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Environmental Technology: Less or More with Kéré and Superstudio
No full textWhen considering the environmental changes that have taken place due to energy consumption, two modes of thought are often the focal arguing points: using more efficient technology and using less technology. In architecture, this is known as the argument of active versus passive systems, and this topic has been debated since the Second Industrial Revolution. Some architects have designed technocratic megastructures for entire communities to be contained while others have thought of engaging with natural resources to make comfortable structures. This paper interrogates whether monumental structures or communal passive designs are best suited for sustaining our environment and will examine the works of the firm Superstudio (1966-1978) as well as architect Diébédo Francis Kéré (1965-Present) to compare the methods they practice environmentalism. The 1966 Italian design collective Superstudio led the Radical Movement in architecture. Their idea of “Total Urbanization”, as exemplified by their model The Continuous Monument, creates a massive urban cityscape, and they argued that entire cities could be contained within a grid-based structure. By this process, Superstudio argued that humanity could create and control their entire internal ecosystem on a massive scale, reducing replacement construction and its environmental toll. By contrast, Diebedo Francis Kere, receiver of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, focusses his design on building structures as needed to work within the context of their surrounding environment. His structures, such as Lycée Schorge, are often designed in locations with little access to outside utilities, and thus must be extremely self-reliant. His work does not cut the internal off from the external to make it comfortable, but instead utilizes nature itself to provide a comfortable environment for his clients. By analyzing these architects’ works, as well as the Machine Age theories of Richard Banham, this paper will argue the credibility of design between futuristic and bottom-up technology
Reparations, Social Justice, and the Global War on Terror
No full textThe US began their ‘Global War on Terror’ (GWOT) more than twenty years ago. In the US, the political and scholarly reference-point for the GWOT comes from the perspective of how US national/human security interests can be protected, or how they were harmed. Rarely are the political, social, and economic costs inflicted on the people of the global South considered in studies of the GWOT. This research project empirically and theoretically interrogates the actions taken by the US in Somalia, and their consequences on the civilians of Somalia. It suggests this single case might be thought of in a larger scope of social scientific investigations into wartime harm repair, and conflict resolution. We analyze new interview data from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), journalistic reporting on the US war in Somalia, and databases that aggregate information on the number and outcomes of US strikes in the region.
We also place these data in dialogue with social theories on reparations. Specifically, we find that sociologist John Torpey (2017) offers theoretical insights into how reparations might become “anti-systemic,” when their cultural and economic impacts allow the harmed communities to begin repairing at local and national levels, of their own accords, and with the intent to build a new system that is altogether more equitable and just. Ultimately, this research project might improve our understanding of the consequences of two decades of global war, by investigating legal, diplomatic, and transitional justice frameworks that have worked in prior conflict scenarios, but heretofore unexplored with regards to the case of US-Somali relations
Alternative Visions to Eurocentric Public Architecture: The Work of Balkrishna Doshi in India and Alejandro Aravena in Chile.
No full textSince the 19th century, public housing projects have remained a dilemma for architects. From socialist housing projects of the East Bloc during the Communist time to large private developments in the West during the new Liberal era, socially-responsible housing projects have been at the center of architectural debates. This paper focuses on alternative vision beyond either the socialist or privatized housing projects by comparing the work of Balkrishna Doshi (1927-2023) and Alejandro Aravena (1967-Present). Despite different temporal, socio-political, and geographic contexts, the work of these two architects shares the same social responsibility, emphasizing community building and empowering the people. On the surface, these two architects, both Pritzker Prize-winners, were from different regions. However, the problems they both tackled marks the intersection of economic systems, cultural forces, poverty, political systems, and environmental issues. This paper draws on Kenneth Frampton’s six principles of “Critical Regionalism” because these principles highlight architecture rooted in local context and possibly engage in global influences. This research also examines the work of Duanfang Lu in Third World Modernism to highlight the global dimension of the practices of these two influential architects. Central to this analysis are the works of Doshi in Aranya Low-Cost Housing (1989) in Indore and Aravena’s Quinta Monroy Housing (2004) in Chile. This paper offers new insight onto the alternative approach from Doshi’s community-centric planning and Aravena’s incremental housing and public empowerment strategies. This paper explores how Alejandro Aravena leaves his architecture open and “incomplete,” allowing the community to incrementally adjust the projects to their emerging needs; whereas Balkrishna Doshi creates architecture that fosters a sense of belonging and addresses the needs of his community through planning strategies demonstrating innovative solutions. The paper investigates and compares the philosophy and ideology of Doshi and Aravena, highlighting their trajectory, practices, and different approaches to public housing
Beyond European modernism: Post-war architecture through the Lens of Kenzo Tang.
No full textAfter the war, a new style of architecture emerged, the style focused primarily on monumental formalism, with an interest in sculptural masses, spaces, and the decorative qualities of building materials. That style is called Post-war Nordic architecture and was characterized by social engagement and thoughtful design. Three formal directions emerged within that: one that incorporated English Brutalism, another that built on Mies van der Rohe\u27s work and a third that Frank Lloyd Wright and Japanese architecture influenced.
In this paper, I will closely focus on Kenzo Tang’s (a Japanese architect) work, because His specific work style includes understanding the landscape and integrating urban contest within that of his time, and post-European modernism, looking at the two styles I will analyze their similarities and differences, brought by both cultures and the time in which the designs were brought about. I will explore this by primarily looking at Tang’s work, I will look for key similarities that fear has evoked in the minds of designers at the time freshly coming out of a war, and how it had influenced urban-based architecture. The question: designing for people and time, in what way, and with what effect
Increasing Guard Band Size to Decrease Interference in V2X Communication
No full textAs technologies evolve and new devices are introduced, the demand for fast and reliable vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication increases. As this demand increases, the interference level in the 5.9GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) band will inevitably increase. And thus, the task of somehow minimizing this interference becomes increasingly important as time passes. This report investigates the effects of increasing the guard band size of the lower 5.9 GHz DSRC band on the adjacent channel interference from Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure 4 band (U-NII-4) devices and to try and see if there is a significant decrease in the interference level. The changes in the interference levels are being measured through packet reception rate (PRR) in vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication and infrastructure-to-vehicle communication (I2V). Experimental observations in lab using 25 low-cost U-NII-4 devices have shown a significant increase in PRR when shifting the central frequency of these devices for both V2I and I2V communications
Histone methyltransferases, SET-2 and MES-4, contribute to sterility in C. elegans that inappropriately inherit histone methylation
No full textAt fertilization, histone methylation must undergo maternal reprogramming to reset the epigenetic landscape in the new zygote. During maternal reprogramming of histone methylation in the nematode, C. elegans, H3K4me is removed by the H3K4 demethylase, SPR-5, and H3K9me is subsequently added by the histone methyltransferase, MET-2. Maternal loss of SPR-5 and MET-2 results in inherited phenotypes such as developmental delay and sterility in the progeny. We recently demonstrated that knocking down the H3K36 methyltransferase, MES-4, which maintains a transcriptional memory of germline genes between generations, or the H3K4me1/2 methyltransferase, SET-2, a member of the COMPASS complex rescues developmental delay in spr-5; met-2 mutant progeny. However, whether knocking down MES-4 or SET-2 rescues sterility in spr-5; met-2 double mutants has yet to be explored. Here, we test this possibility by feeding spr-5; met-2 mutant hermaphrodites either set-2 or mes-4 RNAi and examining germlines of their synchronized progeny at the young adult stage using DIC microscopy, DAPI staining, and by quantifying the total number of oocytes across both gonad arms. Excitingly, we find that knocking down either SET-2 or MES-4 significantly rescues germline health in spr-5; met-2 progeny, with some spr-5; met-2 progeny germlines from hermaphrodites fed set-2 RNAi containing viable embryos. Together, our data suggest that the inherited sterility in the absence of SPR-5 and MET-2 maternal reprograming may be caused by inherited H3K4 methylation and altered germline transcription. While the mechanisms underlying sterility in spr-5; met-2 mutants remain to be determined, our results provide further evidence that C. elegans utilizes a combination of inherited histone modifications to achieve the correct levels of transcription to properly specify tissues. This project is supported by NIH R15 1R15GM148887-01A1 (PI: Carpenter) and NIH U-RISE 1T34GM140948-01A1 (PIs: Hudson and Griffin)
Computational Analysis of Vibrational Frequencies of Linear and Cyclic Carbon Clusters, Cn
No full textCarbon clusters are organic molecules consisting exclusively of carbon atoms typically bonded to each other in a sp2 hybridized manner. These carbon clusters can exist in both linear and cyclic forms starting from four carbon atoms and up. However, typically even-numbered carbon clusters prefer to be in their cyclic form, while odd-numbered carbon clusters prefer to be in their linear form. Likewise, the multiplicity of these molecules can also affect their stability. Carbon clusters are the basic building blocks of carbon nanotubes, which are highly versatile nanomaterials with use cases ranging from industry, where they are being considered as composite materials, to medicine, where they could be used for biomolecule transport and tumor imaging. The purpose of this comparative study is to analyze the vibrational frequencies of carbon clusters in their linear and cyclic forms as well as their singlet and triplet multiplicities, respectively. Additionally, we report IR and Raman intensities for Cn clusters using the normal mode analysis (harmonic approximation) to collect data for assignment of molecular vibrations. Many Cn clusters are highly symmetric, therefore both IR and Raman spectra provide valuable information on their structure, properties, and stability. Such analysis has the potential to shed light on their preferred arrangement in space and give insights into the likelihood of their experimental synthesis. Most notably, that cyclic C5 in its triplet multiplicity is a potential building block for larger carbon clusters
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 and the Reaction of State Historic Preservation Offices
Get PDFThe Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 is perhaps the most important piece of recent federal legislation enacted affecting underwater archaeology and the preservation of underwater historic sites. With this short statute, the federal government vested title to virtually all historic shipwrecks in navigable water to the states. The act also changed existing legal principles in order to allow the states to enact their own laws to protect and preserve underwater historic resources. This article begins with a discussion of the Abandoned Shipreck Act of 1987- what it is, what it does and how it has changed the law related to abandoned shipwrecks. The article continues with a survey of state historic preservation agencies. The data consisted of questionnaires sent to 57 states and U.S. territories seeking reaction to the act. Given an opportunity to comment on this new legislation, the vast majority of the recipients responded
News from the Chapters 1989-90
Get PDFThe Eta Gamma Chapter of GTU sponsored a number of events that were well attended by both student members and faculty guests. The Chapter hosted a coffee hour for the new department faculty member, Dr. Michael Broadway. Geography Careers Night was arranged by Eta Gamma as part of the 1989 Geography Awareness Week celebration. Two Geneseo geography graduates presented their views on job opportunities in the field, followed by questions from a panel of GTU officers
