Albert Kahn

Though he has been marginalized in most mainstream accounts of modern architecture, Albert Kahn (b. 1869–d. 1942) is increasingly considered one of the most important and consequential US architects of the 20th century. Kahn is known primarily for the technically innovative and rigorously functional factory buildings that his still-extant firm Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (founded 1903) designed for automotive manufacturers, including the Ford Motor Company, but his firm was also responsible for hundreds of eclectically styled buildings for other purposes in Detroit, Michigan. Research and writing regarding Albert Kahn often requires considerable effort to disambiguation. Most importantly, Albert Kahn the man is far from a synecdoche for the firm he founded, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which employed upward of several hundred people at its height and is still in operation under the simplified Kahn moniker today. Some mid-20th century historians and critics substituted the inaccurate and often derogatory moniker “Albert Kahn Inc.” as name for the firm to suggest its alienated and impersonal nature. Albert Kahn’s siblings are also worthy of attention in their own right. Frequently mentioned in the extant literature are brothers Julius (b. 1874–d. 1942) who was a trained engineer, inventor and co-founder of the highly successful Trussed Concrete Steel Company; Moritz (b. 1880–d. 1939), who was also an executive of the Kahn firm pivotal in its operations in the USSR between 1929 and 1932, and occasionally Louis (b. 1885–d. 1945), who was a manager and executive in the Kahn firm. Views of Albert Kahn have served as a barometer for the intellectual climate in architecture culture since the early 20th century, indexing the relative importance of aesthetics, ethics, and technics. Studies of Kahn and his firm have, until recently, primarily focused on their contributions to industrial architecture and the influence of their early factory buildings on architecture culture at large. These studies often describe the give-and-take between assembly lines and the streamlined, pragmatic design of the buildings that encompassed them. An upsurge of recent attention to Kahn’s work has been oriented away from issues of design toward larger histories. Some scholars have addressed the shift toward large, integrated offices within the profession, for which Albert Kahn Associates was a groundbreaking exemplar. Others have addressed the ways Kahn served the growth of global enterprise, revealing that his marginalization from architectural history has effaced the willful complicity of US architects in compounding capitalist power and solidifying its ideology. These topics remain rich veins for future researchers.

ANALISIS PERENCANAAN WISMA FAKULTAS TEKNIK DENGAN PENDEKATAN ARSITEKTUR POST-MODERN ROBERT VENTURI DI UNIVERSITAS NEGERI MANADO

ABSTRAK Tujuan perencanaan ini adalah untuk memusatkan kegiatan seminar, kunjungan kerja, penginapan dan kegiatan magang bagi mahasiswa serta bagi tamu pada umumnya dalam satu fasilitas yaitu Wisma. Metode perancangan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini mengacu pada teori Metode Glass box JC. Jones didalamnya ada Analisis Makro, Analisis Mikro, Struktur dan Utilitas. Hasil dari perencanaan ini berupa desain bangunan yang ditampilkan dalam bentuk Site Plan, Denah, Potongan, Tampak dan Perspektif bangunan. Kesimpulan dari perencanaan Wisma ini adalah menggunakan pendekatan Arsitektur Post-Modern dari Robert Venturi dan diharapkan Fasilitas ini dapat mewakili nilai lokalitas yang ada di Minahasa. Kata Kunci : Wisma, Robert Venturi, Post-Modern ABSTRACT The purpose of this plan is to concentrate seminars, work visits, lodging and internship activities for students and for guests in general in one facility, namely the Wisma. The design method used in this study refers to the theory of the JC Glass box method. Jones in it is Macro Analysis, Micro Analysis, Structure and Utilities. The results of this planning are in the form of building designs that are displayed in the form of Site Plans, Floor Plans, Pieces, Views and Perspectives of the building. The conclusion of this Wisma planning is to use the Post-Modern Architecture approach from Robert Venturi and it is hoped that this facility can represent the locality values ​​that exist in Minahasa.Keywords : Wisma, Robert Venturi, Post-Modern

Unknown Suns: Laszlo Hudec, Antonin Raymond and the Rising of a Modern Architecture for Eastern Asia

The purpose of this article is to disclose the strenuous efforts of Laszlo Hudec in China and Antonin Raymond in Japan and India to create a modern architectural stance by heralding an incipient space syntax. In the turn of the 19th Century, for dynastic, politic and economic reasons, Eastern Asia had very little modern Architecture. It is a surprising fact that, out of happenstance, two European architects Antonin Raymond and Laszlo Hudec, had to intervene to remedy this situation, to the point of becoming 20th Century icons in Japan and China. Their fruitful careers spanned over thirty years and included locations, like Tamil Nadu or the Philippines. The Oriental territories were not an easy ground for the bold architectural achievements that they produced. Despite of faraway strangeness and uncountable personal losses, in revolutions and wars, which eventually forced them both to leave for the United States of America and never to return, they were successful in the manner of establishing a broad avenue for Modern Asian Architecture which is still recognisable today thanks to their systematic approach. However, theirs is an endangered heritage and the intention of this article is to be a just remembrance of in which way such actions could be performed, how they predated by many years a syntactic approach to architectural composition and why their legacy should be preserved.

Urban infrastructure modeling: Ethical and aesthetic aspects

In modern urban planning discourse, ethical issues, primarily the fairness of resource allocation, are being discussed more and more persistently. The city's infrastructure is considered here as an expression of the principles of social philosophy. The article raises the problem of modeling the ethical and aesthetic aspects of urban infrastructure using artificial intelligence as part of the general trend in the development of modern architecture.

RESEARCH OF ARCHITECTURE FORMATION LANDSCAPE THEATERS IN UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the problems of landscape theaters architecture formation on the territory of Ukraine in the realities which have developed in the course of typology development and an arrangement of the cultural data and entertaining and leisure establishments in modern conditions. The article examines the specifics of the landscape theaters location depending on the functional purpose, capacity of the auditorium and attendance level of various theatrical performances in the open air in Ukraine. Based on the results of professional questionnaires and analysis of statistical data on the theater and concert network in Ukraine, the author proposes 15 factors that shape the modern architecture of Ukrainian landscape theaters. The author investigates how these factors modify the spectator environment and shows the tools and techniques that allow you to create a harmonious space of the theater. The list of the above factors influencing the formation of the landscape theaters architecture in Ukraine should include such factors as: the capacity of the auditorium; functional purpose of the building; location of the theater; the mode of the auditorium openness and stage; special conditions of the open-air theater location zone. In addition, the author investigates the following factors in the formation of landscape theaters architecture, such as: organizational schemes of the stage; the configuration of the amphitheater in relation to the stage; ways to evacuate visitors from the auditorium in case of emergencies; determination of the optimal angle of the auditorium; architectural and constructive solution of the theater location (on a natural or anthropogenic basis). The author analyzes the influence on the formation of the landscape theaters architecture due to the system of the stage layout and arrangement; when using special technological techniques and technical means; by considering the mobility of the theater; under the conditions of synthesis at the location of the stage relative to the spectator amphitheater; using the means of green architecture and design solutions in the organization of theater space.

Development of the Architecture of the System of High-Load Testing

Testing system performance and its importance at the same time is difficult to overestimate or underestimate. It would be much more correct to talk about the timeliness of this activity. Virtually any digital sys- tem built on modern approaches and technologies can work without any critical problems with its own performance. At the same time, for any system, especially when it becomes popular, it is very likely that there will be a time when it will not be able to cope with the ever-increasing load and become unstable. However, most companies that develop and maintain their own digital solutions – from websites to any other digital systems – often focus primarily on the functionality of the system and its compliance, rather than on the performance of the system as a whole. Such intentions are quite natural, because the system must properly perform the functions expected of it. When companies start to face performance problems, they try not to optimize the software as soon as possible, but to add more capacity – vertical and horizontal scaling. This strategy works, but it has limitations. After all, the addition of additional resources cannot be endless and sooner or later rests either on the architecture of the system, or in the capabilities of the company itself, and so on.Therefore it is recommended to carry out stress testing in advance, plan time and resources to have enough time to correct errors, and generally understand the boundaries of the system. At the same time, in order to organize full-fledged stress testing, trained specialists, tools and infrastructure are needed, especially when we are talking about heavy workload.As part of this work, an analysis of various tools for the implementation of stress testing and performance testing, scaling of such tests and centralized reporting of metrics. As a result, approaches and principles for the construction of a modern architecture for the implementation of the load testing subsystem in the continuous supply of code were proposed.

My History is Not Mine

<p>Globalisation has helped spread Eurocentric modernist architectural principles across most cultures. In a very real sense, many Eastern cultures are having their own unique architectural histories rewritten, even erased, and in danger of becoming lost. Burmese poet Zeyar Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine” represents a powerful lament, decrying the loss of unique cultural identities. Global contemporary architecture rarely recognises the rich litany of ideas that may arise from contemporary responses to cultures, and this design research-led thesis investigation seeks possible solutions to this loss. This investigation is framed around Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine”. It seeks to reinterpret some of the most ‘traditional’ elements of modern architecture—room, wall, ceiling, floor, threshold, window, etc.—through fictional narrative theory, allegory and experiential constructs. Eastern superstitions are used as provocateurs, starting points that help the project explicitly move away from traditional Eurocentric formalist architectural precepts. The goal is to test an architectural design method that prioritises the experiential and challenges some of the expected ‘norms’ within which Eurocentric modern architecture has been traditionally situated. This investigation is grounded in speculative architectural design. The three principal design stages of the methodology progress iteratively from physical analogue model, to digital animation, and finally to virtual gaming environment. The intention is to challenge traditional notions of architecture and the way architectural design concepts are conceived, and this is carried forward using a methodology that shifts experimental outcomes from the visual to the experiential—a virtual, time-based approach that deviates from conventional architectural design processes—in order to privilege the investigation of shifts in spatial conditions and experiential perceptions over time. The first stage of the investigation was to explore the abstraction of Eastern superstitions into physical models—‘allegorical artefacts’. These initial experiments were set up as a starting point to help propel the project towards a provocative and evocative pathway of discovery. By examining how these superstitions might be interpreted in a virtual gaming environment in the final stages of the investigation, the investigation challenges how these design interpretations can actively enable important architectural elements, such as threshold, spatial enclosure, visual axes, etc., to be redefined—placing the viewer into an experiential realm that is removed from traditional architectural referencing—and engage them as changes in spatial conditions experienced over time, rather than as primarily object-based. The time-based design outcomes are framed, experienced and tested in relation to Jerome Bruner’s theory of “The Narrative Construction of Reality”. Bruner posited ten requisite steps for achieving a meaningful narrative experience for the reader of narrative fiction. Fictional narrative relies on enabling the participant to self-identify within a fictional context as a vital tool that allows the participant to navigate through the story. This design-led research investigation examines how Bruner’s literary theory might be applied to an architectural experience, to help enable the experiential to become a driver for architectural design, where the participant’s own self-positioning in a time-based scheme becomes a vital element in constructing a unique architectural experience. The framework synthesises the design outcomes within a narrative experience that looks to discover unique solutions to the research objectives. The investigation applies Bruner’s ten constructs of narrative fiction to the architectural experience: diachronicity (relationships over time), particularity (unique cultural attributes), intentional state entailment (agency), hermeneutic composability (synecdoche), canonicity and breach (disruption of the expected), referentially (creation of new realities), genericness (changing the way a story is told), normativeness (multiplicity), contextual negotiability (cultural sensitivity and culturally negotiated meanings), and narrative accrual (collective representation). This thesis asks: How can experiential cultural artefacts be engaged as a conceptual framework to generate an allegorical architectural project? How can the digital gaming interface be used to help architectural design methods better explore the experiential as a design generator?</p>

My History is Not Mine

<p>Globalisation has helped spread Eurocentric modernist architectural principles across most cultures. In a very real sense, many Eastern cultures are having their own unique architectural histories rewritten, even erased, and in danger of becoming lost. Burmese poet Zeyar Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine” represents a powerful lament, decrying the loss of unique cultural identities. Global contemporary architecture rarely recognises the rich litany of ideas that may arise from contemporary responses to cultures, and this design research-led thesis investigation seeks possible solutions to this loss. This investigation is framed around Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine”. It seeks to reinterpret some of the most ‘traditional’ elements of modern architecture—room, wall, ceiling, floor, threshold, window, etc.—through fictional narrative theory, allegory and experiential constructs. Eastern superstitions are used as provocateurs, starting points that help the project explicitly move away from traditional Eurocentric formalist architectural precepts. The goal is to test an architectural design method that prioritises the experiential and challenges some of the expected ‘norms’ within which Eurocentric modern architecture has been traditionally situated. This investigation is grounded in speculative architectural design. The three principal design stages of the methodology progress iteratively from physical analogue model, to digital animation, and finally to virtual gaming environment. The intention is to challenge traditional notions of architecture and the way architectural design concepts are conceived, and this is carried forward using a methodology that shifts experimental outcomes from the visual to the experiential—a virtual, time-based approach that deviates from conventional architectural design processes—in order to privilege the investigation of shifts in spatial conditions and experiential perceptions over time. The first stage of the investigation was to explore the abstraction of Eastern superstitions into physical models—‘allegorical artefacts’. These initial experiments were set up as a starting point to help propel the project towards a provocative and evocative pathway of discovery. By examining how these superstitions might be interpreted in a virtual gaming environment in the final stages of the investigation, the investigation challenges how these design interpretations can actively enable important architectural elements, such as threshold, spatial enclosure, visual axes, etc., to be redefined—placing the viewer into an experiential realm that is removed from traditional architectural referencing—and engage them as changes in spatial conditions experienced over time, rather than as primarily object-based. The time-based design outcomes are framed, experienced and tested in relation to Jerome Bruner’s theory of “The Narrative Construction of Reality”. Bruner posited ten requisite steps for achieving a meaningful narrative experience for the reader of narrative fiction. Fictional narrative relies on enabling the participant to self-identify within a fictional context as a vital tool that allows the participant to navigate through the story. This design-led research investigation examines how Bruner’s literary theory might be applied to an architectural experience, to help enable the experiential to become a driver for architectural design, where the participant’s own self-positioning in a time-based scheme becomes a vital element in constructing a unique architectural experience. The framework synthesises the design outcomes within a narrative experience that looks to discover unique solutions to the research objectives. The investigation applies Bruner’s ten constructs of narrative fiction to the architectural experience: diachronicity (relationships over time), particularity (unique cultural attributes), intentional state entailment (agency), hermeneutic composability (synecdoche), canonicity and breach (disruption of the expected), referentially (creation of new realities), genericness (changing the way a story is told), normativeness (multiplicity), contextual negotiability (cultural sensitivity and culturally negotiated meanings), and narrative accrual (collective representation). This thesis asks: How can experiential cultural artefacts be engaged as a conceptual framework to generate an allegorical architectural project? How can the digital gaming interface be used to help architectural design methods better explore the experiential as a design generator?</p>