Aga Khan Award for Architecture

By Kristopher Teubel

            With all the work put into any given architectural work, it is nice to receive accolades for the inherent effort in the practice.  There are various agencies that bring light to lesser known efforts and projects in architecture.  One such agency is the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).  For over fifty years, the AKDN has striven to actively engage in, and bring positive attention to projects in various practices.  Specifically, they hold awards for notable altruistic architecture projects.  The program supports architectural projects that aid the less fortunate all around the world.

            Though the namesake of the program has strong ties to Islam, the agency conducts its humanitarian business in a nondenominational fashion.  Approximately 80,000 workers in thirty different countries work together to uplift various communities that lack adequate resources and services.  The projects are conducted based upon need.  Many can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, central and southern Asia, and the Middle East.  From its meager beginnings as a nonprofit organization helping the Ismaili community, the organization has grown greatly in a relatively short amount of time ("Press centre: Frequently," 2007) .

            A recent recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is a project conducted in Khartoum, Sudan.  The Salam Cardiac Surgery Centre was completed in 2010.  The 14,000 sq. meter (150,695 sq. ft.) complex was designed by Studio Tamassociati from Venice, Italy.  It consists of a hospital with sixty-three beds and three hundred local staff and a separate Medical Staff Accommodation Compound where the medical staff resides.  The buildings flank multiple expansive courtyards.  The amenities within the hospital block are of a high caliber.  They include three separate operating rooms, diagnostics laboratories, and various other elements.

            An interesting aspect of the project is the inclusion of the shipping containers for the construction material as the medical center's staff lodging and amenities.  Ninety 20-foot containers were used to create the staff complex.  Each separate unit consists of 1.5 containers with a bathroom and veranda that faces a courtyard.  Seven 40-foot containers comprise the cafeteria and other services.  Each building built from containers is insulated from the interior and has a ventilated metal roof.  Water heating for the whole complex is taken care of by a solar farm ("Salam cardiac surgery," 2007).

            To be eligible for the AKDN Award for Architecture, a project must have been in use for at least one full year to ensure the feasibility of the concepts pursued.  All building types can be considered for nomination.  No discrimination is made upon scale, purpose, designers, or other affiliations.

            The Aga Khan Development Network and its associated Award for Architecture is a great example of humanitarian work implemented throughout the world.  Under the guidance of the organization, architects and designers can find the means and motivation to act as true stewards of the built environment as it can help those who need it most.  Altruistic design can be seen as the highest calling for the talent that is already inherent in the architecture community.

For more information on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and other progressive programs like it, please visit:

            http://www.akdn.org/architecture/

            http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/

            http://www.pritzkerprize.com/

            http://www.arena-international.com/

            And many more...

References

Press centre: Frequently asked questions. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.akdn.org/faq.asp

Salam cardiac surgery centre. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?            id=4438

Leadership through Design and How Influential Architecture Is

By Kayla Fuller

An analysis of a project in California by the firm Freedman Tung & Bottomley by Kayla Fuller

                As a profession, architecture requires their client’s trust through the process of design to construction. Trust is not easily achieve, you must first develop an understanding of your client and the project they are providing you and then you must develop a relationship in which you earn their trust. San Francisco urban design firm Freedman Tung & Bottomley, provide examples of how different approaches are incorporated into their practice. FTB’s main objective was to “create a sense of community in a California landscape divided by strip developments and freeways.” This paper will address the different approaches they practice and how they influence the overall design.

                Understanding what leadership characteristics and examples is important to analyze the success of FTB. Richard Swett describes a number of examples of Leadership by Design that are recognizable traits of Freedman Tung & Bottomley, the most recognizable characteristic of the firm is their commitment to the growth of the people. The object of this case study was to create a sense of community in a California landscape that has been overtaken by freeways and strip developments, an issue that is not only present in this case but is a growing problem in most historic towns.

                Building trust takes time, first impressions are also influential for developing a trusting relationship but you really need to get take the time to develop the relationship for a successful project. FTB significantly involved the participation from the community and elected officials, it is a requirement in California communities to involve the community in any major changes. They employ a market oriented practice where they use capital improvements and knowledge of history and practice to sharpen policy tools. They take time to truly understand a city and their needs, employing empathy and receptive listening providing the community the opportunity to work together.

                Building awareness of the project to the community is important to educate the public. Workshops and design charrettes were held to allow community members to develop a vision coordinated with the project and allow members to voice their opinions. These workshops allowed ordinary citizens advice on planning matters and assisting them with decisions before development proceeds. The combined involvement of the community, officials and designers can be chaotic but the firm created order through the chaotic opinions of all those involved with their sessions.

                Freedman Tung & Bottomley were extremely successful with their tactics incorporating numerous fundamental leadership skills while also incorporating the four building blocks for building trust. They motivated the community to become involved and through joint study sessions, they solved lingering questions before public hearings. Involving the community and stakeholders are extremely beneficial for positive design. We strive to create spaces that affect those who utilized them but how can we develop those spaces when vital choices are not considered. FTB took the time to consider all the options and opinions of the communities with whom they work and will continue to improve communities through their objectives that they withhold.

Samuel Mockbee

By Nicholas Mosher

Architect and teacher Samuel Mockbee’s career path and overall attitude showed how he became a great leader in architecture through his compassion goodness.  Growing up with an impression that architects are “house pets for the rich” and all they want to do is build the biggest and most extravagant designs, he did wanted to do something different and more helpful with his work.  Mockbee bestowed many characteristics that showed through his leadership in architecture.  He was aware of situations around him mainly regarding the poverty in the south and primarily in Alabama where he grew up.  He grew up knowing the experience and it gained his attention when he became an architect and teacher.  He would take his students out to the neighborhoods just so that way they could get a realistic experience of it.  Mockbee showed and taught the trait to heal others and oneself through the architecture and that the goodness and compassion should be a part of the job.  By tackling the housing buildings and other community structures such as churches for the poor areas, and by incorporating his students into it, he was building a community among those who work together¹.  His life’s work was a commitment to the growth of people not in population and size, but in compassion and especially the willingness for architects to not just become a “house pet for the rich.”

            The main building block that Mockbee used for building the architecture of trust was that he stepped up to the plate.  Talk of building affordable homes and religious buildings to smaller income communities was hardly backed up in reality.  It was only theorized mainly in schools until Mockbee decided to take action when he became an architect.  This created a new value for other architect and especially his students.  His decision to not pursue a career to design for the rich allowed him to show and help spread an appreciation for what more important focuses should be such as the poor communities.  That decision has been recognized by many and in so has earned him awards for doing so.  Although he hasn’t earned a large amount of awards, the ones he did receive were very important and well known¹.  Both taking the initiative and setting a different value of focus have made Samuel Mockbee a trustworthy architect which has made him continue to get work and praise from his peers.

            Samuel Mockbee’s efforts were very effective and noteworthy.  I feel that his compassion and all around good attitude made him a trustworthy architect and that really helped him accomplish his goals of tackling projects that many other architects didn’t want to pursue.  He had good intentions and was knowledgeable of how things were and how he planned to work around or improve those conditions. 

Notes:

1.      Richard Swett. Leadership By Design: Creating and Architecture of Trust. (Greenway Communications. 2005) pgs 267-270.

Polder Method

By Michelle Harris

I stumbled across the term ‘polder method’ while reading, ‘ False Flat: Why Dutch Design is so Good,’ by Aaron Betsky. The word ‘polder’ caught my attention. The author used ‘polder’ in a manner that implied, ‘of course of you know,’ but I did not! This curious word led to a discovery of how the Dutch reclaimed land from the sea. They drained the marshy soil to cultivate land known as a polder. This term has become more broadly used as a means of economic repurposing by the Dutch Government. Overall, the polder method has a mixed legacy. The polder method can lead to endless debate and make government planning even slower. On the other hand, it ensures that the process is wholly democratic.

The polder method drained the economic and social stagnation of the 1970’s and 1980’s. The polder method mitigated subsidies generated off of trade. Now there is a complex network of subsidies for the sick, the unemployed or artists, for example. This intricate system of targeted subsidies is the mechanism that reversed the sinking Dutch economy. As Betsky states, ‘The public face of cultural subsidies is design.’  Dutch design unites communities both small and larger via the polder method.

One buildings that stands as a polder for international architecture is ARCAM by Rene van Zuuk. ARCAM stands for Architecture Center Amsterdam. This organization is funded in part by government subsidies. The building is located on the edge of the River IJ. The building successful reflects the context of the river in its ultra-modern design. The contrast is in the context. There are many traditional historic structures that surround ARCAM.

 

In some ways this facility works to create land for future creative architectural influences to integrate into the urban fabric.

ARCAM was designed with several limiting factors. The street facade was required to ensure privacy to the occupants. The canal facing façade was required to be unimposing to the surrounding traditional buildings. A few other limiting factors were the former structure’s foundation. The history and the context informed the curvy wrapping rooflines. The facility itself is a melting pot of architectural information for tourists and professionals alike. The website offers English and Dutch versions of resources and events. Check out the website’s publications to get an appreciation for the diverse clientele that use ARCAM. In many ways this design’s diversity is a mass of information and culture that form a base for the progress of architecture.

By representing the international design scene, ARCAM, represents idealistically the whole as a small. This is a function of the polder method. Another part of the polder method is that nobody can leave the table negotiations until a consensus is reached. Even as the creative growth becomes painful, the pain is managed by the flow of subsidies. The Dutch use the polder method to democratically enforce, ‘The most important task of a society, which is the arrangement that most invisible of physical attributes, space’. Architecture manifested through the idea of ARCAM is a polder for the international community to grow creatively.

An Architecture of Trust

By Isaac Grayson

Exploring an architecture of trust was something we recently had to do for an assignment in our professional practice class. Reading about this and applying other ethical values that I find the most important I also seem to come back to some kind of architecture built on the platform of a non-profit business plan with a goal to serve the community.  Plan New Hampshire[1] is a great example of an architecture of trust. The organization was a collaborative effort on the part of the several architects from New Hampshire’s AIA Chapter seeing the need to preserve the quality of life in their area. Through collaboration these individuals developed a service that gave back to communities, expanding on the preferred servant leadership style and further supported by the Four Building Blocks of an Architecture of Trust.[2] This kind of service involves giving the community a voice, as well as disposing of the perceived architectural attitude of an all knowing omniscient designer that only manifests itself through education or some innate ability. Utilizing their knowledge these architects are equipped to act as orchestrators of a situation building trust and often mending the fragile fabric of funding communities.

I was inspired by the efforts of these individuals offering up their leadership abilities to help where people have lost their way. This seems to closely resemble to ideal architecture firm that has been painted in my head through the collaboration of many different sources. In my mind an architect or group of architects should be a pillar in their community. As a business plan, in my head, I think a firm should be a not for profit venture who invests in the projects they build. It has been brought to my attention that there are firms who waive their architectural fee in exchange for a half percent return on the project over the course of ten years. This kind of investment would be motivation to design in such a way as to insure a return on investment. This would essentially be like stock in the community, showing your interest and desire to be a part of the community, rather than acting as a sort of middle man out to fight for a piece of the pie. Competition in this sort of environment would be encouraged, and only help to strengthen the community. Functioning as leader’s different firms and architects would strengthen the community by each being able to utilize their strengths contributing to a community rather than simply trying to profit off it. While also allowing and encouraging the community to grow without a self-centered focus of turning the community into a designers pet project.

Orchestrating their knowledge as generalist’s architects have the power to bring order to chaos if they would just step up to the plate and take the initiative. The fear with this kind of action is that we put ourselves out there for public execution. Maybe this is what we are meant for. As students studying architecture we are often asked why did we choose architecture? The answers given will run the full gamut, but the underlying theme of them all is that we believe we can make a difference. To make a difference we must often make changes and work to bring people of polar opposites together on common ground. When have these sort of action ever been perceived as favorable? The title of architect is one that often come with great respect and mysticism, with a knack for leadership and ability to absorb criticism. Modeling our principals of business practices and ultimately life after the Four Building Blocks of Trust architects will be able to make the changes they wanted to see in a more prolific manor.

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[1] Swett, R. N., & Thornton, C. M. (2005). Building Community through Community Engagement. Leadership by design: creating an architecture of trust (pp. 254-277). Atlanta, GA: Greenway Communications.

[2] Swett, R. N., & Thornton, C. M. (2005). Four Building Blocks for Building the Architecture of Trust. Leadership by design: creating an architecture of trust (pp. 17-21). Atlanta, GA: Greenway Communications.

Great Teachers

By Lani Walker

A family member of mine taught a class at SIUC many years ago.  I grew up listening to him speak poorly about his students.  He relished in tricking and failing his students, a strange enjoyment that he would admit to even today.  It was often that my mother, a high school teacher herself, and him would end up arguing during family functions about teaching philosophies.  My mother loved teaching, and it is most definitely a gift she possesses.  She could inspire both the best and worst students I had ever seen.  She often felt as if their successes (and failures) were her own.  Anytime I go out in my hometown, I cannot even begin to tell you how many adults want to take the time to tell me how my mother positively affected their life in high school.  Without any doubt, they would say (and I would say as well) that she is an exceptional teacher. 

                When I go home, it is often that I speak with my parents about my current college professors at SIU.  Overall, the teaching I have witnessed at SIU has been excellent.  Although I have met a few terrible teachers, I know that a few bad raindrops cannot contaminate an entire ocean.  I have met great teachers throughout many departments at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, but the ones I am most familiar with are the teachers in the Architecture department.  They are a diverse group of very interesting and very intelligent professors.  I cannot even choose a favorite professor because I like so many of them and have been inspired by almost all of them. 

The first professor I met at SIU was Professor Dobbins.  From being in his classroom for a few semesters, one thing is apparent to me; he is a great teacher.  It is so obvious that he joys his job, and he always tries to make the subject of structures enjoyable for his students (a VERY difficult task).  He is always fair and respectful to his students.  And no matter how many students complain that his class is ‘too hard,’ he doesn’t make his class any less challenging because he knows that we will rise to the occasion.  Honestly, when you put a lot of time and effort into his class, the final Structures project I produced was something I learned a lot from and could be proud of.  Another teacher who comes to mind immediately when I think of great professors at SIU is Dr. Anz.  Like Professor Dobbins, Professor Anz definitely has a passion for architecture.  Dr. Anz has so much knowledge and insight, yet he somehow manages to be relatable to the students at SIU.  If you ever get stuck in your studio project and need something new and exciting from the world of architecture, Dr. Anz is the person to lead you down that path.  I am so lucky to have taken his class my senior year because it renewed my love of architecture.                   

This semester, in Graduate School, is the first time I have gotten to work with Dr. Wendler in a studio setting.  He is very straightforward and doesn’t attempt to sugar-coat anything, qualities that I definitely value in a teacher.  He is also very creative and has offered so many suggestions that have helped my studio work.  When he speaks, he always reminds me of Walt Disney; charismatic and inspiring, yet definitely wants the job done right.  Dr. Wendler is the leader of our architecture program, and he still takes the time to be our Graduate Studio professor this semester.  Between him and all the other great teachers I have met (and am still meeting new ones everyday), I would recommend SIUC to any architecture student looking for an exceptional architecture program that teaches, challenges, and learns from its students.          

If You Built It

By Michelle Harris

‘If You Build It,’ is a documentary about two designers who introduce a rural group of North Carolinian students to fundamental design through projects where they make their own laser cut skateboards to a final project for the community. The film is playing in the Music Box Theater in Chicago beginning February 7^th. I have not watched the film. However, I have read several reviews. The critique of the film by the New York Times was that ‘If You Built It,’ showed too much of people’s commentary rather than showing the actual happenings of the projects. The Architectural Record features the director, Patrick Creadon, as the genius behind an otherwise cliché film. Overall the reviews paint ‘If You Build It’ as heartwarming film with a dose of perspective of what deign can and cannot do.

 I was interested in the film because of the two designers, Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller. Their growth and struggle as teachers is something even as a student I identify with. They have admirable perseverance in accomplishing their goals despite financial setbacks. Their funding was cut by the school district and forced them to live off credit cards and grant money. Pilloton gave a TED talk on their project. Her heartfelt connection to the community reminds me of a class I had earlier discussing inclusive leadership. The role that Pilloton and Miller initially play as outsiders is transformed by their sincere desire to be design diplomats in the community. As Pilloton mentions in the TED talks she and her partner (professional and romantic) have moved to the small community of Bertie, North Carolina. There were no licensed architects in the district. Their idealism though cliché has truly made a difference and the lives of the youth of this community.

My personal takeaway from what I’ve read and listened to of ‘If You Build It’, beyond the issues of education reform and living in a rural area, is that as students and designers can make positive change happen through design. There are many more communities across the U.S. The challenge posed in my reflections is what I am doing to help humanity through design?

Every Tuesday afternoon at three, there is a meeting for Freedom by Design in the Architecture Library in Quigley Hall. The students there are designing a ramp for a homebound local resident. In addition to serving on the committee for Freedom by Design, there is also opportunity to raise money for the group. February, Friday, the Fourteenth, they’ll be selling baked goods outside senior studio. Share the love! For cookies and community and stop by! There are many ways to help and it never hurts to start small.

References:

‘If You Build it’ official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmt1E-zRM9E

Emily Pilloton: Teaching Design for Change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiIxdFBA0Sw

Classroom Projects: http://www.projecthdesign.org/

 ‘Film Review: If You Build It’. Ciampaglia, Dante. Architectural Record Online. April 5. 2013. Accessed January 29. 2014. http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2013/04/130405-Film-Review-If-You-Build-It.asp

‘Today, a Chicken Coop; Tomorrow, the World,‘If You Build It,’ by Patrick Creadon, on Student Projects’ Rapold, Nicolas. New York Times Online. January 9. 2014. Accessed January 29. 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/movies/if-you-build-it-by-patrick-creadon-on-student-projects.html?_r=0