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'Heart'less in The City

"HEART"less in The City



The more I read Architecture's Public, the more I am reminded about my studies, lectures, and conversations I experienced last semester at the CAC.C. Many conversations 'centered' around architectural design, how and who does it affect. I'm not from a big city like Charleston SC but it is easy to observe the trend of a lavish life in the 'heart of the city'. The city of Charleston speaks to much of the theories Giancarlo addresses. From its beginning, the city's infrastructure was designed around the elite. Many of the homes that Charleston is known for, that tourist flood the downtown streets to see, that the 'stars' vacation to 3 times a year to, and that many ordinary, hard working people once owned; were originally designed and built for the families that were wealthy enough or held a high enough status. An architecture with a price, not so much of monetary value, but recognition, relevance and stature was born in the 'heart of the city'.

Studying Charleston history, I noticed the mass exodus of the wealthy to plush green farm lands, outside of the boundaries of the plantations, and in the case of Charleston, all the way across two rivers that bound the peninsula. The significance simple architecture on a spot of land outweighed the prized possession of beautiful and historic architecture in the 'heart of the city'. I believe this exodus gave way to a migration of the PEOPLE to inherit, in a way, these forgotten and undesirable dwellings. The PEOPLE who worked for what they had, cherished the things they worked for, and had everything they cherished, began to bring back a sense of appreciation for architecture that was not painstakingly constructed and meticulously designed with the utmost admiration for the profession. What happened?!?! The wealthy's desire to repossess these treasures resurfaced.

TO BE CONTINUED...........

I'm resting my mind. Next topics are:

Gentrification in the 'heart of the city'.
Development of the 'heart of the city'
'heartless architecture in the city' and who it affects

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2019 at 11:15 PM

    I too was reminded of Charleston when "the heart of the city" was brought up by Giancarlo. While our project was not on the peninsula, working with a developer as a client certainly opened my eyes to how designing for a community should (or shouldn't) work. My favorite quote "the wealthy's desire to repossess these treasures resurfaced".

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  2. Russell ZimmermanFebruary 27, 2019 at 4:53 PM

    I think it is really interesting to examine what wealthy people want, and how often poorer communities act like liquids in the cities, filling up the spaces deemed "less desirable"

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