I am trying to formulate what I want to look at beyond the scope of the program I have chosen. Here is my first draft in this attempt:

Our buildings disconnect us from reality.

Yes, the most basic functions of a dwelling is supposed to be shelter from the elements but “shelter from” does not imply “total disconnect”. Furthermore, the way in which our shelters perform their functions is hidden so that the disconnect is not only with the outside but also with the buildings themselves. We exist in magic boxes that somehow always maintain a supposedly perfect temperature and level of light, somehow always provides water and electricity and somehow disposes of our waste down a drain or a garbage chute. It’s processes are hidden and we take them for granted.

In our quest for comfort we have developed a way of life that robs us from the pleasures of variations and is harmful to us; we have biological needs for these variations. During the last century, the needs of efficiency conveniently teamed up with our desires for comfort to generate and propagate endless air-conditioned, brightly lit, deep-plan structures to disconnect us from the outside world and eventually ourselves. We sit in front of computers, we drive, we shop, we work out, we live in a series of such spaces and if we are cold or hot we push a button rather than put on or take off a sweater. If we want more light, we also push a button instead of moving towards a window or going to sleep because it’s the middle of the night.

Addiction can be seen as nothing more than a need for comfort gone too far. In the grips of addiction a person is so far removed from reality that not only can they no longer function within it, they have lost all ability to derive pleasure from living in it. They are further in the comfort bubble than the rest of us, and it now is more painful than comfortable.

I propose the design of a center for recovery from addiction as a case study to explore ways to create spaces and systems that bring its occupants closer to the cycles and patterns of human existence. The individual’s interaction with the building and the building’s interaction with it’s environment can create a chain that will be beneficial and sustainable for all involved.

This thesis is about reconnecting with our environment (and ultimately ourselves) through our shelters….

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Not doing so well on the thesis front these days… I’m having difficulty widening the scope of the project. Two questions recurred on Friday during the reviews
1- what will be the deliver-ables?
I guess thinking about whether one is looking at developing a system, a kit of parts, a manual or a set of architectural drawings can focus the research.
2- how will the final project be assessed, how will we be able to ascertain it’s failure or success?
this is really asking that we clearly delineate a set of parameters, goals to be achieved so  that the final product answers a question and can exist beyond itself.

I have no clear answer for either… or rather i suppose I was thinking that my deliver-ables would be a set of drawings, a description of a building but that makes the second question really difficult to answer. In the discussions it was clear that subjectivity was not going to be acceptable.
Anna said she would not let me continue with my idea as it stands. I suspect she understood that the subject is very close to me, is too personal, and believes that it is a dangerous position. I kind of agree with her. I’ve been seriously considering dropping it because I find it difficult to talk about. But… that’s just stupid! get over it! Looking at the issue objectively, there is plenty to work with. Specially when trying to insert the whole thing into the city.

Two thing have come from thinking about the rehab in Manhattan; 1- There is no long-term inpatient treatment in Manhattan. Many of the Malibu rehabs are criticised for having a lax attitude towards accommodating their rich and famous clients’ schedule and needs. I see why that can raise eyebrows in the recovery communitybut clearly, there is a need for it. High end executives have this option in LA, what about their NY counterparts? and given the urban setting of NY, what would the Malibu rehab equivalent in the big apple look like. I’m thinking, maybe it’s a multi-storey structure on the roof of a huge industrial building in Chelsea. It is inpatient but you can’t totally lock people up for three to twelve months so how do you let them walk about the neighborhood without “leaving” the treatment facility. And how much outdoor can be brought indoors on a roof top in Manhattan? … something like this could be fun to work with… it doesn’t do much for my desire to help the needy; this is a luxury rehab… but hey, the rich suffer too, right?

2- Also, there is the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse  at Columbia University CAVA, and the fact that there is a serious lack and need for more and more systematic research in the field of addiction recovery. What if the center is also a researchcenter and is on Columbia campus or across the river where they have their earth science campus?… this could be interesting, I think. It makes it not just about a bunch of addicts but also about students and researchers and part of a campus and a city…

I don’t wanna think about it anymore for today~

I googled  rural community recovery and was not too surprised to find that there are quite a few places out there that are essentially the program I am interested in designing. The scope of ailments to recover from is wider than what I am looking at. There seem to be even more of these places dedicated to mental illnesses other than substance abuse. Some cater to both but all have in common the mission of developing individuals’ independence through caring for the land (some also have animals) and engaging in a (at least somewhat) self sustaining community.

Architecturally speaking however I have yet to find even an attempt to step away from the forms of traditional farm buildings. If anything they seem intent on recreating stereotypical settings of idealized farm configurations. This is even mentioned in one place where the normalcy of their appearance is related to their goals of acheiving normalcy for their patients. This does make a lot of sense in many ways;  I would not advocate for a brutalist concrete building or a techie glass blob to treat patients who’s difficulties with finding comfort have lead them to where they are. But clearly this will be an issue. Modern and contemporary architecture is rarely thought of or described as cozy or comforting.

I’m  also thinking that this idealized pastoral picture could very well be the most dreaded concept for a large segment of the potential patients of a rehab facility…  Does the urban cocaine-snorting, top-shelf drinking urbanite think of this as ideal or as an even worst prospect than the drain s/he is circling around? … and what about the crackhead who’s never gone beyond  MTA -serviced areas? The benefits of laboring in the land and connecting with nature do not mandate dwelling in the little house in the prairie…

Read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It was interesting spending some time in a rehab, getting a feel for what the daily routines are like. Eating, drinking coffee, listening to lectures, one-on-one meetings with therapists and counselors seem to be the main ingredients of the routine. I appreciated his descriptions of the outdoors and his use of the fresh air when things got intense. He also describes a bright corridor several times during the book, his feelings about it changing according to his mood and state of recovery. At first he only feels comfortable in dark places  but by the end of the book, the corridor no longer bothers him.

I looked at photos of Hazleton on line, the rehab where the book takes place. It is a campus on a lake, a beautiful location. 

Didn’t care much for the book itself and was surprised that people were so upset about his lies and/or exaggerations…

It’s official, my thesis will be a drug and alcohol rehab center.

With this fact as established as it can possibly be at this early stage I need to start thinking about how to direct my research and find what will be relevant to the development of this work. My first research ventures on the internet have uncovered interesting issues about the topic. It seems that like so many necessities in life, in this country rehabs are divided by income brackets and social status. In fact, just like much else, there is hardly much access to anything worth much for those who need it the most. Conversely, for those who can afford more than they need, there are slews of institutions that cater not only to their needs but to their whims. Clusters of rehabs along the coast in Malibu, California are making the locals worry about the kinds of people they bring to their neighborhood, seemingly unaware of the fact that the kind in question is the one that can afford upwards of forty thousand dollars for a month’s stay. This is not the type of place I am interested in designing. For a fascinating glimpse inside that world, there is this wonderful article from the New Yorker writer Amanda Fortini.  I have my issues with the idea of luxury playing a role in recovery and designing it is the last thing i’d want to spend time on.

A recent article in the New York times by Benedict Carey states “Every year, state and federal governments spend more than $15 billion, and insurers at least $5 billion more, on substance-abuse treatment services for some four million people. That amount may soon increase sharply: last year, Congress passed the mental healthparity law, which for the first time includes addiction treatment under a federal law requiring that insurers cover mental and physical ailments at equal levels.”  The topic is relevant and current. It is also controversial and will remain so as long as addiction is not fully accepted as a chronic disease.

I’m not sure how much I will want to get into this aspect of the issue… probably not at all, regardless of how strongly I feel about it. It’s not related to design. What is related is the fact that funding will hopefully enable more facilities to be built and no matter how well funded these programs may become, savings are always welcome. Perhaps determining which architectural elements are fundamental and which are less so could be interesting…

Very basic first steps : site location.  I would like to find a place that is outside of NYC , that feels remote but is easily accessible so that friends and family can visit and patients can reach it on their own. I would like a good parcel of land because there should be opportunities to engage with nature and the physical world through construction, farming, gardening or tending to animals. The high-end rehabs mentioned in the New Yorker article offer arts and craft classes and other summer camp type activities. I don’t believe in those having any benefits, they are self indulgent and infantilizing. Plowing a field, picking tomatoes or milking a cow on the other hand can have meaning. Doing things that are “real” and that are done by others can create a connection to the real world, something that alkies and druggies desperately need.

For myself another basic step is to understand how the regular rehab world works. What do you get if your insurance covers a reasonable amount and what if you do not have any insurance at all. 

For a great glimpse at the issues related with stigmatizing the disease, Malcolm Gladwell’s piece Million-Dollar Murray is a brilliant read.

I have two ideas for thesis so far. Is it worth describing them in writing? I feel like I’m standing in my bathing suit in front of a cool body of water, unwilling to jump. Will it really make a difference if my foot is in the water? 

writing can’t hurt.

chronologically, here they are:

a drawing center in williamsburg,brooklyn.

a drug and alcohol rehab, somewhere along the am-track Boston/NY line, walking distance from the train station. On the water maybe.  

I’d like to have a third idea.  I’ll probably be asked to come up one.

Thinking of what these two ideas have in common points to what I’m interested in. Something about the body, habits and rituals, balance and how architecture can play a part in how we see ourselves, as individuals (architecture and how we see ourselves as a society is a whole other story) I very much want to concentrate on the individual’s experience and give myself the opportunity to work on a small scale. 

That’s all. I think that’s a big toe in the water. maybe.

This was my fifth semester here at MIT and the  first one I actually enjoyed. All the courses I took seemed unrelated but they fed each other in rich and unexpected ways. This course, Sensing Place, was a major player in shaping my thinking and seeing and it influenced my approach to the other subjects both through it’s content and it’s rhythm and attitude. 

From the very beginning I realized that the work for this course was going to demand that I slow down and venture below the surface that my first two years had kept me spinning on. 

A  lot of emphasis so far had been given to quantity of production and iterations of an idea, not it’s development. Also, I had acquired some really nasty photographic habits from documenting sites without any regards for framing etc. Most significantly, I felt that since arriving at MIT I had not been able to complete a thought. Everything I had produced was either based on half baked ideas or a good idea that was hardly decipherable through sloppy, last minute presentation documents. 

The light journals were an amazing introduction to the course. Having to stop and observe the light around me several times a day for weeks not only connected me to my surroundings but also to my schedule. It forced me to work steadily instead of obsessively, a little at a time, not a bunch the day before class. The first reading assignments  also had a patient tone to them. They talked about the planning and the timing  that can be involved in getting the ‘right’ image. Throughout the month of september I had the sunrise and sundown times posted on my desk and as I continued to write the light journals these numbers on the sheet accumulated meaning: light and dark of course but also warm or cool, hazy or crisp, long shadows or short…

 I’d like to continue this essay about the wonderful experience that taking this class has been and if I do it will be later this week. My head really hurts, I’m sick today.

For now I  want to express how valuable it is has been for me to have had the opportunity to spend time on a project that had a well defined scope and wonderful professor and team of classmates to learn from and share the work with.  

I hope that I will remember this as I advance towards putting together the subject matter and the people that will  be part of my thesis experience next year. I’m thinking that perhaps continuing this blog could be a way to help me remember… 

I just don’t know what I want to convey in this essay. I know how I feel about my site and why I find it interesting but I did not focus on those things while taking pictures of it. When I consider going about the essay in with a “top down” approach I return to thinking that I need to shoot a whole new set of images to convey the meaning I’d like to share. When I look at my images I find them seductive and intriguing but they speak of things other than the site. Most of all, reviewing the images, I recall struggling with the process of capturing an image and conveying a thought through composition and focus.

This series in particular, if I were to put a caption to it, it would be the internal monologue that was playing in my head as I was clicking and clicking. It would go something like: “Symmetry, nice ; and the building vs the flowers, nature and concrete and look how perfectly placed this is; oh, the light on these flowers is great, I like the flowers; but the door, the door is right above the flowers; great, someone walking out of the door; it’s about the fixed and the transient, these leaves are great; wow, i can get the leaves and the door in a single shot; too bad I can’t fit the lights…”

and almost all of the images from this site came about with this internal dialogue… and I wonder if maybe that is a layer worth revealing. 

That’s the thing about text and images in essays. The collaboration is best when each is an independent layer that adds complexity to a subject that need be neither the text itself or what is in the photos. The amazing experience that death of a valley provides comes from the fact that through the combination of text and images the piece expressed a very particular event in time and place but also the essence of timeless elements and their importance in all human lives, things such as home, roots, family, livelihood and all the things that create a human community. The images alone speak of the particular. The text alone is a mix but because text demands of it’s reader to dig into common experiences and concepts, it is general. Together they are a reflexion on… well, very many big subjects such as progress, destruction, community, ecology, politics…  

Hm. 

simple. Keep it simple. 

Thing of asking various users how they feel about my site or how they use it. Using that as text. Also I’d like to show it on a map and give it’s statistics, such as square footage, number of levels etc, because it’s small size compared to it’s many areas, was part of what I liked about it.

wow… 2006 is full of great stuff too!