Predock Lecture

                         The Predock Lecture that was given by Christopher Mead was an interesting lecture.

During the lecture Chris talked about several projects that Antoine Predock did in the Albuquerque area. One of the projects that he talked about was the Rio Grande Center and how Perdock want people to experience it from the way he designed the entrance to how the visitors would interact with the interior space.  When Chris showed the picture of the diagrams I couldn’t see how Predock got his building from those sketches. The one project that stood out for me was George Pearl Hall when Chris talked about how Predock look at the Rio Grande and got his concept for the design. I was hoping to here Predock talk about this project and descried it vs. hearing someone else talk about it. As stimulating as many of his designs may look, or function, I wouldn't really know without visiting, and nothing makes that more truly then coverage on George Pearl Hall. To me this building wastes so much energy with heating it, with such a temperature change in the studio space. Even now that the weather is warming up if you go into studio at night and are one of the unlucky ones who site by the window if feels like the middle on winter. And during the GPH presentation Chris talked about hoe Predock’s main focus was the on the Central facade. Over all it was a good presentation because I got to  see how Antoine Predock thought process was.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural center

On our class visit to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center was a nice visit because that was my first time there.  When I first got there I remember thinking to myself what does this have to do with this class, but as I started looking at the build and how the space were used and how the building its self was a major part of the Native American community and how the design of the building reflected their culture.

As we made our way through the entrance there were a group of dancers in the center patio area of the building. This building and was built as a response that is Critically Regional, with the simulated walls that are thick and plastered with stucco, that repent the adobe walls. And the exposed Vigas, which are traditionally wooden beams that support the roof and are part of the building, these ones are simply fixed to the stucco.

And yet the Center might not be the best example of materials that they would have used I still think it reflects a historical past, it does serve as a perfect place for the community gatherings and events. While the architecture of the building does not reflect the culture like I think it should, the building does effectively serve as a place for the pueblos of New Mexico to come together in community.

Werner-Gilchrist Cultural Critique

      

            In the cultural critique that’s going to be talked about in this paper, were looking at the culture, politics, and history were going to be looking at the 97-year-old Werner-Gilchrist house in Albuquerque New Mexico, The house was built in 1908 by Laura Werner and her son-in-law Ralph Gilchrist. This house has a vast cultural history and now political history with its uniqueness and major significances to my case study. I think the reason this house is excellent choice for this project. Tom Drake said that "It was one of the first, if not the first, in the University Heights addition," who is a spokesman for the state Historic Preservation Division.

This house has historic significance rooted in its architecture and its associations with the eastward expansion and suburban development of the City of Albuquerque; it portrays the environment of a group of people (New Mexico residents) in an era of history (post-railroad, pre-Statehood New Mexico) characterized by a distinctive architectural style (Hipped Box). The house embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction, being a single-family house of adobe bearing walls – a pre-railroad vernacular building tradition – built in post-railroad, Hipped Box styling with lumber-framed, hipped roof and milled wood doors, windows, and trim inside and out; and it was listed in the State Register of Cultural Properties and National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Significant features of the Werner-Gilchrist House identified by the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission as being worthy of preservation: Main mass of the house including its earthen walls, hipped roof, and dormers; milled wood doors, windows, and trim characteristic of early 20^th-century Albuquerque houses.

At the present time the house is an eye sore for the local resident, since the newest owners have let the property go into disrepair because they realized the costs.  However, the city of Albuquerque gave landmark status to the Werner-Gilchrist house, and on the week of January 12, 2006, which does prevent its owners from demolishing it without city approval. There has been great support from the former mayor Martin Chavez, when the Albuquerque Journal interviewed Mr. Chaves "said he remembers the house from his college days at the University of New Mexico". An appraisal for the city put the house's value, once renovated, at $407,600, with or without landmark designation. That same appraiser estimated renovation costs at $120,360, and the properties worth "as is" at $287,250. Since then the estimate has risen considerably on the property.

The University Heights community has mixed reviews about this property from the residents that live there. Some want to keep the property and see if there is a way to restore this house, then you have the rest that don't know what should be done with it. Some residents want it demolished because they feel that it’s an eyesore and feel that if the city will let the current owner put and infill project it would better their community. As of now, either the city or the current owners of the property have been clearing out the place, they cut the over grown weeds and some of the trees that have obscured the 100 year old house. There have been some residents that complained on the Duke City Forum, saying that the cleaning up efforts have made the property more unsightly.    

The University Heights Neighborhood Association stated that, the Werner-Gilchrist represents a chance to preserve a little piece of history and hold on to some of the open space on the four-lot property. The Neighborhood Association president stated that they “would like for there to be a good outcome and a good outcome would be for the house to be renovated”.
The Journal also interviewed the developer for the property and he said that it would be a “catalytic” project for townhouses that they are building in the nearby Nob Hill area. When the Journal asked the developer what he meant he stated that it means “coming into a neighborhood that need redevelopment” and help them get started. 

            Even though investing in something of this magnitude is expensive I think it would be a good investment, because it shows that the city wants to keep some of its history alive in its community. It speaks a lot when the mayor at that time was fighting for that house, and to demo it would be a loss to the city but I think also to the state of New Mexico, and to the architecture community.

Bibliography

Journal, Albuquerque. "Neighbors Bivided On Historic Home's Future." (2005).

—. "'Pioneer' Caled a Landmark-1908 Home Gets City's Designatio." (2006).

—. "This Old House May Escape the Wrecking Ball." (2005).

The Werner-Gilchrist House of Albuquerque

  In the reading An Introduction to Architectural Theory one of quote that really stood out for me was when Charles Jencks did a follow up study called “What is Post-Modernism”. Being a strong advocate for the importance of postmodernism, he reiterated his earlier study by defining it as “double coding: the combination of Modem techniques with something else (usually traditional building) in order for architecture to communicate with the public and a concerned minority, usually other architects."  By contrast, he defined modernism as the" universal, international stemming from the facts of new constructional means adequate to a new industrial society, and having as its goal the transformation of society both in its taste and social make-up .(Goodman 5)”  This quote helped me because at first, this reading to me didn’t seem like it would help me much with our case study, because in the beginning of the reading it stated that the postmodern movement didn’t really gain favor till about the 1980’s. And since the Werner-Gilchrist house was constructed in 1908, I didn’t feel that the house would fall into the postmodern movement but as I kept reading the article I noticed it wasn’t just about postmodern, but also about critical regionalism. And from doing research at the time this house was constructed this type of architecture was very popular along the town in New Mexico that the rail road created along its path.
                Even thought the postmodernism movement didn’t start till the 1980’s. I see the Werner- Gilchrist House an early example of postmodernism in New Mexico, the building form that typifies the explorations of Postmodernism is the traditional gable roof, in place of the iconic flat roof of modernism. With a gable roof it would allow the shedding water away from the center of the building, such a roof form always served a functional purpose in climates with rain and snow, and was a logical way to achieve larger spans with shorter structural members, like this house did. The house embodied the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction, being a single-family, it was built during post-railroad, the house uses a Hipped Box styling with lumber-framed, hipped roof and milled wood doors, windows, and trims inside and out.
             In the reading An Introduction to Architectural Theory Goodman writes about “ 

Critical regionalism, in his view, accomplished these objectives through the menu of place and form, topography, context, climate, light, and tectonic form.”(Goodman) I think this house is a good example because this house was built with materials that were on the land or within the area. The adobe walls, the stacked stone foundation, and the lumber used to construct the house.
                Another part in the reading that stood out was when it talked when Frampton wrote an essay in 1985 “he lamented the fact that few modern buildings (in contrast to almost any rural farmhouse) have any emotional appeal, a failing he attributed to the rationalist fixation on formalism in the previous few decades.”  I see this to be very true almost every house that was built in rural New Mexico or even the U.S during early 1900’s, seemed to have a more of a functional look versus an emotional appeal to the building. And the reason I think this happened is because as the railroad came through towns they would just carry the same features over whether it was because it was it was efficient or just what they knew what worked, versus incorporating different building methods. I can remember going to visit my grandparents in Las Vegas New Mexico another town that used to be a big stop for the railroad there used to be a set of houses that had some of the same characteristic as the Werner- Gilchrist House.
                The Werner- Gilchrist House represents a very early stage of postmodern architecture in the way it was constructed. And because the postmodernism movement didn’t happen till the 1980’s almost 72 year later the house was a early example of the movement. Because this house was the first house on the eastward expansion and suburban development of the City of Albuquerque, and it also portrays the environment of a group of people in an early era of New Mexico’s history, and how it shaped the community. 

 

Bibliography
Goodman, David and

Mallgrave, Harry Francis
An introduction to Architectural Theory
1968 to the Present

 

Snohetta lecture

Snohetta  lecture

I saw the Snohetta lecture last Friday, and thought it was one of the best lectures that has be presented to us to date. Craig Dykers who is a senior partner in the firm, presented some of their work and talked about some of the competitions that they entered, and how they never thought that they would have won. The first project he talked about was the Alexandria Library in Egypt, he talked about how they want people looking at this building to look through it and passed it, they didn’t want a building that stood straight up. Some of the features of the building that he showed us in the slides were the Façade and all of the hand carved writings, he said it took them 6 years to research, and carve all of the writing into the granite.  Another feature he talked about was the natural lighting, and how they used stained glass to introduce some green and blue lighting into the interior. One of the slides he showed us was of people who made a human barrier around the building to protect it from the government rallies that the country were having, it showed people from  both sides holding hands to form that chain right there is showed us how architecture can bring people together.
            The next project he showed us was the Swedish consulate that was located in Germany. He told us about the main structural member that held up the roof, it was a solid piece of granite that was three feet thick, 15 feet wide, 45 feet tall, and weighted 300 tons. The first  obstacle that they had was finding a piece of granite that was going to be big enough, he said when they found it the next part they had to figure out was how they were going to get it from the quarry to the site which was in Germany. They were told that the slab would have to be transported in pieces, he said after some calculations and other factor they were able to transport it as a single piece. When he showed us the picture I couldn’t believe it, I think that supporting wall made the project that much more successful.
            The last couple of project that he showed us were the New Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. This was my favorite project that he showed us because of all of the details that they put into this building, from the granite exterior floor, the one piece monolithic wood for the balcony’s in the main room to the hand blown glass chandelier that weighted three tons. This building I think is used to its full potential and much more, he talked about how this site was contaminated before the construction and how they clean up the site.  The other project was Karmoy Fishing Museum this project was located in a very beautiful place, and the views it gave the visitors to the North Sea and how they could see the old light house, which I thought was very special. The last project was an Installation that was called Knogsberg Jazz Festival Tubaloon which served as the main stage for the Scandinavia’s Knogsberg Jazz Festival. They made this shape for the acoustic properties for people in the inside of and also for the people who weren’t able to get inside. If funneled the music to the outside of the structure, it was also a self supporting structure also which was really interesting.  
            I saw how architecture can help unite people when conflict is happening and how people from both sides join forces to help protect a common interest. I hope UNM SA+P will continue to bring lectures like this one to the students.