Action Space

Abstract

There is a problem of discussing experiences. In architecture, the result makes for a difficult critique or discussion of experiences in the built environment. Whenever style, form, function, or materials are called into question, it is a simple task to learn from the past and move forward; but since experience is difficult to learn from (barring actually traveling to the space in question) the design process for experience and event is much harder realize. Models, plans, and sections exist without an aspect of time and the intended activities of reality can only be assumed or guessed at. This book will attempt to settle the conflict between space and event by exploring new ways to represent their relationship.

The second product of the experience problem is a built environment that is primarily underutilized in terms of experience, activity, and event. Many buildings or spaces are designed with activity being an after-effect or coincidence. All too often, the goal of architecture is to create an impressive or efficient form and the user experience suffers. Design is about people; the way that people see, touch, use, and move about architecture deserves a higher position in the realm of design. This paper will look to a site that currently neglects activity, the Detroit Riverfront, to investigate how activity and event can be integrated into design as the principal goal of a project rather than an afterthought. Activity will be investigated at a large urban scale that presents activity in crowds or mass movement, to an architectural scale that examines the activities of individuals. The challenge in this approach is that people are unpredictable and it is impossible to anticipate all activities or events that could happen in a location. Knowing that change is a quality of the human condition, it is fitting that architecture should also make an effort to work the element of time into design. Even a structure built for longevity has the capability to be dynamic. The goals of this project are to reinterpret the relationship between space and event, propose a site and structure that embrace active experiences, and develop a design process in which activity and event have a larger role in the design process.