FABRICATION

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

LEVELS OF FABRICATION: Herzog & de Meurons de Young Museum

reading narratives through architecture

photo courtesy of Liao Yusheng

source: herzogdemeuron.com

source: The de Young in the 21st Century

drawing: The de Young Museum Vitrine Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

CONCEPT OF PLACE: socio-spatial constructions On the social dynamics of place:

the fabricaion of place in modern thought

Instead, then, of thinking of places as areas with boundaries around, they can be imagined as articulated moments in networks of social relations and understandings, but where a large proportion of those relations, experiences and understandings are constructed on a far larger scale than what we happen to define at the moment as the place itself. - Doreen Massey, from Space, Place, and Gender On the hegemony of space over place: And yet place, despite these auspicious directions in contemporary thought, is rarely named as such - and even more rarely discussed seriously. Place is still concealed, still veiled, as Heidegger says specifically of space. To ponder the fate of place at this moment assumes a new urgency and points to a new promise. The question is, can we bring place out of hiding and expose it to new scrutiny? - Edward S. Casey, from The Fate of Place: A Philosophical History On the experience of time-space compression and the representations of space: Consider, as a starting point, de Certeaus contemporary critique of the map as a totalizing device. The application of mathematical principles produces a formal ensemble of abstract places and collates on the same plane heterogenous places, some received from tradition and others produced by observation. The map is, in effect, a homogenization and reification of the rich diversity of spatial itineraries and spatial stories. Since any system of representation is itself a fixed spatial construct, it automatically converts the fluid, confused, but nonetheless objective spaces and time of work and social reproduction into a fixed schema. - David Harvey, from The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change On the power of the image: However they may be fused of confused, there is of course always a distinction between the represented image of a city and its reality... For those who travel along this imaginary architectural promenade, centers of spectacle efface the distinctions between the real cityscape and the show. - M. Christine Boyer, from Cities for Sale: Merchandising History at South Street Seaport

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

THE ISLANDS OF HAWAII: postcards of paradise

images used to market Hawaii as a tourist destination

Heres Hawaii, the 50th State. postcard. printed by Movie Supply of Hawaii (Honolulu, HI), 1950 - early 1970s.

Hawaii, the Aloha State postcard. printed by Thomas Dexter Press, Inc. (West Nyak, NY), 1934-1980. Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

OAHU: historic cartography

Hawaii Territory Survey Map: Oahu (Alexander, 1902)

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

map of public hiking trails in relation to concentrations of wealth

OAHU: public trails and private barriers

Na Ala Hele Trails (Hawaii Trail and Access System) Oahu Forest Reserves Median household income (1999) (U.S. Census Bureau)

$2500

$111,500+

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

HONOLULU: waikiki hotels

tourist maps showing points of interest

Street centerlines District of Waikiki Hotels

source: Honolulu Publishing Company

HONOLULU: property crime trends in waikiki

tourist map showing risk of theft

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz

ARCHITECTURE AS FABRICATION: to what end? From First Interview with Jean Nouvel in The Singular Objects of Architecture, translated by Robert Bononno: Ive never been interested in architecture. I have no specific feelings about it one way or the other. Im interested in space, yes, and in anything in so-called constructed objects that enables me to experience the instability of space. - Jean Baudrillard

Synecdoche, New York, written and directed by Charlie Kaufman

Becky Lam | Thesis 2011-2012 | Advisor: Neal Schwartz