JUN 2020
living template
Generations of architects have attempted to diagnose Chicago, by means of urban planning and civic infrastructure. Heavily embedded with aspects of age, ethnic, race, demographic, wealth, education level and so forth, architecture gestures should no longer be considered as a cure-for-all prescription. Instead, we have to ask, how can architecture serve for humanity, when confronted with systemic issues and unprecedented challenges to come?
Employing illness as metaphor, Beatriz Colomina argued “Architecture was not only part of the treatment, it had to address the patient’s way of life.”[1]
To address, to live, and to be with.
Reimagining Burnham’s grand social agenda to be conceived at community level, we picture a structure that frames the state of living, detects concerns and sustains progress. This structure, bearing the legacy of Chicago architects, can be pre-fabricated and is easy to assemble. Whether utilized as a place for protest or transformed into an alternative care facility, the intention of the designed structure is elastic, and thus a neutral agency for negotiation. Ultimately, this structure reflects the fundamental humane——people’s rightful place to voice opinions, to reverberate implicit faith, to fill a gap wherever needed.
This structure is the LIVING TEMPLATE.
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[1] Colomina, Beatriz. X-ray Architecture. Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. P.69. In this book, historian, theorist and curator Colomina challenges popular modern architecture discourses by exploring the enormous impact of medical theories and advancing technology (the skeleton strucures and minimal interior decorations in modern buildings evolved in parallel with the obsessions of sanitation for healthier body and psyche).
Employing illness as metaphor, Beatriz Colomina argued “Architecture was not only part of the treatment, it had to address the patient’s way of life.”[1]
To address, to live, and to be with.
Reimagining Burnham’s grand social agenda to be conceived at community level, we picture a structure that frames the state of living, detects concerns and sustains progress. This structure, bearing the legacy of Chicago architects, can be pre-fabricated and is easy to assemble. Whether utilized as a place for protest or transformed into an alternative care facility, the intention of the designed structure is elastic, and thus a neutral agency for negotiation. Ultimately, this structure reflects the fundamental humane——people’s rightful place to voice opinions, to reverberate implicit faith, to fill a gap wherever needed.
This structure is the LIVING TEMPLATE.
[1] Colomina, Beatriz. X-ray Architecture. Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. P.69. In this book, historian, theorist and curator Colomina challenges popular modern architecture discourses by exploring the enormous impact of medical theories and advancing technology (the skeleton strucures and minimal interior decorations in modern buildings evolved in parallel with the obsessions of sanitation for healthier body and psyche).