Demographics and Population Processes

Many of the important challenges that our communities face today, from the persistent racial and ethnic disparities and human rights violations, to climate change and community resiliency issues, and opioids crises and healthcare coverage, are related to demographics and population processes. This course offers an introduction to the substantive areas of inquiry in demographic research -at the intersection of sociological, community, and population research- to understand the causes and consequences of demographic changes in communities. Understanding these demographic concepts can help students integrate a socio-ecological perspective into the study of communities’ social, economic, environmental, and political issues.

Course objectives and outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Understand population processes and apply relevant concepts and measures into community decision-making, design, and planning.
Use key concepts related to demographics and population processes to describe a population.
Describe how demographic patterns are intertwined with health and environment.
Identify sources of demographic data.

Course format
This course is a seminar. Class meetings will entail discussion and the exchange of ideas by individuals who have read the assigned materials and thought about the topic at hand, as well as occasional (and limited) lecturing by the instructor.

Method of evaluation
Class attendance and participation (30%)
Weekly discussion questions (20%)
Discussion leadership (30%)
Critical essay (20%)

Designing with the Urban Stack: A Practice Course for Designers of the Built Environment

The seminar will investigate critical issues of the Urban Stack for the Kendall Square District, Cambridge, MA. The first half of the term entails teams researching various elements of the Urban Stack as they relate to conditions in the study area, followed by a charrette to identify key issues and problems of built-environment that may be productively addressed in the second part. Teams for the second half of the seminar are tasked with developing a range of considered speculations/proposals to improve the performance of built-environment for an inclusive spectrum of publics and constituencies. The work of the seminar will be conducted primarily in team format throughout the term. A core group of guest lecturers and visitors will provide additional perspectives and content for the work of the class. Students should anticipate a significant level of effort devoted to research and project development outside of the class meeting hours. The seminar is open to all graduate programs at the GSD. Pre-requisite: MAR I and MLA I students must have completed core.

Pre-requisite: MAR I and MLA I students must have completed core to enroll, otherwise no program restrictions.

 

 

Death, Divorce, Down-sizing, Dislocation, and (Now) Display: A Self-Storage Center for a More Exhibitionist Future

Hyojin Kwon (MArch ’18)

Storage today finds itself compartmentalized into two categories: the visible and the invisible. As materialistic culture encourages self-identification with objects, visible storage through the shelf accommodates both easy access and curation of self-expression. However, in response to excess due to overconsumption, self-storage centers—one of the fastest growing industries in the United States—provide users with an invisible alternative to hide away a multitude of belongings. However, this image of the tightly packed storage room is not a new phenomenon. Sixteenth-century cabinets of curiosities contained enormous quantities of possessions that were curated and exhibited as archives of knowledge. This thesis asks: can cabinets of curiosities trigger a new typology of architecture for the contemporary self-storage center? Can such an establishment blur the distinctions between storage space, personal collection, and cultural museum?

The self-storage center for a near future presents collectors with many options for storage and display, both physical and digital, accommodating a wide range of storage formats under one roof. Public exhibition of personal possessions achieves an institutional character for the self-storage center, in which objects gain an architectural importance. Constant curation of objects resists hoarder culture, instead asking what belongs in storage when the previously dark and hidden becomes bright and showcased. As the new self-storage center takes on museological presentation and develops a distinct form, it acts as a monument to collections of the tangible and intangible within its urban context. However, this specific architecture does not subordinate its contents; rather, it provides a framework into which objects, people, and memories breathe life.

Kwon has extended work on this project into the 2018-2019 academic year, with support from the Irving Innovation Fellowship.

The research I have conducted with the support of the Irving Innovation Fellowship is, in a way, a continuation of my graduate thesis but with a few key modifications. While my thesis project was more of a speculative proposal envisioning a new architectural typology, my current fellowship research is an investigation of the typological forms needed to realize these alternative storage systems. In the typology I have developed, future self-storage centers would provide users with different storage types that accommodate a range of storage needs, types of access, and object display options. Each of the proposed storage formats responds to a different existing problem observed in contemporary self-storage centers. From this, I have aimed to develop a formal design process optimized for each storage system type. In my proposed storage format, the objects which people normal store out of site now gain an architectural importance, since their possessions are put on display as if in a museum. This provides a framework wherein objects, people, and memories are all on display, breathing life into what are otherwise the dark and hidden spaces of private storage.

In order to carry out my project, I have utilized the latest technologies that enable reciprocal 3-dimensional formal information exchange between the physical objects to be stored and digital modeling environments that allow me to experiment and test a variety of display solutions. This is primarily achieved through the use of 3d scanning techniques that digitize the real objects to be stored, and then implements versatile 3d-printing techniques to explore strategies for the fabrication, materiality, and further representation of my proposed typology. In order to further develop the unique architectural forms needed for this new form of self-storage center, the physical behavior of the objects is simulated through digital operations that include piling, stacking, draping, and packing, each of which is driven by software-based physics engines, thus allowing me to simulate these real-life scenarios. This consistent feedback between the operations of digitalization, simulation, and materialization processes will ultimately culminate in the development of prototypical architectural objects. My hope is that this research will result in a fabrication approach that can be scaled for implementation within architectural practice itself.

Manila Port: Gateway to the New Urban District

Chengzhe Zhang (MLA I ’19), Chenghao Lyu (MAUD ’18), Chi-Hsuan Wang (MArch I ’19)

In order to transform the industrial site of the Port Area into a newly generated city, our team, with a focus on future user groups and activities, introduces new typologies and programs to the site.

Considering the diverse user groups that relocated to the Port Area, we find opportunities to generate new housing typologies, which try to conquer the issue of hierarchical segregation within the Philippines, and intend to trigger mutual interactions between inhabitants of different backgrounds. We hope these interactions will not just take place within public spaces but also within residential areas and neighborhoods.

The housing typologies are designed to accommodate different user groups. The act of integration implies the core principle for these dwellings: augmentation of social equality and enhancement of communal synergy. After the visit to the Manila Port, our team recognized the importance of civic lives for locals, and how public activities have become a primary element of people’s daily routines in Filipino culture. Keeping this understanding in mind, our designs are driven around the concern of how to connect and reconnect each gesture back to the larger network, both conceptually and physically. Wishing to preserve the animated atmosphere within the residential area, all building modules are placed and reoriented around a central public core, which could be used for community gardens, libraries, small exhibition spaces, temporary theaters, or simply as playground for residents. The placement of the public core is intended to ensure its accessibility by all units, while still following general building codes. The public core, which begins from the ground level, also provides the opportunity to associate with and even structurally relate to adjacent typologies; we wish to extend this shared space into a greater system.

The introduction of these new dwelling strategies is not only to provide more organized spaces to revive the spirited environment, but also to produce job opportunities for future residents. Discovering how many working class populations suffer from poor working conditions and frequently need to be separated from their families to work, we develop a type of housing unit that allows the workers to reside with their families while working on-site, in nearby facilities, or on the port. The worker housing units are not meant as another form of mundane dormitory, but are rather designed as livable spaces that contain shared dwelling chambers and open areas.

The shared spaces for BOH units are interconnected; the interweaving chambers allow inhabitants from different units to interact and socialize. The shared chambers act like another corridor system revolving around the elevator and egress core, which allow the workers to travel freely through different levels.

The main objective for the mixed-user housing is to try to integrate people from different backgrounds and minimize segregation by means of positive interaction. To activate the neighborhood, and even the surrounding communities, the residential tower is supported by a central atrium connecting the terrace garden and tower garden. This central atrium could be used for a variety purposes, such as a library, small classrooms, or simply open green space. The continuous public spaces within this piece of architecture will allow a series of interactions between residents.

We consider the school as one of the most important public facilities within our new urban district. It would provide equal educational opportunities for kids from different social classes, and more importantly, serve not only as an educational space, but also as a community center providing shared cultural and recreational public facilities that can be used by all the people from the community.

The use of this space can be divided into two time periods. During the day, it would function as a school; after school, some of its facilities would open to the public, such as the basketball courts, cafeteria, library, auditorium, gallery, gathering spaces, and art-related classrooms (for music, dancing, fine arts), among other areas.

The spatial character of the educational space is inspired by the spontaneous settlement in Manila. There are two main inspirations. The first is the extraordinary diversity of the space within the spontaneous settlements. From our on-site experience, we find that kids gather and play in many spaces, from the rooftops to the streets, from terraces to courtyards. We think these void spaces of various sizes between building volumes provide opportunities for kids to occupy and use by themselves, and this play can stimulate their curiosity. The second inspiration is social equality. When we look at photographs of the spontaneous settlement in the city, we can immediately acknowledge that human beings live under the same sky. Conceptually, for the school and cultural center, everyone would study, communicate, and play under one single large roof. We see this as a metaphor of social equality: under this roof, people would share the space no matter where they come from.

We believe that the flexible spatial arrangement can create a unique learning environment for all of Manila.

Pasig River: Fluid Occupancies

Emmanuel Coloma (MLA I ’18), Rose Lee (MLA I ’18), Luisa Piñeros Sánchez (MArch I ’19)

A place of extremes, Manila is a megacity at a critical juncture. Since World War II, the Pasig River, which runs through the heart of the city, has been regarded as a source of unsightly pollution, damaging floods, and an interruptive physical barrier. Our design proposal rests upon the belief that the key to a vibrant future is to turn the river into a resource rather than a hindrance to the citizens.

Through examining the complex relationships among river ecology, local economy, transportation and public space, we propose an adaptive design that brings the Manileño to the forefront by allowing the Pasig River and its edges to anticipate rising waters, transportation development, and an ever-burgeoning diverse population. We believe in increasing the value of the Pasig River waterfront for all Manileños by providing an opportunity for them to attain resources, acquire knowledge, and take ownership of the land they live on.

The project is located in the Pasig River, a 25-kilometer-long river that bisects Manila, Philippines, the densest city in the world. Though called a river, it is actually a tidal estuary that connects the saltwater Manila Bay with the freshwater Laguna de Bay. The flow of water fluctuates depending on whether it is the dry or wet season.

For the scope of the project, we primarily focused on what is now a vacant lot in front of the Intramuros wall, approximately 9,500 square meters (1 hectare). Currently closed off to the public, it is a space we decided to focus on due to both its historic location and proximity to the Plaza de Mexico ferry terminal and preexisting pedestrian bridge to Binondo.

In addition, we also looked into two other potential “hub” locations situated next to the Lawton ferry terminal and the car-dominated Roxas Bridge at the mouth of the Pasig River. Exploring the potential of these two sites also lent two alternatives of our design proposal under different conditions to demonstrate its adaptability to multiple situations.

 

Intramuros: Redefining Restoration

Zheng Alan Cong (MLA I ’19), Peilin Li (MLA I ’20), Paris Nelson (MLA I ’19), Bailun Zhang (MLA I ’19)

The identity of Intramuros in the context of Greater Manila has always been in question—its very name immediately separates this historic center from the city beyond the walls, or the “extramuros.” While physical boundaries have become more relaxed (or simply changed in form)—the fortification walls partially destroyed, the moat filled in—the legacy of Intramuros’s identity as a “walled-in city” has held on, isolating the core from contemporary urban Manila as it develops. We believe that Intramuros can no longer exist as an urban island. With its richly layered urban and architectural history, it has much to contribute in negotiating with growing issues of urban tension and participating in the conversation of Manila’s future identity. 

We would like to recognize the significant work performed by the Intramuros Administration (IA) since 1979 to restore and revitalize this important historic area. In approaching this site, we wholeheartedly share their goals of community engagement, and ensuring that Intramuros continues to be a destination and resource for both tourists and locals of Manila. We especially hope to build upon their past and current initiatives for renewed local participation in the public spaces of Intramuros.

While we hope to build upon the success of the IA’s public events and community engagement initiatives, we believe that an alternative approach to the existing attitude toward historic preservation and restoration is critical for Intramuros’s continued participation in the rapidly evolving urban landscape of Greater Manila. Rather than rebuilding the site to perfectly imitate its historic form, we hope to learn from and identify thevalue in the layered contributions to the area throughout its history, acknowledging the history of Intramuros in a way that works for contemporary and future Manila.  

Our ultimate goal is to create a new network of public space that integrates programming that serves all local populations of Intramuros and Greater Manila. In our visit to the site, we observed how the diverse population groups within the walls are informally zoned (the student belt; the tourist route with adjacent office pockets as public front; the hidden informal settler center), and how this creates division between these people and their experiences of Intramuros. We believe that this is a problem inextricable from the lack of public space within and around the walls (indicative of a pervasive problem in Manila) and that the introduction of a new system of public space will create zones of interface between populations vital to the vibrant Intramuros urban life envisioned by the IA. Through a phased plan that reclaims the historic wall and moat and integrates underutilized spaces within Intramuros’s walls, we hope to transform existing spaces of boundary and exclusion into spaces of interaction and integration.

Informed by the historic plans of destroyed sacred structures, the contemporary recall filters light and shadow to recall and celebrate anew thoughtful and contemplative spaces.

Sections of Every Thing

This course aims to discuss the possibility of sections, made and used in the practice of landscape architecture, as the mean of constructing urban artifacts that could eventually yield the alternative forms and experiences of nature. For this end, both the criticality and imaginariness of landscape sections are to be sought throughout diverse formats during the semester.

The word 'section' is defined as " any of the more or less distinct parts into which something is or may be divided or from which it is made up." in the Oxford Dictionary. As it suggests, a section is not an intellectual and practical property exclusive to this profession. Not to mention those related disciplines like architecture and urban design, experts in geology, physics, medical science, biochemistry and product design make and use sections as their critical mean of research and practice, from the scale of as big as six million magnification to as small as some million reduction.  Landscape sections sit somewhere in-between, both in terms of scale and precision.

The vertical realm of landscape architecture ranges from the crust (of the earth) to the atmosphere (of the earth), incomparably wide and vast. Therefore this profession must deal with almost 'every thing' between the crust and the atmosphere, making sectioning arguably the most important tool that can distinguish this discipline from others. Through making, using, representing sections that are critical and generative, enough landscape architects would be able to lead and involve both architectural and non-architectural professionals in order to create the alternative forms and experiences of nature within ever- increasingly complicated urban context.

This seminar is composed of two general parts: lectures by the instructor and the guests, and presentations by the students. Each class will be composed of one to one and half hour lecture of a speaker and two presentations by two students. Landscape architects whose sections show the criticality of their practices will be invited to speak. Landscape researchers are also to be invited to discuss how recent development in technologies; 'Point Cloud Modeling' for example, can enhance the precision and the richness of landscape sections. Non-architectural experts, such as a geologist and a product designer, are to present what sections mean to their researches and practices. Each student is supposed to make two presentations during the semester. No additional exams or papers will be required.

Evaluation will be based on the class attendance, participation, and presentations.

This seminar is open to all students of the GSD who learned the basics of making and using sections as a design tool through the GSD's core studios.

Design Anthropology: Objects, Landscapes, Cities (with FAS)

In recent years, there has been a movement in anthropology toward a focus on objects, while design and planning have been moving toward the understanding of objects as part of a greater social, political, and cultural milieu. This seminar explores their common ethnographic ground. The course is about both the anthropology of design, and the design of anthropology.

For designers, the goals will be to learn thick ethnographic observation and description; applying theoretical concepts in making connections between ethnographic data; and moving from ethnography to design proposals. Anthropologists will be challenged to think about different forms of fieldwork by collaborating with non-anthropologists and working toward a collective ethnography; using visual information to represent ethnographic information and insights; and applying anthropological skills to the study of objects, materiality, and design processes.

The seminars will be filled with different components and tasks, including lectures and synopses of the weekly topic, fieldwork-based exercises, learning how to take notes or record data using different media, analyzing ethnographic data, sharing thinking on individual projects, and discussing assigned readings.

Students will be expected to engage in two large projects over the course of the semester. The first is fieldwork centered on the border region between Ireland and Northern Ireland, March 15–24, with pairs of students carrying out an ethnography of specific communities. Class periods leading up to that fieldwork will prepare students—methodologically, ethnographically, and theoretically—for this exercise.

After fieldwork, students will analyze their findings in relation to certain conceptual themes that drive much of design anthropology but also bear on the specific nature of design problems and opportunities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This will prepare students to complete the second large project of the course: a term essay or design proposal capturing their thinking on design anthropology and fieldwork in Ireland/Northern Ireland.

This course will include a trip to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland for 16 students, 8 from the GSD and 8 from FAS. Travel will take place on March 15–24. All students who travel in this course will be term billed $300. The 8 GSD students will be selected via the limited enrollment course lottery. Students may enroll in only one traveling course or studio in a given term, and are responsible for the cost of all meals and incidentals related to the trip, including visas and any change fees related to modifications to the set flight itinerary.
 

 

This course will meet in Gund Hall 109 for the first class. After that the course will meet in Tozzer room 203.

 

Flashback

Youngjin Song (MDes ’17) and Dohyun Lee (MArch I ’20)

Flashback is a screen-tower with internal cameras that records the surrounding scenery. The captured footage is stored for twelve hours and then released; the viewers’ reaction to the released footage is also recorded. The footage is blurred and degraded to a certain level so that the privacy of the viewers is maintained. This project aims to bring the viewers to the plaza over and over again. 

Flashback is a finalist in TODAY: Public Art Installation Competition for the Seoul City Hall Plaza.

Re-thinking a Humanist Skyscraper City

As the birthplace of the modern Skyscraper, the city of Chicago holds a place in history as one of great architectural innovation. From the first Skyscraper ever constructed, the Home Insurance Building by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884, to Skidmore Owings and Merrill’s Sears Tower (Willis Tower) of 1973, Chicago has seen some of the tallest structures ever built.

As a reaction to growing city populations, we build taller buildings, extending the Chicago innovation to places as far off as Dubai and Shenzhen. We have also moved beyond building singular towers, and now we build towers in cluster developments. The familiar tower-podium typology stacks multiple tower extrusions on top of basement level public transportation networks and street level multi-story podium malls and parking decks. The plans feature a mix of programming-commercial office, residential, retail- with communal amenities like public parks and green spaces. Marketing slogans promise new neighborhoods to ‘Live, Work and Play.’ The promise of a diverse three- dimensional city is there, however many of these developments tend to be less than advertised, resulting in introverted settings.

In fact, as a whole we architects have advanced the tall tower typology very little in the past century, beyond our ability to grow it taller and more environmentally efficient. One would question why a building’s structural height would continue to hold such a primary value, aside from say other principles that affect more directly an occupant’s quality of life? As towers are deployed ever larger and taller, as multiples and as networks, human beings remain oddly enough, the same size. We have yet to understand these structures as building blocks appropriate to the human scale.

This line of critique is nothing new. One can reflect on more than 50 years of global interest and architectural speculation on the topic, citing Habitat ’67, the Metabolists, Paul Rudolf or Yona Freidman. While these visions fell short to provide a humanist-focused building revolution, each continues to carry a set of values and principles that remain powerful and perhaps even more relevant to the issue today.

This studio will be split into three phases. We will begin by researching visions of the past, in order to speculate on alternative models for the future. The case study work will lead towards a summary research publication.

We will then join into teams, and develop master plans for an active development site in Chicago ‘The 78.’ This is an example of a mega site, with great potential. It is 62 acres in size along the Chicago River with more than a half-mile of continuous river frontage. It is the largest parcel of undeveloped land in downtown Chicago.

As a studio, we will ‘award’ a preferred master plan, and in the final phase, each student will develop individually a building proposal on a parcel within the larger master plan. The plans will be reviewed by invited consultants, officials and critics, together with a studio ‘design advisory panel’ consisting of your fellow studio colleagues.