Список из самых популярных хештегов по теме #UCHICAGOBUILTENVIRONMENT

Wk1 School closings #uchicagobuiltenvironment As people are forced out of this built environment, the nature starts to reclaim its space; rabbits roaming on the abandoned greens, ivy climbing toward windows and walls. In a concrete light: how does built environment deal with non-human agents and with social thoughts relating to the tentative category of Anthropocene, the geographical age of human activities? But also if we think in abstract and specifically of time: what does modernist architecture resemble when it becomes abandoned and retreats into the temporality of the past? Or rather, is “modernist” or “post-modernist” ever modern? Have we ever been modern? #Chicago #a6000 #school

Wk1 School closings #uchicagobuiltenvironment Harmonious design of one of the facade-less faces of Overton School is seen here broken by a camera, an instrument of the security apparatus, as afternoon sun is pouring over the shades. #Chicago #a6000 #school

#uchicagobuiltenvironment Wk1 Citizenship...Split-screen image of the new annexation to the Lab School. In class on Saturday we talked about how the vision of school architects has waned over the years. Newer buildings don’t have the same vision and educational mission of a school like Overton. Is this true across the board, or have most new ideas in the architecture of schools just taken the shape of and benefited private institutions?

Wk2 Structure #uchicagobuiltenvironment Last one about Saieh: this came to my mind when I was walking out of Ida Noyes one evening. Think of the biological origins of the architectural use of “structure”. Rockefeller Chapel-Saieh Bell Tower- Unitarian Church, these three towers on S.Woodlawn structure the body of the university campus, roughly marking its boundary and setting its height. Also, looks like the tower of Reynolds Club forms a line with Saieh and Rockefeller? It would be interesting to look at the original designs to find out. #chicago #a6000 #uchicago

Wk1 Materials - These nine photos show various property markers/privacy strategies (aka fences and walls) that are made of different materials used in a variety of ways, producing difference effects and serving different functions. The fence in the first image is interesting to me because of the combination of brick, wood, and shrubbery. It’s seems to try to camouflage the fence as much as possible (wood blends in with the shrubs, brick is continuous with brick house) while providing a lot of privacy. The second image also has a wood fence that provides a lot of privacy but is not disguised/landscaped like the previous. Here the fence is much more obvious/harsh but the wood makes it feel slightly warmer than the concrete wall in the second-to-last image. I find it kinda funny that this resident put up Easter decorations given the fact that they are almost completely obscured from pedestrians. The rest of the images show different porosities and heights. The sixth and seventh images show fences that seem to most exclusively serve the purpose of keeping people out. They are both very porous so they don’t provide much privacy, but they are tall which keeps unauthorized people off the property. Both of these fences are metal but they feel very different. The chain links feel more industrial and not as sleek as the other.

Week 2: Structures When I visited China I was stuck by the clusters of highrises more so than the design of the highrises themselves. Our reading on structure treated each one as an individual self-contained unit; how does our understanding of a structure change when it is one among many? #uchicagobuiltenvironment

wk1 closed public schools in South Side Chicago | the residue of the now removed school name of Anthony Overton. #uchicagobuiltenvironment #dimensionsofcitizenship

wk2 materials | The contrast between traditional and modern materials - (front) red brick, low-rise residential building *versus* (back) white, high-rise multi-functional building, Campus North Residential Commons. Images 2-3 (not my own pictures): Campus North Residential Commons and Solstice Apartments, both by Jeanne Gang. #uchicagobuiltenvironment

Week 3: Citizenship @uchicagokhashiffm mentioned in his post that mass transit seems to be one of “those utopian spaces” that unites individuals of different races, socioeconomic classes, and genders within a particular structure. He says that one can sit next to anyone and be “at peace with it.” To a certain extent, I agree. Yes, I too believe that mass transit brings diverse people physically together within a mobile space that moves between, and therefore transcends, the geographic boundaries that have historically affirmed racial and socioeconomic divisions. These portable communities emerge because people are in a shared space and have a shared experience for a limited duration. My disagreement stems from his use of the term utopian. I do not know how he intended to define utopian. For the sake of this post, I’ll draw from the description of the diverse riders and feeling of peace to define utopian as a quality that is “inclusive” and “socially improved,” in comparison to the surrounding context. Looking to architectural features, I want to politely challenge his idea. I think that mass transit does not constitute such a utopian ideal. Yes, mass transit creates an imagined community of people. However, this community still is exclusive. It is only for individuals who fit a particular body type. The desired body is codified through the built environment. The body must be able to access the mode of transportation via steps or stairs. The body must be able to fit (width and height) through the doors. Once on, the body must be able to either sit or stand. The body cannot be fatter than the width of the designated chair. These physical properties of mass transportation divide the greater population. Yes, the imagined community of people appears behaved. However, built features reaffirm a set of rules that reflect existing social norms. Lines on the ground delineate particular foot placement. Seat divots ensure that you do not lie down on top of other people. The panopticon effect, created by the benches positioned across from each other and reinforced by the ceiling cameras, ensure a normalized social behavior.