Friday, February 25, 2011

[CASRVCBE] Part One- The Hegemony Of Input


If we have gained any collective insight from the conversations of Schehearzade…. Wait, that’s too pretentious, even for me. We shall begin again…

If the Spiderman franchise has taught us anything, it is that there is longevity in serialized literature. With that view, and because the coming weeks are anticipated to be too busy to produce new creative endeavors, I present the first installment of the three or four part serialization of “Complex Adaptive Systems and Resultant Variation of Character in the Built Environment”. Readership is not anticipated.


     Through an examination of the built environment and its infrastructure, in terms of utilization, appropriation, and stylistic qualities as a conjugate of cultural, economic, and pragmatic forces or trends, it can be affirmed that the purveyors of the constructed world are codifiers of idea and ideals. If this is analyzed discretely and myopically, in that the input criterion of “Firmness, Commodity, and Delight” are largely resultant from the region or culture to with the constructed edifice is applied (as has been the case for much of anthropologic history), then the architect is the synthesizer of ideas and ideals of a relatively specific pool of character: The Roman architect responds to the Roman criterion, The fifteenth century Chinese architect responds to the Ming disposition, and so forth.

     Being cognizant of the present global conditions, however, this dissection of input/ output represents only a fractional role the architect plays within the increasingly complex relationship between regional idiosyncrasies and preferred globalized functions. To be globally viable, the “Firmness, Commodity, and Delight” of the more significant built spaces must also accept, or at least tolerate, the input criteria of a decentralized, removed entity in addition to the regional specific forces.

     One responsibility of the architect, then, exists at this intersection; a charge of alchemy to synthesize these topically antipodal pressures. The more vehement term ‘responsibility’ in lieu of ‘role’ is used here deliberately, as the global/ local interaction is far from a balanced process, as the former has greater volume, and therefore often more potential force, and the architect must behave as a regulator to retain a necessary balance. While acknowledging some of the beneficial social equalizing manifestations of globalizing forces, it must also be noted that these factors may produce a concurrent migration towards homogeneity in the built environment if these tendencies are not met by, and complemented with, cultural and regional vivacity.

     The implied objection to systemic discrimination against cultural and regional variation is not resultant from ideological or political prejudice, but from a concern for social-biological vitality. One can carefully invoke Darwin’s principles on divergence of character here to suggest that unique nodal instances of culture, and by extension the edifices of the built environment that are informed by the above, are essential to the quality of the human experience. Variation produces imbalance, which in turn creates potential energy. Where there exists divergence of character, one can observe tension and gaps, which produce a tendency towards movement and ambition. In this sense, an emphasis on uniqueness in the built environment encourages energy, however defined, to be embodied in an instance, and in the spaces between. Such a condition contributes to the vitality of a region and, by extension, the global entity. On a narrow scale, this incubates productivity. Comprehensively, it may be an antidote against the entropy of the collective creative character.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Egyptians: Should You Choose to Cleanse Your Past With Fire…..


Not, of course, that I am promoting the iconoclastic conflagrations of your edifices- that should be reserved for pre-revolutionary angst or soccer riots. But, should the systematic destruction of symbols become necessary in this course of human events, may I recommend a structure that is both representative of your oligarchic politics and hedonistic western influence?




You see, I am responsible for this (the above building- not the revolution) and if I have to travel all the way to New Cairo to burn it down myself, it will not only be a huge inconvenience on both my schedule and my efforts to avoid TSA cavity searches, it would also lack the romantic proto-revolutionary connotation that would be invoked if you just do us all a favor and torch it.

And for the record I was right: The revolution will not only be televised, it will also be available in a Blog RSS feed.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Past-y Blast-y 3: Burning Through The Gray

..Or is it 'Grey'?
 
More sniplets from the near past. Ephemeral filler for today's trench warfare on-the-go.



Friday, February 4, 2011

Avian Ad Extremum


This one is going to be a bit of a walk, so I’m going to hold your hand while we traverse this. For ease and enjoyment, I have also identified the type of humor being used in each of the three annotations, lest we lose our ontological footings. (For example, the humor type utilized in the above sentences would be classified as “mild derision motivated by a sense of superiority”)

1) The Classic Tallboy:
Even as Addison’s criticism published in The Spectator in 1712 furthered the dissolution of the classical canon and laid the rudimentary foundations for modernity, those of traditional aristocratic upbringing and education still aligned sympathy with classical antiquities and, either through habit or class ideologies, preferred their domiciles to be constructed in the familiar fashion. Birds, naturally, have similar historo- cultural predilections. 
(Humor Type: Dry, Deadpan)



2) The Loft District:
Eponymous with the famous area of Detroit, championed by Det. Fitch. Recent gentrification, sadly, has made housing in this area largely unaffordable to the very demographic of humans and avians most attracted to it. Cheep simulacrums, such as this one, have become ubiquitous in less desirable neighborhoods in Detroit, including Korean Town, The Northern Market Area, and Kwame Park. 
(Humor Type: Esoteric, Sarcastic, Meta)



3) The Lopsided Dutchman
Obnoxiously contemporary, full or mayonnaise, and something about tourists and soft-core drugs, or whatever. This design satisfies the narrow niche between “Why not?” and “Hey. You agreed to this!” 
(Humor Type: Topical Satire, Self-Loathing)