DYNAMIC PLATFORMS: OVER / ON / IN THE SEINE

NEW YORK-PARIS ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO. SPRING SEMESTER

19.01.2015

Principality of Sealand. H.M Fort Roughs Blueprint

Professors: Marcos Garcia Rojo, Antoine Santiard, Tsuyoshi Tane

Platform (n.):
Middle French plate-forme diagram, map, literally, flat form
First Known Use: 1535
1. A usually raised structure that has a flat surface where people or
machines do work.
2. A place for opportunity for public discussion.
3. A declaration of the principles on which a group of persons stands.
4. A flat surface that is raised higher than the floor or ground and that
people stand on when performing or speaking.
5. A vehicle (as a satellite or aircraft) used for a particular purpose or to
carry a usually specified kind of equipment.

Dynamic (adj.):
French dynamique, from Greek dynamikos powerful, from dynamis power,
from dynasthai to be able. First Known Use: 1827
1. Always active or changing.
2. Having or showing a lot of energy.
3. Of or relating to energy, motion, or physical force

Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; http://www.merriam-webster.com

 ABSTRACT

An infrastructural element is the resource required for an activity.

Rivers are infrastructures since the value they provide is crucial for urban development,
serving as a source of water but also as a means of transportation, power generation or waste
disposal.

However, this infrastructural condition is less and less evident in western metropolis. This
historical nature –the flourish of cities and civilizations very often coincide with areas irrigated
with large fresh-water streams- has been progressively dismissed in a process of
deindustrialization occurring in parallel to their development. As a result, productive activities
are pushed out from the city center in the search of “cleanliness” for downtown areas and rivers
appear as idyllic and pastoral recreational areas used as mere real estate or touristic assets. This
act of river remediation has been a constant in many major European cities for the last decades,
picturing rivers as idle and bucolic public spaces. This conception would perfectly fit in the XIX
century ideal of what the modern, urban experience is (le flâneur) but does not seem to do
justice to their real potential as generators of activity, exchange and urban density in a
contemporary context.

The Seine at its passage through Paris intramuros is a clear example of this phenomenon:
the city is fixed in its historic form as a sort of precious fossil for tourists and so it is the river,
crafted to not clash with this apparent perfection.

How to recover the underlying potential of the river as an urban definer? How to develop
new modes of interaction, exchange, live in the city (the river)?

The studio will focus on these challenges and their potential as a trigger for change,
diversity and urban transformation. Students will work on three different areas (portions of the
river, the city and their bridges) and three different conditions (over, on, in) to develop a series of
“dynamic platforms of exchange” between the city and the river.

The goods and the nature of the exchange are to be determined in order to complete a
given program: a food market.
 The first five sessions of the studio will serve to engage different individual short-and-quick
exercises that should allow to open design strategies for the second half of the semester. After
this initial phase, students will work in pairs to develop further their intuitions into a fully
comprehensive and detailed design. Reviews and pin-ups will be held regularly to assess every
project development. A mid-term (March 13th) and a final review (May 7th) will take place with
guest critics.

Jean-Jacques Bosc Bridge, Bordeaux - OMA, 2013

NB. All deliverables must be highly crafted even as “in progress”. Since the studio will not provide CAD (or any
other design software) tutorials, it is highly advised that students allow themselves enough time during the first five
weeks of the semester to fully master at least a computer assisted design (CAD) piece of software program -Rhino or
AutoCad recommended- For those purposes, make the most of GSAPP’s training resources, such as Lynda. For
design standards, refer to Francis Ching’s essential: “Architectural Graphics”.
ASSIGNMENTS

1. DEPICTING FRAGMENTS (3 weeks)

1A. Over the River
1B. On the River
1C. In the River

2. ASSEMBLING FRAGMENTS (2 weeks)

2A. From the unit to the whole: clustering the individual cell
2B. Introducing a public, communal space

3. DYNAMIC PLATFORMS (8 weeks)

4. FINAL RENDERING AND PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES (3 weeks)

 1. DEPICTING FRAGMENTS (students will work individually)

Presentation of the assignment: 19th January

Assignment due: This assignments runs on a weekly basis, with submissions every Monday.

1A. Over the river (26th February); 1B. On the river (2nd February); 1C. In the river (9th February)

SUBJECT/GOAL:

To fully develop each of the possible positions on the site (Over, On, In). Students will
evaluate at the same time their capacities for analytical and abstract thinking while producing
“designed situations” that will eventually lead into opportunities for further development.

The design process involves many variables with a great array of connotations. If isolated,
these variables can trigger new situations and become fields of experimentation. In order to
activate this process, students will have to project their ideas focusing on the qualities of the
spaces or situations they are asked to imagine.

PROCESS / PRODUCTION:

Students will sequentially produce three unrelated fragments (or parts) of a space over,
on, in the river Seine. This space should serve as a place for a couple to live, eat and sleep in.

Students will be given a set of pictures of a section of the Seine and will have to work with
them to recreate a faraway, a close-up and an interior-to-exterior view of the imagined space.
The space will be presented under the correspondent condition (once again, over, on, in).
Students can frame, cut, paste, cover or edit the support images as to better state their proposal.

Recommended techniques include collage, photomontages, photo painting, etc. The final
documents (only three images will be submitted per situation and per week) have to be extremely
precise and refer to the situation in a comprehensive manner. The process and any sketch or
diagram that could provide meaningful additional information can be included in an A5 format
book which can be used at class during discussions (the book will not be submitted). For the final
presentation of the assignment, students are asked to prepare a short oral intervention (4
minutes max.) in order to explain the key ideas behind your designed fragments, state potential
connections between them and discuss the relevance of the graphic means you choose. Every
proposal has to have a title.

SCHEDULE:

- M 19th January 2015: Studio and assignment 1 introduction. Over the River – Precedents short
talk and discussion

- M 26th January 2015: Over the River images are due. On the River – Precedents talk +
discussion

- M 2nd February 2015: On the River images are due. In the River – Precedents talk + discussion

- M 9th February 2015: In the River images are due. Final discussion / Pin-up

Project for a car parking on a bridge over the Seine - K. Melnikov, 1925
 2. ASSEMBLING FRAGMENTS (students will work individually)

Presentation of the assignment: 9th February

Assignment due: This assignments runs on a weekly basis, with submissions every Monday.

2A. From the unit to the whole: clustering the individual cell (16th February); 2B. Introducing a
communal space (23rd February)

SUBJECT/GOAL:

The goal is to develop further the potential spatial qualities that the previous fragments
may have. This development will include handling notions as scale, relation between the parts,
connectivity, circulation and clustering. Students will start dealing with the multiplication of
individual units and their relation with public space.

The final result will be the beginning of the later design project.

PROCESS / PRODUCTION:

Students will start from one of the set of images they submitted in the previous exercise
(Over, On, In the Seine) and work them out following as to conform the beginning of an
architectural project. In order to do this, students will cluster the individual spaces in a
meaningful manner using what they learned from the different conditions explored.
Consequently, the initial set of images will evolve into something else, moving away from the
three original conditions. Understanding the scale and the relation between the parts in relation
with the site are crucial to success. Students will work in a fully contemporary approach while
taking in consideration the historical load of the proposed sites. It is important that the resulting
clusters still contain the qualities inherent to the individual unit (the part as a whole and the
whole as a part).

Finally, students will introduce a large common space in the cluster. Taking in consideration
the connection between the smaller individual units and the bigger public space will result in
adaptations and changes at the general scale. Each student should document the different
stages in the same manner as they did with the three initial conditions: a faraway, a close-up and
an interior-to-exterior view of the imagined space. In this exercise, circulation and programmatic
diagrams that explain the relation with the city, the water and between the different parts are also
admitted. Recommended techniques include collage, photomontages, photo painting, etc. The
final documents (only three images will be submitted per situation and per week) have to be
extremely precise and refer to the situation in a comprehensive manner. In this exercise, the
process and circulation/programmatic diagrams that explain the relation with the city, the river or
between the parts will be included in the final submission. For the final presentation of the
assignment, students are asked to prepare a short oral intervention (4 minutes max.) in order to
explain the key ideas behind your designed fragments, state potential connections between them
and discuss the relevance of the graphic means you choose. Every proposal has to have a title.

SCHEDULE:

- M 9th February 2015: Assignment 2 introduction. From the unit to the whole: clustering the
individual cell – Precedents short talk and discussion

- M 16th February 2015: From the unit to the whole: clustering the individual cell materials are
due. Introducing a communal space – Precedents short talk and discussion

- M 23rd February 2015: Review of Assignments 1 & 2. Desk crits

- M 2nd March 2015: Pin-up / Pre-midterm review. Final discussion on assignments 1 & 2

Piste Seine – A. Lurçat, 1932

 3. DYNAMIC PLATFORMS

A. EXPLORING / UNDERSTANDING (students will work in pairs; 2,5 WEEKS)

Assignment 3 introduction: 23rd March

Assignment due: 8th April 2015
This assignment runs on a weekly basis, with submissions every session.

This assignment works as an intensive in order to refine the previous assignment and
establish the basis for the architectural proposal based on the existing site.
Students will have to produce plenty of materials in a short amount of time. This assignment will
be the first experience with production of on-site architectural proposal.

SUBJECT/GOAL:

Based on the different topics and tests that you will have done and identified in the first
assignment we will divide into groups some studies of themes that might be useful for further
development.

Each group will have to focus on two different subjects:

- Site analysis, relation to surrounding, scale, topography, connection, etc.

- Programmatic development based on research, references, combination, etc.

These two approach have to be combined together in order to come up with a first
conceptual intention for the site in relation to the given program.

PROCESS / PRODUCTION:

Students will have to use all type of process in order to focus quickly on 2 or 3 specific
ideas maximum by subject. Like in the first assignment you’ll have to make a heavy selection on
the material and the way you want to light the topic. You can’t and don’t say everything and you
have to focus on a specific approach of the two subjects.
- Site: This group will analyse the existing through different points of view (historical, orientation,
limits, topography, signals, flux (residents, workers, tourists, and goods), land-use (residential,
offices, services, tourism, and production), attractors/condensers/activities, role of the river
Seine, etc.) in order to extract their qualities and disruption.
These confrontations will help you to act in the site based on the program.

- Program: The First assignment helped you to test scales, situations on and off a living cell. At
this stage you’ll have to face the living condition in Paris at the Airbnb era. How different
population, way of life and temporality can inform the project. What kind of facilities can we
share residential, offices, services, tourism, production, market, logistic, etc.

How can we reintegrate production in the middle of Paris in opposition to pure

consumption actual development, the dynamic platform will be you answer. You will have to
map them, trace them and model them in order to make readable their quintessence.

The detournement or derives (strolling) could also be a good way to identify the limit or
disruption of the system.

All these assessments and analysis are done to make emerge design opportunities.

Bangkok Floating Market

 Material

The modes of representation should be purely analogical such as:

- Diagrams, models, plans, scripts, animated reality, texts, etc.

Each representation has to be specifically chosen in order to serve and participate to the
purpose of the study. Each of the documents, drawings, etc. has to have a caption. Your
proposal has to have a title.

SCHEDULE:

- M 23rd March 2015: Assignment 3 introduction.

- W 25th March 2015: Desk crits.

- F 27th March 2015: Desk crits.

- M 30th March 2015: Desk crits.

- W 1st April 2015: PIN-UP.

- F 3rd April 2015: Desk crits.

- W 8th April 2015: Assignment due, review

Ville spatiale – Y. Friedman, 1959

 B. ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT (students will work either alone or in pairs; 4 WEEKS)

Assignment 4 introduction: 8th April 2015

Assignment due: 7th May 2015
Key sessions will structure the entire project development; Silent review (27th April); and test
presentation for final review (5th May).
This assignment runs on a weekly basis, with submissions every session.

The previous assignment gave some strong basis that you’ll have to develop during the 4
left weeks. The 2 or 3 key ideas maximum have to be reinforced in their relation to the site, to
the whole. Their interaction and connection is the most important to avoid collection of certainly
well intentioned ideas.

The communication of your project will be very well crafted; all mix media will be used
including models and perspectives.

After the silent pin-up, you’ll have to focus on the layout, and how all documents has to
explain and communicate properly the key ideas of your project.

SUBJECT/GOAL:

At this stage you’ll have a project and clear vision of the key ideas to reinforce.
You’ll have to transform the project and make sure that the layout (all kind of production),
explain and communicate only the specificity of your dynamic platform project.

Make sure for each of the following question; you have a document which answers.

- What is the concept of your project and what does it stand for?
- What is the relation between the site and my project?
- How can the project deal with rest of Paris and other dynamic platforms?
- How your building serves the public space and reverse?
- How your project could only belong to this specific context?
- How your programmatic organization is specific and not generic?
- What is the specificity of your active public space?
 Cruise City, City Cruise – NL Architects, 2002

Material

The modes of representation have also to be refined since last assignments. Its impact has
to communicate immediately the principal ideas. Each material has to be done for transmitting
one idea:

- Diagrams, models, plans, scripts, animated reality, texts, etc.

Each of the documents, drawings, etc. has to have a caption. Plans have to have a
graphic scale and north representation. Your proposal has to have a title.

SCHEDULE:

- W 8th April 2015: Presentation of the assignment

- F 10th April 2015: Desk crits

- M 13th April 2015: Desk crits

- W 15th April 2015: Desk crits

- F 17th April 2015: Desk crits

 - M 20th April 2015: Desk crits

- W 22nd April 2015: Desk crits

- F 24th April 2015: Desk crits

- M 27th April 2015: Silent Review. Your layout, board, models only speak for yourself and
express you project.

- W 29th April 2015: Desk crits

- F 4th May 2015: Desk crits

- T 5th May 2015: Presentation test of Final Review

- W 6th April 2015: Refining presentation

- T 7th April 2015: FINAL REVIEW

Surrounded Islands, Biscane Bay, Greater Miami, Florida – Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 1980-83