UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date: 8-Apr-2010

I, Trang Vo , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Master of Architecture in Architecture (Master of) It is entitled: Place-Sensitive-Design

A Visitor Center Design of the National Park Service

Student Signature: Trang Vo

This work and its defense approved by: Committee Chair: Patricia Kucker, MARCH Patricia Kucker, MARCH

Michael McInturf, MARCH Michael McInturf, MARCH

6/18/2010 850 Place-Sensitive-Design A Visitor Center Design of the National Park Service

A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Architecture

in the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning by

Trang Vo

B.Arch. School of Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City May 2010

Commitee Chairs: Patricia Kucker, M.Arch Michael McInturf, M.Arch abstract

Since World War II, the National Park Service (NPS) has received more and more visitors. To accommodate the large amount of visitors, a number of new constructions, especially facility buildings, need to be built in the parks. This scenario puts the National Park Service into a dilemma between ensuring education, recreation and inspiration of the parks, while preserving the natural and cultural values for the sake of future generations. To mitigate the dilemma, the park buildings requires a place-sensitive design that not only ensures high quality service for visitors and minimizes the human impact on nature, but also evoke a sense of place.

My thesis considers critical regionalism as the basis of place-sensitive design of the park architecture. The implementation of critical reigonalism’s principles in the park architecture creates buildings that respond to the identities of places, and hence, harmonizes with the landscape and environment of a place.

iii table of contents Abstract iii Introduction 1 Chapter One

National Park Architecture and Its Architecture History of National Park Service 7 Dilemma of National Park - Mission 66 9 Rustic and Modern Park Architecture 12 New Direction for the Park Architecture 17

Chapter Two Critical Regionalism and Its Principles Modern Architecture and its problem 19 Ten points of Critical Regionalism 20

Chapter Three Place Sensitive Design Principles for the Park’s Buildings Three Points of Place Sensitive Design of the Park’s Buildings 31

Chapter Four Everglades National Park: The only one of its kind Climate and Topography 59 Water 59 Ecosystem 61 People in the Park 63 Vernacular Architecture in the Park 66

Chapter Five Design Program: Everglades National Park Visitor Center 71 Description of Spaces Precedents of Visitor Center Image Credits 74 Bibliography 75 v introduction

The nature of architecture is not only to provide spaces for functional purposes of humans; its meaning exceeds far more than that. Architecture is the art of harmonizing the built and natural environments, of reinforcing the bond between humans and their lands, and of narrating the story of time and place. Design, therefore, should promote the interrelation between buildings and places. However, modern architecture often fails to recognize this interrelation, instead emphasizing function and utility over the sense of the place. The post modern time raises awareness of the meaning of place in architecture that modern architecture usually ignores. Design that promotes a “sense of place” by reflecting its natural, cultural and historic characters is called a “place-sensitive-design”.

Since the founding of the National Park Service in 1916, its duty has been always to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” 1 To adopt this mission, the very first architecture in

1 National Park Service Organic Act, 16.U.S.C.1

1 the parks was designed with a “rustic” style, which was developed to be harmonized with the landscape. After the war, however, the need to accommodate the increasing amount of visitors, along with changes in concept of natural preservation contribute to the Mission 66 policy, and the park’s modern architecture. “Mission 66” is a 10-year construction program that developed hundreds of new buildings, and replaced the old rustic style with modern architecture. Despite the remarkable success of Mission 66, most of the modern buildings in the Parks still failed to respond to the diverse landscapes of the park system. This failure, in addition to the current degradation of many modern buildings, calls for a place-sensitive-design that doesn’t intrude upon nature, yet promotes a connection between human beings and natural landscapes, and reflects a distinct regional context for each park.

The concept of critical regionalism, whose aim is to reconnect the modern architecture with a sense of place, reveals the potentials of place sensitive design for the park architecture. Recognizing characteristics of the place and transplanting them into design, concept of critical regionalism becomes a medium to connect buildings to places. This thesis proposes to articulate the principles of critical regionalism to produce a place-sensitive-design that evokes distinct

2 characteristics of each park.

The essay is arranged in five chapters. Chapter One introduces the critical situation of the National Park Service. The background information on National Parks is provided through the history of the National Park Service and its mission. Mission 66 of the National Park Service, which brought a large amount of new construction, as well as the modern movement, to the parks, is also explored as it marked a turning point in the national park history. The alteration in the concept of nature that has driven the design philosophy of the parks is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter One helps explain the need for a place- sensitive-design of the park architecture.

Chapter Two investigates the discourse of critical regionalism. The discussion of modern architecture and its history reveals the emergence of the concept. The concept is further explored through the “Ten Points of Critical Regionalism” introduced by Kenneth Frampton.

Chapter Three examines four essential principles of critical regionalism, which promote site specific, sensory experience, interpreted vernacular and tectonic of architecture, in a manner to inform a place sensitive design for national parks. A collection of precedents are

3 analyzed to manifest those principles.

Chapter Four captures the full image of the Everglades National Park. Relevant characteristics of the park, such as climate, topography, ecosystem, as well as native people and their culture, are carefully investigated in this chapter. The chapter is organized into sub-chapters which provide information that can drive a place sensitive design for the Everglades Visitor Center.

This section also introduces the Royal Palm area of the Everglades National Park, where the visitor center is located.

Chapter Five lays out building programs for the Everglades National Park’s Visitor Center. The programs reveal the paradigm for a visitor center that helps promote visitor experience while minimizing new development that disturbs nature. Precedents of national visitor centers are also studied to reinforce the design.

4 5 chapter 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND ITS ARCHITECTURE

“The national park idea has been nurtured by each succeeding generation of Americans. Today, across our land, the National Park System represents America at its best. Each park contributes to a deeper understanding of the history of the United States and our way of life; of the natural processes which have given form to our

land, and to the enrichment of the environment in which we live.” 2

2 George B. Hartzog, Jr., National Park Service Director, 1964-1972

6 History of the National Park Service

The idea of the National Park dated back to 1870 when on a late night in Yellowstone, Cornelius Hedge, one of the Washarn-Langford-Doane expedition members, encouraged his fellows to “rather than capitalize on their discoveries, waive their personal claims to the area and seek to have it set aside for all time as a reserve for the use and enjoyment of all the people.” 3 After the historical call of Hedge, many endeavors were put forward to turn the idea into a reality. Thanks to the support of many people, in March 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park. After Yellowstone, more lands were acquired to become national parks. In August 1916, all of the national parks, which had been individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, were brought together under one system whose initial responsibility was to manage the national parks and monuments saved by the American people so that all may experience the heritage. Since then, a vast amount of national parks and national monuments have been added to the national park system through the Acts of Congress. Today, there are

Figure 2: Yellow Stone National Park 3 A brief history of the National Park Service, edited by James F. Kieley, 1940

7 384 natural and cultural areas under the management of National Park Service, which cover more than 83 million acres in the States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. 4 These areas are considered to be such national treasure as to require special recognition and protection.

The main mission of the National Park Service is to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the park system for the enjoyment, education, recreation and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. Besides that main mission, the role of National Park Service expanded by cooperating with local government, non-profit programs, tribes, businesses, and individual citizens in the endeavor of “revitalizing their communities, preserving local history, celebrating local heritage, and creating close to home opportunities for kids and families to get outside, be active and have fun.”5

4 Information acquired from National Park Service website 5 National Park Service Mission

8 Mission 66

When the National Park Service was created in 1916, the railroad system was the country’s only form of long-distance transportation. With the development of the national highway system and the boom of the automobile following World War II, accessibility to the parks expanded. This led to an incredible increase in the number of visitors coming to the parks after World War II, especially by cars. Due to the reduced postwar budget and the termination of supports from the Civilian Conservation Corps and other New Deal programs, the National Park Service and its degrading facilities were not able to keep pace with the changes. At the time, park visitors found “traffic jams, long lines outside bathrooms, overflowing parking lots, and no available accommodations or campgrounds.” 6 As a result, the experience and enjoyment of visitors was jeopardized and visitors left the parks unsatisfied. In a 1953 issue of Harper’s magazine, there was even a column by Bernard DeVoto titled “Let’s close the National Parks”, pointing out the

Figure 3: Contemporary National Park Ser- vice graphics illustrating the increase of the 6 Ethan Carr, Mission 66 : modernism and the National Park dilemma park’s visitor (Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press), 6

9 reality that the parks were degrading, lacking budgets and staff to maintain “a proper level of safety, attractiveness, comfort, or efficiency.” 7 He further suggested that unless the National Park Service improves conditions, they should close as many parks as necessary in order to ensure a high level of service and quality for the remaining parks. Under these conditions, the dilemma of making the parks accessible to everyone while preserving the beauty and wilderness for future generations became more challenging.

To address the park’s dilemma, Mission 66 was programmed in 1956 in honor of the 50th anniversary of National Park Service’s founding. Mission 66 was a construction program created to improve park facilities and infrastructure in both quality and quantity. Mission 66 resulted in countless roads and trail systems, administrative facilities, lodging, and ranger houses. Under the Mission 66 construction program, a new building type, the visitor center, was created.

Mission 66 was also the result of a significant change in preservation philosophy. Since Figure 4: Contemporary Park Service graphic il- lustrating how postwar park budgets did not keep pace with the “use of the System” 7 Bernard De Voto, “Let’s Close the National Parks”, Harper’s , October 1953, 49

10 the earliest days of the NPS, their development policy has always been upholding respect for nature. Therefore, the primary planning and design goal of the National Park Service was to maintain and minimize the impact of the parks’ buildings, and other structures, on the natural ecosystem, while also harmonizing with surrounding landscape. Although this policy remains constant since the beginning of the National Park Service, the philosophy of “natural preservation” and “harmony” initiated during the World War II. At this time, progress in the natural sciences, including biology, altered the way we perceive nature from simply picturesque to understanding significant biological systems. The National Park Service then realized the potential threat of environmental degradation in the parks caused by visitors’ impact and began to preserve the nature not only scenery, but also as an ecosystem. Therefore, on one hand, as the environmental preservation concept was adopted, the National Park Service had to limit impact on nature. On the other hand, as national parks were “for the people”, the National Park Service committed to provide appropriate services, including gas stations, parking lots, Figure 5: By 1957, a number of Park Service publi- cations attempt to describe Mission 66 to the pub- and lodgings for the increasing number of visitors. As a result, the new Mission 66 program lics and shape perceptions of the program - NPS History Collection aimed to balance these needs.

11 Rustic and Modern Park Architecture

Although Mission 66 developed a variety of infrastructure projects, the most visible component was the architecture of facility buildings. The architecture of Mission 66 intended to improve visitors’ services while also preserving the nature. With this intent, Mission 66 replaced the “rustic” architecture with modern architecture.

The rustic style was introduced to the parks by the New Deal and Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1920s. The rustic architecture was “essentially picturesque architecture that allowed buildings and other structures to be perceived as aesthetically harmonious elements of larger landscape compositions.” 8 Using pseudo vernacular imagery and rough-hewn materials with textures and colors that referenced the surrounding landscape, rustic buildings were believed to successfully blend with the natural beauty of the park landscapes. Situated at scenic focal points and imbued with elaborate crafting ornament, the rustic buildings themselves

8 Ethan Carr, “Mission 66 and Rustication”, CRM, No.9 1999, 16

12 were masterpieces of art and craft. As they harmonized with the site, rustic buildings were consistent with the National Park Service philosophy of natural preservation at a time in which nature was “conceived largely as scenery.” 9 For more than 35 years, and until the advent of Mission 66, the park rustic architecture represented a specific ideology of buildings in the natural environment.

9 Carr, “Mission 66 and Rustication”,16

Figure 6: Mount Rainier Administrative Building, Figure 7: Old Faithful Inn at Yewllowstone Longmire

13 However, Mission 66, developed to meet the park’s growing post-wartime need and replaced rustic architecture with modern architecture. As the park’s condition was no longer able to afford elaborated rustic architecture, the National Park Service looked for an architecture that would be more efficient and better serve the large amount of visitors. At the same time, the history of world architecture turned a new page with the advent of Modernism. The advances in steel framing, reinforced concrete and prefabrication relieved architecture of heavy craft construction and introduced it to a more practical, functional and economic technology. The advantages of modern architecture provided an opportunity for the National Park Service to have more facilities within their budget.

Moreover, a change in the park’s preservation philosophy emphasized the ecological role of nature in the parks. The preservation policy required a new architecture that could help limit the public’s impact on nature. As National Park Service administrators realized the potential of modern facilities, they decided to adopt the streamlined modern style for the new

Mission 66 facilities.

14 In the August 1956 issue of Architectural Record magazine, Mission 66 was reported to produce “simple contemporary buildings that perform their assigned function and respect their environment.” 10 The modern facilities of Mission 66 were not designed for “atmosphere, whimsy or aesthetic pleasure, but for change: to meet the demands of an estimated eighty million visitors by 1966, to anticipate the requirements of modern transportation, and to exercise the potential of new construction technology.” 11 In this sense, modern architecture

10 Ernest Mickel, Architectural Record 120, no. 2 (August 1956), 32 11 Sarah Allaback, Mission 66 Visitor Centers: The History of A Building Type, (Washington, D.C),12

Figure 8: Quarry Visitor Center, Dinosaur Nation- Figure 9: Gettysburg Cyclorama and Visitor Cen- al Monument, Utah ter– Neutra and Alexander

15 replaced old rustic architecture, which was “A thing to see, instead of being for service.”12

The modern park buildings were built with free plans, flat roofs and other characteristics of modern design, creating spaces “in which large numbers of visitors circulate easily and locate essential services efficiently.”13 Concrete, glass and prefabrication was employed to build more quickly and economically. Since the park buildings were no longer a part of the scenic landscape, the facility buildings of Mission 66 were usually located in accordance with functional relations and circulation concerns. The modern buildings were, therefore, no longer situated on focal scenic sites as with rustic architecture; rather, they were sited less obtrusively, often i a direct functional manner.

When the rustic style was replaced by modern architecture, many critics, such as Devereaux Butcher, criticized modern buildings’ failure to harmonize with the landscape of the parks. Critics accused Mission 66 of abandoning rustic architecture which did a better job in achieving harmonious relationships with the natural landscape. Also, with its recent adoption

12 National Parks Magazine 29, no. 120 (January-March 1955), 4 13 Carr, Mission 66

16 of modern architecture, the National Park Service faced the opposition of environmentalists who believed that the insensitive and invasive development of Mission 66 proposed to “overdevelop” parks instead of preserve the “wilderness” of nature. 14

Place-sensitive-design for Park Architecture

Today, nearly 50 years after the implementation of the Mission 66 program, architectural theory has shifted, and modern architecture in the parks faces increasing issues. Although there were several successful modern buildings which realized the local landscape, most of Mission 66’s modern buildings were unrelated to their surroundings and fail to tell the story of the place. At the same time, most of the modern facility buildings in the parks are now aging and degrading. To respond to current conditions, the parks require a more sensitive design direction for new facilities.

It is the aim of this thesis to explore new place-sensitive-design principles for the park

14 Carr, Mission 66

17 architecture. The architecture of the parks should evoke a sense of place through harmony with natural landscapes and by responding to the distinct physical and environmetal characteristics of the place.

The following chapter will suggest that principles of critical regionalism emphasizes these same issues of the parks’ design, and could therefore inform the new design direction for the park buildings.

18 chapter 2 CRITICAL REGIONALISM

Modern Architecture and its problem

Modernism was introduced to the field of architecture early in the 20th century, following the rise of industrialized production after World War II, and was a result of social and political revolutions. Modern design was an architectural response to mass production, machine aesthetics, new available technologies and materials, and social issues. Initiated by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier, the modern “machines for living” 15(Le Corbusier, 1887-1965, Towards a new architecture) stressed simple functional forms and structural expression, without unnecessary ornamentation and details. During the mid-20th

Figure 10: Ezra Stoller/Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe & Philip Johnson_Ezra 15 Le Corbusier, Towards a new architecture, (London: J. Rodker, 1931; reprint. Stoller, New York 1954-58 New York: Dover Publications, 1986)

19 century, a more organic version of modern architecture, promoted by Oscar Niemeyer, Alvar Aalto, Eero Saarien and many others, started to explore the relationship between humans and nature. Modernism has made remarkable achievements in the architectural field with a large amount of incredible buildings. However, with its tendency to “universal, sterile, elitist,”16 form making, modern architecture and the International Style, which is considered as a sub theme of Modernism, often lack of a sense of regional identity.

Critical Regionalism

The idea of regionalism in architecture, dating back to ancient Greece, has beena subject of interest during the past two and a half centuries. Regionalism is a reaction to many of the societal ills brought by Modernism, especially the homogenization of history and culture. In architecture, regionalism refers to the design approach that establishes a connection with pre-existing local characteristics.

16 wikipedia.org

20 “Regionalism suggests a cure for many current ills. Focused in region, sharpened for the more definite enhancement of life, every activity, cultural or practical, menial or liberal, become necessary and significant; divorced from this context, and dedicated to archaic or abstract schemes of salvation and happiness, even the finest activities seem futile and meaningless; they are lost and swallowed in a vast indefiniteness.”17

The term “critical regionalism” was first introduced in the essay “The Grid and the

Pathway” written by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre in 1981. Tzonis and Lefaivre sought to establish a new approach that was separate from theory which advocated traditional “sentimental, prejudiced and irrational” regionalism. This new regionalism, initiated first by Lewis Mumford, was based on “the perception of place,” “derived from achievement in science... experiments in democracy” to “serve economy without depleting resources for the benefit the

capital city”. 18 As its name refers, “critical regionalism” tends to recognize the physical, social

Figure 11: Bagsvaerd Church, near Copenhagen, 17 Lewis Mumford, “The theory and practice of Regionalism”,Sociological Review 20, (April 1928), 140 designed by Jorn Utzon. 18 Lewis Mumford, “The regionalism of Richardson”, The South in Architecture, New York 1941

21 and cultural identities of a particular environment. However, critical regionalism is different from traditional regionalism because it is not divorced from globalization and universality. In fact, regionalism supports appropriate contemporary technological advances. Regionalism resists the depreciation of regional identity in modern society. Critical regionalism is critical not only of globalism, but also of traditional regionalism. In this sense, critical regionalism rejects the picturesque as a return to “the purely aesthetic or spiritual enjoyment of landscape” 19Also, it opposes an unconsciously pastoral nostalgia of traditional regionalism as foreign to contemporary society. Regionalism, therefore, becomes a negotiation between local and global, tradition and modern ideals.

“Regional forms are those which mostly meet the actual conditions of life and which fully succeed in making a people feel at home in their environment: they do not merely utilize the soil but they reflect the current conditions of culture

in the region.”20

19 Ibid, 32 20 Mumford,

22 After Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre, the concept of critical regionalism concept continued to be developed by many architectural theorists. Among them, Kenneth Frampton is perhaps the most famous and developed the theory to its fullest. To better understand the discourse of critical regionalism, one must visit Frampton’s “Ten Points of Critical Regionalism.” 21 In this discussion, Frampton has characterized Critical Regionalism with the following ten points:

1. Critical Regionalism and Vernacular Form

“The approach to the past only becomes creative when the architect is able to enter into its inner meaning and content. It degenerates into a dangerous past time when one merely hunts for forms, playboy architecture” 22

Critical Regionalism, as Frampton points out, is a recuperative, self-conscious,

21 Kenneth Frampton, “Ten points on an architecture of Regionalism: A Provisional Polemic,” in New Regionalism, Center vol.3, Center for the Study of American Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin( New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications 1987) 22 Sigfred Giedion, Space, Time and Architecture: the Growth of a New Tradition, (Harvard, 1967), xliv

23 critical endeavor which distinguishes itself from the vernacular, which is a set of unconscious responses to local conditions. While it is critical of the optimization of advanced technology, it is also critical of nostalgic historicism. Therefore, regionalism refuses to use a simplistic reproduction of the vernacular as a means to resist universal civilization. Rather, it favors the insertion of interpreted vernacular elements which derive from the peculiarities of a particular place. “In other words, it will endeavor to cultivate a contemporary place-oriented culture without becoming unduly hermetic, either at the level of formal reference or at the level of technology” 23

2. The Modern Movement

Critical regionalism attemps to resist the forgetting liberative, critical and poetic traditions of Modern Movement. Usonian houses of Frank Loyld Wright were a successful attempt to keep the suburbs a place of cultivation and liberation. Wright believed in the moral and political values exemplified by home ownership and believed that well-designed, tasteful

23 Kenneth Frampton, “Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance,” in Anti- Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture, 21

24 dwellings would produce a happier, more harmonius and enlightened society.

3. The Myth and the Reality of the Reg ion

The concept of a region consists of both physical and non physical factors. The physical elements of a region obviously are recognized by locality and climate. The non-physical aspects of a region associate with local history and the culture of a region.

The critical regionalist design should include cultural myths of the past in a conscious way. In other words, critical regionalism evokes the history and subcultures that belong to a particular region.

4. Information and Experience

Frampton opposes the predominance of media (information) over the experience of architecture. While we are better informed in the media age, at the same time we are losing the opportunities and desire to experience the real world on our own. Media representation is taking over tangible reality while reality and irreality are ambiguously merged. This phenomenon is critical to architecture where actual experience is always appreciated. Affected by media, we

25 now simply read the buildings as picturesque images and forget our capability to experience and analyze them as actual structural objects.

5. Space and Place

The universalization movement has produced a crisis in urban planning inwhich the megalopolis has replaced the “place bound urban form” with “theoretical networks and distributive logistics.”24 This reality leads to the phenomenon of placelessness in urban, or the phenomenon of “community without propinquity.” 25

According to Martin Heidegger, the boundary of space/place is defined as “not that at which something to stops, but that from which something begins its presencing.” 26 Heidegger also shows that “being” can only take place in a clearly bounded domain. To resist the phenomenon of megalopolis and its placelessness, such a bounded domain needs to be created.

24 Scott Paterson, Critical Analysis of “Towards a Critical Regionalism” by Kenneth Frampton, 1995 25 Martin Heidegger, “Building, Dwelling, Thinking,” in Poetry, Language, Thoughts (New York: Harper and Row, 1971) 26 Ibid., 24 (Discussion of Architecture As A Marginal Field in the Project of the Universal Field)

26 “Only such a defined boundary will permit the built form to stand against – and hence literally to withstand in an institutional sense – the endless processal flux of the Megalopolis.”27

6. Typology/Topography

Typology is opposite of topography, as the former is related to civilization and culture while the latter is related to site specificity, or pertaining to the natural. Critical regionalism promotes a dialectical site specific interaction with nature. The concept of freestanding objects raised by Modern architecture tends to ignore the topographic characteristic of the sites, hence resulting in a sense of placelessness. Critical regionalism, on the other hand, recognizes the existing topographic conditions of a particular place and transfers those into the ecological, climatological and symbolic aspects of the place-form.

7. Architectonic/Scenographic

“Tektonik refers not just to the activity of making the materially requisite construction… but rather to the activity that raises this construction to an art form…The functionally adequate

27 Frampton, 23

27 form must be adapted so as to give expression to its function. The sense of bearing provided by the entasis of Greek columns became the touchstone of this concept of Tektonik” 28

As the term “architectonic” originates from the Greek word “tektonik”, architectonic therefore refers to both the supporting structure of the building and the mythic reality of how it resists gravity, climate and time, etc. In contrast, “scenographic”, which comes from the Greek word “frons scenae”, relates to a “scene” or “image”. The “scenographic” favors the image of a façade in architecture. Critical regionalism opposes to the tendency to reduce built forms to imagistic expressions that conceal or mask its structure. The scenographic obscures how the architecture is “construed” and “constructed.” Critical regionalism appraises the poetic beauty of the tectonic and encourages structural presentation in “the art of making.” The tectonic of architecture provides the opportunity to integrate materials, craftwork and activity to the structural poetic.

28 Standford Anderson, Modern Architecture and Industry: Peter Behrens, the AEG and Industrial Design,” Opposi- tions 21, (Summer 1980), 83

28 8. Artificial/Natural

Since the ancient time, architecture has constituted an interactive relationship with nature. The building is a product of the art of responding to the natural dynamics: namely topography, site, climate, light and time. However, with the evolution of universal technology, progressive mechanical services have replaced the passive system that responds to the distinct characteristics of a particular place and a specific culture. This disconnection of modern built form from its environment goes against the concept of respecting the natural and cultural identities of places in line with critical regionalism. However, critical regionalism doesn’t totally reject the advantage of modern technology. Balancing the technology of universal civilization with the “rooted forms of climatic inflected culture”29 is an appropriate approach to critical regionalism suggested by Frampton.

9. Visual vs Tactile

“The tactile resilience of the place-form and the capacity of the body to readthe

29 Frampton, 183

29 environment in terms other than those of sight alone suggest a potential strategy for resisting the domination of universal technology.” 30

Architecture is experienced with all the human senses, not just sight. Therefore, architecture should be able to intrigue the entire body sensorium. Air movement, acoustics, ambient temperature, and smell can all change our experience of space.

“It is sensitive to such complementary perceptions as varying levels of illumination, ambient sensations of heat, cold, humidity and air movement, varying aromas and sounds given off by different materials in different volumes, and even the varying sensations induced by floor finishes, which cause the body to experience involuntary changes in posture, gait, etc.”31

Critical regionalism requires a thorough understanding of local materials, light and wind patterns, and climate changes to promote multi-sensory experiences in a building.

30 Frampton, “Critical Regionalism: Modern Architecture and Cultural Identity” in Modern Architecture, A Critical History, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1992) 327 31 Frampton, 1992, 327

30 10. Post Modernism and Regionalism

In the post-modern time there exist two reactions to the modern movement, Neo- Historicism and Neo-Avant-Gardism. While the former returns to tradition, the latter negates the utopian legacy of the Enlightenment and advocates the continuity of modernization as an inevitable process of evolution, and offering liberating and creative forms of the future.

Critical regionalism belongs to neither Neo-Historicism movement nor Neo Avant- Gardism movement. Rather, it falls in the middle of the spectrum and is critical of both movements. It provides crucial fundamentals for the development of a contemporary “architecture of resistance” that, according to Frampton, is “a culture of dissent free from fashionable stylistic conventions, an architecture of place rather than space, and a way of building sensitive to the viscissitudes of time and climate. Above all, it is the concept of the environment where the body as a whole is seen as being essential to the manner in which it is experienced.” 32

32 Frampton, “Ten Points on an Architecttire of Regionalism: A Provisional Polemic” in New Regionalism, Center vol.3, Center for the Study of American Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin ( New York, NY: Rizzoli Interna- tional Publications 1987)

31 Although the concept of critical regionalism has been informed through the aforementioned ten points, it is undeniable that this theory still remains obscure. Keith L. Eggener, argued that critical regionalism was difficult to understand and lack of stylistic unity because “it was a method or process rather than a product, and the process varied widely according to individual situation.”33

33 Keith L. Eggener, Placing Resistance: A critique of Critical Regionalism, Journal of Architectural Education, volume 55, issue 4,( (March 2006), 230

32 chapter 3 PLACE SENSITIVE DESIGN FOR THE PARK’S BUILDINGS

All the places that are nominated to be national parks possess spectacular scenery, precious biological systems or a historic and cultural heritage that makes them valuable to be enjoyed and preserved. As always, the architecture in the parks is required to harmonize with its landscape and evoke a sense of place, per the design policy of the National Park Service. More than anywhere else, the regional identities of the parks must be recognized in its architecture.

“It is the uniqueness of certain environments that creates the curiosity for tourism and the desire to experience their special relaxative, recuperative, or recreative qualities. In providing facilities and activities for visitors, special care must be taken not to destroy the very resources or qualities they come to experience. This requires built environments that can sensitize and educate its users. Those responsible for park-and tourism-related developments

33 must recognize that by providing knowledge of the environment, they create the knowledge that is necessary to protect it.”34

In that sense, the concept of critical regionalism as defined by Kenneth Frampton can inform the place sensitive design of the park’s buildings. Through Frampton’s Ten points of Critical Regionalism, significant characteristics of a place sensitive design emerge, especially in regards to the three following points:

1. Place-sensitive-design is site specific

More than any other art form, building and architecture have an interactive relationship with nature. In the parks, where the sites have rich characteristics and identities, a building design should first realize all the site factors such as topography, climate, light, soil condition and especially the ecosystem. Placement plays an important role in a park building’s design, not only because it should not interfere with the precious landscape or obstruct views, but also because it offers the opportunity to enhance the visitors’ experience. This is only achieved if

34 Design policies of National Park’s Denver Design Service

34 the designer thoroughly understands the site. Moreover, the information of the site helps create passive strategies and articulate light poetic, therefore providing comfort and an emotional experience for visitors. For instance, flat topography results in different design strategies from those of hillside topography. Or, in a hot and humid climate, more openings provide natural ventilation and large overhangs provide shade from the sunlight. From these specific characteristics of sites, the architecture takes form.

Cultivation of the sites will provide the opportunity to produce a spectacular building that not only evokes a sense of place, but also sustains the effects of natural phenomena.

Moreover, the history of a park, its local culture, its archeological past, and its subsequent cultivation and transformation across time should be considered. These factors will inform visitors about its place, not only in the present but also the past, and its future evolution will expand the enjoyment and knowledge of visitors.

35 The Bowali Visitor Center in Kakadu National Park, Australia designed byGlenn

Murcutt and Troppo Architects is an example of how buildings respond to sites. The striking point of this design is its well response to the tropical hot, humid climate of Australia. The center owes its shape to the caves in Kakadu National Park, which took root from environmental

Figure 12-13: Bowali Visitor Center, Kakadu National Park, Australia, designed by Glenn Murcutt and Troppo

36 response. The roofline and east west orientation encourage air flow, and the upward tilting roof draws the hot air up out. The very open building is wrapped by an ample verandah to prevent the heat attacking the interior while maximizing cross ventilation. The building is lifted up from the ground to allow the air to cool off the floor, avoid the humidity and resist cyclone pressure. High level “crinkle crankle” slatted screens keep sunlight out and filter the breezes through. At the middle of the roof, translucent fiberglass sheets replace corrugated iron, providing more natural lighting. The roof system is shaped to collect rainwater at the

Figure 14: Environmental analysis

Figure 15,16,17: Different views of Tjibaou Visitor Center

37 intersection of roof platforms. The center is designed not only to respond to its natural context, but also to respect the rituals of the Kakadu Aboriginal. For example, access to the center via a ramp, is tangential, not head on, as suggested by Kakadu rituals. The sacred role of water in the region is also considered by design strategies to collect the water and access the stream nearby. The visitors are allowed to move freely in the center among the various rammed earth refuges set out on the platform: reception, bookshop and exhibition areas, reached by a foot bridge across a gap in the floor plane.

38 Another example of site specific design is the Seabird Island School designed by Patkau Architects. The design is a response to the Fraster River Delta region and fosters the Salish’s aboriginal culture in Pacific Northwest. The school was situated along the open northern edge of an existing green space surrounded by a variety of community buildings. Thanks to this proximity, the school became a part of the village common space, and interaction between the school and the community is encouraged. This position also helps mass the village from the effect of extreme winter winds, which increase when travelling through mountains, down to the river valley from the north.

Figure 18-19: Seabird Island School, designed by Patkau Architects

39 The school is a poetic interplay between roofwork and earthwork. The mass and scale of the school were a result of specific responses to different conditions of the site, especially the extreme winter winds from the north and the favourable exposure toward the south. On the north, large sculptural volumes are designed to divert the strong winds. On the south, the scale is smaller, and the building is more open under generous eaves. A complex, more tectonic quality is expressed by a variety of struts, beams and trellises. The vernacular eaves sweep low over a south facing porch and represent the familiar image of an indigenous coastal village of the northwest characterized by boardwalks and salmon-drying racks. Weathering cedar shingle material of wall and roof on the north is opposed to translucent white plywood panels to increase luminosity on the south. Dramatic mountain-like form helps the building harmonize

Figure 20: Sections and elevations with the mighty landscape.

40 2. Place-sensitive-design promote sensory experience

The place sensitive design of park buildings can utilize the entire range ofhuman senses to promote the spatial experience of visitors. Since the park’s mission is to help visitors explore the meaning of places, this principle significantly applies to park building design.

Visual experience always plays an important role in park design. However, critical regionalism suggests that the place consists of various elements that cannot be fully perceived only with the eyes, in fact, it is only by using all the senses that the full sense of the space and place are experienced. Humidity, light, temperature, for example can inform us of the location and time, while sounds and smells that bounce off between surfaces can activate our emotions.

Therefore, not only views of scenery or focal points of the landscape should be captured in the design but also what materials are used, how the light, ventilation, acoustics, and ambient temperature and even the smell are articulated should be considered. For example, a building among a flowering meadow requires natural ventilation that allows the smell to penetrate the

41 interior spaces. Or a building next to a stream prefers an acoustic design that allows visitors to experience the sound of the stream murmuring down through the hills. Through architecture, the region can be fully explored and emotion can be brought to visitors.

The thermal bath complex in Val, Switzerland designed by Peter Zumthor is a great success in promoting sensory experience through architecture. The interplaying between acoustic, lighting, water and open and enclosed spaces enhances the sensory spatial experience.

Figure 21-22: Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor

42 A series of dark cavernous bath spaces are dramatized by the sound of trickling water while their dimness, in turns, accentuates the sounds. The water reflects sound and light, activating users’ emotion. Their noses smell the salt of water, the moisture, and wet materials.

Their bare bodies feel the temperature and the texture of materials. The view to the mighty

Alps through an impossibly huge glass façade pulls users closer to the landscape. The rich texture of stone and concrete also contribute to success of the work. For instance, the warm stones were designed to celebrate the human form, no matter young or old. In this cave-like complex, user’s sensorium is automatically activated to fully experience the space and place.

Figure 23-25: Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor

43 This same technique is used by Alvaro Siza in his design for the Ocean Swimming

Pools at 16 Matosinhos, Portugal. Situated along the coast, the building is set below the road level to allow an unobstructed view to the sea. Approaching from the beachside boardwalk and slowly walking down to a high-wall ramp, gradually the sounds of the street fade. And finally, at the end of the ramp, visitors find themselves left only with the tranquil sky and the sound of their own footsteps. And suddenly the sky disappears when they turn a sharp corner to a darkened maze of concrete walls, platforms and canopies of the shower stalls and changing facilities building. Here, their visual ability deactivates, give way for other senses.

Figure 26,27: Ocean Swimming Pool, designed by Alvaro Siza

44 After passing through along corridors, partially screened by the cabinet partitions, the sight gradually come back when visitors enter a path along a high wall leads back into the Atlantic light. And at the end of the path, the sight is suddenly filled with might view to the sky and the sea. Throughout the spaces, the senses alternatively take place, Different design strategies for different spaces enhance spatial sequence, and therefore, experience.

Figure 28: Poetic lighting in Ocean Swimming Pool

45 3. Place-sensitive-design favors interpreted vernacular

Applying critical vernacular elements to the park buildings could produce an architecture that belongs to its landscape. The park architecture evolved with two styles: the rustic style that was developed based on pseudo vernacular in order to promote romantic scenery, and the modern style which emphasizes function and utility. The new condition of the national parks requires a building design which balances these two extremes. Critical regionalism suggests the place sensitive design of the parks doesn’t simply employ local vernacular forms or use local materials because the forms are dominant at the site or the texture and color fits the surroundings. Instead, park design can investigate vernacular architecture to form design principles that reflects the characteristics of each specific park.

“Vernacular architecture comprises the dwellings and all other buildings of the

people. Related to their environmental contexts and available resources, they are

46 customarily owner- or community-built, utilizing traditional technologies. All forms of vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of living of the cultures that produce them.” 35

As vernacular architecture is developed based on experience accumulated over the time, it reflects how humans manage to adapt to a particular locale. Vernacular architecture is not a sentimental or nostalgic vehicle as it is usually misunderstood; rather it is a resource of natural and cultural responses to specific places. Therefore, vernacular principles can be employed in the park’s architecture to help the building adapt to local conditions. Vernacular principles help tie the park buildings to the local landscape, as well as reflect the local culture. Moreover, vernacular architecture could help the park buildings achieves sustainability. Passive strategies, local materials and construction technique that are available and appropriate to the new condition of the parks can be utilized to promote the distinctiveness of each park.

35 Paul Oliver, Built to Meet Needs, (Architecture Press, 2006)

47 However, a place sensitive park building design doesn’t abandon the advantages of modern technology. Instead, the park buildings can utilize progressive technology in an appropriate way to ensure sustainability for the park and ensure a high quality of service.

For instance, prefabricated materials and techniques could help reduce on-site construction, thereby reducing its disturbance of nature. Applying green technology and new green materials saves energy the parks can then use to provide greater comfort for visitors.

The Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia designed by Renzo Piano in 1998 is an example of how contemporary design could employ vernacular architecture in an interpreted

Figure 29,30: Tjibaou Cultural Center, New Caledonia, designed by Renzo Piano

48 way to respond to the regional context. In the Tjibaou Cultural Center, characteristics of vernacular architecture of the Kanak tribe were articulated to evoke the cultural as well as environmental context of New Caledonia.

The design resembles the village of the Kanak with a series of huts gathering along an interactive pathway. The huts have different sizes ranging from 65 to 98 feet high and different

Figure 31: Vernacular analysis diagram of Tjibaou Cultural Center

49 functions ranging from meeting halls to exhibition spaces and dance studios, symbolizing the hierarchy of the village of Kanak. The original shape of the native shelter was developed to a new contemporary form that, however, could recall the indigenous village. The new “hut” is capped halfway up by a sloping roof that is either solid or glazed according to the function of the spaces beneath. This form, together with louver enclosure and open atrium, responds to different wind conditions of this region.

Each hut, circular in plan, is enclosed by a double layered and louvered shell built up out of concentric rings of vertical laminated-timber and curved-profile ribs. This double layered shell facing the prevailing wind, functions as a concentric wind filter like “the sails of a yacht.” The structure, though made of imported iroko wood due to its high resistance to weather and heavy loads, resembles the woven structure of the traditional Kanak hut.

“The outer elements of the case became widely spaced towards the top and the

bottom but relatively closely spaced in the middle where they inhibit somewhat

of the flow of air. Similarly the cladding of the inner elements included horizontal

50 louvers at the base and below the roof. The louvers below the roof were fixed open to

maintain a pressure balance between inside and outside and prevent wind lift on the

roof. By adjusting the lower louvers the case ventilated naturally and comfortably…

In soft breezes all the louvers were to be opened. As the wind strengthened the lower

Figure 32: Sketches show how the building respond to different wind conditions of the region

51 louvers were to be progressively closed. In cyclones, they were to be closed

completely.”tt 36The louver enclosure also helps shade interior spaces from the

summer sun of pacific region while keeping views unobstructed. This natural

ventilation and lighting design activates physical sensations and maintains

coastal lifestyle, which always welcomes the ocean breezes.

36 Peter Buchanan, Ten Shades of Green: Architecture and Natural World, (W. W. Norton & Company, 2006)

Figure 33: Section of Tjibaou Center demonstrates the building was designed to yield topography

52 Utilizing vernacular architecture and technological advances, Renzo Piano produced a spectacular building that not only blends into its landscape, but also becomes a symbol of

Kanak culture.

The other design that also employed vernacular architecture is the Pictou Landing

Health Center of Brian Lilley and Richards Kroeker in Nova Scotia, Canada. The design originated from the traditional building technology of tradition winter lodges of Mikmaq people. The structural system of the Health Center uses local small diameter spruce trees,

Figure 34,35: Pictou Landing Health Center, Nova Scotia, designed by Brian Lilley and Richards Kroeker

53 shaped and lashed together while green to create the bones of the building. The shape of the building is based on the bending capacity of the wooden truss system. Mikmaq’s vernacular architecture also informs the architect way to achieve sustainability for the building. Layers of structural frame and birch-bark cladding, with an insulated layer of sphagnum moss and a pit for hot rocks in the middle are employed to store heat. Earth berm and mass heat storage were also used at the center just like traditional lodges employ the warmth of the earth under the lodge to preheat fresh air being brought in through bark tubes. As a result, the design process was a logical analysis of vernacular principles that help tie the building to its site.

Figure 36-38: Local construction technique was employed in Pictou Landing Health Center

54 Figure 39: Vernacular analysis diagram of Pictou Landing Health Center

55 56 chapter 4 EVERGLADES - THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND

“There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them; their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of the their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slow-moving below, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades of Florida. It is a river of grass.”37

37 Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades: River of Grass, 1947

57 In 1947, a vast wetland in the region now called the “Everglades” was formally dedicated to become the only park of its kind. The Everglades is the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the

United States and was the first national park “preserved primarily for its abundant variety of tropical life, rather than for scenic or historic values.” 38

“Here are no lofty peaks seeking the sky, no mighty glaciers or rushing

streams wearing away the uplifted land. Here is land, tranquil in its quiet

beauty, serving not as the source of water, but as the receiver of it. To

its natural abundance we owe the spectacular plant and animal life that

distinguishes this place from all others in our country.” 39

Spread over more than 500,000 hectares of the US territory, the Everglades National

Park is a distinct sub-tropical ecosystem. Located the southernmost region of the Florida and lying between temperate and sub-tropical zones, the Everglades is the only environment of its kind in the immense territory of the U.S that is comprised of blended characteristics from both zones.

38 acquired from the Everglades national park information website 39 President Harry S. Truman, 1947

58 Climate and topography

The Everglades’ climate consists of only sub-tropical seasons, that include dry and wet seasons. Summer brings a hot and humid atmosphere with high amounts of precipitation, while the winter is mild and quite pleasant. During the summer, wind is ample and hurricanes and thunderstorms visit the park quite often. This subtropical climate brings significant seasonal changes to the Everglades’ landscape. The topography of the land is quite flat and low. In fact, no part of the Everglades surpasses eight feet above sea level. Therefore, most of the land is covered by water, giving ways to flooded species that predominate the region. Here one hardly able to recognize boundaries between water and land.

Water

Water is extremely significant to the wildlife of the Everglades. Originating inthe

Kissimmee River, water flows slowly through porous limestone bedrocks to Lake Okeechobee and the park territory, subsequently finding its way to Biscayne Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands, and the Florida Bay. This shallow, slow-moving sheet of water covers almost 11,000 square miles, “creating a mosaic of ponds, sloughs, sawgrass marshes, hardwood hammock, and

59 forested uplands.” 40 For thousands of years, this intricate system has nourished a finely balanced ecosystem which forms the biological infrastructure for the southern half of the state. However, over the time, the interference of human beings has changed the water flow, causing a severe unbalance to the ecosystem. Extensive canal, levee and road systems built to support farming and the surrounding communities obstruct water from reaching the park, thereby shutting off the nutritional supply of the parks’ ecosystem.

“At times the water control structures at the park boundary are closed, and

no water nourishes the wood stork’s habitat. Or, alternately, water control

structures are opened and unnaturally pent-up, human- managed flood

waters inundate Everglades creatures’ nests or eggs and disperse seasonal

concentrations of the wading birds’ prey. Added to these problems is the

presence of pollutants from agricultural run-off. High levels of mercury are

identified in all levels of the food chain.”41

40 acquired from the Everglades national park information website 41 Acquired from the Everglades national park information website

60 Ecosystem

The mild climate and life-giving water system in the Everglades fosters adiverse ecosystem. The ecosystem here is rich with vegetation, and abundant with bird species, reptiles and other wildlife. Sawgrass covers thousands of miles of the land and provides refuge for thousand of species, giving name “River of Grass” to the Everglades. Diverse forests, ranging from the pine land of the temperate climate to the mangrove and palm trees of tropical regions, contribute to the richness of this ecosystem. A great floral variety blooming in the Everglades is also one of the key resources of the park. The flora of the park hosts species of both temperate and tropic climes. Migrating birds, which use the Everglades National Park both as critical

Figure 41,42,43: Diverse vegetations in the Everglades

61 wintering areas and as a stopover, are also some of the precious gift nature brings to the

Everglades. More than 40 species of mammals and 50 distinct kinds of reptiles inhabit and enrich the park wildlife.

The expansion of man-made environments, however, has put this diverse ecological system in danger. Many animals that are spectacularly adapted to the alternating wet and dry seasons find themselves desperate and dying once this environmental condition shifts due to the change of water flow. Also, commercial exploitation and human encroachment threaten the park habitats. A large amount of animal species once abundant in the park have been significantly reduced in number. Native species are being replaced by exotic ones brought in by humans.

Realizing the special significance of the Everglades, the National Park Service put the

Figure 44,45,46: Diverse species in the Everglades

62 park under its management in the hope of preserving it for the benefit of present and future generations. Although habitat changes have reduced historic numbers, tens of thousands of birds feed and nest within the Everglades, providing visitors with the viewing opportunities of a lifetime.

People in the Park

Although the significant attraction of the Everglades National Park lies in its unique ecosystem, human existence has also contributed to the story of the park. Various groups and peoples have navigated through, and wrestled with, the watery landscape to make it their home, and even at times to exploit its natural wonder.

Before the Spanish arrived in 1513, there were only native Calusa Indians settled in what is now called the Everglades National Park. Emerging around 1000 B.C, the Calusa had developed a highly organized society, which was later proved by the discovery of their archaeological artifacts. By the 1700s, most of the Calusa population had been decimated by diseases brought by white settlers. During the eighthteen century, the Everglades was occupied

63 by the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes, who were forced to migrate south due to the increase of white settlements in the northern Florida. Since the time the Spanish claimed ownership of Florida in 1783, the native Indians have continuously been under the invasion of the white settlers trying to wipe them out and seize their land. However, despite several bloody wars, the

Seminole and Miccosukee incredibly survived, clinging to their homeland. The Everglades’ native people fished, hunted and traded their art and craft products to make their livings.

For centuries, the Everglades had only been home to native Indians. As government policy began to sweep out the natives encouraged white settlers to claim their new land in the

Everglades, however, brave white pioneers began to explore this new land.

The very first white settlers came to the Everglades just before the Civil War. Their life in the park was not an easy one. They were welcomed to the region by harsh condition of the forest and wetland. Many, in fact, came and subsequently left. Some survived, however, and over time, tamed the tropics, becoming known as Florida “Crackers” or “Gladesmen” in

64 this “River of grass.” 42 At the end of nineteenth century, only three small communities, the

Chokoloskee, Cape Sable and Flamingo, had founded their home along the coast of what

is now the Everglades National Park. The South Florida Crackers became hunters, farmers,

ranchers and fishers as they adapted to the resources nature provides.

42 Originated from the name of the book The Everglades: River of Grass, 1947, by Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Figure 47: Native Indians in the Everglades Figure 48: the Gladesmen in the Everglades

65 Vernacular in the Park

1. Chickee of native Indians

Developed during the Seminole War as the Seminole were hunted by white soldiers and thereby required to be quickly assembled and easily abandoned for speedy escapes, the chickee – or common Seminole dwelling- is a simple structure. Seminole camps were usually built on hammocks. Camp sizes varied from a single individual to extended families or a clan group. They were comprised of several chickees around an open cook shed. Each nuclear family has its own sleeping chickees while sharing other structures. A chickee can be built within few days and will last less than ten years. The basic chickee is described in South“ Florida Folk Life” as a rectangular pole shed which has four posts set into the ground to support a rafter system covered with palm thatch 42. Local materials, such as large cypress logs for post, small cypress poles for rafters, and cabbage palm or palmetto fronts for thatch were employed in chickees.

Cypress was exposed to sunlight to dry while they gathered fronds. The cypress posts were anchored into the ground and the top of the posts were notched to receive a horizontal log girder. Center poles at the short ends of the house held a higher ridge beam. Sloping rafters were lashed with palmetto fiber robes. Small purlin poles were placed across the roof rafters

66 before layers of palm fronds were nailed or tied close together to strengthen the roof

and avoid leaking. A platform decked with split palmetto logs was supported by pole

beams and short posts.

The chickee was constructed to adapt to the hot and humid climate of South

Florida. The chickees didn’t have walls to open maximum to cool breezes. Chickee

roofs extended low out on three sides to shed rain water and provide shade. The floors

were usually raised two or three feet above the ground with small posts to allow for

the seasonal rise of water and keep animals out. Each chickee had a different function

and size, depending upon the use of that particular chickee. Seminole people tended

to work outside in the common garden. The cooking chickee was therefore centrally

located, featuring an open fire. Its extended roof and low eaves allowed smoke to

escape while providing shelter from the elements. Shelves, counters and cabinets were

built along the low side eaves.

Today, although the Seminole and Miccosukee have moved into new modern

houses and fewer chickees are being built (or only built as outbuildings,) the chickee

Figure 49: Chickees of Native Indians in the Everglades still represents a valuable artifact of native Indians in the Glades.

67 2. Cracker architecture of white settlers (Gladesmen)

While settling in the Glades, the Crackers started to build their houses. The very first shelter of the Cracker homestead was said to originate from the Seminole chickee. With the construction knowledge they brought from their homeland, the Crackers built the simplest single room house, the first version of the Cracker’s pen house, which used available materials and basic skills and was adjusted to adapt to the tropic climate.

Over the time, the South Florida cracker’s house has evolved far from its origin. Its distinguishing characteristics were formed while it was adjusted, modified to adapt to the tropical condition. Like other houses in hot and humid Florida, the single pen house was wrapped by a broad shady porch. The house

Figure 50: Cracker houses of the whitemen in the Everglades

68 was elevated off the ground with stone or brick supports to allow air flow to cool off the floor and to protect itself from strong winds, high water, as well as snakes and other animals. The front and back doors are often aligned in the center of the house to allow breezes to flow through unobstructed. The home usually faced east to take advantage of easterly breezes. Homes of this style had tall peaked roofs made of cypress shingles with wide overhangs, high ceilings and lots of tall shutter windows, all to maximize air ventilation while minimizing sun exposure. The opening was screened in to protect from mosquitoes and other insects. The house was usually made of “tabby”- a mixture of lime, oyster shells and sand- and virgin pine wood logs, all readily available in southern Florida. The single pen house was built very quickly and without any romanticized details or decoration.

As the cracker family grew, they developed double pen, saddlebag and dog-trot houses by adding another room to accommodate more increasing needs. The positional relation of the new room with the old room determined how the house got its name. Among those, the dog-trot house was the most popular, with its distinguished breeze walkway separating old and new rooms. To further expand, the family could add another storey to the dog-trot home to form the I-house, a narrow two story house with an enclosed breezeway to house the stairs.

69 As life became easier and prosperity grew, the large, high-style plantation home and four- square Georgian home were increasingly built. The full classic Greek Revival passed unnoticed to the

Florida plantation house. The elegant Georgian town-house style was also employed, however, less indigenously. Such outside influences and international attitudes, while adjusted to suit the region, seemed to gradually wipe out Florida’s Cracker vernacular.

Also, as fishermen, some South Florida crackers built their houses on stilts near the water or in the water. Having all distinguishing characteristics of a sub-tropical house, homes on stilts likewise contributed to South Florida’s collection of vernacular architecture.

Developed based on new available materials and traditional technologies, South Florida cracker homes reflect the open, rural regional culture, while responding to the hot, humid climate of the Everglades.

The site analysis of the Everglades as well as the investigation of Florida vernacular architecture could inform design principles to respond to the natural and cultural characteristics of the Everglades.

A place sensitive design for the park’s building design could employ potential vernacular principles to evoke a sense of place.

70 image credits Figure 1. National Park Service Logo, http:// leftbase.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ nps-logo.png

Figure 2. Yellowstone National Park, “Geological History of the Yellowstone National Park” book cover, reprinted.

Figure 3. Increasing amount of national park’s visitors, reprinted from Our Heritage, 1956, NPS History Collection.

Figure 4. Comparing chart of insufficient budget and increasing needs, reprinted prom NPS History Collection.

Figure 5. Mission 66 through illustration, reprinted from NPS History Collection.

Figure 6. Rustic Mount Rainier Administrative Building at Longmire, http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/National_Park_Service_Rustic.

Figure 7. Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_ Service_Rustic.

Figure 8. Quarry Visitor Center, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah http://www. examiner.com, photo by NPS

Figure 9. Gettysburg Cyclorama and Visitor Center in 1962, photo courtesy Lawrence S. Williams, Inc., Photography

Figure 10. Modern Architecture, Ezra Stoller/Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson_Ezra Stoller , http://egodesign.ca

71 Figure 11. Critical regionalism-Bagsvaerd Church, near Copenhagen, designed by Jorn Ut- zon. http://www.architectenwerk.nl/architectenpraktijk02/Bagsvaerd_Kirke

Figure 12. Bowali Visitor Center by Glenn Murcutt and Troppo Architects, reprinted from Troppo Architects , Philip Goad, ed. photography by Patrick Bingham-Hall Published Singa- pore : Periplus ; North Clarendon, VT : Distributed by Tuttle Pub., 2005

Figure 13. “crinkle crankle” slatted screens of Bowali Center, reprinted from Troppo Architects

Figure 14. Environmental strategies of Bowali Center, diagramed by author

Figure 15. A view of Bowali Center, reprinted from Troppo Architects

Figure 16. Another view of Bowali Center, http://www.tourismtopend.com.au

Figure 17. Another view of Bowali Center, http://jesssiow.blogspot.com/2007/09/trip-to- darwin.html

Figure 18. Seabird Island School, British Columbia, by Patkau Architects http://www.seabirdisland.ca/members/edu_funding.htm

Figure 19. Seabird Island School, http://www.patkau.ca

Figure 20. Seabird Island School, Sections, reprinted from Patkau Architects, Frampton, Kenneth, New York : Monacelli Press, 2006

Figure 21. Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor http://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals/

Figure 22. Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor http://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals/

72 Figure 23. Thermal bath, plan.

Figure 24 Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor http://www.aadip9.net/

Figure 25. Thermal bath complex, Val, Swtizerland, designed by Peter Zumthor http://www.architecture.about.com

Figure 26. Ocean Swimming Pool, designed by Alvaro Siza, http://www.picasaweb.google. com

Figure 27. Ocean Swimming Pool, designed by Alvaro Siza, http://www.flickr.com

Figure 28. Poetic lighting in Ocean Swimming Pool, http://www.flickr.com

Figure 29. Tjibaou Cultural Center, New Caledonia, designed by Renzo Piano, http://aedesign.wordpress.com/

Figure 30. Wood Structure of Tjibaou Cultural Center, http://aedesign.wordpress.com/

Figure 31. Vernacular of Tjibaou Center, diagramed by author

Figure 32. Sketches show how the building respond to different wind conditions of the re- gion, reprinted from Renzo Piano : Centre Kanak ; Kulturzentrum der Kanak = Cultural center of the Kanak people, Blaser, Werner, Boston : Birkhäuser, 2001

Figure 33. Section of Tjibaou Center, reprinted from Renzo Piano : Centre Kanak ; Kulturzen- trum der Kanak = Cultural center of the Kanak people,

Figure 34. Pictou Landing Health Center, Nova Scotia, designed by Brian Lilley and Richards Kroeker, http://www.architecturalweek.com

Figure 35. Floor Plan of Pictou Center, http://www.architecturalweek.com

73 Figure 36. Structural system of Pictou Center originated from vernacular architecture, http:// www.architecturalweek.com

Figure 37. green spruce tree bending technique, employed in Pictou Center, http://www. architecturalweek.com

Figure 38. Vernacular material used in Pictou Center, http://www.architecturalweek.com

Figure 39. Vernacular study of Pictou Center, diagramed by author

Figure 40. Everglades, the only one of its kind, http://www.personal.psu.edu

Figure 41. The Everglades sawgrass, http://www.z-about.com

Figure 42. The Everglades mangrove, http://www.wikipedia.org

Figure 43. The Everglades pineland, http://www.wikipedia.org

Figure 44. Everglades diverse bird species, http://www.z-about.com

Figure 45. The Everglades Alligator, http://www.greenscreen.org

Figure 46. The Everglades panther, one of precious animals in the park, http://www.athor- woman.com

Figure 47. The native Indian in the Everglades, http://mofac.org/exhibits/46-Seminole-Wars- The-Fight-for-Florida

Figure 48. The whitemen of the Glades, http://www.nps.org

Figure 49. Chickee of native Indians, reprinted from South Florida Folklife (Folklife in the South Series), Bucuvalas Tina and others, University Press of Mississippi, 1994

Figure 50. Analysis of Vernacular Cracker houses, reprinted from Classic Cracker: Florida’s Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture, Haase, Ronald W. , Pineapple Press( Florida), 1992

74 bibliography

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75 Bucuvalas Tina and others, South Florida Folklife (Folklife in the South Series). University Press of Mississippi, 1994

Haase, Ronald W. Classic Cracker: Florida’s Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture. Pineapple Press( Florida), 1992.

Douglas, Marjory Stoneman,The Everglades: river of grass,New York, NY : Rinehart, 1947.

Frampton, Kenneth, Modern Architecture: A Critical History, London : Thames and Hudson, 1992.

Miller, David E., Toward a new regionalism : environmental architecture in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle : University of Washington Press, 2005.

National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov

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