic growth, he believed
that the myth of “immiseration” was the “one
supreme myth which more than any other has
served to discredit the economic system to which
we owe our present day civilization”.1 Though
written in 1974, the content of this article remains
relevant today as it acknowledges that the ills of
modern society are attributed to Industrialization.
The Industrial Revolution, though
promoting prosperity and economic growth,
actually showed slow economic growth and
extreme poverty, due to severe living and working
conditions. However, much like the Industrial
Revolution, it too, would fail to bring industrial
mass-production into a universal language.
Though there are many figures in this
discourse that have remained skeptical of the
modernist movement, it would be appropriate
to examine the intentions which those architects
proposed. In Ziyi Feng and Li Jin Xing’s article, ‘A
Contemporary Interpretation of Marx’s Thoughts
on Modernity’, modernism manifested itself in
all aspects of social life proclaiming that it could
solve all problems concerning economy, politics,
culture, society and many other factors.2 It was 1. Hartwell, R.M.. "History and Ideology." Modern Age: A Quar-terly Review 8, no. No. 4 (1974): pp. 383.2. Feng, Ziyi, and Lijun Xing. "A Contemporary Interpretation of Marx's Thoughts on Modernity." Frontiers of Philosophy in China 1, no. No.2 (2006): pp. 255. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30209968 (accessed September 9, 2012).Hornstein, Shelley. Losing site: architecture, memory and place. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2011.
at this time that social activism was becoming a
patron-less class and the philanthropist had been
long removed. It was assumed “that the classless
society was at hand, and that no challenging,
utopian inspiring classes would again appear, the
new “matter of factness seemed threatening... the
future society would be run by an intellectual elite
trained in the sociology of knowledge, capable of
both transforming and controlling history in the
interests of freedom, democracy and rationality.”3
It is here that an attempt to promote a patron saint
was formed by the creation of the CIAM (Congres
Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne) which
was founded in 1928. CIAM was considered to be an
avant-garde association, including architects such
as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier and many other
well now “elitist” architects, which had intended
to serve the interest of society by progressing
modernism and industrialism of architecture
forward. Their role would then be defined as
Socialist, which emphasized their dedication to
this new radical social reform. The only problem,
as mentioned before, these architects were in
fact an Elitist group, therefore, they would never
have to suffer the conditions which the general
population would. Therefore, this disconnect
would leave them unable to satisfy the social
needs for the larger audience.
Charles Jencks said, “modernism failed
as mass housing and city building partly because
to communicate with its inhabitants,” therefore, it
did not make an effective link with the city and/or 3. Shklar, Judith . "The Political Theory of Utopia: From Melan-choly to Nostalgia." The MIT Press Vol. 94.No. 2 (1965): pp. 368.
Discourse | 11
history.”4 This could provide great insight to thesis
by deciphering the key components of what the
CIAM and the like were trying to achieve. Another
architectural theorist and historian that shared
similar views as Charles Jencks was Christian
Norberg Schulz. Though slightly more poetic,
Schulz’s theory would suggest that “modern
man becomes “worldless” and thus loses his own
identity, as well as the sense of community and
participation” therefore if this existence becomes
meaningless, mankind becomes homeless.”5 As
expressed by these authors, Modernism failed in
many ways. It did not create better living situations
or communities, it didn’t provide economic
growth and instead it had left many communities
that were reliant upon Industrialism abandoned.
Postmodern Critiques
The movement which would soon follow
Modernism was termed Postmodernism. As
Modernism rejected history in search of the new
spirit, Postmodernism returned to history in hopes
of restoring a historical dimension. As Manfred
Tafuri would say, “build the city on top of the city”
and therefore do not erase the physical history
which creates a richness.6 Some would critique
Postmodernism in that it failed to separate its ideals
from Modernism. This argument may very well be
true as Postmodernism served to remediate the
4. Jencks, Charles. pp. 375. Schulz, Christian. Architecture: meaning and place : select-ed essays. New York, N.Y.: Rizzoli International Publications, 1988. pp. 11.6. Manfred Tafuri, “Toward a Critique of Architectural Ideol-ogy.” in Architecture Theory Since 1968, ed. K. Michael Hays (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998), pp. 7-11.
social failures caused by modern architecture. As
For Tom Wolfe, he saw postmodernism as a failure
to break completely from Modernism. That as a
society, (we) are still seeking the same initial goals
as Modernist and as he says, “Postmodernism is
defined as a period of slackening, a period where
everything is de-legitimized”.7 Other theorist such
as Jean Francois Lyotard, Leon Krier, and Clement
Greenberg all contributed to the dialogue of
Postmodernism. For Jean Francois Lyotard
postmodernism created a liberation of humanity,
striving for progression and an increased amount
of power. And lastly Leon Krier, who believed that
each movement could influence each other by
gaining a more positive outcome. Kriers critique
of current urban planning and architecture, are
rather nostalgic, however, he begins to shed light
on how the “destroyed fabric of the historic city
could be repaired and a traditional set of well-
scaled spaces could be added to these cores.”8 In
this case, how can the intentions of modernity be
salvaged in contemporary architecture?
It is here that it is important to understand
what may have caused the rise for this utopian
ideology. “Socialism, reformism, feudalism,
anarchism, communism, the list of -isms can
develop at great lengths, but all are contributing
factors to the political radicalism associated with
Modernism in the 1920s and 1930s” and continued
through Post-modernism. 9
7. Jencks, Charles. The New Paradigm in Architecture: The Language of Post-modern Architecture. [7th ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. pp. 51.8. Jencks, Charles. pp. 319. Bowm<http:/an, James. "The New Atlantis » Heroism,
12 | Thesis
The Politics of Utopianism
The notion of Utopia most certainly
predates modernism, however it is in the modernist
era that Utopia thrives. This is not to suggest that
“Utopianism” has been nor will ever be achieved.
Instead this is to propose a contemporary revival
of the modernist utopian ideals and how to apply
those ideals to contemporary society. There are
several ironies which surround the word Utopia.
Whether it be the fact that Thomas More, who
coined the term, was tried for treason and
beheaded or the ambivalence of its definition
meaning both no place and good place, or the fact
that Utopia suggested a social freedom however
still created parameters that shaped social factors.
It would be safe to assume that these experiments
with Utopianism, was in fact a critique or a response
to Modernism, in hopes to address the issues that
were initially created due to the social unrest in
society. Utopianism has often been related to
totalitarianism, which is not the intentions for
this thesis. Instead, it will be beneficial to begin
to understand that the impulses of modern
utopianism created a foundation for remediating
social issues. There is much to learn from these
early attempts of utopianism, as it wasn’t merely
the desire for spatial change, but related to the
economic and political conditions involved during
this time period.
Modernism, and the Utopian Impulse." The New Atlantis - A Journal of Technology & Society.Web. 23 September 2012. /www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/heroism-modern-ism-and-the-utopian-impulse>.
Timothy Benson, author of Expressionist
Utopias, said ““Utopia functioned within
Modernism as a continuous, constructive means
of self-critical renewal, an enactment of the
central tenet of the avant-garde: where creative
artistic endeavors can embody hope and prepare
the way for better conditions for humanity.”10 The
key word in that sentence was “hope”. It is not
unfathomable why a society would ambitiously
seek out for Utopia, when mankind was suffering
from nearly a millennium of destruction. In the
events of the Industrial Revolution, World War I,
the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War,
all created a social unrest and chaos. Utopianism
was an attempt to create the Ideal City. It may
be important to reiterate that this thesis is not
suggesting a return to the Island of Utopia, by
Thomas More, nor to the Contemporary City for
3 Million Inhabitants by Le Corbusier, instead it is
looking at the Utopian intentions and how these
ideas may revive a sense of community in the
contemporary industry.
An example of a failing Utopian ideal
would be the project, A Contemporary City for 3
Million Inhabitants, by Le Corbusier. Corbusier
proposed that this Utopian city will erect from a
flat site without a sense of context and scale, thus
if something is on the site he wished to acquire,
it would be demolished. The city would be
composed of two superhighways where all means
of transportation would intersect to the heart of
the city, all secondary roads would be on a street
10. Bowman, James.
Discourse | 13
grid. The center of the city would not be affiliated
with religion nor a feudal system, as a means of
rejecting history, instead, Corbusier proposed a
series of twenty four sixty-story skyscrapers that
would provide approximately 500,000 to 800,000
workers a place to gather and socially interact
around cultural amenities. Another failure for this
utopian idea was his return to an elitist mentality.
Corbusier in fact created a social hierarchy as he
proposed “intellectuals of the bureaucratic and
hierarchical new world” would indulge in living
in these luxurious high rise apartments, while
those of a smaller fortune would be shipped out
to satellite towns on the outskirts of the city.11
A key figure to look to would be architects
such Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed that “the
industrial city was the symbol of exploitation of
humankind. There, everyone, rich and poor, was
robbed of his true nature which could only be
satisfied in a harmonious relationship with the
countryside.”12 Wright was very much interest in
the well being and health of these occupants. His
beliefs were similar to those of marxism which
meant that he believed man can only achieve
self-fulfillment provided that he belonged to a
corporation a social community where he had a
definite social role and social circumstances. He
would suggest that each citizen would acquire an
acre of land, which they could build their home,
reaping the benefits of the industrial progress. In
11. Eaton, Ruth. Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment. New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2002. p. 201.12Eaton, Ruth. p. 209.
return, these citizens would work in an industry
that would stimulate their minds while learning
new traits and becoming a successful steward of
society. These places of work and industrialization
would be removed from the living community,
suggesting that life and work should remain
separate. Unlike traditional cities, Wright proposed
that there would be no urban centre to relinquish
an notion of social hierarchy therefore there
would be no feudal system, and the power would
remain equal among its residents. In place of these
churches or a palace, which used to be the heart of
a traditional city there would be a community and
cultural center where people were encouraged to
interact with one another, promoting a sense of
peace and harmony.
Though the idea of Utopia seems almost
biblical or fantastical, in its search for Eden on
Earth, there are many critiques that reject the
idea of Utopianism. Authors such as Colin Rowe
would define modern utopianism to be “a naive
and tragic aspiration on the part of modern
architecture.” 13 Colin Rowe, not only seemed
antagonistic towards the idea of Utopianism but
he also rejected Modernism. Spoken as a true
historian, Rowe made it clear in his readings that
he felt modernism failed, and their intentions
were destructive on the historical fabric. Another
skeptical visions about utopianism is the article,
Political Theory of Utopia by Judith Shklar. Shkar,
provides a brief review of classical utopia and
13 Ockman, Joan . "Form without Utopia: Contextu-alizing Colin Rowe." Journal of the Society Of Architectural Historians Vol. 57 No. .4 (1998): pp. 449.
14 | Thesis
begins to question, why, in today’s society are
there no attempts in creating a Utopia. Though
she remains skeptical, Shkar provides literary
works that showed little “activism” or hope for
that matter, as to the effects of Utopian Ideals,
which becomes evident in projects such as A
Contemporary City for 3 Million Inhabitants.
Research Possibilities
In Kevin Hetherington’s book, The
Badlands of Modernity: Heterotopia and Social
Ordering, he says “Many people were being
forced from the land and from their villages and
forced to become vagrant and migrants, known
in the discourse of the time as ‘masterless men’...
Old patterns of rights and duties as well as one’s
place in an established social hierarchy were no
longer certain.” 14 This quotes speaks loudly to the
objective of this thesis as it will strive to remediate
a sense of community in towns where modernism
and utopianism failed. As Henry-Russell Hitchcock
said, “our own generation has largely failed to cope
critically with the mass of buildings produced in
the booming period of our youth”# These buildings
which Hitchcock speaks of are the buildings that
would follow the Industrial Revolution. These
buildings seem to be perfunctory, as it is built
with little consideration and no reflection to what
would become of them when the industry moves
out. The question then becomes, what will happen
14 Hetherington, Kevin. The Badlands of Modernity Heterotopia and Social Ordering. London: Routledge, 1997. pp. 58
with these structures that have fallen silent in
the backdrop of this contemporary world? What
if these sites could once again prosper, based
on the research of utopian principles in modern
architecture? The concern that now rises of course
is the questions regarding Utopianism? In order to
be true to Utopianism, can existing forms from the
Post-Industrial age be remediated to create a new
purpose or is this an inverse of Utopianism as it
begins to create a fine line to becoming nostalgic?
There are those like Tafuri and Colin Rowe who
appreciate history and feel that building with
consideration to the existing conditions allows
for history to continue unscathed. Then there
are architects such as Corbusier, the epitome of
modernism, who rejects history.
Utopianism, modernism and post-
modernism has very much in common, they were
sought to be a machine for living. Therefore, these
buildings were in fact a machine for production,
that production created jobs for those operating
the machine, and that job produced a means
of living. Again, this goes back to the original
question asked moments before, what becomes
of these structures? A frequent method of dealing
with the failures of Modernism in the past have
been much like the Pruitt-Igoe Housing complex
in Saint Louis, Missouri, which was imploded after
becoming nuisance to society. Industries which
once thrived are being forced to close their doors
due to the economy, resembling that of the Great
Depression. Those who relied on that industry for
a source of income are being forced out of their
Discourse | 15
homes to leave their community, and the results
are these corpses throughout the urban fabric,
which become sites of vandalism, danger and
abandonment. While engaging on a psychological
level, architecture creates a built memory, a piece
of history that represents the thoughts, values
and beliefs which formed it. By demolishing these
buildings, it would be a cultural lobotomy.
As stated several times throughout this
dissertation, it will provide a critical examination
of the Utopian intentions throughout Modernism,
Post-Modernism and Contemporary architecture.
By doing this it will allow a different understanding
for the Post-Industrial ruins that remain prominent
to the city fabric.
After conducting this research, it will
allow for critique of scholarly debates concerning
the nature and structure for modern Utopian
architecture; during each time period; and
will reflect on how this research can pertain to
contemporary architecture.
16 | Thesis
rejection of history
ideologyhistory & memory
History
Memory
Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment
Ruth Eaton
The Necessity For RuinsJ.B. Jackson
A Sense of Place, A Sense of TimeJ.B. Jackson
Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of De-
IndustrializationJefferson Cowie
Joseph HeathcottBarry Bluestone
Corporate Wasteland: The Landscape and Memory of
DeindustrializationSteven High and David W. Lewis
The De Industrialization of America: Plant Closings,
Community Abandonment, and the Dismantling of Basic
IndustryBarry Bluestone
Losing SiteArchitecture, Memory and
PlaceRuth Eaton
The Power of Pro Bono
John CaryExpanding Architecture Design As Architecture
John Cary
Design Like You Give A DamnKate Stohr
Memory and ArchitectureEleni Bastea
Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through
ArchitectureBryan Bell
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City
Alan Ehrenhalt
Architecture: Meaning and Place
Christian Norberg-Schulz
Studio at Large: Architecture in Service of Global
Communities Sergio Palleroni
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jane Jacobs
ModernismRichard Weston
Ruins of ModernityJulia Hell & Andres Schonle
CIAM Discourse in UrbanismEric Mumford
Utopian AdventureVictoria Watson
Rural StudioSamuel Mockbee
The City of Collective MemoryM. Christine Boyer
Architectural Ruins
From a Cause to a StyleNathan Glazer
Erin Hicks | Modernism Again: Re-mediating the Good Intentions and Promises of Modernism | October 1, 2012
ModernismPh
enom
enol
ogy
How
thin
gs a
re in
terc
onne
cted
and
“refl
ect”
eac
h ot
her
De-Industrialization
Utopianism
The New Urbanism Movement
Post Critical Age
Neo-Utopianism???
Humanitarian Architecture
Ethics for ArchitectsThomas Fischer
Architecture: Meaning and Place
Christian Norberg-Schulz
“In general, man no longer forms part of a meaningful totality, and becomes a stranger to the world and himself.”
“human life was intimately related to things and places. In spite of hardship and social injustice, man generally had a sense of belonging and identity.” (11)
Modernism breeds a pessimistic generation - a generation where irony and protest substitute enthusiasm and engagement
In general, the loss of things and places makes up a loss of “world”. Modern man becomes “world-less” and thus loses his own identity, as well as the sense of community and participation. Existence is experienced as meaningless, and man becomes homeless.
“The point of departure for any discussion of deindustrialization must be respect for the despair and betrayal felt by workers in their factories, were padlocked, abandoned turned into artsy shopping spaces, or dynamited. Metaphors of defeat and subjection are more appropriate for the workers who banked on good paying industrial jobs for their livelihood and for the community”
“Thus modern Western history was established on an act of repression and separation; repressing archaic spectacles and mythical appearances and separating the time frame of the present from that of the past.” (21)
The City of Collective Memory
M. Christine Boyer
“reconstructed historical environments often betrays a respect for our past.”
“Contemporary American celebration suggests that the past is a remote, ill-defined period or environment when a kind of golden age prevailed, when society had an innocence and a simplicity that we have since lost; a period usually referred to as The Old Days, a time without significant events and a landscape without monuments”
Celebrating the past and seeking to make it part of daily life.
“But there has to be that interval of neglect, there has to be discontinuity; it is religiously and artistically essential.” “there must be rejection or death before there can be renewal and reform.
The Necessity for RuinsJ.B. Jackson
Modernity: emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, a transitional period of social unrest, armed revolutions and rapid industrialization and urbanization, all occurring as logical outcomes of Enlightenment Ideals.
CIAM Discourse in Urbanism
Eric Mumford
Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of De-
IndustrializationJefferson Cowie
The DeIndustrialization of America
Barry Bluestone
Corporate Wasteland:Steven High and David W.
LewisDe-
Indu
stri
aliz
atio
n
Ideal Cities: Utopianism and the (Un)Built Environment
Ruth Eaton
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jane Jacobs
Ruins of ModernityJulia Hell & Andres Schonle
Expanding Architecture Design As Architecture
John Cary
From A Cause to a StyleNathan Glazer
“Images of ruins may represent the raw realities created by bombs, natural disasters, or factory closings, but the way we see and understand ruins is not raw or unmediated. Rather, looking at ruins, writing about them, and representing them are acts framed by a long tradition. This unique interdisciplinary collection traces discourses about and representations of ruins from a richly contextualized perspective. “
Modernism in architecture and urban design has failed the American city. This is the decisive conclusion that renowned public intellectual Nathan Glazer has drawn from two decades of writing and thinking about what this architectural movement will bequeath to future generations. In From a Cause to a Style, he proclaims his disappointment with modernism and its impact on the American city.
not just a radical revolution in style but a social ambition to enhance the conditions under which ordinary people lived, has fallen short on all counts
“Utopias are presented with varying degrees of explicitness. Their ambition is the greatest collective happiness and harmony achieved through efficient social restructuring and scientific progress. They are mostly urban and suggests humankind rational domination of the chaotic forces of nature. Economic and Social Order
“Changes in education and practice will follow these changes in demand and expectations. Currently architectural education mostly prepares student to meet the building needs of relatively wealthy individuals even though most of the growth in population and most of the need for architectural services exists among billions of impoverished people across the planet”
“Design can play a direct role in addressing critical social issues that we face. The process of creating the built environment can allow communities and individuals to improve and celebrate their lives. It can help solve their struggles by reshaping their existence. “(14)
The modernist planners used deductive reasoning to find principles by which to plan cities. Among these the most violent was urban renewal; the most prevalent was and is the separation of uses (i.e., residential, industrial, commercial). These policies, destroy communities and innovative economies by creating isolated, unnatural urban spaces.
Economic and political tool to improve the world through design
PlaceIdentity
Injustice
PlaceIdentity
Justice
Discourse | 17
Literature Review
his thesis will begin to examine the intentions
of each movement, to gain understanding
for the Post-Industrial ruins that are left
disseminated throughout the urban fabric. Much
like Paolo Portoghesi and Leon Krier, this thesis is
suggesting that architecture returns to its roots
in practical needs, therefore striving to remediate
the decomposing urban fabric that has suffered
from Industrialization and to revive a social
sense of community and growth. By observing
such writings it would allow for a critique of
each movement, giving validity to why or why
not the utopian rhetoric would be applicable
to contemporary society. This review will begin
by examining the history and ideology of the
Industrial Revolution to the history and intentions
of modernism followed by the movements which
seeked to undo the misfortunes of modernism
and to create a Utopian society.
In the article ‘History and Ideology’,
Ronald Max Hartwell provides an honest and yet
disgruntled account of the Industrial Revolution.
As a historian of the British Industrial Revolution,
he believed that it is “important to expose the
ideological content of historical controversy”.
(Hartwell, 380) R.M. Hartwell caused great
controversy through his perspective of the
Industrial Revolution and the economic growth,
as he believed that the myth of “immiseration”
was the “one supreme myth which more than any
other has served to discredit the economic system
to which we owe our present day civilization”.
(Hartwell, 380) Though written in 1974, the
content of this article remains relevant today as
it acknowledges that the ills of modern society
are attributed to Industrialization. The Industrial
Revolution, though promoting prosperity and
economic growth, actually showed slow economic
growth and extreme poverty, due to severe living
and working conditions. As Modernism emerged
in the mid-nineteenth century, as a reaction to
the Industrial Revolution, it too, created “social
unrest, rapid industrialization and urbanization”.
(Habermas) Hartwell allows a sense of skepticism
T
18 | Thesis
to both the Industrial Revolution and Modernism
and by doing so, seems to suggest another
movement that will endeavor a “fix”, for lack of a
better word.
In Ziyi Feng and Lijun Xing’s article, ‘A
Contemporary Interpretation of Marx’s Thoughts
on Modernity’, modernism manifested itself in
all aspects of social life proclaiming that it could
solve all problems concerning economy, politics,
culture, society and many other factors.(Feng,
255) This text alludes to how modernism was to
be a revolution. Modernism was seeking to be
a new and radical reform to social issues of all
matters. Though naive to say, it would seem to
suggest that architecture was ameans of creating
an Utopia. That architecture could in fact be a
solution to how the make world a slightly better
place. However in this time it would seem that
social activism was becoming a patron-less class
and the philanthropist had been removed, which
feels accurate to say, when considering the figure
who were leading this movement. In an attempt
to promote a “patron” the CIAM was founded in
1928. Considered to be an avant-garde association;
architects such as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier
and many other well now “elitist” architects,
had intended to serve the interest of society
by progressing modernism and industrialism
of architecture forward. The only problem, as
mentioned before, these architects were in fact
an Elitist group, therefore, they would never
have to suffer the conditions which the general
population would. So one may be skeptical to
the great cause they were seeking, however, I do
realize that this may seem to be a rather cynical
approach to their discourse on urbanism, and with
that said, this source will require more attention to
dissect the many changes executed during their
48 year term. It would be clear that the idea is
there, but the rigor and execution would deem
less than mediocre.
As Modernism is often considered the
“architecture of good intentions”; these intentions
much like those of the Industrial Revolution
would be considered a failure. As Charles Jencks
said, “modernism failed as mass housing and city
building partly because it failed to communicate
with its inhabitants,” therefore, it did not make an
effective link with the city and/or history. (Jencks,
37) This source could provide great insight as
this thesis progresses, in that it will remain at the
forefront of the intentions proposed. Research
will show how the community is affected by such
environments and what could make them thrive
once again. Another architectural theorist and
historian that shared similar views as Charles
Jencks was Christian Norberg Schulz. Though
slightly more poetic, Schulz’s theory would
suggest that “modern man becomes “worldless”
and thus loses own identity, as well as the sense
of community and participation” therefore if
this existence becomes meaningless, mankind
becomes homeless.( Schulz, 11) As expressed
by these authors, Modernism failed in many
ways. It did not create better living situations or
communities, it didn’t provide economic growth
Discourse | 19
and instead it has left many communities that
were reliant upon Industrialism abandoned.
Though these sources provide the skepticism of
Modernism and its successes, it would important
to find a source that would counteract such
claims, without being presented as a textbook of
facts. Instead it would be helpful to find a source
from someone not of the elitist group who felt
that modernism was in fact creating a solution for
society.
The movement which would follow
Modernism was termed Postmodernism. As
Modernism rejected history in search of the new
spirit, Postmodernism returned to history in
hopes of restoring a historical dimension as well
as creating an awareness to those who would
be affected, but adding a new twist. (Hutcheon,
185) Though some would say that Postmodernism
failed to separate from Modernism; which may
very well be true, Postmodernism served to
remediate the social failures caused by modern
architecture. Theorist such as Jean Francois
Lyotard, Leon Krier, Clement Greenberg and Tom
Wolfe began defining what postmodernism was
and what it should become. For Jean Francois
Lyotard postmodernism is defined as “a grand
narrative such as liberation of humanity, progress,
increased power and so forth.” For Tom Wolfe,
he saw postmodernism as a failure to break
completely from Modernism. That as a society,
(we) are still seeking the same initial goals as
Modernism and as he says “Postmodernism is
defined as a period of slackening, a period where
everything is de-legitimized.” (Jencks, 51) Which
begs for more understanding to decipher whether
Wolfe believes that Postmodernism is slacking
because of lack of creativity and drive, or whether
it is because we aren’t striving for new goals in
architecture and (we) are recreating another
failing system? And lastly Leon Krier, believed that
each movement could influence each other by
gaining a more positive outcome. Kriers critique
of current urban planning and architecture, are
rather nostalgic, however, he begins to shed light
on how the “destroyed fabric of the historic city
could be repaired and how a traditional set of
well-scaled spaces could be added to these cores.”
(Jencks, 38)
As, Henry-Russell Hitchcock said, “our
own generation has largely failed to cope critically
with the mass of buildings produced in the
booming period of our youth.” (Hitchcock, 31) This
quote situates this thesis to accept the failings of
modernism as well as to continue being critical
of these “mass of buildings” and how to use these
structures once more. This quote also seems
to suggest that these once prospering places
of manufacturing, are now becoming corpses
throughout the urban fabric. This thesis is to help
better understand how the contemporary society
of today can help remediate these industrial ruins
that remain mystifying throughout the urban
fabric. The question then becomes, what will
happen with these structures that have fallen
silent in the backdrop of this contemporary world?
A frequent method of dealing with the failures of
20 | Thesis
Modernism, one might envision the implosion of
Pruitt Igoe, in St. Louis, where such social problems
and devastation became a spectacle seen by
everyone. These remnants remain a testament
of time; a past that once seemed promising, a
present that has been crippled, and a future that
could create new life.
The last sources that will provide a great
amount of information is Ideal Cities: Utopianism
and the (Un)Built Environments by Ruth Eaton and
the The Architecture of Fantasy: Utopian Building
and Planning in Modern Times by Ulrich Conrad
and Hans G. Sperlich. In the Ideal Cities, Ruth Eaton
provides an extensive narrative of the Western
societies attempts to create a Utopia and a perfect
city. Her research travels from the founding
father of Utopia, Thomas More to key players
such as Archizoom and Superstudio, who did not
humor the utopian methodology. This source
provides a lot of information that is present in an
unbiased collection of work much like a textbook
of information. The only thing that is missing is
an opinionated source. With more observation,
it will unravel the opinions of many writers from
the 14th Century to current day. In the book by
Ulrich Conrad and Hans G. Sperlich, it may easier
to criticize the usefulness of this text because it
was written in 1962, and it isn’t the “utopia today”,
however it does remain relevant, in its knowledge
of Utopian environments. This book provides an
interesting assortment of projects that allude
to the notion of Utopia. Projects that do not
necessarily scream UTOPIA has several feature
that are reminiscent to the idea at large. The most
useful information however will come from the
section called documents. In this section there are
written statements, letters and critical appraisals
of from many different fields all reflecting on
their ideas in the “Utopian Circular Letters” . These
writing consist of people such as Adolf Behne,
Walter Gropius, Bruno Taut, Kasimir Malevich and
many more.
This literature review was a chance to
tap into the many different components that
would lend itself to the idea of Utopia. It would
begin by looking at history and memory, and
how that spoke to Modernism who in fact tried to
dismiss history. Then it allowed the opportunity
to understand the components of Modernism
which was trying to remediate what history had
contributed, such as the Industrial Revolution.
Modernism sought to provide a solution for the
social issues that arose during Post Industrialism,
instead it made a contribution to the social unrest
that was spread through the world. Utopia isn’t a
new idea, however it was an idea that modernist
began to cling to when searching how to alleviate
the ills of modern society. It would seem that our
society is in quite the same predicament. Industries
continue to suffer in our economy, leaving peoples
living conditions below par at best, while others
are forced from their homes. Community lose faith
and hope as they turn from being a prosperous
area to resemble that of a slum and the identity is
lost forever. By conducting this literature review,
it allows substance behind endeavors that seek to
Discourse | 21
make contemporary society a more utopianistic
environment.
22 | Thesis
Discourse | 23
24 | Thesis
Reformalism
MarxismSocialism
ProgressivismMod
erni
sm
Post
Mod
erni
sm
The Three MagnetsEbenezer Howard1898
The Peaceful Path of Real ReformGarden Cities of TomorrowEbenezer Howard1898
Plan VoisonLe Corbusier1925
A Contemporary City for 3 MillionLe Corbusier1922 Broadacre City
Frank Lloyd Wright1932
Walking CityArchigram1964
Plug In CityArchigram1964
Instant CityArchigram1969
Exodus, The Voluntary PrisonersRem Koolhass1972
The Twelve Ideal CitiesSuperstudio1972
Continuous MonumentSuperstudio1969
No Stop CityAndrea BranziArchizoom1969
New BabylonConstant Nieuwenhuys1967
Une Cite IndustrielleTony Garnier1917
Constructions for a Modern MetropolisMario Chiattone1914
The New City Antonio Sant’Elia1914
Highrise CityLudwig Hilberseimer1924
Berlin Development ProjectLudwig Hilberseimer1928
Flying SettlementWenzel Hablik1907-1914
The Begum’s FortuneJules Verne1825-1902
News From NowhereJules VerneWilliam Morris1890
Pullman Company TownGeorge Pullman1890
Port SunlightAnonymous1905
The Inspectors HouseClaude-Nicholas Ledoux1804
PanopticonJeremy Bentham1787
Flying CitiesGeorgy Krutikov1928
PhalansteriesCharles Fourierearly 19th Century
Generic CityRem Koolhaas1994
2000 Ton CityTemporal Cochlea-CityNew York of BrainsSpaceship CItyCity of HemispheresBarnum Jar’s Magnificient and Fabulous CityContinous Production Conveyor Belt CityConical Terraced CityThe “Ville-Machine Habitee”City of OrderCity of the Spendid HouseCity of the Book
"..." TOPIA:
Fostering a NEW Utopian Rhetoric for Contemporary Society
Uto
pia
DYSto
pia
"...
”to
pia
Discourse | 25
Reformalism
MarxismSocialism
ProgressivismMod
erni
sm
Post
Mod
erni
sm
The Three MagnetsEbenezer Howard1898
The Peaceful Path of Real ReformGarden Cities of TomorrowEbenezer Howard1898
Plan VoisonLe Corbusier1925
A Contemporary City for 3 MillionLe Corbusier1922 Broadacre City
Frank Lloyd Wright1932
Walking CityArchigram1964
Plug In CityArchigram1964
Instant CityArchigram1969
Exodus, The Voluntary PrisonersRem Koolhass1972
The Twelve Ideal CitiesSuperstudio1972
Continuous MonumentSuperstudio1969
No Stop CityAndrea BranziArchizoom1969
New BabylonConstant Nieuwenhuys1967
Une Cite IndustrielleTony Garnier1917
Constructions for a Modern MetropolisMario Chiattone1914
The New City Antonio Sant’Elia1914
Highrise CityLudwig Hilberseimer1924
Berlin Development ProjectLudwig Hilberseimer1928
Flying SettlementWenzel Hablik1907-1914
The Begum’s FortuneJules Verne1825-1902
News From NowhereJules VerneWilliam Morris1890
Pullman Company TownGeorge Pullman1890
Port SunlightAnonymous1905
The Inspectors HouseClaude-Nicholas Ledoux1804
PanopticonJeremy Bentham1787
Flying CitiesGeorgy Krutikov1928
PhalansteriesCharles Fourierearly 19th Century
Generic CityRem Koolhaas1994
2000 Ton CityTemporal Cochlea-CityNew York of BrainsSpaceship CItyCity of HemispheresBarnum Jar’s Magnificient and Fabulous CityContinous Production Conveyor Belt CityConical Terraced CityThe “Ville-Machine Habitee”City of OrderCity of the Spendid HouseCity of the Book
"..." TOPIA:
Fostering a NEW Utopian Rhetoric
for Contemporary Society
Uto
pia
DYSto
pia
"...
”to
pia
Current Literature Visual Map
26 | Thesis
s t u d i e scaseGASOMETER | THE TANKS AT TATE | ARCHIGRAM | SUPERSTUDIO
The Tanks at Tate Herzog de Meuron
Instant City Archigram
GASOMETERVienna Austria
Walking City Archigram
A-City, Sector 1576N, Quad 2NR Lebbeus Woods
Discourse | 27
By Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelb[l]ea, Manfred Wehdorn, Wilhelm Holzbauer
Gasworks SimmeringVienna, Austria
eter Kropotkin had written in 1912, “But
enough! I have before me so many figures,
all telling the same tale, that examples could be
multiplied at will. It is time to conclude, and, for
every unprejudiced mind, the conclusion is self-
evident. Industries of all kinds decentralize and
are scattered all over the globe; and everywhere
a variety, an integrated variety, of trade grows,
instead of specialization. (75)
The Gasometers of Vienna are located in
Simmering industrial zone. For nearly 90 years the
Gasometers of Vienna served as gas storage tanks
to supply gas to Vienna. After converting the cities
gas to natural gas between 1970 and 1978, it left
the gasometers rendered useless. Therefore the
gasometers closed their doors.
The Gasometers of Vienna, stands
a testament for the idea of Adaptive Reuse.
Instead of allowing this structure to decay in the
heart of Vienna, the city chose to preserve the
monument with a new multi-functional program.
Therefore opening its doors to the community
rather than becoming a monument to corporate
abandonment.
The significance of this case study is to
prove that though the industry has left the current
facility, that facility does not have to become
a relic left as a testament for its failure. What
happens to the community when the industry
leaves? Does the community become abandoned
as displaced workers are forced to leave? Is there
a new program that could be proposed to make
that context self sufficient? All questions which are
evoked from this case study.
P
Interior of Gasometer
Photo courtesy of http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-15405251/gasworks-simmering-in-vienna-austria?popup=1
28 | Thesis
In 1892, an international competition was held
for a new city gasworks in the city of Vienna.
An engineer by the name of Shimming won
the competition and four years later Theodor
Herrmann, a technical consultant for gas
engineering was hired to consult during the
production. Construction began October 27, 1896
and was completed July 17, 1899, later opening on
October 31, 1899. Standing as a testament to the
Industrial Revolution, the Gasometers remained in
service until 1986.
Each gasometer has a cylindrical plan and
constructed in brick. to read identically. The external
diameter is 64.9 meters (approximately 213 feet) and
has a foundation base of 1.7 meters (approximately
5.5 feet). The internal diameter that would house the
water tank is 62.9 meters (approximately 206 feet).
The dome shape roof spans 63.6 meters built using
an iron structure with a timber decking clad in zinc
sheets. 1
1. http://www.cse.polyu.edu.hk/~cecspoon/lwbt/Case_Studies/Gasometer_City/Gasometer_City.htm
aerial view Vienna Austria via google earth Gasworks, Simmering
Discourse | 29
In the image on the upper right displays the plan and section for the gasometers. As each tank creates
a means of housing, building B, designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au also offers a shopping mall within the
interior. In addition to the original tank, Himmelb(l)au created a structure that served much like a parasite
to the existing structure that houses program such as a concert hall, student hostels, and health facilities.
gasometer building a interior rendering Jean Nouvel
gasometer building c gasometer building d
Jean Nouvel's design for Gasometer
Building A including apartments
that lined the parameter of the
structure, and opened to an interior
courtyard. It was intended to be a
reflection of old verses new.
Manfred Wehdorn's design for
Gasometer Building C includes
apartments that lined the
parameter of the structure, and
opened to an interior courtyard.
The apartments inside have access
to green terraces that fill the space.
Wilhelm Holzbauer's design for
Gasometer Building D occupies
the center of the existing building
with lift and stairs, The interior
is composed of three compact
sections that are divided by
indoor gardens and penetrates the
perimeter of the existing building,
creating a connection to the
exterior.
Photos courtesy of http://www.wiener-gasometer.at
30 | Thesis
Discourse | 31
The Tanks
Herzog & de MeuronLondon England
© Tate Archive 2003
photos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk
he Tanks at Tate Modern was designed by
Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and
stood as icon in the London Olympics of 2012.
Located on the south bank of the River Thames
this project was a part of the International Design
Competition which launched in 1994 and opened
in January of 2000. The Tanks at Tate Modern
is project that utilizes the redevelopment of
three industrial chambers which were rendered
"useless" since 1981's decommissioning of the
former Bankside Power Station's Oil Tanks. 1
The Bankside Power Station was
constructed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also
designed Battersea Power Station and Liverpool
Cathedral. Familiar with these massive structures,
1. http://www.designboom.com/architecture/the-tanks-at-tate-modern-by-herzog-de-meuron/
T
32 | Thesisphotos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk
© Tate Archive 2003
Turbine Hall
Turbine Hall
the building is 660 feet long, constructed with steel frame and
brick cladding, which a chimney that stands at 325 feet high. Built
in phases, to continue expanding this sector created electricity
while the two other phases were constructed until 1952. The final
phase consisted of a building divided into three sections: the
main turbine hall, the switching room and the boiler room.
Each tank is approximately seven meters high with a diameter
of 30 meters. This brutalist form was built to hold the fuel that
would power turbines that create electricity for the majority of
the capital from 1952 until 1981. Constructed with massive thick
walls, these labyrinth like structures serves as a fort protecting
the community in the likelihood of an explosion. Needless to say
the architecture for this form was much like the architecture of
any industry, which function rather than form. Each raw like wall
was carefully constructed based on the practical applications for
the industry.
Tanks at Tate Modern Before and After
sung hwan kimthe tanks commission, 2012 installation view
© sung hwan kimphoto credit: tate photography
Discourse | 33
photos courtesy of http://www.tate.org.uk
Jacques Herzog, when commenting about the
aesthetics said that it would be easy to make
these structures in "romantic Piranesian ruins but
it would be a trap - it becomes kitsch." 2 Instead
each tank remained brutalist, in that the structure
remained simple with a single door, in hopes that
the scale would overwhelm the occupant. These
walls then become almost mute, as they fall to the
background while the art and performance spaces
demand the attention.
Much of this internal structure remained
intact and unscathed which only emphasizes its
2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jul/01/tanks-tate-modern-review
charm. However, though many admire the new
addition, I wonder if that competes with nostalgic
structure that leeches itself to the more modern
structure, or possibly vice versa. Then again, is
the remaining of this building a look back; almost
nostalgic, to correct the failures of industry that
once stood?
34 | Thesis
Discourse | 35
Instant CityArchigram
etween 1961 and 1974 Archigram and its
theories were spreading throughout the
architecture world like wildfire. Nine issues of
Archigram magazine, three television programs,
many conferences, lectures, sketches made their
theories grow with excitement. In their work they
were constantly unveiling the a window into the
world of to tomorrow , in hypothetical situations
that embraced a futuristic image through collage.
Through their collages they were able to
give life and vitality to the surrounding building
that otherwise remained unnoticed by the
general public. Their ambitions were to adapt new
scenes of what the silent buildings could become
through radical changes. Archigrams did not only
look at these structures as permenant entities
but instead an object that could be customized
and manipulated. Architecture was not about
monumentality or to be preserved as musuems
but instead adapted to the users needs at that
given time.
Archigram’s approached can be summed
in their quote “ when you are looking for a solution
to what you have been told is an architectural
problem - remember, the solution may not be
a conventional building.” A building that is a
snapshot to what the world was investigate at
that given time which may not be acceptable for
the changing period. Thus a building would need
to adapt to constantly change in order to stay
relevant with the changing world. “Archigrams
output was excitement over what this new world
was going to look like.” 1
Archigram has similarities to the voices of
early modernism as both were trying to create a
1. Cook, Peter. "Boys at Heart." In Archigram. New York: Prince-ton Architectural Press, 1999. 2-3
B
36 | Thesis Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project
new spirit for architecture. As modernism sought
to reject history to find a new social agenda due
to current global situation, ie wars, depression,
etc. Archigram strived to find a new voice in an
age following such destructions where nothing
was being built. Both were searching a for a new
vitality to community and ultimately a better life.
In a statement Archigram said, “Cities
should generate, reflect and activate life; their
structure organized to precipitate life and
movement.” 2 In an age were technology is
constantly evolving making the last minutes
gadget nearly obsolete, Archigram was at the
forefront of technological progression in 1966. The
work of Archigram evokes ideas about technology
and its role in society. Their ideas towards
technology were before their time, as the were
2. Cook, Peter. "Editorial from Archigram 3." Archigram. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. 16.
Discourse | 37
Peter Cook David Greene MIke Webb Ron Herron Warren Chalk Dennis Crompton
Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project
Research Centre for Experimental Practice at the University of Westminster
seeking for technology to readily available to their clients, as well as being able to alter their environment
often. Therefore life would be a real virtuality as opposed to a virtual reality.
38 | Thesis
Discourse | 39
A Walking CityArchigram
s mentioned before Archigram was known more
for their evocative and provocative ideas of how
to revitalize a community through their optimistic
spirit. As most of their work was being produced
during a time social uphevel, such as the Vietnam War,
their work was an attempt to remove themselves from
the past. Therefore they could implement a new social
change to not only architecture but the surrounding
context. As technology was becoming more advanced
- these new machines of living could foster new
possibilities to how contemporary communities
networked themselves to sustain.
Photos courtesy of Archigram Archival Project
A Walking City was envisioned in 1968. With
NASA on the cusp of a moon landing near in sight it is
not difficult to see how technology was in fact a driving
force behind their work. So much of Archigrams work
suggests the temporary nature of their structures. Due
to technology rapidly advancing Archigrams projects
do not possess a permanent site but instead focuses
on the objects that are intending to be temporary. For
A
40 | Thesis Images courtesy of Archigram Archival Project
Research Centre for Experimental Practice at the University of Westminster
example in Walk City, the structure serves as a hub
on legs that allows one to be much like a nomad.
As Peter Blake says, "the structures are conceived
to plug into utilities and information networks
at different locations to support the needs and
desires of people who work and play, travel and
stay put, simultaneously." 1 With technology today,
it would seem plausible to say that this innovative
idea of network could in fact change views within
architecture.
1University of Westminter. "Archigram Archival Project." Archi-gram Archival Project. http://archigram.westminster.ac.uk (accessed December 9, 2012)
Discourse | 41Photos courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Website
http://lebbeuswoods.net/
A-City: Sector 1576NLebbeus Woods
Centricity, 1987
Centricity, 1987
Centricity, 1987
Lebbeus Woods said, "In these places
I'm drawing, the high-technology as invisible,
because it's already so miniaturized, and so
compact, and so industrialized, that it's not a
major physical artifact," said Woods. "And the
city is indeed low-technology in the sense that
people are participating in the making of it."1
This images evoke a sense of technology that is
brutal in nature. The landscape because almost
neutral, which could suggest that the site and
place does not matter. It is also rendered without
people, which could suggest that people play
a minute level in the world of technology. Also,
there is a wispy nature to the cables which creates
a continuous movement, which one could project
how technology is seen versus hidden, which
1. Frearson, Amy . “Lebbeus Woods: Early Drawings.” Dezeen - architecture and design magazine. N.p., 8 Nov. 1012. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/08/leb-beus-woods-early-drawings/>.
42 | Thesis Photos courtesy of Lebbeus Woods Website
http://lebbeuswoods.net/
A-City: Sector 1576 Nin current society would begin to question, is
technology hardware versus software? Is it visible
or this mystical creature that looms?
The power of Lebbeus Woods work is that
he is highly influential through his conceptual
designs. His ideas have pushed the limits and have
create new forms of existence. His renderings of
each place, are suggestive of machine aesthetics
that cut through existing structures, and piercing
into the ground condition with keen detail. Though
selected as an Utopian example, it would be easy
to counteract his work as Dystopian, which would
serve as a product for the failed Utopias.
Discourse | 43
44 | Thesis
t o p i a[ N O ]techFOSTERING A NEW UTOPIAN RHETORIC FOR CONTEMPORARY
SOCIETY
Discourse | 45
CONTENTS
45 Project Description
49 Context | Location |Site
53 Comprehensive Visual Map
57 What Define Contemporary Society
26 Methodology
?? Proposed Design Solutions
?? Bibliography
?? Appendices
Historical Information
Current Site Conditions
4946
page 49
TECH [NO] TOPIA
Contributing DesignErin Hicks
Contributing Information for Cliffside MillsCliffside Historical Society & Remember Cliffside
Contributing Information for Facebook Data CenterFacebook
46 | Thesis
Discourse | 47
Project Description
T he objective of this discourse is to begin
defining a new Utopian rhetoric for
contemporary society. Again, this thesis has
rooted itself in the belief that technology is what
defines society today, therefore becoming known
as Tech[no]topia. Much like the “workers paradise”
model, which stemmed from the Industrial
Revolution; there was an emphasis on the machine
and production. This machine not only rooted
itself within the site, but provided a lifestyle for
the workers. In today’s society, technology has
manifested itself within all realms of our lifestyle.
Immersed in a world where the cloud is no longer
a visible mass of water particles, now “the cloud”
is an invisible fragment of complete connectivity.
Through this cloud society is always connected
to technology and information, without relief
from constant connection, we have now begun
merging the physical reality with a virtual realm.
This experiment will intervene into a
particular fragment that once exuded the Utopian
model during the Industrial Revolution; a factory
town, located in Cliffside, North Carolina. This
research will also challenge the site to foster a new
solution for the abandonment of the industrial
ruins that scatter throughout the landscape.
Cliffside Mill was once a thriving city,where the
industry constructed the site and surrounding
community and since it’s closure the site and
surrounding context has suffered and became
pillaged of the vitality it once exuded. These
fragments remain as a testament to the loss
of a previous Utopia and the temporal nature
of such Utopias. With reference to the theories
by Archigram, Lebbeus Woods and those alike,
will help foster the Tech[no]topia ideals to be
implemented to the forgotten Utopia.
48 | Thesis
Discourse | 49
Context | Location | Site
C liffside Mills, is located in a small area of
Rutherford County, known as Cliffside, North
Carolina. The site chosen for the construction of
the mill is nestled in the horseshoe bend of the
Second Broad River. From this river, provided
an opportunity for water power, to facilitate the
textile mills production.
Raleigh Rutherford Haynes, a successful
mill owner, saw potential in the landscape of
Cliffside, and in 1899, began laying the foundation
for the Cliffside Mill. By March 1900, the brick for
the mill began steadily constructed R.R. Haynes,
enterprise. It would not be long until the town of
Cliffside began to take shape. Power was drawn
from the Second Broad River, streets began to cut
through the virgin landscape, houses were being
established for the workers of the textile mill. As
each warehouse began to function and workers
flocked to the area, R.R. Haynes was concerned
with the welfare of his employees, providing
them schoolhouses for continuing education and
schools for the local children, churches, doctors
offices, as well as leisure activities such as theaters,
gymnasiums and department stores. Throughout
1910 -1920 the town was rapidly growing and
by 1920, the town had become a prosperous
Cliffside Mill, 1908
Cliffside Mill, Postcard
50 | Thesis
community, living the “American dream”, where
the workers owned their land and homes, with
beautiful gardens, and just like other communities
that spawned from the to Industrial Revolution,
the community thrived to live a healthy lifestyle
in harmony with the machine. By 1942, the
population had exceeded 4,000 people in the
community and was continuing to expand.
Offices
Department Store
Car Garage Memorial Building
Aerial Town Centre
Town Plan, 1942
Photos courtesy of Entasis Design
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By 1960, Cliffside Mills, began taking a
turn that would ultimately lead to the mills demise.
The sound of the rushing water over the
dam, cannot fill the void and silence of Cliffside
Mills today. Slowly throughout the years, each
independent business of the mill began closing
their doors. The company bank was closed. The
department stores were closed and the houses
that were once for the workers were demolished.
It can be seen in the two dramatically different
images above, the image on the left from 1940,
and the image on the right, from 1990. Comparing
these two images, shows the removal of many
buildings on the site as well as the housing in the
distance.
The image on the lower left shows how
many houses were provided by the mill to the
workers in the community, with the houses in blue
and the mill infrastructure in red.
Cliffside Mill, 1990Cliffside Mill, 1940
Cliffside Mill, 1942, Site Plan
52 | Thesis
The image provided my Google Earth, shows the
immediate conditions for the Cliffside Mill site. The
map on the left draws attention to the remaining
structures that are in the nearby community,
which consist of a few residences, but are primarily
small businesses such as Dollar General, several
churches and a hometown pharmacy.
Cliffside Mill, 2013, Site Plan
Google Earth, Aerial 2013
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54 | Thesis
Utopian Fragments
Cliffside Mill Panorama
Main Building
Coal Stack
Photos courtesy of Erin Hicks
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Cliffside Mill Panorama
In David Pinder’s journal, “In defense
of Utopian Urbanism: Imagining Cities After
the End of Utopia”, he says “Should the concept
of the Utopia not be erased like the names of
those luminaries that once adorned street signs
in socialist cities to be replaced by sins from a
supposedly more respectable past? After all, was
it not the Utopian impulse that originally helped
to lay the foundations for such social experiments
and their authoritarian efforts to remould societies
according to a projected ideal?”1 Not unlike the
intention sought after by Cliffside Mill, the factory
town has long been a subject for Utopian dreams
promising a better future. These products of the
1. Pinder, David. “In Defense of Utopian Urbanism: Imagining Cities After the End of Utopia.” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography Volume 84, no. 3-4 (2004): 229-241.
Industrial Revolution have long been the focus for
social fears, and a dystopian model. It has created a
reoccurring theme leaving the land barren, rearing
itself against mankind. Where new technologies
seek to enslave people and manipulate their
lives. For places such as Cliffside Mills, this new
technology and new machine, that once helped
the community to thrive, was removed. Thus when
the technology was removed, due to outsourcing
and modern technology, the community was
removed. The population for Cliffside in 1942, was
over 4,000 people, but as the mill would meet
its demise, the population dropped below 600
people, leaving Cliffside a ghost town. The current
site has been pillaged and salvaged of valuable
materials, leaving fossils of structures scattered
throughout the site.
Abandoned Train Trestle
56 | Thesis
Addressing Each Fragment
The Water Power Plant, is situated along
the Second Broad River, and still operates today,
providing power generated from the dam and
water turbines to facilitate Duke Energy, located
one mile south of the site. Though much of the
adjoining building has been de-constructed, this
building is the only one that still services the site.
Once the largest structure on the site, this
images shows the Main Textile Building, where
their were floors upon floors of textile machinery.
Though much of the building has been torn down,
this fragment remains like a statue, upon a hill , as
a testament to the Utopian dream.
Each of these fragments played an
important role to the once success of Cliffside Mill.
This thesis chose to intervene with the ruins left
on the site.
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Comprehensive Visual Map
58 | Thesis
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What Defines Contemporary Society
Throughout the course of this thesis,
it became important to continuously track
any Utopian models, found during research.
Organizing each utopia in chronological order
allowed for an assessment to when these ideals
began to thrive and when these ideas were not at
the forefront of the intellectual debate.
The first Utopia, that began the
comprehensive visual map was the Sforzinda
in 1465, with countless others tampering
throughout the centuries. It wasn’t until the 1900’s
that the Utopian proposals began to flourish
and continued to heavily throughout 1975. From
this chart it is safe to assume that each of these
Utopian models, were in response to something
happening in that current moment. For example,
in the1900’s, Utopia was the Modernists response
to the Industrial Revolution. Due to Machine Age
and the Industrial Age, mass production became
more efficient due to new technology. However
the living and working conditions suffered,
as their were no regulations and codes that
enforced the well being and health of the workers.
Advocates such as Charles Fourier, rejected the
Industrial Revolution, while others such as Robert
Owens, sought to mend the faults of the Industrial
Revolution, by creating working communities,
that provided a healthier lifestyle, creating shorter
work hours, reasonable pay, renovated housing
and continuing education opportunities.
These ideas continued to carry through
in the work of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities
of Tomorrow and Frank Lloyd Wrights Broadacre
Cities.
Braodacre Cities Frank Lloyd Wright
62 | Thesis
Another example in the midst of the
1960’s, are the pioneers of Archigram. Archigram
sought to create a new generation of architecture
by critiquing the work of the Modernists. Their
radical approaches were a response to postwar
consumerism as well as advances in technology.
Peter Cook, of Archigram said “ what happens if the
whole urban environment can be programmed
and structured for change?” It is clear in their
work they are interested in evoking ideas about
architecture and how it could be influenced by
current society. In a time where the Vietnam War
was televised, and technology was becoming
easily accessible, Archigram remained on the cusps
of media and technology advances, which allowed
them to be visionaries for future architecture.
In projects such as, A Walking City,
Archigram begins exploring ideas about mobility
suggesting a reinvention in architecture allowing
buildings to become machines and organism. It is
an exploration that shows how society could be
located and moved to many places over the world.
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After exploring many projects with
varying abstractions of Utopia, it became
interesting to think what would be the Utopian
rhetoric for contemporary society? As hinted
before, many Utopian models were a response to
current events, whether it be the a response to the
Industrial Age, war, science, Utopia’s were reacting
to the developing world. Through this thesis
it was important to recognize what would be
defining contemporary society. Much like those
ideas in the Machine Age, contemporary society
is still reacting to the modern developments in
technology. For this thesis it was important to
define what Utopia meant in todays society. This
thesis rooted itself in the belief that Utopia, was
similar to modernism, as it was responding to this
new machine. This machine continued to produce
a lifestyle that evolved around the function of
technology. While at Cliffside Mill in 1910, Utopia
revolved around the machinery for production,
however, today this machine for production has
become “the cloud.”
Images courtesy of Facebook
64 | Thesis Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI
Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI
Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI
Very Large Array, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Contemporary Society has become
characterized by the increase of human interconnection
throughout the global world. For this thesis, I have
begun to define technology by this over arching word,
“the cloud”. This cloud no longer refers to the nebulous
water particles that swarm in the air, but the signals
and transference that keeps the world connected at
all times. Cloud computing, is essentially the virtual
servers that makes the internet readily accessible for
information gathering and connection. Infrastructure,
much like the Very Large Array, in Socorro, New
Mexico , seen in the images below, show the epitome
of how technology has become the salvation for
todays society. These satellites beckon towards to sky,
receiving and exchanging signals, and without these
machines, this phenomenon would go unnoticed.
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