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Albert PopeGus Sessions Wortham Professor of ArchitectureRice UniversityTeaches:Graduate Level Architecture at Rice University (15 years)Directs the Graduate Thesis ProgramTaught Architecture at Yale University and Sci-ArcAttended:Sci-ARc (BArch), 1978Princeton (MArch), 1986Awards:Numerous awards from Progressive ArchitectureNational and regional awards by the AIAPublications:Ladders (Princeton Architectural Press, 1997)Numerous articles on the implications of post-war urbandevelopment.
Van Eyck’s Dilemma(lecture at Parson’s SCE 11/05/2010)“if society has no form, how can architects build the counterform?”
City SuperseededVan Eyck was Wrong“The logic of an urban present has been introduced and developed bothwithin the diciplinary confines of modern architecture as well as half acentury of urban production.”Sprawl is not formless.It has it’s own unique structural logic.
The Evolution of MegalopolisChicago, Illinois12MEGALOPOLIS DID NOT DROP FROM THE SKY - it is an ongoing evolution ina line of aggregate urbanisms that came before”Today’s city “has been in formation throughout the twentieth century andHilberseimer merely abstracted it to the point that we could finally grasp itslogic.”3
The Scope of MegalopolisRockford, Illinois1234The spine is the DNA of the Megalopolis. of sprawl.
,1The Origin of the Settlement UnitElkhorn, WisconsinStage 1:Ideal American farming town - gridironorganizationb lStage 2:,PHASE 2 ELKHORN WISCONSIN2Connections between town and Hinterlandreplaced by national highway3Stage 3:6 levels of hierarchy replace gridiron: Interstate,Frontage road,Local exit, Collector, and 2 levels ofResidential streets
Discontinuityhi g liZ\ Megalopoliscity\ehl ] hkfhi g hkfprisonMetropolis\ehl ] liZ\
On SubjectivityInformal, Overlapping and Simultaneous2 level Hierarchy:STREET/DESTINATIONbelow OPEN DIFFERENTIATED NETWORKSral feature. The subjectivities of the superblock correspond precisely to the infrastructural form such that a ‘lock’ between program and structure is created.Besides being locked into the infrastructure, these subjectivities can also bemore easily isolated as a result of a defined perimeter and the reduced numberof entrances and exits that typically occur in superblock development. In otherwords, the same networks can be formed, but the dynamic between them isutterly changed. Superblocks are the organizational unit of such well-knownprojects as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City and Llewelyn-Davies’ MiltonKeynes. They are also characteristic of the immediate postwar subdivision inNorth America. The superblock encodes another level of hierarchy within theurban infrastructure. With the addition of the boulevard, the superblock showsa third level of hierarchy non-existent in the gridiron. This three-level hierarchy can be expressed as BOULEVARD/STREET/DESTINATION.Some Restriction of Events3 level Hierarchy: BOULEVARD/STREET/DESTINATIONSeparation of Events6 level Hierarchy: FREEWAY/FEEDER/BOULEVARD/SPINE/STREET/DESTINATION
On Subjectivity
CounterformFifth Ward District, Houston, Texasdisribution]blmkb[nmbhgSince different programs have different continuities, by indexingintersections, levels of continuity can be quantified and translateddirectly into new networks of intesections.integrationbgm kZmbhgstreetmkZgleZmbhg
From Typology to Form2.141.43.75.34.166.167.0
Albert Pope Gus Sessions Wortham Professor of Architecture Rice University Teaches: Graduate Level Architecture at Rice University (15 years) Directs the Graduate Thesis Program Taught Architecture at Yale University and Sci-Arc Attended: Sci-ARc (BArch), 1978 Princeton (MArch), 1986 Awards: Numerous awards from Progressive Architecture National and regional awards by the AIA Publications .
