As part of our Theory of Architecture elective, Bordering, taught by Cornell Alumni Sean Anderson (B.Arch./B.S. ’96), we visited the Avery Special Collections of Drawings at the Avery Library in Columbia University. At our visit we had the privilege of speaking to Jennifer L. Gray, Curator of the Drawings and Archives, about the politics of spaces, questions of identity, representation as well as the challenges of collecting and maintaining an archive.
Some of the drawings she showed us were Louis Sullivan’s (1856 – 1924) early sketches and his book, A System of Architectural Ornament. We were also able to see how might the 2D drawings be translated into a 3D object form. What was interesting is that history has always recorded the works and process of the star architects, however, has failed to record the process in which these 2D drawings have been translated by craftsman into 3D form. Who were these craftsmen and what is their role in the production of architecture and design? How might we then shift the stories from these star architects to focus on the craftsmen? How do the decisions of the archivists affect our perceptions?
We were also lucky enough to see 3 out of the 900 presentations drawings made of the Guggenheim Museum. It was incredible to see the iterative process of design taken by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) as he experimented with different colors, atmospheric effects, floor sizes etc. His vision was to make the architecture speak to the art that was displayed. The building also required complex engineering process since the ramps of the building got bigger as one moved up the floors. One fun fact that we learned, was that the Guggenheim was initially known as the Archie Museum.
As we looked at early drawings, sketches and renderings of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts by Wallace K. Harrison (1895 – 1981) and Max Abramovitz (1908 – 2004) alongside photographs of the areas that were demolished as part of slum clearance, we discussed issues of urban renewal, privatization and zoning. When projects such as the Lincoln Center, World Trade Center as well as Hudson Yards are being built, it is important to ask who these spaces are being built for and what is being moralized in the process? Who is being seen and who is being given access to these “public” spaces? What happens to the individuals and livelihoods of those being displaced by the development of these projects? Public spaces are ultimately for different kinds of people to come together to share different views. Spaces such as the Lincoln Center instead serve to prevent such activity.
We saw the works of Lewis Hine (1874 – 1940), an American sociologist and photographer who used his camera as a tool for social reform. We saw photographs he took of the workers who helped to build the Empire State Building in New York. He photographed the workers in precarious positions while they secured the steel framework of the structure, taking many of the same risks that the workers endured. The photos served to heroize the workers, while at the same time portray their unsafe and poor working conditions.
Other works we saw were those by Philip Johnson (1906 – 2005), Hugh Macomber Ferriss (1889 – 1962) and Dwight H. Perkins (1867 – 1941). Unlike the top-down, avant-garde approach taken by most architects, Dwight H. Perkins worked on a local scale, directly with community. He produced several maps that showed the conditions of the various neighborhoods. These included maps of the neighborhood demographics, poverty, death and disease, number of schools etc. He then connected and overlapped these data to from an overlapping system of schools, parks etc. to solve the problems and improve the conditions of poorer neighborhoods. His approach was more rational and took precedent from the community itself.
We also discussed the challenges of collecting archives. When archives are bought and sold, it becomes monetized and can be difficult to access. Moreover, in today’s digitized world, there is yet to find a method to collect digital archives. Managing large amounts of data as well as assessing ownership of digitally available data can be difficult and complicated. Perhaps, that calls for a new breed of archivists who are both historians and data scientists.