by Jesper Braun | May 17, 2023
Summary
In the article “If the Chair Fits: Sexism in American Office Furniture Design”, author Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler describes how American office furniture in the 1960’s-1990’s was based on gendered ideas about labor. She claims that through an analysis of chairs and desks, she discovered that executive (mostly male) and secretarial (mostly female) furniture was designed differently, and in ways that enforced gender norms. Through the measurement of chairs and through the analysis of their forms, she was able to recognize these differences between executive and secretarial furniture; executive chairs have wide and deep square/rectangular seats, whereas secretarial chairs have small, rounded seats with a back that hovers just above the seat. These designs both establish a hierarchy within the workplace, and also the secretarial chairs were designed in a way that treated women as subjects of the ‘male gaze’. Jennifer also explored how desks are built differently for executives versus secretaries; secretarial desks are lower than executive desks, and also have a built-in surface for typewriters. Having these differences within furniture reinforced gender norms and also didn’t accommodate those who were female executive/male secretaries.
Building Interpretation
I decided to choose Meraki Coffee Co, because it uses a variety of furniture to accommodate a wide variety of people, and there doesn’t appear to be a gender difference between the furniture options. In the picture below, you can see how there are at least 5 different types of seating; 3 different kinds of chairs, a couch, and a wooden booth with pillows. The chairs are relatively low to the ground, which helps accommodate women who are often shorter than men and have shorter legs. Also, even though there is a variety of chairs and seating, there doesn’t appear to be a hierarchy, and people are welcome to choose the seating that they are most comfortable with. Additionally, these chairs lack arm rests, which helps accommodate people that are larger or wider. It is now common to see such a variety of seating within coffee shops and public spaces, which stands in contrast to the furniture from the 1960’s-1990’s, which was much more gendered and enforced gender norms. This variety of seating options nowadays helps break gender norms and the traditional gendered ideas of furniture. This variety also helps accommodate many different types of bodies, male and female, small and large, which helps people feel included in the space and like they belong there.
Interior photo of Meraki Coffee Co.
by Jesper Braun | May 10, 2023
In the reading “Leaving Traces”, Hilde Heynan describes how the modern condition is marked by discontinuity and un-ending change. She claims that in this society, nothing can remain fixed or unchanged, and that this modernity is directly in opposition to the ideas of home and domesticity. In fact, the modern condition requires leaving the home, as a step in the process of developing oneself and creating change in their environment. The ideas of home and modernity are at odds with one another, and can’t be reconciled (according to Hilde). Hilde claims that modern architecture has particularly aided in the erasure of the home. She describes how the use of modern materials and building techniques have created homes that are devoid of warmth and stability, and instead have created cold, empty spaces. This is because modern architecture is too concerned with purity and functionalism, instead of a desire to create warm and stable spaces that people can call their own. She claims that our system which promotes change at all costs has been antithetical to the space of the home, where stability and peace have reigned, but are now being challenged by modern values.
The Farmer’s Market Pavilion was completed recently in 2020 and is located in downtown Eugene. This building is representative of several characteristics of modern architecture which Hilde discussed, such as material honesty and transparency. Of the 4 walls that make up the pavilion, 3 of them are largely glass, with large glass garage doors which are slid up during market hours. The slanted ceiling is made of wood and ranges from ~20′ at the lower section and ~30′ at the upper section. The building’s large glass facade and the garage doors create less of a distinction between inside and outside, which allow for observation from both inside and outside, and the transparency invites people into the space. This lack of distinction between inside and outside is a characteristic struggle of unhoused people, and unhoused people are usually in the public eye which strips them of their privacy. They lack the privacy that most people have within their homes, and similarly to the Farmer’s Market Pavilion, have high levels of transparency.
Exterior view of pavilion
by Jesper Braun | May 3, 2023
Summary
In this week’s reading, the author claims that we live in a “surveillance” society, where surveillance tools are often installed in the architecture around us, in order to maintain control over us. Peter explores this relationship between architecture and power, and how power has convoluted and hijacked the essence of architecture in many ways. Instead of being about artistic expression and enhancing the health/experience of the individual, it has become a game of power, one where architecture becomes the vessel for surveillance. Peter claims that modernist architecture marked the shift to surveillance society, and that we have created spaces of constructed visibility.
Peter claims that new technologies has helped create this surveillance society. One of these technologies is glass, which modern architecture uses heavily. Glass creates transparency in buildings, and allows for visual connection between indoors and outdoors, which is advantageous in many cases. However, this transparency also promotes surveillance and allows for easier observation of people. Overall, Peter believes that the partnership between architecture and surveillance is a dangerous one, and that steps must be taken to free architecture from surveillance.
Building Interpretation
I decided to choose Whole Foods to examine to its relationship between architecture and surveillance. On both the exterior and interior of the store there are dozens of cameras that observe people’s behavior. The front of the store is made largely of glass, which allows people to both view the inside from outside, and outside from inside, diminishing privacy and encouraging surveillance. The cashier stations are configured in a way that the employees can both see potential threats coming from the outside, as well as see potential shoplifters down the aisles. This is because the cashier stations are located at the end of the aisles, allowing them to see down the aisles and surveil potentially suspicious customers.
Amazon’s recent purchase of Whole Foods raises even greater implications for the relationship between surveillance and architecture. Amazon uses a form of surveillance to track customers desires and wants, and then advertises them products that might fulfill these desires. Surveillance within Whole Foods, and how they use customer data, raises ethical questions about surveillance in the modern age and whether customers privacy is being violated. Additionally, it is known that Amazon that has collaborated with and given information to government agencies, which raises further questions about the relationship between corporations and the government, and their attempt to control and surveil the population.
Interior of Whole Foods
by Jesper Braun | Apr 26, 2023
This reading was about the relationship between Peter Behrens and AEG, and how he was incredibly influential for many parts of this company. This influence ranged from re-designing the companies’ logo, to designing a variety of objects and buildings. He helped design two AEG stores within Berlin that cleverly used architecture and design to reflect the values of the company and its products. He used modern architectural materials & methods (large windows, metal window frames, electricity, white walls) within the stores to portray luxury and modernity, attracting wealthy individuals to buy their products. These buildings had stripped down forms and emphasized flat surfaces, and had floor-to-ceiling windows to display products, attracting curious people from the street.
AEG mainly created products that required electricity, which was a relatively new technology at the time. During the early 1900’s, mainly department stores, luxury stores, and public spaces had electricity, however there were a growing number of individuals who were able to afford electricity. These individuals are who AEG was marketing too, because they had electricity within their homes and would be able to use their appliances.
This reading reminded me of Meraki Coffee Co. in downtown Eugene, which I live across from. I have been to this coffee shop several times, and it has a very modern feel to it, similar to the way that AEG stores likely felt. It has white walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, emphasis on flat surfaces, electric lighting, and modern appliances. It has a feeling of luxury and class, attracting a certain type of clientele. However, the space feels much less cold than the AEG store, since there is a warmness that the murals on the walls and the exposed wood framing create.
Also, in a similar way to one of the AEG stores, the business was inserted into an existing building and the two characters clash in a way. AEG had a store that was inserted into a neoclassical building, and it stripped away all of its exterior ornamentation, and also photographed the store in a way that ignores its historical context. This is similar in a way to Meraki, although less severe, because the black and wood exterior doesn’t match the interior white and modern feel of the space.
Interior of Meraki Coffee Co.
by Jesper Braun | Apr 12, 2023
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History is located on the University of Oregon campus, adjacent to Global Scholars Hall. Its purpose is to enhance people’s knowledge of Earth’s environments and cultures, inspiring stewardship of our collective past, present, and future. The museum is a center of interdisciplinary research and education, serving the State of Oregon, the University of Oregon, Native American Tribes, the research community, K-12 students and teachers, and the wider public in Oregon. The Museum of Natural and Cultural History is the state of Oregon’s official repository for publicly owned collections and is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnographic and archaeological objects, fossils, and biological specimens from Oregon and around the world. Samplings of these collections are available in the museums’ galleries. Additionally, the museum’s Archaeological Research Division works across the state on dozens of archaeological projects each year. The building is single-story, and it uses many natural materials such as wood and stone, which directly reference the museums’ focus on the natural environment.
