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3D DEBRIS

NOLITA INCLUSIONS

Debris is a form of fragmentation; the micro-remains of a ruin. Historically debris has been associated with destruction, war, and the remnants of some catastrophic event. They represent what David Gissen calls “the destructive capacities of urban production”. Like dust, and exhaust, they pervade urban environments and defy territorial boundaries.

For the last part of 2D-3D, I attempted to capture and fossilize these nomadic elements in time and space, and create a micro-environment of Nolita’s urban detritus. With my swiffer pad, I swepted or swabbed recurring surfaces that form the vernacular of Manhattan’s streetscape. I then cast the collected debris in resin (with moderate success).

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MEDIUM - PUDDLES

When we think of water, we imagine flow, and movement. Stagnant water and puddles are considered unsanitary forms of water, and have come to symbolize the vulnerability of society, or its state of self-reflection. 

When considering examples of stagnant water in New York, I thought of the iconic water towers that are scattered across the city’s urban landscape. The positioning of these types of ‘puddles’, high above the streets, make them unique from ordinary puddles; they have become part of the skyline of the city. There’s also a sense of nostalgia and an aesthetic attached to water towers that make people think of New York’s industrial past. But as the supply of drinking water for people that work and live in Manhattan, their success is questionable.

What I find so interesting, and ironic, is that these water towers, which are loved by people living and visiting New York, have become breeding grounds for sediment, bacterial growth, rodent/bird activity, insects and debris. A survey done in March 2018 of 13000 water tanks, and their inspection results, shows the failures of building owners and landlords to provide the minimum requirement of maintaining the water tanks and providing their residents, and tenants with a clean source of drinking water. This map shows all the tanks where sediment, bacterial growth, rodent/bird activity, insects, and debris have been found, and all the tanks that have not been inspected in that year.

What is even more ironic is the fact that some of the buildings with contaminated water are LEED certified buildings (eg. One World Trade was found to have sediment in its water tank). It really boggles my mind that these developers/owners will spend millions of dollars hiring engineers, and architects to make their buildings ‘green’, but they can’t even be bothered to spend a couple hundred bucks to perform basic maintenance on these tanks for safe drinking water.  

For the second part of 2D, I have created hypothetical map of all the contaminated water towers of NY, with Central Park as a point of reference. The map is neither to scale, nor accurate in terms of exact locations. It also only shows water towers that are true to their iconic form. It does show, however, a general sense of where the water towers are most poorly maintained, and most contaminated.

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SMALL - EXHAUST/POLLUTION

Our desire to eliminate and shield from exhaust has informed the design of cities, buildings and infrastructure. While recent developments in technology and legislation have reduced pollution in many Western cities, this is only a minority. In a city like New York, exhaust does not pose imminent threats to our health or well-being; it’s something that’s just… there. When we think of pollution, or polluted areas, we associate some form of less developed, less refined urban environment, and form biases against certain classes, their technologies and operations.

To have the means to think about environmental issues, such as pollution, is to come from a place of privilege. Most environmental activists and groups comprise of educated middle-class people, because their most imminent needs, such as proper shelter, healthcare and food, have already been fulfilled. Globally, people of developing nations are more vulnerable to pollution and environmental disasters because of a lack of environmental laws, infrastructure, and economic options for the nation as a whole. Industrialized nations take advantage of the cheap labor, and resources of these poorer nations. In a local context, the segregation of marginalized communities and ethnic minorities expose them to harmful pollutants and/or limit their access to basic resources to clean air and water. While the physical geography and the agricultural practices of the US have large impacts on pollution levels, the concentration of wealth can also be an indicator. So in effect, exhaust has become the stimulant for a type of sociopolitical power and control.

This project is a comparison of CO and PM2.5 levels in NY and the most polluted following American cities. What this comparison shows, is that despite the scale of NY as a metropolis, it is relatively ‘clean’ when compared to some other parts of the country. 

I was interested in reversing the determined scale of the project (3.5″ x 2″), by fitting something very large (pollution data) into something very small (mini-visualization).

I collected raw data from the EPA and used RAW graphs to visualize the information. This turned out to be more difficult than I thought because of the scale of the collected data. After some trial and error, I was able to find an appropriate scale for the graphics. 

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PRECEDENTS

THE ETHICS OF DUST BY JORGE OTERO-PAILOS

http://www.oteropailos.com/the-ethics-of-dust-series/

Artist, preservationist and architect Jorge Otero-Pailos exposes the centuries of dust at Westminster Hall. The project presents dust as a kind of historical documentation of the building. 

B_MUTOWER BY R&SIE(N)

http://www.new-territories.com/roche2002bis.htm

This unrealized project by R&Sie(n) considers exhaust as environmental form, and suggests alternative ways of thinking about our relationship with pollution. Positioned in the polluted area of downtown Bangkok, the building’s facade attracts the exhaust from its immediate surroundings, then filters the air in the exterior and interior. Rather than conceiving of the built environment as a form of insulation from pollution, this project actively engages with it while simultaneously providing protection from it. 

SUBCULTURE: MICROBIAL METRICS AND THE MULTI-SPECIES CITY by KEVIN SLAVIN, ELIZABETH HÉNAFF AND THE LIVING.

http://storefrontnews.org/programming/subculture-microbial-metrics-and-the-multi-species-city/

Subculture is a current exhibit at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, which explores the microbial identity of cities and exposes the ‘multi-species’ nature of the urban environment. On the facade of the gallery space are panels of wood which become receptors for microorganisms. The tiles are then swabbed and examined to reveal the DNA of the microbial life. 

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SUBNATURE IN 2D - 3D

Subnature is a term coined by David Gissen, an architectural historian and critic at the California College of the Arts.  It refers to unsettling environmental elements such as exhaust, dust, puddles, debris, weeds, and insects which are rejected by society. These elements, as unappealing as they may seem, are ubiquitous elements of urban life, and challenge us to confront our anxieties with hygiene and cleanliness. The mainstream sustainability movement and the greenification of our lives have further alienated us from our environment, by promoting an idealized image of nature as a resource for human fulfilment, and pleasure. Simply changing the machinery, or the source of energy allows us to continue doing the same things, while mitigating, in a very narrow sense, our environmental footprint. While these strategies may on the surface reduce energy consumption, and foster an appreciation of nature, they adopt what Gissen calls a “neo-Victorian” and “neo-Haussmanite” approach to urbanism. They involve “the utilization of nature as an instrument that cleans the world, increases productivity and efficiency” and promote “the power of urban wealth in the name of mending a natural relationship”. My project is an attempt to reposition our perception of these ‘subnatural’ elements, to suggest a better and more broad understanding of our relationship with our environment, and ground ourselves in the realities of urban existence. I will be focusing on exhaust, puddles, dust, and debris.

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SUBNATURE refers to unsettling environmental elements such as dust, exhaust, dankness and debris, which are key aspects of urban life, but do not exist in mainstream environmental discourse.

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IN-CLASS BRAINSTORMING

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1D - DOMAIN RESEARCH

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DAY 7 - WifePro, an App

WifePro is an activity tracking app specifically designed for married women to increase their productivity in the home.  It tracks their actions, evaluates their productivity based on the performance of those actions, and determines their overall value as a wife. 

As nightmarish solution to the ideas discussed on day 6, WifePro looks into a foreseeable future, where women have joined the workforce, but for the sole purpose of labour in the home. Their worth is judged by the quality and efficiency of the domestic work they complete, and this work is never-ending. 

The homepage is a summary of the tasks left to do, and the money they have made from being paid out by their husbands. With a higher performance rating, their wage increases. Each cycle is a week long, and there is a constant reminder at the top of the screen of the remaining hours to complete the tasks. 

Ratings are determined by data collected from the app, and the reviews of their performance in four categories: domestic labour, appearance, fitness and intimacy. After they complete a task, they must upload a photo to share with their husbands, and other wives in the community who will then approve or disapprove of the work. The reviews from other users will identify their skills and weaknesses, which they will want to either keep or improve upon.

For now, I have only designed a few simple subway ads, and wireframed the main screens.

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DAY 6 - THIS WOMAN’S WORK 

There is a presumption that because women have entered the workforce, their duties at home have come to an end. In fact, just the opposite is true. Neither technology nor the ability to enter the workforce have proved to liberate women from their unpaid domestic and reproductive labor. 

Reproductive labor is not only for the purpose of giving birth to a child, but to sustain the family unit as productive labor force. In this dual sense, a woman’s work is truly never-ending, and never complete. This project is a representation of this work, and how long it would take me to perform this labor for my neighbourhood. 

This morning, I timed myself doing as many chores as I could in an hour. 

I managed to complete the following tasks.

Put away 4 spatulas, 2 pots, 1 pan, 4 knives, and 2 bowls.

Wash 4 spoons, 5 forms, 2 spatulas, 1 blender, 7 bowls, 2 cups, 2 containers, 1 kitchen knife, and 2 cutting boards.

Vacuum and Swiffer my entire apartment.

Clean the bathroom, and toilet.

If I make the assumption that this is the bare minimum for cleaning a 2 bedroom apartment, how many single/2 family houses could I clean in a day, week, month, year?

If a single/2 family house contains an average of 4 bedrooms, that means I could potentially clean 1 house in 2 hours. Assuming that I work 8 hour days, and 5 days a week, this is what could happen.

In one day, I could clean four houses.

In a week, I could clean 20. 

In a month, I could clean 80. 

In 3 months, I could clean 240.

In 6 months, I could clean 480.

In a year, I could clean 960, essentially most of the single/2 family dwellings within a 1km square radius of my house. 

First I referred to a zoning and land use map to understand the housing typologies in my neighbourhood. The colors represent a different type of land use. For example, green means park/green space, orange means multi-family walk up buildings, and yellow means single/two family houses. I could only find a raster image, so I overlaid a vector map of my neighborhood to better isolate the ‘yellow’ houses and have a clean image.

Then, I marked the houses in yellow for each duration of my potential work.

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DAY 5 - DOMESTIC ALCHEMY

The first four days of this project focused on places of the past, and the idea of domesticity as a physical environment. For the latter half of this project, the focus will shift to the present and the social implications of domesticity.

I am currently engaged and will get married next summer. While I am very excited about this prospect, and the continuation of a life that I have built with my fiancé, I must admit there are some questions I ask myself about how my role as a woman will change in the domestic and social realm.

For this project, I have created a scent out of staples we consume on a regular basis. I chose to document fragrance because there is something very intimate about scent, and it’s something I have never done before.

Food items used include the following:

1. yogurt, blueberries and coffee for breakfast

2. rice, cheddar cheese, cilantro, a frozen dumpling, soy sauce for lunch

3. MSG, kimchi, garlic, hot sauce, basil and red wine for dinner.

I captured the scent of an amalgamation of these ingredients by following a simple science video for children. Unfortunately, I was not able to fully make a fragrance out of those ingredients because of an incident which is documented under the bloopers section.

I then created a recipe which borrows the rhetoric of Victorian era cookbooks, which along with other modes of popular culture disseminated an ideal of a ‘domestic’ and passive woman, or what Barbara Welter has defined as the “Cult of Domesticity”.  

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BLOOPERS:

After I took the jar out, I noticed that there was no liquid as seen in the instructional video. I put the jar back in the pot and replaced the lid with another one without a hole. Without any holes to let the steam out, I thought this would be more successful method of capturing scent. This is what happened….

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DAY 4 - DISPERSAL OF THE HEARTH

For day 4, I am exploring the idea of the hearth as something which has been dispersed through time and space. As I have been tracing back the memory of each house I have lived in, some have been more difficult to remember than others. I was either too young to retain a clear memory, or I lived there for a too short period of a time. 

This project is my attempt to map/visualize/spatialize those memories through time. Each home is located on a sheet of bed linens, and is rendered as coloured ice cubes of various quantities. Each ice cube represents a period of 1-6 months each. For example, a house I have only lived in for two months would get one ice cube, and one I lived in for 2 years would get four ice cubes. As the ice cubes melt, they leave marks on the fabric to represent the intensity of the memory. Ultimately, the stains blend into one another forming a large blob, or a strange landscape of various memories. 

To add another layer of complexity, I projected the video of the project onto my Tv as it was being filmed, sat on my couch and watched the footage as if I was  just hanging out at home. The original footage was around 90 minutes long, so I adjusted the playback speed. 

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DAY 3 - THE FINANCIALIZATION OF THE HEARTH, HOME AS REAL ESTATE

For day 3, I am exploring the idea of the home as a piece of real estate, stripping it down to its barest monetary terms. In doing so, I am also attempting to create a commentary on the affordable housing crisis caused by the financialization of the housing market.

Each house/apartment shown above are presented as a piece of rentable/purchasable property, advertised in a generic flyer by a fictional real estate agency. The listed price/rent reflects contemporary numbers, and below it is the “comparable” rent from the time I occupied that space. 

All numbers were derived from either my own records, records of property value/rent history or the average rent of a neighbourhood/city. I sourced the information from rental/property search engines (Streeteasy, Padmapper, Zillow, Listing.ca..etc). 

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DAY 2 - OUTSIDE THE HEARTH

10 years ago, I could not imagine being able to revisit my past homes and neighbourhoods on the web, and see their physical changes through time. 

For this project, I am zooming out from the hearth to study its context within the urban fabric. Despite its convenience and value, Google Maps can only provide abstract representations of the city, making the identity of the place ambiguous and open-ended. While these images may illustrate some physical (infrastructural) patterns of a community, they look nonetheless placeless and nameless.

Is it a suburb, city center, a suburb that looks like a city center, or a city center that looks like a suburb?

Only I am able to recognize the location and identity of these images. 

Each address is represented as a thumbnail, and below it is the population density of the neighbourhood to which it belongs to. 

For most places, I was able to find census data for population density. For the Korean addresses, I used information from Wikipedia.

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DAY 1 - THE HEARTH

For day 1 of Documenting Domesticity, I am exploring the hearth as the center of domestic life.

A hearth is simply defined as a fireplace, or as a figurative center of family life. For many periods in history, the hearth was the literal center of the physical home. 

Today I drew from memory, the plans of 13 homes that I live or have lived in. I then placed at the center of the page, whichever room I felt was the hearth, or the center of my experience of that particular house.

I printed on transparency film to layer the images and show them at once, but also as a sequence. 

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CONCEPT 3 - STUDIES IN PERSPECTIVE

The word perspective can be interpreted in many different ways.

Linear perspective, which is a technique used by artists and designers to express depth on a 2D surface, can have various numbers of vanishing points to exaggerate or more accurately portray the viewing angle of an image.

Perspective can also be experienced in a social context. Perspectives change from race, gender, class, age, time, environment, and health.

For the third concept, I am interested in exploring how the various permutations of the word perspective can be communicated.

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CONCEPT 2 - DOCUMENTING DOMESTICITY

When I visited Seoul this past summer, I had the unique experience of seeing my old neighbourhood one last time before demolition. I lived in an apartment within a large housing development in Seoul until 1997, and it was the last physical remnant of my life in Korea. Ignoring the no-trespassing signs, and in dismay of a scene that resembled the set of a Korean zombie film, I managed to find my way back to my old building by following a path of travel I had used daily as a kid, and used once as an adult on Google Street View. I anxiously took as many photos as I could of the exterior of my building, and even went inside the exact apartment unit I used to call home. 

Looking back at these photos, I wished that I had better documentation of my ‘home’ in Korea, and thought about the families that were established there after I left.

Since 1997, I have moved a total of 25 times. How has the idea of domestic life changed for me through all these years? How does it continue to change with technology? 

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There is also much to be explored in the relationship between domesticity, gender, space, and society. 

In the Renaissance, it was common for all rooms to be connected and have no distinction between circulation and program. This created a permeable space where inhabitants would be encouraged to interact. With the introduction of corridors, the domestic space would become more compartmentalized and segregated by function and activities, or gender and class. While women were once physically and socially tied to domesticity, the mechanization of the domestic sphere helped alleviate women from the confines of the home. 

How can present norms in domesticity be challenged? Are women really free from the realm of domesticity?