Sideling Hill Tunnel
Blue Ridge Mountain
Fulton County, Pennsylvania
Rays Hill Tunnel
Rays Hill
Bedford/Fulton Counties
Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill
Westmoreland/Somerset Counties
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thesis Statement (revised)
1 + Architectural sensibilities such as contextual and programatic responsiveness have the ability to redefine the nature and function of American highway construction.
3 + The purpose of this thesis is to ask a "what if" question about interstate travel based on a societal development which constantly encourages more speed and more efficiency. In responding to an extreme case--high speed vehicle travel--where speed severely outweighs attentiveness, a new typology of Architecture may be necessary. It would serve as a catalyst for future development which could potentially rethink the way we mobilize through space from the scale of the local to the global.
9 = The case study for this catalyst will be the Pennsylvania Turnpike which, when built over 60 years ago, carried design standards that exceeded other interstate systems and loosely resembled the American version of the Autobahn. Certain design standards remain relevant but the turnpike is no longer treated as a luxury. The turnpike failed to become the American Autobahn so the luxury of speed is obsolete, especially when other means of travel, such as by plane, are often cheaper and faster. The mood of the average driver now is best defined by impatience. In an attempt to preserve the will to travel by land, the new luxury of interstate travel might be geared towards experience. An experience which runs many of the original design approaches of interstate construction through and architectural filter in order to create a mode of travel defined more specifically by space, time and context. Looking at the turnpike within two major destinations--Pittsburgh and Philadelphia--there already exists a framework on which an architectural narrative can be constructed. The research will include a thorough analysis of interstate design but an even more thorough analysis of the landscape to which the architecture must respond. Developing a full understanding of urban, suburban, and, most importantly, rural Pennsylvania is both the challenge and the crutch to the success of the project. The architectural problem focuses directly on the potentials of contextual responsiveness and the final product ought to reflect that entirely.
3 + The purpose of this thesis is to ask a "what if" question about interstate travel based on a societal development which constantly encourages more speed and more efficiency. In responding to an extreme case--high speed vehicle travel--where speed severely outweighs attentiveness, a new typology of Architecture may be necessary. It would serve as a catalyst for future development which could potentially rethink the way we mobilize through space from the scale of the local to the global.
9 = The case study for this catalyst will be the Pennsylvania Turnpike which, when built over 60 years ago, carried design standards that exceeded other interstate systems and loosely resembled the American version of the Autobahn. Certain design standards remain relevant but the turnpike is no longer treated as a luxury. The turnpike failed to become the American Autobahn so the luxury of speed is obsolete, especially when other means of travel, such as by plane, are often cheaper and faster. The mood of the average driver now is best defined by impatience. In an attempt to preserve the will to travel by land, the new luxury of interstate travel might be geared towards experience. An experience which runs many of the original design approaches of interstate construction through and architectural filter in order to create a mode of travel defined more specifically by space, time and context. Looking at the turnpike within two major destinations--Pittsburgh and Philadelphia--there already exists a framework on which an architectural narrative can be constructed. The research will include a thorough analysis of interstate design but an even more thorough analysis of the landscape to which the architecture must respond. Developing a full understanding of urban, suburban, and, most importantly, rural Pennsylvania is both the challenge and the crutch to the success of the project. The architectural problem focuses directly on the potentials of contextual responsiveness and the final product ought to reflect that entirely.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Thesis Statement and Research Method
1 + Architecture's sensibility toward contextual programmatic responsiveness gives way to an opportunity to redefine the indifferent, out-dated construction of the American highway infrastructure.
3 + Vehicle travelers are desensitized to the subtleties of the American landscape due not only to a brutal nature of highway construction but also to a societal development which encourages speed and efficiency. In responding to an extreme case where speed severely outweighs attentiveness, a new typology of Architecture may be necessary. It would serve as a catalyst for future development which could potentially rethink the way we mobilize through space from the scale of the local to the global.
9 = The case study for this catalyst will be the Pennsylvania Turnpike which, when built over 60 years ago, carried design standards that exceeded other interstate systems and loosely resembled the American version of the Autobahn. Certain design standards remain relevant but the turnpike is no longer treated as a luxury. The turnpike failed to become the American Autobahn so the luxury of speed is obsolete, especially when one can travel to from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 1/5 the time, and often cheaper, by plane. The mood of the average driver now is best defined by impatience. In an attempt to preserve the will to travel by land, the new luxury of interstate travel must be geared towards experience. An experience which runs many of the original design approaches of interstate construction through and architectural filter in order to create a mode of travel defined more specifically by space, time and context. The research will include a thorough analysis of interstate design but an even more thorough analysis of the landscape to which the architecture must respond, which is predominantly rural Pennsylvania. In order to narrow the scope of the project, the entire road will be personally documented from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and several locations will be realized as case studies and eventually developed into the final product(s). The case studies will be samples of unique conditions that occur on the turnpike and in the landscape and will define the overall conceptual approach to a strategy that can be adapted on a national scale.
3 + Vehicle travelers are desensitized to the subtleties of the American landscape due not only to a brutal nature of highway construction but also to a societal development which encourages speed and efficiency. In responding to an extreme case where speed severely outweighs attentiveness, a new typology of Architecture may be necessary. It would serve as a catalyst for future development which could potentially rethink the way we mobilize through space from the scale of the local to the global.
9 = The case study for this catalyst will be the Pennsylvania Turnpike which, when built over 60 years ago, carried design standards that exceeded other interstate systems and loosely resembled the American version of the Autobahn. Certain design standards remain relevant but the turnpike is no longer treated as a luxury. The turnpike failed to become the American Autobahn so the luxury of speed is obsolete, especially when one can travel to from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 1/5 the time, and often cheaper, by plane. The mood of the average driver now is best defined by impatience. In an attempt to preserve the will to travel by land, the new luxury of interstate travel must be geared towards experience. An experience which runs many of the original design approaches of interstate construction through and architectural filter in order to create a mode of travel defined more specifically by space, time and context. The research will include a thorough analysis of interstate design but an even more thorough analysis of the landscape to which the architecture must respond, which is predominantly rural Pennsylvania. In order to narrow the scope of the project, the entire road will be personally documented from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and several locations will be realized as case studies and eventually developed into the final product(s). The case studies will be samples of unique conditions that occur on the turnpike and in the landscape and will define the overall conceptual approach to a strategy that can be adapted on a national scale.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Architecture Is...
Architecture is a drug and it happens to be my drug of choice. I choose it because I am pretty certain my next high will be the ultimate high. Architecture is the MSG in cheap Chinese food. Architecture is the cubic zirconia of gemstones. Architecture is butter on a turd. Architecture is the wingdings of font types. Architecture speaks Chinese. I speak American. Architecture is a country club member, wealthy and judgmental. Architecture is a 9 year old's tree house. No girls allowed. If professions were color-coded, Architecture would be black. If Architecture were a food group, it would be candy. If Architecture were a television channel, it would be MTV. Architecture is your grandmother trying to convince you that peas will make you grow big and strong. Architecture is nauseously hypocritical and I am a case in point because, like Architecture, I hide my ignorance with sardonic one-liners. Architecture is the crease in my forehead.
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