"Only that Endures which Changes"

The first 3 photos are of Fabryka Trzciny, the hosting venue of the 2007 EFAH Conference (European Forum for Arts and Heritage- the culture branch of the E.U.). The conference is titled "Inside Out", because new and daunting challenges are on the table this year. Many that have been raised so far include: the need for increased communication and support between the East and West (including countries outside the EU and even in the Middle East), the silencing of the avant-garde by "pop" culture, the commodification and psuedo democratization of culture in western countries wrought by capitalism... This list goes on.

I've been greatly impressed and humbled by the attendants' ambitions for the role of culture and the diversity of artistic forms of activism. I'm amidst the highest echelon of cultural and artistic decision makers in Europe and the Middle East, who are butting heads, determining the key issues and the role of culture in upcoming years.

And how this relates to architecture? Not in a direct way, but I'm positive it does. I will report soon, once the conference is through and with some time to process what, exactly, I'm witnessing here in Warsaw.

PROJECT

My aim over the next year is to address a long-standing personal inquiry about the social role of architecture. After exposure to cases of industrial adaptive re-use (converted textile mills and factories), I found this alternative kind of (alternative to?) architecture, often a provocative challenge to common precepts about the built environment. These buildings are timepieces of the industrial revolution, often since abandoned, leaving holes in the fabric of once lively urban centers. These buildings shared similar historical functions, but because of their inherently flexible and expansive nature of industry-suited design, their adaptive potentials are diversified and versatile. Such massive abandoned spaces invite imagination and require resourcefulness- they attract an eclectic mix of artists and visionaries looking for big, cheap space in the 21st century, post industrial urban context.
This trend proliferates in regions of Europe, perhaps where there are favorable economic or cultural conditions (labor cheaper than materials, for instance), or some ingrained penchant for recycling versus building anew.
I hope to find out more about progressive ways to shape our built environment through specific examples across Europe, that address environmental and social concerns (energy and raw material consumption, and urban regeneration). Primarily I will be drawing sites, because drawing conduces dialog between mind and subject more than passive or removed observation techniques. (i.e., I am no photographer, but these are snapshots for reference and to share with you!)

"Only that Endures which Changes" - Janis Rainis

Site Itinerary - so far, *upcoming

PROJECT

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