Time.. changes everything.
Before I came up with anything else for my thesis, I wanted to explore the effect of time on architecture and how I could adapt that knowledge into building something completely new.
The finishing process of a building doesn’t stop when the construction is completed. Over time, buildings will be shaped and polished; not by any crafts person but those who walk in the space and those who clean it, along with how the nature interacts with the building. Human and nature interaction changes the characteristic of the space, intentional or not.
Who knows what this building or this lot looks like 5 years ago? Or 10 years ago?
David Leatherbarrow’s On Weathering talks about the life of the buildings and the aging of materials through the weathering process. Architecture, in a way, records and expresses its story through that aging process.
But what about intentional marks created by human?
banksy stencil
As humans, we sometimes try to cover things up and expecting everything to be perfect. The marks and the aging of materials therefore become the signal of imperfection. We give value to the historical building but at the same time we don’t want the place we own to get old. The notion of time has played an important role of how we perceive these facts. A building 50 years old is less valuable than a building age 500 years. Marks appear on ancient buildings are considered historical while marks on our floor are considered dirty. However, the 500 years old building is usually filled with marks made by people who occupied the place. To get to the point where we appreciate the value of the marks, we need to let it be over some period of time. The marks become more and more valuable as years pass.
The Central Eastside
I’ve chosen to explore this area because of it’s current condition. It used to be a leftover area with empty lots and warehouses. Currently, building renovations and rehabilitation are starting to happen. The empty warehouses are being occupied by artists. As well as PDC’s Urban Renewal Area for Storefront development along MLK and Grand, and the light rail system currently under way.
I talked about creating a catalyst in my last post. As many warehouses in the area are being turned into creative spaces, and it is also with my interests in film and music. I am currently exploring the possibility of this type of building being a catalyst for the area.
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