Blighted Neighborhoods and Pop Art
I was drawn to the reading by Denise Scott Brown, "Learning from Pop" due to the inescapable readings of her and her husband and partner Robert Venturi. In previous courses on these two, I found the Learning from Las Vegas to be particularly fascinating because I am interesting in the psychology behind fast food architecture such as the coloring of the McDonald's arches and the rapid spread of the buildings in general. While reading "Learning from Pop" I found myself agreeing with Denise Scott Brown in that as architects we should study High Art and pop culture to better understand the social and aesthetic grounds of society. This allows us as architects to have a reactionary stance whether for or to change these norms.
Another topic that I know needs to be addressed is the responsibility of architects to stand up for and to design with reverence in areas that have been considered "blighted neighborhoods" as Denise Scott Brown calls them (as we know them today low-income housing and housing of people of color). This occurrence was an unfortunate side effect of systemic racism and capitalism pushing to make new buildings for commerce and faster transportation.
The last paragraph is well laid out. But I doubt that the word "side effect" is the right one. Capitalism has predictable consequences and so does racism. Therefore, housing crisis and gentrification were predictable consequences, not side effects. Also, transportation and gentrification weren't the goal, controlling our mind was. That is my thinking and as an aspiring student of architecture, I believe that yes we have a responsibility to stand up to these issues, but where would the purpose be if we don't identify the roots causes and deal with them right. Remember that capitalism make architecture a discipline that is loved by all, so I am on your side but at the end of the day, we aren't just victims of this system, we are also part of the problem. The question for you and me then is, how do we take responsibilty and how do we hold ourselves accountable for the making of buildings that stray away from everything we believe in. That's the hard part and that is where solutions are, but guess what, we fail on taking accountability in bad desig decisions that affect the masses and move us further down the line towards a "no way back."
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about Learning from Pop, and yes it is extremely important to design for reality and context. But beyond that we need to design with an understanding of what the intended user wants and needs not just what has been done in the past. This brings up Brown's mention of the building developer and that fact that he is not designing for man but rather some group of people defined by income range, age, family composition and lifestyle, etc. This does not provide for a well designed or intentional building. An alternative is examining what people do once they are inside of these spaces that are designed "to fit their needs". Definitely something to think about.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post about Learning from Pop. I think the part about our responsibility as architects in reference to the "blighted neighborhoods" is something that we should remember in our day to day projects.
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