Visions of the Future Past ELIZABETH J. KEE Visions of the Future Past ELIZABETH J. KEE Master’s Thesis, College of Environmental Design University of California Berkeley Spring 2014 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 1 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:39:10:39 PPMM Thesis Advisors Thank You Raveevarn Choksombatchai Thank you to my two thesis advisors Raveevarn Choksombatchai Ron Rael and Ron Rael for all of your help and support throughout my thesis and in all of my endeavors at the CED. Thank you to Roddy Creedon for always being my reality check and to Chair Tom Buresh for being amazingly suppor ve of all my ideas (even the bad ones) along the way. Lastly, a special thank you to my parents, Sydney and Gordon Kee, and Andrew Lim for not le ng me drop out in the fi rst two weeks like I had planned. Without your love and support this thesis probably would never have been. 2 3 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 22-3-3 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:44:10:44 PPMM Contents 6 GreyScape 8 Construct, Deconstruct, Reimagine 14 Introduc on 20 Archaeology | grid & framework Site | 1300AD 44 Memento 1 48 Photography | context & ubiquitousness Site | 2013AD 60 Memento 2 64 GreyScape Redux 72 Final Bibliography 4 5 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 44-5-5 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:44:10:44 PPMM GreyScape “Freedom of choice, however, leads not to chaos, but to new and more subtle forms of order” - Lebbus Woods We do not merely look we interpret. Without our brain our eyes do nothing but look from object to object deno ng no special meaning; it is only through the dialogue between the eye and the brain that we learn to see and thus create causa on and associa on between objects, ourselves, and me. The combina on of the object, ourselves, and me allows for an abstrac on in both the way we remember the object and how we represent the object for communica on with others. GreyScapes become the moments when we stand on the threshold between looking at and seeing the object - at that moment there is neither fact nor fi c on, nor a linear con nuum between the two. Instead, it is a reality that inherently accepts the existence of contradic ons and ambigui es. GreyScapes are not the memories themselves, instead are the interpreta ons we make of our surroundings and events that create the stories we tell ourselves in order to believe in them. Un-beholden to the confi nes of truth or logic; only later do they then become facts. 6 7 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 66-7-7 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:45:10:45 PPMM Construct, Deconstruct, Reimagine “Perhaps all that is le of the world is a wasteland covered with rubbish heaps, and the hanging gardens of the Great Khan’s palace. It is our eyelids that separate them, but we cannot know which is inside and which outside” - Italio Calvino The way we as architects sort and translate various interpreta ons of an object and construct them as reali es for others are intrinsically linked. The visualiza on of an object’s abstrac on cannot be divorced from modes we use to interpret it. To explore the overlap in GreyScapes, and the various ways they are physically represented, it is important to acknowledge that nothing is concrete or immutable; there are no “facts” per say. Instead, both facts and memories are not only constructs, but are constantly being constructed. Since both facts (our representa on) and memories (our interpreta ons) are constructs do not mean that we should not ques on and thoroughly examine them. In fact it is extremely important to examine our interpreta ons of an object and how we represent it - a process to which the discipline of architecture greatly excels. The discourse behind all great works of architecture ac vely engage in cri quing and ques oning the product of an architect’s interpreta ons, however it is equally important to hold up the same mirror of scru ny to our ini al modes of representa on. Once we do that our modes of representa on not only belie our ini al interpreta ons, but also that our means of communica ng these GreyScapes are based on assump ons and biases. This inward refl ec on back towards our personal GreyScapes acknowledges bias, assump ons, and untruths that are inherent in memory making and keeping. Looking at various modes of representa on and their under lying biases, is not a nega ve, but instead acknowledges the way GreyScapes exist within ourselves. Unbiased representa ons of abstrac ons do not truly exist when there is a need to communicate ideas within an organized The imagined demise of Nay Pyi Daw. The visual breaking-down of the physical leads one along the fi rst steps towards a reimagining of discipline. It is when we fail to honor the biases and contradic ons within our modes of poten al spaces and places. representa on that we lose the ability to freely discuss the root of our interpreta ons and memories. 8 9 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 88-9-9 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:47:10:47 PPMM Through the process of exploring and represen ng past and present Burmese Architecture a new taxonomy emerged. This new taxonomy was created via the intersec on of me and memory. Specifi cally the intersec on that engages the phenomenon of how memories are perpetually being constructed, deconstructed, and reimaged over me. Nothing is sta c, let alone our memories. By ac vely muta ng past and present Burmese architecture the resul ng analysis reveals and creates new spaces that allow for a more fer le conversa on between eras. Imagined eleva ons and sec ons both over grown by me and nature 10 11 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 110-110-11 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:49:10:49 PPMM Nay Pyi Daw imagined through the lens of an archaeological fi nd Nay Pyi Daw imagined through a meandering ar st’s pen, who happened upon the ruins. 12 13 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 112-132-13 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:51:10:51 PPMM Introduc on “The knowledge we have as individuals and as member of a par cular society remains very limited, selec ve, and biased by the passions of living.” - Yi-Fu Tuan Pagan The Pagan Era lasted from the 9th to the 13th century and is considered the most prolifi c building period in Burmese History. It was both the government and religious center, since Burmese culture centralized the head role of both their government and religious bodies early on in their history. This theocracy built two types of monuments: gu temples and stupas. The dis nc on of gu temples on this site, and in Burma in general, is a geometric and stylis c classifi ca on of temple structure. Gu temples, along with most temples in the Hindu – Buddhist tradi on of the South and Southeast regions, are temples that are meant to emulate a cave- like experience. The cave and Pagan Site Plan Original Pagan Temple Plan Original Pagan Temple Sec on subsequent withdrawal from everyday life, is a kin to where many famous religious prophets withdrew and found religious clairvoyance. Once entering a gu temple a circumambula on around a central alter area allows the worshipper to be visually educated in the ways on of the Buddhas via frescos along the walls of the barrel vaulted walkways. Stupas, on the other hand, are meant to emulate the great Mount Meru, house of the Gods. And, like Mount Meru itself, stupas are not enterable and instead are meant to be externally circumambulated. Stupas generally are built to house specifi c relics deep within their centers. During the Pagan Era over 10,000 stupas and gu temples were built, with 2,500 remaining today. Empty Buddha Shelf Petagonal Gu Temple Gu Temple surrounded by stupas 14 15 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 114-154-15 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:53:10:53 PPMM Nay Pyi Daw Nay Pyi Daw became the offi cial capital of Burma on March 27, 2006 and was offi cially moved to its new loca on 320 km north of Yangoon (the previous capital) star ng on November 6, 2005. The new Nay Pyi Daw District, as well as the Parliament area, is Burma’s third largest city and was designed, built, and conceived to only house government ministries. Built in complete government secrecy, families of government workers and civilians have been banned from entering, and vendors are restricted to a small commercial zone. Not much is known about the new capital as it was only opened to limited outsiders star ng in 2011 and only in 2013 did images of Nay Pyi Daw start to appear on the internet and aerials become available through Bing and Google Earth. Nay Pyi Daw District Extents Nay Pyi Daw Parliment “[Nay Pyi Daw] is the ulƟ mate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putaƟ ve ‘colour revoluƟ on’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography” Nay Pyi Daw Parliment Nay Pyi Daw Highway Gateway Guardhouse Construc on Worker’s Government Houses Entryway Houses 16 17 TThesishesis BBooklet.inddooklet.indd 116-176-17 55/17/2014/17/2014 11:10:53:10:53 PPMM Pagan + Nay Pyi Daw Pagan and Nay Pyi Daw are two capitals over 1,000 year apart.