Location proposal #2

After thinking of possible locations for the blind institute I came up with three proposals, each with different qualities. The first one was already mentioned last in location proposal #1, namely the Binckhorst in The Hague. A interesting area, full of life and interesting sensory diversity. The master plan of the area shows that the area is transforming into dwelling, offices, companies and park. A contradiction to this location will be my second suggestion: around the koopgoot in Rotterdam. This area is surrounded by retail and leisure shops. It is a always busy and lively place, addressed to commerce. Different is the live around the koopgoot at night. The city of Rotterdam has a center where not many people live. How does this affect the blind? At day busy, lively, hasted, everything is addressed to this commercial way of life. At night empty.

Contradicting both The Hague and Rotterdam is my third proposal: Ter Borg in Schinnen. Ter borg is an old farm and castle located in Limburg at the border of a forest, surrounded by farming land. Close to the location is the train station of Spaubeek and the A76 highway from Eindhoven to Aken. How different is this area then the first two. The people, the work, the commerce, the hasting, the lively surrounding are not to be found here. Here nature takes that place. The forest, the air, the animals create a different kind of lively surrounding.

To select the best location for my institute, I will analyze the three location not only on traditional ways (think of mapping activities, routings, connections etc.). No I'm interested in the blind, so I will analyze the locations on a way a blind person will learn a area. Sound mapping, touching the surrounding and smelling the environment. But also creative writing, exploring an area through different perspectives. All these methods and more will give me an image, or maybe image is not the right word, give me an understanding of the location like the blind have and so choosing the best location.

Location proposal #1

Because my project is focussed on the methodology and not on a site, I am capable of choosing my own location to work on. But how to choose? A idea is to take 2 or 3 different sites. Each with there unique character and possibilities. The plan is to analyze these location on there diversity of senses, showing their lived space through analyzes through hearing, smelling, tasting, touching. But also through various literary techniques like creative writing and working with different characters, perspectives and time. By these methods I'm mapping the lived space of all the locations and placing them next to each other, in order to select the location I will work with for my design.

My first location to investigate is a proposal from Klaske Havik and is the Binckhorst area in The Hague. This site is a old industrial area which the city of The Hague has big plans for. The architectural firm OMA is working on a study of the area and there is a diversity of function already present (cultural, dwelling, commercial, industry). The site is located close to Holland Spoor station and the train is running next to it, just like the river "trekvliet". The diversity of life, the old industrial character and the train and water borders makes this area an outstanding place for a diversity of senses.

Other location will be added when I know them.

Just an idea! #1

This is just an idea for the context of the design proposal. After reading "exploration #6: the uncanny in Mark Z. Danielewski's 'house of leaves'" by Nele Bemong I notice a similarity between being blind and the "Unheimlich" (at least in my eyes, I don't know if someone who is blind agrees with me?). The text reminded me of the changing character of the house in the book. It started out as a haunted house, intruding in the lives of the Navidson's (the main characters in the book). But coming to the end of the book the house changed, it became not the enemy but almost something godlike. This changing was linked with the mental state of the navidson's and after being almost destroyed by the 'unheimlich' they understand it, accepted it and accepted their own mental state and therefor changing the house to the 'heimlich' again. This accepting and therefor changing the 'unheimlich' into the 'heimlich' sounds to me as a metaphor for being blind, and accepting that. I can understand that being blind turns even the simplest house into a maze giving it a 'unheimlich' feeling. After understanding and accepting that your blind this maze can become a simple house again, forming a 'heimlich' feeling. Ok, this only applies for people who turn blind later on in there lives, because they're not accustomed with there other senses yet, but it can be a concept for the institute.

You can read this essay about "house of leaves" here. And also start reading the book if you didn't do this already!!!

First structure Literature research

My goals for the literature research two things. First I want to study literature as a methodology for architecture. Tools like perspective, characters, time, description, detail, narrative, but also concepts like lived experience, creative writing, layout and poetry. With these tools and concepts a writers is capable of leading the reader to a world he designs and where the reader will live in it, finishing it. Words and more important narratives speak to a reader in a way that he understands, even feels the writer who he probably never met. Reading books and seeing what impression they leave at me makes me wonder how I can get the same achievements in architecture? Off course combining literature and architecture is already happening in contemporary architecture. Just thinking of the work of bernard tschumi, Peter Eisenman and John Hejduk. These architects already use literature, all on there own way, in there designs. To strengthen my point I plan and ad some case studies in the research part.

The second part of the research is to find a context for the building design for the Msc4. Right now I only have a idea for a building, but I don't have a context and location for it. I don't know how I'm going to do this yet. But I have some possibility to do this:

- Use one or more book to function as the basis for my design. Think of using a book like 'city of the blind' and use the location for my design.

- Use the narrative a book to design my building.

- Create my own narrative and location.

- Use an already existing location (not from a book).

- Use don't work with a location at ll, just design the building without context.

My research of the methodologies of literature combined with the case studies and the chosen location will be my framework for designing the blind institute in the Msc4.

First structure history thesis

The theme of my history thesis will be: the evaluation of the blind institute throughout the years, looking from the perception of Merleau-Ponty's "body" in the architecture. After two weeks of research I narrowed the search down to the evaluation of the almshouse which linked Blindness with mental patients. In these times blindness was thought off as a blindness of the mind or 'ate' (greek word for blindness and later on for mental blindness). The people who weren't lucky to be helped by family or neighbors came to temples and monasteries who had place for helping the sick and the poor. Later on this evolved in the almshouse. Around 1700 the first blind institutes started to appear. These institutes evolved from small initiatives (mostly in already existing buildings) to the modern institutes we have today.

The structure for the history thesis will be for now:

Explore Lab 9 Fascination!

PROBLEM STATEMENT : How can literature enrich architecture with an phenomenological understanding of space?

RESEARCH // The first part of the project will consist out of two researches. First I start to research Literature as an tool for architectural design. By using the methodology a writer possesses to construct a narrative (like perspective, character, time, description, etc.) and using the freedom writing provides in designing, I’m capable of looking through the eyes of the users and see possible futures for the design.

The second research topic will be about phenomenology and more precise about the body in architecture. Using the theories of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and other philosophers of phenomenology, I’m trying to find the influence the body (and with it the senses) has on architecture. This topic will be combined with my history thesis. For this thesis I’m searching for the development of the body in architecture throughout history.

The results of these two researches will deliver a framework and the basis of information for the design in the second part of the project.

DESIGN // The second part of the project is the design part. After reading ‘the eye of the skin’ from Juhani Pallasma I started to question the dominancy of the eye over the other senses. According to the book, the eye is the only sense that can keep up with the speed of our modern technological world. This is clearly seen in contemporary architecture, where all the cities starting to look like the same image. But also in our everyday live we see the importance of the image over everything else. Just think of the fashion world where the ‘I’ is thought of as ‘how we appear’.

Because of my critique on the dominancy of the eye I‘ve decided to put more attention on the other senses. To do this I choose to take away the eye in the form of designing a institute for the blind.