. Human beings require both s ace and lace. uman lives are a dial · I movement between shelter and venture, attachment and free-~·
I guess Tuan is saying humans need to experience moments of vulnerability and discovery as well as moments of sheltered solitude. Life is a combination of exploration of the unknown and comfort in the familiar.
To an energetic to run up and down; to an old man it is a barrier between two r' floors, a warning for him to stay put. The physically vital-children and athletes-enjoy a sense of spatial expansiveness little known to office-bound workers, who listen to tales of physical prowess with a mixture of admiration and envy.
It is interesting how Tuan speaks about different interactions people have with space. As you grow older, the same space you once saw as boundless now constricts you
Le Corbusier states that it’s a “great pity” that his plans do not take into account the various complexities including financial figures
This reminds me of the architect of Pruitt-Igoe. He had a specific vision for the housing projects he wanted to build, but never really took into account the financial limitations that he would face building them. Maybe housing projects aren't as successful as they are expected to be because the architect failed to take into account what resources they would have at their disposal and also the financial toll maintenance would take on residents.
Meanwhile, some of Pruitt-Igoe's tenants were wreaking havoc. Gangs of teenagers and young men took over the public spaces and harassed and as-saulted people who passed through them. Frightened residents renamed Yama-saki's galleries "gauntlets" and tried to avoid them. Thieves broke into the storage rooms, vandals defaced the walls and smashed windows and lights, and children urinated in the elevators. The projects gained a reputation for criminal activity, and after several well-publicized robberies, some messengers and deliv-ery workers refused to enter the giant complex.
It is interesting how different Pruitt-Igoe is depicted by someone who actually lived there. In the documentary, ex-residents spoke fondly of the housing projects. they recognized that it became increasingly dangerous as time passed, but they were grateful for the experience and loved Pruitt-Igoe.
As built, of course, Pnutt-lgoe fell . d 1 the cost limits of the federal bl d th hgher denstttes an sea e on h Yamasaki arne e 1 A h .ty ·nted to price inflation t at S . L . Housing ut on pot PHA while the amt outs M h has shown this inflation was "ld. t I fact as Eugene ee an ' raised bm tng cos s
Not only was this a major factor in Pruitt-Igoe's demise, but also the fact that the residents could not afford to pay for regular upkeep of the building. Pruitt-Igoe was not built the way it was intended nor was it maintained the way it should have been.
The Pruitt-lgoe housing proJeCt I h b' b ·It in the United States. Its h · · ect ever to ave een m infamous public ousmg pro) . . dden slum to demolition . & hitectural monument to cnme-n progresston om arc . h . bl. housing projects that are cur-h d d th fate of the hlg -nse pu JC fares a owe e . uthorities across the nation.
Is there no better alternative to high-rise public housing projects. If it is known that this type of housing usually results in failure, why aren't government officials trying to solve the issue?
This whole section about the housing crisis in New York resonated with me because these are places that I'm fairly familiar with. It makes the problems described in this article more real to me because these are areas that I've visited. I don't have to imagine how these places look like because I've seen the conditions first hand, and its sad to think that there are other cities in the United States that face similar issues. I tend to forget that this is a widespread problem.
Thearchitect,fromaprofessional pointofview,hasbecome atwistedsortofcreature.Hehasgrowntoloveirregularsites,claimingthattheyinspirehimwithoriginalideasforgettingroundthem.Ofcourseheiswrong.Fornowadaystheonlybuildingthatcanbeundertakenmustbeeitherfortherichorbuiltataloss
What would be considered an irregular site? Also, why does he consider architects to be 'twisted creatures?'
Waiting lists can be several months long, several years long, or even closed to new applicants. PHAs must establish policies related to how they will administer their waiting lists and include those policies in their annual plan.
I didn't realize that a person would be placed on a waitlist for public housing in some areas. I assumed this would be pretty selective considering how many people fall below the poverty line and would be in need of these services, but its disheartening that public housing is so in demand in some areas that not everyone can be immediately accommodated if at all.
InFranceandEngland,ontheotherhand,privatelifewasgradually,thoughslowly,developingalongthelinesitstillfollowsinthepresentday.I
These two places seemed to value private lifestyles while in the present day people tend to embrace exhibitionism, which is emphasized with the large windows many apartment buildings seem to have.
thedecorativetreatmentofaroomtheimportanceofopeningscanhardlybeoverestimated.
Windows have such a huge impact on how people feel in certain rooms, which reminds me of Yi-Fu Tuan's statement about instructive architecture. A window teaches people that a room that, for example, is well lit and has a nice view is a comfortable place to stay in for a while. Having too big or too small a window can both diminish that sense of comfort.
„ssubservienUoWt’Ml
(First if all, highlighting this was a disaster) We decorate a room based on its appearance and its structure. We choose furniture we think will fit into the room and that will look cohesive. There is no way to decorate without first taking into account the setup of a room.
Itsdecoraticnmustharmonizewiththestn.r-^rnuayns(whichisbyno^mustbestructural
When decorating a room, it is important to ensure that the furniture in a room is in harmony with the architectural structure it is in. I think this contributes to a person's level of comfort in a space. If everything is chaotic, one might feel uneasy in a room.
Thenecessitiesof transportationpermittedlittlevarietyofdesign,andeverypieceoffurniturewasconstructedwiththedoublepurposeofbeingeasilycarriedaboutandofbeingusedasatrun
It is interesting how this need for practical furniture persists to this day. Middle class people want furniture that will not occupy much space and is easy to move.
When people enter a room with a window, Alexander argues, they typically experience two forces: first, they are drawn toward the light; second, they want to rest and be comfortable.
It's interesting how important windows are in making a room seem more comfortable. Having more light in a space makes you want to relax there. Even though my room is not ideal, I like doing my work near the window because it's large and lets in a lot of light.
that successful places are always composed of many interrelated patterns that work synergistically to create a whole greater than the individual parts.
The buildings in Manhattan wouldn't be considered successful because they are not built cohesively.
Alexander argues that, if an environmental whole is made rightly, it has a powerful sense of place, which may help people who live in and use that place to have more satisfactory, vibrant lives.
If all buildings were built the same way, would people not be so aware of their social standing? Would we focus less on ourselves and more on the collective 'we'?
Similarly, entering a church evokes a different human stance than entering a nightclub or a shopping mall or an empty street or a street filled with human activity.
It's interesting how much power a building has on your behavior. Most people would not act the same way in a church as they would in a nightclub. I think people tend to be more aware of their behavior in a church because of what its associated with (purity, holiness, etc). In a nightclub, you're focused on enjoying yourself.
As Heidegger interprets dwelling, the built environment is crucial because it supports and reflects a person and group's way of being-in-the-world.
This reminds me of Yi-Fu Tuan's idea of architecture being instructive. According to him, architecture reminds people of their position in society. Heidegger discusses the importance of architecture because of this.
What if man's homelessness consisted in this, that man still does not even think of the proper plight of dwelling as the plight?
Could this be in reference to not dwelling in our thinking? Our we considered homeless if we don't spend much time in thought?
Is the author trying to imply that building and thinking are both related to dwelling? I guess thinking is dwelling in the mind, in an incorporeal space, while building makes it possible to dwell in the corporeal.
They are called mortals be-cause they can die.
The latin word for death is mortem, which is where the root of the word mortals derived from. In other languages, like French or Spanish, the word for death is more similar to Latin, but the word mortal literally means death. On another note, its interesting how in Spanish the word for death is 'la muerte,' French is 'le mort,' and English is 'death.' The first two languages are very similar in spelling and pronunciation, but English is completely different. This is a great example of how language is like architecture in the sense that they use different building blocks and vary from place to place.
Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man. Perhaps it is before all else man's sub-version of this relation of dominance that drives his essential being into alienation.
This section reminds me of something I learned in my psych course the previous semester. When a child is born, they are able to make all the sounds of all the languages, and later drop sounds that they don't hear in the languages their parents or guardians speak. They later learn to say words, then sentences. Language, in this way, is very similar to architecture. People build in certain styles and architecture varies from place to place, just like languages and dialects.
Considering the amount of people crammed into these tenements, having residents die in fires couldn't have been that uncommon. With so many people rushing to escape the building,I would imagine some would not be able to get out in time. If tenements were taken better care of, or if fewer people lived in them, maybe fires wouldn't have been such a problem.